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View Full Version : D&D 3.x Class Barbarian rework [E6]



EdokTheTwitch
2015-12-09, 10:22 PM
I have always (like many others on this forum) wanted to work on my own version of the 3.5 D&D, that would fix all of the inherent flaws of the system. For a while, I settled on the E6, because it seemed to fix pretty much everything, but there is still a distinct disparity in class power, utility, and most importantly, the amount of fun the players have while using the classes. Therefore, now that I have a ridiculous amount of time on my hands, I set about reworking everything from the ground up. The first item on the list is the Barbarian.

This class will make references to several mechanics that will be introduced in the complete rework, and I will briefly explain them as they appear.

The main issue I have always had with the Barbarian is the completely one-track mindset whenever it is played. While I can understand the draw of a pure damage-dispensing melee character, the way barbarians approach that role is translated into simple, straightforward attacks. Therefore, I strived to improve that with the introduction of Rage Powers, which would modify the ways in which each individual Barbarian rages, and adding a number of of changes, like keying Rage off Charisma (due to the simple fact that it is an emotional state), and a number of intimidation abilities.

Parry - Briefly, I really like the idea that armor merely dampens the damage of a blow, more than negates it entirely, and I will therefore attempt to split defence into DR (gained from armors, and some spells), Evasion (Dexterity, dodge...), and parry, which would be an opposed attack roll, and would reduce the defenders attack bonus in the round following the parry based on the number of parries performed.

Please P.E.A.C.H.

Barbarian

In the frozen wastes of the world, the mountaintop villages, vast and open deserts, and even in the grand towns and capitals of kingdoms, you can find barbarians. They are the warriors driven by their inner rage, the latent power of their personality seeping through the façade of civilization, and reveling in the power such a release grants. They destroy anything that stands between them and their goals, be it an enemy they need to face in combat, or one that forces them to release their powerful personality, breaking the will of those in front of them.

Adventures: If any walk of life is practically custom made for the adventuring trade, it is certainly that of the barbarian. They revel in walking the world, be it to right wrongs, inflict them upon the world, or simply to enjoy their life. The great beasts in the ancient forests, undead in haunted necropolises, or the dragons soaring through the sky, are all a challenge that enable the Barbarian to grow, and sate their rage.

Characteristics: The key point of a barbarian is their rage, the release of their personality in the form of physical power, making them a warrior that is almost without equal. Their powers make them adept in scouting as well, and grant them an excellent power over the will of others, breaking them with intimidation and presence alone.

Alignment: Barbarians are, in every case, chaos personified. While they may devote themselves to freeing the subjugated and helping the poor, they can just as well become a walking mayhem, slaughtering and destroying everything in their way. The most important characteristic of a barbarian is the fact that they all value their freedom, and will never bend to the will of the law, if they do not agree with it.

Religion: Most barbarians are, perfectly understandably, not very religious. The kind of life they lead leaves little to the grace of the divine, as they rely on strength. However, when they do pay respect to anyone, it is the gods of war and strength, those who empower the skills they were born with.

Background: Out of all the barbarians, the most common are those that come from the small, savage tribes of the world, hidden away in the tropic jungles, or the open plains, leading their clan on horseback and pillaging anything in their way. However, this is far from a rule, as the fiery spark of the barbarian’s rage can burst even in the mind of a noble scion, burning away their patience and displaying more and more clearly as they age. Due to their very nature, there are no real associations or dedicated groups of barbarians anywhere. Most of the time, barbarians that meet have no interest in each other, preferring to enjoy their life in any way they see fit. However, if their goals or ideas clash in some way, the resulting battle can tear away anything in their surroundings.

Races: Out of all the races walking the world, the ones most likely to accept the rage in their heart is Humanity, eclipsed only by the Mourned. Both of these races are driven by their own inner fire, and that kind of drive blends extremely well with the power of rage. Of the other races, Dwarves are the next, if their goal is to become warriors better than every other. Halfling and Elf barbarians are exceedingly rare, as their relaxed, carefree nature does not really mesh with barbaric powers. Socialite and Librarian barbarians are virtually nonexistent, as their lifestyles and characters in general do not mesh well with outbursts of rage..

