Barbarian Improvement Options
You can use the any or all of the following suggestions to augment the Barbarian class.
- Primal Path at 1st level. You choose your Primal Path at 1st level (detailed below). Your choice still grants you features at 3rd level.
- Reckless Attack Changes. You can choose to attack recklessly when you make an attack on your turn, even if you had already made an attack on this turn.
- Throwing a Fit. While you're raging, you can add your Rage Damage bonus to the damage rolls of ranged weapon attacks. This attack must be made with a thrown weapon using your Strength.
Primal Paths
This section details a list of additional and augmented features granted to your character as you progress in your chosen path.
Path of the Ancestral Guardian
Ancestors Guidance
1st-level Path of the Ancestral Guardian feature
Whenever you make an Intelligence check related to your ancestors, you can roll a d4 and add it to the check.
Further, your ancestors act through you to share their experiences with others. As a bonus action, you touch a creature and ask your ancestors for aid. The target hears the faint whispers of your ancestors guiding it for 1 minute. While guided by your ancestors, the target can roll a d4 and add the number rolled to an ability check or saving throw of its choice. Once you succeed on a roll using this d4, the ancestor stops guiding you.
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.
Path of the Beast
Form of the Beast
1st-level Path of the Beast feature, which is moved from 3rd-level
When you enter your rage, you can transform, revealing the bestial power within you. Until the rage ends, you manifest a natural weapon. It counts as a simple melee weapon for you, and you add your Strength modifier to the attack and damage rolls when you attack with it, as normal.
You choose the weapon’s form each time you rage:
Bite. Your mouth transforms into a bestial muzzle or great mandibles (your choice). It deals 1d10 piercing damage on a hit.
Claws. Each of your hands transforms into a claw, which you can use as a weapon if it’s empty and has the light property. It deals 1d6 slashing damage on a hit.
Tail. You grow a lashing, spiny tail, which deals 1d10 piercing damage on a hit and has the reach property.
Feral Predator
3rd-level Path of the Beast feature
You have become more accustomed to hunting with your natural weapons, represented by the following features:
Bite. Once on each of your turns when you damage a creature with this bite, you regain a number of hit points equal to your proficiency bonus.
Claws. Once on each of your turns when you attack with a claw using the Attack action, you can make one additional claw attack as part of the same action.
Tails When you hit a creature with your tail, you can choose to grapple it. The creature is then pulled within 5 feet of you, if you so choose. You can't attack with your tail while grappling with it.
Path of the Berserker
Menacing Posture
1st-level Path of the Berserker feature
The way you carry yourself can make others nervous when they stare at your physique, allowing you to add your Strength modifier to any Intimidation checks you make. Moreover, when you successfully intimidate a creature, it has disadvantage on ability checks for 1 minute while you are within its line of sight. Creatures immune to being frightened are unaffected by this feature.
Guts & Glory
3rd-level Path of the Berserker feature, which replaces Frenzy
You attack in a frenzy while raging, opening yourself to more serious wounds. When you use your Reckless Attack feature while you are raging, you can make a single melee weapon attack as a bonus action. If you take this bonus action, any hit points you regain before the start of your next turn are halved.
Intimidating Presence
10th-level Path of the Berserker feature, which replaces the original feature of the same name
When you first enter your rage, you can unleash a battle cry that drives doubt and fear into your enemy. Choose any creatures within 10 feet that can see or hear you. A creature must make a Wisdom saving throw (DC equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Strength modifier) or be frightened of you until the end of your next turn. On subsequent turns, you can use your bonus action to extend the duration of this effect on the frightened creature until the end of your next turn. This effect ends if the creature ends its turn more than 60 feet away from you.
If the creature succeeds on its saving throw, you can’t use this feature on that creature again for 24 hours.
Path of the Storm Herald
Foretold Weather
1st-level Path of the Storm Herald feature
During a short or long rest, you can attune to the natural world around you, predicting the weather and any natural hazards that will occur within 1 mile of your current location for the next 24 hours.
Additionally, you have advantage on ability checks and saving throws against environmental effects, such as strong winds, battering waves, and extreme heat.
Building Storm
6th-level Path of the Storm Herald feature
Your Storm Aura grows larger as you continue to walk this path, growing when you gain this feature (15 feet), and again at 10th (20 feet) and 14th level (30 feet).
Storm Soul: Sea
6th-level Path of the Storm Herald, which replaces the Sea options
You gain resistance to lightning or thunder damage (your choice). Moreover, as an action, you can stir up a strong wind around you in a 5-foot radius, which dissipates after 1 minute. Inside this area, you can create light rainfall and the sound of thunder, if you choose.
