Atavist

An armored frontlining human takes blow after blow, and when she begins to weaken, she becomes all the more savage - hitting harder, striking faster, dying slower. A wounded dog is lethal, but a wounded atavist is a bloody nightmare. With caution halfway around the world, she wounds her own arm, but the enemy falls to the ground as he takes all the pain. Another foe comes near, but finding her only stronger than she was previous.

An orc throws more than his all into each blow, hurting himself in a magical effort to strengthen his blows, but knows it’s not enough. He stills and lets the alien forces take over his mind, as his body erupts aberrant flesh strips, covering him entirely, growing out of holes and hairs - eyes darkening and true horror creeping. If his mark doesn’t falter at the mere sight of the abomination, he will soon fall in battle.

The fireball rounds the corners of the maze, the wizard’s foul fire chasing his would be killer down the hall, but a sacrificial slight crippling of his arm gives him the power he needs to dodge out of the fiery current.

No matter their upbringing, race, culture, or even time period, atavists are united by their ability to make use of their own vitality in their weaponplay. There may have been bloodlines at one point, but those are gone now.

## Old, Vengeful, and Scattered

Before iron, before the blade, before organized cities, there were the atavists - using the only tools they had available: their bodies and their magic. In tandem, they use these dual aspects to protect, to conquer, to hunt monsters, or to achieve any other ends.

These people build on failure. They take their combat training of reflexive attacks when they’re hurt and apply it to their lives: those that wrong atavists should know they will be struck back ten times harder. Some atavists even enjoy being attacked, hurt or betrayed, and use it as an excuse to hit back.

Atavists can come from anywhere in the world: tribes, kingdoms, royalty, or gutter poor; however, those peoples that trend towards using hemomancy and other necrotic, vitality-affected powers would seem to have a higher chance of a child with atavistic powers.

## Origin of Hemomancy

Magic that drains and takes from you is a studied and developed field that comes from atavists first. They started blood magic. But, what started the atavists? How did atavists begin in your setting—or is a piece of history lost long ago? Is it even important? Has it began multiple times, or can be it be restarted or instilled into potential users a variety of ways? Or, is every atavist in the same family tree, leading farther and farther back; it might lead to creatures beyond humanoids, perhaps from some union of opposite beings; or from a creature who has long left this universe.

The power to use one’s own body in a general sense has been around for eons. Atavism is tied and twisted around that idea. To those born with the talent, it’s no more difficult than training an instrument for others - the inclination was born into them. However, many atavists were not simply born with it - through the prowess of a strong blood warrior, a child can be formed and shaped physically, giving him or her a much higher chance of developing atavistic powers. It’s up to you to decide how you obtained this talent.

## Powers without Direction

Many classes in Dungeons and Dragons have a clear indication and will for what a member would be doing - wizards study magic, paladins take up the cause of righteousness, and clerics serve their gods. But, many atavists have no such direction. If your character was ingrained with these powers through a blood rite, the question is, why?

The same question exists for those who were born with the abilities. Are you part of some tangential, many-webbed plan of a deity or another powerful being, or was it just chance?

If you don’t know the answers - like many of those in the world do not know the purpose of their lives - you decide it. Maybe you don’t care, and you focus on what you want and how you can get it in the future, instead of dwelling on the past.

## Infamous Heroes, Oft Villains

The magic used (or abused) by atavists is normally questionable at best in most cultures, and when under close examination, can often be found to be a type that is commonly disowned, unsupported, and generally looked down on. This creates prejudice against atavists. They are more often cast as villains in stories, and tend not to be heroes; at least, in most of the world. It’s harder for an atavist to be admired and easier to villainize.

If you have hidden your powers, or put them to an unusual cause, what effect has that had on how confident your character is? Would ‘I was born like this’ as a defense have held up wherever you came from?

## Creating an Atavist

The most important question to consider when creating your atavist is the effect that their powers have had on them - and how those effects and powers were treated by those around you. Did you lose sets of friends due to fearful ignorance? Did your family embrace and accept you for who you are, or did they turn a blind eye to your powers and hope they - or maybe you - would disappear?

Atavists are known for their rigid health, physicality, and aptitude for circumstantially evil magics. Certain sages and other scholars would love to study you, or those with the same motives and less morals may pose a danger to you; maybe they already have. Do you wish you could hide or remove your power? Or do you want to defeat the stereotype you’re applied and become a hero?

