Anomalous Knight

 Warriors who serve cults dedicated to aberrations sometimes find themselves directly blessed by such aberrations. Service to alien forces grants them powers of telepathy and mutation, but at a terrible cost. Their countenance, warped by eldritch influence, is often terrible to behold, though some can hide their hideous corruption beneath clothes and armor. Even their minds and wills are at risk of total failure, replaced by that of the invasive lifeforms in their body.

There are also some who struggle against an aberration’s clutches, however. Some heralds who find themselves the targets of particularly powerful unknowable horrors or foul magics have had their minds and bodies twisted towards ends not their own and their bond with the divine hideously altered. Such characters lose all the benefits of their previous archetype and replace them with those listed here.

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Tenets of the Holy Champion

The “tenets” of anomalous knights are scarcely codes of conduct; rather, they reflect the corruption of interplanar influences. These instincts, though designed to benefit the aberration hive, can be redeemed to benefit communities rehabilitating such a herald.

• Exterminate Enemies. If your superior issues the order to eliminate a target, alien forces impel you to complete this mission immediately and at any personal cost.
• Gather Resources. Identify opportunities to continue the enclave’s agenda of rapid growth. For the sake of those in your care, acquire large deposits of food, shelter, magic items, and recruits by any expedient means.
• Protect the Enclave. The invasive influences on your mind impel you to protect those assigned to your care—even to the extent of reducing your sense of self-preservation.

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Archetype School

Add the transformation and telepathy schools of magic to your list of herald spells.

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Channel Divinity

Also at 3rd level when you choose this archetype, you gain the following two Channel Divinity options.

Rebuke Aberrations. As an action, you present your holy symbol and recite a dread eldritch utterance, using your Channel Divinity.

Each creature with the aberration type within 30 feet of you that can see or hear you must make a successful Wisdom saving throw against your herald spell save  DC or be turned for 1 minute or until it takes damage from any source. Creatures with a CR equal to or greater than your herald level have advantage on this saving throw.

A turned creature must use its turns trying to move as far away from you as possible. It cannot willingly move to a space within 30 feet of you. It also cannot take reactions. On its action, it can use only the Dash action or try to escape any effect that prevents it from moving. If there’s nowhere to move, the creature can use the Dodge action.

Creatures who fail this save by 5 or more instead regard you as their master for the duration. On your next turn, you can use your action to issue a one-word command of your choosing. This feature fails if the target does not understand your command or if the command is immediately harmful to it. Such creatures follow the command until you issue a new one or until the end of the duration.

Undulation. As a bonus action, you can use your Channel Divinity to manipulate your form. For 1 minute, your melee reach for attacks you make on your turn increases by 5 feet. Also for the duration, you count as two size categories smaller when squeezing.

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Alien Emissary

Also at 3rd level, you learn to speak, read, write, and sign Deep Speech. You gain proficiency with Arcana and the aberrations skill specialty. You also learn message as a bonus cantrip.

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Grotesque Barbs

At 7th level, horrific growths from beneath your skin can no longer be contained, bursting forth as sharp black spines all over your body. When a creature within 5 feet hits you with a melee attack, it takes piercing damage equal to your proficiency bonus. This damage is considered magical for the purpose of overcoming damage resistances and immunities .

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Anomalous Infestation

Beginning at 15th level, the sting of your weapon infests this world with alien menace. Your Divine Smite deals an additional 2d8 psychic damage. When a creature takes psychic damage from you in this way, it must make a Constitution saving throw  against your spell save DC or else become infested with an anomaly as the wound becomes a livid yellow-green.

If the infested creature is alive one hour after infestation, this effect ends harmlessly. This effect can also be ended with spells such as wish  or greater restoration cast using a spell slot of at least 8th level. If the infested creature dies within that time, however, 1 hour after infestation its body erupts with an aberration of CR 3 or less of the Narrator’s choice, such as a gibbering mouther , intellect devourer , or khalkos spawn . This creature is neutral towards you and does not take orders.

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Insidious Recursion

At 20th level, the alien infestation you sew becomes insurance against your own demise. Once between long rests , when you die, you can slate yourself for rebirth from the anomalies you’ve infected creatures with using your Anomalous Infestation. When the corpse of one of your Anomalous Infestation victims would produce an aberration, you emerge instead along with all on your person when this feature activated. Your corpse and the equipment it carried disintegrate. When you are reborn in this way, you regain any spent uses of your Divine Smite.