Awakened

Madness and despair. Death and the inevitable extinction of all life. These aren’t just feelings of foreboding. For you, these are prophetic visions that you see every time you close your eyes and sleep, for it is then that The Dreamer’s influence is strongest. It often greets you as an old friend as it shows you battlefields of broken bodies, venerating Ctharaxis and its greatness. As an investigator, where you first crossed paths with The Dreamer could have been any number of places: a long forgotten crypt deep beneath the sea; the musty basement of an eerie library, in a tome written on flayed human flesh; or even the maddened cries of a man in an asylum, as it begs you to not let it fall asleep. Regardless, you have now spent your days aligning yourself against The Dreamer and its forces - tirelessly toiling away in the shadows acting as the last line of defense against seemingly inevitable madness and despair.

This subclass introduces a new mechanic. Corruption effects. Corruption effects and the details of can be found under class features > "Corruption Effects".

Corruption Effects

A creature afflicted with one or more corruption points suffers from the following drawbacks, determined by rolling a d4 for each corruption point it has. All previous effects of corruption carry forward, meaning a creature can suffer from 9 different corruption effects before it is wholly corrupted (see the Corruption Effects table).

Curing Corruption

Unlike the loss of hit points, madness, exhaustion, curses, and various other conditions and effects; corruption cannot easily be removed. Some player options, items, etc. allow for its reduction and removal; but a Game Master may instead rule that corruption points can only be removed by characters spending time to recover from the traumatic events or strange creatures they encountered. In such a case, characters must spend 1 day per corruption point that they have in a peaceful environment, recovery group, or other environment where they can deal with the traumas they have encountered. Alternatively, Game Master’s may rule that spells such as remove curse, lesser restoration, or greater restoration remove 1 corruption point per spell level. This is determined by the Game Master based on the severity and the horror of how the corruption was applied. These spells might also remove only the effects of corruption points but not the points themselves.

A long rest in a hostile or potentially treacherous environment does not normally remove corruption points. In fact, a character that has corruption points who takes a short rest in such an area gains 1 corruption point and gains 2 on a long rest, the character's rest plagued by horrible dreams and recollections of the terrors they have witnessed.

Corruption Points

Roll a d4 to determine the effect.

1
Indefinite Madness. The creature suffers from a form of indefinite madness of the Game Master’s choosing.
Leaking Eyes. The creature’s eyes leak a grotesque fluid. You have disadvantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks and Intelligence (Investigation) checks that rely on sight.
Crusted Ears. The creature’s ears crust over with blood and strange fleshy growths. You suffer from a constant deafened condition.
Grotesque Arm. One of the creature’s arms becomes swollen and horrid to behold. The creature cannot use that arm to interact with objects.

2
Bleeding Eyes. The creature’s eyes bleed, and it suffers from a constant blinded condition.
Indefinite Madness. The creature suffers from a form of indefinite madness of the Game Master’s choosing.
Insane Cackle. The creature laughs at incredibly inappropriate times. It has disadvantage on Charisma-related skill checks. In addition, the creature must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw each time it attempts to cast a spell with verbal components or have the spell fail.
Paranoia. The creature thinks everyone is out to get it, it begins looking for ways to ensure its companions are slain without anyone knowing it was involved.

3
Agoraphobia. The creature hates open spaces. When in an area with open sky, it has disadvantage on all attack rolls, ability checks, skill checks, and saving throws.
Psychotic Rage. The creature cannot contain its rage. In combat, it must succeed on a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw at the start of each of its turns or view all creatures around it as foes, attacking the closest one to it on its turn.
Obsession. The creature becomes obsessed with an item of the Game Master’s choosing. The creature wishes to obtain this item or refuse to let anyone touch it at all costs, becoming violent if someone does so.
Lame Leg. The creature’s leg is twisted and corrupted beyond recognition. Its speed is halved (minimum 5 feet).

4
Prophetic. The creature is plagued by prophetic visions, some of which come true, others not. Because of these visions, the creature must rest for twice the normal amount of time to gain the benefits of a short or long rest.
Webbed Hands. The creature's hands are horribly disfigured. The creature can no longer interact with an object as part of its action (such as drawing a sword and attacking with it), and interacting with an object now requires its full action.
Mutated Organs. The creature’s internal organs (or similar structures) are horribly mutated. Healing spells and effects have only half of their normal effect on it.
Necrophobia. The creature is terrified of the dead. While it can see a dead creature or while being an Undead creature, it has the frightened condition.

5
Paralyzed Face. The creature’s face no longer moves. The creature has disadvantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight and cannot speak.
I Like It… The creature enjoys the feeling of becoming corrupted by evil. It has disadvantage on saving throws made to resist gaining corruption points.
Skull Deformity. The creature’s head and skull are warped horribly. It has disadvantage on Intelligence saving throws.
Fatalistic. The creature believes all outcomes to be pre-determined. It has disadvantage on initiative rolls.

