Path of Symbiosis

Barbarian Culture doesn’t traditionally lend itself to partnerships. It is true that many Barbarians hail from tribes and work together in some capacity. But generally speaking, this is done more out of necessity than because Barbarians crave relationships. 

However, there are a small handful of Barbarians that, for one reason or another, form a rather unique bond.

A Barbarian of this type may have been cursed with cunning, or may have lost a significant battle that they hope to make recompense for. Perhaps some were forced against their will to such a choice.

Whatever the driving force, these Barbarians do come to desire a certain… partnership... formed expressly for the purpose of gaining power. These Barbarians should seek a bond with a being of a symbiotic nature. 

The origin of such a being varies greatly across the multiverse. 

Perhaps a creature alien to this world has found its way to our planet, and such a creature requires a humanoid host to survive. 

Or... the remnants of a Demonic presence from the abyss lingers on our plane, barely alive and seeking refuge in a strong-willed physical body. 

Maybe a Barbarian comes across a Mind Flayer tadpole in one way or another, clinging to its last vestiges of life. With its last few bits of energy, it manages to telepathically communicate to its would-be host. Power... 

Or, maybe your Barbarian simply ate something they weren’t supposed to... like a Beholder Eyestalk… 

Some hosts strike a deal with their symbiote being, while others are subjected to the whims of the aberration. The being itself could have any number of goals. To find a new home... devour new worlds... To slowly make its host’s body into its own... Or a myriad of other, more nefarious plans.

Whatever the origin, whatever their motive, there is a new voice inside your head, and it seems to like its new home. It has bonded with you, for better or worse.

Irrespective of that, one thing remains certain and constant: Neither of you will have an effect on the world alone. The two of you will only attain new heights of strength and power together… as a united front.

Altered Rage

Upon choosing this path, you must make yet another choice. Which entity has come to find your body as its new home?

Choose between Interplanar Ooze, Shadow Demon Remnant, Illithid Tadpole, or Beholder Eyestalk. Once chosen, you and the symbiotic thing that now lives inside you will begin to bond.You both are able to speak telepathically to one another. 

You gain Darkvision, or, if you already have Darkvision, it now extends and extra thirty feet.

Your Rage is no longer some simple yet intense mental state. Now it becomes a literal physical change, imbuing your body with physical aspects of the entity you chose.  Your new rage form creates natural weapons for use in combat as well. While Raging, you now have a Claw and Bite attack.

Claw and Bite attacks have a reach of 5ft. On a successful hit of these attacks, roll 1d6 + STR for damage.

On a Critical Bite attack, your Symbiotic Being devours a piece of your opponent, providing sustenance to the both of you. You gain health equal to the amount your damage die rolls.

All attacks count as magical. You may also Claw or Bite as a Bonus Action. 

Your Entity also grants you a spell ability, corresponding to the type of Entity you chose. You may cast the spell you recieve at will.

Unfortunately you also gain something not quite as pleasant. All of these Entities are weak and vulnerable upon your discovery. Naturally, you assume these weaknesses as well as your Entity’s strength. While Raging, you will be vulnerable to certain types of damage depending on your choices. Consult the table below.

Entity	Spell Ability	Vulnerability
Interplanar Ooze	Disguise Self	Fire, Thunder
Shadow Demon Remnant	False Life	Radiant, Lightning
Illithid Tadpole	Detect Evil and Good	Thunder, Necrotic
Beholder Eyestalk	Charm Person	Necrotic, Psychic

Beholder Eyestalk

Once you have done the deed, you feel a new presence within you. Laughter echoes from a sinister voice in your head.  It seems to think you suitable, but mentions you as lesser more than once. From now on, whenever you Rage, your body undergoes a physical transformation. One large eye forms between your two normal eyes. Your mouth becomes exaggerated, large, and is filled with sharp teeth. Your fingertips sharpen to points. Your skin thickens slightly and changes hue(color and consistency varies from eyestalk to eyestalk). You gain the spell Charm Person. You may cast this spell at will.  You also gain a weakness to Necrotic and Psychic Damage while Raging. Psychic due to a Beholder's unfortunate habit of being subjugated by Mind Flayers... If only you had found a Mindwitness's Eyestalk... And Necrotic for the Beholder's ease of transformation into a Death Tyrant. No Eyestalks to consume there, unfortunately. A shame...

