Oath of the Badge

Sacred Oath
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Oath of the Badge

Far out on the frontier of civilization, paladins are granted a special holy symbol, a badge of office, upon which they swear their vows. The badge symbolizes justice and law in places devoid of such things and identifies the paladin as the authority for a designated city, township, or shire. Above all, the badge carries the weight of responsibility. Every paladin that swears the Oath of the Badge is a keeper of the peace, a lawman of the frontier, and bears the solemn duty to protect and serve all citizens.

Tenets of the Badge
Even though different jurisdictions may have different laws, the guidelines followed by all badge-carrying paladins is quite clear, and always have these common features:
     Uphold the Law. Though your duties require you to sometimes step outside the bounds of taste, stepping outside the bounds of the law sets a dangerous precedent for those who witness it and might even cost you your badge. Paladins of higher authority enforce your conduct and can impose a number of punishments, up to and including causing your fall from paladinhood.
     Keep the Peace. It is not enough to simply enforce the law, you must also avoid unnecessary violence and conflict. Whenever possible, look for solutions that balance peace with law.
     Respect the Badge. Your badge is a mark of office and a symbol of law and order. Just as other people respect the significance of your badge, so should you respect your superiors and confederates whole carry similar badges of office.

Oath Spells
You gain oath spells at the paladin levels listed.

Sidebar: Weird West Spells
This archetype uses spells from the Weird West Update. If you wish to use this archetype without this update, consider using Oath Spells from the Oath of Devotion.

Channel Divinity
When you take this oath at 3rd level, you gain the following two Channel Divinity options.
     Discern Truth. As an action, you can use your Channel Divinity to attune your ears to Divine Law, which harbors no lies. For the next minute, you instantly know whenever you hear a lie. Additionally, you have advantage on Wisdom (Insight) checks for the duration.
     Longarm. You can use your bonus action to ensure that no one escapes the reach of justice. For the next minute, you can use your Divine Smite feature when you hit with a ranged weapon attack, in addition to melee weapon attacks. Additionally, your ranged weapon attacks ignore half and three-quarters cover and count as magical for purposes of overcoming damage resistance and immunity.

Lawman’s Command
By 7th level, when you present your badge, your word carries the force of law. You can cast the spell command without expending a spell slot. Once you cast this spell on a creature using this feature, you can’t use this feature on that creature again for 24 hours.

Steely Resolve
Starting 15th level, you can’t be surprised while you are conscious. Additionally, whenever you roll initiative, you gain a number of temporary hit points equal to your level.

Arbiter
Starting at 20th level, as an action, you can draw out the true strength of your badge, which begins to glow brightly. For the next minute, you are an arbiter of peace and law and gain the following benefits:

• Your AC becomes 20, if it were lower.
• You have blindsense with a range of 100 feet, and know the identity of creatures you can see.
• You have advantage on all attack rolls you make against creatures which have attacked or dealt damage to you in the last minute.

Once you use this ability, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.

Changelog: 2/24/17: Lawman’s Command: Wording altered (again)
Arbiter: Long rest recharge added