Paladin
Whether sworn before a god’s altar and the witness of a priest, in a sacred glade before nature spirits and fey beings, or in a moment of desperation and grief with the dead as the only witness, a paladin’s oath is a powerful bond.
Warriors sworn to an oath, even if that oath is something evil. In the world of DnD and oath is like a spiritual pact, a trade in which a paladin gains power, but only as long as they don’t break their oath.
Paladins are typically represented as knights who swear to protect law and order, acting with dignity and authority and wieldinggreat armour and weapons empoweredby divine magic, but don’t et this idea limit your character, a paladin can be as many things are there are oaths to be made…. or broken…
Paladin Sacred Oaths
Subclasses for paladins are divided by the nature of the oath they take.
Oath of the Ancients
The Oath of the Ancients is as old as the race of elves and the rituals of the druids. Sometimes called fey knights, green knights, or horned knights, paladins who swear this oath cast their lot with the side of the light in the cosmic struggle against darkness because they love the beautiful and life-giving things of the world, not necessarily because they believe in principles of honor, courage, and justice. They adorn their armor and clothing with images of growing things-leaves, antlers, or flowers-to reflect their commitment to preserving life and light in the world.
These are basically the idea of heavily armoured druids. Protectors of nature, empowered ancient earthen magic.
Oath of Conquest
The Oath of Conquest calls to paladins who seek glory in battle and the subjugation of their enemies. It isn’t enough for these paladins to establish order. They must crush the forces of chaos. Sometimes called knight tyrants or iron mongers, those who swear this oath gather into grim orders that serve gods or philosophies of war and well-ordered might.
Some of these paladins go so far as to consort with the powers of the Nine Hells, valuing the rule of law over the balm of mercy. The archdevil Bel, warlord of Avernus, counts many of these paladins – called hell knights – as his most ardent supporters.
Tyrants pure and simple. Subjugating anything that doesn’t fit into their idea of order.
Oath of the Crown
The Oath of the Crown is sworn to the ideals of civilization, be it the spirit of a nation, fealty to a sovereign, or service to a deity of law and rulership. The paladins who swear this oath dedicate themselves to serving society and, in particular, the just laws that hold society together. These paladins are the watchful guardians on the walls, standing against the chaotic tides of barbarism that threaten to tear down all that civilization has built, and are commonly known as guardians, exemplars, or sentinels. Often, paladins who swear this oath are members of an order of knighthood in service to a nation or a sovereign, and undergo their oath as part of their admission to the order’s ranks.
Knights in service to the crown or state. Protectors of royalty and the citizens they govern.
Oath of Devotion
The Oath of Devotion binds a paladin to the loftiest ideals of justice, virtue, and order. Sometimes called cavaliers, white knights, or holy warriors, these paladins meet the ideal of the knight in shining armor, acting with honor in pursuit of justice and the greater good. They hold themselves to the highest standards of conduct, and some, for better or worse, hold the rest of the world to the same standards. Many who swear this oath are devoted to gods of law and good and use their gods’ tenets as the measure of their devotion. They hold angels – the perfect servants of good – as their ideals, and incorporate images of angelic wings into their helmets or coats of arms.
The classic paladin, swearing to devote body and soul to protect the innocent from dark forces.
Oath of Glory
Paladins who take the Oath of Glory believe they and their companions are destined to achieve glory through deeds of heroism. They train diligently and encourage their companions so they’re all ready when destiny calls.
These paladins care only about achieving glory through battle, slaying dragons, vanquishing tyrants, that sort sort of thing.
Oath of Vengeance
The Oath of Vengeance is a solemn commitment to punish those who have committed a grievous sin. When evil forces slaughter helpless villagers, when an entire people turns against the will of the gods, when a thieves’ guild grows too violent and powerful, when a dragon rampages through the countryside – at times like these, paladins arise and swear an Oath of Vengeance to set right that which has gone wrong. To these paladins – sometimes called avengers or dark knights – their own purity is not as important as delivering justice.
Easy to work with. A great example of this would be “Guts” from the series “Berserk”. Having lost all his companions, who were sacrificed in a demonic ritual by his best friend Griffith, so that he might become a god, guts, now branded with the mark of a sacrifice travels the land slaying the demons that serve him.
Oathbreaker
An oathbreaker is a paladin who breaks their sacred oaths to pursue some dark ambition or serve an evil power. Whatever light burned in the paladin’s heart been extinguished. Only darkness remains.
A great character base. These guys don’t have to be villains, they could be paladins betrayed by those they’ve sworn an oath to. A knight of the crown betrayed by the king, or even hell knights sold out by their patron, abandoning their oath in the pursuit of vengeance.