Atavist
An armored frontlining human takes blow after blow, and when she begins to weaken, she becomes all the more savage - hitting harder, striking faster, dying slower. A wounded dog is lethal, but a wounded atavist is a bloody nightmare. With caution halfway around the world, she wounds her own arm, but the enemy falls to the ground as he takes all the pain. Another foe comes near, but finding her only stronger than she was previous.
An orc throws more than his all into each blow, hurting himself in a magical effort to strengthen his blows, but knows it’s not enough. He stills and lets the alien forces take over his mind, as his body erupts aberrant flesh strips, covering him entirely, growing out of holes and hairs - eyes darkening and true horror creeping. If his mark doesn’t falter at the mere sight of the abomination, he will soon fall in battle.
The fireball rounds the corners of the maze, the wizard’s foul fire chasing his would be killer down the hall, but a sacrificial slight crippling of his arm gives him the power he needs to dodge out of the fiery current.
No matter their upbringing, race, culture, or even time period, atavists are united by their ability to make use of their own vitality in their weaponplay. There may have been bloodlines at one point, but those are gone now.
Old, Vengeful, and Scattered
Before iron, before the blade, before organized cities, there were the atavists - using the only tools they had available: their bodies and their magic. In tandem, they use these dual aspects to protect, to conquer, to hunt monsters, or to achieve any other ends.
These people build on failure. They take their combat training of reflexive attacks when they’re hurt and apply it to their lives: those that wrong atavists should know they will be struck back ten times harder. Some atavists even enjoy being attacked, hurt or betrayed, and use it as an excuse to hit back.
Atavists can come from anywhere in the world: tribes, kingdoms, royalty, or gutter poor; however, those peoples that trend towards using hemomancy and other necrotic, vitality-affected powers would seem to have a higher chance of a child with atavistic powers.
The Origin of Hemomancy
Magic that drains and takes from you is a studied and developed field that comes from atavists first. They started blood magic. But, what started the atavists? How did atavists begin in your setting—or is a piece of history lost long ago? Is it even important? Has it began multiple times, or can be it be restarted or instilled into potential users a variety of ways? Or, is every atavist in the same family tree, leading farther and farther back; it might lead to creatures beyond humanoids, perhaps from some union of opposite beings; or from a creature who has long left this universe.
The power to use one’s own body in a general sense has been around for eons. Atavism is tied and twisted around that idea. To those born with the talent, it’s no more difficult than training an instrument for others - the inclination was born into them. However, many atavists were not simply born with it - through the prowess of a strong blood warrior, a child can be formed and shaped physically, giving him or her a much higher chance of developing atavistic powers. It’s up to you to decide how you use this talent.
Powers Without Direction
Many classes in Dungeons and Dragons have a clear indication and will for what a member would be doing - wizards study magic, paladins take up the cause of righteousness, and clerics serve their gods. But, many atavists have no such direction. If your character was ingrained with these powers through a blood rite, the question is, why?
The same question exists for those who were born with the abilities. Are you part of some tangential, many-webbed plan of a deity or another powerful being, or was it just chance?
If you don’t know the answers - like many of those in the world do not know the purpose of their lives - you decide it. Maybe you don’t care, and you focus on what you want and how you can get it in the future, instead of dwelling on the past.
Infamous Heroes, Oft Villains
The magic used (or abused) by atavists is normally questionable at best in most cultures, and when under close examination, can often be found to be a type that is commonly disowned, unsupported, and generally looked down on. This creates prejudice against atavists. They are more often cast as villains in stories, and tend not to be heroes; at least, in most of the world. It’s harder for an atavist to be admired and easier to villainize.
If you have hidden your powers, or put them to an unusual cause, what effect has that had on how confident your character is? Would ‘I was born like this’ as a defense have held up wherever you came from?
Creating an Atavist
The most important question to consider when creating your atavist is the effect that their powers have had on them - and how those effects and powers were treated by those around you. Did you lose sets of friends due to fearful ignorance? Did your family embrace and accept you for who you are, or did they turn a blind eye to your powers and hope they - or maybe you - would disappear?
Atavists are known for their rigid health, physicality, and aptitude for circumstantially evil magics. Certain sages and other scholars would love to study you, or those with the same motives and less morals may pose a danger to you; maybe they already have. Do you wish you could hide or remove your power? Or do you want to defeat the stereotype you’re applied and become a hero?
After your journey begins as an atavist, it might happen upon a new road. Are you a brutal warrior who wants to be attacked - a jaded, wearied soldier who will never fall? Are you a hopeful and strong warrior that has fallen to afflictions of the mind; the influence of strange beings, that are a cursed blessing? Or are you a ruthless killer, lethal and weaponized, who will not stop to get what they want? Maybe you pledge yourself to or are pledged by a powerful fiend, who is respectful of your blood magic, and extends a fiery hand of power for you to grasp. You might even divine more power from meditation and self-reflection, with the idea that the more time you spend with yourself, the more able you are.