Illithid Tadpole

Once you have accepted the Tadpole into your body, your skin takes on a purple hue when you Rage. Your eyes go black and inky. Your teeth become pointed but remain their regular size. Black claw-like nails extend from your fingertips. You gain the ability to cast Detect Good and Evil at will. The Tadpole will however carry its weaknesses to you, unfortunately. Loud Vibrations can disrupt its Psychic communication to you, as well as the common weakness of most creatures dwelling in the Underdark to Necrotic sources. You gain vulnerability to Thunder and Necrotic Damage while Raging.

Interplanar Ooze

When you Rage, your body is covered with a viscous, ooze-like layer of skin(the color of which varies from ooze to ooze). Your teeth grow large and pointed. Needle-like claws extend from your fingers. You gain the ability to cast Disguise Self at will. With advantages come disadvantages, however. You share in the Ooze's weaknesses to Fire and High Frequency Sound (Vulnerability to Fire and Thunder Damage). You only gain these vulnerabilities while Raging.

Shadow Demon Remnant

Once you Rage with the Shadow Demon Remnant bonded to you, your skin darkens and swirls with a smoke effect. Your eyes glow a deep, burning red. Claws form on your fingertips. You gain the ability to cast False Life at first level at will. Being host to a Demonic entity does come with disadvantages, however. You are weak to Radiant and Lightning attacks while raging. 

Strengthened Bond

At 6th level,The bond between you has strengthened. Your Altered Rage grows in strength as well. It begins to take a truer version of your chosen Entity’s form. 

Your Symbiont, now substantially less weakened, also begins to grant you more of its strength and abilities. Firstly, Your Claw and Bite attacks increase to 1d8 + STR. Each Symbiont grants a different special ability to its user, each with its own unique advantages.

A downside of these new attack bonuses is that at this stage, your Altered body prevents you from holding weapons well. While raging, attacks made with Simple and Martial Weapons are at disadvantage. But you didn't need that axe anyway, right?

Entity	Ability	Description
Interplanar Ooze	Tendril Attack	Bonus Action: Two Strike Melee Multiattack. 1d4 damage. (Ability evolves at lvl 14)
Shadow Demon Remnant	Shadowstride	Movement: Can traverse between shadows in a 30 ft. radius, ignoring walls and solid objects.
Illithid Tadpole	Acid Lob	Attack: One Target within 30 ft. 3d6 Acid Damage.
Beholder Eyestalk	Eyebeams	Action: Four Eyebeam effects. Roll 1d4 to determine effect. Two charges per Short rest. (Ability evolves as lvl 14)

Acid Lob

Your Tadpole partner has restored some of its strength and it shows. When you tap into your Altered Rage ability, you grow four tiny tentacles from your chin like a beard. Your lips, both top and bottom, part slightly down the middle when you speak or let out a battle cry. It's not that horrifying... Really...

In addition, you gain a small acid sac deep within your throat, and with it, the ability to hauk acid lugies at enemies. As an Action, you may attempt to hit any creature within 30 feet of you with a ball of self- generated Acid. You may add your proficency bonus to the to hit roll. You do 3d6 Acid damage on a successful hit. You may use this ability twice per short rest, and gain more opportunities to use this ability at level 14. 

Eyebeams

As the Eyestalk you consumed integrates more with your body, your Altered Rage form advances in physicality as well as granted ability. Two more eyes appear on your body, one in the palm of each hand. These two new eyes, in addition to the two natural eyes you were given at birth, now each yeild you the use of one of four new Beholder Eyebeams.

Twice per Short Rest, and only while in Altered Rage form, you may roll a 1d4 as an Action. This result will determine what Eyebeam you use. This ability will increase to 1d10 at 14th level, with the addition of more Eyebeam effects and uses between Short Rests as well.

Shadowstride

The Shadow Demon Remnant has regained a portion of its Abyssal power. When this power teems within your Rage, your physical form changes even more drastically. Your claws have grown longer and less corporeal, and two nubby horns begin to grow out from your forehead

You can also walk between shadows for a limited distance. Once per turn, you may use your Movement to step into a nearby shadow and emerge from a different shadow within 30 feet. This includes different rooms, ignoring the restraints of walls or other solid objects as well. If you do enter another room using this ability, it must be one you have already previously entered, or have been given precise knowledge of in vivid detail in some way. (i.e. a mental projection, a very detailed verbal description, a picture of the room if such things exist in your setting, etc. The DM may use a d20 roll or their own discretion to determine the validity of such attempts at description)

Tendril Attack

The viscous ooze you summon with your Altered Rage forms tiny vestigial tendrils that lift away from the surface of your skin. They wiggle about in all directions.

