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Are there rules for what happens if a paladin breaks their oath? I haven't found a single one. Am I missing something?

Rubiksmoose
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Perrin Tealeaf
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2 Answers2

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In the Player's Handbook, page 86, the following is said:

A paladin who has broken a vow typically seeks absolution from a cleric who shares his or her faith or from another paladin of the same order. ... If a paladin willfully violates his or her oath and shows no sign of repentance, the consequences can be more serious. At the DM's discretion, an impenitent paladin might be forced to abandon this class and adopt another, or perhaps to take the Oathbreaker paladin option that appears in the Dungeon Master's Guide.

The new class features for Oathbreaker paladins are on the page 97 of the Dungeon Master's Guide. Notably, they require the Paladin to be both evil and on their third level or greater.

The fifth edition of Dungeons and Dragons is generally light on forcing conduct rules on characters, instead preferring a less constrained model more reliant on the GM making good calls. If a GM wants to "enforce" the oaths beyond letting the player follow them as they wish, they need to be careful so that the possible punishments won't come in the way of enjoying the game. Notably, the only two mechanical punishments outlined in the rules (changing the class and becoming an Oathbreaker) significantly alter a character's nature and I would recommend never using them unless the player of the Paladin is fully aware of the change they're about to trigger by choosing to transgress their oath without repentance.

kviiri
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The Oathbreaker Paladin

The Oathbreaker paladin "oath" is given on DMG 97:

An Oathbreaker is a paladin who breaks his or her sacred oaths to pursue some dark ambition or serve an evil power. Whatever light burned in the paladin's heart been extinguished. Only darkness remains. A paladin must be evil and at least 3rd level to become an Oathbreaker. The paladin replaces the features specific to his or her Sacred Oath with Oathbreaker features.

Thus, a paladin who has broken their oath replaces their existing oath with oathbreaker features.

However, the rules provide no "automatic" rules to determine exactly when a PC's paladin character has broken their oath. Such a determination is up to the PC and the DM.

Icyfire
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