Sacred Oath: Oath of the Weave

Many deities have worshipers who are paladins, promoting law, good, or their faith across Faerûn with divine might, but those who swear this oath draw additional strength from the Weave itself. They are most often known as Knights of the Weave, but also as swordmages, arcane defenders, or mage knights. They cherish the Weave like a fine wine, knowing that its existence enriches all of Azgaarnoth.

Nothing is more important to you than magic's continued existence. You likely worship a god whose portfolio includes magic, knowledge, wisdom, or mysticism--which includes a wide selection of deities--and serve your deity by guarding temples and questing for lost magical troves. Among those who focus on the protective disciplines of this oath--who often refer to it by the alternate name "the Oath of the Aegis" and prioritize personal loyalty and defense even above the wonders of the Weave itself--gods associated with loyalty and guardianship are favored.

Knights of the Weave are less likely to wear heavy armor than other paladins, but few eschew armor entirely. Although you study powerful magic, most of what you know relates to enhancing your fighting abilities and your place is in the thick of battle. You learn to transport yourself magically using the Weave, and teleportation can become one of your greatest tools for staying in the thick of the fight. Your power comes from pure magic, and eventually you develop increased ability to use magic, counter hostile magic, and defeat enemy spellcasters.

Tenets of the Weave

  • Learning and Lore. Knowledge is the flickering candle on the shore of an ocean of darkness. Keep that light burning, despite the rising tides of time and ignorance. Recover lost artifacts and magical items. Never stop learning.
  • Guardianship. Those who use magic for evil ends often prey upon the weak. If the choice is between harm coming to you or to the subject of your protection, you take the blow yourself.
  • Diligence. Train every day. Just as your blade requires sharpening before every battle, your magical and martial prowess must be honed by relentless practice. Magic is a supreme privilege, and should be approached with caution and respect.
  • Unbound Arcana. Magic manifests in countless incarnations. Go forth and seek them all. Learn from the old and devise the new; but whatever you do, explore magic in all its myriad wonders.

Oath Spells

You gain Oath Spells at the Paladin levels listed:

Paladin Level Spells
3rd detect magic, shield of faith
5th misty step, warding bond
9th thunder step
11th death ward, dimension door
17th steel wind strike, teleportation circle

Channel Divinity

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

  • Dweomerbreaker. When you use your Divine Smite feature, you can use your Channel Divinity as a bonus action to imbue that weapon with anti-magic energy bestowed by your deity. If the target takes damage from the attack, any spell that is on the target ends if it is of a level equal to or lower than the spell slot you expended for your Divine Smite.

  • Spellfire Shield. When you make a successful saving throw against a spell, or a spell attack misses you, as a reaction you can use your Channel Divinity to reflect the spell onto an enemy. Choose the spellcaster or another creature you can see within 30 feet. The spell targets the chosen creature instead of you. If the spell forced a saving throw, the chosen creature makes its own save. If the spell was an attack, the same attack roll is rerolled against that creature.

Arcane Cantrips

At 3rd level when you take this oath, choose one of the following cantrips: blade ward, challenger's mark, booming blade, echoing blow, frostwind blade, greenflame blade, lightning lure, looming shadow, punishing strike, resistance, or sword burst. You learn that cantrip in addition to your paladin spells. At 11th level, you learn one additional cantrip from the same list.

Aegis Aura

Starting at 7th level, you radiate an aura of arcane energy that allows you to counter attacks against your allies with cunning battle magic. Choose one of the following aura options: Assault, Ensnarement, or Shielding. When a creature besides yourself within 10 feet of you is hit by a melee attack, you can use your reaction to inflict one of the following effects on the attacker before the damage from the triggering attack is inflicted. The effect is determined by the aura option you chose, as follows: * Assault Aura: As a reaction, you teleport to an unoccupied space you can see within 5 feet of the attacker. You can then make a melee spell attack against the attacker as part of the same reaction. On a hit, this spell attack inflicts 2d4 radiant damage. * Ensnarement Aura: As a reaction, you make a melee spell attack against the attacker (even if they are out of reach). On a hit, this spell attack inflicts 2d4 psychic damage on the target, and it is pulled up to 10 feet in a straight line toward you. * Shielding Aura: As a reaction, you make a melee spell attack against the attacker (even if they are out of reach). On a hit, this spell attack inflicts 2d4 force damage and the target of the triggering attack gains temporary hit points equal to the force damage inflicted.

In addition, when you reach 9th level in your paladin class, you gain an additional 3rd-level oath spell depending on the aura option you chose for this feature, as follows: * Assault Aura: aegis of assault * Ensnarement Aura: aegis of ensnarement * Shielding Aura: aegis of shielding*

This spell is added to your oath spell list, and like your other oath spells, it is always prepared. At 18th level, the range of your Aegis Aura increases to 30 feet.

Swordmage's Swiftness

Starting at 15th level, you can expend 10 hit points from the pool of healing granted by your Lay on Hands to use a bonus action to cast a cantrip gained from your Arcane Favor feature that has a casting time of 1 action, changing the casting time to 1 bonus action for this casting.

One with the Weave

At 20th level, you can open up your mind and body to become one with the very substance of magic. As an action, you wreathe yourself in a maelstrom of spellfire. For one minute, you gain the following benefits: * Whenever you expend a spell slot of 3rd level or lower to cast one of your oath spells, you can expend 10 hit points from the pool of healing granted by your Lay on Hands feature to regain that spell slot. * Hostile creatures within 30 feet of you suffer disadvantage on opportunity attacks they make against your allies. * When you roll damage for a cantrip, you can reroll up to 4 of the damage dice. You must use the new rolls. * When you use your action to a cast a paladin spell, you can make one weapon attack as a bonus action.

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