Oath of Silence
Paladins who take the Oath of Silence are committed to keeping the secrets of their divine order. These paladins, sometimes called Whisperers, Gazers, or Blue Knights maintain shrines in places where a slip of the tongue could lead to desecration, hide the oppressed from the eye of the tyrant, or keep secrets of their own.
In some rare situations this oath can be taken unwillingly or unwittingly, by those dedicated to hiding a part of themselves so completely it can awaken the secret power of Silence within themselves, or by those forced to take it by malicious forces. In such cases, these paladins may face nonstandard punishments for breaching the tenets of their oath, or may one day change to a different oath when they have outgrown their need for secrecy.
Tenets of Silence
The tenets of silence are as often unspoken rules and guidelines as they are strict, explicit orders. Nevertheless, the below tenets are ubiquitous among them.
Survival. You're no good to the world dead. It is better to live and continue to do good than to die on principle.
Defense. You must protect the downtrodden and keep their secrets for them.
Growth. You must work to prepare yourself and the world for secrets to be told; nothing can stay secret forever, and nobody should have to live in silence.
Knowledge. Even to the secret keeper, the pursuit of truth is sacred; you should seek to teach and learn to improve the world.
Oath Spells
You gain oath spells at the paladin levels listed.
| Paladin Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 3rd | Fog Cloud, Identify, Sanctuary |
| 5th | Arcane Lock, Invisibility, Silence |
| 9th | Blink, Leomund's Tiny Hut, Sending |
| 13th | Greater Invisibility, Mordenkainen's Faithful Hound, Mordenkainen's Private Sanctum |
| 17th | Modify Memory, Passwall, Seeming |
Channel Divinity
When you take this oath at 3rd level, you gain the following Channel Divinity options.
Divine Reservoir . As an action, you can draw upon a hidden reserve of energy within yourself. You regain spell slots of a combined level equal to 1/4th of your paladin level (at a minimum of 1).
Evade Inquisition . As a reaction to being subject to an effect that requires a charisma, intelligence, or wisdom saving throw to avoid being charmed, forced to speak truthfully, or otherwise subject to magical scrutiny, you can call upon the strength of your oath to defend against it, gaining advantage on the saving throw. If succeed, you can choose to seem to have failed the saving throw to that creature.
Bonus Cantrip
At third level, you learn one cantrip from the cleric spell list. This spell is considered a paladin spell for you. At 13th level, you learn a second cantrip from the same list.
Smiting Spells
At 7th level, your oath imbues you with additional magical strength. When you cast a spell that deals damage or use the Divine Smite class feature, you add your charisma modifier to the damage roll in addition to any other damage.
Aura of Silence
When you reach 15th level, the silence you embody becomes magically oppressive. For you and creatures within 10 feet of you, armor does not impose disadvantage on dexterity (Stealth) checks, thunder damage is halved, and attempting to cast spells with verbal components requires a wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC. On a failed saving throw the spell fails but the spell slot is not consumed.
You can suppress or resume this effect as a bonus action. At 18th level, the range of this aura increases to 30 feet.
Divine Secrets
At 20th level, your skill with secrecy and silence flares into brilliant power. You can prepare one spell of 6th or 7th level from the cleric spell list when you finish a long rest. You can cast this spell once, and regain use of this spell when you finish a long rest.
Spells prepared in this way cannot have a material component that costs more than 10gp.
Playing a Silent Character
In some cases you may wish to play a character that has taken a literal vow of silence. In such cases you may speak with your DM and determine how your character will communicate. Some options include telepathy (in the case of some psionic characters), sign language (which would function the same as common or any other language proficiency), or simply writing out notes.
In any case, you may replace the verbal components of a spell with only somatic components if you have sign language proficiency, at the cost of requiring both hands to be free normally, or one free hand if you have taken the War Caster feat.
Art Credit (Icon/Background): Titus Lunter
"Teferi's Sentinel" (Copyright Wizards of the Coast)