I recently rolled a new Tortle barbarian who I enjoy thoroughly. He's typically slow, in normal turtle / Tortle fashion as he enjoys travelling the world at a leisurely pace, but when it's time to "Rage" he actually gets sad & somber. Being someone who appreciates life and who believes that no experience, especially a new one, should be rushed, he hates combat and the fact that killing someone means they lose the opportunity to have these experiences. It's also the one instance where his life speeds up, as he's experienced too much death and wishes for the battle to simply be over. Essentially his "Rage" is a melancholy blitz of regretful violence. One of the most fun ways I've had to RP battles.
I play a Mountain Dwarf Totem Barbarian named Blarg Bowelstone. He suffers from a common dwarven affliction known as Dumathoin's Curse, which is a fancy way of saying that he hasn't pooped in over five years. This makes him quite irritable and serves as a catalyst for his rages.
Kaldyr was a young guardsmen working in Waterdeep, the City of Splendors. As an aasimar, he carried within his bloodline the spark of Light present within all celestials. Most aasimar were destined for greatness...the Light within them imbued a natural charisma that attracted the people to them and inspired them. Many became warrior-heroes, or leaders. It was rare for an aasimar to lead a quiet life.
But Kaldyr had little care for glory, or ruling. He merely wanted to keep his city safe. Then, during the annual Festival of Joy, he met someone that would change his life forever...a priestess of llirra, goddess of joy and compassion. Her name was Ludmilla..and she was also a tiefling.
Tieflings were known for their demonic heritage, and much like aasimar carried celestial blood, tieflings had infernal blood...it gave them fangs, horns, and tails much like their fiendish cousins. Despite this, Kaldyr did not find Ludmilla to be monstrous at all...she had a beauty and grace matched only by the enormity of her smile, and the kindness which surpassed her looks. Kaldyr was immediately smitten by her, and the two of them started a romantic relationship.
Some would say that an aasimar and a tiefling could never get involved romantically...that the differences in their bloodlines, with celestials being the mortal enemies of fiends, prevented any emotional or physical attraction. Despite this, the two of them became hopelessly in love. Tieflings were not infatuated by aasimar like other mortals were, and so Kaldyr knew that Ludmilla's affections were genuine. Likewise, Kaldyr saw her for the charitable soul she was, and found her appearance captivating. Neither were bound by their ancestry, and their pursuit of one another carried on through the seasons, right up until the anniversary of their meeting when the Festival of Joy returned.
After a night of laughter and dancing, both Kaldyr and Ludmilla retired to a local tavern, where a group of drunken revellers loudly celebrated the Festival of Joy. Like many who see an aasimar, their eyes found themselves drawn to where Kaldyr was sitting...but they also spied Ludmilla, and suddenly their attitude grew menacing. Tieflings were considered bad omens, and untrustworthy, and the drunken men soon approached Ludmilla, demanding she leave or suffer consequence. Kaldyr intervened, declaring that Ludmillia was a priestess of llira, and threatened any who would harm her. Ludmilla attempted to calm both Kaldyr and the men...when one of them lashed out at her. Kaldyr blocked the strike, and soon a violent skirmish ensued between him and the drunken thugs, with Ludmilla desperately trying to pry them away. In the scuffle, Kaldyr watched with horror as one of the men produced a knife and slashed at him...and accidentally stabbed Ludmilla, who stepped between the blow. The men, in their stupor and bruises, fled the scene, leaving Kaldyr holding onto the dying body of Ludmilla.
Kaldyr had called upon his celestial blood before, to conjure light and heal minor wounds. But now, however, he found that his power had abandoned him for some reason. With looming dread, he realized that his celestial powers would not work on Ludmilla, due to her Infernal heritage...celestials, by cosmic law, were forbidden from aiding their enemy, even an innocent one. Hands pressed against her bleeding wound, he could only sob as he watched her life fade away...but Ludmilla's smile, one of relief at his safety, never wavered, mimicking the same she always had. Then...she was gone.
Kaldyr broke that night. Both in heart and spirit. He cursed the Light, and his heritage, condemning it for not saving someone so innocent. And so, Kaldyr was left with only one thing...pure, inconsolable rage. He tracked down the men responsible for his love's death, and one by one, he butchered them in a frenzy of steel and blood. But his vengeance still was not quelled, and he began to see that his so-called "City of Splendor" was filled with corruption and murderous criminals. He forsook his position as guardsman; killing criminals with little regard for law or mercy. With every villain slain, the Light in him ebbed away. Nothing fulfilled him; only anger and gloom remained.
Over the course of a year or so, his murderous crusade moved away from Waterdeep; pressures from both the city law and the criminal guilds forcing him abroad. He became a private mercenary, waging war on those who would harm innocents.
