D&D 5E How do you interpret the Oath of Ancients?

Greenstone.Walker · May 22, 2017

I see Green Knights as protectors of a free society. They fight to provide a world where you can decide your life for yourself. They fight for a world where no-one enslaves you or controls you or oppresses you.

They wear symbols of plants and vines because they are essentially gardeners. They weed out the most obnoxious plants and move the troublesome ones to their own beds, but otherwise let the plants grow where they will.

Green Knights are not that concerned with what you do with your life, as long as you are not enslaving or controlling or oppressing others, of course. Their focus is on maintaining a society where you get to make the choice for yourself.

Mephista · May 22, 2017

MonkeezOnFire said:
So now I'm curious what other people think. Without referring to your books, what is your personal idea of an Oath of Ancients paladin? How do you think they differ from the oath of devotion?

I think that its an attempt to remake the 4e Warden (Primal Defender) under the paladin chasis. And the warden did have an anti-corruption bend as well as druidic ties.

Gwarok · May 23, 2017

As DM you have all the leeway you could ever want interpreting things. Being a fanboi of Dresden Files I made a Winter Knight NPC for the Unseelie Court, a mortal champion. He's evil, but he's still a paladin, Oath of Ancients. Instead of entangling roots for his Nature's Wrath ability he freezes them in ice, the bonus damage on his divine smite is cold not radiant. That sort of thing. You could just as easily do likewise for your Green Knight.

Chett Awesomlazer · May 26, 2018

I think they wanted to keep them each broad enough that a very large veriety of characters could fit the mold for each oath. Think about it, tyrants, centrist, extremists, hippies, you kind of find them in all walks. I would ask the player to justify their character's code to you in a way that upholds the oath, then hold them to it... even if their code is capable of hypocrisy. Makes an interesting character, with flaws, and the ability to grow, or be challenged by another in their same order who thinks it's different.

Paul Farquhar · May 26, 2018

It's up to the player how to interpret their oath.

Afrodactyl · May 26, 2018

I see them as druids who went for a more hands on approach to druiding.

Protectors of natural order, peace, and the general balance of the planes. All about letting things do what they do, and then pruning the bits that get a bit out of hand as and when they need it. Much like the person above who said they're not unlike gardeners.

Irda Ranger · May 26, 2018

The one time I played an Oath of the Ancients paladin, I was explicitly the Green Knight from the Arthurian legends. It was a historical campaign. Someone else played a courtier from the Court of Charlemagne.

I look at the oath of the ancients abilities holistically. You have the oaths themselves about protecting and kindling the light, druid-like spells, turn the faithless, and anti-magic wards. The way I see the paladin sub-classes is that they're both champions of something and also enemies of something in particular. For classic paladins (the devotion sub-class), you're the champion of the church and the enemy of undead and demons. For the oath of the ancients, I see it as being the champion of a natural, live-giving world (farms and forests) and the enemy of the corrupters of that world - fey and fiends. I see them as the paladins who oppose hags and such. Enemies of the woods.

Eltab · May 27, 2018

Herobizkit said:
I found this on another message board and IMO it's pretty accurate.

1. Be kind yo, and fight against sadness
2. Find places where people are cool dudes and shield them from the bogus ones
3. Keep real chill and awesome, can't spread coolness without being cool yourself, dude
4. inspire others to be real cool and chill and thus spread the coolness

5. Be excellent to each other.

Eltab · May 27, 2018

Gwarok said:
As DM you have all the leeway you could ever want interpreting things. <snip> Instead of entangling roots for his Nature's Wrath ability he freezes them in ice …

I used Oath of the Ancients for a Paladin of Civilization. He was sorta 'greater good for the greater number' without becoming Spock.
His tangle-you-up manifested as handcuffs and leg irons.

Eltab · May 27, 2018

Devotion: Become the light. Drive back the darkness.
Ancients: Protect the light in others and enable them to become brighter lights.
Vengeance: Destroy the darkness that tries to smother the light.