Catullus64
2021-08-04, 01:35 PM
Don't particularly know what I'll do with this subclass, but it combines a couple interests of mine: Dex-based Barbarians, attack modes with different advantages and disadvantages, Barbarians without explicit magical elements, and Warhammer Fantasy (from which this borrows heavily). Let me know what you think, good and bad.
Path of the Wardancer
Warriors of all cultures are accustomed to march and fight in time with the flute and drum. For the mightiest warriors, the song and dance of war beats on endlessly in their hearts, and they find themselves treading the steps of the Wardancer. These wild-hearted fighters exult in battle, longing to display beauty and grace in the heart of bloody war; like leaves on the wind they drift amidst tempests of iron and death. The exuberance with which they kill leads more sober-minded warriors to regard them as blood-crazed, and in truth there is more than a little of the devilish in their balletic approach to combat. But in the heart of the Wardancer, blood and violence are never the real joy, but the immortal beauty of life and death captured in the dance of swords.
Trickster's Grace. When you choose this archetype at 3rd level, your ferocity becomes tempered with agility, as though inspired by some trickster god. While raging, you have advantage on Dexterity checks, and your Rage damage bonus applies to melee weapon attacks made with either Strength or Dexterity. Furthermore, using your Reckless Attack feature grants advantage on melee weapon attack rolls using either Strength or Dexterity. Finally, all simple melee weapons gain the Finesse property for you. You lose all of these benefits if you don armor or a shield.
Bonus Proficiencies. When you choose this primal path at 3rd level, you gain proficiency in the Performance and Acrobatics skills. If you are already proficient in one of these skills, you gain another skill proficiency from the Barbarian skill list. You also gain proficiency with one musical instrument of your choice.
War Dances: When you choose this primal path at 3rd level, you learn to move in time with the song of battle, imitating primal nature in a fearsome display. You learn two of the five War Dances listed below. When you enter a rage, you choose which of the Dances will guide your form. You then gain that dance's benefits for the duration of your rage, or until you use a bonus action to switch between Dance forms. You can only benefit from one War Dance at a time. You cannot benefit from a Dance while wearing armor or wielding a shield. You learn additional War Dances when you reach certain levels in this class, one at 6th level, one at 10th, and one at 14th.
War Dances:
Whirling Death. You leap and strike in wide pirouettes, threatening many foes all around you. While in this dance, you may make one additional melee attack after you take the attack action on your turn. This attack cannot be against a creature that you have already targeted with an attack this turn.
Storm of Blades. With gleeful ferocity, you rain blow after blow upon your opponent. While in this dance, if all of your attacks on your turn target the same creature, that creature's movement speed is halved and it has disadvantage on attack rolls until the start of your next turn.
Shadow Coils. Like shadows flickering in moonlight, you bend and twist away from your opponents' blows. While in this dance, when a creature hits you with an attack, you may use your reaction to make a Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. If the result is higher than your current Armor Class, you treat the check result as your Armor Class against that attack, possibly causing it to miss.
Woven Mist. Your sinuous and fluid motions confuse and disorient your enemies. While in this dance, when an enemy targets another creature within 10 feet of you with an attack, you can use your reaction to force the attack to target you instead.
Laughing Breeze. You move about the battlefield with carefree and taunting ease. While in this dance, your movement speed is increased by 10 feet, and the first opportunity attack made against you each turn will automatically miss.
Mighty Leap. Starting at 6th level, the ground can barely keep hold of you, as you leap gleefully through the air. When you make a running jump, the number of feet you cover increases by a number of feet equal to your Dexterity modifier. Additionally, if you end a running jump within 5 feet of an enemy, the first attack you make against that enemy this turn deals an additional 1d10 damage if it hits.
Joy of Performance. The rhythm of battle with which you strike and sway is infectious, and can stir your allies to follow in your wild footsteps. Starting at 10th level, whenever you begin a War Dance as part of entering a Rage, or use your bonus action to enter a new War Dance, one ally of your choice that can see you can use their reaction to move up to half their speed without provoking opportunity attacks.
