Barbarian

Overview

Barbarians, different as they might be, are defined by their rage: unbridled, unquenchable, and unthinking fury. More than mere emotion, their anger is the ferocity of a cornered predator, the unrelenting assault of a storm, the churning turmoil of the sea.   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. A raging barbarian becomes able to perform supernatural feats of strength and endurance. The outburst is temporary, but while it lasts, it takes over body and mind, driving the barbarian on despite peril and injury, until the last enemy falls.   Many of the lands of Faerûn are savage, where day-to-day survival is a struggle. Such lands breed hardy tribes and fierce warriors, such as the Reghed and Uthgardt barbarians of The North and the seafaring Northlanders of the Moonshae Isles and the northernmost reaches of the Sword Coast.   Barbarians of these lands are most often humans or half-orcs, occasionally half-elves born of contact between savage human tribes and the elves of Faerûn, or tieflings from tribes known to consort with fiends. Dwarf barbarians are famed and feared warriors among the fiercely proud clans that have reclaimed territories like Mithral Hall and Gautlgrym. Barbarians of most other races hail from warmer southern lands, rather than Faerûn.

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, primaI physicality, and ferocious rage. Barbarians are uncomfortable when hedged in by walls and crowds. They 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.

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 barbarian's life.

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. Each tattoo a barbarian displays contributes to that individual's identity.

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.

Class Features

As a barbarian, you gain the following class features.

Level	Rages	Rage Damage	Weapon Mastery
1st	3	+2	2
2nd	3	+2	2
3rd	3	+2	2
4th	3	+2	3
5th	3	+2	3
6th	4	+2	3
7th	4	+2	3
8th	4	+2	3
9th	4	+3	3
10th	4	+3	4
11th	4	+3	4
12th	5	+3	4
13th	5	+3	4
14th	5	+3	4
15th	5	+3	4
16th	5	+4	4
17th	6	+4	4
18th	6	+4	4
19th	6	+4	4
20th	6	+4	4

Hit Points

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

Proficiencies

• Armor: Light Armor, Medium Armor, Shields
• Weapons: Simple Weapons, Martial Weapons
• Tools: None
• Saving Throws: Strength, Constitution
• Skills: Choose two from Animal Handling, Athletics, Intimidation, Nature, Perception, and Survival

Equipment

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

• A Greataxe or any martial melee weapon
• Two Handaxes or any Simple Weapon
• An explorer’s pack and four Javelins

 

1st Level - Rage

You can imbue yourself with a primal power called Rage, a force that grants you extraordinary might and resilience. You can enter it as a Bonus Action if you aren't wearing Heavy armor.   You can enter your Rage the number of times shown for your Barbarian level in the Rages column of the Barbarian Features table. You regain one expended use when you finish a Short Rest, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a Long Rest.   While active, your Rage follows the rules below.

Damage Resistance

You have Resistance to Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing damage.

Rage Damage

When you make an attack using Strength—with either a weapon or an Unarmed Strike—and deal damage to the target, you gain a bonus to the damage that increases as you gain levels as a Barbarian, as shown in the Rage Damage column of the Barbarian Features table.

Strength Advantage

You have Advantage on Strength checks and Strength saving throws.

No Concentration or Spells

You can't maintain Concentration, and you can't cast spells.

Duration

The Rage lasts until the end of your next turn, and it ends early if you don Heavy armor or have the Incapacitated condition. If your Rage is still active on your next turn, you can extend the Rage for another round by doing one of the following:

• Make an attack roll against an enemy.
• Force an enemy to make a saving throw.
• Take a Bonus Action to extend your Rage.

Each time the Rage is extended, it lasts until the end of your next turn. You can maintain a Rage for up to 10 minutes.

1st Level - Unarmored Defense

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

1st Level - Weapon Mastery

Your training with weapons allows you to use the mastery properties of two kinds of Simple or Martial Melee weapons of your choice, such as Greataxe and Handaxes. Whenever you finish a Long Rest, you can practice weapon drills and change one of those weapon choices.   When you reach certain Barbarian levels, you gain the ability to use the mastery properties of more kinds of weapons, as shown in the Weapon Mastery column of the Barbarian Features table.

2nd Level - Danger Sense

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.

2nd Level - Reckless Attack

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.

