The Oath of Forbearance is a promise none make easily. Impossibly loyal, Paladins who swear this oath find the light in the innocent and choose to sacrifice all sense of self to protect it, and not necessarily because they believe in principles of honor, courage, and justice. Those who swear this oath sacrifice much- some would say they give up a great deal more than other paladins. Sometimes called martyred blades or Hollow Knights on account of their willingness to accept pain, these paladins generally care not for law, order, or even practicality. Instead, the raw strength of their conviction grants them power to protect-some would say obsess- over that which they deem worthy of their protection.

TENETS OF THE FORBEARING

The tenets of the Oath of Forbearance are not set- oftentimes paladins simply find something to protect and live for, and swear whatever oaths they need to gain the conviction to do so. However, most tend to follow these guidelines:

Protect. Through your sacrifice, you ensure life and light.

Selflessness. When given the choice between yourself and what you shelter, you gladly choose what you shelter.

Triviality. In the grand scheme of life, pain and injury matter little when they're received on behalf of that which matters.

Permanence. You will gladly protect what needs protecting until the day you die, and if you can manage it, even after that.

Channel Divinity

When you take this oath at 3rd level, you gain the following two Channel Divinity options.

Unburden. You can use your Channel Divinity to invoke powerful forces to guard your allies. As an action, you can touch a willing creature that is friendly to you. For 1 minute, you suffer the damage from all attacks made against the target, as long as you can see the attack being made. This does not redirect damage from spells, but it does redirect damage from magical weapons. By channeling for one minute, you can extend the duration of this effect to one hour.

Relinquish. You can use your Channel Divinity to transmute your life force into pure energy for your friends. As an action, you may touch a target with your holy symbol. Your health is lowered to an amount equal to your paladin level, and the target may choose to either regain health equal to the amount you lost, or regain spell slots whose total levels equal up to half your paladin level. If your health is less than your paladin level, you instead drop to 1 hit point.

Oath Spells

You gain oath spells at the paladin levels listed.

Oath of Forbearance Spells

Aura of Temperance

Beginning at 7th level, self-sacrifice etches so heavily upon your soul that you shield your allies without thought. Half of all damage done to friendly creatures that are within 10ft is redirected to you, as long as you can see them.

At 18th level, the range of this aura increases to 30 feet.

Hollow Knight

Starting at 15th level, the pain you receive on behalf of your allies becomes your weapon against their enemies. For every 20 damage you take on behalf of your allies, a Pure Blade appears at your side, up a maximum of 4. These blades take the form of white spectral weapons that hover restlessly around you. They normally take the form of swords, but if the symbol of your deity is some other weapon, the Pure Blades take on that form instead. When you make the attack action, each of these blades strikes your target, dealing extra magical piercing damage equal to 1d4+your constitution modifier.

Knight's Watch

At 20th level, you can assume the form of an ancient and powerful icon of Temperance. Glowing white circles and lines encompass your skin, and your eyes glow an ethereal white color.

Using your action, you undergo a transformation. For 1 minute, you gain the following benefits:

You gain 60 temporary health. This disappears when the transformation does.

Your maximum number of Pure Blades increases to 6

Allies within your Aura of Salvation cannot drop below 1 hit point while you are conscious.

Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest. As this form is incredibly taxing, you must spend all of this long rest resting, and you can only be woken by magical means until the 8 hours have passed.