D&D (2024) 2024 Player's Handbook Reveal #4: "New Barbarian"

New Barbarian video!


We last saw the Barbarian with the World Tree subclass in the UA Playtest 8 (=PT8), with other subclasses (Zealot, Wild Heart, and Berserker) in PT7. There's a fair number of new things since we've last seen the class, noted below.

OVERVIEW

• weapon mastery at 1
• RAGE. It's easier to maintain rage: you can either force a save (works for Dragonborn) or use your bonus action to keep it going (as in PT8). [There was no mention of the short-rest recharge (not in PT7, present in PT8, but I imagine it's stilll there, since I'm certain it was a popular change.]
• Danger sense at 2: sight no longer needed; only ends if incapacitated (as in PT8)
• Primal Knowledge at 3: ability checks used with strength regardless of what normal ability would be (as in PT8). Intimidation, Stealth, Persuasion, etc. [PT8 also has Acrobatics and Survival]. "effectively a supernatural ability". Todd explains the strength-stealth with reference to the spiders in the Hobbit.
  • NOTE: the inclusion of persuasion was almost certainly a mistake.
• NEW: you also get a skill proficiency at 3.
• Instinctive Pounce at 7 (as PT8)
• Brutal Strike at 9 (as PT8): add-on effects, with extra options at 13.
• NEW: with Brutal strike you also get extra damage with these effects, with that damage increasing at level 13.
• Relentless Rage at 11. No mention or discussion of the saving throws needed.

SUBCLASSES

World Tree

• "about the barbarian turning their gaze outward...connecting to the World Tree". Leaning into "barbarian as tank" [There's a Dungeon Dudes discussion of this subclass here.]
• At the highest level, teleporting (and so like PT8, but not the planar travel from PT7. I had really hoped the planar travel option would be restored.
• also interacts with weapon masteries. (as in PT8, presumably).

Berserker

• "the classics barbarian subclass". Main goal was to redesign Frenzy.
• NEW: Frenzy at 3: building on reckless attack, you deal more damage once per turn. There's no exhaustion (as in PHB 2014), but now it only works 1/turn.
• Mindless Rage at 6 and Retaliation at 10 both as in PT7.
• Intimidating Presence at 14 (higher level, but anyone within 30', activated by a bonus action).

Wild Heart (former Totem Warrior)

• more flexibility than before: with many options modified.
• NEW: for two of the features [Rage of the Wilds at 3, Power of the Wilds at 14], you get to choose the animal every time you activate them; with one [Aspect of the wilds at 6], you choose the passive ability each long rest. This is HUGE.
• NEW: Option at 6 "more useful": Salmon for a swim speed, Panther for a climb speed, Owl for darkvision. This is really different than what was in PT7, where you received expertise in a skill. [I question whether this is more useful, but it does avoid the "trap" of not being proficient in the skill you want to select at level 6, and so avoiding the chance for Expertise. On the other hand, the barbarian with expertise in Investigation was something I really wanted to try out, and that's now gone (as a default class option).]
• Nothing about Animal Speaker/Nature speaker.

Zealot

• originally in Xanathar, changed here.
• Warrior of the Gods -- small pool for healing (as in PT7)
• NEW: Fanatical Focus at 6 now comes with a bonus to the re-roll (bonus not specified)
• NEW: Rage of the Gods at 14, no longer requires you to go to zero HP. Gives you divine powers: flight, damage resistance, and thwart other people's death with a reaction.

NEW RULES

• no new rules reveals.

 

[el-remmen]

The trouble is, bad design and classes or abilities that just don't work very well are very often defended by people on the grounds that they're "interesting choices" or "suboptimal but cool" (particularly often by people who don't actually play that class/spec).

You're not wrong, but not everything that creates a limitation is a bad design and I don't think the "having to be damaged" thing was bad design. I would similarly have thousands of dollars if I had a buck for every time someone used "bad design" to mean "I don't like that." Not that I think you were doing that (just as I am going to assume you did not mean to suggest I was one of those people blindly defending bad design).

Anyway, there is no such thing as neutral or default good design distinct from the feel you want to get.

 

[Gladius Legis]

I cannot imagine anyone preferring the 2014 Barbarian over this version. Like, the 2014 Barbarian was barely a functional class in any regard. But more power to you if you were OK with that.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Hindered what? Helped what?

Not everything should always be helpful.

I know. . . I know. . . I am a weirdo who thinks having to consider and sometimes make sub-optimal choices are an important feature of the game that make it challenging and fun. It is those kinds of choices I find interesting (and probably why terrain and location are a big aspect of how I run combat).

Not about suboptimal choices.

My wife's barbarian wanted to rage and swim in cold water to reach a girl that was drowned.
I allowed her to keep the rage going for the whole swim. I don't remember if I ad hoc decided to deal 1 damage each turn for the cold water (but did not apply that to the girl).
But just allowing the barbarian to keep rage going would have been easier.

And that is totally something I expect you should do with your rage.

 

[mellored]

I agree that it would of been better for rage to be going into a rage, not just turning on a nature buff.

Not only is it a useful quality of life upgrade in combat, but it's an absolutely necessary change to enable the out of combat uses of Rage.

It's the simple way to use rage out of combat. Or just another resource.

"Fish totem: Expend a use of rage to gain waterbreathing for 1 hour."

Bonus action is a bit of a compromise.

 

[Jefe Bergenstein]

Really good change. If the class is balanced around having rage always on, it should be really easy to have rage always on, much like sneak attack being essentially every attack.

I'd wager the people preferring the weaker 2014 version don't even play the class... As usual, unless it's a spell, its "thematic" and full of "v-tude" to jump through hoops just to simply function. If we dared limit casters powers by phases of the moon or planar alignments or anything the gnashing of teeth would be audible in space.

 

[el-remmen]

Not about suboptimal choices.

My wife's barbarian wanted to rage and swim in cold water to reach a girl that was drowned.
I allowed her to keep the rage going for the whole swim. I don't remember if I ad hoc decided to deal 1 damage each turn for the cold water (but did not apply that to the girl).
But just allowing the barbarian to keep rage going would have been easier.

And that is totally something I expect you should do with your rage.

I get you. I just don't.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

I cannot imagine anyone preferring the 2014 Barbarian over this version. Like, the 2014 Barbarian was barely a functional class in any regard. But more power to you if you were OK with that.

That's the thing - that's where it's very distinct from the 2014 Paladin vs the 2024 Paladin for example. With that, I absolutely can, on multiple levels, see someone preferring the former.

My guess is that the Ranger, which was never actually good or interesting or cool in the 2024 UA, just sort of... okay-ish... will end up much the same as the Paladin - i.e. the only reason to pick the 2024 version will be that it's arguably slightly more powerful mechanically, but not more interesting nor less clunky (perhaps differently clunky, but it clunks, at least the UA does).

Whereas the Rogue will probably be a solid "no going back" improvement like this.

 

[el-remmen]

the 2014 Barbarian was barely a functional class in any regard.

I am taking that as hyperbole, but I am still amazed at how often I feel like I am playing a completely different game than what other folks on the boards describe.

 

[Remathilis]

I'm more amused by the Persuasion option - I think Crawford used the example of raging at a masquerade ball...

HULK SOCIALIZE!!!!

Treantmonk (who has a preview copy of the PHB) said that persuasion isn't on the list and Jeremy and Todd were talking out their kiester...

 

[Scribe]

Not everything should always be helpful.

Thats not very Modern Design of you...