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View Full Version : D&D 5e/Next My Version of the Oath of the Weave [Paladin Subclass]



Amechra
2015-01-13, 01:18 PM
pibby wrote up their version of the Oath of the Weave here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?392698-Paladin-Subclass-Oath-of-the-Weave) - I ended up being a bit inspired by it.

One thing I'm unsure about is Dispelling Smite; should I change it to something based around Counterspell instead of Dispel Magic?



Oath of the Weave

The Oath of the Weave is simple, and direct - the Paladin views magic as a (literal) gift from the Gods, and has therefor pledged to punish those that would use this gift for evil purposes. Whether they are liches unnaturally extending their lives, Clerics of Death poisoning rivers, or simply a Sorcerer who is too indiscriminate when casting their Fireballs, those who have taken the Oath see it as their responsibility to stop them.

Tenets of the Weave

Magic is Sacred: Magic is from the Gods, and is a tribute to the Gods - since every spell is a prayer, they should only be dedicated to good deeds. To use magic irresponsibly is sinful.

Oath Spells:

3rd - Mage Armor, Magic Missile
5th - Enhance Ability, Phantasmal Force
9th - Counterspell, Dispel Magic
13th - Arcane Eye, Dimension Door
17th - Legend Lore, Scrying

Channel Divinity
When you take this oath at 3rd level, you gain the following two Channel Divinity options.
Divine Counterspell: As a reaction, you may show a holy symbol and use your Channel Divinity to duplicate the effects of Counterspell; however, you do not automatically counterspell spells of any level, instead requiring an ability check regardless of the spell's level.
Read the Weave: You may use your Channel Divinity to directly draw magical inspiration from the Weave, temporarily giving yourself a minor magical advantage - doing so allows you to use any one Cantrip from the Sorcerer spell list. After using this Cantrip, you are considered to have learned it for the next minute; once that minute is up, you forget it.

Aura of Spellarmor
Beginning at 7th level, you've learned to draw the Weave over you and your allies as a protective cloak. Spell attacks made against you or a friendly creature within 10ft have Disadvantage on their attack roll.
At 18th level, the range of this aura increases to 30ft.

Witch Hammer
Starting at 15th level, Cantrips learned through Read the Weave last until you finish a short rest. In addition, you treat spell attacks made as part of a Cantrip as if they were melee weapon attacks for the purposes of Divine Smite; however, you do not gain any of the benefits of Improved Divine Smite when Smiting with a Cantrip.

The Champion Arcane
At 20th level, you can adopt the mantle of the Champion Arcane, taking on an appearance of your choice that reflects raw arcane power. For example, you could be surrounded by glowing mantles of pure magic, your hands could drip runes of power, or your eyes and mouth could be filled with mystical light.
Using your action, you undergo a transformation. For one minute, you gain the following benefits:
• You have Advantage on all ability checks made as part of a spell or your Channel Divinity.
• You treat all of your spell slots as if they were one level higher; for example, a spell cast out of a 3rd level spell slot would benefit as if it were cast out of a 4th level spell slot.
• You treat all spell attacks as if they were melee weapon attacks for the purposes of Divine Smite and Improved Divine Smite.
Once you have used this transformation, you cannot do so again until you have completed a long rest.

pibby
2015-01-13, 04:19 PM
I think you've got quite the interesting take on the subclass Amechra. I placed a link to your thread on mine as well as you had inspired me to rewrite some of the class features I presented :D

Concerning Dispelling Smite, the paladin or player may not know the level of a spell that's affecting a creature; not having enough game mastery can punish the player unjustly. So I would say that perhaps you base Dispelling Smite on Dispel Magic. If it were me, I would have the automatic dispelling effect based on the character's highest paladin spell level that he can cast as opposed to spending a Smite.

I'm also a bit concerned about Witch Hammer since it becomes useless if you don't use Read the Weave or have a cantrip from another source. Otherwise, it lets the Paladin outdo a caster's Potent Cantrip and rivals ranged damage against classes that are designed to primarily act in ranged combat which the Paladin traditionally does not do. If that's what you're going for however, just keep that in mind.

Amechra
2015-01-13, 04:40 PM
I might go ahead and scrap Dispelling Smite, replacing it with something based off of Counterspell. It seems simpler and more Weave-y.

As for Witch Hammer... it's supposed to build off of Read the Weave, so it being useless without it is kinda within the intention; it already supercharges the duration of Read the weave for just that purpose. I might dial it back so that Improved Divine Smite doesn't affect Cantrips until you get the OMFG boost from Champion Arcane; +1d8 damage on all Cantrips plus 1d8 + Smite damage is a bit much.

As for being better than dedicated ranged attackers... the only real dedicated ranged attackers are Rangers, Sorcerers, and Warlocks, with Fighters and Wizards sometimes dipping into that role. Even with Witch Hammer, Paladins get no Combat Styles that improve ranged attacks, no spells that boost their ranged attacks, and no ranged blasting spells.

I'll nerf Witch Hammer (because it's a bit of a big boost), but that's only because I overcompensated for how late it comes in.

pibby
2015-01-13, 04:57 PM
Paladins get no spells that boost their ranged attacks

As a fun bit of trivia, the Paladin technically does have a way to boost their ranged attacks outside of what their Oath Spells may give them: Branding Smite. It's the only smite that says it goes off of a weapon attack and not specifically a melee weapon attack. But ya, I hope someone eventually makes a Divine Hunter (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/paladin/archetypes/paizo---paladin-archetypes/divine-hunter) or Holy Gun (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/paladin/archetypes/paizo---paladin-archetypes/holy-gun) Paladin subclass. WotC expects you to be a Ranger if you want to be good at ranged combat, however they no longer are considered the best ranged combatants after mid-higher levels as they eventually get trumped by other classes (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?375185-Class-Comparisons-for-Ranged-Damage) around level 10.