Path of the Waves

It has been said that Barbarians who choose the Path of the Waves do not have blood that boils within their veins as they rage in battle, instead their ferocity stems from churning brine that fills them with the wrath of the sea. Although this saying may be questioned, the connection these Barbarians have with the world beneath the waves is plain to see. 

Many warriors of the waves hail from coastal communities that have developed a deep and strong understanding with the sea and have channeled its brutality into their fiercest defenders. Other followers of the waves might be those of the Drowned: the men and women who met terrible fates within the raging waters but were permitted to live on and carry their experiences in the fish scales within their skin, the gills on their necks, and the claws that replace their hands.

Whatever the reason might be for a child of combat to turn to the wrathful expanse of the ocean, each that walk the Path of the Waves can call forth traits of its many creatures when enraged, to devastating effect. These warriors also know the waves serve just as much as a guide to new lands and will use its briny waters as a gateway between spaces and as an entrance for the sea's many beasts.

[Avatars by Sheryl Westleigh and Russ Harris]

Gift of the Brine

Starting when you choose this path at 3rd level, the transformations imparted on you by the forces of the sea begin to appear; the sheen of fish scales blends with your skin, gills are revealed in the flesh of your neck, and your eyes adjust for the pressure and low light of the undersea world. You now have a swimming speed equal to your walking speed, you can breath water, and you gain 60 feet of darkvision when submersed.

Undersea Traits

Starting at 3rd level, when you rage your soul's connection to the creatures of the sea manifests from your being granting you unique abilities. When you take a bonus action to rage you can choose to express one of the following traits until your rage ends:

Scaled Flesh The fish scales in your skin grow to cover more of your body, streamlining your flesh for greater movement under water. Your swimming speed is doubled and when you swim at least 10 feet in a straight line to the surface you can launch into the air up to a height equal to twice your high jump height. 

Chitinous Form Thin plates of chitin extend to protect your extremities from blows. You gain +1 to AC.

Tentacle Appendages Long ropey tentacles unfurl from your torso to reach out and grab your enemies. You can make a grapple attack on a target up to 15 feet away; on a success the target will be pulled to the nearest open space within 5 feet of you and will be grappled by you. If your grapple attack fails the target will be unaffected. Targets one size or greater than you have advantage on resisting your grapple check with your tentacles.

Clawed Arm One of your arms transforms into a large jagged claw that, while not being dexterous enough to wield a weapon or tool, can be used to slash ferociously. Your claw qualifies as a light melee weapon with 5 feet of reach and does slashing damage. You add your Proficiency Bonus and Strength Modifier to your attack roll with your claw and its damage is equal to 1d8 plus your Strength Modifier.

Sea Portal

At 6th level, as an action you can transform any flat surface of earth, sand, or stone that you can touch into a 15 feet wide ring that opens into a 15 feet deep pool of sea water. As a bonus action you can turn the pool’s floor into a second opening that will appear at a spot you choose within 60 feet.

The Sea Portal will temporarily carve out the matter below it to form its pool so both of its openings must be placed on solid surfaces of land. The interior edges of the Sea Portal are rocky, much like the walls of an undersea cave and can be used, by any creature, to exit through either of the pool’s openings at the expense of half the creature’s movement speed.

Once you create the Sea Portal's pool, any creature can travers this new aquatic space, from either end, until the pool closes after 10 minutes, or you use a bonus action to manually close it. Anything or anyone still within the pool when it closes will be ejected out of the nearest opening and the pool will fill up with the land it had previously displaced.

You can use this ability a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus per long rest.

Portal of the Abyss

Starting at 10th level, you can now place your Sea Portal’s second opening at any location that you have previously visited, regardless of its distance from the portal’s first opening.

Additionally the portal’s first and second openings can now be established underwater at any depth and will appear as a 15 feet wide ring of rippling bubbles when placed in such a way.

The portal’s second opening must be placed on the same plane of existence as its first opening and if they are greater than 60 feet apart you will be unable to place another Sea Portal until you finish a long rest.

Sea Portal Summoner

Additionally at 10th level, the second opening to your Sea Portal can be placed to a random undersea location where a beast with a swimming speed, up to CR 3, will be summoned. If the Sea Portal is opened on land and the beast doesn’t have a walking speed then it will be unable to exit the pool. If the Sea Portal is placed in a body of water, that can support the beast’s size, it will be able to exit into this body.

The summoned beast is friendly to you and your companions and shares your initiative in combat. It can move up to its walking/swimming speed with no required action and can be commanded, as your bonus action, to use any of its actions on its stat block.

The beast will flee back through the Portal after 1 minute unless it’s dead or incapacitated. If the beast has not returned through the Portal before it closes it will become hostile to you and your allies.

Summoning the beast requires the second Sea Portal opening to be placed a great distance from the first opening. This prevents you from being able to place another Sea Portal until you finish a long rest.

Improved Undersea Traits

At 14th level your extended use of your Undersea Traits as you rage has improved their capabilities.

Scaled Flesh Your fish scales have grown to cover your full body providing you with their previous capabilities while also giving you immunity to pressure damage from extreme underwater depths and cold damage from icy water temperatures.

Chitinous Form Your full body is now protected by chitinous plates. You gain +3 to AC.

Tentacle Appendages Your tentacles now double in number, allowing you to attempt grapple checks on two separate targets, that are within 15 feet of you, at once. Targets that are larger than you no longer have advantage on resisting your grapple checks.

Clawed Arm Your clawed arm has grown into a stronger natural weapon. Its damage dice is now d12.