The Stranger (5e Class)

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The Stranger

It hurts, yes. But only you can control it. Cover art from game Darkwood

A lone man is walking through the forest, thick coat hiding all of his belongings, round hat and a scarf hiding his hideous face. He walks slowly, respecting the forest and dangers it hosts, monsters it breeds. He is patient, rush can only cost him valuable resources; medicaments, ammunition, weapons, traps. In a few days his life could depend on what he will use now, so he needs to preserve as much as he can, using everything to the fullest. He must speed up however; sun is but an hour away from settling behind the horizon, and he need to fortify his home - nay, home is not a good word - hideout is way more accurate. One of the windows need new barricade, and snares won't set up themselves. He abruptly stops, his third eye on his neck alerting him to the movement behind him. He sees a horrid fusion of many bodies, waving the hands in his direction, moving many legs to close the distance, turning many heads to clearly see the target. The man produces an axe from under his coat with his right, his left immediately throwing the stone right between the eyes of closest head, dazing the abomination for a split second - enough to make a powerful swing, drowning the edge of his weapon in blood. This night will propably be a bit harder than normal.

Rejected by the Nature

Maybe a hag or their entire coven wanted to see you suffer, and modified your very body to be an outcast of nature. Maybe an old archmage needed a test subject, and you were too close when the idea of ripping apart your DNA and gluing it together at random greeted his old mind. Maybe you were a soldier, an elite force sent to investigate weird occurences in the old forest, where you were captured by half insane locals, fled them, got caught again by local doctor, and were subjected to the will of the forest - a disgusting entity that feeds on everything inside, man and animal alike. Whatever the reason, you are now different, changed in ways more numerable than you can count. But in your suffering you can also see the potential - your body is prone to changes that the healthy ones reject. You can shape your flesh, your body is fluid. Your organs, then cells can be directly manipulated by your will, rebuilding themselves in image you can see in your head. Multitude of different abilities and reinforcements are at your disposal, just waiting to be integrated into your very being. And soon, your knackers will know fear.

Creating a The Stranger

When creating a Stranger, you must ask yourself these questions: What happened that made you as you are now? What is the reason you still carry on, insted of ending your wretched existence or going completely insane? Maybe you are too afraid of death, maybe you have someone to live for, trying to reunite with them. Or your burning hatred centered at your adversaries is what makes you take step after step, in direction of your goals.

Quick Build

You can make a The Stranger quickly by following these suggestions. First, Constitution should be your highest ability score, followed by Dexterity. Second, choose the Soldier background.

Design Note: This class does not have archetypes, and was not created with archetypes in mind.

Class Features

As a Stranger you gain the following class features.

Hit Points

Hit Dice: 1d10 per Stranger level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 10 + Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d10 (or 6) + Constitution modifier per Stranger level after 1st

Proficiencies

Armor: -
Weapons: simple weapons, martial weapons, improvised weapons, firearms
Tools: any one type of artisan's tools of your choice
Saving Throws: Constitution and Intelligence
Skills: choose two from Athletics, Intimidation, Investigation, Medicine, Nature, Perception, Stealth, Survival

Equipment

You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:

• (a) one simple meele weapon and one simple ranged weapon and 20 pieces of ammunition for it or (b) one simple weapon, four improvised weapons of your choice, two hunting traps
• one toolpack of artisan's tools you are proficient with
• (a) Burglar's Pack or (b) Dungeoneer's Pack
• If you are using starting wealth, you have 10x6d4 gp in funds.

Table: The Stranger

Level	Proficiency Bonus	Features	Mutations Rank I	Mutations Rank II	Mutations Rank III	Mutations Rank IV	Mutations Rank V
1st	+2	Forced Mutations, Unarmored Defense, Helping Hand	-	-	-	-	-
2nd	+2	Willing Mutations	1	-	-	-	-
3rd	+2	Poacher	1	-	-	-	-
4th	+2	Ability Score Improvement	1	-	-	-	-
5th	+3	Extra Attack	2	-	-	-	-
6th	+3	—	2	1	-	-	-
7th	+3	Mutated Body	2	1	-	-	-
8th	+3	Ability Score Improvement	2	1	-	-	-
9th	+4	Devolution	2	1	-	-	-
10th	+4	—	3	2	1	-	-
11th	+4	Opportunistic Scavenger	3	2	1	-	-
12th	+4	Ability Score Improvement	3	2	1	-	-
13th	+5	Fortified Mind	3	2	1	-	-
14th	+5	—	3	3	2	1	-
15th	+5	Monster in Scarecrow's Disguise	4	3	2	1	-
16th	+5	Ability Score Improvement	4	3	2	1	-
17th	+6	Fluid Flesh	4	3	2	1	-
18th	+6	—	4	3	2	1	1
19th	+6	Ability Score Improvement	4	3	2	1	1
20th	+6	The Being	4	3	2	1	1

