Oath of Justice

The Oath of Justice is a commitment not to the tenets of good or evil but a holy vow sworn to uphold the laws of a nation, a city, or even a tiny village. When lawlessness threatens the peace, those who swear to uphold the Oath of Justice intervene to maintain order, for if order falls to lawlessness, it is only a matter of time before all of civilization collapses into anarchy.

While many young paladins take this oath to protect their country and the people close to them from criminals, some older adherents to this oath know that what is just is not necessarily what is right.

Tenets of Justice

All paladins of justice uphold the law in some capacity, but their oath differs depending on their station. A paladin who serves a queen upholds slightly different tenets than one who serves a small town.

Uphold the Law. The law represents the triumph of civilization over the untamed wilds. It must be preserved at all costs.

Punishment Fits the Crime. The severity of justice acts in equal measure to the severity of a wrongdoer’s transgressions.

Oath Spells

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

Oath of Justice Spells

Paladin Level	Spells
3rd	Color spray, guiding bolt
5th	Locate object, zone of truth
9th	Lightning bolt, slow
13th	Faithful hound, locate creature
17th	Arcane hand, hold monster

Channel Divinity

When you take this oath at 3rd level, you gain the following two Channel Divinity options. See the Sacred Oath class feature for how Channel Divinity works.

Tether of Righteousness. You can use your Channel Divinity to bind your target to you. As an action, you extend a line of energy toward a creature you can see within 30 feet of you. That creature must make a Dexterity saving throw. On a failure, it is tethered and can’t move more than 30 feet away from you for 1 minute. While tethered, the target takes lightning damage equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1) at the end of each of its turns. You can use an action to make a Strength (Athletics) check opposed by the tethered creature’s Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check (the creature’s choice).

On a success, you can pull the creature up to 15 feet in a straight line toward you. As an action, the tethered creature can make a Strength check against your spell save DC. On a success, it breaks the tether.

Justicar’s Celerity. You can use your Channel Divinity to respond to danger with lightning speed. When a creature that you can see is attacked, you can move up to your speed as a reaction. If you end your movement within 5 feet of the attacker, you can make one melee attack against it as part of this reaction.

If you end your movement within 5 feet of the target of the attack, you can become the target of the attack instead as part of this reaction.

Disciplined Pursuant

At 7th level, you can bend the laws of magic to parallel the laws of civilization. When you reduce a creature to 0 hit points with a spell or Divine Smite, you can choose to knock out the creature instead of killing it.

The creature falls unconscious and is stable. In addition, once per turn when you deal radiant damage to a creature, you can force it to make a Constitution saving throw. On a failure, its speed is halved until the end of its next turn. If you deal radiant damage to more than one creature, you can choose only one creature to be affected by this feature.

Shackles of Light

Starting at 15th level, once per turn when you deal radiant damage to a creature, it must make a Constitution saving throw. On a failure, it is restrained by golden, spectral chains until the end of its next turn. If you deal radiant damage to more than one creature, you can choose only one such creature to be affected by this feature. The target of this feature can be different from the target of your Disciplined Pursuant feature.

Avatar of Perfect Order

At 20th level, you can take on the appearance of justice itself. As an action, you become wreathed in a garment of cold light. For 1 minute, you benefit from the following effects:

• You are immune to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage.
• You can use your Justicar’s Celerity feature without expending a use of Channel Divinity.
• When a creature you can see takes the Attack or Cast a Spell action, you can use your reaction to force it to make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, it must take a different action of your choice instead.

Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.