Conclave of the Skinner
Out of all the various kinds of rangers, the conclave most feared by rangers and folks alike is that of the Conclaver of Skinners. This conclave possesses the ability to preserve the strength and life of a creature into its carved hide, the act done through secret rituals while the corpse is still fresh. These individuals can then harness this strength for themselves, wielding their new skin as if it were their own.
Skinner Magic
Starting at 3rd level, you learn an additional spell when you reach certain levels in this class, as shown in the Skinner Spells table. The spell counts as a ranger spell for you, but it doesn't count against the number of ranger spells you know.
| Ranger Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 3rd | Disguise Self |
| 5th | Alter Self |
| 9th | Spirit Shroud |
| 13th | Polymorph |
| 17th | Awaken |
Wearing the Dead
Upon taking this conclave at 3rd level, you gain the ability to skin corpses and preserves their capabilities within its hide. You can perform this as a ritual with the corpse over the course of 1 hour, which can be done during a short rest. The corpse must have died less than 7 days before the completion of the ritual, and must remain within 5 feet of you throughout the ritual. Upon the completion of the ritual, you gain a Skinned Pelt, to which you can don as a piece of clothing. A skinned pelt grants you one of the following benefits of your choice (you choose at the end of the ritual).
- You can perform any action, bar Multiattack, the creature you pelted could perform. You treat these attacks as natural weapon attacks you are proficient with, and use your Strength or Dexterity modifier for their attacks.
- You gain one trait of your choice that the creature you pelted possessed.
You can only create a skinned pelt through a Beast corpse of a challenge rating of 1/2 or lower. You can have a number of skinned pelts equal to half your level in this class, but you can only gain the benefits of a number of skinned pelts equal to a quarter of your level in this class (both rounded down). Each time you finish a long rest, you choose which pelts you gain benefits from.
The CR of creatures you can skin increases as you progress in this class, increasing at 7th (1), 11th (2), and 15th (3) level.
A pelt becomes nonmagical after you perform a ritual replacing it with another pelt. If a pelt is destroyed, it reappears on your person after finishing a long rest.
Skinned and Ready
Also at 3rd level, you gain proficiency in Leatherworker's tools. You also gain a magic pelt of a beast of CR 1/4 or lower of your choice, and you treat it as if you have already performed the Wearing the Dead ritual.
One with the Past
At 7th level, your knowledge to the past prepares you for the atrocities of tomorrow. You to gain proficiency in Wisdom saving throws. If you already have this proficiency, you instead gain proficiency in Intelligence or Charisma saving throws (your choice).
Additionally, you can read all writing and understand all languages.
Exotic Pelts
At 11th level, you can gain the powers of creatures beyond just mere beasts. You can create a skinned pelt from the corpse of an aberration, dragon, humanoid, monstrosity, or plant. A pelt from any of these creatures count as two pelts for the purpose of calculating how many you can have, unless it originates from a shapechanger, such as a werewolf or doppelganger.
Additionally, you can gain one of the following benefits upon completing a skinned pelt:
- One resistance the creature you pelted possessed.
- Its Armor Class (your Dexterity modifier doesn't affect this number). If this Armor Class would be higher than what you have currently while armored, you use it instead.
- One magical ability or spell the creature you pelted possessed. A spell learned in this way does not count against the number of spells you know, but must be of a spell level you can cast. This magical ability or spell can be used once without expending any resources, and can't be used again in this way until you finish a long rest.
Fresh Kill
At 15th level, you can transform into a creature that's just recently died. When an aberration, beast, dragon, humanoid, monstrosity, or plant would die within 30 feet of you, you can spend your reaction to move up to your movement towards them. If you reach a space within 5 feet of the creature, you magically fuse with the corpse and transform into a living version of them. All your game statistics bar your alignment, personality, and mental ability scores, are replaced by the Statistics of the target creature.
This transformation lasts for 1 hour, or until your new form drops to 0 Hit Points or dies, at which point you appear in a space within 5 feet of the corpse. If you revert as a result of dropping to 0 hit points, any excess damage carries over to your normal form.
You can't perform this with a creature who has a challenge rating higher than your level in this class, and can't use this feature again until you finish a long rest.