Forced Mutations

When you gain 1st level in this class, your body undergoes a set of mutations, that permanently change you, morphing your body into something going against the nature itself. You are subjected to the following changes:

• You no longer need to sleep, and can finish a long rest doing light activity like reading, taking watch or moving furniture around.
• You no longer need to eat or drink, but can choose to do so to reap benefits from food or potions.
• Natural wildlife instinctively distrusts and fears you, resulting in you having disadvantage on Animal Handling or Persuasion skill checks against beasts, and having advantage on Intimidation skill checks against them.

Unarmored Defense

While you are not wearing any armor, your Armor Class can equal 11 + your Dexterity modifier or 11 + your Constitution modifier, whichever is higher. You can use a shield and still gain this benefit.

Helping Hand

Even in your current state, you can be sure something - or someone - watches over you. When a creature makes a Medicine skill check to stabilize you, it does so with advantage. Additionally, when you have 0 hit points and roll a death saving throw, you can ignore the result and treat the roll as a success. You can use this feature once, and regain the ability to do so after finishing a long rest.

Willing Mutations

Starting at 2nd level, you can enter a trance, where your consciousness focuses on construction of your body. This process occurs regardless if you are willing or not, and takes place after you finish a long rest after gaining a level. In this state you can witness your genes, your cells and organs as nothing more than a pattern, which you can change.

At 2nd level you can choose one of the mutations described at the end of this class' description for which you qualify. This mutations are profits your body adapts as you gain levels in The Stranger class. When you gain certain stranger levels, you gain additional mutations of your choice, for which you qualify, as shown in the Mutations Rank I to V columns of the Stranger table.

Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the mutaions for each rank that you know and replace it with another mutation that you could learn.

If a mutation has prerequisites, you must meet them to learn it. You can learn the mutations at the same time that you meet its prerequisites. A level prerequisite refers to your level in this class.

If a mutation forces a creature to make a saving throw, the DC equals 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Constitution ability modifier.

Poacher

You as much hunt as are hunted. Starting at 3rd level, you can attempt to hide various traps with foliage or other avalible material. You can use an action to hide a hunting trap or any other trap you previously made. The trap becomes invisible to normal eye, and any creature can spot the trap with a succesfull Perception skill check against a DC equal to 10 + your Stealth skill modifier. Additionally, you have advantage on skill checks to spot and disarm traps, and you automatically succed the saving thows against traps you made.

Ability Score Improvement

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

Extra Attack

Starting at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

Mutated Body

Starting at 7th level, while not wearing armor you gain a +1 bonus to AC.

Devolution

Starting at 9th level, you can choose to specialize your body even further, at the cost of your other abilities. When you gain this feature, and after that when you gain acces to new rank of mutations, you can choose to take one negative mutation for each rank of your avalible mutations from The Stranger's Negative Mutations List, detailed at the end of this class' description. If you do so, this detrimental effect binds to you, and is unchangeable and impossible to remove by any means. For each negaitve mutation you gain one more possible mutation of the same rank, that apply to all its rules as normal. You cannot have more than one negative mutation of the same rank.

Opportunistic Scavenger

Your uncanny ability to use your environment and capitalize on presented advantages start being useful outside of combat. Starting at 11th level, when rolling to localize traps, secret doors and passages, and when searching for loot or treasure, you roll with advantage. Additionally, when retrieving materials, for example when extracting purple worm's poison, you make a roll with advantage. Finally, the time needed to craft various items is halved for you.

Fortified Mind

Long time spent watching horrors of this world, both out there and within, granted your mind uncanny resilience. Starting at 13th level, you gain proficiency in Wisdom saving throws.

Monster in Scarecrow's Disguise

Starting at 15th level, you can exchange one of your mutations for another one of the same rank as part of a long rest.

