School of Arcane Grafting

While merely becoming an arcane grafter is by no means an evil act, you need to quickly come to terms with the fact that most people are disgusted and afraid of what you define as beauty. You take pride in your work, and you defend your body’s improvements and those that you gift to others until your dying breath. Yet you need not do so cruelly or with violence; that is far from the best way to bring word of your experiments to the world at large. At best, others think of you as a mad scientist of sorts. You are convinced that your experiments are performed for the betterment of your kind, and that only by improving and refining what the deities have gifted to the world can humanoids hope to survive. You tend not to be distracted by morality, ethics, or compassion, yet need not be evil. You find delight in what repulses others, and in so doing you find ways to improve yourself that others could never appreciate.

While most people are repelled by the arcane grafter’s work, an arcane grafter is usually an arcane spellcaster of no small skill. Consequently, an arcane grafter is often tolerated in wizards’ guilds or other arcane associations, or even welcomed in a guild of evil spellcasters who aren’t very squeamish about a arcane grafter’s peculiar interests. As a member of a guild or similar organization, an arcane grafter can often contribute to the organization by teaching new spells, acquiring rare material components, or capturing interesting creatures for study and vivisection. The exact nature of the benefits available in return for those efforts depend on the guild in question.

Aberrant Familiar

At 2nd level, you learn the spell Find Familiar if you don't already know it, and it is always prepared. Your familiar becomes tainted by your magic. The familiar’s type changes to aberration, it gains darkvision out to 60 feet, and its form becomes warped. Your aberrant familiar gains one of the abilities described below, as chosen by you.

 You can make an additional selection from these aberrant abilities for your familiar at level 6, and again at level 10.

Amorphous Form

A familiar with this ability is immune to extra damage from critical hits.

Fearful Gaze

A familiar with this ability can use an action to terrify a creature that can see it. The targeted creature must succeed on a DC 12 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened until the start of the familiar’s next turn. The familiar cannot use this feature again until it has completed a short or long rest.

Psionic Aptitude

A familiar with this ability can use an action to telekinetically push another creature.  If the target is a creature that is Medium or smaller, it must succeed on a DC 12 Strength saving throw or be moved up to 20 feet directly away from the familiar. The familiar cannot use this feature again until it has completed a short or long rest.

Scales

A familiar with this ability gains natural armor equal to 13 + its DEX modifier.

Tentacle

A familiar with this ability gains a tentacle attack +(STR modifier + 2) to hit, 1d6 + STR modifier damage, Range 5 ft. When you take the Attack action, you can use a bonus action to allow your familiar to make one tentacle attack with its reaction. 

Wings

A familiar with this ability gains a fly speed of 40 ft. (If the familiar already has a fly speed, use whichever speed is higher.

Aberrant Grafts

At 6th level, your continuous self-experimentation in grafting results in occasional improvements to your own form. You make a powerful discovery in your research and learn how to improve your body in a subtle, minor way. Choose one aberrant graft from those described below when you reach 6th, 10th, and 14th level.

Aboleth Mucus

You can breathe underwater and gain a swim speed of 30 ft.

Beholder Eyelids

Your eyes protrude grotesquely from your head and move independently of each other. You gain advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.

Choker Spine

You become preternaturally quick and alert to danger. You gain a +5 bonus on initiative checks and you cannot be surprised unless you are incapacitated.

Ettercap Claws

You gain a climb speed of 30 ft.

Gibbering Mouther Bones

Your form becomes partially amorphous. You have immunity to extra damage dealt by a critical hit.

Mind Flayer Cranial Adjustment

You gain advantage on saves against spells and abilities that cause the charmed, frightened, and stunned conditions.

Neogi Larynx

You gain a +5 bonus to Charisma ability checks made against a target that is charmed by you.

Otyugh Liver

You gain immunity to disease.

Umber Hulk Carapace

While you aren’t wearing armor, you can calculate your AC as 13 + your Dexterity modifier.

Aberrant Attack

Your exceptional ability to manipulate your own flesh has granted you the ability to grant yourself a natural weapon. When you reach 10th level, and again at 14th, you may select one of the following natural weapons, of which you gain proficiency. 

Choker Tentacle

The bones in one of your arms is replaced with cartilage, this extends its reach by 5 ft and the hand on this arm sprouts cilia to aid in holding a target still. 

This tentacle deals 1d4 + your Strength modifier damage. On a hit, you may use a bonus action to attempt to grapple the target. If successful, until this grapple ends, the target is restrained, and the arcane grafter can’t use this tentacle on another target. If this attack is a critical hit, the target also can’t breathe or speak until the grapple ends.

Chuul Claw

One of your arms is replaced with a hard carapace coated claw.

You gain a claw attack that deals 2d6 + your Strength Modifier damage. 

Additionally, you gain advantage on Strength(Athletics) checks made to use the Grapple or Shove attacks in combat.

Neogi Fangs

Your teeth are replaced with fangs like a neogi's, including their abhorrent oral flora.

You gain a bite attack, dealing 1d6 piercing + your Strength Modifier damage. Additionally the target takes 2d6 poison damage.

Otyugh Slam

A large, thick tentacle sprouts from your back, allowing you to make an earth-shaking slam attack.

As an action, you may make a slam attack against all creatures within range. Creatures within 5 ft of you must make a Strength Saving Throw against your Spell Save DC, or take 2d6 bludgeoning damage and be knocked prone. On a successful save, a creature takes half as much damage and is not knocked prone. 

Dominating Enthrallment

The extent of the arcane grafter's eldritch self-experimentation has imbued in them the same desire and ability to dominate creatures of weaker will. 

At 14th level, you gain the ability to enthrall a humanoid’s mind. You can use your action to touch an incapacitated humanoid. That creature is then charmed by you until a remove curse spell is cast on it, the charmed condition is removed from it, or you use this feature again.

You can communicate telepathically with the charmed creature as long as the two of you are on the same plane of existence.