Path of the Wild Shifter (5e Subclass)
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Path of the Wild Shifter[edit]
Barbarian Path
Barbarians who travel the world and work towards becoming one with nature or seek retribution against those who would harm it find themselves filled with the ever shifting power of nature. These barbarians train and fight in the wilds and eventually find themselves suffused with natural energies and those that give in to or accept it find themselves transforming to better guard their natural surroundings.
- Wild Shift
3rd-level Path of the Wild Shifter Feature
When you enter your rage, you can transform, causing you to embody the bestial rage within you. You shift into the form of a beast with a challenge rating as high as 1 that doesn't have a flying speed. When transformed this way, the following rules apply:
- Your game statistics are replaced by the statistics of the beast, but you retain your alignment, personality, Strength and Constitution Score (if they are higher), and Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma Scores. You also retain all of your skill and saving throw proficiencies, in addition to gaining those of the creature. If the creature has the same proficiency as you and the bonus in its stat block is higher than yours, use the creature's bonus instead of yours. If the creature has any legendary or lair actions, you can't use them.
- When you transform, you assume the beast's hit points and Hit Dice. When you revert to your normal form, you return to the number of hit points you had before you transformed. However, if you revert as a result of dropping to 0 hit points, any excess damage carries over to your normal form. For example, if you take 10 damage in animal form and have only 1 hit point left, you revert and take 9 damage. As long as the excess damage doesn't reduce your normal form to 0 hit points, you aren't knocked unconscious.
- Your ability to speak or take any action that requires hands is limited to the capabilities of your beast form.
- You retain the benefit of any features from your class, race, or other source and can use them if the new form is physically capable of doing so. However, you can't use any of your special senses, such as darkvision, unless your new form also has that sense. Rage bonus damage and Brutal Critical is applied to all melee attacks dealt by your new form.
- You choose whether your equipment falls to the ground in your space, merges into your new form, or is worn by it. Worn equipment functions as normal, but the DM decides whether it is practical for the new form to wear a piece of equipment, based on the creature's shape and size. Your equipment doesn't change size or shape to match the new form, and any equipment that the new form can't wear must either fall to the ground or merge with it. Equipment that merges with the form has no effect until you leave the form.
Starting at 6th level, you can transform into a beast with a challenge rating as high as your barbarian level divided by 3, rounded down. In addition, once you reach 7th level, you can begin transforming into beasts with a flying speed.
| Level | Max. CR | Limitations |
|---|---|---|
| 3rd | 1 | No flying speed |
| 6th | 2 | No flying speed |
| 7th | 2 | --- |
| 9th | 3 | --- |
| 12th | 4 | --- |
| 15th | 5 | --- |
| 18th | 6 | --- |
- Primal Strikes
6th-level Path of the Wild Shifter Feature
The wild bestial power within you grows, causing the attacks of the beasts you transform into to count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.
In addition, you gain the ability to communicate in a limited manner with Beasts and Elementals. They can understand the meaning of your words, though you have no special ability to understand them in return. You have advantage on all Charisma checks you make to influence them.
- Elemental Shift
10th-level Path of the Wild Shifter Feature
You can expend two uses of Rage at the same time to transform into an air elemental, an earth elemental, a fire elemental, or a water elemental.
- Bestial Frenzy
14th-level Path of the Wild Shifter Feature
When you enter a rage and transform using your Wild Shift or Elemental Shift feature you can go into a frenzy. When you go into this frenzy, and as a bonus action on your subsequent turns while you are transformed, you can make a single melee weapon attack listed in your beast or elemental form.
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