Oath of the Sha’heed
This is a Paladin subclass, a Sacred Oath, for use with the Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition RPG ruleset.
To use this subclass you must, at least, be familiar with, if not own a copy of, the Dungeons & Dragons Player’s Handbook from Wizards of the Coast.
Oath of the Sha’heed
In the original Quranic interpretation, Sha’heed means "witness" but the word has evolved to mean "martyr", or one who has died while waging bloody war against those who slighted Hamas. Hence, the Sha’heed is a zealot. She is extremely religious and tends to be quite warlike in her ways. Her purpose is to wage holy war against those who go against her faith and her god. She even twists her own tenets, misinterprets her own holy text and teachings, in order to justify eradicating those who oppose her.
Explanation
Operation "Mighty Cliff" (Tzuk Eitan, in Hebrew) was the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict between the IDF and Hamas. During the operation, Hamas released a music video, in Hebrew, in an effort to demoralize Israeli soldiers and hamper the war effort. The problem was, that it was terribly executed and horribly translated (probably used Google Translate and nothing else).
And so, the end result was that it was played repeatedly all across the IDF by soldiers, both at the front lines and in supporting rolls. It was remixed and satirised and there was much rejoice. In the video, Hamas translated Sha’heeds into the Hebrew word for Knights. But Sha’heed has more of a religious connotation than just plain knights.
A truer translation is a Paladin.
Disclaimer
This subclass was invented and written by four intelligent Israeli people. We served in the army, we've been to Gaza, we are aware of the Israeli-Palestinian situation, the psychology of terrorism and how Hamas perverts Islam and Jihad to fit its own agendas. This, like all other D&D classes is more inspired by popular culture and cinematic portrayal than by actual world events and people. It is meant as satire and as a gag, mostly. Please take it in jest and as an attempt to have fun.
There is no intention, maliciously or otherwise, to hurt the feelings of believers in the Religion of Peace.
Tenets of the Sha’heed
- "Jihad". The original meaning of the word is about spreading enlightened Islam to those who know not of the Religion of Peace. But, in the Sha’heed's mind, it is her holy duty to destroy and eradicate anyone that will not submit to her ways and her view of the world.
- Impregnable Faith. Her religion is the one and true faith, Her views and interpretations are always correct, and nothing can disuade her from the "truth".
- Martyrdom. The highest objective for the Sha’heed is to die and sacrifice herself in service of her faith.
Oath Spells
| Paladin Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 1st | burning hands, inflict wounds |
| 3rd | flame blade, misty step |
| 5th | summon lesser demons, fear |
| 7th | summon greater demons, evard’s black tentacles |
| 9th | infernal calling, steel wind strike |
Channel Divinity
Flame of the Faithful. As an action, you let loose the fiery faith within. For one minute, one held melee weapon deals an additional 1d4 Thunder or Fire damage on a hit (Choose one when activating this ability). It is also considered a magic weapon for the purposes of bypassing resistance to non-magical weapons.
This effect ends if you choose to dismiss it as an action or bonus action, if the weapon leaves your hand, or if you fall unconscious.
Self Immolation. As an action choose a wizard spell, of a level you can cast or lower. the spell must have duration of ‘instantaneous’ and must target an area (sphere, cube, cone, etc…). you cast it centered on yourself, using Charisma instead of Intelligence. You are also affected by the spell.
This spell is cast at the same level as your maximum spell level.
Sacrificial Blast
At 7th level, you have grown powerful enough to twist your god given power to heal, and use it to destroy. When you use Lay on Hands on yourself, you may choose to use it to take 1 thunder or fire damage for each point of Lay on Hands used. If you chose to take damage in this way, every creature in a 15 foot radius centered on yourself takes twice as much damage as you took, and of the same type, and is pushed 5 feet directly away from you.
Once you've used Lay on Hands in this way, you must finish a long rest before you do so again.
At 18th level, the damage taken by creatures in the radius is increased to three times the damage you took.
Martyr for the Cause
At 15th level, you have shown such devotion and spirit of sacrifice that your allies take heart when they see what you're willing to do for the cause. If you fall unconscious from taking damage, even self inflicted, all allies that, in that moment, had line of sight to you gain advantage on all rolls until the beginning of your next turn.
Break the Faith
You have become so powerful in your twisted views of your god’s word, that the god itself is starting to wonder if your view is the correct one after all. At Level 20, you can try to override divine power with your own. As an action, you can activate a special aura. For 1 minute, you gain the following abilities:
- You gain advantage in Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma Saving Throws against spells cast by fiends, celestials, divine casters (a divine caster is a spell caster that uses the Cleric or Paladin’s spell lists), and nature casters (a nature caster is a spell caster that uses the Druid or Ranger’s spell lists).
- When you are subjected to a spell cast by a fiend, a celestial or a divine caster that allows you to make a Saving Throw and you fail, you only take half damage. You take no damage if you succeed.
- You may cast Counterspell at will except that the target must be “a fiend, a celestial, or a divine caster” and the casting time is “1 reaction, which you take when you see a fiend, a celestial, or a divine caster within 60 feet of you casting a spell”.
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