Would you like to see the barbarian in 5E handled as a class, or would you like the theme of the barbarian stripped down into a theme and class? There's a number of points for each side.
As a background, you could have barbarian fighters, rogues, sorcerers, druids and whatever class you felt like. You'd get the training in the skills you'd expect a barbarian to have, and some neat background ability to give you the flavor of an uncivilized character, like Uncanny Dodge from previous editions or something similar. As for the theme, which would probably be called "Berserker", you'd get the archetypical rage abilities of the barbarian, usable for a multitude of classes. You could have a fighter, ranger or even a paladin that can go into a state of fury that would grant increased offensive combat abilities at the cost of your defense. The barbarian would be who you are, and not necessarily what you do. Not every barbarian would have to be a character who enters a rage on a regular basis, but it would reflect your primal background. For those that wanted the ability to rage, you could take a theme to do so.
As a class, you could have a well sculpted version of the archetypical barbarian, with rage abilities and some of the more primal utility stuff, but the upside would be picking themes and backgrounds to fluff out your character. You could be a barbarian with the slayer or lurker theme, and choose from various backgrounds that would probably make the barbarian a bit more "global". You could have a barbarian with the commoner background and the slayer theme, for example, to represent a character who's got a primal nature but civilized roots, for example. A barbarian wouldn't be where you were from or how you were raised, but something you were born with and the primal powers you'd have developed over time. You could also have backgrounds to serve other classes such as "primal" or "savage", but the rage ability would still be inherently the barbarian thing to do.
Personally, I'd prefer the background/theme approach. I'd like to be able to create characters that enter some sort of state of rage without having to take the barbarian class. A paladin entering a state of holy fury, a ranger embracing his bestial side or just a fighter that gets really, really angry! I'd also like to be able to create a character that has a barbarian background but is a bit more reserved than your typical enraged barbarian. A barbarian ranger sharpshooter who served as a tracker for his tribe, or the barbarian sorcerer who had mystical powers and lived as a hermit.
I know we've had a lot of "should this class be a class or a theme/background", such as for the paladin and the ranger, but I think the barbarian doesn't have enough of a niche over the fighter to warrant his own class. Please share your thoughts.
As a background, you could have barbarian fighters, rogues, sorcerers, druids and whatever class you felt like. You'd get the training in the skills you'd expect a barbarian to have, and some neat background ability to give you the flavor of an uncivilized character, like Uncanny Dodge from previous editions or something similar. As for the theme, which would probably be called "Berserker", you'd get the archetypical rage abilities of the barbarian, usable for a multitude of classes. You could have a fighter, ranger or even a paladin that can go into a state of fury that would grant increased offensive combat abilities at the cost of your defense. The barbarian would be who you are, and not necessarily what you do. Not every barbarian would have to be a character who enters a rage on a regular basis, but it would reflect your primal background. For those that wanted the ability to rage, you could take a theme to do so.
As a class, you could have a well sculpted version of the archetypical barbarian, with rage abilities and some of the more primal utility stuff, but the upside would be picking themes and backgrounds to fluff out your character. You could be a barbarian with the slayer or lurker theme, and choose from various backgrounds that would probably make the barbarian a bit more "global". You could have a barbarian with the commoner background and the slayer theme, for example, to represent a character who's got a primal nature but civilized roots, for example. A barbarian wouldn't be where you were from or how you were raised, but something you were born with and the primal powers you'd have developed over time. You could also have backgrounds to serve other classes such as "primal" or "savage", but the rage ability would still be inherently the barbarian thing to do.
Personally, I'd prefer the background/theme approach. I'd like to be able to create characters that enter some sort of state of rage without having to take the barbarian class. A paladin entering a state of holy fury, a ranger embracing his bestial side or just a fighter that gets really, really angry! I'd also like to be able to create a character that has a barbarian background but is a bit more reserved than your typical enraged barbarian. A barbarian ranger sharpshooter who served as a tracker for his tribe, or the barbarian sorcerer who had mystical powers and lived as a hermit.
I know we've had a lot of "should this class be a class or a theme/background", such as for the paladin and the ranger, but I think the barbarian doesn't have enough of a niche over the fighter to warrant his own class. Please share your thoughts.
