Path of the Damned

The voices that have accompanied you have long been burrowing into your mind, filling you with a dark and bloodthirsty rage, begging you to let them out. In this cruel and unjust world, sometimes the only option you have is to give in. To fall into madness and rage. To let out the damned within.

I'm not being edgy you're being edgy.

The Path of the Damned Barbarian is based upon the new "Madness" mechanic. As per your new abilities you can give your foes something called Madness, which you can stack and then spend in order to use your powerful and vile abilities. It can often be difficult for the DM to keep track of which creatures have how much Madness, so I would personally recommend for you and the DM to discuss how you will keep track of Madness, as you will need to know and be able to check how much each creature around you has. 

The Damned is a Lovecraft inspired barbarian, who is using a power known as the Damned. What the Damned is can be up to the DM, but otherwise, it is a realm from deep within the aether, where no God reigns. It is a sentient source of pure insanity that the barbarian can channel to create an aura of insanity around you gripping and twisting any conscience it can get its metaphorical hands on. 

Two examples of a Path of the Damned Barbarian would be a normal person who glimpsed into the true and ancient abyss, instantly warping their mind and implanting a small amount of insanity that the Damned uses as a portal to bleed into the material plane. Another example would be a powerful soldier of an ancient and dying order who, to serve the cause he devoted his life to, underwent a monstrous ritual in order to artificially implant the spark of Madness that would serve as a path to the Damned. This soldier spends his entire life fighting insanity, remaining a stoic hero who sacrificed everything to serve a cause, only letting the Damned out in the most dire of circumstances.

Madness within

While raging, any being that beholds your presence starts to hear a slow chanting within their heads, driving them to madness. You have a range around you known as your "Madness Range" which is a circle around you with a radius equal to your strength stat plus 5 feet. If any enemy ends their turn within this "Madness Range" then they must make a Wisdom saving throw contested against your intimidation (using strength as a modifier). Any creature that fails this saving throw gains 1 level of madness, or 2 levels if you beat their throw by at least 10. If you cause a creature to fall below half health, they automatically gain a level of madness. No creature can have more than 10 Madness, and an extra levels they gain instead just deal 1d4 psychic damage per level gained above 10.

You gain an extra +1 to this intimidation roll every time you or an ally kills an enemy, or when you get a critical hit. This resets when the combat ends.

You can also spend an action to howl, which unleash the damned might and force any creature within double your madness range to make the wisdom roll and possibly receive a level of madness.

A creature loses madness by beating your roll by 10 or more, or by spending 2 consecutive turns outside of your Madness Range, both of which remove 1 level. When you fall below half health, every creature that can see you loses one Madness level.

Bloody Madness

The slow chanting in the minds of your enemies swells to an orchestral wailing, almost incapacitating them, and flooding them with the ancient powers of the damned.

As an action, you can deal necrotic damage equal to 1d6 + your strength modifier to every creature within your madness range so long as they have at least 2 levels of madness, erupting the blood (or souls or oil or whatever) within their veins and flashing visions of their impending doom (that's you). Doing so removes the 2 levels of madness from everyone who is hit.

Add an extra d6 to the attack per 3 levels beyond 3rd.

Unknowable Existence

Works once per long rest.

Upon falling to zero hit points, all madness from every creature around you is removed. You return to consciousness with one hp + one hit die per madness removed. If you are not in a rage, then you automatically enter a rage.

After this happens, you lose half of your remaining health at the end of every turn (rounding up), unless you kill an enemy on that turn. This only goes away until you fall unconscious.

At the end of your rage, or if you are returned to zero hit points, then you fall unconscious and cannot be returned to consciousness by any magic below 6th level until 1D8 + 2 hours have passed. 

Leacher of Minds

The Damned Souls shall raze the minds of gods and men alike, and its champion shall feast on the unstoppable Madness that lives within us all.

 Three times per rage and once per turn, when you hit an enemy with a melee attack, you can choose to automatically deal minimum damage. If you do this to an enemy that has at least three Madness, you roll one hit die and deal that damage instead. The damage done with the hit die not only deals Necrotic damage, but it also heals you the amount on the die.

Doing this does not spend the Madness or the Hit die.

For every additional 3 Madness on the creature, you can choose to roll an additional hit die. Doing so does expend any additional Madness and Hit dice you choose to use.

If you do this on a creature with less than 3 madness, then that creature gains 1 level automatically.

What Lies Beneath

Those before you think that they know evil. They do not. For they still hope. For they still fight. For they have not yet met you.

Once per long rest, as a bonus action, you can unleash pure insanity from the depths of the void beneath even Hell. When you do this, your skin melds into a vestige of true madness (it's up to you what that looks like but it is inspired by a general eldritch vibe). 

Your health drops to 1. You absorb the Madness of every creature within double your madness range, removing it. For every madness absorbed, you gain 1D8 temporary health. While that temporary health remains, you roll advantage on every attack you make. Killing a creature gives 1 madness to anyone within your Madness range.

You cannot be healed while in this state. If a single attack would cause you to lose your temporary health and bring you to zero hit points, then "Unknowable Existence" triggers, whether or not it is on cooldown. You get disadvantage on all attacks for the remainder of the fight once "What Lies Beneath" ends, which happens when the temporary health is removed.

That temporary health is halved at the end of your turn (rounded up), and you repeat the madness absorption on anyone who has madness.

Anyone who attempts to deal psychic damage to you while you still have "What Lies Beneath" active must roll a wisdom saving throw against your strength based intimidation or you do not take the damage, instead they gain a level of Madness.