Other Classes: The classes that have the most in common with the barbarian are the rangers, rogues, and sorcerers. With rangers, they find similarities in their bestial nature, and the call to the wilderness that resonates in their minds. With rogues, they share their love of freedom and self-sufficiency, while sorcerers, much like themselves, base their powers on the intensity of their emotions. They also have a great love for bards, who bring much needed entertainment. With druids and fighters, it depends on the individual, as some of them are more flexible with their lives, while others place faith in rules and form. Barbarians usually have little in common with wizards, clerics, and paladins, due to their strict codes and rules. However, they are willing to cooperate if their goals align.

Role: Barbarians are almost exclusively the primary melee combatants of the group. Their other skills let them be terrifyingly persuasive, mostly via intimidation, and can let them act as a scout or skill monkey for the party in the case of a missing rogue.

Game Rule Information

Barbarians have the following game statistics:
Abilities: The key ability for any barbarian is Strength, as it lets them fight better. Aside from that, they benefit from a high Charisma, as their rage and intimidation abilities are based on it, and a high Constitution, which lets them fight longer. Intelligence, Wisdom and Dexterity have little influence on the barbarian, but they are keyed to some of his class skills.
Alignment: Any non-lawful
Hit Die: d12

Class Skills:
The following skills are on the barbarian’s skill list:
Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Speak Language (n/a), Survival (Wis), Swim (Str).
Skill Points at 1st Level: (4 + INT modifier) × 4.
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 4 + INT modifier.

Base Attack Bonus: High
Saves: Fortitude high, Reflex and Will low

Level - Special
1st - Rage (3xCHA rounds), Persuasive, Fast Movement +5 ft.
2nd - Rage Power, Uncanny Dodge
3rd - Rage (4xCHA rounds), Fast Movement +10 ft
4th - Rage Power, Improved Uncanny Dodge
5th - Frightening Presence, Rage (5xCHA rounds)
6th - Undying Rage, Rage Power

Class Features:
All of the following are class features of the barbarian:

Weapon and Armor Proficiencies: The barbarian is proficient with all simple and martial weapons, and with light armor.

Rage: The barbarian is a warrior capable of tapping into the overwhelming force of their personality in order to subdue or crush their enemies, gaining phenomenal strength and durability in exchange for recklessness.
After entering a Rage, the barbarian gains a +4 bonus to Strength and Constitution (which grants an extra 2 hp/level, which disappear at the end of the rage, and can push the barbarian to negative hitpoint total), +2 bonus to Will saves and DR, at the cost of a -2 penalty to ES, and the inability to parry.
When the Rage ends, the barbarian is winded and tired, needing to rest for a time equal to 1 minute per rage round they spent. This inflicts a penalty of -4 Strength, -4 ES, and the inability to parry, together with losing the Rage benefits.
The barbarian may rage only for a certain number of turns, divided however they desire, after which they need to rest and recuperate for an hour, which restores all their lost Rage rounds. Starting a Rage is a free action, and does not provoke an attack of opportunity.
The number of Rage rounds a barbarian has is equal to 3xCHA modifier at first level, increasing to 4xCHA modifier at third, and again to 5xCHA modifier at their fifth level.

Persuasive: The powerful personality of the barbarian enables them to more easily break the will of those they attempt to intimidate. By using one Rage round, a barbarian may increase the score of their Intimidate check by 5 (maximum 1 Rage round per Intimidate, determined before rolling).

Fast Movement: The inner fire drives the barbarian to move faster than normal men. At level 1, the Barbarian gains an 5 ft increase to base movement speed. At level 3, the bonus increases to 10 ft.

Rage Power: No two barbarians are truly the same, and that is best seen through their selection of Rage Powers, a special way in which they may modify their Rage. Whether it be a special way to frighten their enemies, a vicious ability to hut them more, or an ability to numb their strikes, Rage powers improve the odds of a barbarian winning out. Rage Powers are activated at the beginning of a Rage, and last until the Rage ends. To activate them, a barbarian must use some of the Rage rounds at their disposal. All Rage Powers stack with each other.

