Oath of Radiance

The Oath of Radiance is a beacon in the night, burning away the corruption of shadow and undeath. Radiant paladins are bold and brash, abhorring stealth and grandly striding into battle against the forces of darkness. Paladins of the Oath of Radiance are overwhelmingly good-aligned, and most are lawful. Some reject the rigid nature of knightly orders for the life of a knight errant. Though still nearly universally good, these wayward paladins are more neutral than lawful, and they use their relative freedom to bring their light to bear as they deem it necessary.

Tenets of Radiance

Paladins who swear the Oath of Radiance devote themselves to fighting the insidious powers that darken mortal hearts and against the undead that extinguish the light of life and replace it with hungry darkness. Most important, they take it upon themselves to rescue those corrupted by shadow or undead influence. They will spare mortal foes held in the thrall of darkness in the hope that such creatures can be redeemed.

  • Cleanse Corruption. I will burn out all creatures born of darkness, showing no pity or mercy. I will not suffer the company of dark creatures, save those taken in by darkness whom I might redeem.
  • Lead with Light. I stand open and courageous in the face of battle and will be the last of my companions to quit the field, just as the last ray of sun leaves the day.
  • Preserve the Righteous. I will defend those who labor and live in fear of shadow. I will shield them from harm and keep the light upon them.
  • Redeem the Beguiled. Those tempted into the service of darkness may yet be saved, and I will do everything in my power to bring them back to the light. I will be discerning in offering this mercy, but the redemption of the corrupted is paramount.
  • Remain Pure. I will never yield to the lies of darkness or suffer corruption to take me. I will cleanse myself of dark taint or die before threatening those I defend.

Oath Spells

You gain oath spells at the paladin levels listed.

Oath of Radiance Spells
Paladin Level Spells
3rd guiding bolt, protection from evil and good
5th magic weapon, scorching ray
9th beacon of hope, daylight
13th fire shield, inspiring speech
17th greater restoration, sun’s bounty

Channel Divinity

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

Dawn’s Radiance. As an action, you present your holy symbol or a melee weapon, and it flares with the radiance of the newly risen sun. Magical darkness within 20 feet of you is dispelled. Thereafter, the object continues to shine for 1 hour or until you lose possession of it. The object sheds bright light out to 20 feet and dim light for an additional 20 feet.

An undead creature, a creature native to the plane of shadow, or any creature harmed by sunlight (such as a creature with the Sunlight Sensitivity feature) suffers pain and disorientation when bathed in this radiance. The creature has disadvantage on attack rolls and on Dexterity (Stealth) and Wisdom (Perception) checks while it, the target of its attack, or anything it is trying to perceive is in the bright light shed by the holy symbol or weapon.

Turn the Corrupted. As an action, you present your holy symbol and speak a prayer against the corruptive power of death and shadow, using your Channel Divinity.

Each undead or creature native to the plane of shadow that is within 30 feet of you and that can see or hear you must make a successful Wisdom saving throw or be turned for 1 minute or until it takes damage.

Aura of Resolve

Beginning at 7th level, you and your allies within 10 feet of you have advantage on saving throws against spells and effects created by undead creatures and by creatures native to the plane of shadow. This benefit lasts until someone fails a saving throw that was made with advantage because of your Aura of Resolve. Once that happens, you must finish a short or long rest before you can use this feature again.

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

Soul of Light

Starting at 15th level, you have resistance to necrotic damage, and your ability scores and hit point maximum can’t be reduced by any effect.

Radiant Champion

At 20th level, as an action, you can suffuse your being with divine radiance that brings life and burns away dark corruption. For 1 minute, you gain the following benefits:

  • At the start of each of your turns, you regain 10 hit points.
  • Once on your turn when you hit an undead creature or a creature native to the plane of shadow, it must make a successful Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC or be incapacitated until the end of its next turn.
  • An undead creature or a creature native to the plane of shadow that touches you or hits you with a melee attack from 5 feet away takes 2d8 radiant damage.

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

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Deep Magic for 5th Edition (c) 2020 Open Design LLC; Authors: Dan Dillon, Chris Harris, and Jeff Lee.

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