Themed Set - Oaths of the Apocalypse (Patreon)

"According to prophecy, the gods will send four horsemen to the Material Plane to signal the end of the worlds. Where most paladins follow a righteous path, we walk a darker one. We devote ourselves to these gods because at the end of the world, we can bring salvation to all mortals..."

-----

I like mythology and stories! Now that Wizards released the Oath of Conquest, I felt it was incomplete without the other three Horsemen of the Apocalypse. You can use these subclasses to play an evil Paladin devoted to various aspects of nihilism. Play an All-Apocalypse Four-Paladin party for the ultimate quest to end the world!

Note: In editions of the Bible, the Horseman of Conquest is replaced by Pestilence. I kept the Conquest Paladin (not shown here).

-----

The paladins receive a optional variants. The Horseman trait provides the Four Horsemen better control over mounted steeds (i.e. land vehicles), and the Unholy Smite variants allow Horsemen to deal damage more fitting to their Oath types.

Paladin Oaths usually follow an specific progression. Due to paladins' immense offensive power, their kits are generally defensive. Their 3rd level Channel Divinity feature generally provide one offensive and one defensive option; their 7th level feature usually provides a protective aura for allies within 10 feet; their 15th level feature usually provides defensive feature. Finally, their ultimate capstone generally provides an incredible transformation into an unstoppable powerhouse. The three new subclasses follow a similar design.

Oath of Death

This subclass primarily uses necromantic spells.

Both Channel Divinity options are variants of existing subclasses (Death Domain Cleric and Oath of Devotion). If it works, there's no need to change it!

The 7th level feature provides a protective aura similar to other paladins; this time it protects against an uncommon damage type.

Finally, like Oath of the Ancients paladin capstone, the Death Paladin avoids death by gaining hit points whenever succeed on a death save (The Ancients Paladin simply regains 10 hit points at the start of their turns, even if knocked unconscious).

Oath of Famine

These paladins primarily focus on weakening their enemies, which is reflected in their spell list.

One Channel Divinity option targets a common saving throw (Constitution), which is common.  The other is an inverse of the Conquest Paladin's Guided Strike, which allows for a single forced failure of a crucial saving throw.

The 7th level feature protects slightly from most melee attacks; by 18th level, this could include ranged attacks within 30 feet. Though this doesn't protect allies like other paladins, the relatively more powerful Channel Divinity makes up for it with offensive capability. Subtracting a straight number reduces the amount of dice rolled.

The 20th level capstone primarily weakens enemies and is especially effective against monsters that can attack multiple times. The speed reduction, combined with the ability to knock an enemy prone, makes for an equally devastating combination!

Oath of War

This paladin is similar to the Oath of Conquest.  Instead of focusing on fear, War Paladins focus on charming enemies and turning them against each other (hence "war").

The Flames of War Channel Divinity option is an alteration of Oath of Treachery. While powerful, it requires minor setup and deals a damage type resisted/immuned by many creatures.

The Turn the Enemy Channel Divinity option is similar to other options: a single common save with a devastating effect.

The 7th level feature has a few uses - from forcing an opportunity attack trigger or taking enemies further out of the fight away from allies.

The final capstone is designed to combo well with the paladin's other abilities. Imposing disadvantage on Wisdom saves can ensure the enemies fail crucial saves, and dealing maximum fire damage ensures any Unholy Smites or Flames of War Channel Divinity options become exceptionally powerful.

-----

Disclaimer: This is unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Fan Content Policy. Not approved or endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the materials used are property of the Wizards of the Coast