Oath of the White Hat (5e Subclass)
Oath of the White Hat[edit]
Paladin Subclass
Not every paladin has the privilege of living in the civilized parts of the world with dependable authorities and staunch traditions to fall back on. Some instead do their justice off on fringes of what can charitably be called society. Off where they’ve got no backup but their trusty steed and a speeding bullet. Off where bad people do bad things without fear of any highfalutin angels descending down into the mud to stop them. Off where a code and campfire is all that separates man from beast. Oath of the White Hat paladins are those brave pioneers willing to journey out beyond the law’s firm hand in order to right some wrongs and stop some evil before they reach either those just trying to survive on the edges or those who won’t survive when the edges reach them. While often the lonesome sort that prefer the company of cattle to people, few White Hats will say no to help when offered. They usually don’t have the luxury.
- Tenets of the White Hat
Horizon: Always be looking for the next wild frontier even as you advance the cause of civilization. Savor that wild sunset before it’s consumed by progress.
Howdy: Always treat strangers kindly and civilly until they give you a reason not to. You can shoot first, but not before the scoundrel goes for their own weapon.
Noble Steed: Whatever you traverse the land upon, treat it with respect it’s owed. Whenever you stop to rest, make sure the animal’s wellbeing and upkeep are taken care of before your own.
Quickdraw: While you should never instigate a conflict, always have your hand ready to raise your iron to end those that do occur wherever you wander.
- Oath Spells
You gain oath spells at the paladin levels listed.
| Paladin Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 3rd | compelled duel, hunter's mark |
| 5th | rope trick, spray of cards |
| 9th | daylight, phantom steed |
| 13th | galder's speedy courier, locate creature |
| 17th | conjure volley, hold monster |
- Bonus Proficiencies
Starting at 3rd level, you have proficiency with Animal Handling, Land Vehicles, and Firearms. You can use Divine Smite, Improved Divine Smite, and any spell with Smite in its name with firearms as if they were melee weapons.
- Channel Divinity
When you take this oath at 3rd level, you gain the following two Channel Divinity options.
- Blessed Ballistics
As an action, you may infuse a firearm you are touching with divine power until you complete a long rest or use this Channel Divinity again. If you have no firearm, you can summon a magic pistol that lasts for the same duration. For the duration of this feature, the firearm’s critical hits deal additional damage equal to your Charisma modifier and it replaces its Loading or Reload property with Reload (6 shots) unless its Reload is higher.
As a bonus action, you may conjure up to a number of silvered bullets equal to your Charisma modifier + 1 to automatically load the infused firearm as long as you are touching it (minimum of 1). These bullets disappear 1 round after they are unloaded or fired. Futuristic firearms cannot use the bullets as ammunition.
When you use this Channel Divinity you can optionally expend a 1st-level spell slot to give the firearm a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls, a 3rd-level spell for a +2 bonus, or a 5th-level spell slot for a +3 bonus for the duration of the Channel Divinity. This feature has no effect on a magic weapon that already has a bonus to attack and damage rolls.
- Deadhand Draw
As a reaction to being attacked, you can draw and make a ranged weapon attack against the attack with advantage if the attacker is within range of the weapon. Long range does not impose disadvantage on this attack. If the attack is successful you can use Divine Smite as if you expended a spell slot of a level equal to half your proficiency bonus, rounded down, without expending a spell slot. If the attack scores a critical hit, the damage dealt by Divine Smite is doubled. If both rolls would score a critical hit, the damage dealt by Divine Smite it tripled. This damage ignore Divine Smite’s normal damage limits. The attack and its damage are rolled before the original attack is rolled. If this reaction kills the attacker, their attack automatically misses.
- Aura of the Deadeye
Starting at 7th level, your presence steadies the nerves of your allies. You and friendly creatures within 10 feet of you score a critical hit on ranged attack rolls of 19-20. If you or any friendly creature in this aura makes a ranged attack roll with advantage and would score a critical hit with both rolls, they can roll one additional damage die when determining the extra damage the target takes.
At 18th level, the range of this aura increases to 30 feet.
- Miracle Shot
Starting at 15th level, sometimes you fail so hard that you miraculously end up succeeding. When you roll a 1 on a ranged weapon attack and miss, you can turn the attack roll into a critical hit on a different creature within 30 feet of the original target. If the attack was made with advantage, you can roll one additional damage die when determining the extra damage the new target takes. After you use this feature, you cannot use it again until you complete a short or long rest.
- High Noon
Starting at 20th level, you can heighten your senses and coordination for brief moment to rapidly empty your magazine as time seems to crawl around you. As a bonus action, you gain the following effects until the end of your turn:
- You have advantage on your ranged weapon attack rolls and score a critical hit with them on a roll of 18-20.
- You may make up to 6 ranged weapon attacks as an action, but cannot move between attacks. No creature can take reactions until the end of your turn.
- Your ranged weapon attacks deal 1d6 additional damage. Your ranged critical hits deal 2d6 additional damage instead. If both attack rolls would score a critical hit, the damage increases to 3d6.
Once you use this feature, you cannot use it again until you complete a long rest.
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