The Atavist
| Level | Proficiency Bonus |
Rend Dice | Features | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | +2 | 1d6 | Rend Ichor, Unstopping Heart | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2nd | +2 | 1d6 | Spellcasting, Hardened Viscera | 2 | — | — | — | — |
| 3rd | +2 | 1d6 | Atavistic Aspect | 2 | ─ | ─ | — | — |
| 4th | +2 | 1d6 | Ability Score Improvement | 3 | ─ | ─ | — | — |
| 5th | +3 | 1d6 | Avenging Attack | 4 | 2 | ─ | — | — |
| 6th | +3 | 1d6 | Atavistic Aspect feature, Humansbane (HP 10) | 4 | 2 | ─ | — | — |
| 7th | +3 | 2d6 | Greater Viscera | 4 | 3 | ─ | — | — |
| 8th | +3 | 2d6 | Ability Score Improvement | 4 | 3 | ─ | — | — |
| 9th | +4 | 2d6 | ─ | 4 | 3 | 2 | — | — |
| 10th | +4 | 2d6 | Atavistic Aspect feature, Humansbane (HP 15) | 4 | 3 | 2 | — | — |
| 11th | +4 | 2d6 | Avenging Attack Improvement | 4 | 3 | 3 | — | — |
| 12th | +4 | 2d6 | Ability Score Improvement | 4 | 3 | 3 | — | — |
| 13th | +5 | 2d6 | ─ | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | — |
| 14th | +5 | 3d6 | Bastion Countenance, Humansbane (HP 20) | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | — |
| 15th | +5 | 3d6 | Ultimate Viscera | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — |
| 16th | +5 | 3d6 | Ability Score Improvement | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — |
| 17th | +6 | 3d6 | ─ | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| 18th | +6 | 3d6 | Atavistic Aspect feature, Humansbane (HP 25) | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| 19th | +6 | 3d6 | Ability Score Improvement | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| 20th | +6 | 4d6 | Blot on History | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
Quick Builds
You can make an Atavist quickly by following these suggestions. First, Constitution should be your highest ability score, followed by Strength or Dexterity (depending on what kind of martial character you want). Second, choose the Soldier background.
Class Features
As an atavist, you gain the following class features.
Hit Points
- Hit Dice: 1d6 per atavist level
- Hit Points at 1st Level: 6 + your Constitution modifier
- Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d6 (or 4) + your Constitution modifier after 1st.
Proficiencies
- Armor: Light armor, medium armor, shields
- Weapons: Simple weapons, martial weapons
- Tools: None
- Saving Throws: Strength, Constitution
- Skills: Choose two from Acrobatics, Arcana, Athletics, Insight, Intimidation, Investigation, Survival
Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
- (a) scale mail or (b) leather armor
- (a) two spears or (b) any martial weapon
- (a) a greataxe or (b) a battleaxe and a shield
- (a) an explorer’s pack or (b) a priest’s pack
Wealth Rolls
Alternatively, you can ignore the equipment listed above and in your background, and buy 4d4 x 10gp worth of equipment from chapter 5 of the Player's Handbook.
Multiclassing
The prerequisites for multiclassing into an atavist are a Strength and a Constitution score of 13. When you multiclass into atavist, you gain proficieny with light armor, medium armor, shields, simple weapons, and martial weapons. When determining your total spell slots, you add one half of your atavist levels (rounded down) to the total
Rend Ichor
You can tap into your raw health to deliver death. You have a rend die which powers certain class features, and is a d6. When you rend, you roll this die and lose hit points equal to the result, which can’t be reduced in any way. You can’t rend more than once for a feature unless the effect says so.
When a feature says that you can rend to a roll, it means that you can rend yourself and add the result of the rend die to the roll. You can rend yourself to any damage roll made as a result of hitting with a melee weapon attack or spell attack. You can rend any amount of times per turn.
At 7th level, you can rend to Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution saving throws, and you can roll up to 2d6 for your rend dice. At 14th level, you can roll up to 3d6, and up to 4d6 at 20th.
Unstopping Heart
Once per turn, when rending yourself would reduce you to 0 hit points, you are instead reduced to 1. Additionally, you are proficient in death saving throws, and if the result of a death saving throw you make is 18 or higher, you regain 1 hit point. Also, you only suffer one failed death saving throw as a result of a natural 1.
Spellcasting
By 2nd level, your physical essence—either through your family, the blessing of some divine (or unholy) being, or even through sheer chance has produced a fortified and living ichor within you, wieldable for magical prowess. See chapter 10 for the general rules of spellcasting and the end of this document for the atavist spell list.
Preparing and Casting Spells
The Atavist table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your spells. To cast one of your atavist spells of 1st level or higher, you must expend a slot of the spell’s level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest.
You prepare the list of atavist spells that are available for you to cast, choosing from the atavist spell list. When you do so, choose a number of atavist spells equal to your Constitution modifier + half your atavist level, rounded down (minimum of one spell). The spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots.
For example, if you are a 5th level atavist, you have four 1st-level and two 2nd-level spell slots. With a Constitution of 14, your list of prepared spells can include four spells of 1st or 2nd level, in any combination. If you prepare the 1st-level spell inflict wounds, you can cast it using a 1st-level or a 2nd-level slot. Casting the spell doesn’t remove it from your list of prepared spells.
