Oathsworn
"Give me a promise worth the weight, and I will carry it past storm and steel."
——Brannik Stonehand, Banner-warden
The Oathsworn binds life to promise and draws strength from the chase. A chosen Oath fixes the path ahead, and to follow it is joy and vigor, while straying brings ache and erosion of the self. Through formal rites and binding pacts, the Oathsworn seals these commitments so they carry weight in the world as well as the heart, renewing them as trials demand. In battle, the Oathsworn speaks focused Vows that narrow intent to a single promise, gaining power while the vow stands and losing it the moment the terms are broken. Ash-marked sigils, whispered words before dawn, and the steady rhythm of kept promises mark the Oathsworn's tread, because every step is a step toward the Oath.
The Oathsworn is a three-stage Talent.
Oathsworn I
The Oathsworn names a first Oath and discovers how the world answers a kept promise. Joy arrives as quick clarity when the path is followed, while neglect bites like a quiet sickness that will not lift. Small rites take root, from morning words over steel to a pocket token tallied for each step that serves the Oath.
Prerequisites
- Rank 5 in any Philosophy
- Ritual Casting Rank 5
- Any Lawful Alignment
- Cost: 4 Destiny Points
Features
♦ Oath to Self
You gain the Oath to Self ritual. Initially, you may only have one Oath active at a time.
Oath to Self
Oathsworn Class Feature
Potency: 25
Components: Incense and a drop of your blood
Cost: 1 Resolve Allocation
Cast Time: 1 moment
Duration: Until fulfilled, failed, or abandoned
Effect: You swear an Oath to yourself to complete a particular task or quest of significant merit (GM discretion). After a quick incantation, the Oath is sealed, granting you a +1 power bonus to Morale any time you are working to complete your Oath (GM discretion). If you abandon your Oath or utterly fail in your task, you are inflicted with a powerful Curse. The curse inflicts a -1 penalty to Morale and prevents you from making a new Oath until you remove it by Atoning to a Lawful deity or other powerful entity.
Special: You may only have one Oath in effect at a time. Additionally, This ritual cannot be dispelled or disrupted by outside forces. It only ends when you either succeed in your task or quest, completely fail your task or quest, or simply stop allocating for it (and thus abandon your Oath). The curse inflicted by failure or abandonment lasts beyond the life of this ritual and can only be removed via atonement, or some other ability that specifically removes curses of moderate intensity. The curse has a potency equal to the potency of this ritual.
♦ Promises Kept
Whenever you earn a Karma while you are pursuing an Oath, you also gain a Promise Point (GM's discretion). A Promise point functions similarly to a Karma, except that it can only be used to grant a reroll. You may store up to 2 Promise points at a time. If you earn more, the excess is wasted. If you have a Fellowship, then you can also spend Promise points to aid you fellows instead of yourself (similar to spending a Karma for a Fellow). There is no limit to the number of promises you can spend for a fellow, aside from the amount you have. Maintaining a Vow can also grant you Promise Points.
♦ Pact of Fellowship
You learn the Pact of Fellowship ritual. If you already know it, you may learn a different ritual of same or lesser rank.
♦ Vow of Revenge
You gain the Vow of Revenge ability.
Vow of Revenge
Oathsworn Class Feature [Vow]
Free Action
Cost: 3 Resolve
Limitation: You may only have one Vow active at a time.
Duration: 1 Moment
Trigger: A creature attacks you or an ally within sight.
Effect: You vow revenge upon the triggering creature. For the duration of the vow, you gain a +2 Power bonus to Attacks against the triggering creature. When the creature is defeated, your vow is fulfilled and you shift Tide of Battle one point in your favor and also earn 1 Promise Point.
Special: If you make an attack on any creature other than the target of your vow, your vow is immediately broken and you suffer a -1 penalty to Attacks and cannot use this vow again until your next Rest.
♦ Vow of Protection
You gain the Vow of Protection ability.
