Oath of the Celesai

Paladins who take the Oath of the Celesai seek to protect the doctrines of their deity and the integrity of their church and its officials at all costs. They are an order of holy warriors who operate covertly while hunting down corruption in their ranks or while working to defeat those enemies who would target their church directly. They are paladins first and foremost, but they will act as inquisitors and even as assassins when their duties call for such action.

The Oath of the Celesai is a sacred and powerful secret order within many churches who exist solely to protect the houses and the followers of their deities from internal or external forces that would seek to twist or degrade them.

They operate in secret, seeking to root out unscrupulous bishops or any in power who use the name of their deity to commit unseemly acts and remove them by any means that they deem necessary. Rarely are they recognized as the paladins that they are, and most seek to obfuscate their true abilities and intentions while in the field. They may travel with a band of heroes for years under the guise of a skillful ranger, a charismatic bard, or any other face that allows them to infiltrate the groups and areas they need without giving away their cover. To swear the Oath of the Celesai is to sacrifice your life and true identity to the cause of maintaining your deity’s purity and true purpose.

Tenets of the Celesai

The tenets of the Oath of the Celesai are as old as the religions they’re a part of, though no one knows the order’s true origins. This oath varies slightly from church to church, but above all, they emphasize the following tenets.

  • Guard the Word. Know the words and intentions of your deity and guard them against corruption and misuse.
  • Guard the Flock. Protect the followers of your deity and guard them against those who would cause physical or spiritual harm.
  • Guard the House. Defend the church at all costs from those who would seek to degrade or destroy it, either from within and without.

Oath Spells

You gain oath spells at the paladin levels listed.

Oath of the Celesai Spells
Paladin Level Spells
5th detect thoughts, misty step
13th arcane eye, locate creature

Channel Divinity: Celestial Versatility

You can use your channel divinity to tackle any task that your deity sets before you. As a bonus action, you may select any one skill or tool. For the next 10 minutes, you become proficient in that skill or tool and you use your Charisma in place of its usual ability modifier.

Channel Divinity: Exalted Surprise

Your deity allows you to momentarily cloak your intentions, giving you the edge needed to fight or flee. When you roll initiative, you may use your channel divinity force each creature of your choice that you can see within 30 feet of you to make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the creature is surprised by you and has disadvantage on their next initiative roll.

Aura of Hindrance

Starting at 7th level, your deity impedes those who would halt your celestial duties. While you are conscious, hostile creatures within 10 feet of you have disadvantage on their first attack roll of each turn.

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

Hand of the Divine

Starting at 15th level, you are adept at damaging the spiritually corrupt. Any successful melee attack that you make on a surprised creature is a critical hit.

Celesai Exemplar

At 20th level, you gain the blessings necessary to fully protect your church from the unscrupulous. As an action, you become the earthly representation of your deity, gaining the following benefits for 1 minute:

  • You automatically succeed on all Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving throws.
  • Hostile creatures within 30 feet of you can not take the Dash or Disengage actions.
  • Your melee weapon attacks do an additional 2 dice of damage on a critical hit.

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

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Sacred Oath: Oath of the Celesai Copyright 2019, Underground Oracle Publishing; authors Jess Pendley and Keith Pendley

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