Path of the Veilwalker

A lone beaten and battered orc stood motionless, wearing nothing but a ragged, ripped shirt and pants, gripping his greatscythe, despite the blood leaking from his hands, which had much of their skin flayed off. Cuts, bruises, and scrapes littered his form, his many wounds bleeding profusely, while blood covered every inch of his body, yet it was entirely his own. But he was fazed by none of this. He was surrounded by tens of archers, and the corpses of the tens of melee fighters that had tried to best him, most separated into several pieces. The more arrows the archers shot into him, the fiercer he fought, seemingly trading his vitality for otherworldly power. After what seemed to be an eternity, he fell, dead... but he had completely annihilated his opponents in a death-defying last stand. It was as if he walked the veil between life and death itself with utmost confidence...

Those who follow the Path of the Veilwalker, better known as Veilwalkers, tread the veil between life and death, drawing from its power. They are known to take beating after beating, and yet only grow stronger and stronger, trading their very vitality for some kind of otherworldly power. Sometimes, they take a glorious final stand, defying death itself, annihilating their enemies before finally crossing the line, leaving their life behind.

As a Path of the Veilwalker barbarian, you draw power from the veil, giving you access to otherworldly power, but you are almost never far between life and death. You have the power to make glorious last stands, defying death to go out in one last moment of glory. You can also recover much faster from the brink of death than most others, while feeling far more alive than ever when you're close to losing your life.

While Veilwalkers can channel the magical power of the veil, they cannot directly control it, nor cast spells. All of their abilities come at a price - their very own life force and vitality. Yet losing this only makes them stronger.

The exact nature of the veil is unknown. All anybody knows for sure is that it has very real, abundant power. Many have sought to find a way to draw from this reservoir without paying the price, and all have failed, as all in the future will fail. The veil does not partake in unequal exchanges.

Most seek to avoid getting anywhere close to the brink of death, yet Veilwalkers embrace it, feeding on its power to reach unnatural levels of strength. They perform feats that others could only dream of, uncaring to the price they must pay.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This subclass was made specifically for a rules supplement called Nimble 5E. This subclass will NOT work in regular 5E, as the mechanics are quite different fundamentally. You can find Nimble 5E on Kickstarter for now.

Veil's Empowerment

Starting at 3rd level when you choose this path, your rage damage directly correlates to your levels of exhaustion. Your rage damage is equal to the amount of levels of exhaustion you currently have. However, it cannot be less than +1.

Once you reach 10th level, your rage damage cannot be less than +2.

Once you reach 17th level, your rage damage cannot be less than +3.

Additionally, you may choose to remove one level of exhaustion when taking a short rest, and may choose to remove two levels of exhaustion instead of the usual one when taking a long rest. You may also choose to heal no levels of exhaustion when taking either a short or long rest, if you so desire. You also do not receive the Dying condition when you gain levels of exhaustion, instead only gaining the Dying condition if your HP is reduced to 0. You will still gain a level of exhaustion when your HP is reduced to 0 as normal.

You also ignore all effects of exhaustion outside of combat, as you feel more alive than ever while on the brink of death.

Finally, if you are hit with an attack or take damage while you are effected by the Dying condition, you will gain a temporary 1AP on your next turn, or, if it is currently your turn, you gain this temporary 1AP immediately. This temporary 1AP will go away at the end of your turn, meaning that you will have 3AP as normal on the turn after you gain the temporary AP.

Veilwaker's Bargains

Starting at 3rd level when you choose this path, you learn 2 Veilwaker's Bargains. These bargains empower you, at the cost of gaining exhaustion, as you trade your vitality. You learn an additional bargain at 6th, 10th, and 14th level. You cannot use the same bargain more than once per round/turn, unless the bargain's description says otherwise.

After finishing a long rest, you may switch any number of learnt bargains with another bargain, as long as you do not exceed your total amount of learnt bargains.

Bargain of Adrenaline

Bargain of Adrenaline. You may spend 0AP to gain one level of exhaustion and a temporary 1AP. This temporary 1AP will go away at the end of your turn, meaning that your next turn will have 3AP as normal.