After your journey begins as an atavist, it might happen upon a new road. Are you a brutal warrior who wants to be attacked - a jaded, wearied soldier who will never fall? Are you a hopeful and strong warrior that has fallen to afflictions of the mind; the inluence of strange beings, that are a cursed blessing? Or are you a ruthless killer, lethal and weaponized, who will not stop to get what they want? Maybe you pledge yourself to or are pledged by a powerful fiend, who is respectful of your blood magic, and extends a fiery hand of power for you to grasp. You might even divine more power from meditation and self-reflection, with the idea that the more time you spend with yourself, the more able you are.

## Quick Builds

You can make an atavist quickly by following these suggestions. First, Constitution should be your highest ability score, followed by Strength or Dexterity (depending on what kind of martial character you want). Second, choose the Soldier background.

## Basic Features

### Hit Points

* **Hit Dice:** 1d6 per atavist level.
* **Hit Points at 1st Level:** 6 + your Constitution modifier.
* **Hit Points at Higher Levels:** 1d6 (or 4) + your Constitution modifier per atavist level after 1st.

### Proficiencies

* **Armor:** Light armor, medium armor, shields.
* **Weapons:** Simple and martial weapons.
* **Tools:** None.
* **Saving Throws:** Strength, Constitution
* **Skills:** Choose two from Acrobatics, Arcana, Athletics, Insight, Intimidation, Investigation, Survival.

### Equipment

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

* (a) scale mail or (b) leather armor
* (a) two spears or (b) any martial weapon
* (a) a greataxe or (b) a battleaxe and a shield
* (a) an explorer’s pack or (b) a priest’s pack

### Wealth Rolls

Alternatively, you can ignore the equipment listed above and in your background, and buy 4d4 x 10gp worth of equipment from chapter 5 of the Player’s Handbook.

## Rend Ichor

You can tap into your raw health to deliver death. You have a rend die which powers certain class features, and is a d6. When you rend, you roll this die and lose hitpoints equal to the result, which can’t be reduced in any way. You can’t rend more than once for a feature unless the effect says so.

When a feature says that you can rend to a roll, it means that you can rend yourself and add the result of the rend die to the roll. You can rend yourself to any damage roll for an attack with a melee weapon as a part of the Attack action, for a spell attack, for a reaction, or for a bonus action. You can rend any amount of times per turn.

At 7th level, you can rend to Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution saving throws, and you can roll 2d6 for your rend dice. At 14th level, you can roll 3d6, and 4d6 at 20th.

## Unstopping Heart

Once per turn, when rending yourself would reduce you to 0 hitpoints, you are instead reduced to 1. Additionally, you are proficient in death saving throws, and if the result of a death saving throw you make is 18 or higher, you regain 1 hitpoint.

## Spellcasting

By 2nd level, your physical essence—either through your family, the blessing of some divine (or unholy) being, or even through sheer chance has produced a fortified and living ichor within you, wieldable for magical prowess. See chapter 10 for the general rules of spellcasting and the end of this document for the atavist spell list.

### Preparing and Casting Spells

The Atavist table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your spells. To cast one of your atavist spells of 1st level or higher, you must expend a slot of the spell’s level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest.

You prepare the list of atavist spells that are available for you to cast, choosing from the atavist spell list . When you do so, choose a number of atavist spells equal to your Constitution modifier + half your atavist level, rounded down (minimum of one spell). The spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots.

For example, if you are a 5th level atavist, you have four 1st-level and two 2nd-level spell slots. With a Constitution of 14, your list of prepared spells can include four spells of 1st or 2nd level, in any combination. If you prepare the 1st-level spell inflict wounds, you can cast it using a 1st-level or a 2nd-level slot. Casting the spell doesn’t remove it from your list of prepared spells.

You can change your list of prepared spells when you finish a long rest. Preparing a new list of atavist spells requires time spent attuning to your vitality: at least 1 minute per spell level for each spell on your list.

### Spellcasting Ability

Constitution is your spellcasting ability for your atavist spells, since the power of your magic relies on your own blood. You use your Constitution whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Constitution modifier when setting the saving throw DC for an atavist spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.

**Spell save DC** = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Constitution modifier.
**Spell attack modifier** = your proficiency bonus + your Constitution modifier.
### Ritual Casting

You can cast an atavist spell as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag and you have the spell prepared.

### Self Focus

When you cast spells that require a material component, you ignore that component unless it has a value, such as the diamond dust worth 100 gp for the greater restoration spell, in which case the components are required.

