RickonMcMillen
Villager
Rickon's Barbarian: Anger is Contagious
Hi everyone! I am embarking on a quest to revisit most of the 2024 PHB for One D&D, D&D Next, 5.5, or whatever we are calling it now.
- What's the point?
I have two main problems with D&D Next, and with 5e for the most part. First, most classes without spells don't give you enough reasons to keep taking levels in them after tier 2, more or less. Second, there are too many spells that encroach on other classes' territory. That's not all: I also have some personal gripes with how certain classes are written, but the main focus of this project is trying to create a more satisfying progression for the classes that lack it.
Also, it is possible that my revisions will add some complexity to the classes. That is intentional.
- What's the point, specifically, with the Barbarian?
I see one and a half problems with the Barbarian.
The most important one is probably its progression. After level 9, you get relatively little that makes you want to stick with the class. Your Rage becomes more consistent and you deal a little more damage, but nothing really feels like a big, meaningful improvement.
The other problem is more of a personal preference. I see some of the Barbarian’s starting features as tank-oriented, and I think the Barbarian could fill the tank role, but it feels like a half-fulfilled premise. The class never gets a goading mechanic built into its core, which makes it hard to work as a real tank in actual play.
I didn’t want the class to become a guardian/protector type, so I tried to go for more of a “challenger tank” vibe. The idea is that the Barbarian wants to attract enemies out of love for fighting, rather than out of a desire to protect the party.
I’m not here to police how people play the class; this is simply what I had in mind while writing this version of the Barbarian.
Last Disclaimer before starting:
These revisions have seen little to no playtesting. Most of my games are too deep into the narrative to start radically changing what characters can do. I'm here to get blasted to the moon and back with feedback, so thank you to anyone who spends their time reading this!
Barbarian Core Traits
- Primary Ability: Strength
- Hit Die: D12 per Barbarian level
- Hit Points at Level 1: 12 + your Constitution modifier
- Hit Points per Additional Barbarian Level: D12 + your Constitution modifier or 7 + your Constitution modifier
- Saving Throw Proficiencies: Strength, Constitution
- Skill Proficiencies: Choose 2: Animal Handling, Athletics, Intimidation, Nature, Perception, or Survival.
- Weapon Proficiencies: Simple weapons and martial weapons
- Armor Training: Light Armor, Medium Armor and Shields
- Starting Equipment: Choose A or B: (A) Greataxe, 4 Handaxes, Explorer's Pack, and 15 GP; or (B) 75 GP
Yes, there is nothing new in the core traits, but I felt I needed to include them nonetheless. My brain would hurt if future revisions changed something in the core traits and I had not included them in this post. I need symmetry.
The Barbarian
| Level | Proficiency Bonus | Class Features | Rages | Rage Damage | Weapon Mastery |
| 1 | +2 | Rage, Unarmored Defense, Weapon Mastery | 2 | +2 | 2 |
| 2 | +2 | Danger Sense, Reckless Challenge | 2 | +2 | 2 |
| 3 | +2 | Barbarian Subclass, Primal Knowledge | 3 | +2 | 2 |
| 4 | +2 | Ability Score Improvement | 3 | +2 | 3 |
| 5 | +3 | Extra Attack, Fast Movement | 3 | +2 | 3 |
| 6 | +3 | Subclass Feature | 4 | +2 | 3 |
| 7 | +3 | Feral Instinct, Instinctive Pounce | 4 | +2 | 3 |
| 8 | +3 | Ability Score Improvement | 4 | +2 | 3 |
| 9 | +4 | Brutal Strike | 4 | +3 | 3 |
| 10 | +4 | Subclass Feature, Titanic Grip | 4 | +3 | 4 |
| 11 | +4 | Relentless Rage | 4 | +3 | 4 |
| 12 | +4 | Ability Score Improvement | 5 | +3 | 4 |
| 13 | +5 | Improved Brutal Strike | 5 | +3 | 4 |
| 14 | +5 | Subclass Feature | 5 | +3 | 4 |
| 15 | +5 | Unrelenting Rage | 5 | +3 | 4 |
| 16 | +5 | Ability Score Improvement | 5 | +4 | 4 |
| 17 | +6 | Improved Brutal Strike | 6 | +4 | 4 |
| 18 | +6 | Indomitable Might | 6 | +4 | 4 |
| 19 | +6 | Epic Boon | 6 | +4 | 4 |
| 20 | +6 | Primal Champion | 6 | +4 | 4 |
Level 1: 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.
