Barbarian

Barbarians are mighty warriors who rely on their strength and incredible toughness, characterized by a bestial rage empowered either by ancestral totems and nature spirits or an inner passion for violence. Barbarians are less versatile than fighters but are tougher and capable of dealing heavy damage to their foes much more quickly.

The most famous barbarian of Toril is likely Wulfgar, friend and companion to Drizzt Do'Urden.

Culture
Barbarians are common within several organizations within Faerûn such as Uthgardt warrior traditions of the Silver Marches and Icewind Dale, the primal warriors of the Reghed Glacier, wild tribes of the Chondalwood, Chult, and the famous berserkers of Rashemen and its neighboring regions. However, contrary to common belief, not all warriors who live outside civilization's borders are barbarians. Only those who embrace the wild and primal ways of the rage can rightly call themselves barbarian, imbuing them with a wild spirit not found among most warriors. Where civilized people emphasize what separates from them wild animals, barbarians take pride in their bestial nature and look upon the tamer sensibilities of civilization with disdain. Barbarians' feral nature means they lack the discipline to be lawful, though all other alignments are found among barbarians.

Barbarians have a reputation, perhaps not completely deserved, as reckless ruffians and savage nuisances who needless disrupt society by acts of mayhem. However, barbarians, while undoubtedly feral and unpredictable by the nature of their rages are not necessarily uncultured brutes. Time and time again, barbarians have proven their cunning and resourcefulness as well as their sheer physical power and endurance. Sometimes, in spite of their aversion to order, barbarians even demonstrate honor.

However, barbarians are united, no matter their origins, by a marked lack of disciplines or patience for the laws and traditions that others adhere to. Likewise, while a generalization, it is true to some degree that nearly all barbarians come from outside the confines of settled civilization, being far more common among nomadic tribes or frontier settlers than they are among urban city dwellers. It is from these remote origins that barbarians often derive their reverence for nature, which brings them close to druids, rangers, and others who venerate the wilderness and honor it.

Many barbarians are human, since humans are among the most widespread of the race as well as, in many cases the most uncivilized. However, orc and goblinoid barbarians are more common still and are sometimes the most commonly encountered soldiers of their race. Barbarians from the other races are relatively rare, though among elves there are the wild elves, among halflings the ghostwise, and among dwarves the wild dwarves, each of which have barbarian traditions. Half-elves from the Yuirwood are also sometimes drawn to the way of the barbarian, as are planetouched raised among tribal cultures. Dragonborn, goliath, and half-elven barbarians are also fairly common, dragonborns and half-elves preferring the way of thaneborn barbarians, while goliaths are more often rageblood barbarians.

Barbarians have varying attitudes towards magic. On the one hand, barbarians distrust most things they do not understand and this extends towards what they call "book magic" or magic learned in a school or university, such as that used by swordmages or wizards. On the other hand, barbarians are themselves wielders of primal magic, as are the druids many barbarians call friends, or at least allies. Likewise, barbarians often show a large degree of respect for sorcerers, whose approach to magic is similar to their own unbridled style of combat. In no small way it is likely that the barbarian prejudice against scholarly magic is due in part to the fact that many barbarians are illiterate.

Barbarians' bravery and wanderlust makes them uncommonly suited for the adventurer's lifestyle. Often coming from nomadic tribes, most barbarians have few qualms with the traveling life typical to adventuring parties. Of the difficulties suffered by barbarians in adapting to a life of adventure, the greatest is most commonly the loss of family structure that comes from leaving the tribe. With time, however, many barbarians find the bonds with their new companions a worthy substitute.

Abilities


As handy with a weapon as a fighter, barbarians become tougher and more agile as they become more powerful. The most experienced barbarians are almost incomparably powerful, with a strength and constitution well beyond that of most mortals. Though barbarians can wield one-handed weapons many prefer to use two-handed weapons in order to deal maximum damage. Barbarians are also well-versed in the use of light armor but some lack training in slightly heavier forms of protection such as chain shirts or shields, while very few are trained in and most lack training in heavy armor such as chainmail or splint.

Because most of them are untrained in the use of heavy armor, barbarians train themselves to take incredible levels of punishment that would easily fell less sturdy warriors. Additionally, most barbarians are capable of moving much more quickly while wearing half plate or lighter armor, by a factor of between thirty and forty percent. Another boon to barbarians' feral and exposed style of attack is their aptitude for quickly following up one attack with another immediately thereafter, overwhelming their enemies until they are able to deal fatal blow. This, along with their instinctive sense for danger, which makes them nigh impossible to flank effectively or put off guard, makes barbarians far more formidable than their lightly armored appearance would suppose.

Many barbarians draw upon the primal energies of the natural world and its guardian spirits, often in the form of ancestral totems, for empowerment, gaining powerful abilities called evocations. The feral might gained by barbarians can manifest in many other ways and some use it to empower themselves to the point of nigh invulnerability, finding it easier to take blows and plow onward rather than dodge them. Others might gain the ability to literally shape their fate, affecting the quality of luck dealt them through force of will.

The most distinctive aspect of barbarians is their ability to "rage," wherein they let loose powerful emotional bursts fueled by their primal power or inner fury. When they rage, barbarians gain a number of powerful benefits, including an apparent increase in strength, an ability to deal more damage, and greater insensitivity to many forms of physical damage. This rage usually lasts about a minute, but with experience and training most barbarians can extend it indefinitely.

Barbarians have also been known to take on other, less common abilities. While raging barbarians are typically unable to cast evocations, spells, or other similar abilities, though some actually receive a bonus to their lesser evocations that last until they collapse or enter a new rage. Barbarians can also use a fraction of their raging power to deal a devastating attack known as a rage strike.

Primal paths
Barbarians come in a number of different varieties, with a number of diverse capabilities. Two of the main divergent branches of barbarians are the Path of the Berserker and the Path of the Totem Warrior.

Path of the Berserker
Where some barbarians draw upon the essence of nature and primal magic for their power, barbarians on the Path of the Berserker instead rely on their own fury and unbridled bloodlust to pull them through a fight. As a result, Berskerers rely less extensively on primal magic and instead focus on improving their rage ability. When a Berserker rages they can enter into an even deeper state of primal fury known as a frenzy. While frenzied, a Berserker is capable of attacking more quickly, although such effort eventually tires them out. Raging Berserkers are also utterly fearless and immune to the effects of charms.

In addition to possessing an improved version of regular barbarians' rage ability, Berserkers are also much more frightening to behold and sufficiently powerful Berserkers can actually cause their enemies to run in terror from them through their presence alone. Experienced Berserkers also maintain exceptionally good battle reflexes, allowing them to strike a retaliatory blow to anyone who injures them in a fight.

Path of the Totem Warrior
Barbarians with a more spiritual side may pursue the Path of the Totem Warrior, a calling which enhances barbarians' capacity for primal magic and forging a strong connection between them and their spirit animal. The spirit animal chosen by Totem Warriors - which is often related to their particular tribal culture - grants them a number of supernatural abilities, such as the ability to carry extra weight, enhance the ability of their allies in battle, or even fly a limited distance in short bursts. Additionally, Totem Warriors may take on physical features similar to their spirit animal, such as excess hair or unusually colored eyes.

In addition to the abilities mentioned above, Totem Warriors also gain the ability to cast druid spells such as beast sense or commune with animals as rituals. Their ability with these spells are somewhat limited limited compared with that of a druid, but nonetheless allow the Totem Warrior to tap into the primal essence of nature in order to enhance their awareness or gather information.

External Sources

 * SRD 3.5 Edition Barbarian Class