Bargain of Agile Lethality

Bargain of Agile Lethality. You may spend 1AP to move up to your full movement. You may make one attack at any point during this movement for no extra AP. You also gain one level of exhaustion.

Bargain of Deathly Strength

Bargain of Deathly Strength. You may spend 0AP to cause all of your attacks for the rest of your turn to deal an extra 1d4 + 1 necrotic damage. At 10th level, this damage increases to 1d6 + 1. You also gain one level of exhaustion.

Bargain of Decay

Bargain of Decay. You may spend 0AP to gain one level of exhaustion. You may use this bargain multiple times per turn. However, all uses past the first in the same turn will cost 1AP.

Bargain of Defiance

Bargain of Defiance. If you fail a saving throw for an effect that would cause you to be charmed or frightened, you may, as a reaction costing 1AP, cause yourself to succeed instead. You also gain one level of exhaustion.

Bargain of Ethereal Swiftness

Bargain of Ethereal Swiftness. You may spend 0AP to gain a flying speed during this turn equal to your full movement speed. When you are flying using this bargain, your body becomes ghostly and ethereal, and you ignore difficult terrain, and can move through creatures of any size, as well as objects that are Medium or smaller. You are also immune to physical traps or hazards, such as dart traps or lava. If you end your movement inside of a creature or object, you are shunted to the nearest unoccupied space, and take 10 force damage. Your body turns back to normal when you reach your destination or run out of flying speed.
You also gain one level of exhaustion when using this bargain.

Bargain of Fate

Bargain of Fate. If you fail a saving throw, you may, as a reaction, spend 0AP to gain a bonus to the result equal to your strength modifier. You also gain one level of exhaustion.
If you so desire, you may choose to instead spend 1AP to both gain the bonus and reroll the saving throw, taking the higher result.

Bargain of Fragile Fortitude

Bargain of Fragile Fortitude. As a reaction, costing 1AP, you may halve the damage of an attack that hits you, and gain one level of exhaustion. You cannot use the Block/Dodge reaction in the same round as this bargain, or vice versa.

Bargain of Fragile Lethality

Bargain of Fragile Lethality. You may spend 1AP upon hitting an attack to deal an extra 1d12, 2d12, 3d12, or 4d12 (your choice) necrotic damage to the target. However, you take necrotic damage equal to the extra damage dealt. The damage you take cannot be reduced or avoided in any way. You also gain one level of exhaustion.

Bargain of Lethargy

Bargain of Lethargy. You may spend 1AP upon hitting an attack to deal an extra 1d12 necrotic damage and force the target to roll a constitution saving throw, with a DC equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your strength modifier. On a failed save, the target's movement speed is halved for 1 minute. The target may reroll the saving throw at the end of each of their turns, ending the effect on a success. You also gain one level of exhaustion.

Bargain of Life Transference

Bargain of Life Transference. You may spend 1AP to gain one level of exhaustion, and heal an ally within 60 feet of you for 1d8 + your barbarian level.

Bargain of Otherworldly Force

Bargain of Otherworldly Force. You may spend 0AP to cause all of your attacks for the rest of your turn to deal force damage instead of their usual damage type, while ignoring resistance to force damage, and still dealing half damage to creatures immune to force damage. You also gain one level of exhaustion.

Bargain of Patience

Bargain of Patience. You may spend 1AP to roll any number of your hit dice, recovering hit points as normal. You also gain one level of exhaustion.

Bargain of Relentlessness

Bargain of Relentlessness. You may, when making a rushed attack, choose to gain one level of exhaustion and negate the disadvantage given to that rushed attack.

Bargain of Residual Lethality

Bargain of Residual Lethality. You may spend 1AP upon hitting an attack to imbue the target with residual necrotic energy. For 1 minute, the target will take 1d12 necrotic damage at the end of each of their turns. They may also roll a constitution saving throw (with a DC of 8 + your proficiency bonus + your strength modifier) at the end of each of their turns, after the damage is taken, ending the effect on a success. You also gain one level of exhaustion when using this bargain.

