5e - Paladin Oath of the Storm (PEACH)

[Oramac]

This is very loosely based on Thor in the new film Thor: Ragnarok. It's also a first draft, so I know there's a LOT of things that will probably need to change.

Thank you!

http://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/HybYLreKA-

[nickl_2000]

Check your formatting. Your picture on page two makes the entire thing near unreadable.

[Oramac]

Check your formatting. Your picture on page two makes the entire thing near unreadable.

Very odd. It was working fine for me, but you're not the first to tell me that, so I removed the second picture.

Should be much more readable now.

[Composer99]

Grammar nitpicks:
(1) There should be an apostrophe in the 3rd level feature name - so "Storm's Fury".
(2) You don't have to capitalise the word paladin and damage type names (lightning and thunder damage).

Other stuff:
Storm's Fury seems fine, although I would make it work on unarmed strikes and paladin features to start with, and allow you to use it with spells at a higher level.

The Destructive Wrath channel feature is fine.
Thunderous Shockwave is waaaaay too powerful for a 3rd-level feature. I'd consider having the effect deal thunder damage and knock creatures prone.

Lightning Aura is pretty damn powerful, but since everyone in the party gets it, it should be fine. I don't think dealing extra lightning damage is overpowered compared to, say, being immune to being charmed (the equivalent aura feature for the Oath of Devotion paladin).

Unfocused Storm is just... weird. First of all, you don't need a spellcasting focus to cast spells: you can use one instead of using no-cost spell components. Second, the rule's two paragraphs discussing slot level contradict each other. I'm guessing that the first paragraph should say that the spell should be cast from the lowest possible slot? Otherwise, the second paragraph doesn't make any sense. Finally, it just seems like an unusual feature to have - it's just not very thematic.

Actually, 15th level is pretty appropriate to have an ability that stuns lots of enemies. Or maybe, given the word unfocused in the name, it could be a cone that deals lightning and thunder damage and stuns anyone in the area of effect?

Purified Lightning seems fine to me as a 20th level feature.

[Oramac]

Thanks!! Going point by point here.


Grammar nitpicks:
(1) There should be an apostrophe in the 3rd level feature name - so "Storm's Fury".
(2) You don't have to capitalise the word paladin and damage type names (lightning and thunder damage).

Please, nitpick away. Thanks for pointing those out.


Storm's Fury seems fine, although I would make it work on unarmed strikes and paladin features to start with, and allow you to use it with spells at a higher level.

Yea, the reason I included spells was just so there's no ambiguity about whether or not it works with Divine Smite.

Honestly, it's really just for flavor more than anything else.


The Destructive Wrath channel feature is fine.
Thunderous Shockwave is waaaaay too powerful for a 3rd-level feature. I'd consider having the effect deal thunder damage and knock creatures prone.

Destructive Wrath is identical to the Tempest Cleric feature.

I was on the fence about Thunderous Shockwave. All the other paladin CD's are control effects, usually a frightening effect. But that didn't really fit the theme for this subclass. I already changed it to a much shorter duration, but you're right that it might need to change again.


Lightning Aura is pretty damn powerful, but since everyone in the party gets it, it should be fine. I don't think dealing extra lightning damage is overpowered compared to, say, being immune to being charmed (the equivalent aura feature for the Oath of Devotion paladin).

Yea, this was the last feature I wrote, and I'm still not sure I like it. I'm open to suggestions.


Unfocused Storm is just... weird. First of all, you don't need a spellcasting focus to cast spells: you can use one instead of using no-cost spell components. Second, the rule's two paragraphs discussing slot level contradict each other. I'm guessing that the first paragraph should say that the spell should be cast from the lowest possible slot? Otherwise, the second paragraph doesn't make any sense. Finally, it just seems like an unusual feature to have - it's just not very thematic.

Actually, 15th level is pretty appropriate to have an ability that stuns lots of enemies. Or maybe, given the word unfocused in the name, it could be a cone that deals lightning and thunder damage and stuns anyone in the area of effect?

Yea, this probably needs wording changed. The idea is twofold. First paragrapgh is casting without a focus, second is casting with a focus.

So without one, you can't really control your power as well, and it manifests at its highest level.

With one, you have even greater control, and the spells you cast act as if 1 level higher.

But, you make a good point. An aoe is a good idea here too....


Purified Lightning seems fine to me as a 20th level feature.

Oddly, this is the one I was most worried about, what with changing the Smite damage die to a d12.

[Composer99]

Lightning Aura is pretty damn powerful, but since everyone in the party gets it, it should be fine. I don't think dealing extra lightning damage is overpowered compared to, say, being immune to being charmed (the equivalent aura feature for the Oath of Devotion paladin).

Yea, this was the last feature I wrote, and I'm still not sure I like it. I'm open to suggestions.

