Path of the Bloodstained
Pain is something shared with any mortal life, and most barbarians are unfeeling to pain itself while in their rage. But some barbarians have tapped into the mystical and physical aspects of pain to draw their inner rage from; becoming more potent and powerful with the skilled aptitude of sacrificial techniques. Barbarians that follow the Path of the Bloodstained are those with this aptitude; channeling their rage through their blood to have it become more pure to share acts of pain with, while still being a menace to the battlefield.
Pureblood
3rd-level Path of the Bloodstained feature
Through your rage your blood has become more pure, allowing it to fight poisons and diseases far greater than other beings.
While you're raging, you have resistance to necrotic and poison damage and advantage on saving throws against being poisoned or contracting diseases.
Sacrificial Techniques
3rd-level Path of the Bloodstained feature
While raging, you gain access to several sacrificial rites. When you enter your rage, and as a bonus action while raging, you may deal piercing damage to yourself equal to a held weapon's damage die and activate of the following techniques until the start of your next turn. If a technique has a level requirement, you must be that level in this class to use it. You cannot use the same technique more than once in a turn.
Acidic Veins. When you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you add your proficiency bonus to your weapon's damage roll, and creatures of your choice that you can see within 10 feet of the creature take acid damage equal to your proficiency bonus.
Arterial Rend (6th level or Higher). When you hit with a weapon attack, you deal an extra 1d8 necrotic damage.
Bloodwhip. The reach on your melee weapons is doubled, and you add your proficiency bonus to your attack rolls made with them.
Corruptive Cut. When you hit a creature with a weapon attack, the target becomes poisoned until the start of your next turn.
Hardened Scars. You gain a +1 bonus to your AC.
Hemorrhaging Cleave (6th level or Higher). When you take the Attack action, you may forgo making a normal attack to attack all creatures of your choice within your weapon's reach, with a separate attack roll for each target. Once you make this special attack, this technique's benefit ends.
Life Leech (6th level or Higher). When you hit with a weapon attack, you regain hit points equal to your proficiency bonus.
Unbound Limits. When you make an ability check or saving throw, you add your proficiency bonus to it, even if you already have added it.
Bloodhound
6th-level Path of the Bloodstained feature
Because of your ties with blood and pain, you know the location of any creature within 20 feet of you that is below half its hit point maximum. Additionally, you have advantage on Wisdom (Perception) and Wisdom (Survival) checks made to spot and track a creature if you have at least a vial's worth of their blood.
Primal Path | Path of the Bloodstained | /u/Cixal
Consistent Wounds
10th-level Path of the Bloodstained feature
Your blood has become more potent with your rage-fueled desires, giving you the following benefits while you are raging:
- When you are below half your hit point maximum, you gain an additional bonus action that you can only use to activate a sacrificial technique.
- Your hit point maximum can't be reduced.
Editor's Notes
This subclass has ideas of self-harm and gore in its nature. You can have flavor alternatives to this such as draining your own life force away through aging or even something such as petrification to ease any hard thoughts about this subclass while keeping its mechanical nature in play.
Crimson Turmoil
14th-level Path of the Bloodstained feature
Despite the wounds you accrue when you rage, you have gained the power to defy the call of death’s door for a short while.
When you successfully use your Relentless Rage feature, you can’t be reduced to 0 hit points until the end of your next turn. While under this effect, you may activate a sacrificial technique whenever you take the Attack action.
