The Nightmare Incarnate Class for Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) Fifth Edition (5e)

Base Class: Fighter

The Nightmare Incarnate is a force for the resolute, obsessed, or possibly insane beings who desire to master the forces of eldritch or organic horror for their own desires. As a result of accident, experimentation, or other causes, they are a fusion of mortal and unnatural who are able to adapt to any fight while being equally difficult to kill. These fighters leave a trail of carnage in their wake, the mutilation of corpses of foes alongside the clear loss of organic matter evident of their abilities. Desiring to become something not of this world, yet maintaining their humanity, they seek to turn their bodies into the ultimate personification of nightmarish biology. They mask their otherworldly nature from others, as so many would view them as monsters just from looks alone. But to them, no being is sacred, for their transformation into a creature of unique, unmatched power will triumph, the limits of their flesh nothing to the organic perfection they seek.

Level 3: Organic Arsenal

You channel the sinister mutation within you, transforming your limbs into various weapons and tools. Whenever you take the Attack action or make an Opportunity Attack with an Unarmed Strike, you can reshape the limb into one of the following organic weapons: Osseus Blade, Shrapnel Flesh, Sinew Bludgeon, or Stinger Spear. Your limb immediately returns to its previous form after your Organic Arsenal hits or misses its target. In addition, you may use this ability as a bonus action to gain Tentacular Force or a Reaction to create a Wicked Aegis shield. Whenever you attack with an Organic Arsenal weapon, add your Strength modifier to the attack and damage rolls when you attack with it.

Organic Arsenal

The Organic Arsenal feature gives you 4 Attack actions, 1 Bonus Action, and 1 Reaction which are presented here in alphabetical order;

Osseous Blade. Flatten and extend your limb, converting its bones and ligaments into a blade of dangerous ability. The blade counts as a Simple Melee weapon, and it deals 1d8 Slashing damage on a hit. Once on each of your turns, if your attack roll with the blade misses a creature, you can make a melee attack roll with the weapon against a second creature within 5 feet of the first that is also within your reach. On a hit, the second creature takes the weapon’s damage, but don’t add your ability modifier to that damage unless that modifier is negative. At level 7, this weapon gains the Graze weapon property.
Shrapnel Flesh. Project your more durable anatomy from your body, turning it into a grapeshot of devastation that shocks your foes. This attack counts as a Simple Ranged weapon with the Light property, with a normal range of 20 feet and a long range of 60 feet, and deals 1d4 Acid damage on a hit. Once on each of your turns when you hit a creature with an attack roll with this weapon, you can force the creature to make a Constitution saving throw (DC 8 plus the ability modifier used to make the attack roll and your Proficiency Bonus). On a failed save, you have Advantage on your next attack roll against that creature before the end of your turn. At level 7, this weapon gains the Slow weapon property.
Sinew Bludgeon. Bones and muscles fuse through your skin, combining to become a heavy bludgeoning weapon designed to inflict pummeling damage. The bludgeon counts as a Simple Melee weapon and deals 1d10 Bludgeoning damage on a hit. If you hit a creature with the bludgeon and deal damage to it, you can push the target 5 feet away. At level 7, this weapon gains the Topple weapon property.
Stinger Spear. Manifest a razor-point tip from your physique before striking at your target with incredible speed. This attack counts as a Simple Melee weapon with the Finesse and Light properties, and it deals 1d6 Piercing damage on a hit. Once per turn, when you take the Attack action to attack, you can use a Bonus Action to form another limb into a stinger and strike with it, making a single additional attack. At level 7, this weapon gains the Sap weapon property.
Tentacular Force. As a Bonus Action, segment your limb into multiple segments, taking on a boneless, muscular form. The next target you hit with an Unarmed Strike that is your size or smaller, you can pull it up to 5 feet closer to you. At level 7, you can pull it up to 10 feet closer to you instead.
Wicked Aegis. As a Reaction, transform a limb into a reinforced bracer to protect you from harm. Whenever you are targeted by an attack that you can see, you can use your Reaction to turn one of your arms into a bone-like shield, gaining a +2 bonus to AC until the start of your next turn.

Level 3: Predatory Organism

3rd-Level Nightmare Incarnate Feature

Indulging your abominable desires, you can consume the organic matter of foes you slay and the mostly intact corpses near you to gain the following actions;

Organic Consume. After you reduce a creature to 0 Hit Points or while you stand within 5 feet of a mostly intact corpse of a creature that has died in less than 1 week, you can use a Bonus Action to use your aberration body to devour it horrifically. You regain a number of Temporary Hit Points equal to the consumed creature’s CR (minimum of 0, rounded down). At level 10, you immediately learn whether the consumed creature has any damage immunities, resistances, or vulnerabilities.

You cannot consume creatures with a Challenge Rating higher than your Fighter level, creatures greater than one size larger than you, constructs, or undead. Creatures consumed this way cannot be resurrected by nonmagical means.

Biomatter. After you use Organic Consume, you regain 1 charge of Biomatter, the organic matter of the consumed creature. For the next hour from when the creature was consumed, you may use a Bonus Action to expend this charge to gain one of the following benefits;

Distort. Your Speed increases by 10 feet, and when you make a melee attack on your turn, your reach for it is 5 feet greater than normal. At level 10, you may instead gain the “enlarge” effect of the Enlarge/Reduce spell for 1 minute (no Concentration required).
Transform. Shape-shift into that consumed creature, though none of your game statistics change. You can stay in the new form until the end of the hour since it was consumed, until you use a Utilize action to revert to your true form, or until you die. At level 10, you can access the memories of this creature from the last 24 hours before its death.

