Path of the Ashen Bloom
Barbarians who follow the Path of the Ashen Bloom are living contradictions - walking deathbeds that flourish with life. Their fury manifests in bursting petals, creeping roots, and clouds of spore and pollen. They are not fueled by wrath alone, but by the raw force of existence: rage as regeneration, pain as propagation. Their presence transforms battlefields into fertile grounds for the bloom of death.
Blooming Rage (3rd Level)
When you enter a rage, you explode with natural energy. While raging, your body is covered in blooming flowers, vines, and fungal growth. When a creature within 5 feet of you hits you with a melee attack, they take necrotic damage equal to your Rage Damage bonus as thorns and spores lash out.
Once per turn, when you deal damage with a melee weapon attack, you can cause one of the following effects:
Sporeburst. The target and all creatures within 5 feet of it must succeed on a Constitution saving throw (DC = 8 + your Proficiency Bonus + your Constitution modifier) or have disadvantage on their next attack roll.
Bloomtrail. You or a creature of your choice within 10 feet gains temporary hit points equal to your Rage Damage bonus.
Chlorophyll Blood (6th Level)
Your wounds fuel the bloom. While raging, when you are reduced below half your maximum HP, your body enters a defensive blooming state. You gain resistance to poison and necrotic damage, and you can't be blinded by spores or pollen-based effects. At the start of each of your turns, you regain 1d6 hit points if you are below half HP.
Once per Long Rest, if you drop to 0 HP and do not die outright, you can choose to remain at 1 HP and immediately cast Entangle (centered on yourself, no components required). The spell uses your Constitution as its spellcasting ability.
Verdant Trail (10th Level)
Your movement leaves behind plant matter and spores that either protect or choke. When you move at least 10 feet on your turn, you may choose to leave behind a Spore Trail until the start of your next turn. The trail is a 5-foot-wide line in the spaces you moved through.
Allies who move through the trail gain +2 AC until the end of their turn as spores obscure them.
Enemies who enter the trail for the first time on a turn or end their turn in it must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or have disadvantage on Strength and Dexterity checks until the end of their next turn.
You can create the Spore Trail a number of times per Long Rest equal to your Constitution modifier (minimum 1).
Bloom Eternal (14th Level)
When your rage ends, your body erupts into a final bloom—sustaining allies and stalling death.
When your rage ends, you release a Bloom Pulse in a 15-foot radius:
All allies in the area regain hit points equal to 2d6 + your Constitution modifier, and are cured of the Frightened or Charmed condition.
All enemies in the area must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or take 2d6 necrotic damage and be blinded until the end of their next turn as ash and spores overwhelm them.
You may choose to end your rage early as a bonus action to trigger this effect.