These Tendrils are strong enough that you can attack with them as if with your Claw or Bite attacks. As a Bonus Action, you may make a Melee Multiattack of two Tendril strikes. Your attacks are magical for the sake of resistances and you are proficient with them. They deal 1d4 + STR on a successful hit (the die increases to 1d8 at 14th level).

Rough Exterior

Your skin has grown caustic enough that it can now inflict damage upon your enemies in certain situations.

If Grappled or Restrained, the strange skin granted to you will deal 1d4 damage to the creature for each turn you remain Grappled or Restrained, at the cost of your Reaction.

Symbiotic Movement

At 10th Level, the strength of your partner has changed the physicality of your Altered Rage to even higher extremes. Your form now has a larger mass compared to your base racial stature when not Raging. With even greater strength and a deeper bond formed, you are granted a special movement based on the Entity you chose. 

Your stronger teeth and claws allow for stronger Bite and Claw attacks, rolling for 1d10 each.

Your entity is now able to communicate with other members of your party without your involvement.

And finally, your bond has deepened to such a degree that it would be very difficult for the two of you to be separated. But you both are now two peas in a pod anyway, right? Why would you ever want to separate in the first place...? Why indeed...

 

Entity	Movement
Interplanar Ooze	Flight
Shadow Demon Remnant	Phasing
Illithid Tadpole	Burrow
Beholder Eyestalk.	Levitation

Flight of the Collective

This Ooze you have bonded with is no ordinary Gelatinous Cube or the like, you've come to realize. It may or may not have mentioned a deeper connection to a very powerful entity from its home plane. While faint, this connection still exists, and now that your slimy companion has regained even more of its strength, it is now able to tap back into the powers of that entity.

This link, only formed by the most loyal of your Ooze's species, allows you to form great bat-like wings from your Ooze's mass when your Altered Rage is active. You may Fly with these wings at a 40 ft. flying speed. When not in use, they will fold back into your Ooze's mass.

in other physical developments, the strength of your companion has granted you other traits when you rage as well. Your tendril appendages now grow longer and can crack around you like whips. You can also display an emblem or coat of arms on your chest (Spider, Skull, Fireball, etc.) If you so choose to have one.

All this is to say, any estute-minded creature bonded to this Ooze would not be wrong to wonder what else might this Ooze be hiding, and what distant power could grant it such a gift from another plane…?

Levitation of the Superior Being

You feel far more grand and haughty as the voice of the Beholder booms ever stronger in your brain. Your skin becomes more of a carapice when you Rage now. How exactly it looks depends on the Beholder Eyestalk you consumed, but you'd swear your skin was made of the same stuff as the stalk was. Quite remarkable. And now you're using words like remarkable, so that's something new too. A large mouth also stretches across your belly as well. It can communicate independently of yours, speaking with the voice of youri internal Beholder friend, but otherwise functions just as your normal mouth would. 

In addition, when you Rage, you now command the ability to Levitate at will. You may Levitate in any direction at a speed of 40 ft. 

Phase from the Abyss

The Demon has grown quite powerful as it licks its wounds inside your body. When you Rage, your horns now come to a sharp point. Your teeth become longer and sharper, and you grow two tiny Vestigial wings.

It also has begun to regain its former strength, giving you the gift it once formerly called its own. At this level, you may now Phase through solid objects at will, without any restrictions on shade, light, or spacial awareness, but only while Raging.

Your phasing gives you a 40 ft. travel speed. If you end your turn inside a solid object, you will take 1d10 Force damage at the end of your turn, however. While enhanced, your physical body is still... physical...

Tunnel Through the Underdark

The Tadpole's vitality has grown inside you. You can feel it. Now, when you Rage, your Altered state grows fin-like protrusions near your wrists and ankles, as well as a ruddered tail. 

