Barbarian

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Note: The text in this shaded box was taken from a different Open Game License product. Nothing in the text should be interpreted as “rules” or “mechanics”.

For some, there is only rage. In the ways of their people, in the fury of their passion, in the howl of battle, conflict is all these brutal souls know. Savages, hired muscle, masters of vicious martial techniques, they are not soldiers or professional warriors-they are the battle possessed, creatures of slaughter and spirits of war. Known as barbarians, these warmongers know little of training, preparation, or the rules of warfare; for them, only the moment exists, with the foes that stand before them and the knowledge that the next moment might hold their death. They possess a sixth sense in regard to danger and the endurance to weather all that might entail. These brutal warriors might rise from all walks of life, both civilized and savage, though whole societies embracing such philosophies roam the wild places of the world. Within barbarians storms the primal spirit of battle, and woe to those who face their rage.

Class Features

As a barbarian, you gain the following class features.

Hit Points

Hit Dice: 1d12 per barbarian level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 12 + your Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d12 (or 7) + your Constitution modifier per barbarian level after 1st

Proficiencies

Armor: Light armor, medium armor, shields
Weapons: Simple weapons, martial weapons
Tools: None
Saving Throws: Strength, Constitution
Skills: Choose two from Animal Handling, Athletics, Intimidation, Nature, Perception, and Survival

Equipment

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    You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:

    • (a) a greataxe or (b) any martial melee weapon
    • (a) two handaxes or (b) any simple weapon
    • An explorer’s pack and four javelins
    Table: The Barbarian
    Level Proficiency Bonus Features Rages Rage Damage
    1st +2 Rage, Unarmored Defense 2 +2
    2nd +2 Reckless Attack, Danger Sense 2 +2
    3rd +2 Primal Path 3 +2
    4th +2 Ability Score Improvement 3 +2
    5th +3 Extra Attack, Fast Movement 3 +2
    6th +3 Path feature 4 +2
    7th +3 Feral Instinct 4 +2
    8th +3 Ability Score Improvement 4 +2
    9th +4 Brutal Critical (1 die) 4 +3
    10th +4 Path feature 4 +3
    11th +4 Relentless Rage 4 +3
    12th +4 Ability Score Improvement 5 +3
    13th +5 Brutal Critical (2 dice) 5 +3
    14th +5 Path feature 5 +3
    15th +5 Persistent Rage 5 +3
    16th +5 Ability Score Improvement 5 +4
    17th +6 Brutal Critical (3 dice) 6 +4
    18th +6 Indomitable Might 6 +4
    19th +6 Ability Score Improvement 6 +4
    20th +6 Primal Champion Unlimited +4

    Rage

    In battle, you fight with primal ferocity. On your turn, you can enter a rage as a bonus action.

    While raging, you gain the following benefits if you aren’t wearing heavy armor:

    • You have advantage on Strength checks and Strength saving throws.
    • When you make a melee weapon attack using Strength, you gain a bonus to the damage roll that increases as you gain levels as a barbarian, as shown in the Rage Damage column of the Barbarian table.
    • You have resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage.

    If you are able to cast spells, you can’t cast them or concentrate on them while raging.

    Your rage lasts for 1 minute. It ends early if you are knocked unconscious or if your turn ends and you haven’t attacked a hostile creature since your last turn or taken damage since then. You can also end your rage on your turn as a bonus action.

    Once you have raged the number of times shown for your barbarian level in the Rages column of the Barbarian table, you must finish a long rest before you can rage again.

    Unarmored Defense

    While you are not wearing any armor, your Armor Class equals 10 + your Dexterity modifier + your Constitution modifier. You can use a shield and still gain this benefit.

    Reckless Attack

    Starting at 2nd level, you can throw aside all concern for defense to attack with fierce desperation. When you make your first attack on your turn, you can decide to attack recklessly. Doing so gives you advantage on melee weapon attack rolls using Strength during this turn, but attack rolls against you have advantage until your next turn.

    Danger Sense

    At 2nd level, you gain an uncanny sense of when things nearby aren’t as they should be, giving you an edge when you dodge away from danger.

    You have advantage on Dexterity saving throws against effects that you can see, such as traps and spells. To gain this benefit, you can’t be blinded, deafened, or incapacitated.

    Primal Path

    At 3rd level, you choose a path that shapes the nature of your rage. “Path of the Berserker” is the only “official” option released by Wizards of the Coast.

    The choice grants you features at 3rd level and again at 6th, 10th, and 14th levels.

    Subpages

      Ability Score Improvement

      When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

      Extra Attack

      Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

      Fast Movement

      Starting at 5th level, your speed increases by 10 feet while you aren’t wearing heavy armor.

      Feral Instinct

      By 7th level, your instincts are so honed that you have advantage on initiative rolls.

      Additionally, if you are surprised at the beginning of combat and aren’t incapacitated, you can act normally on your first turn, but only if you enter your rage before doing anything else on that turn.

      Brutal Critical

      Beginning at 9th level, you can roll one additional weapon damage die when determining the extra damage for a critical hit with a melee attack.

      This increases to two additional dice at 13th level and three additional dice at 17th level.

      Relentless Rage

      Starting at 11th level, your rage can keep you fighting despite grievous wounds. If you drop to 0 hit points while you’re raging and don’t die outright, you can make a DC 10 Constitution saving throw. If you succeed, you drop to 1 hit point instead.

      Each time you use this feature after the first, the DC increases by 5. When you finish a short or long rest, the DC resets to 10.

      Persistent Rage

      Beginning at 15th level, your rage is so fierce that it ends early only if you fall unconscious or if you choose to end it.

      Indomitable Might

      Beginning at 18th level, if your total for a Strength check is less than your Strength score, you can use that score in place of the total.

      Primal Champion

      At 20th level, you embody the power of the wilds. Your Strength and Constitution scores increase by 4. Your maximum for those scores is now 24.

      Section 15: Copyright Notice

      System Reference Document 5.1 Copyright 2016, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford, Chris Perkins, Rodney Thompson, Peter Lee, James Wyatt, Robert J. Schwalb, Bruce R. Cordell, Chris Sims, and Steve Townshend, based on original material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.

      This is not the complete license attribution - see the full license for this page