Amber’s Enlightened

Few races can claim to be as selfless and enlightened as the zwerc, though few of their race would claim such, hubris being a shunned trait in most of their communes. When the actions of the svirfneblin almost spelled doom for these mystic recluses, when the insatiable curiosity of the deep gnomes brought forth the svirfdozers that would destabilize the Amber Roads, they unwittingly also destroyed one of the greatest treasures of the zwerc race— not just the mystic Amber Roads, but also their immortal, enlightened Amber Masters.

It is testament to the zwerc character that these mighty dwarves did not embark on all-out warfare against the svirfneblin then and there; instead, the zwerc sought to heal the Amber Roads and find new, safer ways to channel the weakened, now dangerously-volatile powers of the Amber Roads.

From this necessity and contemplation sprang forth a martial tradition, the Amber Enlightenment.

Practitioners of Amber Enlightenment focus on the eight Amber Fusions. An Amber Fusion is a process, where unstable fragments of the Amber Roads are mystically aligned with the body of a zwerc, allowing the zwerc to bypass the metabolic limiters of his body, potentially fitting one such fragment within a whole of the Amber Roads. There are some scholars that claim that each use of an Amber Fusion widens a hole in the Amber Roads, while others insist that practitioners slowly heal the damage caused—the different zwerc enclaves oscillate between celebrating practitioners as saviors or considering them the worst form of anathema. In an unnerving and long-lived rumor, there are some that whisper that the dreaded dour destroyers have found a way to harness the powers of Amber Enlightenment, undoubtedly with dire intent…Ultimately, only time will tell the fate of this tradition. It remains a fact, though, that it takes some deeply simmering rage to properly learn the secrets of Amber Fusions, showing that, while the zwerc are not out for vengeance, they very much remain a people wounded and angry.

Amber’s Embrace

Starting when you choose this path at 3rd level, you can enter Amber’s Embrace as a bonus action while in a rage. If you do so, you may choose one of the following Amber Fusions. You may switch to another Amber Fusion as a bonus action, ending the effects of the current Amber Fusion. Amber Fusions also end when your rage ends.

Claws of Amber. You gain the colliatur reaver’s Claws of Crystal, save that your claws only persist while in Amber’s Embrace and deal force damage. Your claws of amber deal damage as though you had the Martial Arts class feature, treating your barbarian level as colliatur reaver level to determine its effects.

Earth’s Gravity. You may use your bonus action when making a melee attack to add your rage damage bonus a second time to this attack.

Earth’s Embrace. You gain a burrow speed of 10 ft.

Amber’s Caress

Beginning at 6th level, you can learn three new Amber Fusions.

Amber Skin. Choose either force or radiant damage. You gain resistance to the chosen damage type.

Amber Step. You may use your action to attune yourself with the Amber Roads, stepping in and out of them. You and any creatures touching you walk directly into and through a stone wall or floor, instantly reappearing up to 200 feet away from a similar stone surface that would be large enough to hold you. If there is no eligible vertical surface, you instead reappear on a non-vertical surface. If there is no place where you could reappear, the Amber Road violently expels you and all passengers at the point where you cast the spell, dealing 6d6 bludgeoning damage to you and all creatures touching you. Once you have used this feature, you may not use it again until you have finished a long rest.

Granite’s Vise. You may use your action to cast earthen crush as a 3rd level-spell. You use Wisdom as your spellcasting ability for this feature. You may concentrate on this Amber Fusion in spite of being in Rage. Once you have used this feature, you may not use it again until you have finished a long rest.

Amber’s Avatar

At 14th level, you have mastered all known Amber Fusions. You add the following two Amber Fusions to the list of Amber Fusions you can enter.

Additionally, you may enter, and gain the benefits of two Amber Fusions at once.

Amber’s Avatar. Your whole body seems to become amber. While in this Amber Fusion, you gain advantage on Constitution saving throws and become immune to force damage.

Amber’s Speed. You blink in and out of the Amber Roads with astonishing speed. When you move, you instantly disappear and reappear at the target destination. Actions you take do not provoke opportunity attacks if your opponent does not have some sort of prescience, can read your thoughts or has any other means to predict where you will end up. If you use this amber fusion, you incur a level of exhaustion at the end of your Rage.

Sidebar: The 9th Fusion

Many zwerc believe that there is a 9th, secret Amber Fusion, one whose power dwarfs any of the previous ones; perhaps, this as of yet undiscovered Amber Fusion allows for a form of ascendance? Or perhaps, it holds the secrets of repairing…or destroying the Amber Roads.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Occult Secrets of the Underworld Copyright 2018, AAW Games, LLC; Thilo Graf and Jonathan G. Nelson.