Vow of Protection
Oathsworn Class Feature [Vow]
Free Action
Cost: 4 Resolve
Limitation: You may only have one Vow active at a time.
Duration: 1 moment
Trigger: An ally adjacent to you is hit with an attack for the first time in combat.
Effect: You vow to protect the triggering ally. For the duration of the vow, while adjacent to the triggering ally, any attacks that hit your ally's AC, Touch, or Reflex (and do not also target you), hit you instead (this affect also applies to the triggering attack). If combat ends and you have kept your vow, you earn 1 Promise point, are restored to full hitpoints, and restore 4 Stamina Burn and 4 Resolve Burn.
Special: If you are ever not adjacent to the ally and the ally takes damage from an attack, your vow is immediately broken and you must burn 1d4 Stamina and 1d4 Resolve.
♦ Vow of Candor
You gain the Vow of Candor ability.
Vow of Candor
Oathsworn Class Feature [Vow]
No Action Action
Cost: 4 Resolve
Limitation: You may only have one Vow active at a time.
Duration: 1 phase
Trigger: You start Convincing a target
Effect: You make a Vow of Candor to speak only honest words that carry a weight of truth. For the duration of the vow, you gai a +2 power bonus to Persuasion and if you fail an opposed social check made to convince the target, the target still takes 1d4 Composure damage (you still loose 1 patience as normal). If you keep your vow until you convince the target, you Earn 1 Promise point and automatically trigger a Minor Trust event with the target.
Special: If you knowingly tell a lie, or if you use a skill other than Persuasion to try and convince the target, your vow is immediately broken and you suffer a -5 penalty to all skill checks made to convince the target. Additionally, the target regains 2d4 Composure.
Oathsworn II
The Oathsworn begins to sort life by promise kept, trimming comforts that pull against the chosen direction. Friends learn that bargains made are honored cleanly, and rivals learn that loopholes only sharpen resolve. Vows are taken with care when pressure rises, but the real change shows in travel, trade, and talk, where every choice points the same way.
Prerequisites
- Oathsworn I
- Rank 6 in any Philosophy
- Ritual Casting Rank 6
- Cost: 2 Destiny Points
Features
♦ Oath to Fate
You gain the Oath to Fate ritual.
Oath to Fate
Oathsworn Class Feature
Potency: 30
Components: Incense and a drop of your blood
Cost: 2 Resolve Allocation
Cast Time: 1 moment
Duration: Until fulfilled, failed, or abandoned
Effect: You swear an Oath to the very Fates that you will complete a particular task or quest of significant merit (GM discretion). After a quick incantation, the Oath is sealed. Whenever you earn a Karma while pursuing your quest (GM discretion), you also earn 25 experience points. You can still spend the Karma to earn more experience if you want. If you abandon your Oath or utterly fail in your task, you are inflicted with a powerful Curse. The curse causes you to loose all but a single Karma Point and prevents you from holding more than a single Karma point. Additionally, you cannot spend Karma on XP nor can you make a new Oath until you remove the curse by Atoning to a Lawful deity or other powerful entity.
Fellowship: If you have a Fellowship, then all present fellows also earn 25xp when you earn a Karma.
Special: You may only have one Oath in effect at a time. Additionally, This ritual cannot be dispelled or disrupted by outside forces. It only ends when you either succeed in your task or quest, completely fail your task or quest, or simply stop allocating for it (and thus abandon your Oath). The curse inflicted by failure or abandonment lasts beyond the life of this ritual and can only be removed via atonement, or some other ability that specifically removes curses of greater intensity. The curse has a potency equal to the potency of this ritual.
♦ Promises Kept II
You may now store up to 3 Promise points at a time.
♦ Twice Vowed
You may have two different vows active at the same time.
♦ Vow of Purity
You gain the Vow of Purity ability.
Vow of Purity
Oathsworn Class Feature [Vow]
Free Action
Cost: 3 Resolve
Limitation: You may only have one Vow active at a time.