Echo Dancer. At 14th level, the rhythms of your War Dances echo in syncopation with one another even as you shift between them. When you switch between War Dances mid-rage, the previous dance's benefits persist until the start of your next turn, even as you gain the benefits of the new dance.
Path of the Wardancer
Warriors of all cultures are accustomed to march and fight in time with the flute and drum. For the mightiest warriors, the song and dance of war beats on endlessly in their hearts, and they find themselves treading the steps of the Wardancer. These wild-hearted fighters exult in battle, longing to display beauty and grace in the heart of bloody war; like leaves on the wind they drift amidst tempests of iron and death. The exuberance with which they kill leads more sober-minded warriors to regard them as blood-crazed, and in truth there is more than a little of the devilish in their balletic approach to combat. But in the heart of the Wardancer, blood and violence are never the real joy, but the immortal beauty of life and death captured in the dance of swords.
Trickster's Grace. When you choose this archetype at 3rd level, your ferocity becomes tempered with agility, as though inspired by some trickster god. While raging, you have advantage on Dexterity checks, and your Rage damage bonus applies to melee weapon attacks made with either Strength or Dexterity. Furthermore, using your Reckless Attack feature grants advantage on melee weapon attack rolls using either Strength or Dexterity. Finally, all simple melee weapons gain the Finesse property for you. You lose all of these benefits if you don armor or a shield.
Bonus Proficiencies. When you choose this primal path at 3rd level, you gain proficiency in the Performance and Acrobatics skills. If you are already proficient in one of these skills, you gain another skill proficiency from the Barbarian skill list. You also gain proficiency with one musical instrument of your choice.
War Dances: When you choose this primal path at 3rd level, you learn to move in time with the song of battle, imitating primal nature in a fearsome display. You learn two of the five War Dances listed below. When you enter a rage, you choose which of the Dances will guide your form. You then gain that dance's benefits for the duration of your rage, or until you use a bonus action to switch between Dance forms. You can only benefit from one War Dance at a time. You cannot benefit from a Dance while wearing armor or wielding a shield. You learn additional War Dances when you reach certain levels in this class, one at 6th level, one at 10th, and one at 14th.
War Dances:
Whirling Death. You leap and strike in wide pirouettes, threatening many foes all around you. While in this dance, you may make one additional melee attack after you take the attack action on your turn. This attack cannot be against a creature that you have already targeted with an attack this turn.
Storm of Blades. With gleeful ferocity, you rain blow after blow upon your opponent. While in this dance, if all of your attacks on your turn target the same creature, that creature's movement speed is halved and it has disadvantage on attack rolls until the start of your next turn.
Shadow Coils. Like shadows flickering in moonlight, you bend and twist away from your opponents' blows. While in this dance, when a creature hits you with an attack, you may use your reaction to make a Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. If the result is higher than your current Armor Class, you treat the check result as your Armor Class against that attack, possibly causing it to miss.
Woven Mist. Your sinuous and fluid motions confuse and disorient your enemies. While in this dance, when an enemy targets another creature within 10 feet of you with an attack, you can use your reaction to force the attack to target you instead.
Laughing Breeze. You move about the battlefield with carefree and taunting ease. While in this dance, your movement speed is increased by 10 feet, and the first opportunity attack made against you each turn will automatically miss.
Mighty Leap. Starting at 6th level, the ground can barely keep hold of you, as you leap gleefully through the air. When you make a running jump, the number of feet you cover increases by a number of feet equal to your Dexterity modifier. Additionally, if you end a running jump within 5 feet of an enemy, the first attack you make against that enemy this turn deals an additional 1d10 damage if it hits.
Joy of Performance. The rhythm of battle with which you strike and sway is infectious, and can stir your allies to follow in your wild footsteps. Starting at 10th level, whenever you begin a War Dance as part of entering a Rage, or use your bonus action to enter a new War Dance, one ally of your choice that can see you can use their reaction to move up to half their speed without provoking opportunity attacks.
Echo Dancer. At 14th level, the rhythms of your War Dances echo in syncopation with one another even as you shift between them. When you switch between War Dances mid-rage, the previous dance's benefits persist until the start of your next turn, even as you gain the benefits of the new dance.