giant wasp Totem idea

[richardbob123]

one of my players decided they want to take a giant wasp as a totem animal and i need help make the coming up with ideas , one of my ideas is they will be able to make unarmed attack

[Man_Over_Game]

one of my players decided they want to take a giant wasp as a totem animal and i need help make the coming up with ideas , one of my ideas is they will be able to make unarmed attack

By totem animal, do you mean Totem Barbarian or Shephard Druid?

[richardbob123]

sorry about not mentioning its for a Totem barbarian

[Man_Over_Game]

sorry about not mentioning its for a Totem barbarian

No problem!

Let's take a look at what's already there for Barbarian:

Level 3:

Bear: While raging you have resistance to all damage except psychic damage.
Eagle: While you're raging and aren't wearing heavy armor, other creatures have disadvantage on opportunity attack rolls against you, you can also use the Dash action as a bonus action on your turn.
Wolf: While you're raging, your friends have advantage on melee attack rolls against any creature within 5 feet of you that is hostile to you.
Elk (Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide): While you're raging and aren't wearing heavy armor, your walking speed increases by 15 feet.
Tiger (Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide): While raging, you can add 10 feet to your long jump distance and 3 feet to your high jump distance.


Level 6:

Bear: Your carrying capacity (including maximum load and maximum lift) is doubled and you have advantage on Strength checks made to push, pull, lift, or break objects.
Eagle: You can see up to 1 mile away with no difficulty. You are able to discern even fine details as though looking at something no more than 100 feet away from you. Additionally, dim light doesn't impose disadvantage on your Wisdom (Perception) checks.
Wolf: You can track other creatures while traveling at a fast pace, and you can move stealthily while traveling at a normal pace.
Elk (Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide): Whether mounted or on foot, your travel pace is doubled, as is the travel pace of up to ten companions while they're within 60 feet of you and you're not incapacitated.
Tiger (Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide): You gain proficiency in two skills from the following list: Athletics, Acrobatics, Stealth, and Survival.


Level 14

Bear: While you're raging any creature within 5 feet of you that's hostile to you has disadvantage on attack rolls against targets other than you or another character with this feature. An enemy is immune to this effect if it can't see or hear you or if it can't be frightened.
Eagle: While raging you have a flying speed equal to your current walking speed. This benefit works only in short bursts; you fall if you end your turn in the air and nothing else is holding you aloft.
Wolf: While you're raging you can use a bonus action on your turn to knock a Large or smaller creature prone when you hit it with melee weapon attack.
Elk (Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide): While raging, you can use a bonus action during your move to pass through the space of a Large or smaller creature. That creature must succeed on a Strength saving throw (DC 8 + your Strength bonus + your proficiency bonus) or be knocked prone and take bludgeoning damage equal to 1d12 + your Strength modifier.
Tiger (Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide): While you're raging, if you move at least 20 feet in a straight line toward a Large or smaller target right before making a melee weapon attack against it, you can use a bonus action to make an additional melee weapon attack against it.

[Desteplo]

Your unarmed attacks deal d4, and an extra d4 poison damage

-double jump distance or slow fall
To mimic flight

-either eagle or when attacking while raged, save DC (= 8+prof+con) or target is poisoned


In monster manual there isn’t much going on with giant wasp beast.

[Man_Over_Game]

Based off of a quick analysis of my previous post, we can assess that:


Level 3 is for tankiness/mobility
Level 6 is for utility/travel
Level 14 is for combat tactics, similar to level 3.


One thing that is not present with most of the current totems is direct damage advantage. This is likely intentional, and so adding straight damage should be something we should actively avoid. Any kind of additional damage has to be done with tactical methods, such as the charge from Tiger or knocking prone via Wolf, so we should follow those examples.



Wasps are strange creatures to be a totem, so a Wasp Barbarian should also be a bit strange. Wasps in DnD also use poison effects, so we could also look into that. Last but not least, Wasps are a bit crazy and unliked.

Here's what I'm thinking:


Level 3: When you take damage while raging, your next unarmed attack that hits before the end of your next turn inflicts the poison status. The poison ends if the creature is ever 15 feet or more away from you or at the end of the creature's next turn.
(Powerful, but with a lot of requirements)
Level 6: You are immune to poison damage and diseases, and can identify them by smell or sight.
(Probably my favorite, as it's very flavorful)
Level 14: When you make the Attack Action on your turn and use all of those attacks against a single target, you gain one extra attack that can only be used for an unarmed strike against the same target.
Alternative level 14: When you spend your reaction to make an Attack of Opportunity with an unarmed strike, you may move 5 feet without provoking attacks of opportunity and you regain your reaction.
(Works with any build and isn't too powerful, stacks well with the first ability)




The overall idea is that you stick to a single person with ruthless vindication, paralyzing them in combat and keeping them from hurting your friends. As you focus down on this one target, you barrage them with Rage-fueled fists of fury. This keeps the addition in line with the other totem options, allowing your Wasp player to implement other totems into his playstyle if he wants too without feeling underwhelmed or breaking continuity.

[MagneticKitty]

Lv 3: Your unarmed hits deal 1d6 + strength damage. When raging, and using only unarmed strikes, you may make an extra unarmed stike as a bonus action.
Lv 6: Your unarmed strikes count as magical for overcoming resistances. When falling you can choose to fall at a rate of 60 ft a round, taking no fall damage when landing. To gain this benifit you must not be exceeding carying capacity and must not be wearing heavy armor.
Lv 14: While raging your unarmed hits deal 1d8 damage, and when you are raging and score a critical hit on an unarmed attack, the target becomes poisoned.

[richardbob123]

Ok thanks for the ideas

[R.Shackleford]

one of my players decided they want to take a giant wasp as a totem animal and i need help make the coming up with ideas , one of my ideas is they will be able to make unarmed attack

I would take the Ancestral Guardian path and refluff it to be wasps.