D&D General why did they transform the Barbarian into a Raging Monster ?

[le Redoutable]

a Barbarian should behave like North American Indians, happy with Natural Beasts and always on the run, with skills like Climate Knowledge or Herbalism ...

a Raging Barbarian should be renamed a Berserker, that's it !

 

[Seramus]

You can't call anyone resembling a real world culture "Barbarian."
But you CAN make an Incredible Hulk class.
And who doesn't love to Hulk Smash?

 

[MattW]

Well, let's think about this and consider Fantasy's most famous Barbarian (Conan, of course).

The first definition of "Barbarian" was "foreigner who doesn't speak Greek". To be strictly accurate, this was ANCIENT Greek, so it could refer to any culture from the Romans, to the Celts, to the Scythians, to the Persians. Conan was Cimmerian (a tribal culture that looks rather like the Celts).

So, IMHO, Barbarians should, by definition, be foreigners. They would have problems with accents and etiquette and lack some "civilised" skills. OTOH, they should have skills/abilities that are unusual in the "host culture". This could be anything; the Barbarian might be the Ranger, the mercenary/military specialist (or even the Warlock). They don't have to be clones of Arnold Schwarzenegger.

TLDR. The Barbarian is a role-playing tool and needs to be designed as part of the world-building. The Barbarian is something that the locals would see as very foreign

 

[Rogerd1]

There is no need to be honest to turn them into a raging monster.

If you want them to be Hulk, then at least give them Warp Spasm kind of like what Slaine had.

I have a fervent hatred of Bards. A mage spends years learning magic and some muppet can do the same stuff by playing a set of bagpipes. What a load of crap!

Currently working on a 5e hack, with point buy, removing magic from all classes, such that it can be purchased at chargen.

 

[aco175]

All 'races' have the ability to be raging monsters, it just depends where you put the +2/+1. Just ask Chingachgook.

 

[jmartkdr2]

To give them a distinct game mechanic. Otherwise they're just fighters.

 

[Lyxen]

You can't call anyone resembling a real world culture "Barbarian."

Of course you can, german tribes were considered barbarians by the romans.

 

[Lyxen]

It all depends how you translate "rage", it does not necessarily mean foaming at the mouth raving stupid.

 

[Seramus]

Of course you can, german tribes were considered barbarians by the romans.

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[Lyxen]

"We recognize that some of the legacy content available on this website, does not reflect the values of the Dungeon & Dragons franchise today. Some older content may reflect ethnic, racial and gender prejudice that were commonplace in American society at that time. These depictions were wrong then and are wrong today. This content is presented as it was originally created, because to do otherwise would be the same as claiming these prejudices never existed. Dungeons & Dragons teaches that diversity is a strength, and we strive to make our D&D products as welcoming and inclusive as possible. This part of our work will never end."

And how is my sentence in contradiction with that policy ? Please read: "The Romans used the term barbarus for uncivilised people, opposite to Greek or Roman, and in fact, it became a common term to refer to all foreigners among Romans after Augustus age (as, among the Greeks, after the Persian wars, the Persians), including the Germanic peoples, Persians, Gauls, Phoenicians and Carthaginians." Simple historical fact that has NOTHING to do with Dungeons and Dragons and its history.