Shadow Paladin
Hit Points
Hit Dice: d10 per Shadow Paladin level
Hit Points at first Level: 1d10 + Con. modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d10 (or 6) + Con. modifier
Proficiences
Armor: All armour, shields
Weapons: Simple weapons, martial weapons
Tools: None
Saving Throws: Wisdom, Charisma
Skills: Choose two from Athletics, Insight, Intimidation, Medicine, Persuasion, and Religion
Overview & Creation
A paladin is a person whose devotion to a cause or ideal is so powerful that it grants them divine or magical abilities. A person trapped in the Shadowfell, who does not succumb to either despair or the plane's many dangers may, in time, become a Shadow Paladin. A Shadow Paladin is the result of a twisted combination of unimaginable despair and an unbreakable will to survive. Eventually, the shadows of the plane begin to bend to the will of the paladin, who wields them with great efficacy.
Disclaimer:
This class is made with a combination of content from multiple existing paladin oaths, as well as some light homebrew. I make no promises about how balanced it is, but I don't believe it to be too overpowered.
Class Features
Detect Guilt:
"This one is hiding something. I can feel it."
Having spent considerable time in the Shadowfell, you have come to notice the darkness within other people. When you are in the presence of people who have done something evil, you begin to pick up on signs of their guilt. As an action, you can focus on their movements and begin to decipher what they've done. Until the end of your next turn, you can sense if a person within 60 ft. has done any evil deed; however, you won't know what act the person has committed. Within the same radius, you also detect the presence of any place or object that has been used or have a connection to the act.
You can use this feature a number of times equal to 1 + your Charisma modifier. When you finish a long rest, you regain all expended uses.
Corrupted Touch:
"I am the blight."
With the necrotic energies of the Shadowfell running through your veins, you gain the ability to cast a bastardized version of the Paladin's Lay on Hands. Your corrupted touch has the power to generate poisons and cure the wounds of those you choose. You have a pool of necrotic energy that replenishes when you take a long rest. With that pool, you can restore a total number of hit points equal to your paladin level × 5. As an action, you can touch a creature and draw power from the pool to restore a number of hit points to that creature, up to the maximum amount remaining in your pool. Undead and creatures native to the Shadowfell cured with this ability receive double hitpoints.
Additionally, you can expend 5 points from your pool to deal a touch attack to an enemy with a DC 10 Constitution save. On a failure, the enemy is afflicted with minor poisoning, taking 1d6 damage per round for 3 rounds, while on a success the poison is neutralized. The enemy can attempt the saving throw once at the start of each of their turns until the poisoning is cured. Undead and creatures from the Shadowfell afflicted with this ability ignore all effects.
Fighting Style:
At 2nd level, you adopt a style of fighting as your specialty. Choose one of the following options. You can’t take a Fighting Style option more than once, even if you later get to choose again.
Shadow Puppet:
"You close your eyes and exhale. The room goes cold."
When an ally within 15 feet of you is about to receive damage, you can use your reaction to animate your shadow in a corporeal form in front of them and receive the damage in their stead.
Defense:
While you are wearing armor, you gain a +1 bonus to AC.
Dueling:
When you are wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapons, you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with that weapon.
Great Weapon Fighting:
When you roll a 1 or 2 on a damage die for an attack you make with a melee weapon that you are wielding with two hands, you can reroll the die and must use the new roll. The weapon must have the two-handed or versatile property for you to gain this benefit.
Protection:
When a creature you can see attacks a target other than you that is within 5 feet of you, you can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on the attack roll. You must be wielding a shield.
Unholy Smite:
"It only hurts at first."
Starting at 2nd level, when you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack, you can expend one spell slot to deal necrotic damage to the target, in addition to the weapon’s damage. The extra damage is 2d8 for a 1st-level spell slot, plus 1d8 for each spell level higher than 1st, to a maximum of 5d8. The damage increases by 1d8 if the target is a celestial or a fey, to a maximum of 6d8.
Necrotic Fortitude:
By 3rd level, your attunement to necrotic energies renders you immune to disease.
Oath of Shadows:
When you reach 3rd level, you swear the oath that binds you as a shadow paladin forever. Up to this time you have been in a preparatory stage, committed to the path but not yet sworn to it. Now you choose the Oath of Shadows detailed at the end of the class description. This oath is only available to humans or elves, who must be in the Shadowfell when taking the oath.
This oath grants you features at 3rd level and again at 7th, 15th, and 20th level. Those features include oath spells and the Channel Shadows feature.
Oath of Shadow Spells:
As a being of shadow, you gain special access to certain spells which you learn innately. You gain access to these spells at the levels specified in the oath description. Once you gain access to an oath spell, you always have it prepared. Oath spells don’t count against the number of spells you can prepare each day. If the spell isn't considered a paladin spell, it is nonetheless a paladin spell for you.
