What is a Barbarian?

[LuYangShih]

I was just wondering if anyone has ever seen or played a Barbarian character that did not follow the stereotypical "warrior of the north" or "savage berserker" path. Has anyone come up with a more unique approach to the Barbarian class?

I am growing rather tired of the cultural connotations present in the class, and I want to see if I can find a way to show the class off. Most of the other classes I've seen at least have some variety in the way they are played, but at least 95% of Barbarian characters I've seen are always the same.

 

[Zhure]

-Uncultured street thug. (The character concept, not you.)

 

[Hand of Evil]

American Indian type - Trackers, hunters, traders - bow, hand axe

Mongol type - Nomadic horse men, rep of blood and battle - horse bow, trick riding

Aficain type - Proud warriors, defenders and hunters - tatoos, body paint - shield and spear

South Sea Type - Explorers, traders, whalers, head hunters - tatoos - wooden weapons, boat skills

 

[Zander]

Has anyone come up with a more unique approach to the Barbarian class?

How about a plains dweller/warrior based on native American culture? Or someone from a tropical jungle such as the people of the Amazon? Or the African jungle such as Tarzan? Or a coastal society modelled on indigenous Hawaian or Polynesean ones? Or even one based on Eskimo or Scottish cultures - though these may be too close to the northern archetype?

Edit: Hand of Evil beat me to a few.

 

[Henry]

To me, native american culture pre-1800 screams barbarian, ranger, and druid. Add in rogues and sorcerers, and you've got a perfect self-contained campaign "world."

I can't think of any more earth-analogues, but that doesn't preclude one from alien ones. How about a barbarian type that gains their powers from the spirits of dead ancestors, and the "rage" is in actuality possession by ancestral spirits? Their high STR, CON, and WILL can be explained by spirit assistance, and because their actions are in part controlled by another, it could explain the lower AC, the lack of concentration, and the fatigue afterwards. It's not a "rage" so much as an enforced condition, kind of like being in a drug-induced state, and the fatgiue is the period of reattunement with one's self. It would suggest a culture in tune with spirits, but not necessarily savage. In fact, the "barbarian" could be quite spiritual, almost a "paladin" among his people, for being able to commune with the warrior-spirits of his people.

 

[LoneWolf23]

Dragon #292, the Wilderness Issue, handled the topic of Barbarians by giving exemples of how a Barbarian culture might be like.

It would depend primarily on the environment the culture lives in. A Plains Barbarian wouldn't be quite like a Jungle Barbarian, for exemple. This can be covered by the choice of skills and feats (Human Barbarians would have an advantage here).

The Rage of ability can be percieved as just about anything, also. It could be a warrior's "Animal Aspect", either a personal totem, a clan symbol, or an animal associated with a War God. When in such a Rage, the Barbarian could act like the animal. It could be an elemental concept, with the warrior embodying the turmoil of the storm, the harsh winds of the cold north of the rage of the sea. Or you could see yourself as being possessed by the spirits of your ancestors or a tribal god, shouting battle-cries in long-forgotten languages as you rage...

I myself am building a Furry D&D campaign where furry PCs come in two main varieties: Tame Furries (civilized, city-dwelling furs) and Wild Furries (more animalistic, wilderness-dwelling furs). The Wild Furs' classes of choice would be Barbarian, Druid, Ranger and Sorceror. As such, the primary theme for the Wild Furry Barbarian would be a regression to it's animal aspect.

 

[Zeddan]

I view the Barbarian as more of a concept than a culture. I also have dropped the Illiteracy. He is a passioned warrior who fights till the end. He uses raw power to win a fight. He doesn't have to be savage or a brute. Just have him be an impassioned warrior.

 

[Celebrim]

A particular type of fanatic warrior with some woodsy uncultured flavor arbitrarily thrown in.

I'm hoping in 3.5 thta the woodsy flavor becomes an optional feature, and that we can have brutish flavors of fanatic warriors, religious flavors of fanatic warriors, nationalistic flavors of fanatic warriors, and so forth.

 

[Eldorian]

A barbarian is someone who is not Greek.

However, if that does not satisfy you, go buy the hero builders guidebook. I believe it has an example of a non-savage barbarian for most races. I usually play barbarians off as woodsy types who aren't rangers (think Mountain Man, from America's old west), or people with anger management issues. The spiritual examples given before are interesting, however. I think "warrior who uses anger to increase combat ability" is the best description. The illiteracy is fun for RP reasons, but I guess you could house rule it away. I'd miss it. In fact, I'd make my guy illiterate anyways.

And if all that fails, be a northman. Ja, ve kill monsters now.


Eldorian Antar

 

[Dark Eternal]

Taking a tangent off of Terry Goodkind, there's his Seeker for Truth - a channel for sorcerous energies that are embodied in Righteous Fury. I've modeled at least a couple of non-stereotypical barbarians from this concept, quite different from one another.

Another possibility, this one a little farther afield, is that the Barbarian class can be used to simulate someone who has tainted blood. Just as the sorcerer gets their gift of magic from a vestigal genetic trait, the Barbarian gets their rage from a trace of Outsider blood diluted from many generations. In this case, the Barbarian might manifest physical signs whilst raging - a shimmering nimbus, a somewhat demonic transformation - or he could just grow two feet, rip out of his clothes and turn green.