Path of the Percussive Pathologist

For most barbarians, their rage fuels violence. The Path of the Percussive Healer is different, using your rage to mend and heal. As you enter your surgical trance (rage), you hyper-focus on those around you, analyzing their pains and weaknesses. This path evolves after picking a medical specialization in Neurosurgery, Orthopedics, or Trauma.

Level 3: Surgical Trance

When you enter a rage, you can choose to enter a Surgical Trance. While in this trance, you gain the following benefits: On each of your turns after the first, you can use your bonus action to make an unarmed strike or use Percussive Healing. If you use Percussive Healing during your turn, you can only make unarmed strikes as part of your attacks that turn. While raging, you can use a bonus action to stabilize a downed creature.

Percussive Healing may be used equal to your STR Modifier + Proficiency Bonus times per long rest.

Percussive Healing. You look over your patient, finding areas in need of healing. While raging, you can use your action to make an unarmed strike at a creature. If they are willing, you ignore their AC when striking. Using your strike, you swiftly relieve the creature's pain, healing them 1d4 plus your proficiency modifier. This unarmed strike does not add your Rage Damage bonus.

Your dice count increases by 1d4 at levels 6, 10, and 14.

Medical Specialization

Beginning at 3rd level,  as your skill grows, you develop an affinity for a specific form of study. You may pick from the following options and gain a +1 to your Wisdom.

Neurosurgery

You specialize in treating and diagnosing issues in the nervous system. As a result, your Surgical Trance now allows you to exploit your opponent's nerves to cause injury.

Beginning at 3rd level, you may use Polyneuropathy, 1 + your proficiency bonus per Short Rest. Additionally, you gain +1 to Perception checks.

Polyneuropathy. When you hit a creature with a melee attack, you target their nervous system, causing them to experience temporary nerve damage. The target suffers the following until the start of its next turn:

• Disadvantage on its next attack roll.
• Cannot take reactions until its next turn.
• Additionally, the target suffers a -1d4 penalty to its next attack roll.

The effectiveness of your strike increases at levels 6, 10, and 14. At these levels, you impose an additional -1d4 to the affected creature's attack roll.

Orthopedics

When you use Percussive Healing on a creature, you also remove the Poisoned condition and neutralize any non-magical poisons affecting them.

You gain resistance to poison damage while raging in a Surgical Trance. 

You get a +1 on all Medicine checks. This increases to +2 at level 10.

 

 

Trauma

You specialize in treating traumatic injuries. As a result, you are focused on healing and emboldening your allies through treatment.

Beginning at 3rd level, your Percussive Healing can apply Wound Packing, 1 + your proficiency bonus per Long Rest. Additionally, you gain +2 to Survival checks.

Wound Packing. After hitting an ally with Percussive Healing, add 1d8 temporary hit points as you pack and cover their wounds. At level 10, you instead add 2d8 temporary hit points. At level 14, you can use Wound Packing equal to your Proficiency Bonus times per short rest.

Level 6: Residency Complete

Your medical prowess has substantially improved as you practice your specialty in the field.

Neurosurgery Residency Complete

You are now able to perform Unnerving Strikes when attacking a creature with a melee attack.

Unnerving Strikes. You deal an extra 1d4 psychic damage on every melee attack as you precisely strike a creature’s pressure points and sensitive nerves, causing excruciating headaches.

Once per turn, on a hit, the target must make a DC = 8 + your WIS modifier, WIS save. On failure, your strike causes the target to develop an excruciating migraine, which causes the target to become Incapacitated until the end of its next turn.

The amount of psychic damage inflicted increases at levels 10 and 14 by 1d4 each.

Orthopedics Residence Complete

You gain the ability to perform Physical Therapy up to your proficiency modifier times per short rest on your allies to embolden them.

Physical Therapy. You may spend an action to grant your ally one Relief die, a d8, who is within 5ft of you.

Once within the next 10 minutes, the creature can roll the die and add the number rolled to one ability check, attack roll, or saving throw it makes. The creature can wait until after it rolls the d20 before deciding to use the Relief die but must decide before the DM says whether the roll succeeds or fails.

The die becomes a d10 at 11th level, and a d12 at 16th level.

Trauma Residency Complete

You won't let your allies die on you, no matter the circumstance. On seeing an ally drop to 0 hit points while in Surgical Trance, you may immediately move up to your full movement to them, without provoking attacks of opportunity.

You also gain access to the spell Heart Shock, which may be used while enraged.

