Path of the Alchemical Brute

You have been unflinchingly exposed to the brutal violence people are capable of. Underneath the thin veneer of civility, rage and fury lurks within everyone, no matter how mild mannered they appear under normal circumstances. Given the right conditions, everyone is capable of becoming a monster. Including you.

You move in polite society as well as anyone else, and are possessed of a level of intellect unusual to other barbarians.

Through careful study and alchemical experimentation, you have learned to tap into the primal beast inside you, and manifest it in physical ways.

Genius Bruisers

Many alchemical formulae and path features described here make extensive use of Intelligence, an ability score not usually considered very important for barbarians. If you plan to take this subclass at 3rd level, consider putting your highest ability score in Strength, followed by Intelligence as your second highest ability score.

Bonus Proficiencies

3rd-level Path of the Alchemical Brute feature

When you choose this archetype, it represents the culmination of your research into alchemically altering your biology and psychology.

You gain proficiency with alchemist’s supplies, the Medicine skill, and Intelligence saving throws. If you are already proficient in alchemist’s supplies or the Medicine skill, you add double your proficiency bonus to ability checks you make that use them.

Alchemical Preparation

3rd-level Path of the Alchemical Brute feature

You have refined your experiments and discovered alchemical formulae that, when administered, can alter your body and mind whenever you enter a rage. You know 3 alchemical formulae from the Alchemical Formulae list below.

You prepare doses of these formulae when you finish a long rest, provided you have a set of Alchemist’s supplies available to you. You prepare one dose of each formula, which are unstable and lose their potency 24 hours after you prepare them. The physical nature of how you administer your formulae is up to you (such as vials of liquid you drink, a mist you inhale, an injection, etc.) Whenever you enter a rage, you may expend a dose of one of your prepared alchemical formulae, granting you its effects for the duration of that rage. Your prepared alchemical formulae have no effect if used by creatures other than you, or if you attempt to administer them when not entering a rage, as they are tailored to your own unique body chemistry and psychology.

Some formulae require creatures to make saving throws to resist their effects. The DC to resist a formula’s effect is equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier.

Augmented Fortitude

3rd-level Path of the Alchemical Brute feature

Your biological experiments upon yourself have had a lasting effect on your body, even when not raging. You may use your Intelligence modifier in place of your Constitution modifier when calculating your AC using your barbarian Unarmored Defense feature, to determine how many hit points you restore when you roll a Hit Die, and for calculating your maximum hit points. You may recalculate your hit point maximum retroactively when you gain this feature. When you reach 20th level in this class, you can choose to increase your Intelligence score by 4 instead of your Constitution score. Your maximum for that score then becomes 24.

Alchemical Admixture

6th-level Path of the Alchemical Brute feature

You discover 3 more alchemical formulae, for a total of 6, and you can prepare two doses of each formulae you know when you finish a long rest. Additionally, when you enter a rage, you can consume up to two doses of different prepared alchemical formulae at once.

Hulking

10th-level Path of the Alchemical Brute feature

You may add your Intelligence modifier as a bonus to Constitution saving throws. Additionally, when you enter a rage, you can increase your size by one (Small to Medium, Medium to Large, etc). Mundane clothing or armor you are wearing is ruined in the transformation, unless specially made to accommodate your expanding bulk. Such clothing costs twice as much as normal.

Magical equipment you wear resizes to your new form, but does not change in statistics. When your rage ends, you and any magical equipment you wear revert to normal size.

Monster

14th-level Path of the Alchemical Brute feature

You discover additional alchemical formulae equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum 1), for a total of 6 + your Intelligence modifier. Additionally, whenever you enter a rage, you can gain the effects of up to three alchemical formulae you have prepared.

Alchemical Formulae

The Path of the Alchemical Brute grants barbarians an array of options to augment their physical and mental states when raging. When you gain a feature that allows you to discover alchemical formulae, you choose from those described below. You can select an alchemical formula only once, unless otherwise specified.

