Oath of Martyrdom

The Oath of Martyrdom is a path for paladins who are not just willing to die for their beliefs, but are eager to do so. Martyrs believe there is no higher token of devotion than giving one's life for their cause, their death acting as a beacon to inspire others to take up arms against evil and injustice.

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Tenets of Martyrdom

Martyrs internalise their oaths more than any other type of paladin, giving themselves wholly to their fatalistic path.

Death is Not to be Feared. You throw yourself against overwhelming odds with joyful abandon, you know that if you fall against the enemies of light you will not be forgotten and your cause will only become stronger for it.

Put Others First. Your life is already forfeit, your own comfort is secondary to that of those around you, you are kind and charitable to a fault.

No Cause too Small. While you yearn for a glorious death you must not forget that the impact of your martyrdom is magnified by the good you do in life, helping others even when the task offers no danger to you is a vital part of the path of the Martyr.

Oath of Martyrdom Features

Paladin Level Feature 3rd Oath Spells, Channel Divinity 7th Aura of Sacrifice (10ft) 15th Glorious End 18th Aura of Sacrifice (30ft) 20th Faith's Vengeance

Oath Spells

You gain oath spells at the paladin levels listed in the Oath of Martyrdom spell table. See the Sacred Oath class feature for how oath spells work.

Oath of Martyrdom Spells

Paladin Level Spells 3rd compelled duel,divine favor 5th gentle repose, warding bond 9th create food and water, haste 13th aura of purity, guardian of faith 17th dawn, holy weapon

Channel Divinity

When you take this oath at third level you gain the following two Channel Divinity options.

Zealous Soul. As an action you can cause the wounds you take in battle to send you into a martial trance. For 1 minute, the first time you attack after taking damage you have advantage on that attack roll.

Flair of Faith As a reaction you can punish your foes for striking you down. When an attack reduces you to 0 hp you can use this channel divinity to deal damage equal to your paladin level to any number of creatures within 10 ft of you.

Aura of Sacrifice

Starting at 7th level whenever an ally within 10ft of you takes damage that damage is reduced by an amount equal to your charisma modifier (minimum 1) and you take the damage prevented in this way. In addition, when an ally within 10ft of you is reduced to 0hp as a reaction you may expend 5hp of your lay on hands health pool to immediately restore them to 1hp. This aura is only active while you are conscious.

At 18th level the range of this aura increases to 30ft

Glorious End

Starting at 15th level you do not drop unconcious when you are reduced to 0 hit points. You gain advantage on all attack rolls and saving throws, enemies within 30ft of you who target a character other than you with an attack do so with disadvantage. This effect lasts as long as there are enemies within line of sight. Once this feature activates it can't be used again until you complete a long rest.

Faith's Vengeance

At 20th level you have fully completed the path of the martyr and are awaiting a worthy foe to give your life fighting against. As an action, or when you drop to 0 health points, you can choose to die. When you die your spirit rises from your body as a shining beacon of glorious martyrdom, all friendly characters within 30ft of your spirit have advantage on attack rolls. Your attacks ignore all resistances and when you hit an enemy with an attack in this form you automatically score a critical hit. At the end of each of your turns, or when you would take damage, make a DC10 charisma saving throw to maintain your spiritual form, the DC of this throw increases by 5 for each turn you maintain this form. While in this form you also gain all the benefits of the Glorious End class feature. After the effects of this feature ends your spirit immediately enters an afterlife appropriate to your character's faith and you cannot be brought back to life by any means less than a Wish spell or divine intervention from a relevent deity.