The First Paladins
Paladins are known as holy knights wearing shiny plate armor, riding on noble steeds into battle, fighting for law, the general good - or in some cases for darker powers. However, the concept of a warrior who draws their powers from a sacred oath or diety is much older than that. Long before the art of metalworking was discovered, when primeval forests covered the lands, some tribal warriors were already performing sacred rituals and prayers to deities they believed in or to nature itself, vowing to fight for their tribe, to guard the forest they called their home or to hunt down evil and dangerous creatures. Some of these ancient traditions have survived to this day in remote parts of the world where people still live like they lived when the world was young, following ancient druidic and shamanistic traditions.
Oath of the Wild Hunt
A pack of wild elves with spears, hidden in some trees, observes a cave entrance, ready to pounce at the dragon as soon as it gets into view. "The hunt is over" a human with claw-like hands and skin covered in tribal tattoos says, while using a an axe made from sharpened bone to cut the horns off a slain demon.
The Oath of the Hunt can be seen as one of the first dedications of warriors resembling what today is known as a sacred oath. These warrios have dedicated their lives to the oldest challenge mortals can think of - the hunt.
Once popular amongst tribal warriors, with the advancement of civilication and thus a decline of tribal lifestyles, paladins who follow the Oath of the Wild Hunt nowadays are very rare to find, with the wild elves of the forest of Erynmor probably being the most prevalent. Paladins following this oath usually live with their tribes deep within ancient forests, away from civilication, following ancient traditions and worshipping long-forgotten deities of nature and the wilderness, and it is not uncommon for them to be part of old druidic or shamanistic circles.
They are untamed, wild, barbaric warriors with the blood of wild beasts flowing in their veins, often only clad in simple hide or leather armor, and fighting with basic weapons. They are relentless and don't give up until they have slain their prey - the hunt is more than just a challenge for them, their dedication to the hunt and their connection to nature is what gives them their magical abilities, and only successful hunters, so they believe, are allowed to enter the happy hunting grounds.
Tenets of the Wild Hunt
The tenets of the Oath of the Wild Hunt date back to the first mortals on this world, the first ones who took up the challenge of the hunt. They embrace the basic principles of survival in the wilderness combined with strict rules to ensure that the hunters, as followers of this oath are known, always see nature itself as their ally and not as prey that has to be slain.
Slay with Purpose. A hunter does not slaughter for sport. They only slay with a good reason. The hunt is a challenge to survive, not a challenge for enjoyment.
Strike swiftly and deadly. A hunter doesn't let their prey suffer. They wait for the right moment and then strike swiftly with deadly precision and ferocity.
Don't let your Prey run. Failure is not an option. Even if a hunter fails to slay their prey on the first try, they don't give up. They chase it down, until they can strike it again.
Be one with Nature. A hunter should respect nature and be as close to it as possible. They live in the wilderness, prefer materials found in nature for their armor and weaponry, and they usually identify themselves with certain predatory animals they even can manifest aspects of. Scavenge your Prey. A hunter scavenges their slain prey. It might have been an evil monster or just a bandit, but now it provides nourishment and useful materials that must not go to waste.
Oath Spells
You gain the following oath spells at the paladin levels listed.
| Paladin Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 3rd | zephyr strike, hunter's mark |
| 5th | pass without trace, see invisibility |
| 9th | nondetection, haste |
| 13th | freedom of movement, guardian of nature |
| 17th | commune with nature, hold monster |
Channel Divinity
When you take this oath at 3rd level, you gain the following two Channel Divinity options.
Wild Chase.
Your prey is on the run from you, and your allies and you try to chase it down, knowing that giving up is no option. As an action, you can use your channel divinity to grant your allies and yourself the speed and will necessary to catch up. You and a number of creatures equal to your proficiency bonus can, for the next 10 minutes, take the dash action as a bonus action on each of their turns and gain a climbing and swimming speed equal to their movement speed.
In addition, for the duration, you and the chosen creatures have advantage on saving throws against exhaustion caused by consecutive dashes during a chase.
Hunter's Prowl.
You know your prey's rough location, now it is time to sneak up on it and to prepare yourself until the right time to unleash your deadly strikes comes. As an action, you can use your channel divinity to grant yourself advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks, on Dexterity (Stealth) checks and on initiative rolls for the next 10 minutes or until you hit a creature with a weapon attack; if you do so, that creature takes additional damage of your weapon's type equal to 2d8 plus your level in this class.
Aura of Untamed Wilderness
At 7th level, you emanate an aura of primal ferocity, an aura that allows you and your allies to become one with nature to sneak up to your prey like a pack of hungry wolves, silently, swiftly and undetected. You and any creature of your choice that starts its turn within 10 feet of you have their movement speed increased by 10 feet, ignore nonmagical difficult terrain and can hide even if only lightly obscured by foliage, heavy rain, falling snow, mist, and other natural phenomena.
At 18th level, the range of this aura increases to 30 feet.
