Oath of the Crusader

History

The Crusaders are resourceful and resilient holy warriors who wield sacred powers. They are champions of faith and law, distinguished by their formidable skills and abilities on the battlefield. Their goal is to save their faith and purge Sanctuary of all evil.

Crusaders are known for their heavy armor and ability to deflect attacks. They take zealotry to the extreme and find strength in their unwavering confidence in their cause. They have a small order, and each Crusader swears an oath to follow their goal until death. They often live off the land and communicate through secret symbols and gestures. The order has a succession system where apprentices take the place of fallen Crusaders and inherit their armor and identity. They are traditionally equipped with flails and towering shields, and their armor is emblematic of their identity.

The origins of the Crusaders lie during the time of Rakkis's crusade against the Western Kingdoms, a campaign that would end with the founding of Westmarch. As Rakkis's Paladin forces pressed west, the cleric Akkhan sensed Mephisto's taint in the Zakarum faith, and independently (and secretly) founded the Crusader order. Akhan specifically avoided calling his recruits paladins, for he saw paladins as a product of the corrupted church's errant ways. The Crusaders were specifically founded as a separate entity from the Paladins for fear of carrying over corruption into their new sacred duty.

For his new order, Akkhan searched far and wide for warriors of unparalleled strength, for believers who burned with inner Light—young recruits chosen for honor, goodness, and most importantly, an unwavering devotion to duty. After rigorous preparation, that involved training in the use of weaponry and flesh-scouring magics, the Crusaders departed Travincal and pushed east on their mission, traveling the same path Akarat was rumored to have taken in the last days of his life. They later entered the Swamplands in the far east of Sanctuary, seemingly disappearing without a trace, making no further contact with the Church. Some clerics scoffed at the possibility of the Crusaders achieving their goal, but they pressed forward nonetheless, having sworn to dedicate their lives to the search. Akhan stayed behind to fight Mephisto's corruption directly, a task which cost him his life. Because of the cleric's belief that the Church was corrupted, the Crusaders refrained from communicating with Paladin orders. As a result, only very high level members of the Zakarum Church are aware of the Crusaders' existence, and they suppressed knowledge of the Crusaders as best they could, including those of their own order.

Over the centuries, the Crusader order was hardened through relentless, brutal combat with the foul evils plaguing eastern Sanctuary, as their centuries-long quest to cleanse the Zakarum from Mephisto's taint and the corruption of Sanctuary as a whole drove them. A goal they were intent on achieving by any means necessary, though they did not know the form the redemption of their faith would take. Over this time, they remained a mostly secretive sect.

According to the studies of Deckard Cain a member of the Horadrim, it appears that some Crusaders investigated legends of lost Zakarum writings and holy relics from bygone eras. Others were driven by stories of infants born with an inner Light so pure it would cleanse the faith of its affliction. However, he could find no definitive evidence that a Crusader actually uncovered a means of completing their quest, and that they had exhausted most, if not all promising leads. Over two centuries after the beginning of their search, members of the order began returning to Kehjistan, by which time Mephisto's corruption of Zakarum had become visibly manifest. Cain speculated that this only strengthened their sense of purpose. From what he could gather, the remaining Crusaders began to fix their gaze on the unplumbed lands of the West.

Class Features

Description

In the forsaken lands of Sanctuary, evil once again stirred. Dark forces had risen, threatening to plunge the world into eternal darkness. The Crusader, known as Lady Seraphina, answered the call to arms, her armor gleaming with the emblem of the Zakarum order, a beacon of light amidst the encroaching shadows.

With unwavering resolve, Lady Seraphina set forth on her sacred quest. Her shield bore the mark of righteousness, channeling divine energy that would shield her allies and smite her foes. As she ventured into the decrepit catacombs beneath Tristram, the echoes of the fallen echoed in her ears.

In the depths, Lady Seraphina confronted a horde of vile undead creatures. She unleashed her Channel Divinity blinding the undead and sending waves of radiant energy surging through their decaying forms. The abominations writhed in pain as the holy light scorched their unholy flesh.

Drawing upon her divine powers, she conjured Blessed Hammers, which spun around her in a whirlwind of righteous fury. The hammers struck the undead with unyielding force, shattering their bones and banishing them back to the abyss.

With a thunderous war cry, she charged into battle, her Aura of Thorns radiating with the fury of righteous vengeance. Any who dared to strike her were met with piercing damage, their attacks turned against them.

In her final assault, Lady Seraphina became Akarat's Champion, invoking the ancient hero's strength. The very ground shook beneath her as she became an embodiment of divine fury. She cleaved through the demon's defenses, every strike inflicting critical damage, until her blade found its mark, vanquishing the dark monstrosity.

Emerging from the depths, Lady Seraphina returned to the surface, her armor battered but unbowed. The townsfolk, witness to her heroic deeds, hailed her as a savior.

As Lady Seraphina departed, she knew her battles were far from over. She vowed to continue her crusade against the forces of evil. She ventured forth, a beacon of hope in a world teetering on the brink of damnation.

Oath Spells

You gain oath spells at the paladin levels listed in the Oath of Conquest Spells table. See the Sacred Oath class feature for how oath spells work.

Paladin Level 3: healing word, shield

Paladin Level 5: aid, spiritual weapon

Paladin Level 9: life transference, revivify

Paladin Level 13: guardian of faith, Otiluke's resilient sphere

Paladin Level 17: dawn, mass cure wounds

Channel Divinity

When you take this oath at 3rd level, you gain the following two Channel Divinity options. See the Sacred Oath class feature for how Channel Divinity works.

Shield Glare. You gain the ability to channel your divine energy through your shield, temporarily blinding and disorienting your enemies. As an action, you can use your Channel Divinity to unleash a Shield Glare. Each creature of your choice within 30 feet of you must make a Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, the creature is blinded until the end of its next turn, and it takes radiant damage equal to your Paladin level. On a successful save, the creature takes half damage and isn't blinded.

Blessed Hammers. You can use your Channel Divinity to summon rotating Blessed Hammers imbued with holy power. As a bonus action, you create magical hammers that rotate around you in a 10-foot radius. These hammers last for 1 minute or until you dismiss them as a bonus action. While active, any creature that starts its turn within the radius of the rotating hammers takes 1d6 radiant damage. This damage increases to 2d6 at 5th level, 3d6 at 11th level, and 4d6 at 17th level.

Aura of Thorns

At 7th level, your devotion to your tenants manifests as an aura of thorns that surrounds you and harms those who dare to strike you. The aura extends 10 feet from you in every direction. Whenever a creature within this aura hits you with a melee attack, that creature takes piercing damage equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1). Additionally, friendly creatures, including yourself, within the aura gain resistance to piercing damage.

At 18th level, the range of this aura increases to 30 feet.

Bombardment

At 15th level, your Divine Smite ability becomes enhanced by your connection to divine forces. When you use Divine Smite, you can expend an additional spell slot to unleash a powerful bombardment of radiant energy. Each creature in a 30-foot cone must make a Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, a creature takes 6d8 radiant damage, while on a successful save, it takes half damage.

Akarat's Champion

At 20th level, you can channel the essence of Akarat, the ancient champion, granting you unparalleled power. As an action, you can activate Akarat's Champion, gaining the following benefits for 1 minute:

You have advantage on all attack rolls.
Your weapon attacks score a critical hit on a roll of 18, 19, or 20.
You have resistance to all damage.
At the start of each of your turns, you and each friendly creature within 30 feet of you regain hit points equal to your Charisma modifier.

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

For Generic Paladin Information go to https://www.dndbeyond.com/classes/paladin

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse