Barbarian (class)

Class Description and Basics
"I have witnessed the indomitable performance of barbarians on the field of battle, and it makes me wonder what force lies at the heart of their rage." - Seret, archwizard

A tall human tribesman strides through a blizzard draped in fur and hefting his axe. He laughs as he charges toward the frost giant who dared to poach his people's elk herd.

A half-orc snarls at the latest challenger to her authority over their savage tribe, ready to break his neck with her bare hands as she did to the last six rivals.

Frothing at the mouth, a dwarf slams his helmet into the face of his foe, then turns to drive his armored elbow into the gut of another.

These barbarians, different as they might be, are defined by their rage: unbridled, unquenchable, and unthinking fury. More than a mere emotion, their anger is the ferocity of a cornered predator, the unrelenting assault of a storm, the churning turmoil of the sea.

For some, their rage springs from a communion with fierce animals spirits. Others draw from a roiling reservoir of anger at a world full of pain. For every barbarian, rage is a power that fuels not just a battle frenzy but also uncanny reflexes, resilience, and feats of strength.

The anger felt by a normal person resembles the rage of a barbarian in the same way that a gentle breeze is akin to a furious thunderstorm. The barbarian's driving force comes from a place that transcends mere emotion, making its manifestation all the more terrible. Whether the impetus for the fury comes entirely from within or from forging a link with a spirit animal, a raging barbarian becomes able to perform supernatural feats of strength and endurance. The outburst is temporary, but while it lasts, it takes over the body and mind, driving the barbarian on despite peril and injury, until the last enemy falls.

Primal Instinct

People of towns and cities take pride in how their civilized ways set them apart from animals, as if denying one's own nature was a mark of superiority. To a barbarian, though, civilization is no virtue, but a sign of weakness. The strong embrace their animal nature-keen instincts, primal physicality, and ferocious rage. Barbarians are likely to be uncomfortable when hedged in by walls and crowds, and instead thrive in the wilds of their homelands: the tundra, jungle, or grasslands where their tribes live and hunt.

Barbarians come alive in the chaos of combat. They can enter a berserk state where rage takes over, giving them superhuman strength and resilience. A barbarian can draw on this reservoir of fury only a few times without resting, but those few rages are usually sufficient to defeat whatever threats arise.

A Life of Danger

Not every member of the tribes deemed "barbarians" by scions of civilized society has the barbarian class. A true barbarian among these people is as uncommon as a skilled fighter in a town, and he or she plays a similar role as a protector of the people and a leader in times of war. Life in the wild places of the world is fraught with peril: rival tribes, deadly weather, and terrifying monsters. Barbarians charge headlong into that danger so that their people don't have to.

Their courage in the face of danger makes barbarians perfectly suited for adventuring. Wandering is often a way of life for their native tribes, and the rootless life of the adventurer is little hardship for a barbarian. Some barbarians miss the close-knit family structures of the tribe, but eventually find them replaced by the bonds formed among the members of their adventuring parties.

Creating a Barbarian
When creating a barbarian character, think about where your character comes from and his or her place in the world. Talk with your DM about an appropriate origin for your barbarian. Did you come from a distant land, making you a stranger in the area of the adventure? Or is the adventure set in a rough-and-tumble frontier where barbarians are common?

What led you to take up the adventuring life? Were you lured to settled lands by the promise of riches? Did you join forces with soldiers of those lands to face a shared threat? Did monsters or an invading horde drive you out of your homeland, making you a rootless refugee? Perhaps you were a prisoner of war, brought in chains to "civilized" lands and only now able to win your freedom. Or you might have been cast out from your people because of a crime you committed, a taboo you violated, or a coup that removed you from a position of authority.

It can be tempting to play a barbarian character that is a straightforward application of the classic archetype - a brute, and usually a dimwitted one at that, who rushes in where others fear to tread. But not all the barbarians in the world are cut from that cloth, so you can certainly put your own spin on things. Either way, consider adding some flourishes to make your barbarian stand out from all the others; see the following sections for some ideas.

Personal Totems

Barbarians tend to travel light, carrying little in the way of personal effects or other unnecessary gear. The few possessions they do carry often include small items that have special significance. A personal totem is significant because it has a mystical origin or is tied to an important moment in the character's life - perhaps a remembrance from the barbarian's past or a harbinger of what lies ahead.

A personal totem of this sort might be associated with a barbarian's spirit animal, or might actually be the totem object for the animal, but such a connection is not essential. One who has a bear totem spirit, for instance, could still carry an eagle's feather as a personal totem.

Consider creating one or more personal totems for your character - objects that hold a special link to your character's past or future. Think about how a totem might affect your character's actions. Tattoos

The members of many barbarian clans decorate their bodies with tattoos, each of which represents a significant moment in the life of the bearer or the bearer's ancestors, or which symbolizes a feeling or an attitude. As with personal totems, a barbarian's tattoos might or might not be related to an animal spirit.

Each tattoo a barbarian displays contributes to that individual's identity. If your character wears tattoos, what do they look like, and what do they represent? Superstitions

Barbarians vary widely in how they understand life. Some follow gods and look for guidance from those deities in the cycles of nature and the animals they encounter. These barbarians believe that spirits inhabit the plants and animals of the world, and the barbarians look to them for omens and power.

Other barbarians trust only in the blood that runs in their veins and the steel they hold in their hands. They have no use for the invisible world, instead relying on their senses to hunt and survive like the wild beasts they emulate.

