Paladin: Oath of Suffering (Patreon)

The Oath of Suffering is taken by those who choose to take on the pain suffered by others as their own. Paladins who take this oath believe there is a finite amount of pain in the world, and by suffering themselves, they can reduce the suffering of the innocent. Though their methods may differ, ranging from divine healing to self-flagellation, those who take this oath endeavor to become a martyr for the anguished masses.

While some hardships those of the oath seek to soothe are more abstract, there are also those who work to inflict suffering for their own malicious needs. When seeking to prevent pain, a paladin may be inclined to take a more proactive approach, cutting down these craven degenerates before they can cause any harm. Pain itself can be a powerful tool to prevent its own spread.

Tenets of Suffering

Paladins that swear the Oath of Suffering endeavor to take on the pain of others as their own.

Compassion. When innocents suffer, you must act to ease that suffering.

Sacrifice. Endure the pain so that others may be spared from it.

Retribution. Those who inflict wanton violence deserve punishment, which must come swiftly and painfully.

Oath Spells

You gain oath spells at the paladin levels listed.

3rd level: bane, compelled duel

5th level: wither and bloom, warding bond

9th level: aura of vitality, spirit shroud

13th level: aura of life, shadow of moil

17th level: destructive wave, mass cure wounds

Channel Divinity

3rd level Oath of Suffering feature

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

Mitigate Agony. As an action, you present your holy symbol and speak a prayer of rapturous pain, using your Channel Divinity. Choose one willing creature within 60 feet of you that you can see. For the next minute, you are bonded to that creature and when a bonded creature within 60 feet of you takes damage from a single source, you can choose to reduce the damage taken by half, rounded down. You take an amount of necrotic damage equal to the damage prevented. This feature doesn’t transfer any other effects that might accompany the damage, and this damage can’t be reduced in any way. You can only reduce damage this way once per round.

This effect ends if you drop to 0 hit points. It also ends if this feature is used again on any creatures already bonded by this feature.

Shared Suffering. You can use your Channel Divinity to give your foes a taste of exquisite suffering. Immediately after another creature within 30 feet of you deals damage to you, you can use your reaction to force the attacker to make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the attacker takes necrotic damage equal to the damage it just dealt. On a successful save, it takes half as much damage.

Divine Scourge

7th level Oath of Suffering feature

Starting at 7th level, you can channel your own vitality into divine retribution. When you use your Divine Smite feature, you can choose to expend 2 or more hit dice, instead of a spell slot, to deal necrotic damage to the target, in addition to the weapon’s damage. The extra damage is equal to the roll of the hit dice, and you take half as much necrotic damage. The damage you take when you use this feature cannot be reduced in any way. You cannot spend a number of hit dice greater than your proficiency bonus. The damage is not increased against undead and fiends. 

Master of Pain

15th level Oath of Suffering feature

Starting at 15th level, your command of pain is so advanced that you can inflict or alleviate it at will with your Channel Divinity. 

When you use the Mitigate Agony feature, you can choose two willing creatures to bond to. When you reduce the damage dealt to a bonded creature, you can choose to prevent all of it instead. You still take damage equal to the amount prevented as normal. 

When you use the Shared Suffering feature, on a failed save the attacker takes twice the amount of damage dealt as necrotic damage. On a successful save it takes the same amount of damage dealt as necrotic damage. 

Exalted Martyr

20th level Oath of Suffering feature

At 20th level, you can become an avatar of terrible pain. Using your action, you undergo a transformation, exuding a 30-foot aura of righteous punishment for 1 hour. The aura has the following effects:

• At the start of each of your turns, you gain 1d10 temporary hit points for each hostile creature within the aura.
• If a creature within the aura deals damage to a target other than you, you have advantage on melee weapon attack rolls against that creature until the end of your next turn.
• All damage dealt to creatures of your choice within the aura ignores any resistances, treats immunities as resistances, and cannot be reduced by any other means.

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