Sacred Oath: Oath of the Abyss
The Oath of the Abyss is a curse, a journey that leads to one of two possible destinations -- salvation or perdition. Paladins who follow this oath walk the thin line that separates light from dark, hope from desperation, and sanity from madness. Unlike other paladins, they are tempted by evil against their will. This lure often stems from places of unspeakable horror, such as the corrupted layers of the Abyss or the distorted Shadowfell. Bearers of the curse are constantly at war with themselves, trying their utmost not to succumb to their inner demons which lurk in every thought, waiting to spring into existence and oppress their host. On their quest to eventual bliss, they ally with good-hearted souls in the hopes of finding strength through happiness and shared sorrow.
Tenets of the Abyss
As its forsaken followers wander on the edge of darkness, the tenets of the Oath of the Abyss are righteous at heart. Tenacious in the face of evil, these paladins slowly fall victim to their own cause.
- Camaraderie. I never let down a companion in need. Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light.
- Fortitude. I must withstand the lure of evil and its children with all my might, for my downfall is the seed of destruction.
- Salvation. I am a pilgrim of hope. And may my journey lead me deep into darkness, my sins will be forgiven at last.
Oath Spells
You gain oath spells at the paladin levels listed.
Oath of the Abyss Spells
| Paladin Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 3rd | arms of hadar, shield of faith |
| 5th | darkness, warding bond |
| 9th | beacon of hope, magic circle |
| 13th | death ward, fire shield |
| 17th | commune, destructive wave |
Channel Divinity
When you take this oath at 3rd level, you gain the following two Channel Divinity options.
Channel Divinity: Chant of the Deep. As an action, you present your holy symbol and intone a mesmerizing chant for 1 minute, using your Channel Divinity. The effect ends early if you don't immediately use your action at the start of each of your subsequent turns to maintain it, if you can't speak, if you talk or cast a spell with verbal components, or if you lose concentration (as if concentrating on a spell).
Any creature that starts its turn within 60 feet of you and can hear you for the first time during the effect must make a Wisdom saving throw. When you use this feature, you can exclude any creatures you can see from the effect. On a failed save, a creature is frightened of you until the effect ends. While frightened in this way, its speed is halved, and it has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks if it can hear you. The creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns if it is more than 60 feet away from you and can't hear you. On a successful save, the effect on the creature ends.
Channel Divinity: Eclipse. Using your Channel Divinity as an action, you briefly succumb to your inner darkness and gain great power in return. For 1 minute, any radiant damage that you deal becomes necrotic damage instead and ignores resistance to necrotic damage. Additionally, when you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack, the target and each creature within 5 feet of it other than you take necrotic damage equal to your Charisma modifier (with a minimum bonus of +1). However, you have disadvantage on Wisdom saving throws against spells and other effects created by fiends or undead.
You can use your action to end this effect early if you aren't charmed by fiends or undead. The effect also ends if you are incapacitated.
Aura of the Unbroken
Beginning at 7th level, other allied creatures within 10 feet of you gain temporary hit points equal to your Charisma modifier at the start of their turn while you are conscious.
At 18th level, the range of this aura increases to 30 feet.
Accursed Pilgrim
Starting at 15th level, the advancing corruption of your soul grants your physical form unnatural benefits. You gain immunity to necrotic damage. Whenever you are subjected to necrotic damage, you take no damage and instead regain a number of hit points equal to the necrotic damage dealt.
Additionally, you count as a fiend or undead (your choice) with regard to spells and other magical effects that detect the chosen creature type. Your choice is permanent.
Hour of Darkness
At 20th level, you can abandon yourself entirely to the corrupting gloom that digs its claws into your soul, taking on an appearance you choose that reflects the chosen creature type of your Accursed Pilgrim feature. For example, you might grow demonic horns or blackish fur as a fiend, and ghastly skin or lifeless eyes as an undead. The choice of your appearance is permanent for this feature.
Using your action, you undergo a transformation. For 1 hour, you count as both a humanoid and the creature type you represent, and you gain the following benefits:
- You are immune to poison, and you have resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks.
- You have darkvision out to a range of 120 feet, penetrating both magical and nonmagical darkness.
- Whenever a hostile creature starts its turn within 10 feet of you, it takes psychic damage equal to your Charisma modifier.
The effect ends early if you fall unconscious or die. Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.