Both of these attitudes can give rise to superstitions. These beliefs are often passed down within a family or shared among the members of a clan or a hunting group.

If your barbarian character has any superstitions, were they ingrained in you by your family, or are they the result of personal experience? Table BB1 - Class Features by Level

The table below lists the barbarian's core features, level by level. Core features include the number of rages and rage damage. Subclasses are referred to as Primal Paths, and have unique features at level 3 (when the option is available), level 6, level 10, and level 14. Quick Build

You can make a barbarian quickly by following these suggestions. First, put your highest ability score in Strength, followed by Constitution. Second, choose the outlander background.

Class Features
As a barbarian, you gain the following class features.

Hit Points


 * Hit Dice: 1d12 per barbarian level
 * Hit Points at Level 1: 12 + your Constitution modifier
 * Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d12 (or 7) + your Constitution modifier per barbarian level after level 1.

Proficiencies


 * Armour: Light armour, medium armour, shields
 * Weapons: Simple weapons, martial weapons
 * Tools: None
 * Saving Throws: Strength, Constitution
 * Skills: Choose two from Animal Handling, Athletics, Intimidation, Nature, Perception, and Survival

Starting Equipment

You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:


 * (a) a greataxe or (b) any martial melee weapon
 * (a) two handaxes or (b) any simple weapon
 * An explorer's pack and four javelins

Rage

In battle, you fight with primal ferocity. On your turn, you can enter a rage as a bonus action. While raging, you gain the following benefits if you aren't wearing heavy armour:


 * You have advantage on Strength checks and Strength saving throws.
 * When you make a melee weapon attack using Strength, you gain a bonus to the damage roll that increases as you gain levels as a barbarian, as shown in the Rage Damage column in Table BB1.
 * You have resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage.

If you are able to cast spells, you can't cast them or concentrate on them while raging.

Your rage lasts for 1 minute. It ends early if you are knocked unconscious or if your turn ends and you haven't attacked a hostile creature since your last turn or taken damage since then. You can also end your rage on your turn as a bonus action.

Once you have raged the number of times shown for your barbarian level in the Rages column in Table BB1, you must finish a long rest before you can rage again.

Unarmoured Defense

While you are not wearing any armour, your Armour Class equals 10 + your Dexterity modifier + your Constitution modifier. You can use a shield and still gain this benefit.

Reckless Attack

Starting at level 2, you can throw aside all concern for defense to attack with fierce desperation. When you make your first attack on your turn, you can decide to attack recklessly. Doing so gives you advantage on melee weapon attack rolls using Strength during this turn, but attack rolls against you have advantage until your next turn.

Danger Sense

At level 2, you gain an uncanny sense of when things nearby aren't as they should be, giving you an edge when you dodge away from danger.

You have advantage on Dexterity saving throws against effects that you can see, such as traps and spells. To gain this benefit, you can't be blinded, deafened, or incapacitated.

Primal Path

At level 3, you choose a path that shapes the nature of your rage. Choose one of the following primal paths:


 * Path of the Ancestral Guardian
 * Path of the Battlerager
 * Path of the Berserker
 * Path of the Storm Herald
 * Path of the Totem Warrior
 * Path of the Zealot
 * Path of the Accursed (Homebrew/Untested)

Your choice grants you features at level 3, level 6, level 10 and level 14.

Ability Score Improvement

When you reach level 4, and again at level 8, level 12, level 16, and level 19, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

Alternatively, you may select a feat.

Extra Attack

Beginning at level 5, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

Fast Movement

Starting at level 5, your speed increases by 10 feet while you aren't wearing heavy armour.

Feral Instinct

By level 7, your instincts are so hones that you have advantage on initiative rolls.

Additionally, if you are surprised at the beginning of combat and aren't incapacitated, you can act normally on your first turn, but only if you enter a rage before doing anything else on that turn.

Brutal Critical

Beginning at level 9, you can roll one additional weapon damage die when determining the extra damage for a critical hit with a melee attack.

This increases to two additional dice at level 13 and three additional dice at level 17.

Relentless Rage

Starting at level 11, your rage can keep you fighting despite grievous wounds. If you drop to 0 hit points while you're raging and don't die outright, you can make a DC 10 Constitution saving throw. If you succeed, you drop to 1 hit point instead.

Each time you use this feature after the first, the DC increases by 5. When you finish a short or long rest, the DC resets to 10.

Persistent Rage

Beginning at level 15, your rage is so fierce it ends early only if you fall unconscious or if you choose to end it.

Indomitable Might

Beginning at level 18, if your total for a Strength check is less than your Strength score, you can use that score in place of the total.

Primal Champion

At level 20, you embody the power of the wilds. Your Strength and Constitution scores increase by 4. Your maximum for those scores is now 24.

Primal Paths
Rage burns in every barbarian's heart, a furnace that drives them toward greatness. Different barbarians attribute their rage to different sources, however. For some, it is an internal reservoir where pain, grief, and anger are forged into a fury hard as steel. Others see it as a spiritual blessing, a gift of a totem animal.

The following primal paths are available for this class:

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 * Path of the Ancestral Guardian
 * Path of the Battlerager
 * Path of the Berserker
 * Path of the Storm Herald
 * Path of the Totem Warrior
 * Path of the Zealot
 * Path of the Accursed