3rd Level - Primal Knowledge

You gain proficiency in another skill of your choice from the skill list available to Barbarians at level 1.   In addition, while your Rage is active, you can channel primal power when you attempt certain tasks; whenever you make an ability check using one of the following skills, you can make it as a Strength check even if it normally uses a different ability: Acrobatics, Intimidation, Perception or Survival. When you use this ability, your Strength represents primal power coursing through you, honing your agility, bearing, and senses.

3rd Level - Primal Path

Rage burns in every barbarian’s heart, a furnace that drives him or her 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.   You choose a path that shapes the nature of your rage. Your choice grants you features at 3rd level and again at 6th, 10th, and 14th levels.   Reghed and Northlander barbarians tend to follow the Path of the Berserker, while Uthgardt barbarians are nearly always followers of the Path of the Wild Heart.

4th Level - Ability Score Improvement

When you reach 4th level, 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. or you can choose another feat of your choice for which you qualify. You gain this feature again at Wizard levels 8, 12, and 16.

5th Level - Extra Attack

You can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

5th Level - Fast Movement

Your speed increases by 10 feet while you aren’t wearing heavy armor.

6th Level - Path Feature

At 6th level, you gain a feature from your Primal Path.

7th Level - Feral Instinct

Your instincts are so honed that you have Advantage on Initiative rolls.

7th Level - Instinctive Pounce

As part of the Bonus Action you take to enter your Rage, you can move up to half your Speed.

8th Level - Ability Score Improvement

You gain the Ability Score Improvement Feat or another feat of your choice for which you qualify.

9th Level - Brutal Strike

If you use Reckless Attack, you can forgo any Advantage on one Strength-based attack roll of your choice on your turn. The chosen attack roll mustn't have Disadvantage. If the chosen attack roll hits, the target takes an extra 1d10 damage of the same type dealt by the weapon or Unarmed Strike, and you can cause one Brutal Strike effect of your choice. You have the following effect options.
Forceful Blow. The target is pushed 15 feet straight away from you. You can then move up to half your Speed straight toward the target without provoking Opportunity Attacks.
Hamstring Blow. The target's Speed is reduced by 15 feet until the start of your next turn. A target can be affected by only one Hamstring Blow at a time—the most recent one.

10th Level - Path Feature

At 6th level, you gain a feature from your Primal Path.

11th Level - Relentless Rage

Your Rage can keep you fighting despite grievous wounds. If you drop to 0 Hit Points while your Rage is active and don't die outright, you can make a DC 10 Constitution saving throw. If you succeed, your Hit Points instead change to a number equal to twice your Barbarian level.   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.

12th Level - Ability Score Improvement

You gain the Ability Score Improvement Feat or another feat of your choice for which you qualify.

13th Level - Improved Brutal Strike

You have honed new ways to attack furiously. The following effects are now among your Brutal Strike options.
Staggering Blow. The target has Disadvantage on the next saving throw it makes, and it can't make Opportunity Attacks until the start of your next turn.
Sundering Blow. Before the start of your next turn, the next attack roll made by another creature against the target gains a +5 bonus to the roll. An attack roll can gain only one Sundering Blow bonus.

14th Level - Path Feature

At 6th level, you gain a feature from your Primal Path.

15th Level - Persistent Rage

When you roll Initiative, you can regain all expended uses of Rage. After you regain uses of Rage in this way, you can't do so again until you finish a Long Rest.   In addition, your Rage is so fierce that it now lasts for 10 minutes without you needing to do anything to extend it from round to round. Your Rage ends early if you have the Unconscious condition (not just the Incapacitated condition) or don Heavy Armor.

16th Level - Ability Score Improvement

You gain the Ability Score Improvement Feat or another feat of your choice for which you qualify.

17th Level - Improved Brutal Strike

The extra damage of your Brutal Strike increases to 2d10. In addition, you can use two different Brutal Strike effects whenever you use your Brutal Strike feature.

18th Level - Indomitable Might

If your total for a Strength check or Strength saving throw is less than your Strength score, you can use that score in place of the total.

19th Level - Epic Boon

You gain an Epic Boon feat or another feat of your choice for which you qualify. Boon of Irresistible Offense is recommended.

20th Level - Primal Champion

You embody the power of the wilds. Your Strength and Constitution scores increase by 4. Your maximum for those scores is now 25.