Maidenguard

The Maidenguard (elv. 'Tiryil') of Leieagol are a unique an specialized group of paladins pledged to Leah (elv. 'Leiea'), the goddess of love, fertility, and bountiful harvest. While the aspects of Leah are all held to a high standard, the true goal of the Tower of Leah (elv. 'Leieagol') is the perpetuation and survival of the Eldiri people and customs. The tower is older than the kingdom of Valoren, and was said to have another purpose before the human Leah was wed by Hun and ascended to godhood. While the records of its history were never kept, it is now and will forever be used to raise, train, and help elves flourish for future generations.

While Leah worship is common across the world, wishing for children or happy long lives for humankind does not share the same weight as it does for the dwindling elves. As lore keepers and soldiers of the elven isles may travel for another purpose and sire children as happenstance, the Maidenguard seek to kindle life whereever they can. Their goal is solely the proliferation of their race, and foster any relationships necessary to do so without obstacles. They realize also that this means protecting their people and allies to keep their interests unfettered, and raise powerful holy warriors to ensure even a small number of them can turn the tides of important conflicts. These warriors excel in subterfuge and politics above combat, but are able to turn the blessings of Leah into deadly force when needed.

A partnership with the Stargazers allows regimented and uniform magical equipment to be created so their warriors can be trained in its use and not be forced to find or make items when away from home. The three badges of office most commonly associated to the Maidenguard are the Animus Protectiva, a necklace that expands into floating shards that shield the wearer; the Diademente, a circlet that allows protection of others with telekinetic force; and the Glavus Eld, the faintly glowing crescent blades they carry for combat. These items are known largely by their Valoren titles, as the Stargazers refuse to share their talents with the outside world, to the point of removing their names and functions from the memories of the Maidenguard. This leads to many of the order personalizing their items with names of their own, sometimes then doing so to non-magical items and not knowing why they have the compulsion to do so.

The order is largely female, encouraged by it's leadership so when they bear children, they can be returned to the order and raised with what they view as "proper" traditions. Half-elven children gestate quickly, so are encouraged when pure-elven children cannot be conceived, to raise a larger quantity of future adherents. Half-elves are raised in the order as any other, but are more likely to be placed into front-line activities over their pure-elven cousins. Males are admitted to the order, but due to their inability to return home upon impregnation, is deemed an ineffective use of time and is discouraged. It is not unheard of for executives of the order to become involved in custodial conflicts when children will not be given up by their mothers, but it is not always necessary as half-elven children are the subjects of discrimination in human lands.

## Paladin: The Maidenguard

At 3rd level, you can take an oath as a protector of Leieagol. You lose and gain features as you set yourself to live by your order's traditions, and your choice grants you features at 3rd level and again at 7th, 15th, and 20th level.

**Fidelity Bonus**: Eldiri elves or half-elves receive Inspiration at the start of every session.

**Traditional Proficiencies**: You lose proficiency in heavy armor and non-animated shields, and elven crescent blades they use gain the Finesse property.

**Elven Dance-fighting**: You add +1 to the max dexterity bonus that can be added to your AC when using Light or Medium armors. You can also choose to replace your Wisdom saving throw proficiency with a Dexterity saving throw proficiency.

**The Badges of Office**: Maidenguard can return magic items to the Stargazers of the same quality as the Badges of office they are missing. Assuming couriers can reach you safely, this should take no longer than a week depending on where you are in the world.

### Tenets of the Maidenguard

* **Kindness**. Without the bonds you share with others, there is nothing worth fighting for.
* **Loyalty**. Your word is your bond. Without loyalty, oaths and laws are meaningless.
* **Prolificacy**. Sewing the seeds of future generations leads to a brighter future.
* **Tradition**. Straying from the foundations of your ancestors has never led to prosperity.

#### Oath Spells

You gain oath spells at the paladin levels listed in the Maidenguard Spells table. See the Sacred Oath class feature for how oath spells work.

#### Maidenguard Spells

When summoning a steed using Find Steed or Find Greater Steed, you can add the Dire Hare and Great Robin to your choices, respectively.

#### Channel Divinity

When you take this oath at 3rd level, you gain the following two Channel Divinity options. See the Sacred Oath class feature for how Channel Divinity works.

#### Protective Strike

At 2nd level, when a creature you can see is hit with an attack, you can strike the creature that made the attack as a reaction. If the creature takes damage from your attack, the creature you are protecting reduces the amount of damage they take by this amount.

#### Channel Divinity: Read Thoughts

At 6th level, you can use your Channel Divinity to read a creature’s thoughts. You can then use your access to the creature’s mind to command it.

As an action, choose one creature that you can see within 60 feet of you. That creature must make a Wisdom saving throw. If the creature succeeds on the saving throw, you can’t use this feature on it again until you finish a long rest.

If the creature fails its save, you can read its surface thoughts (those foremost in its mind, reflecting its current emotions and what it is actively thinking about) when it is within 60 feet of you. This effect lasts for 1 minute.

During that time, you can use your action to end this effect and cast the suggestion spell on the creature without expending a spell slot. The target automatically fails its saving throw against the spell.

#### Aura of Fecundity

Starting at 7th level, you constantly emanate a calming aura. Flowers turn slightly to face you, and ivy will part to allow you to pass. No creature of your choice within your aura can be harmed by plants, and have resistance to damage caused by plant creatures. You also have advantage on Deception, Persuasion, and Performance checks against any creatures not hostile towards you within the aura.

At 18th level, the range of this aura increases to 30 feet.

#### Haunting Beauty

Starting at 15th level, those who take up arms against you are haunted by their deeds. Once a creature deals damage to you, you can use a bonus action to deal psychic damage to them equal to your Charisma (min 1). You can affect a number of creatures up to your Charisma bonus within 30 ft.

You also gain expertise in Deception, Persuasion, and Performance if you do not have it already.

#### Avatar of Leiea

At 20th level, you gain the ability to harness the power of Leiea. As an action, you can magically become an avatar of Her will, gaining the following benefits for 1 minute:

* You count any result on a d20 as a 20 when making Dexterity saving throws and ability checks.
* When you take the Attack action on your turn, you can also pacify an additional target by casting Command on them without expending a spell slot. The command word for the spell must always be non-violent, and the target always understands your language and command. This does not count as casting a spell and is treated as part of your attack action.
* As an action, you can cast Commune with Nature, Greater Restoration, or Wrath of Nature without using any components. If you choose to expend a spell slot to cast these spells, you cannot fail concentration on them unless killed or incapacitated. If you choose not to expend a spell slot, they are cast as normal.

Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.