Paladin oaths you'd like to see?

[Spiritchaser]

The four existing oaths cover a fair bit of ground (probably more with some careful negotiations) but what do you feel is out of reach, awkward or just too difficult to do with what's out there?

Deity specific vows, with cleric domain spell lists?
A re-creation of the lawful-stupid oath? (a very long time ago I DM'd one of those, and it was memorable...)
More blackguard antipaladin type options?

I'll throw out one:

Oath of valor: focus on attracting attention of the masses and surviving damage. Oath of the crown already covers part of this, but it's more single target focussed. This vow would thrive more on multiple opponents and less on one big bad. Keep spirit guardians on the spell list and throw in an short duration AoE taunt for channel divinity and maybe a level 7 power that adds one to the Paladin's AC for every foe after the first inside 15 feet range (up to their charisma bonus... Or their bonus -1, or whatever) playtest putting shield on the spell list to determine if it's overpowered. It probably is.

[gfishfunk]

Oath of Understanding: a higher importance on intelligence and social interaction. I like the idea of a paladin that actually wants to talk with people and work out solutions rather than just killing them if they happen to be evil.

Flavor: the oath would be to seek diplomatic solutions first by seeking understanding of other peoples and insight into their lives.

- Combat stuff: The oath would grant bonuses in combat (defense or offense, idk) for making relevant knowledge checks. Also, once per encounter (or however you want to phrase it), the pally can make a diplomacy check against one combatant that can understand her. If successful, that NPC gets disadvantage on attacks versus the pally for the remainder of the encounter. (Something like that, it doesn't have to be quite so powerful).
- Exploring Stuff: Able to gain advantage on social checks by making relevant knowledge checks.
- Utility Stuff: adds several bard spells, and grants ritual casting.

[Mr.Moron]

I actually posted an Oath I've been thinking about for a while to the homebrew forum. The Oath of Illumination (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?471359-Paladin-Archetype-Oath-of-Illumination). Which is very much about "Check your facts twice, deal with the root of the problem, ask questions before shooting".



Oath of Illumination

The Oath of Illumination calls a paladin to not only combat the ills in the world but to understand and expose them. Those who take up the oath swear to seek out the truth, find the true roots of evil and deal with them directly. Known as sage knights, blue knights or seekers they look to shine a light where the shadows cast by ignorance and deceit make a safe refuge for malice. The Oath of Illumination is one of pragmatic idealism, accepting no truth without question save that all persons should be safe and free from suffering. While many of this Oath's adherents are devout followers of good-aligned deities, few pursue this Oath as a service to them. Followers of this Oath see their quest as they do any form of progress, a continual building upon the work of those that have come before them. To serve as reminder of that work they adorn themselves with the symbols, names and images of great heroes in the past or the evils they combated.

Tenets of Illumination

Truth:Seek the truth in all things. Do not not dismiss your own experience, but be wary of preconceptions, convenient explanations and simple narratives.
Understanding: Remain steadfast in your opposition to evil but never dismiss the motives or perspective of your opponents.
Hope: Nothing is inevitable. There is always a better outcome be had.
Humility:Recognize your limitations. Appreciate the contributions of others. Accept help as readily as you give it.
Prudence: Do not be given to recklessness or allow your actions to be driven by zeal. Keep sight of your goals and focus on the proper path to achieve them.

Others I could see liking:

Oath of Preservation: An oath focused on making sure traditions, great monuments, and institutions aren't destroyed. Their greatest foes being those that would raid, sack or destroy that which others have created.
Oath of Redemption: An other specifically focused on the "Former Badguy" looking to make amends for past misdeeds and specifically, fighting evil that reflects that which they performed in the past.

EDIT: My "Oath of Illumination" sounds eerily similar in some ways to gfishfunk's "Oath of Understanding".

[Spacehamster]

Oath of hellfire, paladin that serves a devil or demon with or without the knowledge of the fiend, a follower of a devil would be a deceiving and manipulative force while the demon follower would probably be a force of reckless destruction and corruption, now that I think of it it would prob be best with one oath for Devils and one for demons. :)

[gfishfunk]

EDIT: My "Oath of Illumination" sounds eerily similar in some ways to gfishfunk's "Oath of Understanding".

