Keeper

Fated Connections
Symbiotes are very rare organisms that can remain dormant for aeons and survive the harshest environments. Sometimes they are found deep within ancient temples, or disguised as family heirlooms passed down over generations. Through this found power, a Keeper can rise to the height of power in their worlds. Some symbiotes are bizarre, organic monstrosities or aberrations, while others are magical beings of the arcane. Others yet, seem like living armor - from worlds beyond our understanding. They can occur naturally - hailing from other worlds of the material plane or be crafted, designed by powerful wizards or societies as instruments of their will.

Creating a Keeper
When creating your Keeper, the first thing you should consider is how you found your symbiote. If possible, tie it into your back-
background. If you were a merchant, perhaps you bought an artifact that fascinated you and found the symbiote hiding within. Or your symbiote could have been an heirloom of your noble family, tied to some ancestral legend. Or, perhaps you discovered it during an early adventure gone wrong? The next thing to consider, is how you are different while
transformed into your hybrid form. When you first bond with your symbiote, it does not yet express a personality. However, it still influences you subtly. What part of yourself are you trading for this symbiotic power? Which of your strengths and flaws does your symbiote share or enhance?

Work with your DM to determine how big a part your symbiote will play in your character’s adventuring careers. Your symbiote’s demands and goals might drive you into adventures, or they might consist entirely of small favors you can do between adventures.

Evolved Weaponary

Starting at level 3, your symbiotic weaponry now does slashing damage equal to 1d12 + your Strength modifier. In addition you gain the following features:

Superior Synchronization. If you use your bonus action to make an additional attack with your Symbiotic Weaponry, you now add your ability modifier to the attack’s damage.

Adaptive Attacks. Before you make an attack with your Symbiotic Weaponry, you can change the type of damage your attack will deal to bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage at will.

Harden Exoskeleton

Starting at 3rd level, when you are hit by an attack, you can use your reaction to add your Strength modifier to your armor class. If the attack would not hit, you do not suffer the effects of the attack. You can’t use this feature again until you complete a short or long rest.

Fear Incarnate

Starting at 6th level, you manipulate the appearance of your transformation to cause fear in your prey. When you transform, or if you bring a creature to 0 hit points while transformed, you can choose to target a single creature within 60 feet who can see you. The creature makes a Wisdom Saving throw. On a failed check they are frightened. The effect ends if the creature ends its turn out of line of sight of you or moves more than 120 feet away from you. If the creature succeeds on its saving throw, you can’t use this feature on that creature again for 24 hours. While transformed you have advantage on attacks against creatures that you have frightened.

Symbiote Surge

At 10th level, you can now induce your symbiote to lash out at all your surrounding enemies. You can use your action to make a melee Attack against any number of creatures within reach of your Symbiotic Weaponry, with a separate Attack roll for each target.

Mutilate

At 14th level, you have learned how to use your unnatural strength to horribly dismantle enemy creatures. When you hit a creature with your symbiotic weaponry while transformed, you can force the target to make a Constitution saving throw against your save DC. On a failed save they take necrotic damage equal to 4d12 + your Keeper level, or half as much on a successful one. If the creature succeeds on its saving throw, you can’t use this feature on that creature again for 24 hours If the target fails the saving throw, its hit point maximum is reduced for 1 hour by an amount equal to the necrotic damage it took. Any effect that removes a disease allows a creature’s hit point maximum to return to normal before that time passes. If this attack reduces the target to 0 hit points all creatures within 30 feet who can see or hear it must make a Wisdom Saving throw. On a failed save they are frightened until the end of their next turn. You can use this feature three times. You regain all expended uses of this feature after you complete a long rest.