Path of the Totem Warrior
Spirit Seeker
1st-level Path of the Totem Warrior, which is moved from 3rd-level
Yours is a path that seeks attunement with the natural world, giving you a kinship with beasts. You gain the ability to cast the beast sense and speak with animals spells, but only as rituals, as described in the Spellcasting section.
Totem Spirit: Tiger
3rd-level Path of the Totem Warrior, which replaces the Tiger options
While raging, you can use your bonus action to grapple a creature. You can grapple a creature as part of the bonus action used to enter your rage. The tiger spirit allows you to pounce your prey.
Aspect of the Beast
6th-level Path of the Totem Warrior, which replaces the Elk & Tiger option
You gain a magical benefit based on the totem animal of your choice. You can choose the same animal you selected at 3rd level or a different one.
Elk While keeping watch on a short or long rest, you have advantage on Perception checks. The elk spirit heightens your awareness of threats.
Tiger You can add 10 feet to your long jump distance and 3 feet to your high jump distance. The spirit of the tiger empowers your leaps.
Art Credit. Owned by WotC (artist unkown)
Path of the Zealot
Warrior of the Gods
1st-level Path of the Zealot feature, which is moved from 3rd-level
Your soul is marked for endless battle. When a spell or effect restores your hit points, you regain an additional number of hit points equal to your Constitution modifier. Any excess hit points that would heal you beyond your maximum hit points become temporary hit points.
Furthermore, if a spell, such as raise dead, has the sole effect of restoring you to life (but not undeath), the caster doesn’t need material components to cast the spell on you.
Path of Wild Magic
Magic Awareness
1st-level Path of Wild Magic feature, which is moved from 3rd-level
As an action, you can open your awareness to the presence of concentrated magic. Until the end of your next turn, you know the location of any spell or magic item within 60 feet of you that isn’t behind total cover. When you sense a spell, you learn which school of magic it belongs to.
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.
Empowered Wild Surge
3rd-level Path of Wild Magic feature
When an effect on your WIld Magic table would cause damage, you add half your barbarian level to the total.
Thought Process
This is simply a look into my thought process when creating this document. Nothing here is gameable, though you might find it interesting content nonetheless.
Why Even Bother?
This is a valid question. Amongst all the 5e classes, barbarian is by far the one of the most solid when it comes to its core class design. To which, I would agree. Much like the build of a barbarian, it's design is sturdy, though this is not to call it without flaws.
Primal Paths at 1st Level
This is where my ideas began; observing the disconnect between Rage and your subclass (Primal Path). Now, your path will build upon your Rage, but that isn't what I mean when I say 'disconnect'. I am referring to the fact you gain these two features at different levels. Think about the druid's Wildshape and subclass (Druid Circle) as an example.
So? Why does that matter? Well, by having these features introduced at the same level, you create an interesting bond and narrative between them. You aren't just a bundle of primal anger waiting to be focused but instead are mechanically merged at 1st level. I would look at the Path of the Beast for a good example of this.
While it wasn't my initial goal, this extra feature also opened up some breathing room in the subclass for out-of-combat features. You could commune with beasts or spirits for knowledge, strike fear into others, or detect the presence of magic. Overall, it is a nice addition, in my opinion.
Reckless Attack Changes
Stop me if you've heard this before. You are at the table, it's your turn, and a hostile creature is within range. Eager to act after a long break between the other characters' turns, you declare your attack. You miss but pause before making your second attack. "Wait! I forgot to say I was using Reckless Attack. Can I use it for my next roll?"
The amount of times this happens is equal to, if not greater than, your ranger forgetting to cast hunter's mark or your warlock forgetting about their hex damage. It happens. To deny your player the chance to correct the oversight for future attacks, though? While most DMs, I hope, are lenient, it's still a good change to implement.
Throwing a Fit
The name was for my amusement, but the change is one I've strongly desired since my first barbarian. To take a javelin, clench my fist, and hurl it with the power of my rage—the powerful impact causing the target to stagger.
It's a cool narrative and perhaps the only way your barbarian will ever get a chance to strike flying creatures. But, RAW, your rage will never be able to affect your thrown weapons. This seemed like an oversight to me, so I corrected it. Simple as that.
Art Credit. Owned by WotC (artist unkown)
Document Created by Okra the Bugbear
Special Mentions. While creating this document, I found a Video by Bone Wizard that inspired some of the options presented here. Their content is great, go subscribe and enjoy the barbaric violence too.
