Lord of Suffering (5e Subclass)

Fighter Subclass

Those who embrace suffering and make it their path are more than just warriors—they have witnessed countless battles that never broke their will. Their bodies are living monuments of torment and survival. Some call them mad, others penitent, but their mastery of this path is unquestioned.

Painful Path

You have put your mind and body through fervent training to endure punishments that would cut down any other warrior. Your journey has only just begun, but the pain is only a reminder of what you can still endure. You can add your Constitution modifier to all saving throws. You can use this benefit a number of times equal to your Constitution modifier (minimum 1), and you recharge all uses at the end of a long rest. If you would be reduced to 0 hit points, you can make a Constitution saving throw with a DC of 12. With each additional use, the DC increases by 3. If you succeed on the save, you do not fall unconscious or die immediately, but instead accumulate the damage. However, your body will suffer critical consequences. You must choose one of the following choices, though the DM may force a specific consequence upon you, or give you a narrower range of choices.

Critical Consequence Table

• Fractured Arm

Your arm feels shattered, every movement a grinding agony.

• Disadvantage on all Strength checks and two-handed weapon attacks until you receive magical healing or complete a long rest.

• Shattered Leg

Your leg feels like splintered wood, the bones barely holding you up.

• Your speed is halved, and whenever you move, you must make a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw. On a failure, you collapse to the ground, your vision swimming in pain.

• Crushed Chest

Every breath is a serrated blade in your lungs.

• Disadvantage on all Constitution checks and vulnerability to bludgeoning damage.

• Skull Splinter

You feel the sharp, stabbing pressure inside your skull.

• Disadvantage on Wisdom (Perception), Intelligence (Investigation), and all saving throws against being stunned or blinded.

• Torn Muscle

Your muscles tear with each movement, every strike pulling at the raw, exposed flesh.

• Your melee attacks deal only half damage for the next 3 turns.

• Internal Hemorrhage

Blood fills your insides, a warm, choking sensation.

• At the end of each turn, take 2d4 damage for 1 minute or until healed.

• Ruptured Eye

Blood vessels burst in your eye, the world a darkened haze.

• Disadvantage on all sight-based attack rolls and Perception checks until you complete a short rest.

• Dislocated Jaw

Your jaw hangs loose, a jolt of agony with every attempt to speak.

• You cannot speak or cast spells with verbal components until healed.

• Eardrum Burst

A sharp ringing fills your ears, drowning out the world.

• Disadvantage on hearing-based Perception checks and Dexterity (Acrobatics) checks.

• Splintered Ribs

Your ribs feel like needles in your chest.

• Disadvantage on Constitution checks to maintain concentration.

• Spinal Trauma

A sharp, searing pain arcs through your spine.

• Lose 5 feet of movement and gain disadvantage on all Dexterity checks.

• Concussed Mind

Your thoughts are a fragmented puzzle, each piece sharp and jagged.

• You act as if stunned during your next turn.

• Severed Tendon

Your muscles seize, each step a rip of flesh and sinew.

• Disadvantage on attack rolls and your speed is reduced by 10 feet until healed.

• Ruptured Ligament

Your limbs move sluggishly, bones grinding against each other.

• You cannot Dash or take the Disengage action until healed.

• Cranial Bleed

You taste blood in your mouth, your vision edged with darkness.

• Disadvantage on all Intelligence and Wisdom checks and saving throws.

• Blood-Filled Eye

Blood drips into your eyes, the world a red-stained blur.

• Your vision is reduced to 30 feet, and you have disadvantage on attack rolls against targets beyond this range.

• Collapsed Lung

You wheeze with every breath, your chest tight and burning.

• You can take either an action or a bonus action on your turn, not both.

• Torn Throat

Speaking is a jagged rasp, each word pulled from a raw wound.

• You must make a DC 15 Constitution check to cast spells with verbal components or to shout commands.

• Missteps of Pain

Your sense of balance is shattered.

• At the start of your turn, roll a d8. On a 1, you lose all movement until the end of the turn.

• Open Wound

Your skin splits, fresh blood mixing with old wounds.

• You lose 1 hit point at the start of each turn until healed.

Other Possible Consequences:

These consequences might be triggered in particularly long or brutal combats, where the Restrained One is forced to make multiple saving throws to remain standing:

Splintering Bones: If you fail a saving throw twice and then succeed, your splintered bones cause you to take ongoing 1d6 damage until you are healed. You cannot reduce this damage by any means while the splintering persists.

Repeated Impact Syndrome: After you take enough damage or succeed on three consecutive saving throws, you begin to twitch involuntary spasms and extreme pain. Your speed is reduced to 0, and you have disadvantage on all saves until you receive magical healing or complete a long rest.

