Good Morning Game Fans, we’re back to continue our deeper investigation into the mysteries of Dungeons and Dragons, and how it shaped the larger roleplaying game community. We’ve put a temporary hold on our discussion about races in fantasy roleplaying (We’ll pick back up with the races from Volo’s Guide to Monsters and the Elemental Evil Player’s Companion after this interlude). We’re going to discuss the role of Classes in fantasy roleplaying games, and then we’ll take a look in turn at each of the character classes in the Player’s Handbook for Dungeons and Dragons, 5th Edition.
So what is a Character Class? In Dungeons and Dragons (and many other roleplaying games) A Character Class represents a combination of special abilities, options and skills that make up a character’s occupation. Your Character Class helps define what options you have to interact with the larger game world, and determines whether you’re a sneaky expert, or a bold warrior, or a crafty arcane magician.
It also serves to indicate to other players what they can expect your character to be capable of doing. In other words, it can serve as a keyword for you to identify a variety of factors. It’s also the second most common descriptor used to identify a character after race. For example, “He’s a human ranger, or she’s an elven wizard.” in the same way that people can identify as a lawyer, or a doctor or a soldier, the fantasy adventurer identifies as a barbarian, or a ranger, or a wizard.
Barbarian:
Hailing from the uncivilized edges of the world, the Barbarian is a martial character. Using his or her fearsome anger to fuel combat prowess, the Barbarian is a warrior who wades into the thickest of the fighting, lightly armored and quick on their feet. Fury drives them to acts of potential insanity, and sees them through to the other side.
Living in sync with the natural world, the Barbarian is a survivalist and a warrior first and foremost. Through hardened vitality and sheer toughness, the Barbarian lives his or her life by a combination of wit and tradition, with a healthy dose of superstition and respect for the greater world around them.
Creating a Barbarian:
Why did you pick Barbarian for this character? Is he or she a rugged survivalist living at the edge of the world? Are they a proud chieftain of a tribe? What drew your as a player to the idea of making this particular character a Barbarian? Figuring out these answers can help you figure out why you want to be a barbarian, and how you can select a background that works with the class and your concept.
Barbarians are Strong, durable martial characters that can get a lot of work done with a high strength score and a decent Constitution. Constitution helps your character survive by increasing the available hit points, and it helps resist anything that requires a Constitution saving throw. Strength is the primary ability a barbarian is going to interact with, and a high strength score gives the barbarian a better chance at putting his or her muscles to work.
Your character probably isn’t going to be one of the classes that favors knowing things over doing things, so it’s perfectly acceptable to build your skill selection and Intelligence score along those shared lines. Let someone else be the smart knows stuff guy or gal.
Class Features
This section contains all of the mechanically and statistically relevant information that you will need as a player to build your character.
Hit Points:
Hit points represent the amount of damage a character can take before being incapacitated and potentially dead. Every class has a specific range of potential hit point totals, modified by the character’s Constitution modifier.
Hit Dice: Barbarians use a D12 for their hit dice, and this means that the average barbarian is going to have a lot more hit points than most other classes. Even the other martial characters usually are only rolling D10s.
Hit Points at 1st level: A 1st level Barbarian will have 12 hit points plus an additional number of hit points equal to their constitution bonus.
Hit Points at higher levels: Every level after first, a Barbarian gains an additional D12 hit die, which they can roll for hit point, or take the average value of 7. They also get to add their Constitution modifier to whatever they roll. The new Hit Die plus Con mod is added to their existing Maximum hit points, and they are off to the races.
For example, a level 2 Barbarian has just gained enough experience points to achieve level 3. They roll a D12, and come up with a 9. The player adds their Constitution bonus of +2, and this comes to an 11. Added to the existing maximum Hit Point total of 25, the new 3rd level Barbarian has 36 hit points.
Proficiencies:
Proficiencies represent specific training and competency levels with a variety of weapons, armor, saving throws, tools, and skills. When using weapons and skills your character is proficient in, as well as making saving throws of types your character is proficient with, you get to add your proficiency bonus to the die roll.
Armor: Light Armor, Medium Armor, Shields
Weapons: Simple Weapons, Martial Weapons
Tools: None
Saving Throws: Strength, Constitution
Skills: Choice of two from: Animal Handling, Athletics, Intimidation, Nature, Perception, and Survival
Note: There are other ways to acquire certain proficiencies beyond the character class. Certain races, backgrounds, and other options allow a character to pick up proficiencies outside their normal range, so if you see something you’re looking for, you might just find it in another section.
