Path of the Totem Warrior options [Peach]

[suplee215]

Out of a combination of boredom and thought experiment I decided to make some. I have figured out the level 3 and 6 ability for each animal I am using although I can use some advice for the 14th on some. I also am just wondering how balance they are and if my wording is too confusing (especially the snake). Also, I was unable to figure out an animal for 2 of the abilities. I liked the idea of a barbarian able to shore up one of their weaknesses with the mental save (at the cost of something like Bear totem) and I think a barbarian as a face could be interesting. I am thinking maybe an Owl as the SOMETHING but unsure. Any advice and constructed criticism will be most welcomed. Also I am leaving out a lot of my own thoughts on these so that I can see what is and isn't obvious in my intent but am willing to answer questions.

Totem Options:
Spirit
• Shark: While raging advantage on melee attack rolls against any creature that doesn’t have all its hit points. The spirit of the shark allows you to take advantage of a wounded foe.
• Turtle While raging, when you are subjected to an effect that allows you to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, you instead take no damage if you succeed on the saving throw, and only half damage if you fail. The spirit of the turtle allows you to brush off the brunt of certain attacks.
• Spider: While raging, when you hit a creature with a melee attack you may add 2d4 poison damag. The spirit of the spider makes your strikes venomous.
• Snake: While raging, when you hit a creature with a melee attack, the creature is grappled if you have a free hand. The spirit of the snake squeezes your enemies and keep them from fleeing.
• Chameleon: While raging, you may use the hide action as a bonus action. The spirit of the chameleon allows you to blend in to your surroundings.
• SOMETHING: While raging you gain profincency in your choice of Wisdom, Intelligence, or Charisma saving throws. The Spirit of SOMETHING fortifies your mind.
Aspect
• Shark: You gain a swim speed equal to your walking speed and the ability to breathe under water.
• Turtle: The turtle helps you make your home anywhere. You and up to ten companions can gain the benefits of a short rest in 30 minutes and of a long rest in 6 hours.
• Spider: You gain a climb speed equal to your walking speed. You can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down.
• Snake: You gain the senses of a snake. You have tremor sense out to 30 feet.
• Chameleon: The aspect of the chameleon helps you blend into your surroundings. You can hide without obvious cover as long you are not in direct line of sight of a hostile creature.
• Something: The aspect of SOMETHING gives you a charismatic personality. You can add your con modifier to any charisma check.
Attunement
• Shark: ?????????????????????????
• Turtle: While raging, when you take damage you can use your reaction to reduce the damage by an amount equal to your level.
• Spider: While raging, whenever you hit a creature with a melee attack that creature must make a con saving throw or be poisoned for 1 minute. A creature who succeeds is immune to this ability for 24 hours. The creature may repeat this saving throw at the end of each of their turns. The DC is equal to 8+your profiency bonus+ your con modifier.
• Snake: While raging, creatures you have grappled are restrained until the grapple ends. As a bonus action, you may constrict a creature that is restrained by you. The creature takes 4d12 bludgeoning damage.
• Chameleon: While raging, range attacks against you have disadvantage.
• SOMETHING: ??????????????????????????????

[JNAProductions]

Shark Spirit too good.
Snake Spirit too good-free grapple check okay, autograpple not.

Spider Aspect too good.
Snake Aspect WAY too good.

Snake Attunement has too much damage dice.
Chameleon Attunement too good.

Overall, I like the ideas. But the ones I mentioned need to be toned down.

[suplee215]

Shark Spirit too good.
Snake Spirit too good-free grapple check okay, autograpple not.

Spider Aspect too good.
Snake Aspect WAY too good.

Snake Attunement has too much damage dice.
Chameleon Attunement too good.

Overall, I like the ideas. But the ones I mentioned need to be toned down.

Fair enough. Yea, snake is clearly powerful. I thought about making the spirit a free bonus action grapple, aspect I'll either make the tremor sense 10 feet or go another direction and try to mimic a shedding property of snakes (I am unsure how but something that can cause a missing limb or eye or whatever to grow back after a long period feels snake like), and I think making the attunement just give the restraint condition to all grapple is good enough now that I think about it.

Might I ask why you think the spirit of the shark is too powerful? I admit, in a vacuum the ability seems insane but in practice a barbarian has advantage on the majority of attacks anyways. All this does is limit the drawback of reckless attack. And I feel like that will be a even trade off for something like resistance to everything or giving advantage to all melee allies.

Will just granting a climb speed without the attempt to mimic slippers of spider-climbing be good? And Chameleon I think I'll add a clause that it is turned off once you are hit like a cloak of displacement

[JNAProductions]

Reckless Attack has a serious downside-granting advantage on all enemy attacks takes it from "They'll usually hit" to "They'll basically never miss" on equal CR foes, and from "I laugh at you, puny mortal!" to "Okay, please stop hitting me that much" on mooks.

While Shark is of limited use against mooks who drop in one or two hits, it's CRAZY GOOD against anything designed to take many hits. Like most bosses.

[suplee215]

Reckless Attack has a serious downside-granting advantage on all enemy attacks takes it from "They'll usually hit" to "They'll basically never miss" on equal CR foes, and from "I laugh at you, puny mortal!" to "Okay, please stop hitting me that much" on mooks.

While Shark is of limited use against mooks who drop in one or two hits, it's CRAZY GOOD against anything designed to take many hits. Like most bosses.

I'll take this into consideration. Not really any other ability in the monster manual for sharks so if this is indeed too powerful I'll just scrap that one altogether. Part of the idea is that I am currently running a sea faring adventure. But i probably won't use these until my next campaign which is less likely to have that.