You can change your list of prepared spells when you finish a long rest. Preparing a new list of atavist spells requires time spent attuning to your vitality: at least 1 minute per spell level for each spell on your list.
Spellcasting Ability
Constitution is your spellcasting ability for your atavist spells, since the power of your magic relies on your own blood. You use your Constitution whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Constitution modifier when setting the saving throw DC for an atavist spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.
Spell Save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus +
Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus +
Ritual Casting
You can cast an atavist spell as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag and you have the spell prepared.
Spellcasting Focus
Your body counts as a spellcasting focus for your atavist spells.
Hardened Viscera
At 2nd level, your body takes on physical traits and aspects of the toughest people and most resolute populations. You gain the following benefits:
- While you aren’t wearing heavy armor, gain 3 temporary hit points at the start of your turn.
- Your hit point maximum can’t be reduced.
Atavistic Aspect
Choose an aspect at 3rd level, which describes and emulates your bodily magical power. They are detailed at the end of the class description. Your choice grants you features when you choose it at 3rd level and again at 6th, 10th, and 18th levels.
Aspect Spells
Each aspect has a list of associated spells. You gain access to these spells at the levels specified in the aspect description. Once you gain access to an aspect spell, you always have it prepared. Aspect spells don’t count against the number of spells you can prepare each day.
If you gain an aspect spell that doesn’t appear on the atavist spell list, the spell is nonetheless an atavist spell for you.
Ability Score Improvement
When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.
Avenging Attack
Starting at 5th level, when an attack hits you, or you fail a saving throw, you can make a weapon attack against any creature within range as a reaction.
At 11th level, you can make two weapon attacks as part of this reaction.
Humansbane
Starting at 6th level, you exude physical might, and can take apart lesser beings with single blows. Whenever you hit a creature that has blood with an attack and rend to its damage, the creature is instantly slain if the damage reduces their hit points to 10 or lower.
At 10th level, the creature is instantly slain if it has 15 or fewer hit points remaining. At 14th level, this increases to 20, and 25 at 18th level.
Greater Viscera
At 7th level, your body has taken on bedrock and efficient properties. You gain the following benefits:
- While you aren’t wearing heavy armor, you gain 6 temporary hit points at the start of your turn.
- Over the course of a minute, you can perform a ritual using the corpse or blood of a small or larger creature. At the end of this ritual, you drain the blood and vitality of the creature, and regain a number of ht points equal to one third of you level (rounded up) in d6s. You can perform this ritual twice, regaining all expended uses at the end of a long rest.
Bastion Countenance
By 14th level, you are immune to disease and, at the end of a long rest you regain all expended hit die, instead of half of your total.
Additionally, you can use your action to end one effect on yourself that is causing you to be blinded or deafened.
Ultimate Viscera
At 15th level, your body becomes an impenetrable fortress. You gain the following benefits:
- While you aren’t wearing heavy armor, you gain 9 temporary hit points at the start of your turn.
- You regain the maximum number of hit points from expending hit die to heal.
Blot on History
At 20th level, you become a constant stain that cannot be scrubbed from the world. Your body doesn't age, and if a spell, such as raise dead has the sole effect of restoring you to life (but not undeath), the caster doesn't need material components to cast the spell on you.
Also, any part of your body—such as a fingernail or an eye—is enough for any such spell to restore you to life from. In such a case as a spell would restore your body to life but targets an incomplete body, you regrow from that part over the course of 8 hours. At the end of that time, you return to life as if the spell had just taken effect upon you.
Finally, if you are dead or not yet fully regrown, any magic attempting to raise your body as an undead succeeds, but you instantly gain control.
Atavistic Aspects
The specializations of atavists lie in either their interests or bolstered sources of power, and either can rely on what direction they use their power. Ancient families would develop techniques and pass them down, but no one inherits this power anymore: they make their own, and the power of the atavist chooses them.
Bloodied Aspect
Your color of atavist is one who thrives on a wounded physique, gaining adrenaline and power from being closer to death. These atavists tend towards extreme masochism, and are sometimes only truly happy when they can feel cuts, bruises, and blood pumping from their body alarmingly.
Bloodied Aspect Spells
| Atavist Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 3rd | cause fear |
| 5th | needle and thread |
| 9th | coalesce humours |
| 13th | death ward |
| 17th | exsanguinate |
Wounded Nature
Beginning at 3rd level when you choose this aspect, you gain two benefits as a bloodied aspect warrior, which strengthen as you become weaker, and your innate reflexes take over. Choose one of the following features, which remain active as long as you are below your bloodied threshold (half your hit point maximum, rounded up):
Alacrity. You hover in and out of a foe’s reach, stepping between it as easily as a flick of a blade. You can take the Disengage action as a bonus action.
Beating Reflexes. Your agility and maneuverability are unparalled. Your walking speed increases by 15 feet.
Control. You finely manipulate your blood. When you rend, you can reroll the rend dice once per turn and choose either result.
In addition, choose one of the following features. When you fall below your bloodied threshold, your chosen feature activates for you, remaining active as long as you are under that threshold:
Serrated Strike. Your blade’s edge coats and sharpens in spilled blood. Your weapon attacks score a critical hit on a roll of 19 or 20.