 Intimidating Rage: At the start of a Rage, the barbarian emits a howl that strikes fear into his enemies. Every enemy within 30 ft must make a Will save (DC=10+1/2 level+CHA modifier) or become shaken for the duration of the rage (-2 to attacks, saves, ability checks, skills, and parries). Cost: 1 Rage round
 Sundering Rage: During this Rage, whenever the barbarian makes a Sunder attempt against unattended or used objects, weapons, or armor, they ignore 5 points of hardness. Cost: 1 Rage round
 Numbing Strike: After successfully attacking an enemy with a numbing strike, the enemy must make a Fortitude save (DC=damage dealt), or suffer a -3 penalty to all attacks, damage, and parries for one round. This effect stacks with itself. Cost: 1 Rage round
 Reckless Rage: While in a Reckless Rage, the barbarian gives up on durability to re-focus his physical strength. They gain an extra +4 to Strength, bringing it up to +8, but lose the +2 DR, and their ES drops to -4, from the usual -2. Cost: 1 Rage round
 Weighted Swing: Whenever an opponent is struck by a Weighted Swing, they must make a Fortitude or Reflex (whichever is higher) save (DC=damage dealt), or be knocked prone (Lying on the ground. -4 to melee attacks, no ranged attacks except crossbows, -4 to ES against melee attacks, and +4 ES against ranged attacks). Cost: 2 Rage rounds.
 Penetrating Strike: Every successful Penetrating Strike reduces the opponents DR against the Barbarian by 1. This effect stacks with itself, and disappears after the rage ends. Cost: 1 Rage round.
 Brutal Rage: Every time the barbarian hits someone while in a Brutal Rage, the enemy must make a Fortitude save (DC=damage dealt) or be knocked back 5 ft for each 5 points by which they failed the save, round down. If they hit a wall, they take damage equal to d4 per 5 ft they would have taken past it. Cost: 2 Rage rounds.
 Vicious Rage: This form of Rage allows the barbarian to focus their mind more towards harming their opponent, and grants them a +d6 increase to damage while raging. Cost: 1 Rage round.
 Leaping Charge: This ability enables the barbarian to perform Leaping attacks, which occur if they can jump 10 ft with at least a 10 ft running start. If successful, this attack deals an extra 3d6 points of damage. Provokes attacks of opportunity. Cost: 2 Rage rounds.
 Shredding Slash: These strikes leave horrible gaping wounds in the barbarian’s enemies, bleeding them to death. Every successful attack leaves a wound that deals 2 damage for the next two turns. Stacks with itself. Cost: 2 Rage rounds.

Uncanny Dodge: At second level, a barbarian gains the ability to react to danger before his senses would normally allow him to do so. He retains his Dexterity bonus to AC (if any) even if he is caught flat-footed or struck by an invisible attacker. However, he still loses his Dexterity bonus to AC if immobilized.

Improved Uncanny Dodge: At fourth level and higher, a barbarian can no longer be flanked; he can react to opponents on opposite sides of him as easily as he can react to a single attacker. This defense denies a rogue the ability to sneak attack the barbarian by flanking him, unless the attacker has at least an equal amount of rogue levels to their barbarian levels.

Frightening Presence: When a barbarian reaches fifth level, they become a force that brings fear into the hearts of others by their presence alone. Any enemy within 30 ft must make a Will save (DC=10+1/2 level+CHA modifier) or become shaken (-2 to attacks, saves, ability checks, skills, and parries). If the same opponent later fails a save against the Rage Power Intimidating Rage, they become panicked (all shaken penalties, and they attempt to run as far away from the barbarian as possible) for two rounds, after which they revert to simply being shaken.

Undying Rage: When the barbarian reaches level 6, the pinnacle of power, they gain the miraculous ability to fight even beyond the limits of their bodies, shrugging off death by willpower alone. While raging, a barbarian cannot die by being reduced to -10 hitpoints. From 0 to -10 hitpoints they continue to fight as normal, and after -10 they can take only one standard action per round. If they are not healed to above 2 hitpoints by the end of the Rage, they immediately succumb to their injuries and die (as they also lose the 12 points they would otherwise lose from the extra Constitution).

EdokTheTwitch
2015-12-11, 06:12 AM
So... Comments, thoughts, critique?
I'm mostly concerned that it's not just a +to stuff type of class, things like that...
If anyone is interested in the races mentioned, let me know, I could post them