Path of the Gloambound

Gloams are ghosts that have lost their moorings to the physical world and have slipped into the Shadowfell. There, they gradually transform into hideous incarnations of their own death: one savaged by wolves might appear as a skinless floating torso with a bull skull for a head, and one assassinated in cold blood might appear as a shriveled cadaver with knife blades protruding from its eyes. While they lose most of the memories of their former life, they develop a sentience and self-awareness not seen in ordinary ghosts. Gloams generally remain trapped in the Shadowfell, but sometimes the rage of the wild men and women of the physical world will draw one back; they are especially attracted to those that have had near-death experiences which mirror their own demise.

Barbarians that walk the path of the Gloambound are those whose brushes with death have attracted the attention of a Gloam. The bond formed with your Gloam might represent a willing bargain or it might have been forced upon you. Whether that bond was made willingly or reluctantly, you are able to draw supernatural power from it. Your Gloam has its own warped personality and might act as a doting relative, a barb-tongued rival, or a goal obsessed zealot. Your rage in combat draws upon the sorrow, fear, or fury felt during your brush with death, and every wound in battle and swing of an axe offers your Gloam a brief taste of the life it once had.

Knowledge of Another Life

At 3rd level when you adopt this path, faded memories of your Gloam’s former life fill your mind. That knowledge grants you proficiency in two skills from the following list: Animal Handling, Arcana, Deception, History, Insight, Intimidation, Investigation, Medicine, Nature, Perception, Persuasion, Performance, Religion, and Survival.

Tales of Dead Men

At 6th Level, you gain the ability to cast the Speak with Dead spell and may cast it without material components, but only as a ritual. Your Gloam provides the animating spirit that allows the corpse to speak.

Harrowing Presence

At 3rd level when you adopt this path, your rage allows your Gloam to materialize in order to menace your foes. When you enter your rage, and on subsequent turns when you take a bonus action, you can force one creature within 30 feet that you can see to make a Wisdom saving throw (DC equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Constitution modifier). If it fails, the creature suffers 1d8 psychic damage.

Pierce the Veil

At 10th level, you may perceive and interact with the spirit world via your Gloam. You can see 60 feet into the Ethereal Plane while you are on an Inner Plane.

Additionally, your Gloam's baleful energies allow you to harden your own spirit into a weapon, causing your attacks to cleave both body and soul. When you use the Reckless Attack class feature to attack recklessly, you can choose to have your melee weapon attacks inflict force damage during this turn instead of the bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage they would normally inflict. Attacks made in this manner can affect creatures in the Ethereal Plane while you are on an Inner Plane.

Ghostly Apotheosis

At 14th level, your bond with your Gloam grows to the point where you can slip the borders of the physical world. While raging, you can move through creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain. If you end your turn inside an object or a creature, you take 1d10 force damage and are immediately shunted back to the previous location you occupied before you entered that object or creature.