You will find these new appendages useful as they, in addition to your Tadpole entity, now grant you the ability to Burrow into and through the Earth as a fish would swim through water. Your Burrowing speed is 40 ft. and you may surface as a free action.

Twin Minds

You and your internal companion have bonded to the level that both of your backs are covered at all times - both mentally and physically. Because of this, you may roll any saving throw dealing with the affects of Charm, Fear, or any form of Mental Control at Advantage.

Otherworldly Empowerment

 At 14th level, you and your entity have become inseparable, in both a literal and figurative sense. Once you obtain 14th level in this subclass, you cannot rid yourself of this being by normal means. The pair of you are now bonded, forever.

But it's not all doom and gloom. There is no hidden secret between you anymore. You have become an unstoppable unified force, able to perfectly synchronize attacks, coordinate strategies, to know what the other is thinking before it has even been thought. You are two as one now, in mind, body, and your very souls...

Because of this beautious union, your Claw and Bite attacks now roll for their final upgrade of 1d12 + STR, and you will also unlock the most substantial ability from your Entity’s ancestral bloodline. This ability is unique to whatever Entity you have chosen, and is the most powerful and devastating ability your Entity is capable of granting you. Use it wisely.

Anti-Magic Beam

You are now one with your Beholder ally. Five freshly grown eyestalks pop out from your body when you Rage. One from each trapezius muscle, one from the left and right sides of your midsection, and one from the crown of your head. Finally, another central eye forms across your pectorals. This one grants you the most covered of Beholder abilities, the Anti-Magic Beam.

As an Action, Your central chest eye emits a beam of Anti-Magic energy with a range of 120 feet. A creature struck by the beam must make a DC 16 WIS, INT, or CHA (choose one) saving throw. On  a failed save, the creature cannot cast spells for 2d4 rounds. You may roll a d6 on each of your turns to attempt to restore this feature. On a 5 or 6, your Anti-Magic Beam ability is restored.

Bladed Apendages

The Interplanar Ooze has returned to full strength. Your Rage form reaches its largest mass, at least three times larger than your normal body. Your claws and teeth come to their finest points, as well as your tendrils. 

In fact, Your Claw and Tendril attacks can be enhanced once you reach this level of bond. Your Ooze has restored its ability to transform those parts into bladed weapons. You can transform your claws into any bladed weapon weapon you wish. Swords, Axes, Morningstars, Spearheads... Whatever your little heart desires. Your Tendrils can form blades on their tips as well, in any form you choose. 

As an Action, you may invoke the Bladed Apendages ability while Raging. For as long as your Rage lasts, your Claw and Tendril attacks deal an extra 1d12 and 1d8 damage, respectively. If you land a critical hit while this ability is activated, it does not double the added die, but rather the extra die roll is added to the critical damage. You may reuse this ability after completing a Short Rest.

Psychic Miasma

You and the Tadpole are now a singularly unique being. You are not Illithid. You are not Ulitharid. You are not Neothelid. You are... Something new. A hybrid of what is and has always been relative to Mind Flayer... and your own species. When you Rage, your chin tentacles have grown to a length ending somewhere near your midsection. Your split lips have evolved into a full blown Neothelid-like maw. 

You also gain a very powerful ability. The Psychic Miasma. As an Action, you can use your acutely developed psychic abilities to detect every being with a brain wave within a certain distance. Roll a d20. The number rolled will determine the distance in which the ability can affect. 

1-5 - 30 ft.

6-10 - 60 ft.

11-15 90 ft.

16- 20 120 ft.

You may deal a total of 50 psychic damage, divided as you choose, among any number of creatures you have detected based on your d20 roll. Once you have finished, you will take three points of exhaustion. You may use this ability again once you have completed a Long Rest. 

Strike Fear

Your Demonic companion has grown to its strongest point yet. Your forearms, hands, lower legs, and feet now look like the most translucent parts of your body when you Rage. They are not invisible. They can be seen, but only barely. With these new "enhancements" to your limbs, you also gan the ability to literally Strike Fear into your enemies.

As a Bonus Action, For one round, your claw and bite attacks deal psychic damage. Any creature dealt damage by these attacks takes an extra 4d6 psychic damage and must make a Wisdom saving throw (DC 8 + Prof bonus + CON modifier) or become Frightened on a failure. You can restore this ability after the completion of a short rest.