Thickening Humors. Your spells are overloaded as your bones crack and disjoint under the heavy hand of atavism. You can add your Constitution modifier to the damage you deal with any atavist spell.
Unceasing Flow. Your blood runs like water. When you rend yourself and add the result to a weapon damage roll, the result is doubled—you both take and apply double the rend result.
Maiming Aura
At 6th level, you and friendly creatures within 10 feet of you add your Constitution modifier to their weapon damage rolls when you are below your bloodied threshold.
At 18th level, the range of this aura increases to 30 feet.
Deathbound Vitality
Beginning at 10th level, when an enemy ends their turn within your reach, you can use your reaction to use your Avenging Attack feature. For each attack you make as a part of this reaction, you must rend yourself your maximum number of rend dice once.
Rage Against the Dying
Starting at 18th level, you can spend 1 minute to restore yourself to one hit point below your bloodied threshold.
Cruorwrought Aspect
Atavists use their bodies in ways far beyond the normal capacity of any other creatures. Certain atavists follow their blood, gaining physical command of it—shaping and wielding it inside and outside of their bodies, as well as in the bodies of others.
Cruorwrought Aspect Spells
| Atavist Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 3rd | zephyr strike |
| 5th | hold person |
| 9th | slow |
| 13th | freedom of movement |
| 17th | antilife shell |
Weapon of Blood
Beginning at 3rd level when you choose this archetype, you can create a weapon of blood to wield. When you take the Attack action, you can rend to create a weapon of blood in either one of your hands. You can create a melee weapon you are proficient with or coat a melee weapon you are currently holding in blood. A weapon of blood deals additional damage equal to your rend dice.
The blood of the weapon falls into a pool after two hits with the weapon or if it leaves your grasp. This increases to three hits at 10th level.
Create or Destroy Blood
Also at 3rd level, you can either create or destroy blood as a bonus action. To create, you make up to 10 gallons of blood within 30 feet of you in a space you can see. Alternatively, the blood falls as rain in a 30-foot sphere within range. To destroy, you destroy up to 10 gallons of blood within 30 feet of you in a space you can see. Once you destroy blood, you can only create blood once before needing to destroy it again.
Additionally, you can drain the blood from one Small or larger corpse of a creature that had blood within range as a bonus action. If you drain a corpse of its blood, you can create a weapon of blood without losing any hit points yourself the first time you do so within the next minute.
Hearteater
Starting at 6th level, your weapons of blood count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.
When you create a new weapon of blood (not coat a weapon you are holding), you gain +1 to attack and damage rolls with the weapon. At 10th level, this increases to +2, and +3 at 18th level.
Additionally, when you kill a creature with your weapon of blood, the hit that killed the creature does not count against the total number of attacks you can make with your weapon of blood.
Rebuttal of Body
At 10th level, you can refute many attacks on your body. When you are subjected to an effect that allows you to make a Constitution saving throw to take only half damage, you instead take no damage if you succeed on the saving throw, and only half damage if you fail.
Call Godslayer
Beginning at 18th level, you are capable of creating a blood weapon that rivals the most powerful weapons in the multiverse. By creating a weapon of blood, you can create an artifact of blood instead. You rend for 20d6, instead of the normal amount; you treat your rend dice as 20d6 when attacking with this weapon. It looks how you wish.
After three hits with the artifact of blood, it falls apart. Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.
Your Hearteater feature cannot give you additional attacks with an artifact of blood.
Murderous Aspect
Murderous atavists are honed on the hunt: they use their power to deplete and destroy others. They attack strategically weak spots in a creature, taking them down in stride. Their motivations for this are more varied than the monsters and people they kill: money, fame, altruism, addiction, blackmail, divine, profane, insanity, vengeance, thrill seeking, political gain, or any other inscrutable motivations; perhaps some don’t have or need a reason.
Murderous Aspect Spells
| Atavist Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 3rd | inflict wounds |
| 5th | pass without trace |
| 9th | counterspell |
| 13th | locate creature |
| 17th | steel wind strike |
Fighting Style
At 3rd level, you choose one of the fighting styles below. You can’t choose the same fighting style more than once, even if you later get to choose again.
Dueling. When you are wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapons, you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with that weapon.
Great Weapon Fighting. When you roll a 1 or 2 on a damage die for an attack you make with a melee weapon that you are wielding with two hands, you can reroll the die and must use the new roll, even if the new roll is a 1 or a 2. The weapon must have the two-handed or versatile property for you to gain this benefit.
Thrown Weapon Fighting. You can draw a weapon that has the thrown property as part of the attack you make with the weapon.
In addition, when you hit with a ranged attack using a thrown weapon, you gain a +2 bonus to the damage roll.
Two-Weapon Fighting. When you engage in two- weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the second attack.
Lethal Strike
Also at 3rd level, you can rip a creature apart with a killer’s instinct, knowing exactly where to strike. Once per turn, you can deal an extra 1d6 damage to one creature you hit with an attack if you have advantage on the attack roll.
