Barbarian: Path of the Giant

[AgentMaineSIGMA]

Hi! For the past year or so, I've been working on an expansion for 5e, "Aster's Arcane Atlas". As it stands, it's a compilation of subclasses, spells, and magic items. I know that reviewing the entire expansion is a bit much, so I intend to post one subclass a day for the purposes of review and balance. To start things off, we have the Goliath-exclusive barbarian: Path of the Giant.

Spoiler: Path of the Giant

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Though their true ancestry is unknown, it is far from difficult to see the relation between goliaths and giants. Each are hulking, nomadic peoples taking shelter in mountain ranges who value strength above all. Some goliaths recognize this connection and attempt to emulate the giants, walking the Path of the Giant. Through the giant’s rage, you tower over your foes, blurring the line between goliath and giant.

Racial Restriction: Goliaths Only
Only Goliaths may walk the Path of the Giant. Due to the taxing nature of the giant’s rage, only a goliath, with their naturally powerful build, can endure the physical strain of this path.

This restriction reflects the physical requirements of the Path of the Giant in the Forgotten Realms. Your DM can lift this restriction to better suit the campaign, your DM's setting, or your DM's version of the Realms.

Spoiler: Giant's Rage

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Starting when you choose this path at 3rd level, you can channel the strength of giants when you start rage. If you do so, you gain the following benefits during your rage:
• Your size doubles in all dimensions, and your weight is multiplied by 8.
• Your size increases from Medium to Large.
• Your weapons enlarge with you, dealing an additional 1d4 damage.

Spoiler: Thermal Adaptibility

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By 6th level, you emulation of frost and fire giants grants you protection from extreme climates. While raging, you have resistance to fire and cold damage.

In addition, you are naturally adapted to hot climates, as described in chapter 5 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide.

Spoiler: Giant's Endurance

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At 10th level, your durability allows you to withstand blows devastating to even other goliaths. Your Stone’s Endurance racial feature now reduces damage equal to 2d8 + your Constitution modifier + your Strength modifier.

Spoiler: Titan's Form

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Upon reaching 14th level, you learn to channel the spirits of your giant ancestors in full. When you enter a rage, you can choose to spend an additional use of your rage to enter the titan’s rage. You gain the following benefits during your rage.
Your size triples in all dimensions, and your weight is multiplied by 27.
Your size increases from Medium to Huge.
Your weapons enlarge with you, dealing an additional 2d6 damage.
Your reach with all weapons increases by 5 feet.

As mentioned, this is the first of many. If you like this subclass, feel free to check out the rest of them through the link in my bio. If you didn't, please leave some feedback so I can fine tune this to be better. Thanks!

[Damon_Tor]

I like it, though I'd get rid of the exhaustion level after raging. It's needlessly punitive, considering how few advantages there are to being large in 5e. You've got a bigger "footprint", and so you control more space, but that comes with as many drawbacks as advantages. So really the advantage you've got is +1d4 damage on attacks which just isn't that exiting, and certainly not worth a level of exhaustion. Exhaustion is a massive penalty, especially when you consider that a barbarian is expected to rage 3 times a day at level 3 and a long rest only recovers 1 level of exhaustion, so you're crippling yourself for days. Compare it to the zealot bonus damage feature which adds 1d6+half barbarian levels to damage 1/turn without penalty.

It's odd the 6th level feature doesn't protect you from cold climates as well as hot. Is that intentional?

I don't really care for the regeneration ability; giants aren't known for their ability to regenerate. And besides, it's boring, just an objectively worse version of the champion's level 18 ability I'd rather see an ability that lets them go even bigger. Maybe model it after the moon druid's level 10 ability: "Starting at 16th level, you can expend two uses of rage at the same time. If you do, your size triples in all dimensions and your weight is multiplied by sixteen. Your size becomes huge. Your weapons enlarge with you, dealing an extra 2d6 damage. Your reach increases by 5 feet."

[Bjarkmundur]

It doesn't really scream "goliath", and the exhaustion is a killer.

Look at the zealot subclass and have another go at it, I'm looking forward to the finished product.

