Path of the Primal Spirit

Path of The Primal Spirit

Many barbarians are in tune with the natural world, but few are as mystically intertwined with it as those who walk the Path of the Primal Spirit. These barbarians forge powerful connections with the beasts and natural spirits of the world, inspiring such ethereal beings to manifest and journey with them on far-flung adventures.

Barbarians who follow this path have a deep reverence for the ecological cycle of the natural world. Such barbarians are as likely to accept quests and pleas for aid from local wildlife as they are other humanoids. This respect for animals doesn’t cross into naivety—no barbarian better understands the circle of life and the delicate balance between the needs of predator and prey better than those who walk the Path of the Primal Spirit.

Primal Companion

At 3rd level, you gain a primal companion, a spirit that accompanies you on your adventures and instinctively fights alongsideyou. Select either the Guardian or Striker, and one of land, sea, or sky. Its in game statistics found below, which uses your proficiency bonus (PB) in several places.

You determine your companion’s appearance; however, this does not affect its game statistics. Despite taking on a physical form, your primal companion does not need to breathe, eat, or sleep. You and your primal companion can communicate with one another telepathically while you are both on the same plane.

As an action, you can temporarily dismiss your primal companion or summon it within 30 feet of you. In combat, your primal companion shares your initiative count, but it takes its turn immediately after yours. It can move and use its reaction on its own, but the only action it takes on its turn is the Dodge action, unless you use a bonus action on your turn to command it to take another action. That action can be one in its stat block or some other action. If you are incapacitated, your companion can take any action of its choice.

You can spend one minute per short rest caring for your primal companion. When you do, the spirit regains 2d6 hit points. Your primal companion regains all lost hit points at the end of a long rest. If your primal companion dies, the spirit manifests in a form of your choice the next time you finish a long rest.

Shared Rage

Also at 3rd level, while you are raging, your primal companion has resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage.

Kin to Beast

At 6th level, you can cast the animal friendship and speak with animals spells using Constitution as your spellcasting ability. Once you cast a spell using this feature, you can’t cast either spell until you finish a short or long rest.

Skinrider’s Trance

At 10th level, you can use an action and choose your primal companion or one beast currently under the effect of your animal friendship spell to enter a trance. For the duration of this trance, you possess the chosen creature.

While possessing a creature, you sense the world through the target’s senses, you have total control over its movement and actions, you use the beast’s physical statistics and abilities instead of your own, and keep your mental attributes. This possession ends if you choose to exit the trance (no action required by you), the beast you’re possessing is reduced to 0 hit points, or you and the beast are on different planes of existence.

While in this trance, you are blinded and deafened in regard to your own senses and cannot move or take actions. You can remain in the trance for a number of hours up to half your level in this class + your Constitution modifier. Once you use this feature to enter the trance, you cannot do so again until you finish a long rest.

Shape of the Wild

At 14th level, you can use a bonus action on your turn to choose a new form for your primal companion, causing it to transform instantaneously. When you cause your primal companion to transform in this way, its current hit points change to its new maximum hit points. Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.