Path of the Plague Bearer

"I woke up to the sound of screaming. Gripping my sword, I ran to the camp’s entrance. There, I saw it—a walking corpse. But this was no zombie. Its flesh was riddled with grotesque growths, its arms hung unnaturally, dislocated yet functional. I froze in terror. And then, I ran. I hid in the woods. By the end, all that remained was a mountain of corpses. You see, this was no mere undead. This was a warrior of decay—one who walks the Path of the Plague Bearer."

Barbarians of this path embrace a form of self-annihilation, transforming their own bodies into living bioweapons. They become hosts for virulent plagues, twisting their flesh in unnatural ways to surpass mortal limits—at the cost of their own well-being. Their bodies are both tools of destruction and harbingers of disease, striking terror into all who witness their grotesque transformations.

Plague Absorption

3rd-level Path of the Plague Bearer feature

Your body hungers for affliction, twisting your blood to feed upon disease. By touching a diseased creature, you can absorb its illness, curing them but taking 1d6 poison damage yourself. For 1 minute after absorbing a disease, you gain resistance to poison damage and advantage on saving throws against being poisoned or diseased.

Sickening Rage

3rd-level Path of the Plague Bearer feature

While raging, your body undergoes horrific transformations as the plagues within you twist and change your anatomy. Choose one of the following benefits each time you enter a rage, reflecting the unnatural mutations you’ve learned to control:

• Dislocated Reach: Your limbs extend grotesquely, dislocating to stretch your reach. You gain +5ft feet of reach on melee attacks, though each attack you make this way deals 3 damage to you're self.

• Regeneration: Your flesh knits itself in strange and painful ways. At the start of each of your turns, you regain 1d4 + your Constitution modifier hit points, though you cannot receive healing from other sources while raging in this way.

• Limitless Strength: You push your muscles past their natural limits, filling them with destructive power. You have advantage on all melee attacks additionally you deal an extra 1d8 + proficiency bonus on all melee attacks, but half of the damage you deal is reflected back onto you.

• Acid Armor: Your skin excretes a caustic fluid, coating you in burning acid. You gain a +2 bonus to AC, and whenever a creature hits you with a melee attack, it takes 1d4 + your Constitution modifier in acid damage. However, at the end of each of your turns, you also take the same amount of acid damage .

Poisonous Skin

6th-level Path of the Plague Bearer feature

Your flesh becomes saturated with toxins, turning each inch of your skin into a deadly trap for the unwary. Whenever a creature hits you with a melee attack, it must make a Constitution saving throw (DC = 8 + your Constitution modifier + your proficiency bonus). On a failed save, the creature becomes poisoned until the end of its next turn.

Mutated Weapon

10th-level Path of the Plague Bearer feature

You bond with your weapon, allowing it to merge into your flesh, becoming a living extension of your body. While absorbed, your weapon gains the following properties:

• can transform it into any melee martial or simple weapon you can use this feature again on a short rest.
• It cannot be disarmed, for it is a part of you.
• When you absorb a magical weapon, its properties and enchantments carry over to any form your Mutated Weapon takes.
• When attacking with your Mutated Weapon, you deal an additional 1d6 necrotic damage, as your own corrupted flesh tears at the enemy with every strike.

Bearer Of Plague

14th-level Path of the Plague Bearer feature

Your connection to the plagues within you deepens, allowing you to embody the sickness itself. You may now choose two benefits from your Sickening Rage feature whenever you rage, and each chosen benefit is empowered by your mastery over disease:

• Improved Dislocated Reach: Your reach extends to 10 feet, and each attack made this way deals 5 damage to you.

• Enhanced Regeneration: You regain 1d6 + your Constitution modifier hit points each turn, and no other form of healing can affect you while this regeneration is active.

• Amplified Strength: You still have advantage on all melee attacks and you deal an extra 1d8 + proficiency bonus on all melee attacks, though half of this damage is still reflected onto you. Additionally, your speed doubles.

• Fortified Acid Armor: The acid covering your body intensifies, granting you a +4 bonus to AC. Creatures that hit you in melee take 1d8 + your Constitution modifier in acid damage, but at the end of each of your turns, you also take that same amount of acid damage.