Oath Spells:
| Lvl. | Spells |
3rd: Hellish Rebuke, Inflict Wounds, Hunter's Mark
5th: Hold Person, Misty Step, Darkness, Zone of Truth
9th: Animate Dead, Bestow Curse, Protection From Energy
13th: Blight, Confusion, Dimension Door, Banishment
17th: Contagion, Dominate Person, Hold Monster, Scrying
Channel Divinity:
Your oath allows you to channel necrotic energy to fuel magical effects. When you use your Channel Divinity, you choose which option to use. You must then finish a short or long rest to use your Channel Divinity again.
Some Channel Divinity effects require saving throws. When you use such an effect from this class, the DC equals your paladin spell save DC.
When you take this oath at 3rd level, you gain the following two Channel Divinity options.
Control Undead:
As an action, you target one undead creature you can see within 30 feet of you. The target must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the target must obey your commands for the next 24 hours, or until you use this Channel Divinity option again. An undead whose challenge rating is equal to or greater than your paladin level is immune to this effect.
Dreadful Aspect:
As an action, you channel the darkest emotions and focus them into a burst of magical menace. Each creature of your choice within 30 feet of you must make a Wisdom saving throw if it can see you. On a failed save, the target is frightened of you for 1 minute. If a creature frightened by this effect ends its turn more than 30 feet away from you, it can attempt another Wisdom saving throw to end the effect on it.
Ability Score Improvement:
When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.
Using the optional feats rule, you can forgo taking this feature to take a feat of your choice instead.
Extra Attack:
Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the attack action on your turn.
Aura of Despair:
"You lock eyes with the enemy. Your gaze informs them of your intent."
Starting at 6th level, whenever any enemy creature within 10 feet of you must make a saving throw, the creature gains a negative to the saving throw equal to your Charisma modifier (with a minimum of -1). You must be conscious to create this effect. Frightened Creatures who are in the range of your aura can be attacked with advantage.
At 17th level, the range of this aura increases to 30 feet.
Aura of Defiance:
"You've been through worse. This is an inconvenience."
Starting at 7th level, you, as well any allies within 10 feet of you, gain a bonus to melee weapon damage rolls equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of +1). A creature can benefit from this feature from only one paladin at a time.
At 17th level, the range of this aura increases to 30 feet
Aura of Sanity:
"You fear nothing, for you have lived in the Shadowfell and retained your sanity."
Starting at 10th level, you and friendly creatures within 10 feet of you can’t be frightened while you are conscious.
At 18th level, the range of this aura increases to 30 feet.
Improved Unholy Smite:
"Feel your essence being called to the Shadowfell."
By 11th level, you are so well attuned to the Shadowfell's energies that they seep into every melee strike. Whenever you hit a creature with a melee weapon, the creature takes an extra 1d8 necrotic damage.
Supernatural Resistance:
"Their blades phase through your shadowy form."
At 15th level, you gain resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical weapons.
Dread Lord:
At 20th level, you can, as an action, surround yourself with an aura of pure shadow that lasts for 1 minute. The aura reduces any bright light in a 30-foot radius around you to dim light and any existing dim light to full darkness. Whenever an enemy that is frightened by you starts its turn in the aura, it takes 4d10 psychic damage. Additionally, you and any creatures of your choosing in the aura are draped in deeper shadow. Creatures that rely on sight have disadvantage on attack rolls against creatures draped in this shadow.
While the aura lasts, you can use a bonus action on your turn to cause the shadows in the aura to attack one creature. Make a melee spell attack against the target. If the attack hits, the target takes necrotic damage equal to 3d10 + your Charisma modifier.
After activating the aura, you can't do so again until you finish a long rest.
Starting Equipment
You start with the following equipment in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
-(a) a martial weapon and shield or (b) any simple weapon
-(a) five javelins or (b) any simple melee weapon
-an explorer's pack
-any mundane light or medium armor and a holy symbol
Spellcasting
By 2nd level, you have learned to draw directly from the Raven Queen's power in the Shadowfell to cast spells.
Preparing and Casting Spells:
The Paladin table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your paladin spells. To cast one of your paladin spells of 1st level or higher, you must expend a slot of the spell’s level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest.
You prepare the list of paladin spells that are available for you to cast, choosing from the paladin spell list. When you do so, choose a number of paladin spells equal to your Charisma modifier + half your paladin level, rounded down (minimum of one spell). The spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots.
For example, if you are a 5th-level paladin, you have four 1st-level and two 2nd-level spell slots. With a Charisma of 14, your list of prepared spells can include four spells of 1st or 2nd level, in any combination. If you prepare the 1st-level spell cure wounds, you can cast it using a 1st-level or a 2nd-level slot. Casting the spell doesn’t remove it from your list of prepared spells.
You can change your list of prepared spells when you finish a long rest. Preparing a new list of paladin spells requires time spent in prayer and meditation: at least 1 minute per spell level for each spell on your list.
Spellcasting Ability:
Charisma is your spellcasting ability for your paladin spells, since their power derives from the strength of your convictions. You use your Charisma whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Charisma modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a paladin spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.