One night, after a particularly gruesome hunt, Kaldyr was approached in his dreams by a strange vision...a woman's voice in a palace of ice and shadow: The Raven Queen. The Raven Queen was impressed by his skills: He had claimed more kills than he could remember, and she had taken notice. She offered him her blessing, in exchange for his service: He would hunt the most vile sort of evil men..those who would extend their life and achieve immortality, at the cost of the blood and suffering of innocents. Among them, necromancers, followers or Orcus, and the warrior monks of the Order of the Long Death. Kaldyr initially denied the offer; he wouldn't be some tool for yet another cosmic power....but The Raven Queen calmly stated that Death and The Shadowfell was her dominion, and that if he swore himself to her, she would give him that what he desired...a chance to re-unite with his lost love, Ludmilla, in the afterlife, and that she would prevent her soul from passing into the Infernal depths for which her soul is naturally drawn to.
Reluctantly, Kaldyr agreed...on the condition that he would not be compelled to kill an innocent. When he awoke, he was imbued with The Raven Queens power...and the Light within him crushed beneath the weight of darkness. He became what is known as a "Fallen" aasimar...a celestial descendant touched by darkness, turned from the Light. Kaldyr became known as Kaldyr the Black, a bogeyman to every assassin, necromancer, or criminal that dared cross his path...a living nightmare that served Death herself. Killing became routine; his burning rage turned to icy ruthlessness by his connection to the Goddess of Winter.
With every foe slain, their soul was offered to The Raven Queen...and with every kill, Kaldyr clung to the grim hope he'd join his lost love, though he knew his service would last for many years, and that his Queen would not let him die so easily...
He's a Path of the Zealot Barbarian, one whose "rage" now manifests as the dark, menacing power of the Shadowfell, due to his service to The Queen. His "hard to kill" nature comes from his connection to The Raven Queen, giving him resistance to death so he may continue Her work. As a bonus, his "Necrotic Shroud" features serves as a sort of alternate "rage"...one he uses to frighten and intimidate killers. He isn't a mindless devotee to The Queen...but he respects her commitment to Death as a sort of "balance", and is willing to serve her because his goals align with hers.
I've run two Barbarians in the past. My first one, a Berzerker, used booze and other substances of questionable legality in order to achieve a state of maximum hype which for all intents and purposes is a rage. My current Barbarian, using Matt Mercer's Path of the Juggernaut, just shuts her brain off. In her regular attitude, she's way too oblivious and confused to be get actually angry at things, but when there's a fight she needs to fight or when she gets hit, her sleepy demeanor drifts away, leaving nothing but a blank expression, beastly throaty growls, and a very painful maul.
Some good ideas in here for Rage-flavor! I may incorporate one or two little details into my own character, some of which I have been doing subconsciously already but will now make official. Going Totem so I can say "Strength of the BEAR" like Bravestar :) Plus I do not want to feel like I am "gaming" Tomb of Annihilation by going Zealot...unless I go Necrotic damage hmmm...
My current character is a Goliath Barbarian with the Gladiator background. He has some head trauma from his childhood (getting knocked off a mountain by a Dragon can do that to a young lad), so he is a "very special needs" kind of guy outside of combat. He is gullible, idiotic and easily distracted. When it comes time for battle though, something in him changes. Almost as if he is "remembering" who/what he is or is supposed to be. He is focused, clear-headed. He even speaks better, and "knows" what he is doing, and perhaps a bit "evil" or at least quite mean spirited in the way he behaves while he is in Battle Mode. Heck, he has chopped up some snake-creatures to make steaks, and stomped the head of one into sauce to assist the group in interrogating another. The DM and the rest of the party have not picked up on this yet! Part of his background is that he was sent on this quest by the Arena owner, who happens to be my backup character - an Evil Old One Warlock, which goes far into explaining this sort of behavior while he is raging. It would also perhaps support Necrotic Damage Zealot a bit, but I feel like Totem will fit better for how the game has gone thus far.
I'm currently playing an aarakocra barbarian. as they reach adulthood at around 4 years old, I'm roleplaying him as essentially a child in a fully grown body. while perfectly clever and 'mature', he is completely controlled by his emotions. so when it comes to combat, as soon as anyone either attacks his friends, attacks him or even just teases him about his height (he's 3'11") his anger is let loose. i've found the way I really enjoy using the rage function is role play it religiously, if he is raging he makes very rash very un-thought-through choices. we just had an encounter where we were ambushed, three of the party where knocked down as my aarakocra was flailing away at the captain. having vanquished the captain he turned around to see the rest of the bandits fleeing into the woods with his friends bleeding on the ground; he of course flew straight after them screaming, leading to him vs 6 bandits which ended very quickly. when he woke up his first question was about the those that had been injured, he was raging because of his protectivness of them
I like doing different things (because the whole 'raging mindless Barbarian' thing has been done SO many times!) so I've run Barbs that had cold, calculating rages (this works well for Storm Herald with the Tundra option). Zealot Warriors make great 'frothing at the mouth' types but they can also be the 'chanting holy words while they fight' type (which is more fun).