## Hardened Viscera

At 2nd level, your body takes on physical traits and aspects of the toughest people and most resolute populations. You gain the following benefits:

* While you aren’t wearing heavy armor, you can reduce

any damage you take by 2.

* Your hit point maximum can’t be reduced.

## Atavistic Aspect

Choose an aspect at 3rd level, which describes and emulates your bodily magical power.

* Bloodied ASpect
* Murderous Aspect
* Demonic Aspect
* Heavenly Aspect
* Crourwrought Aspect
* Anomalous Aspect

Your choice grants you features when you choose it at 3rd level and again at 6th, 10th, and 18th levels.

### Aspect Spells

Each aspect has a list of associated spells. You gain access to these spells when you can cast a spell of its level, as is on the table. Once you gain access to an aspect spell, you always have it prepared. Aspect spells don’t count against the number of spells you can prepare each day.

If you gain an aspect spell that doesn’t appear on the atavist spell list, the spell is nonetheless an atavist spell for you.

## 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.

## Avenging Attack

Starting at 5th level, when an attack hits you, you fail a saving throw, or you fail an ability check that requires an attack or an action, you can make a weapon attack against any creature within range as a reaction.

At 11th level, you can make two weapon attacks as part of this reaction.

## Humansbane

Starting at 6th level, you exude physical might, and can take apart lesser humanoids with single blows. Whenever you hit a humanoid with an attack and rend to its damage, the creature is instantly slain if the damage reduces their hitpoints to 10 or lower.

At 10th level, the humanoid is instantly slain if it has 15 or fewer hitpoints remaining. At 14th level, it increases to 20, and 25 at 18th level.

## Greater Viscera

At 7th level, your body has taken on bedrock and efficient properties. You gain the following benefits:

* While you aren’t wearing heavy armor, you can reduce any damage you take by 4, and 6 at 15th level.
* When you take damage from a creature other than you, your next rend doesn’t lose you hitpoints within the next minute.

## Sanguine Sacrament

Starting at 14th level, you begin to unravel hallowed secrets of the interwoven magic and body called a sacrament. Choose one 5th-level spell from the atavist spell list as this sacrament.

You can cast this sacrament spell or an aspect spell of the same spell level once without expending a spell slot. You must finish a long rest before you can do so again.

At higher levels, you gain more atavist spells of your choice that can be cast in this way: one 6th-level spell at 17th level and one 7th-level spell at 20th level. You regain all uses of your Sanguine Sacraments when you finish a long rest.

## Nigh Immortality

At 20th level, you are all but impossible to kill. Your body doesn’t age, and if you die and at least one part of your body exists—such as a fingernail or an eye—your body can regrow from that part over the course of 24 hours. At the end of that time, you return to life with 1 hitpoint. If you were killed due to the disintegrate spell or a similar effect, your body has no healthy parts remaining to restore from. If your body has been burned completely through or otherwise ruined with powerful spells and abilities that affect an area (such as a dragon’s breath weapon or cone of cold), you can still regrow from internal body parts as long as the damage taken doesn’t exceed half your hitpoint maximum. Finally, if you are dead or not yet fully regrown, any magic attempting to raise your body as an undead succeeds, but you instantly gain control.

# Atavistic Aspects

The specializations of atavists lie in either their interests or bolstered sources of power, and either can rely on what direction they use their power. Ancient families would develop techniques and pass them down, but no one inherits this power anymore: they make their own, and the power of the atavist chooses them.

## Bloodied Aspect

Your color of atavist is one who thrives on a wounded physique, gaining adrenaline and power from being closer to death. These atavists tend towards extreme masochism, and are sometimes only truly happy when they can feel cuts, bruises, and blood pumping from their body alarmingly.

Bloodied Aspect Spells

### Wounded Nature

Beginning at 3rd level when you choose this aspect, you gain two benefits as a bloodied aspect warrior, which strengthen as you become weaker, and your innate reflexes take over. Choose one of the following features, which remain active as long as you are below your maximum hitpoints:

**Alacrity.** You hover in and out of a foe’s reach, stepping between it as easily as a flick of a blade. You can take the Disengage action as a bonus action.

**Beating Reflexes.** Your agility and bulk are unparalled. You can rend to Strength and Dexterity ability checks.

**Control.** You finely manipulate your blood. When you rend, you can reroll the rend dice once per turn and choose either result.