You don’t need advantage on the attack roll if there is no other creature hostile to you within 5 feet of the target or if a creature other than you that is hostile to the target is within 5 feet of it. The amount of damage you gain increases as you reach higher levels: it becomes 2d6 at level 6, 3d6 at 10th, and 4d6 at 18th.
Skirmisher
Starting at 6th level, you become highly effective at tracking and eluding enemies. You gain proficiency in the Stealth and Survival skills, and for one of those skills of your choice, you double your proficiency bonus for any ability checks made with that skill.
Finally, you can take the Dash, Hide, or Search action as a bonus action.
Cruorbent Accuracy
At 10th level, you can act on an opening viciously. When you make your first attack in a round, you can choose to deal the additional damage from your Lethal Strike feature on any number of attacks until the start of your next turn.
Once you do this, you can't do so again until you finish a short or long rest.
Life for Life, Blood for Blood
Beginning at 18th level, you can use a bonus action to mark a creature within 90 feet. You gain the following benefits against the target:
- Immediately before you make a melee attack, you can surge 60 feet towards your marked target in a wave of blood. This movement does not trigger opportunity attacks.
- When you rend damage against the target, you can deal an additional 2d6 damage to the target.
- You can use your Lethal Strike against the target even if you don't have advantage on the attack roll.
Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short rest.
Fiendish Aspect
In certain cultures, manipulation of one’s blood for magic can be seen as the influence of hellish forces, outright feared as being caused by a demon. They might be wrong or, occasionally, may be very right. Whether some shard of a demon’s soul awakens hemomancy within you, you’ve made a pact of power, an old fiendish blood god occupies a forgotten line of your family tree, or you’ve been cursed by a godless soul, you have a demonic aspect about you.
Fiendish Aspect Spells
| Atavist Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 3rd | bane |
| 5th | darkness |
| 9th | fireball |
| 13th | dimension door |
| 17th | contact other plane |
Fiendish Constitution
At 3rd level, your body takes on characteristics of demons. You register as a fiend for any features that detect or interact with demons. Additionally, you can’t be poisoned and have resistance to poison damage. Finally, you can speak, read, and write your choice of Abyssal or Infernal.
Fiend’s Pyre
At 3rd level, you can enter or exit a fiend’s pyre as a bonus action, granting you greater demonic might. While in the pyre, you can’t be frightened, and each creature other than you within 5 feet of you takes 1d4 fire damage when you enter the pyre and at the start of each of your turns. You can also choose to deal this damage whenever you rend. This increases to 2d4 at 6th level, 3d4 at 10th, and 4d4 at 18th.
At 6th level, you can choose any number of creatures that you can see to not take damage from your fiend's pyre, and the range at which you deal the damage increases to 10 feet.
The fiend’s pyre lasts for up to 1 minute. You can use this feature a number of times equal to half your Constitution modifier (rounded up) and regain all expended uses when you finish a short or long rest.
Hellfire
At 6th level, when you rend a damage roll while in a fiend’s pyre, you can change the weapon damage dealt to fire damage. Additionally, any fire damage you deal ignores resistances, and you have resistance to fire damage.
Excruciating Pyre
At 10th level, when you enter a fiend's pyre you can choose to enter a fiendish visage. If you do so, for the duration of the pyre, you gain the following benefits:
- You become a medium fiend with a flying speed of 30 feet.
- You are immune to poison damage, and resistant to cold damage.
- The damage die of your fiend's pyre increases to d6s, instead of d4s.
Once you’ve used this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Conscript from a Bloody War
At 18th level, you can sacrifice tremendous vitality to rip a soldier from the Blood War, summoning a fiend soldier to fight for you. As an action, you can rend yourself by rolling 8d6 to cast the summon fiend spell at 8th-level. When cast in this way, the spell lasts 10 minutes and does not require concentration.
If you act in a manner directly antithetical to the fiend's beliefs, and detrimental to it, your control of the fiend ends, and it acts as a hostile creature to you and your companions, under the DM's control.
Once you’ve used this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.
Heavenly Aspect
The ancient powers of Atavism are not immune to the influences of the Outer Planes, and occasionally, whether by chance or design, the two combine in a unique way. Heavenly atavists are an example of this, persons touched by the goodly nature of one of the Upper Planes. Infused with celestial power, these self-sure individuals possess the unique ability to tap into their health to aid others, guiding the strikes of their allies and leading them to glorious victory.
Heavenly Aspect Spells
| Atavist Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 3rd | bless |
| 5th | lesser restoration |
| 9th | revivify |
| 13th | aura of life |
| 17th | commune |
Heavenly Presence
Beginning at 3rd level when you choose this aspect, you are naturally resistant to planar influence. You gain proficiency in Charisma saving throws, and advantage on effects against that would teleport or move you off plane against your will.
Additionally, you gain proficiency in one of the following skills of your choice: Deception, Insight, Persuasion, or Performance. Additionally, choose one of those skills that you are proficient in. Your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make that uses the chosen proficiency.
Angelic Guidance
Also at 3rd level, you can draw upon your lifeforce to restore your allies. As a bonus action, you can rend yourself to heal a target within 30 feet for the amount rolled.
Celestial Ascendance
At 10th level, you take on some aspects of an Angel, the divine denizens of the Upper Planes. Once per turn, you can deal an extra 1d8 radiant damage when you hit a creature with a melee weapon.