It's probably fine. It's a paladin aura, it's thematic for a storm/destructive oath (you and your allies smash enemies and things more easily).




Unfocused Storm is just... weird. First of all, you don't need a spellcasting focus to cast spells: you can use one instead of using no-cost spell components. Second, the rule's two paragraphs discussing slot level contradict each other. I'm guessing that the first paragraph should say that the spell should be cast from the lowest possible slot? Otherwise, the second paragraph doesn't make any sense. Finally, it just seems like an unusual feature to have - it's just not very thematic.

Actually, 15th level is pretty appropriate to have an ability that stuns lots of enemies. Or maybe, given the word unfocused in the name, it could be a cone that deals lightning and thunder damage and stuns anyone in the area of effect?

Yea, this probably needs wording changed. The idea is twofold. First paragrapgh is casting without a focus, second is casting with a focus.

So without one, you can't really control your power as well, and it manifests at its highest level.

With one, you have even greater control, and the spells you cast act as if 1 level higher.

But, you make a good point. An aoe is a good idea here too....

Ahh, okay, that clears that up. So it's the difference between:
- being forced to burn your highest-level slots when you cast an Oath spell (if you don't use a focus) - want to cast thunderwave? There goes your 4th- or 5th-level slot!
- being able to cast a spell at one higher effective slot level without expending a higher-level slot (if you do use a focus)

Gotcha!

As I say, it doesn't strike me as a really "storm paladin" kind of feature. If anything, it would be a neat feature for some kind of wizard or sorcerer subclass, one that manipulates the kind of spellcasting focus it uses.




Purified Lightning seems fine to me as a 20th level feature.

Oddly, this is the one I was most worried about, what with changing the Smite damage die to a d12.

IMO almost all the 20th-level capstones are weaksauce, which is a shame. You should get rewarded with something awesome if you're willing to go all the way to 20th in the same character class.

[Oramac]

This has been updated if anyone wants to comment. The biggest change is the 15th level feature, which is totally different. Most of the other changes are wording, typos, and the like.

[NYpurdy]

Hello!

I like it! Here are some thoughts:


Tenets of the Storm: I like it except "protect the storm." How does anyone protect a storm? You talk about a general protect nature interpretation... but I think there is something different you could do here. Maybe something like "Weather the Storm" or "Ride the Storm" with an emphasis of embracing the impact Nature has on us and not standing in its way?
Storm's Fury: I like it.... but it looks like an extra feature than what sacred oaths typically get. That already has me wary. Being able to do lightning or thunder damage with an unarmed strike I think can seriously change some situations (even though the damage will be low)! I would change it so it ONLY works with divine smite, giving you the ability to change the damage from radiant to one of these other types. Part of the reason I feel this way is also because of the Destructive Wave feature - first you give the player the ability to change their damage type and then you give them the ability to maximize that damage!
Unleashed Storm: "your" is spelled wrong.
Unleashed Storm... I'm liking it. But when we talk about balance I have some concerns. A Paladin will have at least a 16 charisma at this level. So this would double the number of lightning bolts they could use. Couple this with destructive wrath and you are suddenly handing out 48 points of damage (8d6) like tic tacs. But it is 15th level.... so I don't know. The alternative that comes to mind is that you gain an extra spell slot equal to your charisma modifier (but not to exceed the highest level of spell you can currently cast). Heck - maybe even make that re-set with a short rest. So you can do one free spell per short-rest instead of a bunch all at once? Just thinking/typing out loud here.
Purified Lightning: Like your other features I really like the ideas here - but comparing it to other oaths I think it is too much. The immunity to damage and the flight speeds are really ENOUGH of a 20th level power, and should probably be tied to transformation. Off the top of my head I would leave it at 1 minute and look at:


Gain a fly speed - heck, kick it up to 80 ft! You are lightning personified!
Your lightning damage treats immunity as resistance and ignores resistance
You gain immunity to lightning and thunder damage.

[SwordMeow]

re:OP

Oath spells are lowercase and italicized
I read Destructive Wrath as "to wield the power of the storm with unhecked ferocity" and that was hilarious for a second but this CD is too good, lightning bolt on a paladin is already SUPER powerful and then automatic 64 damage, half on success? you can also max smite damage: I crit at 5 to deal 4d6+5+48(6d8maxed); I think +cha to lightning or a thunder damage for 1 minute is the easiest fix here though it is unoriginal; perhaps the ability to reroll a die
Thunderous Shockwave, yeah this is OK
Aura is OK
Unleased Storm, what an interesting mechanic; this is probably OK
Capstone is a capstone

neat

[OdinTGE]

As somebody who's favorite theme is always Lightning I'm an instant fan of this. Nice work.

Potential nitpick:
In the description for Unleashed Storm it says: "When cast in this manner, the spell may not be cast out of a higher level spell slot."

"cast out of" seems like odd wording. "cast using" seems more in line with the WotC phrasing.