At 3rd level, a paladin gains the Sacred Oath feature. The following Oath of Silence option is available to a paladin, in addition to those normally offered.
Oath of Silence
Champions of the mind, paladins of the Oath of Silence ward themselves against the effects of those who would use the paladins’ own thoughts against them. Through intense discipline and constant concentration, they are the living embodiment of a tower of iron will.
Many paladins of the Oath of Silence simply protect those who would be manipulated and abused by psionicists. Others hunt psions and other psychic warriors down, removing their presence altogether.
Tenets of Silence
A paladin who follows the Oath of Silence fortifies itself by mentally repeating its tenets over and over again.
Silence. My silence is my greatest weapon. I only need to speak when it is absolutely necessary.
Psion Hunter. Those who label themselves psionicists are a threat to the natural order of things. It is my duty to hunt (and potentially slay) these creatures.
Discipline. My mind is a fortress. Through meditation and discipline, I can protect myself and others from those who wield psychic powers.
Oath Spells
You gain oath spells at the paladin levels listed in the Oath of Silence Spells table. See the Sacred Oath class feature for how oath spells work.
Oath of Silence Spells
Paladin Level | Oath Spells |
3rd | sanctuary, shield |
5th | detect thoughts, see invisibility |
9th | dispel magic, nondetection |
13th | locate creature, Otiluke’s resilient sphere |
17th | mislead, seeming |
Silent Oath
Starting at 3rd level, when you choose this oath, at the end of a long rest you can enter a trance-like state which allows you to focus your mind. You can move and perform actions as normal, but you cannot speak, and you must maintain concentration (as if concentrating on a spell) for the duration. Until you speak, or your concentration on this feature is broken, you add a bonus to your spell and smite damage equal to your proficiency bonus. In addition, you ignore the verbal component requirements for all of your paladin spells. You can concentrate on any of your paladin spells at the same time as concentrating on your Silent Oath. However, if you lose your concentration while concentrating on a spell and Silent Oath at the same time, you lose the benefits of both the spell and Silent Oath.
Once your concentration is broken or you speak, you cannot gain the benefits of this feature until you finish another long rest.
Channel Divinity
When you take this oath at 3rd level, you gain the following two Channel Divinity options.
Tower of Iron Will. As an action, you can use your Channel Divinity to protect yourself against powers and spells that affect your mind. For 1 hour, whenever you make a Wisdom saving throw, you can treat a d20 result of 9 or lower as a 10.
Psionics Reflection. You can use your Channel Divinity to reflect psychic and force damage back on the manifester. Immediately after an attacker within 60 feet of you deals psychic or force damage with a psionic power or spell attack against you or a creature within 10 feet of you, you can use your reaction to force the attacker to make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the attacker takes psychic damage equal to the damage it just dealt. On a successful save, it takes half as much damage.
Aura of Mental Defense
Starting at 7th level, you can shield others from psionic attacks. You and each creature within 10 feet of you gain resistance to psychic damage and have advantage on Intelligence saving throws.
At 18th level, the range of this aura increases to 30 feet.
Psychic Feedback
Your mind is so protected against psychic damage, that at 15th level, any creature who attacks you with powers or spells are mentally punished for their audacity. Whenever a creature hits you with a power or spell attack that deals psychic or force damage, that creature must succeed on an Intelligence saving throw or become stunned until the end of your next turn.
Anti-Psion
At 20th level, you become a foe of psionicists and spellslingers everywhere. As an action, you become an avatar of mental defense, gaining the following benefits for 1 minute:
- You have advantage on all saving throws against spells and magical effects (including powers).
- Whenever a creature damages you with a power or spell attack, you can use your reaction to move up to half your movement speed and make a single attack against that creature.
Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.
Psionics: A New Book by DMDave
Towards the end of this month, this entry along with many others will be included in a new book titled Psionics. Patrons at all levels will have first access to this.
Art by Interum Games.