Bargain of Sacrifice

Bargain of Sacrifice. When an ally within 30 feet of you would be hit by an attack, you can take the Interpose reaction to protect them, even if you have already taken the Interpose reaction this round. You also gain one level of exhaustion.

Bargain of Shared Suffering

Bargain of Shared Suffering. You may spend 2AP to channel the veil to tether yourself to a creature within 30 feet of you for 3 rounds. The tether ends if the tethered creature is ever 60 feet or more away from you. If you take damage while tethered, the tethered creature will take the same amount of damage, halved. The vice versa is also true. You also gain one level of exhaustion.
You may only be tethered to one creature at a time.

Bargain of Siphoning

Bargain of Siphoning. you may spend 1AP to trade life force with a creature you can touch, siphoning it out of yourself into them. The creature is stabilized and recovers one level of exhaustion. You also gain one level of exhaustion yourself.

Bargain of Sundering

Bargain of Sundering. You may spend 1AP upon hitting an attack to cause it to ignore armour. You also gain one level of exhaustion. You may use this bargain multiple times per turn. Any uses past the first will still cost AP but will not cause you to gain any more exhaustion.

Bargain of the Ferryman

Bargain of the Ferryman. When a creature you can see begins Dying, you may spend 1AP, as a reaction, to allow them to recover one point of exhaustion. You also gain one level of exhaustion yourself.

Option rule, at the DM's discretion: you must also pay 1 gold as part of this bargain. A coin for the ferryman.

Bargain of Vigorous Lethality

Bargain of Vigorous Lethality. You may spend 1AP to gain an amount of temporary hit points equal to your barbarian level, as well as make an attack as part of this bargain. You also gain one level of exhaustion.

Bargain of Wrath

Bargain of Wrath. You may spend 0AP upon hitting an attack to cause it to deal double rage damage. You also gain one level of exhaustion. You may use this bargain multiple times per turn. Any uses past the first will cost 1AP but will not cause you to gain any more exhaustion.

Defy Death

Upon reaching 6th level, while you are in combat, once you reach your 6th level of exhaustion, you do not die immediately, only dying at the end of your turn. Additionally, once you reach your 6th level of exhaustion, you may make one weapon attack for 0AP as a reaction, or move up to your full movement speed, ignoring difficult terrain, for 0AP, also as a reaction. If it is currently your turn, you may only use one. If it is not, you may use both in succession.

It is impossible to gain more than 6 levels of exhaustion. If you use an ability that would cause you to gain a level of exhaustion above 6th, the ability will not be used.

Veil's Release

Upon reaching 6th level, if and when you die, you may divide a pool of hit points between your allies to heal them, as long as they are on the same plane of existence. Your may divide the pool between your allies however you see fit. The pool is equal to your maximum HP divided by 2. NOTE: This is only a rough estimate of how much the pool should be. It is highly recommended that you adjust it to fit your campaign.

Attract Harm

The veil's power can, if channeled correctly, attract harm to one who treads it. Upon reaching 6th level, you may take the Interpose reaction without using AP, as long as you have not already taken the Interpose reaction this round. You may use this feature twice per short/long rest. If you have no uses of this feature left, you may use it again, however you gain one level of exhaustion.

Veil's Protection

Upon reaching 10th level, you gain resistance to necrotic damage while raging, as the veil provides you with protection.

Return Vitality

Upon reaching 10th level, you may channel the veil to return some of your vitality. Once per short/long rest, you may spend 3AP to instantly remove one level of exhaustion.

Master of Bargaining

Upon reaching 14th level, you have become a master of bargaining with the veil. You may switch out your bargains when taking a short rest, as well as when taking a long rest.

Veilwalk

Upon reaching 14th level, you can channel the power of the veil through your very soul and being, achieving a short burst of godlike power.

Once per long rest, you may spend 2AP to make a number of attacks equal to your current level of exhaustion, without them being rushed attacks. You cannot use Extra Attack in the same turn as Veilwalk.