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The Obojima campaign setting doesn’t have any gods or deities for players to worship, unlike most otherDungeons & Dragonsmodules. This means that, for clerics and paladins, they have to worship and draw their power from alternative sources. One subclass offering in the Obojima sourcebook is the oath of the river paladin, who sources their power from nature, specifically, rivers and pools of water.
If you’ve never played in the Obojima campaign setting before, or are looking to bring this subclass over to another campaign, there’s a lot of information you need to know. Here’s how to build an oath of the river paladin.
Oath Of The River Paladin Overview
As mentioned,oath of the river paladins worship bodies of water, specifically rivers, and model their paladin tenets on the flow of tides and steadfastness.
Channel Divinity
3
You gain two Channel Divinity options: Rushing Rapids or Blessed Pool.
Rushing Rapids allows you to create a forceful wave of water, forcing enemies to make Strength saving throws or be pushed.
Blessed Pool augments your healing abilities, allowing you to heal a number of creatures up to twice your Charisma modifier within 30 feet 2d6 hit points as a bonus action.
Aura Of The River
7
You canemanate an aura within 10 feet of you that is considered difficult terrain, designating certain creatures that are unaffected by this aura.
The first time you hit a large or smaller creatureon your turn with a melee attack, you can subsequentlymove the creature up to 10 feet by using your aura.
Shielding Spirit
15
When you make a Dexterity saving throw,use your reaction to halve the damage you would normally take.
When you do this, you may alsoexpend a spell slot to grant this benefit to nearby allies within 10 feet of you,selecting a number of creatures equal to the level of the spell slot.
Form Of The River
20
You cantransform yourself into the image of a powerful river spirit, gaining a swimming speed of 60 feet, and increasing your normal speed by 15 feet.
Additionally, you haveadvantage on all saving throws and can cause 2d8 damage to creatures within your aurawhenever you move them with your aura.
In addition to the above features,oath of the river paladins also gain access to certain oath spells beginning at third level.Consult the Obojima campaign setting for more specific information on what spells you may take.
Best Ability Scores For An Oath Of The River Paladin
For paladins,Strength and Charisma are always going to be your primary skills, as these inform your attacks and spellcasting.
However, because one Channel Divinity option is informed by your Charisma modifier,you might want to prioritize Charisma, depending on your build.
Details
Charisma
Charisma informs your spellcasting abilities, and, if you select Blessed Pool as your Channel Divinity, how many creatures you can heal at a time, soplace your highest stat in Charisma.
Strength
Strength informs weapon attacks. Because paladins have access to many powerful Strength-based weapons, you’ll want toplace your second-highest stat in Strength.
Constitution
Paladins are often in the thick of combat and are meant to absorb a lot of attacks. Because of this, you’ll want a decent HP pool, somake Constitution your next-highest stat.
Dexterity
Dexterity informs Armor Class and other physical abilities. Though it’s not the most important stat for paladins,verify you place a decently high stat in Dexterity.
Wisdom
Wisdom can prove helpful for overcoming certain spell save effects, but ultimately, it isn’t all that important for a paladin, so you canplace a low stat in Wisdom.
Intelligence
Intelligence is the least of a paladin’s concerns, so you should feel free toplace your lowest stat in Intelligence.
Luckily, paladins in both the Obojima campaign setting and the 2024 Player’s Handbook select their oath and subclass at level three, meaningthis subclass is very easy to import into a non-Obojima campaign.
Best Species For An Oath Of The River Paladin
When it comes to selecting a species for your oath of the river paladin,there are two good species options for players, one of which comes from the Obojima campaign setting, and one of which comes from the 2024 Player’s Handbook.
Outside of the Blessed Pool ability,oath of the river paladins are not the most heal-focused paladin subclass, so selecting Aasimar can prove helpful if you want to play more of a support class.
Best Backgrounds For An Oath Of The River Paladin
Between the Obojima campaign setting and the 2024 Player’s Handbook,there are two excellent background options for players to choose from.
Keep in mind thatbackgrounds work differently between the 2024 PHB and the Obojima campaign setting. Talk to your DM about balancing these differences if you’re combining sourcebooks.