My paladins have an irrational hatred and rivalry with these so-called 'oath of illumination' paladins. Their core tenant is to kill them on sight, without discussion. :smallbiggrin:

[Corran]

I would like to see an oath that would allow paladins to exist, that they would not necessarily uphold some vague ideals, but they would rather be the instruments of the church they serve. Instruments I said? Make it blind instruments. They would take orders from their church hierarchy, and they would go around doing the biding of that church. Promote their faith and such, hunt the heretics (prior devotees of their faith that turned away from it or dont act in accordance), even inspect far away bastions of their faith to see if they are doing their job well. And their most important duty, to hunt the enemies of their faith (followers of a rival deity). Basically, I would like to see an oath that would bind a paladin who took it to the church of his faith. The tenets would essentially be summarised as the dogma of that faith. That would turn the alignment of that paladin into a random variable, that would be identified by the faith this paly serves. Oath of inquisition is a cool name. A good example is Ulric (Sean Bean) from the movie Black Death.

Mechanic-wise, hmmm, I dont know, maybe some powers that......never mind, I ve got nothing. I am more interested in the concept of the oaths anyway.

[Mr.Moron]

I would like to see an oath that would allow paladins to exist, that they would not necessarily uphold some vague ideals, but they would rather be the instruments of the church they serve. Instruments I said? Make it blind instruments. They would take orders from their church hierarchy, and they would go around doing the biding of that church. Promote their faith and such, hunt the heretics (prior devotees of their faith that turned away from it or dont act in accordance), even inspect far away bastions of their faith to see if they are doing their job well. And their most important duty, to hunt the enemies of their faith (followers of a rival deity). Basically, I would like to see an oath that would bind a paladin who took it to the church of his faith. The tenets would essentially be summarised as the dogma of that faith. That would turn the alignment of that paladin into a random variable, that would be identified by the faith this paly serves. Oath of inquisition is a cool name. A good example is Ulric (Sean Bean) from the movie Black Death.

Mechanic-wise, hmmm, I dont know, maybe some powers that......never mind, I ve got nothing. I am more interested in the concept of the oaths anyway.

You could call it "Oath of Obedience" and really just pull in the Warhammer 40k space marine fluff and more/less have that to a T.

[hymer]

I've been thinking that a casting focused subclass might be in order. Enlarged spell list, method of spell slot recovery. Say, Oath of Purity, but I'm more interested in the crunch than the fluff.

[Spiritchaser]

I've been thinking that a casting focused subclass might be in order. Enlarged spell list, method of spell slot recovery. Say, Oath of Purity, but I'm more interested in the crunch than the fluff.

How would you do higher level spells? Or would you focus on more choice, and faster recovery, of low level spells?

[gfishfunk]

I've been thinking that a casting focused subclass might be in order. Enlarged spell list, method of spell slot recovery. Say, Oath of Purity, but I'm more interested in the crunch than the fluff.


How would you do higher level spells? Or would you focus on more choice, and faster recovery, of low level spells?

Recovery and an expanded spell list might be in order. Either way, those slots should be considered 'additional slots' that you cannot turn into smites, otherwise it becomes the 'Smite Oath' rather than the focusing subclass.

[Mjolnirbear]

Recovery and an expanded spell list might be in order. Either way, those slots should be considered 'additional slots' that you cannot turn into smites, otherwise it becomes the 'Smite Oath' rather than the focusing subclass.

A bunch of ritual only spells would work. So would a phrasing that turns the spell in a spell like ability (I know, 5th edition). Something like "once per short rest you may cast X spell without expending a spell slot." no spell slot, no Smite. Or "x times a day you may cat an oath spell without expending a spell slot"

[Spore]

Oath of Exorcism - You try and pry the evil from the people without actually damaging them. This would include abilities like the spell "Dispel Good and Evil", 3.5 Atonement spells, give access to Persuasion proficiency and give the Paladin an Aura that strengthens his or her saves vs. effects from evil entities.

[ChelseaNH]

Oath of Understanding: a higher importance on intelligence and social interaction. I like the idea of a paladin that actually wants to talk with people and work out solutions rather than just killing them if they happen to be evil.

I have a paladin that I modeled on Paksenarrion Dorthansdotter -- deity is Rao, the god of tranquility and reason. Although we're dungeon-crawling, so there aren't many opportunites to converse with evil creatures before they try to kill us.

[SwordChuck]

Oath of the Oracle

Give the Paladin abilities and features that let them see the future, others see the future, and mess with "fate".

Kinda like the Pathfinder Oracle but not so broken.

[UrsusArctos]

Oath of Freedom

A CG Paladin oath that is all about liberation and fighting against unjust governments.

