Though armed and armored, not all paladins seek out battle as the primary means of spreading their faith. For many, the sword and shield are tools of last resort, and a victory on the battlefield is bittersweet at best. Paladins who swear the Oath of Mercy dedicate themselves to using their divine gifts and physical strength to healing the wounded, tending to the sick, and defending those who cannot defend themselves. In many ways, these paladins follow a path much closer to the clerics of many orders, yet they still retain the ability to be a dangerous force in any battle. For the paladins who adhere to an Oath of Mercy, their offensive weapons are to be kept in reserve until there is no other option, and they use their inherent charm to defang arguments before their venom can spill over into physical conflict.
Oath Spells
You gain oath spells at the paladin levels listed.
| Paladin Level |
Spells |
| 3rd |
healing word, sanctuary |
| 5th |
calm emotions, prayer of healing |
| 9th |
create food and water, mass healing word |
| 13th |
death ward, spell |
| 17th |
mass cure wounds, modify memory |
Channel Divinity
When you take this oath at 3rd level, you gain the following two Channel Divinity options.
Benevolent Sacrifice: When a creature that you can see that is within 30 feet of you would take damage, you can use your reaction to quickly form a bond between yourself and that creature, using your Channel Divinity. The creature takes no damage, and you take damage of the same amount and type as the creature would have taken.
Warding Touch: When you use your Lay on Hands feature, you can also bestow upon the one you heal a blessing of true mercy, using your Channel Divinity. That creature gains temporary hit points equal to half of the amount of hit points you healed. These temporary hit points last until the creature finishes a long rest, or until you use this Channel Divinity option again.
Aura of Mercy
Beginning at 7th level, when another creature that is within 10 feet of you regains hit points as the result of a spell of 1st level or higher, that creature regains additional hit points equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum 1).
At 18th level, the range of this aura increases to 30 feet.
Sense Maladies
Starting at 15th level, you are always under the effects of a
detect poison and disease spell, and you do not need to concentrate
on it.
Avatar of Mercy
At 20th level, as an action, you become a vessel of pure divine mercy, radiating the gentle peace of your god outward from you. For 1 minute, you gain the following benefits:
- Bright light shines from you in a 30-foot radius, and dim light shines 30 feet beyond that.
- All creatures within 60 feet of you have disadvantage on attack rolls and advantage on saving throws.
Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.
