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ClassesD&D 5eWild West

Oath of Justice – Paladin Sacred Oath – D&D 5e

Thumbnail art by HyunJoon Kim

Oath of Justice

The Oath of Justice has paladins settle on being the law, or the impersonation of it. Law and order go hand in hand, and it’s these paladin’s vision that with a system, there is justice. No matter the end results, there is a reason for the law and everything it involves to exist, and they must be abided.

Paladins who swear this oath are often seen as people to look up to, while others find them to be similar to constructs in that they have one core function, and that is punishing criminals. In reality, these paladins often struggle with serving a system that might go against their moral code, but end up doing what is just even if it means going against their feelings.

Tenets of Justice

  • Protect the innocent. Protect those who are victims of criminals or falsely accused of a crime.
  • Punish the guilty. Seek out evidence and track down suspects. Provide all accused with a fair trial and punish the guilty.
  • Be the law. You must live in accordance with the law and enforce it justly.

Oath Spells

You gain oath spells at the paladin levels listed. You can cast spells from this list that require melee attacks as ranged attacks from your spellcasting focus.

Paladin level Spells
3rd compelled duel, hunter’s mark
5th find steed, branding smite
9th blinding smite, slow
13th locate creature, staggering smite
17th banishing smite, conjure volley

Spellcasting Focus

3rd-level Oath of Justice feature

You can use your gun as a spellcasting focus for your paladin spells. You can use this weapon’s attacks in place of melee weapon attacks to use Divine Smite. In addition, spells that require an attack roll can be made with a firearm.

Channel Divinities

3rd-level Oath of Justice feature

You gain the following two Channel Divinity options. See the Sacred Oath class feature for how Channel Divinity works.

Channel Divinity: Bullseye

As an action, you focus your aim. For one minute, once per round, when a ranged weapon attack you make misses, you can decide for it to hit. You can not use this ability on a shot that you have taken a voluntary penalty for (such as with the sharpshooter feat).

Channel Divinity: Drop your Weapons

As an action, you command a number of creatures (up to your proficiency modifier) of your choice within 60 feet to make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, the creature drops whatever it is carrying in its hands.

Aura of Justice

7th-level Oath of Justice feature

An aura of order and authority extends from you, bolstering allies and intimidating enemies. Friendly creatures within 10 feet of you receive a +2 bonus to ranged weapon attacks. In addition, you have advantage on Charisma (Intimidation) checks against creatures within 10 feet.

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

Swift Hand of Justice

15th-level Oath of Justice feature

Your speed and senses are so refined that you can draw your gun in an instant and predict the moves of an enemy. You have advantage on initiative rolls. 

Additionally, once per turn (equal to your proficiency bonus) as a reaction you can make a shot against a creature you can see that has targeted you or an ally with a weapon attack or spell. 

Avatar of Justice

20th-level Oath of Justice feature

You allow the very essence of law and order to course through you. As a bonus action, you become an avatar of justice for 1 minute:

  • For any damage rolls you make for a weapon attack or spell attack, you can take the average damage die (rounded up) instead of your roll.
  • You can use your Channel Divinity feature as a bonus action.
  • You are always considered to have half cover. If you have three-quarters cover, you are considered to have total cover. 

Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest, unless you expend a 5th-level spell slot to use it again.