You may only carry the Biomatter charge of one creature at a time. After 1 hour from when you gained a Biomatter charge, expend the charge of Biomatter as your body passively absorbs it.

Level 7: Biometal Manifestation

You forever lose proficiency with shields and heavy armor, for you have learned how to manipulate your body to simulate their protective abilities alongside replicating metallic materials for your Organic Arsenal. While you are not wearing any armor, your Armor Class equals 13 plus your Dexterity and Constitution modifiers.

In addition, your Organic Arsenal weapons gain weapon mastery properties, as noted in their descriptions.

Level 10: Mutation Ascension

Your biomastery powers give you access to powers mortals can only dream of. Your Predatory Organism improves, as noted in its description. Your eldritch body can now devour rare or lower-level magical items to gain their properties. Once per long rest, you can devour the following types of magic items, absorbing their properties to improve each of your Organic Arsenal weapons:

~~Any melee weapon that deals slashing damage; its properties are added to your Osseus Blade.~~
~~Any weapon that deals acid damage; its properties are added to Shrapnel Flesh.~~
~~Any melee weapon that deals bludgeoning damage; its properties are added to your Sinew Bludgeon.~~
~~Any melee weapon that deals piercing damage; its properties are added to your Stinger Spear.~~
~~A shield; its properties are added to your Wicked Aegis.~~

~~If you absorb another magical item of the same type, the previous magic item of that type is destroyed.~~

In addition, you gain the Fleshtorn Wings Bonus Action detailed below.

Fleshtorn Wings. You grow a pair of eldritch wings, giving yourself a Fly Speed of 30 feet for 1 minute. You can use this Bonus Action a number of times equal to your Constitution modifier (minimum of 1), and you regain all expended uses when you finish a Short Rest or Long Rest.

Level 15: Weaponized Entity

You have achieved a lethal mastery of your form, gaining the power to decimate all who stand in your way. Once on each of your turns, you can overexert your body to perform one of the Nightmare Onslaught actions as a Magic action, listed below in alphabetical order;

Nightmare Onslaught: Biobomb. Turn a corpse near you into a biological bomb, designed to obliterate for a dangerous gamble. After you reduce a creature to 0 hit points or use your Organic Consume action, you may twist the flesh of the corpse into a bomb to detonate. At the end of your next turn, the bomb explodes, and each creature in a 20-foot-radius Sphere centered on that point makes a Dexterity saving throw. A creature takes Acid damage equal to the total accumulated damage on a failed save or half as much damage on a successful one. The biobomb's damage is 1d6 x the CR rating of the creature corpse and deals Acid damage. If a creature touches the biobomb before it ends, that creature makes a Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, the bomb explodes. On a successful save, the creature can throw the bomb up to 40 feet. If the thrown bomb enters a creature’s space or collides with a solid object, the bomb explodes. When you create a biobomb, you may use your reaction to throw or kick the biobomb up to 30ft in any direction.
Nightmare Onslaught: Expulsion Pull. Flare out your biomatter, harming targets before yanking them toward you violently. Each target of your choice that you can see in a 60-foot Cube makes a Strength saving throw. On a failed save, the target takes 6d6 Piercing damage, has the Restrained, and if it is a creature that is Large or smaller, you can pull it up to 15 feet closer to you. On a successful save, a target takes only half as much damage, and their movement speed is halved until the start of their next turn.
Nightmare Onslaught: Ferocious Cyclone. You turn into a hurricane of vicious biological death in a chosen direction. Launch yourself forward in a 5-foot-wide, 60-foot-long Line. Each creature in the Line makes a Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, the target takes damage equal to 4 hits from your Osseus Blade plus 4 hits from your Stinger Spear. On a successful save, it takes only half as much damage. Other creatures and you do not provoke an Opportunity Attack when you move this way.
Nightmare Onslaught: Ground Rupture. Smash the ground before you, causing quakes and your organic matter to discharge upward while turning the area around you into a biomass infection. Each creature that you can see in a 30-foot Cone originating from you makes a Constitution saving throw. On a failed save a target takes 8d10 Bludgeoning damage and has the Prone condition. On a successful save, a target takes only half as much damage. The terrain becomes difficult terrain for all creatures other than you for 1 minute.
Nightmare Onslaught: Unbreachable Physique. Harden your matter, becoming an invincible force of protection. You gain Resistance to Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing damage, and the first time you would drop to 0 Hit Points before your next turn, you instead drop to 1 Hit Point.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Constitution modifier (minimum of 1), and can’t do so again until you finish a Long Rest.

Level 18: Monstrous Contamination

Your evolution has reached near perfection, and all that could defeat you will fall to your power now or in time, giving you these benefits.

Death's Beast. You have Advantage on Death Saving Throws. In addition, if you have died but your corpse is intact, you may move 5 feet on each of your turns and cast your Organic Consume action.

Essence Lingerer. After you attack a creature with an unarmed attack, that creature makes a Constitution Saving Throw. On a failed save, the target is cursed unawares, as a minuscule piece of your essence is implanted in it. Removing the curse destroys the essence. While cursed, you can cast the Dominate Monster spell on that creature, requiring no components, and your spellcasting ability for the spell is Constitution. Once you use this feature on a that creature, you can’t do so again until you finish a Long Rest.

Previous Versions

Name	Date Modified	Views	Version	Actions
Nightmare Incarnate	9/17/2026 5:04:08 AM	146	1	Coming Soon
Nightmare Incarnate	9/19/2026 7:02:27 PM	146	1.1	Coming Soon
Nightmare Incarnate	9/19/2026 7:09:32 PM	146	--	Coming Soon
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