Paladins sworn to Secrecy deal with hidden knowledge. What they do with this knowledge is not certain. They might be trying to further its cause - maybe as part of an intelligence gathering organization. Perhaps they are protecting information that is too dangerous to be widely known, locked in a hidden war with those who wish to learn what secrets they are hiding.
Orders of paladins sworn to this ideal are rare, and they are unlikely to be openly advertising their mission. Instead, being recruited into their ranks is usually a process of slowly gaining their trust, before being initiated and learning their true purpose.
When creating a paladin who has sworn this oath, work with your DM to determine what they are trying to achieve, learn, or protect.
Tenets of Secrecy
The tenets of the Oath of Secrecy vary slightly depending on the mission of that specific Order, but these tenets are shared among most orders.
- No One Must Know: Success means privacy. Only our failures are public.
- Thankless Duty: Expect neither gratitude from those who do not know, nor sympathy from those who do.
- Everything is Permitted: A sinful act is excused if it is deemed necessary to further the cause.
- Eternal Vigilance: It is impossible to know where the next threat will arise, but we will be ready to meet it.
Level 3: Oath Spells
You always have certain spells prepared after you reach the Paladin level shown in the following table.
| Paladin Level | Oath Spells |
|---|---|
| 3rd | Veil of Glamour, Comprehend Languages |
| 5th | Pass Without Trace, Arcane Lock |
| 9th | Major Image, Sending |
| 13th | Greater Invisibility, Private Sanctum |
| 17th | Seeming, Modify Memory |
Level 3: Channel Divinity
You gain the following Channel Divinity options:
Bolstering Smite: As part of using one of your Smite spells, you can use your Channel Divinity to gain Temporary Hit Points equal to the damage dealt by the smite.
Quick Talk: When you fail a Charisma ability check, you can use your Channel Divinity to reroll it. If the reroll does not turn the roll into a success, the Channel Divinity is not expended.
Level 7: Aura of Obscurement
You have practiced moving in lighter armors, and it no longer hinders you on your mission. Creatures that benefit from your Aura of Protection have advantage on Stealth checks.
Additionally, while you wear medium armor and are not wielding a shield, you can add your full Dexterity modifier to your AC.
Level 15: Secretkeeper
You become immune to the Charmed condition, and creatures who attempt to charm you take radiant damage equal to your Paladin level.
Additionally, your thoughts cannot be read by telepathy or by other means, unless you allow it. Nor can magic compel you to tell the truth, you can instead choose what such magic indicates to its caster.
Level 20: Covert Operative
You can hide yourself from mortal eyes, allowing you to carry out your mission in secret. As a bonus action, you gain the following benefits for 10 minutes:
- You become invisible, along with anything you are wearing or carrying.
- As part of your movement, you can teleport to an unoccupied space you can see within 15 feet of you. This does not cost you any extra movement, and you can only do this once per turn.
- You gain truesight and can see into the Ethereal Plane out to a range of 60 feet.
- You know if you hear a lie when it is uttered, and you can use your reaction to make a melee weapon attack against a target that utters a lie.
Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest, unless you expend a 5th-level spell slot to use it again.