Blackguard

Paladins are the righteous, powerful holy warriors of the guards. When a person hears the term paladin, it conjures the quintessential knight in shining armor, silver sword held high to drive back the forces of evil. Blackguard have turned from valor to vileness, from mercy to malice. Many were once noble champions—heroes who fell, broke, or willingly abandoned their sacred vows for power, vengeance, or nihilism. Others were never righteous to begin with, using false virtue to climb toward darker ambitions. Whatever their path, the Blackguard emerges not merely as a traitor to the light, but as a devoted servant of darkness, cruelty, and dread.   Blackguards are the truest champions of darkness: generals of hellish hosts, knights of the dead, heralds of tyranny. Their oaths are sworn to wicked gods and they often serve under undead lords, powerful fiends, or simply their own egos, bringing death where once they might have brought life. Though some hide behind twisted ideals—"order through fear," or "freedom through domination"—most embrace their depravity without shame. To meet a Blackguard is to feel the weight of corrupted glory and the stench of rotting justice.

Tenets of the Blackguard

1st-Level Paladin (Blackguard) Feature   Though the tenets of the Blackguard vary with each dread knight, most follow core principles that unite them under the banner of cruelty and domination:

Strength Above All.	Power is the only truth. The weak exist to serve or perish.
Ruin the Righteous.	There is no virtue but victory. Crush those who claim holiness.
Rule by Fear.	Compassion is a flaw. Fear is loyalty. Dread is dominion.

Blackguard Spells

1st-Level Paladin (Blackguard) Feature   You learn certain spells at the Paladin levels listed in the table below. These spells are always prepared and don't count against the number of spells you can have prepared.

Paladin Level	Spells
1st	Cause Fear, Cause Wounds
5th	Crown of Madness, Withering Smite
9th	Animate Dead, Bestow Curse
13th	Blight, Phantasmal Killer
17th	Dominate Person, Negative Energy Flood

Dread Presence

2nd-Level Paladin (Oath of the Blackguard) Feature   You exude a malevolent aura. When you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack, you can force it to make a Wisdom saving throw against your Spell Save DC. On a failure, the creature becomes Frightened of you until the end of your next turn.   You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Paladin Power Reservoir, regaining all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Channel Divinity: Black Embodiment

3rd-Level Paladin (Blackguard) Feature   As an action, you channel malevolent energy into yourself, granting yourself incredible strength. For 1 minute or until you are Unconscious, your weapon attacks score a critical hit on a roll of 19-20 and you have advantage on saving throws against supernatural effects.

Channel Divinity: Gravebound Curse

3rd-Level Paladin (Blackguard) Feature   As a bonus action, you invoke a vile invocation and place a mark of damnation upon your foe. As an action, choose one creature you can see within 30 feet of you. The target must make a Charisma saving throw. On a failure, it is cursed for 1 minute or until you fall Unconscious (Save ends at end of turn). While cursed, the creature takes an additional 1d8 necrotic damage from each of your weapon attacks or divine spells that deal damage. Additionally, the creature cannot willingly move away from you.

Aura of Despair

7th-Level Paladin (Blackguard) Feature   You radiate a palpable sense of hopelessness, draining the resolve of those around you and making it harder for them to follow through with their strikes. Creatures of your choice within your Aura take a penalty to weapon damage rolls equal to your Wisdom modifier.

Unholy Resilience

15th-Level Paladin (Blackguard) Feature   You gain immunity to necrotic, negative energy, and poison damage, and you have advantage on saving throws against disease.

Malevolent Avatar

20th-Level Paladin (Blackguard) Feature   You become a vessel of terror and death. As an action, you can assume a dread form for 1 minute. You gain the following benefits:

• You gain resistance to all damage except radiant and positive energy.
• Any creature of your choice that starts its turn in your Aura must make a Wisdom saving throw against your Spell Save DC, being Frightened of you until the start of its next turn on a failure.
• The critical hit range of your weapon attacks increases by 1, and you deal an additional 2d8 necrotic damage on a hit.

Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.

Deities Granting this Oath