Path of the Beast by

### Path of the Beast
Many have looked upon the fury of a barbarian and called them a raging beast. In most cases, this is a metaphor; for a select few, it is all too literal.

The curse of lycanthropy is old, and stories of its origin are innumerable. Some say it was originally a curse from a god, others say the result of a bad deal made with ancient fiends, still others the result of shamanistic powers gone awry. No matter the curse's origin, those afflicted with lycanthropy make formidable warriors indeed, transforming into monsters of fang and claw that can rend organ from flesh.

#### Transforming Rage
Starting when you choose this path at 3rd level, the nature of your rage changes. When you rage, you transform into one of two forms - your werewolf form, or your wolf form. Your werewolf form is roughly humanoid in shape, but with powerful claws, a wolf's head, and dark fur all over your body. Your wolf form has the appearance of a medium-sized wolf. You choose which form to transform into.
Your statistics remain the same in each form, except for the following changes:
- The resistances granted by your rage can be circumvented by attacks from silvered weapons.
- You gain two new natural weapons while raging - claw, which deals slashing damage equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier, and bite, which deals piercing damage equal to 2d4 + your Strength modifier.
- When you take the Attack action on your turn while raging and attack only with your natural weapons, you can make one claw attack as a bonus action.
- When you make a melee attack against a creature, you don't provoke opportunity attacks from that creature for the rest of the turn, whether you hit or not.

Your werewolf form can use armor, equipment, and weapons designed for conventional humanoids, but your wolf form cannot. When you rage, you choose whether your equipment falls to the ground in your space, merges into your new form, or is worn by it. Your equipment doesn't change 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.

#### Hunter's Senses
At 3rd level, you gain the keen nose of the wolf. You have advantage on all Wisdom (Perception) checks relying on smell.

#### Predator's Charge
At 6th level, you gain the ability to knock your foes prone with a charging strike. If you move at least 15 feet straight towards a Large or smaller creature and hit them with a melee weapon attack, they must make a Strength saving throw or else be knocked prone. The saving throw DC is equal to 8 + your proficiency modifier + your Strength modifier.

#### Moon Strikes 
The curse within you is growing more powerful. Beginning at 6th level, your claw and bite attacks count as magical for the purposes of overcoming resistances.

#### Curse Bringer
At 10th level, you are so suffused with the curse of lycanthropy that you gain the ability to spread it. When you successfully bite a humanoid, you can choose to have them make a Constitution saving throw or else be afflicted with the curse. The DC equals 8 + your proficiency modifier + your Constitution modifier. Your DM can choose to have a cursed humanoid either gain levels in this class and subclass (potentially replacing existing class levels, if the humanoid has any) or follow the rules for gaining lycanthropy found on page 207 of the Monster Manual.

#### Blood Feast
Beginning at 14th level, you can attempt to rip an opponent's heart out with your teeth and consume it. When you attempt to make a bite attack against a prone opponent, you can forgo doing damage and instead attempt to tear their heart out directly. You must declare this before making the attack roll. If the bite successfully hits and the target has 20 hit points or less, it instantly dies as you tear its heart out with your bite. If you succeed, you can choose to consume the heart as part of the same attack. If you choose to consume the heart, you regain hit points equal to the number of hit dice the creature had. This ability does not work on creatures that do not have a heart or other similar organ for you to eat.

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> ### Other types of Lycanthropes
> Not all lycanthropes in Dungeons and Dragons are Werewolves. Here are some variant features you can use to play other types of lycanthropes.
> 
> #### Bear:
> * Transforming Rage grants you a werebear form and a bear form instead of the wolf forms granted to werewolves.
> * You can replace the fourth bullet point in Transforming Rage with the following: when you rage, you count as one size larger for the purposes of grappling and shoving.
> 
> #### Boar:
> * Transforming Rage grants you a wereboar form and a boar form instead of the wolf forms granted to werewolves.
> * Your bite weapon is replaced by tusk weapons which deal slashing damage equal to 2d4 + your Strength modifier, and your claw weapons are replaced while in your boar form by hoof weapons which deal bludgeoning damage equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier.
>
> #### Rat:
> * Transforming Rage grants you a wererat form and a giant rat form instead of the wolf forms granted to werewolves.
> * You can use Dexterity instead of Strength for the attack and damage rolls of the natural weapons granted by your Transforming Rage feature. The restrictions of your Rage feature remain unchanged, however.
>
> #### Tiger:
> * Transforming Rage grants you a weretiger form and a tiger form instead of the wolf forms granted to werewolves.

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### Path of the Beast Quirks

The following table offers some quirks that Barbarians of this path might exhibit. You may pick one or several, and they can be quirks you gain upon adopting this subclass or ones that you have always exhibited.

|  d10  | Quirk |
|:---:|:-----------:|
|  1  |You're unnaturally hairy by the standards of your race.|
|  2  |You're a night owl, and find it easier to sleep while the sun is out than the moon.|
|  3  |You like your meat so rare that some would call it raw.|
|  4  |You have a habit of staring at little animals - and sometimes little people - with hunger.|
|  5  |You feel an instinctual urge to howl whenever your blood gets pumping.|
|  6  |You literally lick your wounds when you get injured.|
|  7  |You can't help but play with every dog you come across.|
|  8  |You growl under your breath at people you don't like.|
|  9  |You are deathly afraid of water.|
|  10  |You have a pair of wolf ears which poke through your hair even when you aren't transformed.|

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> ## Credits
> * Path of the Beast by [/u/Enraric](https://www.reddit.com/user/enraric)
> * Lycanthropus art by Antonio J. Manzanedo
> * Smoldering Werewolf art by Zack Stella
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