Primal Path
At 3rd level, a barbarian gains the Primal Path feature, which offers you the choice of a subclass. Here is an option for that feature: Path of the Carver.
The Path of the Carver is a path taken by those who are resonant with the voices of the dead. Able to hear their silent wails, barbarians who follow this path often act as guardians to the afterlife, escorting lost souls to a peaceful rest. They serve as arbiters of the underworld, punishing those who were wicked in life with searing torture beyond the grave. The psychic cacophony of the damned can be a harrowing song, however. Those who follow this path carve jack-o'-lanterns as ceremonial masks, channeling a particular emotion to steel their souls against the turbulent tide of the departed. When a carver rages, their soul burns bright with such fiery emotion that it singes nearby souls, reflected on the flickering faces of their mask. 3rd-level Path of the Carver feature You don a blazing pumpkin as a helmet in battle, sickly light seeping from its haunting expression. As a bonus action or as a part of your rage, you can sprout an enchanted jack-o'-lantern around your head that sheds bright light within a 5-foot radius and dim light for an additional 5 feet. The pumpkin appears to house an inextinguishable flame (your choice of color) where your head would be and lasts until you are knocked unconscious or you dismiss it (no action required). When you enter your rage, the jack-o'-lantern's bright light radius grows to 15 feet and sheds dim light for an additional 15 feet. Additionally, creatures of your choice within 5 feet of you must succeed a Wisdom saving throw or take fire damage equal to your Barbarian level and become frightened of you until the end of their next turn. Whenever this subclass requires a saving throw, the DC equals 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier. 3rd-level Path of the Carver feature Your strange craft extends beyond just carving faces, as you fashion uncanny bodies to house them. As a bonus action, you can raise a scarecrow in an unoccupied space within 10 feet of you. Its head is a jack-o'-lantern whose light behaves as specified in your Hollow Head feature. It is enchanted to magically resemble you (with a pumpkin head), though it is unnaturally still. When the scarecrow takes damage, its true nature is revealed as the illusion fades. It lasts until it is destroyed or until you dismiss it as a bonus action. Your scarecrows are objects (same size as you) with AC 11, hit points equal to twice your Barbarian level, and are immune to psychic damage. When a creature that you can see within 5 feet of your scarecrow moves at least 5 feet away from it, you can use your reaction to make an opportunity attack against that creature as if you were in the scarecrow's space, the flame in your jack o' lantern dimming and reappearing in the scarecrow's head. If the opportunity attack hits, the target must succeed a Wisdom saving throw or become frightened of the scarecrow until the end of their next turn. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a short or long rest. 6th-level Path of the Carver feature You draw upon the unextinguished will of the restless, renewing them as will-o'-wisps to channel their fleeting emotions. As a reaction to when a creature dies within 30 feet of you, you can imprison its untethered soul in a jack-o'-lantern (yours or a scarecrow's). Its face twists into a new expression, activating one of the following effects: Joy. A wicked grin spreads across the jack-o'-lantern's face, toothy with glee. Creatures within 5 feet of the jack-o'-lantern must succeed a Wisdom saving throw or fall into a laughing fit as if affected by the Tasha's Hideous Laughter spell. Woe. The jack-o'-lantern's expression wilts, whispering of despair and failure. For 1 minute, creatures within 20 feet of the jack-o'-lantern have disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks. When a creature within the area fails a roll, they take psychic damage equal to your Barbarian level. Ire. The pumpkin's glower blazes with burning rage. Creatures within 10 feet of the jack-o'-lantern must succeed a Dexterity saving throw or take a number of d6 equal to your proficiency bonus in psychic or fire damage (your choice) and spend their next action attacking the nearest creature. The wearer of the pumpkin is immune to these effects. Additionally, a soul affected by this feature is not considered free for resurrection for 1 hour.Path of the Carver
Hollow Head
Eerie Effigies
Haunted Visage
Bump in the Night
10th-level Path of the Carver feature
Your foes cannot flee your nightmarish hunt as your presence lurks in every unseen corner. You can use half of your movement speed to teleport to an unoccupied space within 5 feet of a frightened creature within 30 feet you can see or to swap places with one of your scarecrows that you can see.
You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a short or long rest.
Phantasmagoria
10th-level Path of the Carver feature
You sow gnawing doubt among your foes, who learn to fear the faces of loved ones and dead men alike. Souls you capture are not free for up to 24 hours, and during this time you can use an action to transform the wearer of the soul's jack-o'-lantern (you or a scarecrow) into an illusory duplicate of the dead creature if it was a humanoid. Their appearance and voice is identical to the original. The transformation lasts until you dismiss it as a bonus action.
Additionally, while wearing a jack-o'-lantern, you can freely detach your head without being harmed.
All Hallows' Harvest
14th-level Path of the Carver feature
The foolhardy dismiss tales of a headless harbinger as nothing more than a bedtime bogeyman, blind to how its teller’s hands tremble as they lock up for nightfall. For the duration of your rage, you can gain the following benefits:
- You summon and mount a Nightmare under your control, riding it during your rage. It cannot make attack actions or fly, and disappears when your rage ends.
- Your weapon twists into a soul-reaping scythe, blade, or chain, maintaining its special properties and damage die. You can choose to have it deal fire or psychic damage instead of its original damage type, and hitting a creature with it rips away a shard of their soul which counts as a captured soul for this subclass's features. The weapon always returns to your hand at the beginning of your turn.
- Once per turn, you can activate your Hollow Head feature after making an attack. Additionally, you can toss your head as a natural ranged weapon attack that deals 2d6 fire damage on a hit. You can recall your head to your hands or neck (no action required).
Credits
Homebrew Designer - Piggby
Feedback - PepusArt Credits
Cover Art - Aleksandr Plikhta
Page 1 - Jason Nguyen
Page 2 Top - Daniel Kamarudin
Page 2 Bottom - DevBurmak