Deadly Pounce
At 15th level, you have learned to pounce at your unsuspecting prey from the shadows, striking it with deadly precision and primal strength. On your first turn of each combat, if you move at least 10 feet in a straight line and then hit a creature with a melee weapon attack on the same turn, you can force the target to make a Strength saving throw against your spell save DC or be knocked prone. If the creature is knocked prone, you can make an additional attack against it as part of your action.
Hunter's Sense
Also at 15th level, whenever you finish a long rest, choose two types of creatures you want to hunt down: aberrations, beasts, constructs, dragons, elementals, fey, giants, monstrosities, oozes, or plants. Alternatively, you can select two races of humanoid (such as gnolls and orcs). When you use your Divine Sense feature, you can detect creatures of the selected types in addition to celestials, fiends and undead, which you can always detect.
Aspect of the Hunt
At 20th level, your dedication and ferocity, your inner beast has grown strong enough to allow you to fully embrace the wild hunt. As a bonus action, you can transform into an aspect of the hunt and gain the following benefits for 1 minute:
- You always know the exact location of any creature of a type you can detect with your Divine Sense feature within 60 feet of you.
- You can take the hide action as a bonus action on each of your turns.
- When you target a creature with an attack, you do not provoke attacks of opportunity from it until the end of the turn.
- Your weapon attacks score a critical hit on a roll of 19 or 20 on the d20.
- You gain resistance to bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage from nonmagical weapons.
Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest, unless you expend a 5th-level spell slot to use it again.
Oath of the Beast
With a howl, the muuscle-packed elven warrior starts transforming, his hands grow into sharp claws and where his elven face was there is now the maw of a hungry wolf - and having heard the howl, a pack of dire wolves joins the hunt. A pack of tigers is prowling through the thicket, getting into position to pounce on a mighty fiend and the cultists who summoned it, ripping them apart within seconds. As they are finished, they slowly transform back into a pack of tribal warriors.
The beast-blood is flowing strong in the veins of some hunters - so strong that they are able to take on the form of great beasts. Some call it a curse, but those who have given themselves to the beast-blood say it is a blessing. A blessing that makes them stronger, wilder, more durable, that heightens their senses and lets them hunt like, so they say, nature intended beings to hunt. These paladins follow very similar tenets as other hunters, and it is not uncommon for paladins of these two oaths to hunt together.
Oath Spells
| Paladin Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 3rd | entangle, hunter's mark |
| 5th | pass without trace, summon beast |
| 9th | conjure animals, plant growth |
| 13th | freedom of movement, guardian of nature |
| 17th | wrath of nature, hold monster |
Channel Divinity
When you take this oath at 3rd level, you gain the following two Channel Divinity options.
Fury of the Beast. As a bonus action, you can use your channel divinity to unleash the bestial fury within you. For one hour, you partially assume the form of a great beast. While in this form, you have advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks relying on hearing and smell, your choice of a climbing or a swimming speed equal to your walking speed and you manifest a deadly natural weapon, either claws, a fanged maw or something else. This weapon counts as a simple melee weapon for you and deals 1d12 magical slashing or piercing damage on a hit. In addition, a creature hit by an attack made with this weapon cannot regain hit points until the start of your next turn.
Inspiring Howl. As an action on your turn you can use your channel divinity to unleash a mighty howl or roar, awakening the spirit of the hunt and the lust for blood within your companions. Choose a number of creatures within 30 feet of you other than yourself equal to your proficiency bonus. Provided it can hear you, each of these creatures gains temporary hit points equal to 2d8 plus your level in this class and can use its reaction to move up to its speed and to make a weapon attack.
Aura of the Pack
At level 7, you eminate an aura of primal ferocity, of beastly wilderness and primal strength. You and your allies can feel that you aren't just adventurers who happen to fight on the same side, you are hunting together like a pack of wolves. You and your allies within 10 feet of you have advantage on Strength checks and Strength saving throws. In addition, when an ally within 10 feet of you makes a weapon attack, you can use your reaction to grant them advantage on the attack roll.
At 18th level, the range of this aura increases to 30 feet.
Predator's Feast
At level 15, you have become an embodiment of primal fury and hunger. When you slay a creature with a weapon attack on your turn while you are missing half or more of your hit points, you can immediately start feasting on its corpse as a bonus action. When you do so, you regain hit points equal to your Constitution modifier. You can also spend points from your Lay On Hands pool to increase the amount of healing you receive. All creatures of your choice within 30 feet of you that can see you must make a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC or be frightened until the end of your next turn. You can use this ability a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus and regain all uses when you finish a long rest.
Blood Moon
At 20th level, the beast in you has grown strong. As a bonus action, can fully embrace the beast within yourself, transforming into a ferocious predator with an insatiable thirst for blood.
- Your size is Large, and you can roll an additional weapon damage die when determining the damage for a hit with a melee weapon attack.
- You have advantage on an attack roll against a creature that is missing half or more of its hit points.
- Once on each of your turns, if you move at least 20 feet in a straight line and then hit a creature with your natural weapon on the same turn, you can force the target to make a Strength saving throw against your spell save DC or be knocked prone.
- When you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack on your turn, you can attempt to grapple it as a bonus action.
- You gain resistance to bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage from nonmagical weapons.
Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest, unless you expend a 5th-level spell slot to use it again.