D&D 5E What could an Oath of Madness Paladin be?

[TheCosmicKid]

Okay. So I see that.

But wouldn't Don Quixote be (internally) a LG (or, at worst, LN) character that simply suffers from delusions? After all, his code is fine! It's just the world isn't what it should be.

It's hard to be a paladin when the time no longer needs you and your steed.

Don Quixote is infamously difficult to analyze. Just when you think you've got him figured out, he does something completely unexpected. He is at once far to sensible to be a madman and far too delusional to be a sane man. He is both kind and cruel, courageous and craven, honorable and opportunistic. In short, he chews up the D&D alignment system and spits it out like Sancho Panza's cooking.

Also, his healing spells don't work.

 

[Psikerlord#]

Hmmm I dont think an oath of madness will work very well for a PC - how could they expect to co-operate with the party, or friendly NPCs?

I think it's best left to crazy NPC bad guy land. In which case - oathbreaker probably fits it? Or just slap some random madness flaws on him/her?

 

[Leatherhead]

It shouldn't start off as Madness.

It should start off as Monstrous. Getting power via mutations and co-habituating your mind with stray thoughts from alien beings. Each power a double-edged sword.

 

[Li Shenron]

I think being mad and swearing to be mad are not the same thing.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

I have to think about subclass features, but I recommend the following spells (focus on spreading the madness):

3rd: Dissonant Whisper, Tasha's Hideous Laughter
5th: Crown of Madness, Enhance Ability
9th: Hypnotic Pattern, Spirit Guardians
13th: Confusion, Hallucinatory Terrain
17th: Dream, Geas

Most of this spell-list would fit with my idea of the concept, certainly Confusion was the first spell I brainstormed such a subclass would get.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

I see the types of madness for such a subclass could get as being varied and flexible for what could fit in a campaign. In some cases it very well could be the scary, very serious types of madness that could have voices in their head urging them to spill blood often, they'll probably be evil in such a case. In other cases someone under the Oath of Madness could have a more manageable delusion, where their view of reality is perhaps more whimsical and innocent, "Yes Cheshire, if we don't stand up to the Red Queen then Wonderland is doomed!".

One of the big conceits that I see with this concept, is that their view of reality doesn't match that of most people's views of reality, even if they actually see the underlying truth. Which is why my idea of the first type of madness paladins were that many of them either serve the entities of the Far Realm, or they actively oppose the entities of the Far Realm, but because they know too much about the Far Realm they've become insane themselves.

The second type I mentioned the delusional, is one of the more open ideas in what such a concept could be. I used the dark Alice in Wonderland example as one of the possible ideas. But there's certainly a lot more that could fit into that concept of the delusional.

The third type I mentioned is the idea that for some this Oath is like an alternative oathbreaker/blackguard, except instead of falling into darkness, they fall into madness instead.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

Of the major Tenets of Madness that I see is:

Convince others that your view of reality is valid, they don't necessarily have to see you as sane, just valid.

Reality is malleable, it often just involves altering preconceptions whether it's your own or others.

Thought rules above all, it determines the course of the multiverse.

Don't let others determine what is real to you.

 

[MechaTarrasque]

Glad to help.

I was thinking the 7th level subclass feature could be something like Aura of Obsession: you and all allies within 10 feet of you get advantage on con checks while using concentration spells. That would boost the value of the bonus spells and a lot of the paladin smite spells are concentration (although ideally you hit with an attack and trigger the spell that round).

It is too bad true sight is a 6th level spell, or the paladin could be the one to see the "true" reality that everyone else is blind too (between true sight and the investiture spells, I sure wish the paladin [and ranger] had been a 2/3rds caster).

 

[Kobold Avenger]

One thing I'm thinking that's common with many of the afflictions of the Mad is the Presence or the Manifestation. Which would often come in the form of departed loved ones, imaginary friends from childhood, beings such as aberrations, fey, fiends or celestials, voices in the head or just patterns that only one on the Oath of Madness sees. The Manifestation could be from a completely internal source, or it could be an external entity exerting its influence, for those that multi-class with Warlock the Manifestation is also the patron. A Manifestation could drive one to go further from baseline reality, but it could also guide an Oath of Madness Paladin towards some goals in baseline reality.

When tragedy strikes many would become Avenging Paladins after losing their friends and families, but there's the rare individual who ends up being in denial that his family was massacred and believes he must still defend his departed family. That rare individual enters the Oath of Madness and sees his dead wife who tells him of the monsters and villains he must face.

 

[MarkB]

I'd characterise it as a viewpoint that madness is the only way to break through one's preconceptions and truly understand the world, and that a person who does not indulge their own impulses, neuroses and psychoses is not being true to themselves.

It's an advocation of complete freedom of spirit, with no acknowledgement of personal responsibility, either to others or to reality.

The tricky part with that concept is that it rejects a fundamental aspect of any paladin - self-sacrifice, dedication to a cause or ideal beyond oneself. How can a character dedicated to the concept of personal freedom ever bind themselves to any kind of oath?