Equipment:
Every character class has a recommended starting package of weapons and equipment. This is an excellent way to save yourself time by grabbing a gear package and being ready to go. All of the suggestions are laid out in a menu, and you as a player get to make one choice per bullet point for your character’s equipment.
- (a) Greataxe or (b) any martial melee weapon
- (a) two hand axes or (b) any simple weapon
- An explorer’s pack and four javelins
Class Abilities:
The majority of the remaining class description will feature a combination of special abilities and tricks that only members of this specific class have access to. These are the other professional capabilities that define this class and separate it from the remaining ones. They give the flavoring that make the bard play differently from the sorcerer. They have a specific format that they’ll likely follow:
1st Level
Rage
A Barbarian channels their fury into a variety of short term benefits for combat. As a bonus action, the Barbarian can enter a Rage which provides the following benefits, if not wearing heavy armor.
- Advantage on Strength Checks and Strength saving throws (You get to roll 2 20 sided dice and take the better result).
- When using a melee weapon to make attacks, the Barbarian gets a damage bonus based on barbarian level, (there’s a chart on page 47 to tell you exactly how high the bonus is).
- Resistance to bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage.
It also has a couple of restrictions
- If the barbarian is a spell caster, it can neither cast spells or maintain concentration while raging.
- Rage lasts for 1 minute or :
- The barbarian is knocked unconscious.
- The Barbarian’s turn ends and it hasn’t attacked a hostile creature since its last turn.
- The Barbarian’s turn ends and it hasn’t taken damage since its last turn.
The Barbarian can end its Rage as a bonus action otherwise.
The same chart on page 47 also tells you how many times per day you can rage. Once you’ve hit your limit of rages, you need to take a long rest to get your Rage uses back.
Unarmored Defense
While the Barbarian is unarmored, they calculate their armor class as follows: 10+Dexterity Modifier+Constitution Modifier. The Barbarian can use a shield and still gain the benefits of this ability.
2nd level
Reckless Attack
The Barbarian throws caution to the wind in order to maximize his or her chance of downing their foe. When the barbarian makes their first attack on their turn, they can choose to make it a Reckless Attack. The Barbarian has advantage on Strength based melee weapon attacks during that turn, but attack rolls against the Barbarian have advantage.
Danger Sense
Preternatural awareness of their surroundings gives barbarians an extraordinary ability to avoid harm. The Barbarian has advantage on Dexterity against effects that the Barbarian can see, such as traps, spells and other effects of this type. To gain this benefit, the Barbarian can’t be blinded, deafened or incapacitated.
3rd Level
Primal Path Ability 1
Depending on which Primal Path you select, you’ll get one of two abilities. I’ll cover these below when i cover the archetypes in greater detail.
4th Level
Ability Score Increase
You can increase one ability score of your choice by two points or you can increase two different ability scores by one point. You can’t increase an ability score over 20 using this ability. Some games allow feats, and you can substitute a feat for an Ability Score Increase.
5th Level
Extra Attack
When the Barbarian takes the attack action, he or she can attack twice in a turn.
Fast Movement
When Unencumbered by Heavy Armor, the Barbarian moves an additional 10 feet per round.
6th Level
Primal Path Ability 2
Depending on which Primal Path you select, you’ll get one of two abilities. I’ll cover these below when i cover the archetypes in greater detail.
7th Level
Feral Instinct
The Barbarian’s finely honed instincts give it Advantage on initiative checks. Additionally, if the Barbarian is surprised, but not incapacitated at the beginning of combat, the Barbarian can act normally, so long as they spend their bonus action to enter Rage before doing anything else.
8th Level
Ability Score Increase
You can increase one ability score of your choice by two points or you can increase two different ability scores by one point. You can’t increase an ability score over 20 using this ability. Some games allow feats, and you can substitute a feat for an Ability Score Increase.
9th Level
Brutal Critical
When the Barbarian critically hits with a melee attack, they roll an additional weapon damage die. This increases to two additional damage dice at 13th level, and three additional damage dice at 17th level.
10th Level
Primal Path Ability 3
Depending on which Primal Path you select, you’ll get one of two abilities. I’ll cover these below when i cover the archetypes in greater detail.
