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Barbarian Details | Barbarian Feats | Barbarian Kits | Barbarian Sample Builds | Instincts

Barbarian

Source Core Rulebook pg. 82
Rage consumes you in battle. You delight in wreaking havoc and using powerful weapons to carve through your enemies, relying on astonishing durability without needing complicated techniques or rigid training. Your rages draw upon a vicious instinct, which you might associate with an animal, a spirit, or some part of yourself. To many barbarians, brute force is a hammer and every problem looks like a nail, whereas others try to hold back the storm of emotions inside them and release their rage only when it matters most.

Key Ability: STRENGTH
At 1st level, your class gives you an ability boost to Strength.

Hit Points: 12 plus your Constitution modifier
You increase your maximum number of HP by this number at 1st level and every level thereafter.

Roleplaying the Barbarian

During Combat Encounters...

You summon your rage and rush to the front lines to smash your way through. Offense is your best defense—you’ll need to drop foes before they can exploit your relatively low defenses.

During Social Encounters...

You use intimidation to get what you need, especially when gentler persuasion can’t get the job done.

While Exploring...

You look out for danger, ready to rush headfirst into battle in an instant. You climb the challenging rock wall and drop a rope for others to follow, and you wade into the risky currents to reach the hidden switch beneath the water’s surface. If something needs breaking, you’re up to the task!

In Downtime...

You might head to a tavern to carouse, build up the fearsome legend of your mighty deeds, or recruit followers to become a warlord in your own right.

You Might...

  • Have a deep-seated well of anger, hatred, or frustration.
  • Prefer a straightforward approach to one requiring patience and tedium.
  • Engage in a regimen of intense physical fitness—and punch anyone who says this conflicts with your distaste for patience and tedium.

Others Probably...

  • Rely on your courage and your strength, and trust that you can hold your own in a fight.
  • See you as uncivilized or a boorish lout unfit for high society.
  • Believe that you are loyal to your friends and allies and will never relent until the fight is done.

Initial Proficiencies

At 1st level, you gain the listed proficiency ranks in the following statistics. You are untrained in anything not listed unless you gain a better proficiency rank in some other way.

Perception

Expert in Perception

Saving Throws

Expert in Fortitude
Trained in Reflex
Expert in Will

Skills

Trained in Athletics
Trained in a number of additional skills equal to 3 plus your Intelligence modifier

Attacks

Trained in simple weapons
Trained in martial weapons
Trained in unarmed attacks

Defenses

Trained in light armor
Trained in medium armor
Trained in unarmored defense

Class DC

Trained in barbarian class DC

Class Features

You gain these features as a Barbarian. Abilities gained at higher levels list the levels at which you gain them next to the features' names.
Your LevelClass Features
1Ancestry and background, initial proficiencies, rage, instinct, barbarian feat
2Barbarian feat, skill feat
3Deny advantage, general feat, skill increase
4Barbarian feat, skill feat
5Ability boosts, ancestry feat, brutality, skill increase
6Barbarian feat, skill feat
7General feat, juggernaut, skill increase, weapon specialization
8Barbarian feat, skill feat
9Ancestry feat, lightning reflexes, raging resistance, skill increase
10Ability boosts, barbarian feat, skill feat
11General feat, mighty rage, skill increase
12Barbarian feat, skill feat
13Ancestry feat, greater juggernaut, medium armor expertise, skill increase, weapon fury
14Barbarian feat, skill feat
15Ability boosts, general feat, greater weapon specialization, indomitable will, skill increase
16Barbarian feat, skill feat
17Ancestry feat, heightened senses, skill increase, quick rage
18Barbarian feat, skill feat
19Armor of fury, devastator, general feat, skill increase
20Ability boosts, barbarian feat, skill feat

Ancestry and Background

In addition to the abilities provided by your class at 1st level, you have the benefits of your selected ancestry and background, as described in Chapter 2.

Barbarian Feats

At 1st level and every even-numbered level thereafter, you gain a barbarian class feat. Barbarian class feats are described beginning on page 88.

Initial Proficiencies

At 1st level you gain a number of proficiencies that represent your basic training. These proficiencies are noted in at the start of this class.

Instinct

Your rage wells up from a dominant instinct—one you learned from a tradition or that comes naturally to you. Your instinct gives you an ability, requires you to avoid certain behaviors, grants you increased damage and resistances at higher levels, and allows you to select feats tied to your instinct.

Instincts can be found here.

Rage

You gain the Rage action, which lets you fly into a frenzy.

Rage Single Action

BarbarianConcentrateEmotionMental
Source Core Rulebook pg. 84
Requirements You aren’t fatigued or raging.
You tap into your inner fury and begin raging. You gain a number of temporary Hit Points equal to your level plus your Constitution modifier. This frenzy lasts for 1 minute, until there are no enemies you can perceive, or until you fall unconscious, whichever comes first. You can’t voluntarily stop raging. While you are raging:
  • You deal 2 additional damage with melee weapons and unarmed attacks. This additional damage is halved if your weapon or unarmed attack is agile.
  • You take a –1 penalty to AC.
  • You can’t use actions with the concentrate trait unless they also have the rage trait. You can Seek while raging.
After you stop raging, you lose any remaining temporary Hit Points from Rage, and you can’t Rage again for 1 minute.

