Sacred Oath
Comments from the Finger: This one’s from Pathfinder, and was actually a huge challenge to write up.
Oath of Sin Eating
Paladins who swear an Oath of Sin Eating believe it is not enough to destroy enemies of the church, they must eat their sins. Normally, the souls of sinners go to the Lower Planes upon death, which in turn, empowers the dark forces that originate there. But when a sin is consumed, the dead is absolved of it, and its soul is denied to the Lower Planes. The sin eater, in turn, must take on the darkness of this sin, and can even channel its infernal energy for a time.
Of course, this is not without cost. When a sin eater takes some of that sin upon himself, he must work to absolve it and to reverse the wrongs caused by the consumed sin. If absolution is not met, the sin eater himself might be condemned to the Lower Planes, undoing all the good he sought after.
Sin Eating Spells
Paladin Level | Spells |
3rd | false life, hellish rebuke |
5th | gentle repose, hold person |
9th | feign death, speak with dead |
13th | death ward, locate creature |
17th | geas, hallow |
Tenets of Sin Eating
While there are quite malignant versions of sin eating, which harm the dead and attempt to harm the gods, the most benign versions of this practice tend to believe in the following doctrines.
Pursue. Those who sin against the gods must not be allowed to continue unreprimanded. There is no safe haven from the sin eaters, for the gods have dominion over all the world.
Purify. The ways of the wicked must be undone. All suffering caused by their sins must be annulled.
Consume. Consume the sins of the dead, that they might continue blameless into the afterlife.
Channel Divinity
When you take this oath at 3rd level, you gain the following two Channel Divinity options.
Eat Sin. Once per day, you can consume the sins of the recently dead, purifying the corpse for the gods. This corpse must have been dead for no longer than 1 hour, and must have a maximum number of hit points greater than four times your paladin level. Performing this ritual requires 1 minute of concentration and uses your Channel Divinity while you eat a small ritual meal atop the dead. Your Lay on Hands healing pool then replenishes completely, and, until you take a short or long rest, you gain a bonus to melee weapon damage rolls equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of +1).
Interrogate Dead. You can wrest answers from your enemies, even after their deaths. By expending your Channel Divinity, can cast the spell speak with dead without using a spell slot. The corpse you target is compelled to answer your first question truthfully, though its answer can be as short as one word. After using this ability, you must complete a short or long rest before using it again.
Burden of Sin
Starting at 7th level, you can use your action to transfer a negative effect from a willing creature to yourself. You can transfer any of the following effects of your choice affecting the target:
- One level of exhaustion
- One disease or poison
- One effect that charmed or petrified the target
- One curse, including the target’s attunement to a cursed magic item
- Any reduction to one of the target’s ability scores
- One effect reducing the target’s hit point maximum
- The blinded, deafened, paralyzed, or poisoned condition
The effect targets you as if you were the original target, continuing the duration (if any) and preventing any further effect on the original bearer. After transferring an effect from a creature, you cannot transfer another from that creature for 24 hours.
Vice Shield
At 15th level, you can cast the spell hellish rebuke without expending a spell slot.
Sin Seeker
Starting at 20th level, as an action, you can unleash the tide of writhing sin within you, and become a bulwark of infernal energy. Your Lay On Hands healing pool replenishes completely. For the next minute, you are immune to necrotic damage, and, when you make a Divine Smite, you can expend a number of healing points from your Lay On Hands healing pool instead of a spell slot. These points are treated of a spell of a level equal to the number of points expended, divided by 5, to a maximum level of 4.
Changelog: 7/5/16: Eat Sin: Once per day. HP limit increased to 4x paladin level
Sin Seeker: Maximum Divine Smite level of 4