[Delusion]

Oath of Redemption: A former bad guys seeking atonement and trying to talk other bad guys to leave their wicked ways.

There seems to be a lot of demand for Paladin Oath more focused on talking heh.

From mechanical point of view, I'd like if there was an Oath that focused on boosting Paladin's healing abilities.

[MrStabby]

I would like to see an oath that would allow paladins to exist, that they would not necessarily uphold some vague ideals, but they would rather be the instruments of the church they serve. Instruments I said? Make it blind instruments. They would take orders from their church hierarchy, and they would go around doing the biding of that church. Promote their faith and such, hunt the heretics (prior devotees of their faith that turned away from it or dont act in accordance), even inspect far away bastions of their faith to see if they are doing their job well. And their most important duty, to hunt the enemies of their faith (followers of a rival deity). Basically, I would like to see an oath that would bind a paladin who took it to the church of his faith. The tenets would essentially be summarised as the dogma of that faith. That would turn the alignment of that paladin into a random variable, that would be identified by the faith this paly serves. Oath of inquisition is a cool name. A good example is Ulric (Sean Bean) from the movie Black Death.

Mechanic-wise, hmmm, I dont know, maybe some powers that......never mind, I ve got nothing. I am more interested in the concept of the oaths anyway.

If you wanted a paladin that was a representative of a church you could potentially swap the oath spell list with a domain spell list from one of the gods domains?


Oath of requiem

Dedicated to putting the undead to rest and provides spells useful vs undead such as light producing spells.

Channel divinity as a cleric of the same level

Aura grants resistance to necrotic and poison damage and immunity to paralysed condition within 10 ft.

The rest may require some thought


Oath of The Lost Thoughts

Oaths sworn to protect the secrets hidden deep beneath the earth and sea. Not everything should be known and some things are better forgotten.

[D.U.P.A.]

It would be good mechanically if an Oath would give cantrips? Now it looks kinda odd when half casters do not get cantrips, while third casters do.

[SwordChuck]

It would be good mechanically if an Oath would give cantrips? Now it looks kinda odd when half casters do not get cantrips, while third casters do.

Really I would just give make all 1/3 casters into 1/2 casters and then give the ranger and Paladin 3 free cantrips from any list.

[PoeticDwarf]

I've been thinking that a casting focused subclass might be in order. Enlarged spell list, method of spell slot recovery. Say, Oath of Purity, but I'm more interested in the crunch than the fluff.

Could be interesting, but would fit better for ranger, a sort of star shooting ranger (3.5) with better casting, bonus spells and in this case maybe the ability to once/day cast some cool fitting level 6/7 spells.

[Professor Gnoll]

How about an oath of poverty? Forget the loot and the shiny armour, it's hair shirts and mud for you. A paladin that truly walks among the people they claim to serve, and understand the struggles of the common folk.

[Spiritchaser]

How about an oath of poverty? Forget the loot and the shiny armour, it's hair shirts and mud for you. A paladin that truly walks among the people they claim to serve, and understand the struggles of the common folk.

My first reaction is Dex builds only for that one...

Hard to walk around in plate worth so many days worth of food!

Except just maybe: level 7 ability: armor of faith: base armor can be con + cha + 10 ( or +9 or whatever is fair, and no dex bonus on top) shield allowed, provided it's cheap. Thats probably ok with either a Dex or a str build...

Actually I really liked this idea... What do you think? Would you also restrict expensive weapons ?

[Spiritchaser]

It would be good mechanically if an Oath would give cantrips? Now it looks kinda odd when half casters do not get cantrips, while third casters do.

I think there should be an in-laws way for paladin to pick up booming blade, it just seems to fit. Yes I know... Magic initiate... But...

[Professor Gnoll]

My first reaction is Dex builds only for that one...

Hard to walk around in plate worth so many days worth of food!

Except just maybe: level 7 ability: armor of faith: base armor can be con + cha + 10 ( or +9 or whatever is fair, and no dex bonus on top) shield allowed, provided it's cheap. Thats probably ok with either a Dex or a str build...

Actually I really liked this idea... What do you think? Would you also restrict expensive weapons ?
Of course! The Poverty Paladin is the People's Paladin. They shouldn't be swinging around a shiny golden sword when they could be selling it to pay for Farmer Jones's new shed door. A pitchfork will do just as well, provided you've enough faith.