Barbarian Save DC: Some of your Barbarian features require a saving throw. The save DC equals 8 + your Proficiency Bonus + your Strength modifier.
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.
No real changes here. I find the Rage feature pretty solid overall, I didn't find the need to change it. I added the barbarian save DC wording for future features.
Level 1: Unarmored Defense
While you aren't wearing any armor, your base Armor Class equals 10 plus your Dexterity and Constitution modifiers. You can use a Shield and still gain this benefit.
No changes here.
Level 1: 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 Greataxes 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.
No changes here.
Level 2: Danger Sense
You gain an uncanny sense of when things aren't as they should be, giving you an edge when you dodge perils. You have Advantage on Dexterity saving throws unless you have the Incapacitated condition.
No changes here.
Reckless Challenge
Your Rage drives you to fight without caution, exposing yourself to danger and dragging your enemies into your fury.
Reckless Attack: While your Rage is active, when you make your first attack roll on your turn, you can decide to attack recklessly. Doing so gives you Advantage on attack rolls using Strength until the start of your next turn, but attack rolls against you have Advantage during that time.
Infectious Anger: While your Rage is active, once on each of your turns when you hit a creature with an attack using Strength while benefiting from Reckless Attack, you can force the target to make a Wisdom saving throw against your Barbarian Save DC. On a failed save, the target has Disadvantage on attack rolls against creatures other than you until the start of your next turn.
This is the first change to the class. Reckless Challenge includes the old Reckless Attack and a brand-new feature. Now Reckless Attack has to be used during Rage. This is partially done to discourage an easy 2-level dip in Barbarian to get easy Advantage on all your attacks, and also to "nerf" it a little bit, since the whole "Reckless Challenge" package will get buffs during the class progression, making this revised Reckless Attack more valuable than the original. Infectious Anger exists as an easy way for the Barbarian to try to goad the enemy. I decided to use a saving throw instead of an automatic goad mechanic because I think it would be a little bit too free.
Level 3: Barbarian Subclass
You gain a Barbarian subclass of your choice. A subclass is a specialization that grants you features at certain Barbarian levels. For the rest of your career, you gain each of your subclass's features that are of your Barbarian level or lower.
No changes here.
Level 3: 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, Stealth, or Survival. When you use this ability, your Strength represents primal power coursing through you, honing your agility, bearing, and senses.
No changes here.
Level 4: Ability Score Improvement
You gain the Ability Score Improvement feat or another feat of your choice for which you qualify. You gain this feature again at Barbarian levels 8, 12, and 16.
No changes here.
Level 5: Extra Attack
You can attack twice instead of once whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.
No changes here.
Level 5: Fast Movement
Your Speed increases by 10 feet while you aren't wearing Heavy armor.
No changes here.
Level 7: Feral Instinct
Your instincts are so honed that you have Advantage on Initiative rolls. In addition, when you roll Initiative at the start of combat, if you have expended any uses of your Rage you can regain one expended use of it. Once you regain a use of Rage in this way, you can't do so again until you finish a Long Rest.
Limiting the Reckless Challenge package to Rage means this revised Barbarian needs its Rage to be active more often than the 2024 Barbarian does, so I decided to give Feral Instinct a little buff.
Level 7: Instinctive Pounce
As part of the Bonus Action you take to enter your Rage, you can move up to half your Speed.
No changes here.
Level 9: Brutal Strike
Your Infectious Anger carries the full force of your Rage, turning your reckless challenge into a devastating blow. When you use your Infectious Anger against a creature, before the target makes its saving throw, the target takes an extra 1d8 damage of the same type dealt by the attack, and you can cause one of the following Brutal Strike effects of your choice.
Forceful Blow: The target is pushed up to 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 applies.
I removed the "lose advantage to get the effect" because I find it a false choice. The real tactical decisions in this feature are the rider effects, and having to sacrifice your advantage simply gatekeeps the real, interesting decisions from being made. I really like the two possible effects. I think they work well with the tank identity of the class, making the Barbarian capable of singling out the enemy or preventing it from reaching the other members of the party. Ah, also, the damage is 1d8 instead of 1d10 because it will scale more quickly in the progression.
Level 10: Titanic Grip
You can grapple creatures up to two sizes larger than you
Let the Barbarian wrestle the dragon.
