Oath of the Raven

The saying “no bad deed goes unpunished” exists in part thanks to the efforts of paladins who have taken this oath. Suspicious and inquisitive, they are more comfortable in the background than in the limelight.

Under the cover of night, they observe their enemies, identify weaknesses, and prepare their strategy.

Paladins who take this oath are most active in large towns, where lying low is of the essence and where it is sometimes necessary to take matters into one’s own hands when justice is too slow or corrupt. In many cities, such vigilantes are called Ravens. They are usually solitary individuals, bringing down criminals, working from the shadows without ever seeking glory, and avenging those who cannot defend themselves.

After fighting desperately alone for so much time, however, some of these paladins end up giving in to temptation and becoming what they abhor or so the tales go.

Tenets of the Raven

The principles of the raven are first and foremost practical. Evil cannot be left unpunished, and the means to such an end matter little. Every situation demands innovative solutions.

There are several paths to the same destination.

Guile may prevail where force is ineffective.

Strike as lightning. Do not warn your enemies of an upcoming fight. Put them down before they have the time to react.

The end justifies the means, as long as the end is just and the means do not involve even worse actions than those you are rising against.

Stare into the Abyss. Do not balk before the darkness of the world. Harden your soul, it will be all the stronger.

Oath Spells

You gain oath spells at the paladin levels listed.

Oath of the Raven Spells

Paladin Level	Spells
3rd	bane, disguise self
5th	darkvision, raven’s claws
9th	haste, nondetection
13th	confusion, hallucinatory terrain
17th	commune, teleportation circle

Channel Divinity

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

Furtive Aura. You can use your Channel Divinity to escape others’ notice. As a bonus action, you make your opponents forget about you until the end of your turn. You do not actually become invisible, but your enemies stop paying attention to you and you are considered to be hidden (see the Combat chapter). Creatures who can see the invisible can make a Wisdom saving throw to resist this effect.

Repel Evil. You can use your Channel Divinity to throw fear into the hearts of evil creatures.

As an action, you present your holy symbol and each enemy humanoid, fey, or fiend of Medium size or less and of evil alignment that can see you within 30 feet of you must make a Wisdom saving throw or be frightened of you for 1 minute.

The GM makes the saving throws in secret, and may even pretend to roll for enemies that are not evil, so as to nurture doubt concerning the alignment of unaffected creatures.

Shadow Vigilante

When you choose this archetype at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with the Investigation skill or with the Stealth skill. If you were already proficient in both of these skills, choose one: your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make that uses it.

Redirected Strike

Starting at 7th level, when a creature misses a melee attack against you, you can immediately use your reaction to redirect this attack against another creature of your choice within 5 feet of the initial attacker. The initial attacker rerolls the attack against the designated creature with disadvantage.

Exploit Weakness

Beginning at 15th level, you can analyze an opponent’s fighting style by watching it fight for at least two rounds. This requires no action on your part, but you can only analyze one creature at a time. Once the two rounds have elapsed, at the start of each of your subsequent turns, you can choose either to have advantage on your attacks against the analyzed creature or to give it disadvantage on its attacks against you. You can’t use this feature again until you finish a short or long rest.

Absolution in Darkness

At 20th level, you can generate an aura of darkness as an action. For 1 minute, the area within 30 feet of you is heavily obscured. A creature with darkvision can’t see through this darkness, and nonmagical light can’t illuminate it. You and up to four creatures that you designate can see normally in the darkness. Creatures of evil alignment inside the darkened area have disadvantage on Wisdom and Charisma saving throws. Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.

Also at 20th level, as a bonus action, you can make black wings sprout from your back, with no hindrance from your equipment. You gain a flying speed equal to your walking speed. The wings remain for an hour or until you dismiss them with a bonus action. You can use this feature even if you are wearing armor: though tangible and raven-like, these wings are magical.

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