Oath of the Ascetic

The holiest of warriors, paladins take up arms to fight injustice, tyranny, and wickedness. By swearing sacred oaths to the gods they serve, paladins gain a measure of divine power to aid them in their campaigns. Most churches described in this book have orders made up almost exclusively of paladins. The oaths these paladins swear align with how the order serves its patron deity.

The Oath of the Ascetic is a rejection of possessions and material wealth, positing such things lead only to temptation and corruption of the spirit. Ascetics live simply, embracing their poverty to better understand themselves and their devotion to their god. As noble and virtuous as other paladins, they strive to be examples to others, to live unimpeachable lives and devote themselves to helping others. Ascetics wear simple and unadorned armor, if they bother with it. When not fighting, they don simple clothing, looking like the commoners they fight to protect.

Tenets of Poverty

The Oath of the Ascetic liberates the paladin from temptations and encourages humility and virtue. It has four basic tenets

  • Humility: Be humble in all dealings with others. All are equal in the eyes of the gods.
  • Charity: Keep only what you need to survive and give all excess to those in need.
  • Temperance: Your body is a temple, so treat it as such. Eat and drink only what is needed to sustain you.
  • Courage: Do what must be done with enthusiasm and zeal, but have the wisdom to know when such action would be futile.

Oath Spells

You gain path spells at the paladin levels listed.

Table: Oath of the Ascetic Spells
Paladin Level Spells
3rd mage armor, purify food and drink
5th lesser restoration, warding bond
9th create food and water, mass healing word
13th aura of purity, freedom of movement
17th greater restoration, mass cure wounds

Channel Divinity

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

  • Armor of Faith: As an action, you can surround yourself in an invisible field of force using your Channel Divinity. For 1 minute, you add your Charisma modifier to your Armor Class and to all saving throws (minimum +1). In addition, you gain temporary hit points equal to your Charisma modifier + half your paladin level (minimum of 1 temporary hit point). The temporary hit points remain until lost or you use this Channel Divinity option again. If you fall unconscious, this effect ends.
  • Blessings of Courage: You can use your Channel Divinity to bestow a blessing onto an ally. As an action, one creature within 30 feet of you gains temporary hit points equal to your Charisma modifier + half your paladin level (minimum of 1 temporary hit point). While the creature has these temporary hit points, it has advantage on saving throws made to resist being frightened.

Aura of Sacrifice

Starting at 7th level, your selfless nature manifests as a palpable aura that protects people around you. Whenever a creature within 10 feet of you takes damage, you can choose to take some or all of that damage on behalf of that creature.

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

Temple of Flesh

Beginning at 15th level, you become as a living temple.

You cannot be physically scarred by any means. You are immune to petrification, poison, and any effect that would change your form. You no longer need to eat or drink, though you can do so if you wish. Finally, you appear to be at the prime of your life and do not physically age, though you still die when your time is up.

Embodiment of Virtue

At 20th level, you achieve a state of physical perfection that exemplifies the best qualities of your race. You permanently gain 20 hit points and when you spend a Hit Die to regain hit points, you always regain the maximum number of hit points. In addition, whenever you would make a saving throw using an ability other than Charisma, you can make a Charisma saving throw instead.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

The Book of the Righteous, Copyright 2002, 2017, Aaron Loeb