In addition, choose one of the following features. When you fall below half your hitpoint maximum (rounded up), your chosen feature activates for you, remaining active as long as you are under that threshold:

**Serrated Strike.** Your blade’s edge coats and sharpens in spilled blood. When you roll the maximum number on a damage die or rend die, you can add an additional 1d8 to the result. If you roll an 8 on the additional 1d8, you can add an additional 1d8 to the result, and so on.

**Thickening Humors.** Your spells are overloaded as your bones crack and disjoint under the heavy hand of atavism. You can add your Constitution modifier to the damage you deal with any atavist spell.

**Unceasing Flow.** Your blood runs like water. When you rend yourself and add the result to a weapon damage roll, the result is doubled—you both take and apply double the rend result.

### Maiming Aura

At 6th level, you and friendly creatures within 10 feet of you add your Constitution modifier to their weapon damage rolls when you are below half your hitpoint maximum.

At 18th level, the range of this aura increases to 30 feet.

### Deathbound Vitality

At 10th level, you have advantage on one weapon attack roll per turn if you are below half your hitpoint maximum (rounded up).

### Rage, Rage against the Dying

Starting at 18th level, when you are reduced to 0 hitpoints or killed, you can drop to 1 hitpoint instead. If you do, you enter a fury against death for 1 minute. While in a fury against death, your attack rolls, saving throws, and ability checks treat a d20 roll of 9 or lower as a 10, you can’t be hit by attacks except for critical hits, and when you are subjected to an effect that allows you to make a saving throw to take only half damage, you instead take no damage if you succeed on the saving throw. When your fury against death ends, you gain four levels of exhaustion.

## Murderous Aspect

Murderous atavists are honed on the hunt: they use their power to deplete and destroy others. They attack strategically weak spots in a creature, taking them down in stride. Their motivations for this are more varied than the monsters and people they kill: money, fame, altruism, addiction, blackmail, divine, profane, insanity, vengeance, thrill seeking, political gain, or any other inscrutable motivations; perhaps some don’t have or need a reason.

Murderous Aspect Spells

### Fighting Style

At 3rd level, you choose one of the fighting styles below. You can’t choose the same fighting style more than once, even if you later get to choose again.

**Dueling.** When you are wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapons, you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with that weapon.
**Throwing.** You gain a +2 bonus to ranged attack rolls you make with a thrown weapon. Whenever you make a ranged attack with a thrown weapon, you can immediately draw another weapon as part of the attack.
**Two-Weapon Fighting.** When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the second attack.

### Lethal Strike

Also at 3rd level, you can rip a creature apart with a killer’s instinct, knowing exactly where to strike. Once per turn, you can deal an extra 1d6 damage to one creature you hit with an attack if you have advantage on the attack roll.

You don’t need advantage on the attack roll if there is no other creature hostile to you within 5 feet of the target or if a creature other than you that is hostile to the target is within 5 feet of it. The amount of damage you gain increases as you reach higher levels: it becomes 2d6 at level 6, 3d6 at 10th, and 4d6 at 18th.

### Skirmisher

Starting at 6th level, you become highly effective at tracking and eluding enemies. You gain proficiency in the Stealth and Survival skills, and for one of those skills of your choice, you double your proficiency bonus for any ability checks made with that skill. Finally, you can take the Dash, Hide, and Search actions as a bonus action.

### Cruorbent Accuracy

At 10th level, you can rend yourself to an attack roll. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Constitution modifier, and regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Additionally, when you rend to an attack roll, you can use your Lethal Strike feature even if you don’t meet the prerequisites.

### Life for Life, Blood for Blood

Beginning at 18th level, you can match a life form’s health in a brazen contest of power. When you score a critical hit on a creature, you can trade blood for blood. The creature with less hitpoints remaining falls to 0 hitpoints and the creature with more loses an equal amount.

Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.

## Demonic Aspect

In certain cultures, manipulation of one’s blood for magic can be seen as the influence of hellish forces, outright feared as being caused by a demon. They might be wrong or, occasionally, may be very right. Whether some shard of a demon’s soul awakens hemomancy within you, you’ve made a pact of power, an old fiendish blood god occupies a forgotten line of your family tree, or you’ve been cursed by a godless soul, you have a demonic aspect about you.

### Fiendish Constitution

At 3rd level, your body takes on characteristics of demons. You register as a demon for any features that detect or interact with demons. Additionally, you can’t be poisoned and have resistance to poison damage. Finally, you can speak, read, and write Abyssal. If you wish, your body can begin to reflect these changes within you. The smell of brimstone could lightly surround you, your hair could thicken and redden, and your eyes might blacken.

