Many berserkers have a bit of a chaotic bent to them, but a Bringer of Bedlam is infused with chaos down in some essential part of their being. They are often associated with otherworldly beings like aberrations or the courts of the faerie, but some seemingly spring up from nowhere in true chaotic fashion. With powerful abilities that they are only nominally in control of, they are the ultimate wildcards.
At 3rd level when you take this archetype, you can change your destiny to Chaos if you desire. If your destiny is chaos, you gain proficiency with Arcana skill or an experience die if you are already proficient. You also gain your choice of one Arcana skill specialty. It does not count against your skill specialties known.
Also at 3rd level, your arcane study grants you the ability to cast spells. Bringers of Bedlam have inherent magical power, but it is unpredictable. Your spellcasting ability is Charisma and you can select spells from the chaos, prismatic, unarmed, and weaponry schools. See the Tertiary Spellcasting section on page 145 for the specifics.
Unlike most berserkers, you can cast spells while raging, but you cannot concentrate on them, and casting a spell while raging inflicts a point of psychic damage per level of the spell slot used which cannot be reduced or negated by any means. Cantrips are considered first-level spells for the purpose of calculating this psychic damage.
Finally at 3rd level, you gain the following additional Furious Critical option that does not count against your Furious Critical options known:
Tumultuous Impact. Your attack is infused with primal chaos that will have unpredictable effects. When you use this Furious Critical option, roll a d12 and consult the following table:
| D12 | RESULT |
|---|---|
| 1 | T he attack deals an additional 2d6 points of f ire damage and the target catches fire, taking 1d6 ongoing fire damage until an action is spent to douse the flames. |
| 2 | T he attack deals an additional 2d6 points of thunder damage and the target is deafened until the end of its next turn. |
| 3 | Flowering plants sprout from the wound. The target takes 1d8 necrotic and 1d8 psychic damage from the sprouting and horror respectively and is rattled until an action is spent to rip the plant out, dealing an additional 1d10 points of necrotic damage. |
| 4 | The attack deals an additional 2d6 cold damage and the target’s move speeds are reduced by 10 until the end of its next turn. |
| 5 | The target takes no additional damage from the attack, but is flung 30 feet directly up, after which it falls normally. Creatures with a fly speed can make a Dexterity save against your move DC to “catch” themselves in the air, avoiding falling on a success. |
| 6 | The target is turned into an indestructible, immovable rock of the same size category as its normal creature size until the end of its next turn, after which point it returns to normal. T his effect ends any shape-changing effects on the creature as part of its process. |
| 7 | The target takes 2d6 points of necrotic damage and you are healed for an equal amount. |
| 8 | The target takes 2d6 points of radiant damage and is outlined by a faerie fire effect until the end of its next turn. |
| 9 | The target is doused with frigid water that appears from nowhere. It takes 1d10 points of cold damage, immediately ends any ongoing f ire or acid damage it is taking, and for the next minute, it has disadvantage on saves against effects that would inflict cold or lightning damage on it. |
| 10 | The target takes 2d6 points of acid damage and its armor (if it is wearing any) has its AC decreased by 1 until it can be repaired. If this reduces armor’s AC to 0, it breaks. |
| 11 | The target takes 2d6 points of force damage and is stunned until the end of its next turn. |
| 12 | The target takes no damage and the attack’s damage is instead reflected back on you. |
At 6th level, magic in your general vicinity tends to behave unpredictably. Whenever you or another spellcaster within 10 feet of you cast a spell, roll a d20 and consult the following table. You and friendly casters add 1d6 to the roll. Hostile casters subtract your proficiency bonus from the roll.
| RESULT | EFFECT |
|---|---|
| -5 | The spell fizzles and is lost. |
| -4 | The spell consumes an additional spell slot starting with the lowest level the spellcaster has available. If there are no additional spell slots available, the spell fizzles and is lost. |
| -3 | The spell consumes an additional spell slot starting with the lowest level the spellcaster has available, if any. |
| -2 | The spellcaster suffers a level of fatigue. |
| -1 | The spellcaster suffers a level of strife. |
| 0 | The spellcaster suffers 1d6 points of psychic damage. |
| 1 | The spell goes off, but cannot be concentrated on if it normally requires concentration. The spell, if it has an area, has its area halved. |
| 2 | The spell, if it has an area, has its area halved. |
| 3 | The spell’s range is reduced by one step, from a range past long to long, from long to medium, from medium to short, from short to touch, or from touch to self. The caster can pick a new target but must still cast the spell, targeting themself if need be. |
| 4 | The spellcaster is deafened until the end of their next turn. |
| 5-16 | The spell is cast normally. |
| 17 | The spellcaster gains Truesight with a range of 30 feet until the end of their next turn. |
| 18 | The spell’s range is doubled. The caster can choose new targets if desired. |
| 19 | The spell’s area, if it has one, can exclude friendly or hostile creatures if the caster desires. |
| 20 | The caster is healed for 1d8 points of damage. |
| 21 | The caster gains a fly speed of 50 or adds 30 feet to their existing fly speed (if they have one) until the end of their next turn. |
| 22 | The spellcaster can teleport to an empty space they see within a distance of 10 X the level of the spell slot used. |
| 23 | The spellcaster receives the benefits of a mirror image spell. |
| 24 | The spellcaster recovers from a level of fatigue or strife. |
| 25 | The spell is duplicated; the caster can choose a new target for the duplicated spell if desired. |
| 26 | The spell is cast normally but does not consume a spell slot. |
At 10th level, your rage itself is infused with chaos. When you rage, roll a d12 and consult the following table. The effect lasts until your rage ends.
| D12 | RESULT |
|---|---|
| 1 | Your movement speeds increase by 10 feet. |
| 2 | Your Strength score increases by +2. |
| 3 | Your Dexterity score increases by +2. |
| 4 | Your Constitution score increases by +2. |
| 5 | Your Intelligence score increases by +2. |
| 6 | Your Wisdom score increases by +2. |
| 7 | Your Charisma score increases by +2. |
| 8 | Your AC increases by 2. |
| 9 | Your weapon attacks deal an additional 1d10 points of force damage. |
| 10 | You can teleport up to your movement speed instead of taking the move action. |
| 11 | Razor-sharp spikes sprout all over your body. Creatures you grapple or that grapple you take 1d6 points of piercing damage at the beginning of every turn of the grapple (yours and theirs). |
| 12 | You can make an additional attack when you take the Attack action. |
At 14th level, you gain a modicum of control over your chaos. When you finish a long rest, you gain a number of controlled chaos charges equal to 1d6+1. You can cast the probability manipulation spell in response to one of this class’s features without using a spell slot or components by spending a controlled chaos charge.