Path Of The Psycho

Going down the Path Of The Psycho means that at some point in your past, you experienced a traumatic, life changing event that has ruined your psyche… perhaps you underwent an experiment that damaged your mind? Or maybe as a child you had watched your whole village be killed, the monsters leaving you as the only survivor. Or perhaps you simply had one really bad day, and it caused you to snap….. whatever it was, you’ve discovered how to use your madness to your advantage in fights, becoming a rampaging melee masochist!

Makeshift Weapon

Due to your madness, self constructed, less quality weapons work as good as normal weapons for you. Beginning at 3rd level, you can effectively use self constructed weapons made out of scrap. 

Crafting such a weapon takes 2 hours, some suitable scrap, and a dc 15 check with either smiths or tinkers tools using their respective skills. Scrap to make a Buzzaxe costs 15gp and scrap for a Sawaxe costs 10gp (these prices can be changed to the dms discretion). This can be done while resting. 

See the “Makeshift Weapons” table below for weapons you can construct. Weapons crafted this way are considered improvised weapons, you are proficient with them, and they have the same sales value as the scrap to make them(however don’t expect any shop keepers to buy them). 

Even though your self constructed weapons are frightening and effective, they are also fragile. Rolling a natural 1 when attacking with a makeshift weapon breaks it, rendering it unusable until you repair it, which will take 1 hour, some suitable scrap, and the required tools. This can also be done while resting.

 

Psycho Melee Weapons:     

Buzz Axe    1d12 slashing   6lb.    Two-Handed   Heavy 

Saw Axe    1d8 slashing   3lb.    Light, thrown (range 20/60)

Pain is LIFE!!

You learn how to use your pain to your own advantage. Starting at 3rd level, during your rage, when you are below 80% of your maximum hp you gain the following benefit: When you make an attack, you can roll a d4 and add it to your attack or damage roll, but you also take damage equal to what you rolled (ignoring your own immunities and resistances). You must declare that you want to use this feature before you make a roll for an attack and you must take the damage, even if your attack misses.

You gain more effects the further into this subclass you go.

Pain is LIFE!! Upgrade

You’ve learned how to imbue your special weapons with your madness! How does it work? Nobody knows. Do you care? Nope! All you care about is that now you can make that ******* regret resisting your attacks!

At 6th level, during your rage, when you are below 60% of your maximum hp you gain the following benefit: Attacks you make with a buzz axe or a saw axe count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to non-magical attacks and damage and you also deal an extra d4 of psychic damage.

I’LL SLICE OFF YOUR EYELIDS SO YOU CAN WATCH THE END!!

At 6th level, you gain proficiency in the Intimidation skill. If you are already proficient in the Intimidation skill, your proficiency bonus is doubled.

Additionally, when an enemy hits you with a melee attack during your rage, you can use a reaction to let out a maniacal laugh, give a maddening grin, or show some other expression of enjoyment to unsettle and terrify your attacker. The chosen attacker makes a contesting insight check(target) vs an intimidation check(you). If they fail, they are frightened of you until the end of their next turn.

You can only use this ability once per short rest.

Pain is LIFE!! Upgrade

When people get their skin torn or they get bones broken or stuff like that, they usually see it as “mortal wounds” or “critical injuries”. Not you though, you just it see as the tension in your body getting loosened up so you can swing your arms faster!

At 10th level, during your rage, when you are below 40% of your maximum hp you gain the following benefit: If you take the attack action on your turn, you can use your bonus action to make a single melee weapon attack.

Tick-Tock!

What defines a psychopath more than EXPLOSIONS and what works better for that than your weapons?

Starting at 10th level, while raging, throwing a Buzz axe or a Saw Axe leaves an explosion behind. Regardless of whether you hit your target or not, every creature in the range of 5 ft around the location where the weapon landed must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or take half the damage (rounded down) of the ranged weapon attack as force damage. The DC for the Dexterity saving throw equals 8 + your proficiency modifier + your strength modifier. You can use this feature only once per turn and the weapon you had exploded will be destroyed, requiring repairs to use it again.

Pain is LIFE!! Upgrade

You know the saying: “what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger”, yeah? Well guess what! They haven’t killed ya, and their gonna regret it!

At 14th level, during your rage, when you are below 20% of your maximum hp you gain the following benefit: your Strength score and Strength score maximum increases by 2

GOTTA THINK BIG… BIIIIIG!

Starting at 14th level, if you are below ¼ (rounded up) of your maximum hp and activate rage, you can choose to mutate yourself, causing you to lose yourself. You gain the following features until the rage ends:

• You regain ⅙ (rounded down) of your maximum hp

 

• Your body proportion drastically changes making one arm slightly oversized where as the other shrinks dramatically making it useless. Anything you were holding in the now shrunken hand is dropped and you can't pick up or carry objects with this arm. You can use weapons with the two handed property with just the oversized arm.

 

• Your size increases by a factor of 1.5 in all dimensions. You count as one size larger (e.g. Small -> Medium, Medium -> Large) in terms of space, carry weight, as well as grappling and shoving a creature.

 

• You have all the effects of “Pain is LIFE!!” until your rage ends, even if you aren’t at the required percentage of hp.

 

• You can't end rage early anymore by using a bonus action.

 

• If you attempt to use “Relentless Endurance” while in this state and fail the saving throw, you can instead choose to pass and end your rage.

 

• If you have not been damaged by an enemy or have not delt damage to an enemy by the end of your turn, you take a d6 of psychic damage.

 

Due to how taxing this is on your body and mind, when your rage ends, you suffer one point of exhaustion. You can only do this once per long rest.

(Also I recommend that you always remember that you “lose yourself” when using this ability and you can’t end the rage early…. so keep that in mind when it comes to roleplaying this ability)