Duration: 1 moment
Trigger: You are hit with an attack that imposes an effect that a save can end.
Effect: You make a Vow of Purity, turning away from tricks and games. For the duration of the vow, whenever you make a saving throw, you roll twice and take the better result. If you keep your vow until the end of combat you Earn 2 Promise points.
Special: If you impose an effect that has a saving throw on another creature, your vow is immediately broken and whenever you make a saving throw, you must roll twice and take the worse result for the remainder of the battle.
♦ Vow of Endurance
You gain the Vow of Endurance ability.
Vow of Endurance
Oathsworn Class Feature [Vow]
No Action Action
Cost: 2 Resolve
Limitation: You may only have one Vow active at a time.
Duration: 1 moment
Trigger: You take damage that drops you to half hitpoints or less.
Effect: You make a Vow of Endurance, willing yourself to weather the damage struck upon you. For the duration of the vow, you gain DR 5 and Resistance to all damage types (including against the triggering damage), and become immune to abilities with the keyword. You also gain a +5 Power bonus to Resilience checks made to resist Injuries. If you keep your vow until the end of combat you Earn 1 Promise point, are restored to maximum hitpoints and have one of your injuries fully healed.
Special: If you are healed by an effect that restores a healing value or more amount of hit points, your vow is immediately broken and you become Vulnerable to all damage types. Hitpoints regained from Fast Healing or Regeneration, or from an effect that restores less than a healing value do not break your Vow.
Oathsworn III
The Oathsworn wears purpose like a mantle that steadies rooms and roads alike. Oaths guide counsel, settle disputes, and draw allies into honest terms because standing near that certainty feels like standing near a beacon. When action is needed the Oathsworn can bind the moment with a single hard promise, yet the truer mastery is a life that makes keeping it the easiest thing in the world.
Prerequisites
- Oathsworn II
- Rank 7 in any Philosophy
- Ritual Casting Rank 7
- Cost: 2 Destiny Points
Features
♦ Promises Kept III
You may now store up to 5 Promise points at a time.
♦ Dual Oath
You may have two different Oaths active at the same time. These oaths can be for the same or different goals. Pursuing either grants you the boon of your oath and does not negatively impact the other oath.
♦ Vow of Vengeance
You gain the Vow of Vengeance ability.
Vow of Vengeance
Oathsworn Class Feature [Vow]
Free Action
Cost: 5 Resolve
Limitation: You may only have one Vow active at a time.
Duration: 1 Moment
Trigger: A creature injures an ally.
Effect: You vow vengeance upon the triggering creature. For the duration of the vow, When you roll damage on the triggering creature, rolls twice and take the better result. Additionally, if you impose a Save Ends effect on the creature, increase the Saving Throw by 1d10 [STP 1d10]. When the creature is defeated, your vow is fulfilled and you and all of your allies regain up to 2 points of lost Morale. You also either gain 1 Promise Point or grant the triggering ally a Resilience check at a +20 bonus to heal an injury of their choice.
Special: If you damage any creature other than the target of your vow, your vow is immediately broken and you suffer 1d4+1 points of Morale Damage and cannot use this vow again until your next Rest.
♦ Vow of Honor
You gain the Vow of Honor ability.
Vow of Honor
Oathsworn Class Feature [Vow]
No Action Action
Cost: 3 Resolve
Limitation: You may only have one Vow active at a time.
Duration: 1 moment
Trigger: Combat Begins
Effect: You make a Vow of Honor, spurning advantage for even footing. For the duration of the vow, you do not grant advantage for any reason (including strong debilitating effects such as paralyzed, unconscious, disabled, etc). If you keep your vow until the end of combat you Earn 1 Promise point, and you gain 1 Karma.
Special: If you make an attack while you have advantage, or you participate in a Flank that grants an ally advantage, your vow is immediately broken and you grant 2 advantages to all attackers for the remainder of the battle.