Path of the Ballads

In the northern tribes, it falls to the most powerful warrior of the tribe to safeguard his or her people's history and identity. Like a bard, the warrior commits long ballads and heroic epics of ages gone by to memory, and performs them for the tribe, keeping the history alive. But the warrior's duties are much more than a mere bard's: the warrior must not only remember the history, but become it. Through arcane rituals, the warrior tattoo's the tribes history onto his/her very body, becoming a living tapestry of the tribe's identity. The tattoos confer to the warrior superhuman abilities and the flowing motion of the warrior body make the tattoos ripple--every battle becomes a living performance of the past.

Living History

Starting when you choose this path at 3rd level, you can add a tattoo to your body. You can add an additional tattoo at levels 6, 10, 14, and 18. Adding a tattoo takes 1 hour and requires ink, and a needle, bone pick, or fang. 

Each tattoo is impregnated with a magical spell that activates while you are raging as soon as the magical condition is met. Each tattoo can only activate once per rage. You must choose a condition (or trigger) from the table below and a magical spell of from the druid or warlock spell lists. The spell level you choose must be less than or equal to your barbarian class level divided by two (rounding up). You may not choose channeling spells or spells that take longer than a minute to cast. A spell can be used on multiple tattoos.

While raging, when the tattoo's condition is met, you must immediately cast the spell you chose for the tattoo even if it is not your turn. When required, your spellcasting ability is your constitution. If for some reason the spell does not work (e.g. there is no target in range) the tattoo is still considered used. For this reason, carefully consider what condition you want to match with a spell. Where applicable, when a spell is cast it is considered cast using a spell slot level equal to your barbarian level divided by three (rounding up) if that is higher than the spell level.

Conditions:

Tattoo Symbol	Condition
The Flame	You begin raging
The North Wind	You stop raging
The Axe	You fall below ½ of your hit-points
The Hammer	You fall below ¼ of your hit-points
The Shield	You see an ally fall below 1/3 of their hit points
The Wolf	You see an enemy die
The Serpent	You kill an enemy
The Disembodied Hand	You are hit by an enemy spell
The Knot	You are hit by a melee attack
The Cauldron	You see an ally become unconscious
The Fist	You hit an enemy with a melee attack
The Chain	A tattoo is triggered
The Torch	An enemy disappears
The Spear	You hit an enemy with a ranged attack
The Witch	You hit an enemy with a spell
The Bound	You are blinded, deafened, incapacitated or paralyzed
The Smile	You are charmed
The Prone individual	You become prone

 

Tribal Reliquary

Starting at the sixth level, you gain access to your tribes relics and can imbue one of your weapons with the spirit of ancient hero's weapon, granting it an effect. Additionally, attacks with this weapon count as magical in nature.

Choose one of your weapons and choose one of the effects below. After a three hour ritual, your weapon permanently gains the chosen effect. You can transfer the effect or change it via another 3 hour ritual. Until level 14, you may only have one weapon imbued with a spirit at a time. At level 14 you may imbue a second weapon with a different spirit, and may have two imbued weapons at a time. If an ally or enemy makes an attack with your weapon, it does not have the special effect for them.

Effects:

You may as a bonus action make the weapon fly back to your hand after you throw it or become separated from it as long as it is within 60 ft. of you. This effect requires that there is a path between you and the weapon, however you do not need to be able to see it or even know where it is. Enemies on the path between you and the weapon must make a dexterity saving throw or take 1d4 damage.

Choose fire, lightning, or cold. On a successful hit with your weapon, the target takes xd4 extra damage of that type, where x is your barbarian level divided by 4.

Dealing the killing blow to an enemy with the weapon, resets a tattoo of your choice.

Final Remembrance

Beginning at 10th level, once your last tattoo is triggered, your tattoos form a protective armor. You gain resistance to magical sources of damage for the remaining duration of the rage.

Figure of Legend

Starting at 14th level, as an action on your turn while you are raging, you can sacrifice half of your current hit points to reset all your tattoos to the unused state. This ability can only be used once per rage.