Paladin Oath of Loyalty

[Zilkaiden]

I was reviewing the possibility of making an Oathbound Paladin (of loyalty as the subject denotes,) and have run into a particular issue.

Oath of Loyalty:

Loyal Oath: Starting at 1st level, once per day as a swift action, an oathbound paladin can choose a willing creature within line of sight as the target of her loyal oath. When the paladin is adjacent to the target of her loyal oath, she grants the target a sacred bonus on saving throws and to Armor Class equal to the paladin’s Charisma bonus. The loyal oath lasts 1 minute, or until the paladin dismisses it (a free action) or discharges it (see below), whichever comes first.

If the target is struck by an enemy and the paladin is adjacent to that enemy, as an immediate action she may make a single melee attack against that enemy; making this attack ends the loyal oath. At 4th level and every three levels thereafter, the paladin may use her loyal oath one additional time per day.

This ability replaces smite evil.

They lose smite evil and replace it with their loyal oath power. It works fine and well up until the character hits 11th level and gains Aura of Justice, which uses two smite attempts and allows all allies in a 10ft radius to smite one target before the start of the paladin's next turn.

So, two questions.

1. Does the Oathbound Paladin expend uses of his "Loyal Oath" in place of smite evil for aura of justice or does aura of justice just no longer apply?

2. One of my players has argued that Aura of Justice allows his horse to smite as well. The animal is smarter than most animals but am unsure of how to rule it. Opinions?

[Zilkaiden]

Boo ya kasha! (In place of bump)

[Zilkaiden]

Hm, guess no one knows the answer. Perhaps this one deserves an errata or FAQ or something similar?

[Zilkaiden]

bump

[DesolateHarmony]

My opinion is that you have lost smite evil as a paladin with Oath of Loyalty, and cannot make use of things that require Smite Evil. They would have said it under the replacement power if it still worked.

As for the second question, why would his horse not gain the benefit of Aura of Justice? Unless the horse is not an ally for some reason.

[Mauril]

By RAW (since this is the Rules Forum) the Oathbound Paladin cannot substitute Smite Evil with Loyal Oath. In order for her to do so, the text of Loyal Oath would need to say that it counts as Smite Evil for the purposes of feats and abilities. Unfortunately, this means that the level 11 ability Aura of Justice has no function.

Regarding the second question, the paladin's horse gains the benefits of Aura of Justice, just as any other ally does. If it's the paladin's bonded mount, at 11th level, the mount gains the celestial template anyway, which grants the ability for it to Smite Evil once per day.