Base Class: Barbarian
All barbarians harbor a fury within. Their rage grants them superior strength, durability, and speed. Barbarians who follow the Path of the Storm Herald learn to transform that rage into a mantle of primal magic, which swirls around them. When in a fury, a barbarian of this path taps into the forces of nature to create powerful magical effects.
Storm heralds are typically elite champions who train alongside druids, rangers, and others sworn to protect nature. Other storm heralds hone their craft in lodges in regions wracked by storms, in the frozen reaches at the world’s end, or deep in the hottest deserts.
Storm Aura
Starting at 3rd level, you emanate a stormy, magical aura while you rage. The aura extends 10 feet from you in every direction, but not through total cover. This radius extends to 20 feet when you reach 14th level in this class.
Your aura has an effect that activates when you enter your rage, and you can activate the effect again on each of your turns as a bonus action. Choose sandstorm, hurricane, or blizzard. Your aura’s effect depends on that chosen type of storm, as detailed below.
If your aura’s effects require a saving throw, the DC equals 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Constitution modifier.
Blizzard
When this effect is activated, each creature of your choice in your aura gains 3 temporary hit points, as icy spirits inure it to suffering. The temporary hit points increase when you reach certain levels in this class, increasing to 4 at 6th level, 5 at 10th level, and 6 at 14th level.
Hurricane
When this effect is activated, you can choose one other creature you can see in your aura. The target must make a Dexterity saving throw. The target takes 1d6 lightning damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. The damage increases when you reach certain levels in this class, increasing to 2d6 at 6th level, 3d6 at 10th level, and 4d6 at 14th level.
Sandstorm
When this effect is activated, all other creatures in your aura take 3 fire damage each. The damage increases when you reach certain levels in this class, increasing to 4 at 6th level, 5 at 10th level, and 6 at 14th level.
Howling Winds
- It extinguishes unprotected flames in its area that are torch-sized or smaller.
- It hedges out vapor, gas, and fog that can be dispersed by strong wind.
The wind also has an additional effect based on the storm you chose for your Storm Aura.
Blizzard
The freezing winds of your aura cover the ground with a layer of ice. Any creature in contact with the ground that enters your aura for the first time on a turn or ends its turn there must succeed on a Strength saving throw. If it fails, its feet become frozen to the ground and its speed is reduced to 0. Any creature frozen in this way has advantage on saving throws and ability checks made to avoid being moved or knocked prone. At the start of each of an effected creature's turns, it can repeat the saving throw to free itself. A creature can choose to fail the saving throw. If a creature is no longer in the aura, the effect on it ends.
Hurricane
The winds of your aura are exceptionally strong. Your aura gains the following effects:
- It deafens you and other creatures in its area.
- The area is difficult terrain for creatures other than you.
- The attack rolls of ranged weapon attacks have disadvantage if the attacks pass in or out of the wind.
Additionally, whenever you activate your Storm Aura, you may choose a direction. Each other creature in your aura must make a Strength saving throw or be pushed up to 10 feet in the chosen direction.
Sandstorm
The winds of your aura become filled with sand and dust, blocking creatures' vision. Whenever a creature enters your aura for the first time on a turn or starts its turn there, it must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or be blinded until the start of your next turn or until it leaves the aura.
Storm Soul
At 6th level, the storm grants you benefits even when your aura isn’t active. The benefits are based on the storm you chose for your Storm Aura.
Blizzard
You gain resistance to cold damage, and you don’t suffer the effects of extreme cold, as described in the Dungeon Master’s Guide. Moreover, as an action, you can touch water and turn a 5-foot cube of it into ice, which melts after 1 minute. This action fails if a creature is in the cube. Additionally, once you reach 10th level in this class, each creature of your choice in your aura also has resistance to cold damage.
Hurricane
You gain resistance to lightning damage, and you can breathe underwater. You also gain a swimming speed of 30 feet.
Sandstorm
You gain resistance to fire damage, and you don’t suffer the effects of extreme heat, as described in the Dungeon Master’s Guide. Moreover, as an action, you can touch a flammable object that isn’t being worn or carried by anyone else and set it on fire.
Eye of the Storm
At 10th level, you gain greater control over the storm that rages within you. Whenever your aura would deal damage to a creature or force a creature to make a saving throw, you can choose to allow that creature to take half as much damage or succeed on that saving throw instead.
Raging Storm
At 14th level, the power of the storm you channel grows mightier, lashing out at your foes. The effect is based on the storm you chose for your Storm Aura.
Blizzard
The resolve and durability of creatures of the icy tundra strengthen your aura. Whenever a creature that has temporary hit points from your Storm Aura would take nonmagical bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage, that creature can choose to lose their temporary hit points and take no damage instead.
Hurricane
Your storm brings with it the unstoppable power of the sea. The first time each turn that you hit a creature in your aura with an attack, you can choose to have that attack deal an extra 2d6 thunder damage and force that creature to make a Strength saving throw. On a failed save, the creature is knocked prone and pushed up to 10 feet directly away from you, as if struck by a wave.
