Oath of the Ancients — Paladin Subclass

The Oath of the Ancients is older than temples and creeds — a vow sworn to the light itself, not as a god but as everything worth loving in the world: laughter, growth, kindness, the green returning after winter. These paladins are the green knights of the old stories, wreathed in living vines and fey magic, who fight the encroaching dark not out of grim duty but out of a fierce and joyful love for what the dark would destroy.

Theirs is the most patient and enduring of the oaths, and it lends a power that is very hard to put down. An Ancients paladin ensnares foes in spectral growth, wards their allies against the searing energies of hostile magic, and shrugs off blows that would kill anyone else — untouched by age, slow to fall, as stubborn and renewing as a forest. To swear this oath is to promise to keep the light alive, however long the night runs.

Oath Features

Paladin Level	Feature
3rd	Oath of the Ancients Spells, Nature's Wrath
7th	Aura of Warding
15th	Undying Sentinel
20th	Elder Champion

3rd Level

Oath of the Ancients Spells

The old magic keeps a suite of spells always ready: Ensnaring Strike and Speak with Animals at 3rd; Misty Step and Moonbeam at 5th; Plant Growth and Protection from Energy at 9th; Ice Storm and Stoneskin at 13th; and Commune with Nature and Tree Stride at 17th — a green knight's repertoire of growth, warding, and the wild.

3rd Level

Nature's Wrath

As a Magic action, you can expend a use of Channel Divinity to conjure spectral vines around your foes. Each creature of your choice within 15 feet must succeed on a Strength saving throw (DC 8 + your Charisma modifier + your Proficiency Bonus) or be Restrained for 1 minute, repeating the save at the end of each of its turns — the very ground rising up to hold your enemies fast.

7th Level

Aura of Warding

Ancient magic lies so heavily on you that it forms a ward for everyone near. You and your allies have Resistance to Necrotic, Psychic, and Radiant damage while within your Aura of Protection — the withering, mind-searing, and searing-holy energies that undo most warriors simply reduced around you.

15th Level

Undying Sentinel

You endure like the forest itself. When you are reduced to 0 Hit Points and not killed outright, you can instead drop to 1 Hit Point and regain Hit Points equal to three times your Paladin level — once per Long Rest. And you no longer age: you suffer none of the frailties of old age, and cannot be aged by magic.

20th Level

Elder Champion

You take on an ancient form that embodies your oath. As a Bonus Action, for 1 minute you gain: Regeneration of 10 Hit Points at the start of each turn; the power to force any enemy starting its turn in your aura to make a Charisma save or suffer Disadvantage on attacks and checks; and Empowered Casting, letting you cast action-time paladin spells as a Bonus Action. Once used, you recover it on a Long Rest — or by spending a level 5 spell slot.