Subclass Barbarian Shadow Gnawer
The Shadow Gnawer is a Barbarian subclass that controls the battlefield through obscurement — Shadow Smoke blinds everything in a 10-foot radius during Rage, Creeping Fog teleports you up to 30 feet as an Action, and Consume Darkness heals you from dim light or darkness as a Bonus Action while Raging.
Shadow Gnawers also gain Darkvision (minimum range 12 meters) and immunity to the Blinded condition at Level 3.
| LEVEL | FEATURE |
|---|---|
| 3 | Shadow Smoke |
| 6 | Creeping Fog |
| 10 | Consume Darkness |
Shadow Smoke While you are raging, once per turn, you can emit tendrils of shadow smoke. The smoke extends 10 feet from you in every direction. Any creature other than you that is within the smoke is Blinded.
You also gain immunity to the Blinded condition and Darkvision with a minimum range of 12 meters.
The smoke is a Fog Cloud surface created where you stand. It does not travel with you — moving out of it leaves it behind, and you can emit a fresh one once per turn.
Creeping Fog While raging, as an action, you magically teleport, along with any equipment you are wearing or carrying, up to 30 feet to an unoccupied and obscured space you can see. Before or after teleporting, you can make one attack.
The destination has to be obscured — the space cannot be in clear light — and it can be used once per turn.
Consume Darkness While raging, in dim light or darkness, you can use a bonus action to regain hit points equal to 1d12 + your Constitution modifier.
The Shadow Gnawer is the battlefield control Barbarian. Shadow Smoke at Level 3 drops a Blinded zone on your position — any enemy standing in it is Blinded, which means it attacks with Disadvantage and everyone has Advantage against it. You are immune to Blinded yourself, so only the enemies inside pay for it. Combined with Reckless Attack giving you Advantage offensively, the Blinded zone inverts the usual Reckless trade-off: you have Advantage against everything near you, and they have Disadvantage against you.
Creeping Fog at Level 6 gives the Barbarian something they usually lack: mobility without provoking Opportunity Attacks. Teleport 30 feet, then emit a fresh Shadow Smoke at the new position. Consume Darkness at Level 10 provides sustain — if you're fighting in dim light or darkness (which Shadow Smoke naturally creates around you), you heal every Bonus Action while Raging.