These wounds can only be healed by minor restoration or if you regain at least half your maximum hit points. If you have some form of regeneration, or if you use an ability that restores hit points (such as second winds), you can recover at the start of your next turn. If you reduce an enemy to 0 hit points, the saving throw DC is reduced by 3.

Deep Scars

Marks of the Martyr (Level 3)

Every scar etched into your flesh is a testament to battles survived and agony endured. Where others see wounds, you see the ink of your story, written in blood and pain.

For each significant battle you survive, you gain a lasting physical enhancement. Choose one of the following each time:

• Ironbound Flesh: Increase your Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution score by 1 (maximum 22). Your muscles and bones are tempered by suffering, granting you strength beyond mortal limits.
• Relentless Spirit: You regain 1 additional Maneuver or Focus die per fight. Your inner resolve feeds your combat instincts, giving you the edge in battle.
• Blood-Honed Reflexes: Your critical attacks increase your attack bonus by +1 until the end of the next fight. Each drop of your blood sharpens your focus, turning pain into precision.

You can gain a maximum of three such enhancements after each fight (with the exception of the stat boost, which is permanent). These enhancements remain until you take a long rest.

Battle-Hardened Mastery (Level 7)

Suffering has become your greatest instructor. Through unrelenting pain, you have forged a combat style that is as brutal as it is refined. Each maneuver is a lesson in survival, every strike a reminder of your strength.

• Maneuver Mastery: You learn two maneuvers of your choice. After using a maneuver, you can't use maneuvers again until the start of your next turn. At 10th and 14th levels, you learn two additional maneuvers of your choice.

• You can replace one maneuver you know with a different one whenever you gain this feature.

• Focus of the Unbroken: You gain a focus die (d6). Roll this die when using a maneuver to amplify your attack rolls, defense, or ability checks.

• Suffering’s Wisdom: Your maneuver save DC is calculated as follows:

Maneuver save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Strength or Dexterity modifier.

If you already have maneuvers from another feature, you gain the following additional benefits:

• Your superiority die gains an additional bonus equal to your attack bonus.
• You gain one additional maneuver.
• The number of superiority dice you possess is equal to your attack bonus + your level.
• Scoring a critical hit allows you to regain one superiority die, as the pain you inflict fuels your own resilience.
• You add both your Strength and Dexterity modifiers to your attack rolls and can make an additional attack as a bonus action.

Lone Sentinel (Level 7)

Your presence on the battlefield is a solitary monument to defiance. The path of the martyr is a path walked alone, where only your steel and your suffering can hold the line.

• You gain an additional reaction for each enemy you are fighting.
• Each reaction can only be used against a single enemy individually, allowing you to respond to multiple threats in a single round.

While others may shy away from your visceral and unyielding style, you thrive in isolation. Surrounded by enemies, you find clarity, every enemy a new opportunity to test the limits of your endurance.

Relentless Executioner (Level 10)

Your strikes are not merely blows—they are executions. Each swing of your weapon is a testament to your mastery over suffering and your ruthless efficiency in battle.

• Brutal Criticals: When you score a critical hit, you deal triple damage instead of double. Additionally, you restore 1 Maneuver or Focus die, feeding off the chaos of combat.

• Ruinous Impact: Each time you land a critical hit, you can apply one of the critical consequences from the *Embrace the Pain* table. You may choose any effect

Wrath of the Dying (Level 15)

You stand on the edge of death, where most would falter, you only grow stronger. Every wound fuels your fury, every drop of blood an offering to your unyielding spirit.

• Enduring Fury: For every 5 hit points you are missing, you gain a +1 bonus to all rolls you make (attacks, saving throws, ability checks). Your pain is not a weakness—it is your weapon.

• One Breath from Death: You only need to succeed on 1 death saving throw to stabilize at 1 hit point. Each heartbeat is a defiance of death, each breath a victory.

• Unshakable Will: You are immune to the stunned, unconscious, and frightened conditions. Nothing can steal your turn, and nothing can break your resolve.

Immortalem

The Deathless One (Level 18)

At the pinnacle of your path, you have transcended mortality itself. You walk through the flames of battle untouched, a living legend who endures when all others fall.

• Deathless Defiance: While making death saving throws, you do not lose consciousness. You continue to act normally, as if the line between life and death no longer applies to you.

• Psychic Aegis: Gain resistance to all types of psychic damage. Your mind is a fortress, impervious to manipulation or mental decay.

• Eternal Martyr: The benefits of *Wrath of the Dying* are doubled. The lower your hit points, the greater your power becomes.

You are not just a warrior—you are a monument of resilience. Each wound, each scar, a chapter in the tale of the deathless martyr. When others fall, you rise, time and time again, until death itself bends the knee.

5.00

(one vote)

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