Oath of the Weave
Not all paladins are divine warriors driven by their oath to a particular god or pantheon, some of them draw the power from the source of all arcane energy - the Weave. Although some paladins who follow the path of the Weave give their allegiance to certain gods of magic such as Mystra or Boccob, most of them have a more personal connection to the Weave itself. They often serve as protectors of their own beliefs on what magic should be used for, some of them seek out rebel spellcasters who abuse their power, some are dedicated guards at arcane universities and mage guilds alike while there are also those who seek out their careers as loyal bodyguards of mighty wizards or even hunters of ancient magical relics. Whatever their calling, they all know the power of arcane magic and are aware that a certain balance must be maintained.
Tenets of the Weave
A paladin who takes this oath often has an arcane symbol tattooed on his wrist. Although it brings no special powers, this symbol is a mark of their order which is recognized, respected and and often feared, depending on the person witnessing it.
Lore forgotten is lore lost. No magic is evil or wrong by itself and none should be forgotten. Seek out Arcane knowledge and preserve it but be careful that its secrets don't fall into the wrong hands.
Maintain the balance. Not all who posses arcane power are worthy of it. Seek out those who abuse the power of the Weave and revert or punish them.
Protect the Arts. Sometimes great sacrifices must be made in order to preserve what is worthy. Be wise in your judgement, weigh carefully on which powers should be left to thrive and which should be extinguished.
Embrace the Weave. While arcane knowledge is a field you must study, it takes practice in the Arts to truly understand it. Devote yourself to the perfection of the Arts whenever you can so that you may truly embrace it.
Oath Spells
Oath of the Weave Spells
| Paladin level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 3rd | Magic missile, Identify |
| 5th | Silence, Locate object |
| 9th | Dispel magic, Counterspell |
| 13th | Otiluke's resilient sphere, Leomund's secret chest |
| 17th | Legend lore, Rary's telepathic bond |
Lorekeeper
You are a student of magic and protector of lore as much as you are a master of the sword. When you take this archetype at 3rd level you gain proficiency the Arcana skill and one language of your choice.
Weapon of the Weave
As paladins of this oath channel arcane power more than divine, the radiant damage of the paladin Divine Smite might not seem entirely appropriate for the theme of this sacred oath. For interested players and DMs, the following optional features can be included as part of this sacred oath option when it's taken or as part of the paladin's progression:
Arcane Smite
When you use your Divine Smite or Improved Divine Smite, you inflict force damage instead of radiant damage, and you deal extra damage against aberrations and monstrosities instead of fiends and undead.
Channel Divinity
When you take this oath at 3rd level, you gain the following two Channel Divinity options:
Arcane Aegis. When you are hit by a spell that requires a spell attack roll and targets only you, you may use this Channel divinity option as a reaction to redirect the spell. Make an opposed Arcana check against the caster of the original spell, adding your Charisma modifier as a bonus to your roll. If your result is higher, choose another target for the spell within 60 feet of your current location. The redirected spell uses the original casters spell casting modifier but you roll the attack roll against the new target. If you fail in the opposed check, the spell and all its effects hit you as normal.
You must be aware of a spell being cast against you in order to use this feature.
Consult the Weave. You may use this Channel divinity option as an action to transform a part of your Lay on Hands healing pool into spell slots. You may expend 10 points from your Lay on Hands healing pool to restore one 1st level spell slot. For each additional 10 points expended in this way, you may restore a spell slot of a higher level. The maximum level of a spell slot restored in this way is equal to your Charisma modifier.
Aura of Arcane Resonance
Starting at 7th level you emit an aura of arcane energy that hinders or strengthens magic, depending on your needs.
You and friendly creatures within 10 feet of you have advantage on any constitution saving throws you have to make in order to maintain concentration on a spell. Likewise, enemies within this aura have disadvantage on any constitution save made to maintain concentration on spell.
At 18th level, the range of this aura increases to 30 feet.
Arcane Sentinel
Beginning at 15th level, you become a bastion of defence against the magical arts. You can use your reaction to innately cast the Shield or Absorb elements spells without expending a spell slot. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier and regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.
Protector of the Weave
At 20th level, you can become a living embodiment of arcane magic, feeding upon its power as it courses through the world. Using your action, you undergo a transformation. For 1 minute, you gain the following benefits:
- Immediately upon using this ability, you regain all expended uses of your Channel Divinity and Arcane Sentinel features.
- You have advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
- Every time you spend a spell slot you gain temporary hit points equal to the level of the expended spell times your Charisma modifier
Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.
Thanks and credits
Great thanks go out to the reddit community for valuable feedback and especially to Bunnygeonmaster for offering some great commentary, suggestions and insights. All credit for the arwork found in this file goes to: https://www.artstation.com/junifrio
Embracing the Arcane Arts
Since there is a distinct lack of an Arcane half-caster in 5e and Intelligence is generally accepted to be the universal dump stat for most classes, I believe that, with a few changes, this archetype could be a qick fix.
A simple solution, with your DM's approval, may be simply changing all of the relevant Paladin and Oath of the Weave features that call for your Charisma modifier to Intelligence instead.
I do realize that is a change, although not at all unbalanced, most tables wouldn't be comfortable with and that's why I'm putting it in a sidebar, opposed to actually embedding it into the core subclass mechanics.
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