Oath of the Custodian

The Oath of the Custodian binds the paladin to ideals of honesty, restraint, and self-sacrifice. These warriors are often from modest backgrounds, having sworn to protect a person or a group, usually as a result of a deeply humbling experience. Sometimes those who take the Oath of the Custodian do not do so in zeal, but nonetheless find themselves imbued with divine power by some deity that regards their ward favorably. As such they are often less devout than other paladins. Either way, they might, for example, become a personal bodyguard, the leader of a neighborhood, or the captain of a castle guard. They shun taking up arms in offense except in dire sircumstances. When they do, they are a sight to behold in battle, launching themselves into blows to defend their companions. They despise trickery and dishonesty, especially in the zealous or of the arcane variety. All those who take the Oath of the Custodian carry a shield, but few don the expensive plate armor often seen on other paladins.

Tenets of Devotion

The tenets of the Oath of the Custodian vary in nature, but the base motivation for all paladins who swear it is a wish to protect. They generally emphasize the following tenets.

Benevolent. Protect your allies first, destroy your enemies second, but always try for the peaceful option. Your greatest weapon is the shield.

Tempered. Be good, not pious. Those in need require help and protection, not empty prayers. The Gods will reward actions, not revelry.

Austeere. Do not seek greatness other than that of character. Use what you have to better the world. Your laurels are those of valor, not gold.

Sanctioned. Do not let rules set by strangers govern your choices. You know what is best for those under your protection.

Forthright. Reveal dishonesty and deception wherever it might be, and never exercise such trickery yourself. Shine light on those who stalk in the shadows.

Oath Spells

You gain oath spells at the paladin levels listed.

Paladin Level Spells 3rd shield of faith, detect magic 5th see invisibility, zone of truth 9th crusader's mantle, daylight 13th aura of purity, dispel magic 17th wall of force, circle of power

Bound Protector

When you take this oath at 3rd level, you must choose a person, creature, or group (discuss with your DM) to be your Ward. You cannot chose a Player Character to be your Ward. As long as you are within 10 feet of your Ward, it may use your shield's AC bonus as long as your are also benefiting from it.

If your Ward dies, is gravely wounded or you otherwise fail to protect it, your DM might decide that you have broken your paladin Oath.

Channel Divinity

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

Retaliating Strike. You can use your Channel Divinity to retaliate against those who use violence. As a bonus action, chose an enemy within 10 feet of you. If that enemy dealt damage with an attack against one creature other than you on its last turn, your next attack against that enemy deals extra radiant damage equal to the damage it dealt. If the ally was also your Ward, the extra radiant damage is doubled.

Expose the Wicked. You can use your Channel Divinity to magically learn of cruel intentions. As an action, choose a number of creatures equal to your Charisma modifier (a minimum of one) that you can see within 30 feet. If the creature you choose has an Intelligence of 3 or lower or doesn't speak any Language, the creature is unaffected.

Each target must make a Wisdom saving throw. If any fail, you learn whether that creature intends you or your Ward harm, mental or physical. You do not learn when or how it will harm you, or the nature of the hostility, or any other additional information. On a succesful save, the creature knows that you have probed its mind, and you learn no new information.

Selfless Aegis

Starting at 7th level, you can summon divine wards to take blows for your allies. As a reaction when an ally within 10 feet is targeted by an attack or spell, you force the attack to be made against you instead, even if you are normally outside the maximum range of the attack or spell.

Natural Bulwark

Starting at 15th level, your resolve let's you shrug of the mightiest of blows. As a free action, whenever you would take more than half your current hit points as damage, you may gain Resistance to that type of damage until the end of your next round.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Constitution modifier (a minimum of one), regaining all spent uses on finishing a long rest.

Grand Custodian

At 20th level, as a free action, you can become the perfect protector, revealing the obscured and suppressing enemy attacks. For 5 minutes, you gain the following benefits:

Your equipment and eyes radiate with holy force, shining bright light around you for 30 feet, and dim light an additional 30 feet.

You can use your Selfless Aegis ability as a free action if the target is also the target of your Bound Protector ability.

This effect ends early if you are incapacitated or die. Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.