[Spore]

Oath of the Eternal Guardian

Sometimes Undeath is a necessity if you don't want the artifact piece of ultimate evil to be protected by a mindless golem. Sometimes your agenda cannot be carried out in the lifetime of your mortal race. Maybe your god is a power as just and righteous as death itself.


Really I would just give make all 1/3 casters into 1/2 casters and then give the ranger and Paladin 3 free cantrips from any list.

The system is good as it is. The cantrips pull the 1/3 casters closer to the power level of the 1/2 casters. If anything then you should try to close the gap between 1/2 casters and full casters (although I'm very fine with casters being a tad bit more powerful).

[SwordChuck]

How about an oath of poverty? Forget the loot and the shiny armour, it's hair shirts and mud for you. A paladin that truly walks among the people they claim to serve, and understand the struggles of the common folk.

The typical LG/CG/NG Paladin would be donating to the poor. There really is no good reason to give so much that you hinder yourself in such a way. If you give too much then your ability to give more will be gone.

Kinda like why Bruce Wayne doesn't give away all his money. He needs to retain a certain level so that he may continue to help others.

Also, oath of poverty sucked in 3e, we don't want to go back down that route. My Paladin doesn't own this sword of nine truths, I'm just holding it for my friend!

[Mr.Moron]

The typical LG/CG/NG Paladin would be donating to the poor. There really is no good reason to give so much that you hinder yourself in such a way. If you give too much then your ability to give more will be gone.

Kinda like why Bruce Wayne doesn't give away all his money. He needs to retain a certain level so that he may continue to help others.

Also, oath of poverty sucked in 3e, we don't want to go back down that route. My Paladin doesn't own this sword of nine truths, I'm just holding it for my friend!


Because it was poorly implemented in a system that had lots, lots of magic items as core assumption of the engine means it can't be implemented well in a system where such assumptions aren't even made?

I think such an oath is plenty viable, given the broad approach paladin oath's take in this edition.

[SwordChuck]

Because it was poorly implemented in a system that had lots, lots of magic items as core assumption of the engine means it can't be implemented well in a system where such assumptions aren't even made?

I think such an oath is plenty viable, given the broad approach paladin oath's take in this edition.

You would need a very good reason for it though. Like why is giving up all possesions better than having mundane gear? The Monk has great fluff and good/cool mechanics to go along with the fluff.

The Paladin however doesn't fit well, they could yes, but at that point you pretty much have a Cha based Monk. You would really need to be specific and work with a purpose outside of "oh look here is a Paladin subclass because reasons".

I'm not just talking about in game explanations but also when you deal with players. Players fall easy I to "my character believes/does X you should be forced to do it to" or fall easy into the " I found a loop hole#".

You need to make sure players will follow not only the mechnixs of such a oath but the spirit of it too. Paladins don't really fall anymore and because of all the backlash in previous editions against DMs that make paladins fall, many may be hesitant to make one fall in 5e.

Can an Oath of Poverty work? Sure, it could... But it needs to be done almost perfectly or else you will have many issues to deal with.

The biggest problem with oath of poverty (and oath of nonviolence) wasn't just how they effected the player (and was a trap) but how it effected the party.

[Mr.Moron]

You would need a very good reason for it though. Like why is giving up all possesions better than having mundane gear? The Monk has great fluff and good/cool mechanics to go along with the fluff.

Because you believe it's the right thing to do you? Your order, your deity or your personal insights have taught you greed is useless. They've taught you that giving to others is the highest good. They've taught that struggle of doing more with less is something with intrinsic value. They've taught you that you cannot truly achieve anything when you rely on wealth to do it, those achievement's are the wealth's not yours. Seriously take your pick. There are million ways to go with this.


The Paladin however doesn't fit well, they could yes, but at that point you pretty much have a Cha based Monk. You would really need to be specific and work with a purpose outside of "oh look here is a Paladin subclass because reasons".

What? Paladins, especially in 5e draw their power from an Ethos. This is fundamentally about drawing power from an Ethos. Monks derive no benefits from following a particular philosophy. Nothing about the monk class demands austerity in their lifestyle. This is statement has no basis. Monks fight unarmed but there is only a single line in the entry about them "As a rule caring little for wealth", it doesn't define their fluff and isn't a mandate.



I'm not just talking about in game explanations but also when you deal with players. Players fall easy I to "my character believes/does X you should be forced to do it to" or fall easy into the " I found a loop hole#".

Irrelevant.


You need to make sure players will follow not only the mechnixs of such a oath but the spirit of it too. Paladins don't really fall anymore and because of all the backlash in previous editions against DMs that make paladins fall, many may be hesitant to make one fall in 5e.

