Oath of Mercy (5e Subclass)
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Oath of Mercy[edit]
The Oath Of Mercy is taken by pacifist Paladins who do not wish to kill their enemies, but rather protect life. They are often called Gray Knights due to their unbiased vow towards saving good and evil people. Paladins who swear this oath believe that everyone can either be redeemed or punished without death. These Paladins are devoted to Gods of life and justice for this very reason. To complement the nickname, many Paladins who swear this oath adorn their armor with a dull, metallic gray, the symbol of their God embedded onto either their shield or armor and words of forgiveness, mercy, redemption, or other such themes engraved on their weapon.
They uphold these tenants of belief:
Forgiveness. Let bygones be bygones. Forgive those who trespass against you.
Pacifism. Fight only as a last resort. Be diplomatic with those unwilling to fight until their last breath.
Redemption. Those who aren't evil can be redeemed. Show them the error of their ways and ensure they are on the path to redemption.
Punishment. Those who are evil may not be able to be redeemed, but you will still try. If they still can't be redeemed, don't kill them. Rather find a way to ensure they won't bother anyone again that doesn't involve killing.
Thou Shall Not Kill. The prime tenant that all Paladins must follow. Never kill anything, regardless of what they are.
Oath Spells[edit]
You gain these spells on the levels listed:
Level 3: Healing Word and Sleep
Level 5: Calm Emotions and Hold Person
Level 9: Mass Healing Word and Revivify
Level 13: Banishment and Death Ward
Level 17: Mass Cure Wounds and Raise Dead
Channel Divinity[edit]
When you take this Oath at Level 3, you gain two Channel Divinity options:
Mass Mercy. As an action, you can utter the words of mercy upon your holy symbol to bless all non-magic weapons around a 60 foot radius. All affected weapons are magically dulled for a minute and are only able to do non-lethal damage. This affects both hostile and non-hostile people. You can end this on your turn as a bonus action.
Words of Diplomacy. As an action, as long as you are out of combat, you can pray to your god for the strength to pursue peace. Your proficiency with the following skills is doubled for the next thirty minutes: Persuasion, Intimidation, and Deception. If you are already proficient with one of these skills, you gain advantage on the roll as well.
Aura of Diplomacy[edit]
Starting at 7th Level, you and friendly creatures in a 10-foot radius gain a double proficiency bonus on all Charisma based checks while you are conscious. At 18th Level, this increases to 30 feet.
Aura of Mercy[edit]
Starting at 15th Level, as a bonus action, you can invoke the Aura of Mercy. For a full minute, when anyone within thirty feet of you has their HP reduced to zero or below and are not killed outright, such as a Fireball spell hitting a bunch of Kobolds, they are instead unconscious at 1 HP and aren't killed. You can't use this again until you take a long rest.
Defeat Means Friendship[edit]
At 20th Level, you have mastered the Oath of Mercy and are able to fight with all your might without holding back out of fear of killing anyone. When you reduce a creature's health to 0 or below, you can invoke this feature. The creature is spared as if you inflicted non-lethal damage. The target must make a Wisdom Saving Throw against your Spell DC. If it fails, then the creature sees the error of its ways and becomes non-hostile towards you and your allies. You can't use this again until you take a long rest.
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