Oath of the Gravewarden
Paladins who take the Oath of the Gravewarden seek to lay wandering spirits to rest, regardless of who they were or may presently be. Whereas other paladins may view the undead as abominations unfit to walk the earth, paladins of this particular oath see them as lost souls stolen away from their peaceful slumber, individuals who must be returned to the still infinity they once knew.
Tenets of the Gravewarden
The tenets of this oath have been passed down through centuries, carved into stone tablets and engraved onto burial urns. The tenets vary, however, from sect to sect, but all of them convey very similar messages.
Bless the fallen. Death is the natural conclusion to life. Some may deserve death, others may not, but they must pass on with a blessing, however grand or spiteful.
Guide the fallen. Undeath is a crude perversion of life, and the undead must be guided back into peaceful death. If they must be guided by a sharpened blade, then so be it.
Avenge the fallen. Avenge those who were taken from their peace without hesitation, and grant no piety to those who would disturb the peaceful slumber of death.
Oath Spells
You gain the following oath spells at the Paladin levels listed.
| Paladin Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 3rd | Sanctuary, Bane |
| 5th | Healing Spirit, See Invisibility |
| 9th | Speak with Dead, Beacon of Hope |
| 13th | Guardian of Faith, Mordenkainen's F. Hound |
| 17th | Hallow, Greater Restoration |
Channel Divinity
When you take this oath at 3rd level, you gain the following 2 Channel Divinity options.
Laid to Rest. When you kill a creature with a melee weapon attack, you can immediately use your Channel Divinity at no extra cost to restore hit points to yourself equal to twice your Paladin level.
Alternatively, you may choose a friendly creature you can see within 10 feet of you and restore hit points to both of you equal to your Paladin level.
Sanctified in Flames. When a Huge or smaller creature you can see within 30 feet of you dies you can use your reaction and your Channel Divinity to cremate its corpse, forcing each creature within 15 feet of it to make a Dexterity saving throw against your Spell Save DC or take fire damage equal to 2d4 plus your Paladin level. On a successful saving throw, creatures take half of the total damage.
This fire incinerates the corpse, destroying everything it was holding and wearing excluding magic items, which are not destroyed. You cannot use this feature on creatures that are immune to fire damage.
Aura of the Soul
Beginning at 7th level, your connection to the afterlife manifests around you, ensuring that you and those around you do not meet their untimely end.
While you are not incapacitated, friendly creatures within 10 feet of you that fall to 0 hit points instead fall to 1 hit point. Creatures can only fall to 1 hit point through this feature once per long rest.
At 18th level, the range of this aura increases to 30 feet, and creatures can fall to 1 hit point through this feature once per short rest.
For Whom the Bell Tolls
At 15th level, you have the ability to mark a creature with magic, causing mighty bells to toll around you.
You recite a short prayer as use your action to target a creature you can see within 60 feet of you. That creature must make a Wisdom saving throw against your Spell Save DC, or suffer from the following inflictions until the start of your next turn:
- The creature has disadvantage on saving throws against spells that would immediately damage it.
- You and your allies have advantage on attack rolls against this creature.
Fiends and undead creatures have disadvantage on this Wisdom saving throw. Only 1 creature can suffer from this mark at once. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your charisma modifier (minimum of once) and regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.
Champion of the Grave
At 20th level the link between your soul and the afterlife manifests in a tremendous display of power. Using an action, you can enhance this power for 1 minute and gain the following benefits:
- When a friendly creature you can see within 60 feet of you fails a death saving throw, you can use your reaction to turn that failure into a success. A creature can only benefit from this once each time you use this feature.
- You can use Sanctified in Flames without expending uses of your Channel Divinity.
- You can mark creatures with For Whom the Bell Tolls without expending uses of it.
- You gain resistance to necrotic damage.
Once you use this feature you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.