Also, you can cast detect evil and good and protection from evil and good at will, without expending a spell slot.
Conscript of Heaven's Legion
At 18th level, you can sacrifice tremendous vitality to sound a divine call to arms, summoning a celestial champion to your side. As an action, you can rend yourself by rolling 8d6 to cast the summon celestial spell at 8th-level. When cast in this way, the spell lasts 10 minutes and does not require concentration.
If you act in a manner directly antithetical to the celestial's beliefs, and detrimental to it, the spell ends early.
Once you’ve used this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.
Atavist Spells
1st Level
- Arms of Hadar
- Cause Fear
- Compelled Duel
- Courageous Rebuttal
- Detect Magic
- Detect Poison and Disease
- Expeditious Retreat
- False Life
- Grease
- Heroism
- Inflict Wounds
- Jump
- Longstrider
- Ray of Sickness
- Zephyr Strike
2nd Level
- Alter Self
- Blindness/Deafness
- Enhance Ability
- Darkvision
- Enlarge/Reduce
- Hold Person
- Lesser Restoration
- Locate Animals or Plants
- Needle and Thread
- Polyphemus’ Might
- Protection from Poison
- Spider Climb
3rd Level
- Caustic Viscera
- Coalesce Humours
- Feign Death
- Fly
- Gaseous Form
- Intellect Fortress
- Meld into Stone
- Protection from Energy
- Remove Curse
- Vampiric Touch
- Water Breathing
- Water Walk
4th Level
- Aura of Decay
- Blight
- Death Ward
- Elemental Bane
- Freedom of Movement
- Locate Creature
- Polymorph
- Quicken Atavism
- Stoneskin
5th Level
- Antilife Shell
- Contagion
- Enervation
- Exoscleroma
- Exsanguinate
- Greater Restoration
- Reincarnate
- Steel Wind Strike
- Tree Stride
Atavist Specific Spells
Courageous Rebuttal
1st-level abjuration
- Casting Time: 1 reaction, which you take when a creature makes a melee attack against you
- Range: 10 feet
- Components: S, M (a weapon)
- Duration: Instantaneous
As part of the reaction used to cast this spell, you use a weapon to make a melee weapon attack against the creature that attacked you, after the outcome of their attack is decided. If you hit, the target suffers the weapon’s normal damage, and you gain half the damage dealt in temporary hit points that last for up to 1 minute.
Needle and Thread
2nd-level evocation
- Casting Time: 1 action
- Range: 150 feet
- Components: S, M (thread and a needle)
- Duration: Instantaneous
Select a target with blood within range, who must make a Constitution saving throw. On a failure, it takes 3d8 piercing damage and its blood explodes in three sharpened needles from its body to as many creatures or objects of your choice as there are needles, each target of which must be within 30 feet of the original. A secondary target must make the same save, taking 1d8 piercing damage per needle on a failure, or none on a success. If the first target succeeds on the saving throw, the first target only takes half as much piercing damage and no needles are created.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 3rd level or higher, the first target takes 1d8 additional damage and releases one more needle for each spell slot above 2nd.
Polyphemus’ Might
2nd-level enchantment
- Casting Time: 1 bonus action
- Range: 30 feet
- Components: S, M (a giant eye)
- Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
You imbue one creature of your choice within range a shadow of giant’s might. The target has advantage on saving throws against being charmed or frightened, and rolls damage dice twice for melee attacks, choosing the higher result.
Caustic Viscera
3rd-level transmutation
- Casting Time: 1 action
- Range: Self (20-foot radius)
- Components: V, S, M (a vial of snake venom)
- Duration: 1 minute
You imbue your blood with corrosive acid and cause it to rupture from your body. Each creature in a 20-foot radius of you must make a Dexterity saving throw. You automatically fail this saving throw. A creature takes 10d4 acid damage on a failed save, or half as much on a success.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th level or higher, the damage dealt increases by 2d4 for each spell slot above 3rd.
Coalesce Humours
3rd-level conjuration
- Casting Time: 1 minute
- Range: 90 feet
- Components: V, S
- Duration: Concentration, up to 8 hours
Choose a corpse with blood or a large volume of blood within range. You extract the blood, which comes to life, so that it becomes a blood ooze under your control for the duration of the spell.
The coalesced creature is friendly to you and your companions. It acts on your initiative and has its own actions. It obeys any verbal commands you issue to it. If you don’t issue any commands, the blood ooze defends itself from hostile creatures, but otherwise takes no actions.
If your concentration is broken, the ooze doesn’t disappear. Instead, you lose control of the blood ooze, it becomes hostile towards all non-ooze creatures, and might attack. An uncontrolled blood ooze can’t be dismissed by you and it disappears 8 hours after you coalesced it.
If it drops to 0 hit points, it loses life and splashes into a pool of blood that can be coalesced once more for this spell.