Demonic Aspect Spells

### Demon's Pyre

At 3rd level, you can enter or exit a demon’s pyre as a bonus action, granting you greater demonic might. If you do, your eyes change to your choice of color and iris shape. While in the pyre, you can’t be frightened, and each creature other than you within 5 feet of you takes 1d4 fire damage when you enter the pyre and at the start of each of your turns. This increases to 2d4 at 6th level, 3d4 at 10th, and 4d4 at 18th.

The demon’s pyre lasts for up to 1 minute. You can use this feature a number of times equal to half your Constitution modifier (rounded up) and regain all expended uses when you finish a short or long rest.

### Hellfire of the Abyss

At 6th level, when you rend while in a demon’s pyre, you can change the weapon damage dealt to fire damage.

Additionally, any fire damage you deal ignores resistances, and you have resistance to fire damage.

### Archdemon's Pyre

At 10th level, when one or more creatures take fire damage from your demon’s pyre, you can expend one spell slot to deal additional fire damage to them. The extra damage is 2d4 for a 1st-level slot, plus 1d4 for each spell level higher than 1st, to a maximum of 5d4. A celestial or fiend creature takes an additional 2d4 damage.

### Avatar of the Demon Prince

At 18th level, when you enter a demon’s pyre, you can also enter an avatar of a demon prince. If you do so, for the duration of the pyre, you gain the following benefits:

* You become a Large fiend with wings and a flying speed of 60 feet.
* You have advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
* You can create a whip of hellfire as a bonus action or when you enter a demon’s pyre. The whip deals fire damage, has a d12 damage die, and disappears if it leaves or grasp or when your pyre ends.

Once you enter an avatar, you can’t do so again until you finish a long rest.

## Heavenly Aspect

The ancient powers of Atavism are not immune to the influences of the Outer Planes, and occasionally, whether by chance or design, the two combine in a unique way. Heavenly atavists are an example of this, persons touched by the goodly nature of one of the Upper Planes. Infused with celestial power, these self-sure individuals possess the unique ability to tap into their health to aid others, guiding the strikes of their allies and leading them to glorious victory.

Heavenly Aspect Spells

### Heavenly Presence

Beginning at 3rd level when you choose this aspect, you can use your blood to lend your words a celestial cadence and resist planar influence. You can rend to Charisma checks and saving throws.

### Angelic Guidance

Also at 3rd level, you can draw upon your lifeforce to enhance your allies, infusing them with holy strength and providence. Once per turn when an ally within 30 feet that you can see makes a damage roll, an ability check, or a Charisma saving throw, you can rend yourself to that roll. You can choose to use this feature after the ally makes their roll, but before the DM determines if the roll was a success or a failure, or before the ally deals their damage.

### Shared Burden

At 6th level, your allies can shoulder the stress of rending, lessening the toll it takes on your body, and you can ward them from harm in turn - at a cost. Whenever you use your Angelic Guidance feature, the ally you rend for can choose to take the rend damage instead of you. Additionally, whenever an ally within 30 feet that you can see takes damage, you can use your reaction and rend to reduce the damage by the amount rolled.

### Celestial Ascendance

At 10th level, you take on some aspects of an Angel, the divine denizens of the Upper Planes. Once per round, you can deal an extra 1d8 radiant damage when you hit a creature with a melee or thrown weapon, and you can cast detect evil and good at will, without expending a spell slot.

### Sound the Horns of Meriton

At 18th level, you can sacrifice tremendous vitality to sound a divine call to arms, summoning a celestial champion to your side. As an action, you can rend yourself by rolling a number of d6s equal to your level, causing a Justice Archon to appear in an unoccupied space within 10 feet of you. The Justice Archon has the same statistics as a Deva (MM 16), but lacks the Healing Touch action

## Crourwrought Aspect

Atavists use their bodies in ways far beyond the normal capacity of any other creatures. Certain atavists follow their blood, gaining physical command of it—shaping and wielding it inside and outside of their bodies, as well as in the bodies of others.

Crourwrought Aspect Spells

### Weapon of Blood

Beginning at 3rd level when you choose this archetype, you can create a weapon of blood to wield. When you take the Attack action, you can rend to create a weapon of blood in either one of your hands. You can create a melee weapon you are proficient with or coat a weapon you are currently holding in blood. On a hit, the target loses hitpoints equal to the weapon’s damage dice + your rend dice + your Strength or Dexterity modifier.

