Path of the Aberration

Barbarians who walk the Path of the Aberration draw their rage from an alien taint warping their bodies and souls.  The alien power within emerges as they lose themselves to the throes of Rage, twisting their flesh with horrifying and deadly mutations.

Such a barbarian might be host to an extraplanar parasite or be infected by a magical plague. You can choose the origin of your mutations or determine it by rolling on the Origin of the Aberration table.

Origin of the Aberration

Grotesque Armament

3rd-level Path of the Abomination feature

You can perform a 1 hour ritual to magically absorb one weapon into your alien physiology. You perform the ritual over the course of 1 hour, which can be done during a short rest. The weapon must be within your reach throughout the ritual, at the conclusion of which you absorb the weapon into your anatomy.

Once absorbed you can extrude one weapon from your anatomy as part of an attack as a free object interaction.  You can't be disarmed of an absorbed weapon.  If you are killed the absorbed weapons can be physically removed from your corpse. If an extruded weapon is within 120 ft, you can summon that weapon as a bonus action on your turn, causing it to teleport instantly to your hand.

The appearance of the extruded weapon is entirely up to you.  It might emerge in your hand entirely covered in a viscus film of your own crimson blood or it might transform your forearm into a mockery of the weapon formed from organic carapace and spotted with slimy mollusk eyes.  Once extruded absorbed weapons retain all of their normal characteristics.

You can have up to two absorbed weapons, but can summon only one at a time with your bonus action. If you attempt to absorb a third weapon, you must expel one of the other two from your body.

Ruinous Power

3rd-level Path of the Abomination feature

You can channel the alien taint that twists your soul into your Grotesque Armament weapon attacks. While you're raging, the first creature you hit on each of your turns with a Grotesque Armament weapon attack takes extra damage equal to 1d6 + half your barbarian level. The extra damage is necrotic or psychic; you choose the type of damage when you gain this feature.

Necrotic

The extra damage you deal with Ruinous Power is necrotic.

Psychic

The extra damage you deal with Ruinous Power is psychic.

Rampant Mutation

6th-level Path of the Abomination feature

When you enter your rage, you can transform, allowing the alien taint festering in your soul to explode outwards warping your flesh. Until the rage ends, you manifest a gruesome mutation.

You choose the mutation's form each time you rage:

Telekinetic Eyes. You sprout numerous eyes or eyestalks whose alien gaze allows you to telekinetically move a creature. As a bonus action, you can try to telekinetically shove one creature no more than one size larger than you, that you can see within 30 feet of you. When you do so, the target must succeed on a Strength saving throw (DC 8 + your proficiency bonus + your constitution ability modifier) or be moved 10 feet toward you or away from you. A creature can willingly fail this save.

Grasping Appendages. A writhing mass of tendrils or tentacles spring forth from your flesh allowing you to latch onto nearby creatures. If you take the attack action on your turn, you can use a bonus action to attempt to grapple a creature within 5 ft. of you with your appendages.  Your appendages count as an additional free hand for the purposes of making a grapple check.

Gibbering Mouths. Mouths split open across your body and spew a cacophony of maddening gibberish allowing you to distract nearby creatures. As a bonus action, you can have your gibbering mouths distract a target within 5 ft. of you. When you do so, the target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw (DC 8 + your proficiency bonus + your constitution modifier) or until the start of your next turn, that target has disadvantage on any attack roll that isn’t against you.

Parasitic Carapace

10th-level Path of the Aberration feature

You can harness the twisted nature of your own biology to drain the vitality of your foes, consuming their essence to grow defensive mutations like a durable hide or chitinous armor.  The first time you inflict damage to a creature with a weapon attack after entering a rage you gain temporary hit points equal to the damage inflicted.  The number of temporary hit points gained this way cannot exceed your barbarian level plus your proficiency bonus.

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.

Abominable Metamorphosis

14th-level Path of the Aberration feature

When you enter your rage, you can fully give in to the mutagenic energies ravaging your body, transforming your flesh into something truly monstrous. Until the rage ends, your flesh warps and you gain the following benefits:

• If you are smaller than Large, you become Large, along with anything you are wearing. If you lack the room to become Large, your size doesn’t change.
• You gain access to all of the mutation options listed under the Rampant Mutation feature.
• When you use the Rampant Mutation feature you may activate two mutation options as a bonus action instead of just one.  You can activate the same mutation option twice or two different mutation options.

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