Barbarian

Lore & Background

The first official barbarian as a character class was introduced by Gary Gygax in Dragon #63 (July 1982), as a sub-class of the fighter class. The barbarian later appears in the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons manual, Unearthed Arcana in 1985. The barbarian, along with the cavalier, received a revision in Dragon magazine #148 (August 1989), as the author David Howery felt that the class as described in Unearthed Arcana was 'too powerful and too vaguely defined.'

Another version of the barbarian appeared as a character class in the original Oriental Adventures in 1985. According to a reviewer for White Dwarf, the barbarian was 'altered to fit into an Eastern pattern', and was 'primarily a steppes warrior, or a forest and jungle dweller'. In the Eberron campaign setting, barbarians are more like nomads — while they may not be civilized, they are certainly not savages. Barbarians in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting are similar in presentation as the class presented in the core rulebook.

Barbarians can be of any race in the Realms, though some are more uncommon than others. Barbarians are described as being confused by the cosmopolitan nature of certain regions of Faerûn.

Reader's Guide

In 5th edition, the barbarian is a character class in the Player's Handbook. It encompasses two subclasses, known as primal paths: the Path of the Berserker and the path of the Totem Warrior. The Path of the Berserker archetype heightens a barbarians rage allowing for more savage attacks, while the Totem Warrior imbues them with some animal attributes. Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide (2015) included the Battlerager, exclusive to dwarves and allowing them to wear and utilise damaging spiked armor.

Xanathar's Guide to Everything (2017) added three more paths: Ancestral Guardian, Storm Herald, and Zealot. Tasha's Cauldron of Everything (2020) added two more paths: Path of the Beast and Path of Wild Magic. Barbarians focus on defensive power. They have the highest average hit points of any class, and they gain access to a powerful unarmored defense feature.

In combat, their rage feature grants them resilience against common damage types, and can be extended by taking or dealing damage. In 3rd edition, barbarians can tap their inner fury to fly into a berserker-like rage. Once the rage is expended, the barbarian becomes fatigued for the remainder of the encounter. Rage provides bonuses to Strength, Constitution, and Will saving throws, and a glut of additional hit points which expire along with their rage. Rage also reduces armour class and interferes with any skill requiring patience or concentration.

Did You Know?

• The barbarian class was introduced in 1985, but an illustration of a barbarian appeared already in the original 1974 Dungeons & Dragons set.
• In 3rd edition, only the barbarian begins the game illiterate and must expend extra skill points or multiclass to read and write.
• The barbarian uses the highest hit dice, a d12, of any class in the second and third editions.