Also, look at spells, they often give very balanced ways of adding things to non-spellcasting classes.


"You gain the enlarge effect of enlarge/Reduce spell" for example.

[Durazno]

I'd recommend putting the adaptation to hot (and cold?) climates on its own line under Thermal Adaptation. As it is, it looks like an addition to the benefit you get while raging.

Would ability score increases be too horrendous when you grow? I know 5e is trying to put a limit on that kind of thing, and it might interfere with the Barbarian capstone, but superhuman strength is giants' thing. (Also, it feels a little bit odd to become 13 feet tall and yet no stronger.)

[Damon_Tor]

I'd recommend putting the adaptation to hot (and cold?) climates on its own line under Thermal Adaptation. As it is, it looks like an addition to the benefit you get while raging.

Would ability score increases be too horrendous when you grow? I know 5e is trying to put a limit on that kind of thing, and it might interfere with the Barbarian capstone, but superhuman strength is giants' thing. (Also, it feels a little bit odd to become 13 feet tall and yet no stronger.)

Larger size already comes with an inherent bonus to your carrying capacity, and the damage bonus is covered by the "weapon growth" clause of both the enlarge spell and the proposed feature here. What's left would be a bonus to attack rolls with melee attacks (but wait, historically larger size meant an attack penalty, so the two cancel each other out) strength skills (why would you be better at climbing/swimming? If anything you'd be worse. Being able to grapple bigger things while bigger is already covered in the grapple rules) and strength saves (which are rare and are usually about resisting forced movement effects, but for most of such effects, such as gusts of wind and the like, you larger surface area is likely to leave you similarly vulnerable to the effect anyway.)

So while it might make sense to give larger size a strength bonus (and then cancel out most of the benefits of said bonus line by line) why don't we just keep is simple?

[AgentMaineSIGMA]

I like it, though I'd get rid of the exhaustion level after raging. It's needlessly punitive, considering how few advantages there are to being large in 5e. You've got a bigger "footprint", and so you control more space, but that comes with as many drawbacks as advantages. So really the advantage you've got is +1d4 damage on attacks which just isn't that exiting, and certainly not worth a level of exhaustion. Exhaustion is a massive penalty, especially when you consider that a barbarian is expected to rage 3 times a day at level 3 and a long rest only recovers 1 level of exhaustion, so you're crippling yourself for days. Compare it to the zealot bonus damage feature which adds 1d6+half barbarian levels to damage 1/turn without penalty.

It's odd the 6th level feature doesn't protect you from cold climates as well as hot. Is that intentional?

I don't really care for the regeneration ability; giants aren't known for their ability to regenerate. And besides, it's boring, just an objectively worse version of the champion's level 18 ability I'd rather see an ability that lets them go even bigger. Maybe model it after the moon druid's level 10 ability: "Starting at 16th level, you can expend two uses of rage at the same time. If you do, your size triples in all dimensions and your weight is multiplied by sixteen. Your size becomes huge. Your weapons enlarge with you, dealing an extra 2d6 damage. Your reach increases by 5 feet."

After your explanation, I understand the exhaustion issue a good bit better. My concern was when it came to grappling and pushing things, since at that point, you could grapple Huge creatures without any penalty, but that's too situational to warrant exhaustion.

I didn't add cold resistance, because Goliaths get that naturally. If they didn't I would for sure.

I really like your idea for their capstone. My only idea for the regeneration was that they lack any purely defensive features, but yours is far better thematically.

[AgentMaineSIGMA]

I'd recommend putting the adaptation to hot (and cold?) climates on its own line under Thermal Adaptation. As it is, it looks like an addition to the benefit you get while raging.

Would ability score increases be too horrendous when you grow? I know 5e is trying to put a limit on that kind of thing, and it might interfere with the Barbarian capstone, but superhuman strength is giants' thing. (Also, it feels a little bit odd to become 13 feet tall and yet no stronger.)

I'll make sure to add some clarity by spacing it a bit better. Thanks for catching that.

As for the increased strength, I tried to represent that with the increased damage on attacks, just so your ability scores aren't actually affected.