Fluid Flesh

Starting at 17th level, your cells can mimic the qualities and looks of others, be it body or mind. You ignore all class, race, spell, and level requirements on attuning to or using a magic item. Additionally, you can cast Disguise Self spell an unlimited number of times, requiring no components. Constitution is your spellcasting ability modifier for this spell.

The Being

Your control over yourself reaches it's peak. Starting at 20th level, your body reacts to taking damage by stimulating explosive growth. Whenever you take damage, you immediately after regain hit points equal to 1d4 + your Constitution ability modifier.

The Stranger's Mutations List

Mutations Rank I

Eagle Eye

You gain advantage on Perception skill checks that rely on sight.

Flexible joints

You gain advantage on Acrobatics skill checks to escape grapple.

Wolf's smell

You gain advantage on Survival skill checks to track creatures.

Owl's eyes

You gain darkvision to a range of 120 feet.

Strong Heart

Whenever you finish a short rest, your exhaustion level, if any, is decreased by 1.

Thicker Tendons

Your walking speed increases by 10 feet.

Capable Lungs

You can hold your breath for up to 1 hour.

Thick Knuckles

Your unarmed strikes deal 1d6 + your Strength ability modifier bludgeoning damage instead.

Cartilage ammo

Your body can produce mundane ammunition to your firearms. You can make up to 10 pieces of ammunition this way, and you regain the ability to do so after finishing a long rest. You cannot use this mutation if you haven't eaten anything since finishing previous long rest.

Rubber Bones

When you are recieving bludgeoning damage, you can use your reaction to take no damage instead. You can use this mutation once, and you regain the ability to do so after you finish a long rest.

Magical Gland

Pick a spell of 1st level from the sorcerer spell list when you choose this mutation. You can cast this spell once, requiring no components, and Constitution is your spellcasting ability for this spell. You regain the ability to do so after you finish a long rest.

Navigator

You can detach a small part of your flesh and attach it to any surface. This part is a tiny object with 1 hit point and 10 AC. You know the direction and accurate distance to this part, as long as you and your part are on the same plane of existence. If you create a new one the old part festers and stops working. If the part is destroyed, you know the damage type it was destroyed with.

Adrenaline Rush

You can inject small dose of adrenaline directly to your brain, slowing down your perception of time. As a bonus action, you can give yourself advantage to your next one attack before the start of your next turn. You can use this mutation once, and you regain the ability to do so after you finish a long rest.

Sprinter

When you use this mutation, for the next minute you can use the Dash or Disengage actions as a bonus action. You can use this mutation once, and you regain the ability to do so after you finish a long rest.

Spinal Enforcement

You have advantage on strength saving throws.

Careful Step

You have resistance to the damage from traps.

Mutations Rank II

Third Eye

A new eye grows on the back of your head. You cannot be suprised by anything except invisible creatures, and your passive wisdom(Perception) score increases by 5.

Gills

You can breathe underwater, and you gain a swimming speed equal to your walking speed.

Steady Form

When taking an attack action on your turn you can forgo one of the attacks to give yourself advantage on the next one attack you make during that turn.

Cat's Paws

You have advantage on Stealth skill checks.

Moth

When taking a short rest, you can add double your Constitution ability modifier to any hit dice you spend to regain hit points, provided you are resting near a light source or in bright light.

Protective Mucus

Your body is coated in thin layer of strong, protective mucus. At the start of each of your turns you gain 2 temporary hit points.

Forceful Flush

You can use your bonus action to puke, expelling from your body all impurities and ending the effects of any poison, potion or disease affecting you that you wish.

Adapting Hide

After you take damage, you can use your reaction to gain resistance to that type of damage for one minute. If you took multiple types of damage, you choose which one you gain resistance to. You can use this mutation once, and you regain the ability to do so after you finish a long rest.

Scream

You can use your action to utter a heart-rending scream. Each creature you choose within 30 feet of you must make a Wisdom saving throw or become frightened of you for the next minute. Creatures frightened in this way must use their movement to run as far away from you as possible, taking action to Dash or, if a creature cannot move, Dodge actions. Creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, provided it is further than 30 feet away from you. You can use this mutation once, and you regain the ability to do so after you finish a long rest.