Aerial Mutation. When you enter a rage using this formula, you mutate in some manner that gives you the ability to make stupendous leaps, whether that is grotesquely muscular legs, vestigial wings, or some other mutation. For the duration of your rage, you can make a running long jump or running high jump after moving only 5 feet on foot, and your jump distance is doubled. When your rage ends, the mutation caused by this formula ends.

Aquatic Adaptation. When you enter a rage using this formula, your body mutates to adapt to aquatic environments. For the duration of your rage, you have a swim speed equal to twice your walking speed, and you can breathe both air and water. When your rage ends, the mutation caused by this formula ends.

Bloodgorger. For the duration of a rage infused with this formula, you have an insatiable thirst for blood or life essence, allowing you to bite a creature as an unarmed strike. Your bite deals piercing damage equal to 1d8 + your Strength modifier on a hit. When you hit with your bite, if the target creature is not a construct or undead, you gain a number of temporary hit points equal to your Intelligence modifier.

Energy Endurance. When you learn this formula, choose one of the following damage types: acid, cold, fire, lightning, necrotic, poison, psychic, radiant, or thunder. When you enter a rage using this formula, you gain resistance to the chosen damage type. Unlike most alchemical formulae, you may learn this formula more than once, to a maximum of 3 times. When you learn this formula for the second and third time, you choose one additional damage type each time, and you gain resistance to all chosen damage types when you enter a rage using this formula.

Firestarter. For the duration of a rage infused with this formula, you can ignite objects and creatures with the pure, distilled anger of your concentrated will. When you enter a rage using this formula, and as a bonus action on each of your turns during your rage, you can cause an object or creature within 10 feet of you to combust. The target must make a Constitution saving throw, taking 1d6 fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. The damage increases when you reach certain levels in this class, increasing to 2d6 at 10th level, 3d6 at 15th level, and 4d6 at 20th level.

Heightened State. During a rage infused with this formula, when you make a saving throw, you can add your Intelligence modifier to the roll. You can gain this bonus only once during each rage, and you can choose to apply it after you know if your saving throw succeeded or failed.

Iron Skin. For the duration of a rage infused with this formula, bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage that you take from nonmagical weapons is reduced by an amount equal to your Intelligence modifier. You apply this reduction before any damage resistance.

Long Limbs. When you enter a rage using this formula, your body mutates to lengthen your arms and legs. For the duration of your rage, your reach with melee attacks increases by 5 feet and your walking speed increases by 10 feet. When your rage ends, the mutation caused by this formula ends.

Psychic Fury. When you enter a rage using this formula, you can channel your anger into pure psychokinetic energy through your attacks. During your rage, the first creature you hit on each of your turns with a melee weapon attack takes extra psychic damage equal to 1d4 + your Intelligence modifier. When you reach 11th level in this class, this damage increases to 2d4 + your Intelligence modifier.

Subterranean Mutation. When you enter a rage using this formula, your body mutates to adapt to subterranean environments. For the duration of your rage, you have a burrow speed equal to your walking speed, allowing you to burrow through unworked earth, but not through stone, metal, or structures. You do not leave a tunnel behind you as you burrow. Additionally, for the duration of your rage, you have darkvision out to 60 feet. If you normally have darkvision, the range of your darkvision extends by 30 feet during a rage infused with this formula. When your rage ends, the mutation caused by this formula ends.

Thunderous Roar. During a rage infused with this formula, you may release a deafening howl of your alchemically enhanced fury as an action. Each creature in a 15-foot cone originating from you must make a Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, a creature takes 2d6 thunder damage, is deafened for 1 minute, and pushed 10 feet away from you. On a successful save, the creature takes half as much damage and isn’t deafened or pushed. This damage increases by 1d6 when you reach 6th level (3d6), 9th level (4d6), 12th level (5d6), 15th level (6d6), and 18th level (7d6) in this class. In addition, unsecured objects that are completely within the area of effect are automatically pushed 10 feet away from you by the roar, which itself is audible out to 300 feet.

Time Dilation. Once during a rage infused with this formula, you may perceive time quicker than a normal person, allowing you to gain an additional action on your turn. You can use this action to make one melee attack, or take the Dodge, Disengage, or Help actions.