Aura of Decay
4th-level necromancy
- Casting Time: 1 action
- Range: Self (30-foot radius)
- Components: S
- Duration: Concentration, up to 10 minutes
A diseased aura radiates from you within range. Until the spell ends, the aura moves with you, centered on you. Each hostile creature that enters the area for the first time on a turn or starts its turn within it has disadvantage on death saving throws and must make a Constitution saving throw. A target takes 5d6 necrotic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 5th level or higher, the spell’s radius increases by 15 feet for each spell slot above 4th.
Blood Ooze
Large ooze, unaligned
- Armor Class 8
- Hit Points 76 (9d10 + 27)
- Speed 15 ft., climb 15 ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 17 (+3) 7 (-2) 16 (+3) 2 (-4) 6 (-2) 1 (-5)
- Damage Resistances lightning, slashing
- Damage Immunities acid, necrotic
- Condition Immunities blinded, charmed, deafened, exhaustion, frightened, prone
- Senses blindsight 60ft. (blind beyond this radius), passive Perception 8
- Languages —
- Challenge 3 (700xp)
Amorphous. The ooze can move through a space as narrow as 1 inch wide without squeezing.
Changing Form. When the ooze is reduced to half of its maximum hit points, its size becomes Medium. When it is reduced to a fourth of its maximum hit points, its size becomes Small. If the ooze's hit points are restored above a fourth or a half, its size becomes Medium or Large, respectively.
Regeneration. The ooze regains 10 hit points at the start of its turn if it has at least1 hit point. If the ooze takes radiant damage this trait doesn't function at the start of the ooze's next turn.
Spider Climb. The ooze can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check.
Actions
Pseudopod.* Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. *Hit:*10 (2d6+3) bludgeoning damage plus 3 (1 d6) acid damage for each size category of the ooze above Tiny.
Reactions
Bloodshed. If the ooze's size changes and it becomes smaller, it can cause its lost mass to explode outward. Each creature within 5 feet of the ooze (based on the ooze's size before its size changed) must make a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw. A creature takes 7 (2d6) acid damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
Quicken Atavism
4th-level transmutation (ritual)
- Casting Time: 16 hours
- Range: Touch
- Components: S
- Duration: Instantaneous
You perform a rite of blood on a young person. Choose a humanoid that is below their race's age of maturity. You imbue them with an atavistic spark, granting them a chance at developing atavism, which takes a full month to mature. Roll percentile dice. On a result of your level or lower, the child’s Constitution score raises to 15 if it were lower and they become a 1st-level atavist after the maturation time.
Exoscleroma
5th-level necromancy
- Casting Time: 1 action
- Range: Touch
- Components: S
- Duration: Instantaneous
You touch a creature who must make a Constitution saving throw. On a failure, they are cursed, and their bones slowly begin to dissolve and regrow under their skin. This spell has no effect against creatures who are immune to poison damage or the poisoned condition. After they finish their first long rest, they become poisoned. After the second, deafened; after the third, restrained; fourth, incapacitated; fifth, paralyzed; sixth, petrified.
To be cured a creature must be healed by a healing spell or any restoration spell of the same level of day progression they are on or higher. Once three days have passed for a petrified creature under the effect of the spell, only 9th level magic can cure them.
Exsanguinate
5th-level necromancy
- Casting Time: 1 action
- Range: 120 feet
- Components: S
- Duration: Up to 1 round
Choose a creature within range that has blood. They must make a Constitution saving throw. On a failure, streams of their blood falls through their skin to the ground in a puddle of difficult terrain in a 10-foot-radius around them, they take 10d10 necrotic damage, and they become incapacitated until the end of their next turn.
Credits
The original class was the creation of SwordMeow. The Heavenly Aspect was written by SargeBriar. It has been edited by Cosaur and Grell for personal use.
The “Atavist” is unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Fan Content Policy. Not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC.
Image Credits by page
p1: Snowmaiden by CobaltPlasma, Blood Logo CC
p2: Art by Raiko
p5: Art by Makkhariel
p6: Art by Retina Creative
p7: Art by James Zapata
p8: Art by theDURRRRIAN
p9: Art by theDURRRRIAN
p10: Art by Azul Paulina
p11: Art by GypsFulvus
p13: Art by MorranArt
Spell Counting
Half casters only
Format
Level. Unique/total
Atavist
Current values
- 1st-level. 1/15
- 2nd-level. 1/12
- 3rd-level. 2/12
- 4th-level. 2/9
- 5th-level. 2/9
Artificer
Ignore the unique for averages
- 1st-level. 0/18
- 2nd-level. 0/21
- 3rd-level. 0/15
- 4th-level. 0/11
- 5th-level. 0/7
Paladin
- 1st-level. 4/16
- 2nd-level. 2/11
- 3rd-level. 2/11
- 4th-level. 2/7
- 5th-level. 3/8
Ranger
- 1st-level. 4/19
- 2nd-level. 1/19
- 3rd-level. 2/16
- 4th-level. 0/8
- 5th-level. 2/7
Average (of WotC classes)
- 1st-level. 4/17.7
- 2nd-level. 1.5/17
- 3rd-level. 2/14
- 4th-level. 1/8.7
- 5th-level. 2.5/7.3
Theoretical Spells
Dark Arts Theft
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Kr3ZKYy3Me0ZFOhOQAmKBZlB9JUauhW5/view?usp=sharing
- Bloodburn (1st-level evocation; p25)
- Give it a maximum amount of health that you can juice into it
[Find Blood Familiar]
2nd-level necromancy (ritual)
- Casting Time: 1 hour
- Range: 10 feet
- Components: V, S, M ()
- Duration: Instantaneous
Replace Crourbat Call.
