Anti-Paladin (5e Class)

Anti-Paladin

Paladin Variant

This is an adaptation from a 3.5e homebrew. For the 3.5e version, look at [1]

“	I am the instrument of divine justice; my blade will reshape this world as the god of battle sees fit!	”
—Vordayn the Dire, anti-paladin

Anti-Paladins are the fanatical zealots serving evil deities as crusaders, commanders, and champions. They are the profane standard-bearers, the battle-line breakers, and the unforgiving masters of fell armies. Anti-Paladins serve their deity by spreading their dogma and mercilessly slaying those who refuse to convert. The evil of an anti-paladin is an unequivocal force that shakes even the mightiest warriors of goodness.

However, lower level anti-paladins may become just the opposite. They may put on a polite and mild-mannered facade, but their intents remain the same. Much like your average paladin can range from a beacon of hope to a tool of holy wrath, your average anti-paladin may lie through his teeth, and paint himself a noble hero, or they may simply be the darkest most twisted husks of knights one could imagine.

Anti-Paladins adventuring alone or with a small group are typically attempting to become strong enough to lead the armies of his deity. Adventuring provides an anti-paladin with an opportunity to suffuse his deity's will throughout the land as well as overcome challenges and defeat the opponents of his agenda. Some may be on profane quests offered by his order. Anti-Paladins frequently refer to their adventures as crusades.

Characteristics

Anti-Paladins are carefully crafted leaders. They are brutal and unrelenting, placing their every resource on the line to achieve a goal. Anti-Paladins exist to bring glory to their deity first, and then to their Order and self (though many scheme for themselves above their Order).

These warriors are invariably evil. They are often the subject of direct orders, and expect their subordinates (that is, everyone else) to follow orders as well. They are devout followers of the patron deity of their Order. While any evil deity could have an anti-paladin order, more prominent orders fall under the auspices of the more violent deities.

Creating an Anti-Paladin

Anti-paladin by Eric Belisle

Most anti-paladins are abducted as children after a raid. Those that survive the ordeal of childhood in an anti-paladin order are typically so warped by the experience that the title of anti-paladin has an appeal that they cannot deny. Many take their ascension to anti-paladinhood with pride bordering on (and often fully qualified as) hubris, and some are outright insane.

Some anti-paladins who hail from particularly corrupt societies are forced into an anti-paladin order by their parents to maintain the family reputation. In such societies, an anti-paladin order may even be a mere extension of the military complex that already defines the social system.

Anti-Paladin orders typically take only one race for their initiates, but a deity may have many anti-paladin orders at his disposal. Most anti-paladin orders are composed of humans, elves, or half-elves, though some exceptions may exist.

Quick Build

Choose Strength and Charisma as your primary attributes, with Constitution following close behind. Choose the soldier background.

Class Features

As a anti-paladin you gain the following class features.

Hit Points

Hit Dice: 1d10 per anti-paladin level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 10 + Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d10 (or 6) + Constitution modifier per anti-paladin level after 1st

Proficiencies

Armor: All armor, shields
Weapons: Simple weapons, martial weapons
Tools: None
Saving Throws: Wisdom, Charisma
Skills: Choose two from Arcana, Deception, Athletics, Insight, Intimidation, and Religion

Equipment

You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:

• (a) a martial weapon and a shield or (b) two martial weapons
• (a) five javelins or (b) any simple melee weapon
• (a) a priest's pack or (b) an explorer's pack
• Chain mail and a holy symbol

Table: The anti-paladin

Level	Proficiency Bonus	Features	Spell Slots	Slot Level
1st	+2	Detect Good, Harming Touch	—	—
2nd	+2	Fighting Style, Pact Magic, Unholy Smite	1	1st
3rd	+2	Unholy Vigor, Sacred Oath	1	1st
4th	+2	Ability Score Improvement	2	1st
5th	+3	Extra Attack	2	2nd
6th	+3	Aura of Vulnerability	2	2nd
7th	+3	Profane Oath feature	2	2nd
8th	+3	Ability Score Improvement	2	2nd
9th	+4	—	2	3rd
10th	+4	Aura of Cowardice	2	3rd
11th	+4	Improved Unholy Smite	2	3rd
12th	+4	Ability Score Improvement	2	3rd
13th	+5	—	2	4th
14th	+5	Cleansing Touch	2	4th
15th	+5	Profane Oath feature	2	4th
16th	+5	Ability Score Improvement	2	4th
17th	+6	—	2	5th
18th	+6	Aura improvements	2	5th
19th	+6	Ability Score Improvement	2	5th
20th	+6	Profane Oath feature	2	5th