...? Why would need to police an Oath of Poverty any more than we need to police an Oath of Devotion or Oath of Ancients. Magic items aren't assumption anymore so the Oath need not hand out any powers that try to compensate for magic items. It would have benefits exactly the same as any other paladin class:

2 Channel Divinity Options
Oath Spells
An Aura
A 15th level passive
A 20th level capstone.

Seriously paladin archetype are the most tightly templated things in the whole game. A group can be as into or not into the RP of it as they want.

[Ivellius]

Oath of hellfire, paladin that serves a devil or demon with or without the knowledge of the fiend, a follower of a devil would be a deceiving and manipulative force while the demon follower would probably be a force of reckless destruction and corruption, now that I think of it it would prob be best with one oath for Devils and one for demons. :)

Great minds think alike. Here you go (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20184908&postcount=1).

[SwordChuck]

Another issue with the Oath of Poverty is that you can already do such a thing quite easily.

Choose any current oath
Make a str based unarmed Paladin build (pretty easy)
Wear rags but have your DM count it as heavy armor for AC purposes (16) or give you an AC of 13 + Con (much like the Dragon sorcerer) or Dex + Cha (much like the Monk)
Give away all your money/stuff.

If the DM doesn't want to work with you on this than I'm not sure if a real Oath of Poverty would work within their game.

Also this way you really are giving up stuff to fufill your oath instead of not really giving up. The oath of poverty would be trading wealth for specific magic and martial abilities. You aren't giving up anything, you are just buying different abilities with GP.

At the end of the day oath of poverty is way too specific. The other oaths have been very loose and flexible. Devotion, Ancients, and Vengeance are more ideological and doesn't straight up impact your character** or your party.

Of you are going to do oath of poverty/nonviolence/whatever then I think a group of feats would work best. This way you can balance all of them out, they are more of character choices*, and not class choices, and a DM can straight up say "those are ok/not ok".

*I'm not a fan of ASI/Feats being tied to class levels but I still view feats and ASI as character choices as they aren't directly class specific.

** As in, you want vengeance? Well this is specifically who you hate. You want to be a devotion Paladin? You can only devote yourself to X. You want to be an ancient Paladin? Well you can only live in the forest. The impact is different.

[Specter]

I'm very happy with the oaths we've been given. Comparing with 3.5's pally, which was limited to one alignment and played always in the same way mechanically, I'd say the four we have (five with Oathbreaker) give a lot of versatility to the role-playing of the class.

If versatility against multiple enemy types is required, multiclassing could solve this problem.

[goto124]

How did Vow of Poverty go the last time we had it...?

[SwordChuck]

I'm very happy with the oaths we've been given. Comparing with 3.5's pally, which was limited to one alignment and played always in the same way mechanically, I'd say the four we have (five with Oathbreaker) give a lot of versatility to the role-playing of the class.

If versatility against multiple enemy types is required, multiclassing could solve this problem.

Well there was a ton of alternate paladins, just not in core.


How did Vow of Poverty go the last time we had it...?

To be fair they could improve it. My issue on "how did it go" last time is more on the player side of things than the mechanic side of things.

That and I think an Oath of Poverty should be a character option and not a class option. This way if two devotion paladins are in the group, they can be vastly different from each other because of character choices.

[Mjolnirbear]

I love the idea of path of redemption. Like Knights of the cross in the Dresden Files. How to make it an actual path would be a problem; if the character has a realistic chance of converting a bad guy then the player may be unsatisfied but a more heroic chance may be easy too powerful.

An Oath of chaos could be fun. Gotta fight wherever stagnation exists. Or an Oath of balance for similar reasons.

An Oath of Mysteries: to protect the secrets that must be hidden, to expose the secrets that doom the world, to shift through the prophecies and discover meaning before it is to late.

Oath of Ruin. You've been burned. The world will burn too (prolly an NPC class)

Oath of the Weaver: healing the Weave wherever the spell plague has harmed it. Protecting the weave from whomever might harm it. Some of the most dangerous catastrophies came from messing with the Weave, high time someone took a stand. (for lulz make the character a drag Queen)

[SwordChuck]

An Oath of Mysteries: to protect the secrets that must be hidden, to expose the secrets that doom the world, to shift through the prophecies and discover meaning before it is to late.

How about just "Oath of Secrets" so we can have Paladins of Asmodeus (or deities that like secretes).