Changelog
Version Rework 1
Base Class
Rend Ichor
- You are now allowed to roll less die when you rend
- The wording on what you could and couldn't rend to was stupid, so I changed it. The only mechanical effect is being able to rend unarmed strike damage
Spellcasting
- They get the common sorcerer houserule of being able to use their body as a spellcasting focus
X Viscera
- Instead of a damage reduction, they gain 1.5* that damage reduction's old value in THP at the start of their turn. This is a bit of a nerf, but less fucky and works on rends
- Greater Viscera's damageless rend has been replaced with a ritual to regain some health, to encourage you to just go hard
- Ultimate Viscera has been added at 15th level, and lets you restore max hp with hit die
Atavistic Aspects
- All Aspects lost their 6th level aspect spell, because they don't do anything
Avenging Attack
- Removed the line in avenging attack that lets you use it if you fail a grapple or shove
Humansbane
- Humansbane now works on all creatures that have blood (not just humanoids)
Sanguine Sacraments/Bastion Countenance
- This feature has been removed entirely
- At 14th level, it is replaced with a new feature: Bastion Countenance
- 17th level doesn't need a replacement feature
- 20th level we might eventually add a new feature, but don't have one right now
Nigh Immortality/Blot on History
- The level 20 feature (Nigh Immortal) has been replaced with a similar feature (Blot on History)
Bloodied Aspect
- Redwood Expansion replaced with Coalesce Humours as the 3rd level aspect spell
- Reworded Deathbound Vitality to be less fucky
Murderous Aspect
- Changed Throwing Fighting style to the Tasha's version
- Added Great Weapon Fighting style
- Courbent Accuracy has been replaced with a feature that lets you Lethal Strike all attacks that round
- Life for Life, Blood for Blood has been replaced with a mark feature
Fiendish (Demonic) Aspect
- They get bane instead of chaos bolt now
- You can choose to deal fiend's pyre damage when you rend
- At 6th level, the range increases to 10 feet and you can not hit people you can see of your choice
- Specified that changing the weapon's damage type to fire using hellfire of the abyss only works when you rend a damage roll
- Avatar form was replaced with Conscript from a Bloody War to mirror the heavenly aspect feature
Heavenly Aspect
- Heavenly Presence no longer allows for rending to charisma checks or saves, but it gives you charisma save proficiency and advantage on teleport or planeshift effets
- Heavenly Presence also gives a proficiency and expertise from a list
- Angelic Guidance has been replaced with a healing effect
- Shared Burden no longer lets others take rend for you, but it does let you reduce the damage rolled (so it fucks AOE)
- Sound the Horns of Meriton was renamed and is reduced to 8d6 damage, and not just does the summon celestial spell at 8th level
Cruorwrought Aspect
- Reworded weapon of blood to give it a damage type and make it clearer to read; also can no longer coat ranged weapons
- Reworded parts of create and destroy blood to be less weird
- Hearteater is replaced with weapons of blood counting as magic, and gives +x scaling
- Hearteater also lets you get additional hits with a weapon of blood if you kill a bitch
- Godslayer now specifically states that it deals the new rend damage
Anomalous Aspect
- Explicitly stated that you can use multiple tentacles to grapple one creature
- Can grapple UP TO your number of tentacles, instead of equal to (so you don't have to use them all)
- Reworded the squeezing on Release the Anomaly to clarify that all creatures get squeezed, and to offer potential damage scaling with multiple tentacles.
- Similar clarification with Grasp of the Stars to make sure everyone does the save
- Clarified that creatures moved by Greater Anomoly must stay within 30 feet
- The knowledge gained by For the Old Ones is now much less specific (instead of knowing everything, you learn a biography). This also makes it clear whether or not you retain the information.
Atavist Spells
- Added Antilife Shell, Arms of Hadar, Compelled Duel, Elemental Bane, Enhance Ability, Feign Death, Fly, Gaseous Form, Grease, Intellect Fortress, Meld into Stone, Polymorph, Remove Curse, Tree Stride, Vampiric Touch to their spell list
- Removed Heart Sunder, Lesser Bloodsight, Withering Necrosis, Crourbat Call, Redwood Expansion, Warding Bond, Life Transference
- Caustic Viscera was written and added as a 3rd level transmutation spell, because I ran out of 3rd level spells to give them and they were still short; also because I wanted to
- Polyphemus' Might has removed the THP and its dependancy
- Aura of Decay is half on a successful save
- Casting time of Quicken Atavism changed from Eternal to Instantaneous, and only up to a race's age of maturity
Unaddressed Concerns
- Because we removed so many spells, the class lacks exclusive spells. It wouldn't hurt to write more
Design philosophy of Atavist
- Self sacrifice
- Gish casting
- Keep it a wild ride with managing health, but give them ways to be in control
- They lean heavily into melee
- Con casting
- Martial reaction economy