Path of the Showstopper

Barbarian Primal Path

The Dark Carnival has always been a strange amalgamation of contradictions and nowhere does this observation fit more than when presented with the delightfully bizarre Darklings known as the Showstoppers. Despite their title having obvious correlations to such a wonderland of entertainment, its actual meaning proves far grimmer in this context.

Hughe Percival Lockcross is known to adopt the odd and outcast almost exclusively to his growing host, yet some come to him so psychologically broken that even his cold heart cannot help but shiver in pity. Believing such deep-seated pain cannot be allowed to proliferate in a place where festivities are the norm, with their permission he enters their mind and re-breaks their already tormented psyche into something they may find bearable. Although artificial and occasionally unstable, the newly created Showstopper is permitted a reprieve from their unending anguish. Because of this, their title does not denote how they interrupt performances by causing the audience to prolong their applause, but rather an indication that their pain is internally and externally suspended rather than resolved; although for most Showstoppers, they can and do accomplish the former as well.

Their Darkling peers are often quite aware of the circumstances surrounding Showstoppers, and as a result, few other Darklings are as physically and emotionally protected as their ever-smiling kin. Despite the tremendous physical strength inherent in most Showstoppers, any verbal slight against them is often met with violent retaliation by other Darklings in earshot. So tremendously powerful is the desire to protect their colleagues that the Dark Ringmaster has often received requests to be assigned to escort Showstoppers as an occupation in and of itself.

Eccentric Quirks

The tragic nature of the Showstoppers, as well as their Dark Ringmaster's methods of subduing their pain, introduce some interesting, if not unfavorable, facets to their already stunted personality.

Eccentric Quirks

d6	Quirk
1	I smile when I am sad or angry.
2	I find everything funny, especially when it is not.
3	I deflect talking about myself with unrelated jokes.
4	My emotions are often in the extremes.
5	In the moment, I often don’t understand the emotions of others.
6	I don’t hurt anymore, but I may never get used to this numbness.

 

Path of the Showstopper Features

Barbarian Level	Feature
3rd	Put on a Face, Unnerving Joy
6th	The Suffering Within
10th	Hopping Mad
14th	Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop

 

Put On A Face

The tamperings of the Dark Ringmaster allow you to mask the truth of yourself. Starting when you choose this path at 3rd level, you gain proficiency in Deception and Performance

Unnerving Joy

Also at 3rd level, your suppressed pain unleashes in terribly uncanny ways when you rage, taking on more jovial characteristics in place of anger. While you are raging, you gain resistance to psychic damage.

Additionally, when you hit a creature with a melee attack while you are raging you may choose to make a contested Athletics or Acrobatics check against the target creature after damage has been rolled. If you succeed, you use the creature’s body to launch yourself up to 10 feet in any direction and deal 1d6 force damage. This does not provoke an attack of opportunity.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

The Suffering Within

Beginning at 6th level, your secreted agony proves detrimental to those who strike against you. When you take damage for the first time in a round while raging, you may use your reaction to manifest a mental backlash against one creature of your choice you can see or hear within 30 feet. That creature must make a Wisdom Saving throw against DC (10 + half damage taken, rounded down) and take 3d4 psychic damage or half the amount of damage as psychic damage you received when triggering this feature (whichever is higher) on a failed save. Damage caused by this feature ignores psychic resistance.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Hopping Mad

At 10th level, your mania manifests momentously. You gain advantage on your Athletics or Acrobatics check when using your Unnerving Joy feature and on a success you choose whether the target has disadvantage on their next melee attack against you or reduce their movement speeds to half until the start of your next turn.

Can't Stop, Won't Stop

At 14th level, you are the Showstopper and the show does not end until you say so. Each time you use your Relentless Rage feature (Player’s Handbook, pp. 49) after the first, the DC increases by 3 instead of 5 unless the damage that dropped you to 0 included psychic damage.