Detect Good

The presence of strong positive energy registers on your senses like a noxious odor. As an action, you can open your awareness to detect such forces. Until the end of your next turn, you know the location of any celestial, fey, or good aligned dragon within 60 feet of you that is not behind total cover. You know the type (celestial, fey, or dragon) of any being whose presence you sense, but not its identity (the dragon Bahamut, for instance). Within the same radius, you also detect the presence of any place or object that has been consecrated or desecrated, as with the Hallow spell.

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.

Harming Touch

Your cursed touch can wound creatures. You have a pool of harm power that replenishes when you take a long rest. With that pool, you can cause a total damage equal to your anti-paladin level x 5.

As an action, you can make melee spell attack against a creature within reach. On a hit, you can draw power from the pool to cause damage to that creature, up to the maximum amount remaining in your pool. The damage is necrotic.

Alternatively, you can expend 5 points from your pool of harm to inflict the target with poison. The target is poisoned until the end of your next turn.

At 17th level, you can spend 85 points from your pool to cast contagion.

This feature has no effect on constructs. Undead creatures regain hit points with this feature, instead of taking damage.

Pact Magic

At 2nd level, your arcane research and the magic bestowed on you by your vile patron have given you the ability to cast spells.

Spell Slots

The Anti-Paladin table shows how many spell slots you have. The table also shows what the level of those slots is; all of your spell slots are the same level. To cast one of your Anti-Paladin spells of 1st level or higher, you must expend a spell slot. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a short or long rest.

For example, when you are 5th level, you have two 2nd-level spell slots. To cast the 1st-level spell hellish rebuke, you must spend one of those slots, and you cast it as a 2nd-level spell.

Preparing and Casting Spells

The Anti-paladin table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your 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 Anti-Paladin spells that are available for you to cast, choosing from the warlock spell list. When you do so, choose a number of warlock spells equal to your Charisma modifier + half your Anti-Paladin level, rounded down (minimum of one spell). The spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots.

You can change your list of prepared spells when you finish a long rest. Preparing a new list of Warlock spells requires time spent in contact with supernatural forces through rituals and meditation: at least 1 minute per spell level for each spell on your list.

Spellcasting Ability

Charisma is your spellcasting ability for your Anti-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 Anti-Paladin spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.

Spell save DC = 10 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier

Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier

Spellcasting Focus

You can use a holy symbol as a spellcasting focus for your Anti-Paladin spells.

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.

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 hit and 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

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, good aligned dragon or a fey, to a maximum of 6d8.

Profane Oath

Same as the Paladin's Sacred Oath, but you can choose only between the following options: Oathbreaker, Oath of Conquest, Oath of Vengeance, Oath of Treachery (UA).

Unholy Vigor

By 3rd level, the unholy magic flowing through you makes you immune to disease.

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.

Extra Attack

Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

Aura of Vulnerability

Starting at 6th level, whenever a hostile creature within 10 feet of you must make a saving throw, the creature gains a penalty to the saving throw equal to your Charisma modifier (with a minimum penalty of -1). You must be conscious to grant this penalty.

At 18th level, the range of this aura increases to 45 feet.

Aura of Cowardice

Starting at 10th level, hostile creatures that start their turns within 10 feet of you have disadvantage on their saving throws against the frightened condition, and creatures immune to this condition lose their immunity while inside the aura.

At 18th level, the range of this aura increases to 45 feet.

Improved Unholy Smite

By 11th level, you are so imbued with profane power that all your melee weapon strikes carry negative energy with them. Whenever you hit a creature with a melee weapon, the creature takes an extra 1d10 necrotic damage.

Corrupted Touch

When a creature is under the effect of a spell that requires saving throw in each of its turns, you can use your action to touch that creature. Doing so causes the next saving throw made by that creature to instantly fail.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier (a minimum of once). You regain expended uses when you finish a long rest.

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