Sandstorm
Your aura brings with it the relentless heat of a desert. When you activate your Storm Aura, you can have each creature in your aura also make a Constitution saving throw. A creature that fails its save gains a level of exhaustion. Creatures wearing medium or heavy armor, or who are clad in heavy clothing, have disadvantage on the saving throw. Creatures with resistance or immunity to fire damage automatically succeed on the saving throw, as do creatures naturally adapted to hot climates. If your rage ends and you used this ability at least once, you gain a level of exhaustion. Once you have used this ability a number of times equal to your Constitution modifier, you must complete a long rest before you can use it again.
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Posted May 12, 2020DESIGN NOTES:
General:
I changed the thematic elements from being tied to an environment to being tied to just a type of storm; desert became sandstorm, sea became hurricane, and tundra became blizzard. For each storm, I wanted to have a unifying combat style, similar to the Hunter Ranger's abilities. Sandstorm barbarians become an AoE unto themselves, excelling when they are in the middle of a horde of enemies. Hurricane barbarians are specialized in single-target damage and in area control. Blizzard barbarians are more on the support side of things, establishing a foothold for their allies and weathering any attacks that come at them.
Storm Aura:
For the most part, I left these all alone. However, I did make two significant changes: I increased the starting value for sandstorm and blizzard by 1, and I made all 3 scale at levels 6, 10, and 14. Not only does this give them all the same number of scalar upgrades (sea had 1 fewer), but it also makes them scale at the levels that the subclass gains new features, which made more sense than the every-five-levels it had previously. Furthermore, as a part of the scaling, I also had the aura increase by 10 feet similar to a Paladin's.
Howling Winds:
So, the base part of this feature is copied verbatim from the spell warding wind. My reasoning for this is that this class has all of the potential of acting like a third-caster (a la Eldritch Knight, Arcane Trickster, or Four Elements Monk). Granted, a third-caster doesn't get level 2 spells until level 7, but since this class can't gain any other spells, I figured the single level advance wasn't too big of a deal.
I also had some ideas for the storm-specific abilities, so I decided to give them each their own special interaction with this feature.
Howling Winds (sandstorm):
Logically, it would make sense for this ability to just heavily obscure the area inside it. However, that would completely negate the barbarian's Reckless Attack feature, which is a staple for the class. I'm still not totally pleased with how this effect ended up.
Howling Winds (hurricane):
Initially, this just completed the effects of Warding Wind. However, after review, I realized that this path did not have any effects that forced all creatures to make a saving throw, rendering the level 10 ability useless. So, I added an altered Gust/Gust of Wind-type ability that fit thematically. However, I'm not too happy with it, as the Hurricane path is supposed to be about being a single-target bully and area denial is more in line with the Sandstorm path.
Howling Winds (blizzard):
I wanted the ice barbarian to be more about creating some kind of bulwark against foes for its allies. This allows them to get set up in a formation and not have to worry about being pushed around.
Shielding Storm / Eye of the Storm:
Because I got changed the Storm Soul feature slightly, I had to come up with a new one for level 10 as well. However, I did want to go with the theme of the original, so this feature allows the barbarian to exclude their allies from the effects of their aura. Furthermore, it does not grant all allies the resistances from Storm Soul, as I felt that was too much given all of the other improvements I made to the class. The exception to this is the blizzard path, which made sense to grant allies resistance, especially given the complete lack of purely offensive damage abilities of that particular path.
Raging Storm:
These abilities were generally sub-par in the original class. A 14th-level ability that only deals 7-10 damage as a reaction, and none if the target passes its save? Maybe as a 3rd or even 6th level ability. They all pretty much needed reworking.
Raging Storm (sandstorm):
I really wanted to show that the barbarian is becoming an environmental hazard unto themselves here. The ability is taken right from the extreme heat section of the DMG. Barring magic items or a the Barb's capstone (which is an exception unto itself), the ability can only be used 5 times in a single combat, which can't outright kill anything unless another character has an ability that can apply exhaustion. Furthermore, the application of the ability causes exhaustion in the barbarian itself, albeit not to any extremes, which helps to balance the otherwise extremely powerful ability.
Raging Storm (hurricane):
I like the idea behind the original ability, but hated that it required the use of the reaction to apply it. So, I just made it a once-per-turn ability, like many other similar abilities in other classes. And, because I'd rather err on the side of too powerful, I added some extra damage in to help keep with the theme of the hurricane being a single-target bully.
Raging Storm (blizzard):
This ability was already given in a previous level, albeit in a different power level. Instead, I wanted to further improve the class's ability to protect its allies. Once again, I'd rather err on the side of more powerful, but I think even as it stands it is not too overpowered; at level 14, most of the monsters the barbarian would be facing have other damage types to get around this ability.
Changelog