Then you can have an Oath of Knowledge which completely counteracts the Oath of Secrets.

Oath of Mysteries may get a bit too Scooby Doo... :p

[AbyssStalker]

Oath of Sloth, for fallen paladins who think the other oaths are just to much for them.

Lazy: Be indifferent to the plights of others, if you must help, make it minimal
Neutrality: You can be anywhere as chaotic, lawful, good, or evil as you want, just make sure you slack enough to fit some neutral in there.
Cautiousness: To be lazy you must stay alive.

14 Level, Aura of Viscosity: You have become so inactive that others in your presence are rendered meandering messes, Anyone within 10 feet of you is treated as though under the effects of a Slow spell.

[Corran]

How about just "Oath of Secrets" so we can have Paladins of Asmodeus (or deities that like secretes).

How about if oath of secrets, for evil paladins that want to pass themselves as good, and who slowly try to corrupt everyone around them, and try to bring down churches, organizations, cities from the inside, pretending all the time to be on their side?

[SwordChuck]

How about if oath of secrets, for evil paladins that want to pass themselves as good, and who slowly try to corrupt everyone around them, and try to bring down churches, organizations, cities from the inside, pretending all the time to be on their side?

I don't see why it would be biased against good paladins. Good guys want to keep things secrete from the world just as much as someone evil would want to keep *plans for material plane utopia* a secrete from the good guys.

I'm not a fan of strict paths that force players into one role. With flexible oaths you can have multiple players playing the same path and yet have completely different outcomes from the Oath.

[silveralen]

Oath of protection: Represents knights who swear to protect an object, location, or even group of people, such as a bloodline or religious order, from harm. Can include protecting their secrets, such as the order which hides away a powerful artifact, etc.

it's a bit general and can overlap with other oaths, but it is the more "classic" version of fantasy knight/paladin.

[JackPhoenix]

Oath of...um...antimagic?

Some sort of witch/mage hunter. And those aren't spells s/he's using, honest, those are god-given miracles!

[Jeebs]

More a Variant than an Oath, but I'd like to see an Intelligence-based Paladin. Dedicated to an Arcane Deity, with some sort of replacement for Lay on Hands for those that think Healing isn't fitting. Replace CHA mod with INT for all Paladin abilities, spells, etc.

[MeeposFire]

How about an oath of poverty? Forget the loot and the shiny armour, it's hair shirts and mud for you. A paladin that truly walks among the people they claim to serve, and understand the struggles of the common folk.

Rather than an Oath pf poverty how about an Oath of Charity instead? All the giving but doe snot mean that a character can never use any equipment or the like that you find. Just a requirement to help those less fortunate than himself. Instead of buying the shiny plate armor your plate is cobbled together from a bunch of suits you have found or bought on the cheap passing the savings to the poor and the hungry.

Special abilities be based around things that boost others (to show you giving to others). Could be an interesting idea.

[Daishain]

Oath of Balance

This paladin would be dedicated to maintaining neutrality between various groups, mostly by fighting against anyone who they perceive as having gained too much power. Easily both a hero and a villain within the context of the same story, a grey knight makes for a fickle, if potent, ally.

Abilities/spells might focus on being able to switch between dealing radiant and necrotic damage, weakening tough opponents in various ways, and subterfuge (as people rarely trust a grey knight)



Oath of the Inevitable

Inevitables are constructs that seek out and deal with gross violations of universal laws, hunting down those who do things such as break important oaths, or attempt to cheat death (in major ways, such as becoming a lich, simply raising the dead from time to time isn't an issue). Paladins who take this oath seek to aid the inevitables in their tasks by whatever means available.

Abilities/spells related to judgment and tracking things down

[Anderlith]

A Paladin that focus on ranged attacks with a bow.

A hellfire Paladin which others have suggested

& a paladin that is focused on hiding his faith in worlds/settings where evil rules.

[Socko525]

I'd love to see some kind of Draconian themed paladin. Similar to this hellfire paladin idea, but for a dragon. The dragon shaman in 3.5e had a lot of paladin like elements (Lay on hands style healing, auras, etc) so I'd probably draw inspiration from that.

Maybe give it a similar dragon shaman-esque aura? Any enemy within range of the aura that attacks you or an ally with a melee attack takes Charisma mod x 2 in elemental damage? Frightful presence similar to a vengeance paladin, perhaps a limited use breath weapon? A cone style breath weapon could go a long way to help deal with a paladins lack of AoE damage.