6
Sores. The creature sprouts awful sores all over its body. Its maximum hit points are reduced by a number equal to its challenge rating or character level.
Blood-frenzied. The creature loves bloodshed. If it hasn’t killed a creature in the last 8 hours, it has disadvantage on all ability checks, skill checks, and saving throws.
Cowardice. The creature becomes an incorrigible coward. In combat, it must succeed on a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw at the start of each of its turns or take the Dash action to flee from hostile creatures by the safest route possible unless there is nowhere to move.
Unlikeable. The creature’s face is horribly twisted, its words come out in a low hiss or gargled scream, and it drools… a lot. Its Charisma score becomes 5. If its Charisma score was 5 or lower, this has no effect.

7
Seizures. At the start of each of its turns in combat, roll a d10. On a 1, the creature is stunned until the start of its next turn.
Hallucinations. The creature suffers from hallucinations of the Game Master’s choosing, hallucinations it believes to be entirely real.
Wiccaphobia. The creature is terrified of spells and spellcasters. When a spell is cast that it is aware of, it must succeed on a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened for the next 1 minute. The creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
Stupidity. The creature’s brain suffers terrible trauma. Its Intelligence score becomes 5. If its Intelligence score was 5 or lower, this has no effect.

8
Lack of Wisdom. The creature just can’t make good decisions anymore. Its Wisdom score becomes 5. If its Wisdom score was 5 or lower, this has no effect.
Evil. The creature’s alignment shifts to Chaotic, Neutral, or Lawful Evil. If its alignment was already Evil, it instead gains a form of indefinite madness chosen by the Game Master.
Clumsiness. The creature’s body doesn’t seem to move the way it wants it to. Its Dexterity score becomes 5. If its Dexterity score was 5 or lower, this has no effect.
Weakened. The creature’s limbs and muscles shrivel. Its Strength score becomes 5. If its Strength score was 5 or lower, this has no effect.

9
Unrelenting Terror. The creature suffers from the frightened condition constantly and cannot approach visible combatants.
Physically Corrupt. The creature’s flesh has been corrupted. Its Constitution score becomes 5. If its Constitution score was 5 or lower, this has no effect.
Masochistic. The creature now loves pain and attempts to ensure it is inflicted upon itself. Creatures have advantage on attacks against it, and it has disadvantage on saving throws.
Thrill-seeker. The creature takes the worst possible course of action available, running directly into a dragon’s jaws, jumping into a pit of lava, etc. The creature is almost sure to die if someone doesn't stop it.

10 Wholly Corrupt. A wholly corrupted creature has one of the following occur:
The creature is transformed into an Evil-aligned Aberration, Fiend, or Undead of the Game Master’s choosing. The creature’s statistics (including alignment) are completely replaced by those of this new form, and it has no memories of its former life. A creature transformed in this way can only be reverted to its original form by a wish spell or similar magic.
The creature’s alignment becomes Chaotic, Neutral, or Lawful Evil, (if it wasn’t already) and is now under the control of the Game Master. A creature corrupted in this way can only be reverted to its original alignment or control by a wish spell or similar magic.
The creature is instantly slain.

Trained Sleep Deprivation

3rd-level Awakened feature

Your fear and avoidance of The Dreamer and its influence has forced you to learn to overcome the need for conventional sleep. When you take a long rest, you must spend at least six hours in an inactive, motionless state, rather than sleeping. In this state, you appear inert, but it doesn’t render you unconscious, and you can see and hear as normal.

Corrupted Strike

3rd-level Awakened feature

While you fight against The Dreamer and its influence you also understand the power this vile creature wields and know that you must fight fire with fire in some cases. You have learned to utilize the corruption of evil to your benefit. When making a sneak attack, you can forgo the sneak attack damage to instead force the target to make an Intelligence saving throw. On a failure, the target gains one corruption point as you whisper horrors into their ear of the impending power and downfall of humanity at the hands of the Dreamer during the attack. The DC for the saving throw equals 8 + your Intelligence modifier + your proficiency bonus.

You are able to use this feature a number of times equal to your Intelligence modifier, regaining all expended uses when you finish a short or long rest. 

Incongruity

9th-level Awakened feature

When you cause a creature to gain corruption points, you remove an equal number of corruption points from yourself.

Fueled by Corruption

13th-level Awakened feature

Your time spent around the corruption of evil has allowed you to learn to accommodate and empower yourself in different ways, feeding off the corruption, a dangerous but powerful method of survival. You gain features based on your current corruption points based on the table below gaining the benefits of lower features when you reach higher corruption point levels: 

Corruption Points / Feature Gained

1-2 You add your Intelligence modifier to all initiative rolls
3-4 Your speeds increase by 10 ft.
5-6 Your armor class increases by 2.
7-8 You add your Intelligence modifier as a bonus to all saving throws.
9 Your sneak attacks deal an extra 4d6 damage + your Intelligence modifier.
10 Wholly Corrupt. A wholly corrupted creature has one of the following occur:

• The creature is transformed into an Evil-aligned Aberration, Fiend, or Undead of the Game Master’s choosing. The creature’s statistics (including alignment) are completely replaced by those of this new form, and it has no memories of its former life. A creature transformed in this way can only be reverted to its original form by a wish spell or similar magic.

• The creature’s alignment becomes Chaotic, Neutral, or Lawful Evil, (if it wasn’t already) and is now under the control of the Game Master. A creature corrupted in this way can only be reverted to its original alignment or control by a wish spell or similar magic.

• The creature is instantly slain.