Mutations Rank III

Acid blood

When a creature hits you with a meele attack it takes 1d4 acid damage. If a creature hits with natural weapons, it takes 2d4 acid damage instead.

Massive Muscle Density

When you hit with a meele weapon attack, you deal an extra 1d8 damage.

Vitality

Prerequisite: Strong Heart

Your hit points maximum increase by 20.

Infection

Prerequisite: Navigator mutation

When you hit a creature with meele attack, you can choose to infect that creature with a part of your body. That part buries inside of the targeted creature, and as long as it is alive and not removed you can use your action to make the infection fester. The target must make Constitution saving throw or take 4d8 acid damage and become poisoned until the start of your next turn. You can infect only one creature in that way at the time.

Magical Tissue

Pick a spell of 3rd level from the sorcerer spell list when you choose this mutation. You can cast this spell once, requiring no components, and Constitution is your spellcasting ability for this spell. You regain the ability to do so after you finish a long rest.

Careful Step

You can reroll a Dexterity saving throw that you fail. If you do so, you must use the new roll, and you can't use this mutation again until you finish a long rest.

Mutations Rank IV

Active Cell Multiplication

Prerequisite:At least one mutation that is limited in uses

You can use each of your limited in uses mutations an additional time between long rests.

Reinforced Kidneys and Liver

You are immune to poison, poisoned condition and diseases and cannot die from exhaustion.

Expelling Pores

Prerequisite:Forceful Flush

At the start of your turn, you can end one of the following effects affecting you: blinded, deafened, paralyzed, petrified, stunned. When you do so, you cannot use your action until the start of your next turn.

Cameleon

As a bonus action, you can become invisible for a minute. This effect is active only if you haven't moved since your last turn, if you moved or were moved this effect does not work until the beginning of your next turn. You can use this mutation once, and you regain the ability to do so after you finish a long rest.

Mutations Rank V

Better body

When you take the attack action on your turn, you can attack three times instead of two.

Reality Anchor

You are unaffected by any spell or effect that would alter your form or your ability scores in any way, unless you want to be affected. You also can move and act normally when time is stopped, for example like in Time Stop spell.

Schroom Man

Your creature type changes to Plant if it isn't already. You can use your action to expel a Spore from your body. The Spore is a small plant with your ability scores and proficiencies, movement speed of 30 feet, AC of 13 and 60 hit points. It acts on your initiative, and you can command it with your mind, no action required. If you die while your Spore is alive and within 120 feet of you, you burst out of your spore with hit points equal to current hit points of the Spore, killing it in the proces. The Spore withers away after one hour from its creation. You can use this mutation once, and you regain the ability to do so after you finish a long rest. You cannot have more than one spore under your control at the same time.

The Stranger's Negative Mutations List

Mutations Rank I

Shadows

When you start a round in total darkness, you must make a DC 12 Wisdom saving throw or take 1d8 psychic damage.

Mutations Rank II

Weak Regeneration

Each time you regain hit points(from a spell, spending hit dice, finishing long rest etc.) substract from a total your Constitution ability modifier. You cannot reduce the healing below 0 with this mutation.

Weak Lungs

You cannot take the Dash action.

Mutations Rank III

Shaking Hands

You have disadvantage on all ranged attack rolls.

Fearful

After taking damage, you have disadvantage on all attack rolls until the end of your next turn.

Mutations Rank IV

Weakness

When you deal damage to a creature, roll a d6 and substract the number rolled form the total. You cannot reduce the total damage below 0.

Cancer Cells

Each time you finish a long rest roll a d4:

• on 1 you cannot make more than one attack during your turn
• on 2 you cannot take reactions
• on 3 when you use a bonus action on your turn, you cannot use your bonus action until the end of your next turn
• on 4 nothing happens

This effect persists until you finish a long rest.

Mutations Rank V

Lesser Creature

You lose proficiency in Dexterity or wis saving throw(your choice).

Rejecting Flesh

You can attune to only two magic items at the time, regardless of the items' properties.

Multiclassing

Prerequisites. To qualify for multiclassing into the Stranger class, you must meet these prerequisites: Constitution 13, take part in a plot-induced ritual to gain 1st level in this class. Consult with your GM for a posibility of introducing such an event. You cannot multiclass into this class without it.

Proficiencies. When you multiclass into the Stranger class, you gain the following proficiencies: simple weapons, improvised weapons

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