Path of the Berserker
For some barbarians, rage is a means to an end— that end being violence. The Path of the Berserker is a path of untrammeled fury, slick with blood. As you enter the berserker’s rage, you thrill in the chaos of battle, heedless of your own health or well-being. At your option, you can pick from or roll on the Berserker Quotes table to create one of your character's more memorable quotes.
Berserker Quotes
| d6 | Quotes |
|---|---|
| 1 | "RAAAAAAARGHHHHH!" |
| 2 | "DEATH, DEAATH, DEAAAAAATH!" |
| 3 | "Don't make me angry... you won't like me when I'm angry." |
| 4 | "BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD! SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE!" |
| 5 | "WAAAAAAAAAAGH!" |
| 6 | "STRIP THE FLESH! SALT THE WOUND!" |
Frenzy
Starting when you choose this path at 3rd level, when you rage you become gore-splattered blur of carnage. While you're raging, you can make a single melee weapon attack as a bonus action on each of your turns. You can make this attack as part of the same bonus action used to enter a rage.
Rip and Tear
Also at 3rd level, when you enter a rage, you can push past your physical limits in your furious bid to butcher your foes. If you do so, for the duration of your rage your rage damage bonus is doubled.
When your rage ends, you must make a DC 12 Constitution saving throw. If you fail, you suffer one level of exhaustion (as described in appendix A). Each time you use this feature after the first, the DC increases by 3. When you finish a long rest, the DC resets to 10.
Mindless Rage
Beginning at 6th level, you can’t be charmed or frightened while raging. If you are charmed or frightened when you enter your rage, the effect is suspended for the duration of the rage.
Intimidating Physique
Beginning at 10th level, your feats in combat have turned you into a terrifying figure, a mass of twisted scars and bulging muscles. Whenever you make a Charisma (Intimidation) check, you gain a bonus to the check equal to your Strength or Consitution modifier (your choice).
Fear the Reaper
Also at 10th level, you learn to eviscerate your foes, smearing them into a gory red paste and terrifying others nearby. When you reduce a creature to 0 hit points with a melee weapon, you can use your reaction to terrify nearby enemies. Any number of creatures that can see you within 30 feet must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw (DC equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier) or be frightened of you until the end of your next turn.
You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.
Gory Retribution
Starting at 14th level, when you take damage from a creature that is within 5 feet of you, you can use your reaction to make a melee weapon attack against that creature.
Art Credits
- Front Cover: 'Warrior' by Pablo Oliveria
- Page 2: 'Knut the Callous' by Manuel Castanon
- Page 3: 'Berserker' by Tony Sart
Notes v2:
Frenzy
- Removed exhaustion from Frenzy
Got a lot of feedback that people still didn't like being punished for their big subclass benefit, which I ultimately agreed with.
Rip and Tear
- Added feature
I still liked the risk/ reward idea, I think that's a fun aspect to a feature (wish 5e had more things like that honestly). So I moved the exhaustion to a new feature. So if you want to basically be the PHB barbarian without the exhaustion, now you have it. But if you like the feeling of risking exhaustion to get another combat boost, you can do that. Started the DC at 12 instead of 10 for the con save and removed the level 6 feature ignoring exhaustion, so the exhaustion hits a bit harder now.
Mindless Rage
- Removed the "you ignore all effects of any levels of exhaustion you have whilst you are raging." that was part of v1
As above.
Intimidating Physique
- Added feature
Part 1 of spiritual successor to the old Intimidating Presence. A proper ribbon which makes a barbarian actually good at a skill that isn't Athletics - ma gawd say it ain't so.
Fear the Reaper
- Added feature
Part 2 of spiritual successor to the old Intimidating Presence. A fear effect that now doesn't suck - it's now AOE and doesn't cost your action (reaction instead), but now it's only in combat and situational (have to kill something), and limited use (PB per long rest).
Gory Retribution
- Removed "your rage damage is doubled against that creature until the end of your next turn."
You now get double rage damage at level 3 now and it's on all attacks, at the cost of possible exhaustion.