11th Level
Relentless Rage
The Barbarian gains an impressive ability to shrug off punishment. If the Barbarian drops to 0 Hit Points and isn’t killed outright, the Barbarian can make a Constitution saving throw (DC 10). On a success, they drop to 1 hit point instead of 0. The DC increases by 5 every time the Barbarian makes the check, though it resets to 10 after a long rest.
12th Level
Ability Score Increase
You can increase one ability score of your choice by two points or you can increase two different ability scores by one point. You can’t increase an ability score over 20 using this ability. Some games allow feats, and you can substitute a feat for an Ability Score Increase.
13th Level
Brutal Critical increases by a die, no other features are gained.
14th Level
Primal Path Ability 4
Depending on which Primal Path you select, you’ll get one of two abilities. I’ll cover these below when i cover the archetypes in greater detail.
15th Level
Persistent Rage
The Barbarian’s rage is so fierce that it sustains itself. It ends only if the Barbarian falls unconscious or chooses to end it. This eliminates the need to attack hostile creatures or take damage to sustain the rage. Duration is unchanged, other benefits continue to operate normally.
16th Level
Ability Score Increase
You can increase one ability score of your choice by two points or you can increase two different ability scores by one point. You can’t increase an ability score over 20 using this ability. Some games allow feats, and you can substitute a feat for an Ability Score Increase.
17th Level
Brutal Critical increases by a die, no other features are gained.
18th Level
Indomitable Might
If the total you roll for a Strength check (after modifiers) is less than your Strength score, you can substitute your Strength score for your check result.
19th Level
Ability Score Increase
You can increase one ability score of your choice by two points or you can increase two different ability scores by one point. You can’t increase an ability score over 20 using this ability. Some games allow feats, and you can substitute a feat for an Ability Score Increase.
20th Level
Primal Champion
The Barbarian’s Strength and Constitution scores increase by 4 points, the maximum values for both also increase to 24.
Thoughts and Ideas:
So what does all of this mean? Well, the Barbarian as a class is built for melee combat, and loves to hit things as hard as it can, as often as it can. Rage gives the Barbarian a damage boost and the ability to shrug off punishment. Other abilities throughout this class progression are intended to make the barbarian more lethal in melee combat, or to give them the definite advantage on first strike situations.
The Barbarian at most levels is going to be a lightly armored character (and depending on Dex and Con scores, may eschew armor completely) and is capable of fighting with either weapon and shield or large weapon. Ranged options exist, but most of what a Barbarian wants to do is close the distance and put blades into bad guys.
Depending on which Primal Path the Barbarian follows, you can further refine the Barbarian into a much more aggressive killing machine, or something that just refuses to die.
Archetypes:
A character class is built to be as broadly encompassing as it can be. There are many types of wizards in the world, and different types of fighters as well. Each class has access to a selection of Archetypes that allow a player to further tighten up their concept and build the type of character they are specifically looking for. Rogues have access to both thief and assassin, for example, and while they are both Rogues at heart, the abilities that each Archetype uses definitely change the way the class feels to play.
The two Primal Paths offered in the Player’s Handbook for the Barbarian are the Path of the Berserker and the Path of the Totem Warrior. Each one adds a group of abilities to the core Barbarian, and they can shift the way you look at your character and the feats of awesome you might want to pull off.
Path of the Berserker
The path of the Berserker takes the reckless combatant ideal of the Barbarian and ratchets it up to 13. It turns Rage into Frenzy, and dramatically increases the amount of damage the Barbarian can put out, while suffering from fatigue and potential exhaustion for using it too often. Let’s take a look at the four path abilities for the Berserker.
3rd Level
Frenzy
When a Berserker activates their Rage ability, they can instead choose to Frenzy. During a Frenzy, the Berserker can make an additional melee attack as a bonus action each round. When the frenzy is over, the Berserker gains one level of exhaustion.
6th Level
Mindless Rage
While raging, the Berserker is cannot be charmed or frightened, and if the Berserker rages while under those conditions, their effects are suspended for the duration of the Rage.
10th Level
Intimidating Presence
The Berserker can flex menacingly or otherwise attempt to scare an enemy. He or she targets 1 creature within 30 feet that can see the Berserker. If the target can see or hear the Berserker, they make a Wisdom saving throw, DC = (8+Berserker’s Proficiency Bonus+Berserker’s Charisma modifier). If the target fails their saving throw, they are frightened until the end of the Berserker’s next turn. The Berserker can use an Action to extend the effect for another turn. It ends if the targeted creature is outside the Berserker’s line of sight or more than 60 feet away. If the creature succeeds on its save, it can be targeted by this ability again for 24 hours.
