How to Become Oathbreaker Paladin? - Baldur's Gate 3 (BG3)

What is the Paladin Oath?

Baldur's Gate 3 has a special mechanic for Paladins called Oaths. These also act as subclasses each giving a different spell list and unique actions. However, the difference with other classes, is that each Oath limits you to certain actions and decisions based on their tenets:

Oath	Tenets
Oath of the Ancients	Kindle the Light. Through acts of kindness, enkindle the light of hope in the bleakest hollows of despair. Shelter the Light. Where love blooms, stand against the devilry that would snip its stem. Preserve Your Own Light. Delight in culture and small joys to preserve the light in your own heart.
Oath of Devotion	Courage. Stride dauntlessly into action. Compassion. Show clemency when prudent, and lend your arm to those in need. Duty. Tend your responsibilities, obey just laws, and support those entrusted to your care.
Oath of Vengeance	Fight the Greater Evil. Exerting your wisdom, identify the higher morality in any given instance, and fight for it. No Mercy for the Wicked. Chasten those who dole out their villainy by wiping their blight from the world forever.

So these are the rules by which each Paladin subclass abides. Now what happens if you act opposite?

How can you break the Oath?

To break the Oath you need to act oppositely to what your Oath tells. This means that as an Oath of Vengeance Paladin if you do not enact vengeance you broke your oath. Or if you steal as a Paladin of Devotion.

Once you break the Oath a notification will appear. After a few seconds, a Paladin Oathbreaker will interact with you telling you to talk with him in the camp. You can meet him there.

How do you become an Oathbreaker?

Once in camp, find the Paladin and initiate the dialogue. He will tell his background story and explain what you lose and gain by becoming an Oathbreaker paladin.

After you agree to become Oathbreaker, you will enter the level-up screen and be introduced to the new abilities of the subclass

So what makes oathbreakers special?

Oathbreaker Features

Each Paladin Oath subclass comes with special actions and spells. Oathbreakers are masters of the dark and can fully control undead, frighten groups of enemies, create Darkness, and curse enemies. I also have an Oathbreaker Paladin build that utilizes the unique aspects of this subclass. First, here are their unique actions that use Channel Oath Charges:

Actions	Description
Spiteful Suffering​	The target takes 1d4+3 Necrotic damage each turn and Attack Rolls against it have an Advantage.
Control Undead​	Use the power of your Oath to gain control over an undead creature. The undead will follow you around and attack your enemies.
Dreadful Aspect​	Let your darkest emotions burst forth as a menacing pulse to Frighten nearby enemies.

Second, there are spells:

Spells	Description
Crown of Madness​	Instill madness in a humanoid enemy, making them attack the creature closest to them (other than you), even if it's allied.
Darkness​	Create a cloud of magical darkness that Heavily Obscures and Blinds creatures within. Creatures cannot make ranged attacks into or out of it.
Bestow Curse​	Curse a creature with your touch. The curse either bestows Disadvantage on checks and Saving Throws or Attack Rolls, lets you deal additional damage to the target, or robs it of its actions.
Animate Dead​	Create an undead servant from a corpse.

And, last Aura, which can be activated without any requirements:

Aura	Description
Aura of Hate​	You and any nearby fiends (and undead) gain additional damage dealt with melee weapons equal to your charisma modifier. The aura disappears if you fall Unconscious.

Respeccing Oathbreaker

This is the main downside of becoming this subclass. Respecing becomes very expensive. These are the steps:

1. Restore your Oath for 1000 gold (it increases the more times you break the oath).
2. Then you can go to Withers and do normal respec.
3. After that break the Oath again and continue leveling.

As you can see this can become tiresome, so some planning for this build is welcome. Also, the money problems can be easily fixed via pickpocketing. Feel free to check the guide - pickpocket guide for Baldur's Gate 3.

Conclusion

Thank you for reading about how to become an Oathbreaker Paladin in Baldur's Gate 3. This is an interesting mechanic that allows you to take off the righteous mantle of Paladin Oath and create your path in Forgotten Realms. The Oathbreaker subclass offers unique spells and actions emphasizing frightening enemies and controlling the undead.