Level 11: Relentless Rage
While your Rage is active, you are immune to the Charmed and Frightened conditions. In addition, once per Long Rest, when you would be reduced to 0 Hit Points but not killed outright, you can expend one use of your Rage. If you do, your Hit Points instead become equal to four times your Barbarian level. If your Rage wasn't active when you used this feature, you enter your Rage immediately without taking any action.
I know the charmed and Frightened immunities are in the Berserker subclass, but I think the Barbarian needs some protection from spell and spell-like features built in the core class. Obviously the Berserker will need some rework for that. This is not the last time in this revision that I will give the Barbarian immunities or other kinds of defenses. I think the 2024 version is too easy to block/remove from combat. If I want this revision to work as a tank, I need it to be stickier on the battlefield. This is why I also reworked the original Relentless Rage using the Undying Sentinel feature from the Oath of Ancients Paladin as a template (I think there are other similar features, but none come to mind right now).
Level 13: Improved Brutal Strike
The extra damage of your Brutal Strike increases to 2d8.
In addition, at the start of your turn, if the last target of your Infectious Anger hasn't attacked you, forced you to make a saving throw, or dealt damage to you since the end of your last turn, your next use of Infectious Anger against that target before the end of this turn is empowered. The empowered use has the following effects:
- The target has Disadvantage on the saving throw against that Infectious Anger.
- If you apply Forceful Blow to the target, you can push it up to 30 feet instead of 15 feet, and you can then move up to your Speed straight toward the target without provoking Opportunity Attacks.
- If you apply Hamstring Blow to the target, its Speed is reduced by 30 feet instead of 15 feet, and it can't make Opportunity Attacks until the start of your next turn.
Here you can see the quicker scaling I was speaking of in Brutal Strike at level 9. I removed the two new effects; I didn't find them really interesting in general, and I think they didn't fit the fantasy I was going for. The empowered Hamstring Blow and Forceful Blow are designed to help the Barbarian isolate the enemy even better. Also, I am adding complexity to the class with the Infectious Anger feature, so I tried to take a step back here. While I'm not against more complex classes, the Barbarian should be on the simpler side. The idea with this feature is to put the monster (the DM) in a difficult position where it has to choose between letting the Barbarian fulfill its tanking role effectively or getting punished.
Level 15: Unrelenting Rage
Your Rage has become too deeply rooted to fade easily.
Your Rage lasts for 10 minutes without you needing to extend it from round to round. It ends early only if you have the Unconscious condition, if you don Heavy armor, or if you choose to end it as a Bonus Action.
In addition, when you regain an expended use of Rage with your Feral Instinct, you regain all expended uses of Rage instead.
Finally, while a creature is affected by your Infectious Anger, creatures other than you have Advantage on saving throws against effects created by that creature.
The first two points of the feature are unchanged, I only considered the change in Feral Instinct in the wording. The last bit about protection against saving throws is there because, in this tier, I think only discouraging attacks is not enough anymore to get the monsters' attention.
Level 17: Improved Brutal Strike
The extra damage of your Brutal Strike increases to 3d8.
In addition, when your use of Infectious Anger is empowered by your level 13 Improved Brutal Strike feature, you can use Infectious Anger against that same target twice this turn instead of once. Each use can trigger your Brutal Strike as normal, and each use forces its own Wisdom saving throw.
This feature keeps the first Improved Brutal Strike motif: this Barbarian should not be ignored.
Level 18: Indomitable Might
You can grapple creatures regardless of their size.
In addition, you can't be knocked Prone or moved against your will.
Finally, you have Advantage on saving throws and ability checks you make to avoid or end the Grappled, Restrained, and Paralyzed conditions.
Let the Barbarian wrestle the tarrasque. Also, I reworked the original feature because I find it underwhelming and it didn't really deliver on the fantasy. The new feature should help the Barbarian become even stickier and harder to remove, ignore, or outmaneuver.
Level 19: Epic Boon
You gain an Epic Boon feat or another feat of your choice for which you qualify. Boon of Irresistible Offense is recommended.
No changes here.
Level 20: Primal Champion
You embody primal power. Your Strength and Constitution scores increase by 4, to a maximum of 25.
No changes here.
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For the future, I have two main problems with this version: I'm not sure about the "Reckless Challenge" package. It is organized like that to get a simpler feature table, but maybe it could remain as Reckless Attack, and Infectious Anger could be an option granted by the Reckless Attack feature. I am also not sure about Primal Champion; it is a little bit too passive, but I can't decide on a rework or a totally different feature.
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