14th Level
Retaliation
The Berserker can spend its reaction to make a melee weapon attack against a creature that damages it, so long as that creature is within 5 feet.
Thoughts and Ideas:
The Berserker Barbarian is an offensively intended melee combatant who is more than capable of wading into a melee so that it can start killing bad guys. With the extra bonus attack from Frenzy, and the potential interactions between Reckless Attack, the Berserker wants to be in people’s faces and cutting them down. Giving everyone around you advantage on attack rolls against you is much less of a concern when they are all dead.
Path of the Totem Warrior
The path of the Totem Warrior is a much more solemn journey for the Barbarian. It focuses on the connection to the natural world, and the animal spirits in it to guide the Barbarian along his journey. The Totem Warrior draws strength from this connection to accomplish great deeds.
3rd Level
Spirit Seeker
A Totem Warrior is capable of utilizing the spells Beast Sense and Speak with Animals but only as ritual castings.
Totem Spirit
A Totem Warrior selects a totem spirit to follow and receive guidance. The totem spirit will have physical representations, such as bird feathers, or wolf teeth, or a bear pelt, or the barbarian can opt to pick up physical characteristics reminiscent of the totem animal. The three currently available choices are Bear, Eagle and Wolf
- Bear: Resistance to all damage types except Psychic while raging
- Eagle: While raging and not in heavy armor, Hostile creatures have disadvantage on opportunity attack rolls against the Totem Warrior. Further, the Totem Warrior can take the Dash action as a bonus action each round.
- Wolf: While the Totem Warrior is raging, the Totem Warrior’s allies have advantage on melee attack rolls against any hostile creature within 5 feet of the Totem Warrior.
6th Level
Aspect of the Beast
The Totem Warrior draw more inspiration and power from its totem spirit. (Note, you can pick the same animal you picked at level 3 or pick a new option)
- Bear: Carrying Capacity is doubled, and advantage on Strength checks to push, pull, lift, or break objects.
- Eagle: The Totem Warrior can see up to 1 mile away with no difficulty. Further, he or she can discern fine details as though looking at a target 100 feet away. Dim light does not impose disadvantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks
- Wolf: Can travel at a fast pace while tracking another creature or being stealthy.
10th Level
Spirit Walker
The Totem Warrior can cast the spell Commune with Nature as a ritual. He or she can choose which Totem visits them to convey the information from the choices they made for Totem Spirit and Aspect of the Beast.
14th Level
Totemic Attunement
The Totem Warrior strengthens the bond between Warrior and Totem. The strength of this bond manifests in extraordinary ways.
- Bear: When raging the Totem Warrior imposes disadvantage on any attack roll by a creature within 5 feet of it that targets the Totem Warrior or any other character with this feature. An enemy is immune to this ability if they can’t see or hear the Totem Warrior or are immune to being frightened.
- Eagle: While raging the Totem Warrior can fly in short bursts with a fly speed equal to his or her walking speed. If nothing else is helping the Totem Warrior fly, they fall back to the ground at the end of their turn.
- Wolf: While raging, the Totem Warrior can spend a bonus action to knock a creature of large size or smaller prone after hitting them with a melee weapon attack.
Thoughts and Ideas:
The Totem Warrior barbarian focuses more on the natural connection that Barbarians have with the world around them and gives them new options and ways to interact. The Totem spirit abilities at levels 3,6, and 14 offer new and different ways to approach combat, and the Barbarian often has ways of gaining information that would otherwise escape other characters. It’s a different take on the naturalist warrior, and offers a great deal of flavor for someone looking for a character that’s just a little bit out there.
Conclusions:
The Barbarian is first and foremost a martial class. It wants to get its hands dirty in hand to hand combat with anything from goblins to giants. It’s key ability scores for most things are Strength and Constitution, with Dexterity and Wisdom running close behind. This class really isn’t overly concerned or burdened by Intelligence or Charisma, so don’t worry about those.
You’re going to want to rage early and as often as you can in a fight. It gives you a damage bonus based off your level, and it can reduce the amount of damage you take from bad guys. Press the attack and hit things as hard as you can. You don’t want the fight to drag out, you want it over and done so you can catch your breath and sort the loot.
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