Heart Shock. Make a melee spell attack against the target. You have advantage on the attack roll if the target is wearing armor made of metal. On a hit, if the target is at 0 hit points, it heals for 2d10, double for constructs. If the target is above 0 hit points, it instead damages it for 1d10 lightning damage, double for constructs, and it cannot take reactions until its next turn.The spell's healing and damage increase by 1d10 when you reach 10th level and 14th level.

Level 10: Advanced Techniques

You learn advanced techniques in your field of study, showing your continued expertise in Medicine. Additionally, you gain +1 to your WIS.

(Neurosurgery) Psychosurgery

The secrets around the mind continue to fade as your mastery grows. Your Unnerving Strikes are now more effective, requiring a DC12 WIS Save.

You also learn the Lobotomize action, which may be used 3 times per long rest. This increases to 4 at 14 level, and 3 + your proficiency modifier at 17 level.

Lobotimize. You use an Orbitoclast to perform an "in-the-field" lobotomy on a creature. On a successful melee hit, the target must choose to make a DC15 CON or WIS saving throw (target chooses which save) or suffer a random effect from the following table:

• 1: The target suffers from minor mental trauma, taking 2d10 Psychic damage.
• 2-5: The target's connection to their optic nerve is severed, causing them to become Blinded permanently unless healed by a greater restoration or similar magic.
• 6-10: The target has a seizure, causing it to fall Prone and become Stunned until its next turn.
• 11-15: The target feels an overwhelming wave of fatigue and weakness. Until the end of its next turn, the target has a disadvantage on all attacks and saving throws and suffers a -2 to its AC.
• 16-19: The target suffers confusion. Until it passes a DC10 WIS save at the end of its turn, the target moves and attacks randomly.
• 20: The target suffers from massive mental trauma, taking 20+4d10 Psychic damage.

Lobotomize uses WIS for its attack roll.

 

(Orthopedics) Spinal Dominion

 You gain the Grappler feat. While grappling a creature, you may use your action to perform Inflict Spondylolysis or Soothing Embrace. You may use each of these actions up to your proficiency bonus per Long Rest.

Inflict Spondylolysis. You crush the grappled creature in your arms. The target must make a DC = 8 + your Strength modifier + your proficiency bonus CON save or take 2d6 bludgeoning damage and give it Spondylolysis. On success, the target only takes 2d6 bludgeoning damage.

A creature afflicted with Spondylolysis, a crack between two vertebrae, must make a DC10 + half your proficiency bonus CON save if it moves or takes a physical action. On failure, the creature takes 1d6 bludgeoning damage and has a disadvantage on attack rolls until the start of its next turn. For each consecutive turn the creature moves or takes a physical action, the damage increases by 1d6 (to a max of 4d6). If the creature refrains from these actions for one turn, the damage resets to 1d6.

Spondylolysis can be cured via any magical healing or a DC20 Medicine check.

 

Soothing Embrace. You release a wave of healing energy from your body into the creature in your arms. If the creature is poisoned, it is cured. If the creature is Charmed, Frightened, or Paralyzed, it may immediately attempt a new saving throw (if the condition normally allows one). If no save is normally allowed, the creature may make a DC15 CON save to end the condition.

(Trauma) Intensive Care

You gain advantage on all Medicine checks outside of Surgical Trance and learn the following spells: Aura of Vitality, Revivify, and Guidance. You may cast Aura of Vitality and Revivify up to 1 + Wisdom modifier times per Long Rest. These spells may be cast while you are in your Surgical Trance, even if you are raging.

Notes on Spellcasting:

• Aura of Vitality: This spell can be cast as a bonus action during your turn, healing allies within a 30-foot radius for 2d6 each round.
• Revivify: This spell can be cast once per Long Rest without requiring a material component while in Surgical Trance, bringing a fallen ally back to life within 1 minute of death.
• Guidance: You can cast Guidance on an ally as an action, granting them an additional 1d4 to an ability check. This spell can be used outside of combat as well.

Level 14: Master of the Body

You may now use Percussive Healing a number of times equal to 2 + your Strength modifier + your Wisdom modifier per long rest, even when you are not in a Surgical Trance.

Additionally, you add your Wisdom modifier to the healing provided by Percussive Healing.

While you are conscious, you emanate a Calming Aura with a 10-foot radius.

Calming Aura. Allies within a 10-foot radius gain a +2 on charisma saves. If raging, allies gain advantage on concentration checks and WIS saves.