The blood of the weapon falls into a pool after two hits with the weapon or if it leaves your grasp.

### Create or Destroy Blood

Also at 3rd level, you can either create or destroy blood as a bonus action. To create, you make up to 10 gallons of blood within 30 feet of you in a space you can see. Alternatively, the blood falls as rain in a 30-foot sphere within range. To destroy, you destroy up to 10 gallons of blood within 30 feet of you in a space you can see. Once you destroy blood, you can only create blood once before needing to destroy it again. Additionally, you can drain one Small or larger corpse of blood within range. If you drain a corpse of blood, you can create a weapon of blood without losing any hitpoints yourself the first time you do so within the next minute.

### Hearteater

Starting at 6th level, when you kill a creature with a weapon of blood, you can roll one of its Hit Dice + its Constitution modifier, gaining hitpoints equal to the result. You can use this feature twice, regaining all expended uses when you finish a short or long rest.

### Rebutal of Body

At 10th level, you can refute many attacks on your body. When you are subjected to an effect that allows you to make a Constitution saving throw to take only half damage, you instead take no damage if you succeed on the saving throw, and only half damage if you fail.

### Call Godslayer

Beginning at 18th level, you are capable of creating a blood weapon that rivals the most powerful weapons in the multiverse. By creating a weapon of blood, you can create an artifact of blood instead. You rend for 20d6, instead of the normal amount. It looks how you wish. After three hits with the artifact of blood, it falls apart. Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.

## Anomalous Aspect

You are an anomaly: an eldritch abomination. Blood magic was the hint at a deeper, older, and alien piece that has become part of you. Likely, your robust physical body was a coveted host for eldritch forces, pairing a consciousness with your mighty vessel. Because of its influence, you pick up strange qualities, and can momentarily release the anomalies within you. You can also pick up weird quirks. You can roll or select on the table below.

Anomalous Quirk
 2
 3
 4
 5
 6

Anomalous Aspect Spells

### Release the Anomaly

Beginning when you choose this aspect at 3rd level, you can release the eldritch influence within you. As an action, you can reveal the anomaly. Tentacles erupt from your body, your eyes reveal the infinite void, and the might of the old gods fills you. The anomaly stays revealed for 1 minute. While the anomaly is revealed you gain the following benefits:

* You gain two tentacles that sprout from your body, and four at 10th level. As a bonus action, you can attempt to grapple a number of creatures equal to your tentacles within 15 feet of you. You can grapple a creature of one size bigger than you otherwise could by using two, and a creature of two sizes bigger than you could with four.
* As an action, you can squeeze creatures grappled by your tentacles. A grappled creature must make a Strength saving throw (against your spell save DC) or take 3d6 bludgeoning damage. You can rend to the damage of the squeezing tentacles, affecting all creatures grappled by them.
* You gain temporary hitpoints immediately and again at the start of each of your turns equal to your Intelligence modifier.

You have a number of uses of this feature equal to your Intelligence modifier, and regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

### Awakened Mind

Also at 3rd level, You can communicate telepathically with any creature you can see within 30 feet of you. You don't need to share a language with the creature for it to understand your telepathic utterances, but the creature must be able to understand at least one language. The creature doesn't gain telepathy itself, and can't respond in kind.

### Grasp of the Stars

At 6th level, the damage of your tentacles counts as magical for the purposes of overcoming resistances and immunities. Additionally, you can throw any number of creatures grappled by your tentacles as an action a number of feet equal to your speed in a horizontal direction. A creature must make a Dexterity saving throw or land prone and take 3d6 bludgeoning damage, which you can rend to the damage for all thrown creatures. If you would throw it into another creature, it must also make a Dexterity saving throw or taking the same damage.

### Greater Anomaly

Starting at 10th level, you can grapple creatures with your tentacles up to 30 feet away from you, and you can move creatures grappled by your tentacles up to 30 feet per turn, not including dragging them with you if you move.

### To the Old Ones

Beginning at 18th level, you can devour the soul of a creature that dies while grappled by at least one of your tentacles. If you do so, for the duration of the current anomaly, you gain one additional tentacle, you can change your face into the creature's or back to your previous as an action, and you know everything that creature knew in life.

# Multiclassing

The prerequisites for multiclassing into an atavist are a Strength and a Constitution score of 13. When you multiclass into atavist, you gain proficiency with light armor, medium armor, shields, simple weapons, and martial weapons. When determining your total spell slots, you add one half of your atavist levels (rounded down) to the total.