The Oath of Madness is not so much a solemn vow as a warped fanaticism. There are some things no mortal was meant to know, terrible secrets from beyond the stars, beings that defy reality itself by their very existence. When mortals learn of such things, it shatters their perception of the world. Some go completely mad from the revelations, while others retain some semblance of sanity but are forever changed. Paladins of Madness, sometimes known as Pariahs, are warriors who have had their minds touched by such terrible knowledge and can use it to twist the fabric of reality. Some are insane and on a quest incomprehensible to any but them. Others retain their sanity but suffer shock, depression, or supreme apathy from the knowledge. Still others vow to use their newfound knowledge to exterminate all such taint from existence.
Tenets of Madness
There are no overarching tenets for Pariahs. Even those who claim service to the same eldritch abomination can find themselves interpreting it in radically different ways, the results of their minds’ failure to truly grasp their master. However, the warping effects on their psyche produces some mad tenets in Pariahs. Roll 1d10 to determine a Mad Tenet for your Pariah. Alternatively, you can work with your DM to create your own Mad Tenet. In addition, roll 1d100 on the Indefinite Madness Table. This madness cannot be cured by any mortal magic.
Mad Tenet
1. Adoration: So wonderful! So beautiful! So pure! I must fight for it. Protect it. Have it! My precious, my beloved, I do this all for you. |
2. Antipathy: You, your kind, your type, are a stain, a blight upon this realm. I will cleanse you from these lands. I cannot rest so long as your presence looms. |
3. Clean the filth: I’m dirty, and I can’t get clean. So dirty, always scrubbing, never clean. So much filth around me. Dirty minds, dirty bodies, dirty hearts. I will clean it. I must clean the filth. |
4. Freedom: Minds, bodies, souls. Bound down, tied down, chained up, caged up. So many people slaves, and they don’t even know. Slaves to states, to mindless routines, to archaic beliefs. I will bring freedom. |
5. Happiness: People should not be unhappy. I must stop unhappiness. I will make people happy, even if I must carve the smiles on their souls. And remember: the dead are not unhappy. |
6. My Will Be Done: Behold my power! My grandeur! I, who am above other mortals. My will be done! I will manifest my will, and let none stand in my way! |
7. No More Secrets: Lies, lies, so many lies. So much hidden. No more! Enough! I will not lie, I will not tolerate lies, and I will expose any secrets I find! |
8. Pain: Pain, suffering, agony. It makes my feel alive. Truly alive. It cuts to my core, gives me reprieve from my own mind. To the pain! Chase the pain! Bring the pain! Relish the pain! |
9. Protection: It must be guarded. Protected. By any means necessary, no matter the cost, it must be protected. I will protect it. I must protect it. I must protect it. I must protect it. |
10. Strength: It’s coming. It’s coming soon. We cannot afford to be weak. Weakness will drag us all down. I will cultivate strength, in myself, in others. I will fight weakness, burn it away, carve it out! We must be strong! |
Channel Divinity
When you take the Oath at 3rd level, you gain two Channel Divinity Options.
Mind Rending Strike: Your weapon glows with strange eldritch energy, and its geometries twist in utterly alien ways as it rends both body and mind. When you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can use your Channel divinity to deal additional psychic damage equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum 1) and force it to make a Wisdom saving throw. If it succeeds on this initial save, the next saving throw it makes against your Aura of Madness within the next minute is rolled with disadvantage. On a failed save, it is afflicted with a Short Term Madness. Roll on the Short Term Madness table to determine its duration. The creature can repeat this saving throw at the end of each of its turn, ending the effect successful save. Regardless of whether it succeeded or failed on its initial save, the creature loses any immunity to your Aura of Madness that it gained from successfully saving against it.
That Which Walks Behind: As an action, choose a creature you can see within 30 feet. You can choose to teleport to an unoccupied space within 10 feet of that creature as long as it is on the same plane of existence as you. For the next minute, you can use use an action to teleport in this manner to that creature. If you teleported to that creature with this ability, on the turn that you teleported you can use your bonus action to make a single weapon attack against that creature.
Sense Abomination
At 3rd level, your divine sense can also sense aberrations.
Oath Spells
You gain oath spells at the paladin levels listed.
Oath of Madness Spells
| PALADIN LEVEL | SPELLS |
|---|---|
3rd | |
5th | |
9th | |
13th | |
17th |
Aura of Madness
Starting at 7th level, your very presence is enough to drive people mad. Creatures of your choice who start their turn or approach within 5 feet of you must make a Wisdom save against your paladin spell save DC or be affected by a Short Term Madness for 1 minute. The creature can make a new save at the end of its turn and each time it takes damage. On a successful save, the effect ends. A creature can only have one Short Term Madness from Aura of Madness at a time. Creatures who make their save are immune to your Aura of Madness until you finish a long rest. At 18th level, the range of this aura increases to 10 feet.
Crazed Assault
At 15th level, if you hit a creature that has successfully saved against you Aura of Madness within the last 24 hours with a weapon attack, it loses its immunity to your Aura of Madness.
That Which Should Not Be
At 20th level, you can enhance your maddening presence to a horrifying degree, bringing those unfortunates nearby to new heights of insanity. As an action, you gain the following benefits for 1 minute:
- The range of your Aura of Madness increases to 30 ft
- Creatures have disadvantage on their saving throws against your Aura of Madness.
- On a failed save against your Aura of Madness, creatures also develop a long term madness. Roll on the long term madness table to determine the duration of the long term madness. This long term madness does not end on a successful saving throw against this ability. Creatures can only develop one long term madness for each time you use this ability.
Once you use this ability, you cannot use it again until you finish a long rest.