Skill FeatsLevel 2

At 2nd level and every 2 levels thereafter, you gain a skill feat. Skill feats appear in Chapter 5 and have the skill trait. You must be trained or better in the corresponding skill to select a skill feat.

Deny AdvantageLevel 3

Your foes struggle to pass your defenses. You aren’t flat-footed to hidden, undetected, or flanking creatures of your level or lower, or creatures of your level or lower using surprise attack. However, they can still help their allies flank.

General FeatsLevel 3

At 3rd level and every 4 levels thereafter, you gain a general feat. General feats are listed in Chapter 5.

Skill IncreasesLevel 3

At 3rd level and every 2 levels thereafter, you gain a skill increase. You can use this increase either to increase your proficiency rank to trained in one skill you’re untrained in, or to increase your proficiency rank in one skill in which you’re already trained to expert.

At 7th level, you can use skill increases to increase your proficiency rank to master in a skill in which you’re already an expert, and at 15th level, you can use them to increase your proficiency rank to legendary in a skill in which you’re already a master.

Ability BoostsLevel 5

At 5th level and every 5 levels thereafter, you boost four different ability scores. You can use these ability boosts to increase your ability scores above 18. Boosting an ability score increases it by 1 if it’s already 18 or above, or by 2 if it starts below 18.

Ancestry FeatsLevel 5

In addition to the ancestry feat you started with, you gain an ancestry feat at 5th level and every 4 levels thereafter. The list of ancestry feats available to you can be found in your ancestry’s entry in Chapter 2.

BrutalityLevel 5

Your fury makes your weapons lethal. Your proficiency ranks for simple weapons, martial weapons, and unarmed attacks increase to expert. While raging, you gain access to the critical specialization effects for melee weapons and unarmed attacks.

JuggernautLevel 7

Your body is accustomed to physical hardship and resistant to ailments. Your proficiency rank for Fortitude saves increases to master. When you roll a success on a Fortitude save, you get a critical success instead.

Weapon SpecializationLevel 7

Your rage helps you hit harder. You deal an additional 2 damage with weapons and unarmed attacks in which you have expert proficiency. This damage increases to 3 if you’re a master, and 4 if you’re legendary. You gain your instinct’s specialization ability.

See specific instincts for more information.

Lightning ReflexesLevel 9

Your reflexes are lightning fast. Your proficiency rank for Reflex saves increases to expert.

Raging ResistanceLevel 9

Repeated exposure and toughened skin allow you to fend off harm. While raging, you gain resistance equal to 3 + your Constitution modifier to damage types based on your instinct.

See specific instincts for more information.

Mighty RageLevel 11

Your rage intensifies and lets you burst into action. Your proficiency rank for your barbarian class DC increases to expert. You gain the Mighty Rage free action.

Mighty Rage Free Action

Barbarian
Source Core Rulebook pg. 85
Trigger You use the Rage action on your turn.
Use an action that has the rage trait. Alternatively, you can increase the actions of the triggering Rage to 2 to instead use a 2-action activity with the rage trait.

Greater JuggernautLevel 13

You have a stalwart physiology. Your proficiency rank for Fortitude saves increases to legendary. When you roll a critical failure on a Fortitude save, you get a failure instead. When you roll a failure on a Fortitude save against an effect that deals damage, you halve the damage you take.

Medium Armor ExpertiseLevel 13

You’ve learned to defend yourself better against attacks. Your proficiency ranks for light armor, medium armor, and unarmored defense increase to expert.

Weapon FuryLevel 13

Your rage makes you even more effective with the weapons you wield. Your proficiency ranks for simple weapons, martial weapons, and unarmed attacks increase to master.

Greater Weapon SpecializationLevel 15

The weapons you’ve mastered become truly fearsome in your hands. Your damage from weapon specialization increases to 4 with weapons and unarmed attacks in which you’re an expert, 6 if you’re a master, and 8 if you’re legendary. You gain a greater benefit from your instinct’s specialization ability.

See specific instincts for more information.

Indomitable WillLevel 15

Your rage makes it difficult to control you. Your proficiency rank for Will saves increases to master. When you roll a success on a Will save, you get a critical success instead.

Heightened SensesLevel 17

Your instinct heightens each of your senses further. Your proficiency rank for Perception increases to master.

Quick RageLevel 17

You recover from your Rage quickly, and are soon ready to begin anew. After you spend a full turn without raging, you can Rage again without needing to wait 1 minute.

Armor of FuryLevel 19

Your training and rage deepen your connection to your armor. Your proficiency ranks for light armor, medium armor, and unarmored defense increase to master.

DevastatorLevel 19

Your Strikes are so devastating that you hardly care about resistance, and your barbarian abilities are unparalleled. Your proficiency rank for your barbarian class DC increases to master. Your melee Strikes ignore 10 points of a creature’s resistance to their physical damage.