Make it your own. Break from the herd and do your own thing. Make your own mark.
I've have had or seen used a variety of ways to represent 'rage' over the years (some likely mentioned by others)
Anger - The typical foaming at the mouth, seeing red type deal Trance - Essentially like you would expect of an elite athlete or almost monk like ability where the mental state dictates enhanced abilities "getting in the zone" so to speak Skill - an ability to move into an exceptional combat stance or a specific style of training Channel - imbuing some external force into the character such as a totem spirit, god like (similar to the zealot concept) power or even becoming possessed by an entity Empowerment - a build up of some aspect that then empowers the character, akin to things like going super-sayn or the human torch's "flame on" Shape-shift - taking on a new or enhanced form, akin to a hybrid lycanthrope form but not always a beast form Enhancement - enchanted tattoos, drinking various substances or some other external aspect when activated provides the enhancements offered by 'raging'
I'm sure there are many other options as well, don't worry so much about matching the specifics to the lore but the effects to why the enhancement is gained.
I'm fairly new to DnD (a couple misfires in the past), but I recently rolled a Goliath Barbarian. He is a large, angry man who likes hitting things.
.....and he has a pacifist mate. They were separated when ol' Fenrir got arrested, but now he's out of prison and his mate is missing (probably because he wandered off to help people, silly do-gooder). But prison is a lonely place, and he kind of got to talking to himself, so now his Wolf's (imaginary) voice whispers to him to calm down already.
So, yes, I made a stereotypical rush in, hit things, blind fury raging Barbarian - the whispers aren't present in battle because his pacifist Wolf wouldn't be there (along with a few other specific situations). But outside of combat, his anger is more or less restrained by the whisperings of his Wolf. I gave him the Totem Warrior path, with his Wolf Spirit Animal being a mixture of an actual Wolf and his beloved.
Maybe it's unoriginal for me to have him go into combat roaring and bashing because he's angry and he enjoys it, but I've always thought it's the details and how you play them that matter. It's his backstory and how it influences him now, not his rage, that makes him (to me) an interesting character.
I also handed the fate of his Wolf over to our DM, though judging by the crazed laughing, it probably won't turn out well for them.
I'm fairly new to DnD (a couple misfires in the past), but I recently rolled a Goliath Barbarian. He is a large, angry man who likes hitting things.
.....and he has a pacifist mate. They were separated when ol' Fenrir got arrested, but now he's out of prison and his mate is missing (probably because he wandered off to help people, silly do-gooder). But prison is a lonely place, and he kind of got to talking to himself, so now his Wolf's (imaginary) voice whispers to him to calm down already.
So, yes, I made a stereotypical rush in, hit things, blind fury raging Barbarian - the whispers aren't present in battle because his pacifist Wolf wouldn't be there (along with a few other specific situations). But outside of combat, his anger is more or less restrained by the whisperings of his Wolf. I gave him the Totem Warrior path, with his Wolf Spirit Animal being a mixture of an actual Wolf and his beloved.
Maybe it's unoriginal for me to have him go into combat roaring and bashing because he's angry and he enjoys it, but I've always thought it's the details and how you play them that matter. It's his backstory and how it influences him now, not his rage, that makes him (to me) an interesting character.
I also handed the fate of his Wolf over to our DM, though judging by the crazed laughing, it probably won't turn out well for them.
For someone who claims to have a stereotypical character, this is a GREAT background IMHO. This is what I love at my table as a DM or as a player. I can see huge RP opportunities here.
What if you have an enemy with a child that has a Wolf totem? You might be willing to kill Daddy but your Wolf spirit might tell you to spare the daughter.
Your party is lost (for whatever reason) and everyone but you is dying of cold (because GOLIATH). You see your wolf spirit in the distance, leading you to safety...
Your group is in the process of rescuing someone (like you do) and you see your wolf spirit standing behind them, growling. Is the 'prisoner' a trap or danger of some kind?
Have an aasimar zealot. He fell because he was possessed by a powerful demon while young. Over time it was suppressed and he learned to control the flow of power from the demon with help from his faith.
When he rages he's letting a small portion of the demon take hold on infest his body. He's even learned to take the form of the demon for short periods of time(aasimar nova)
I am currently playing a paladin barbarian. (5 Paladin, 1 Barbarian) In another lifetime, she may have been trained as a barbarian straight out of the gate because she does have some anger issues but like to think of it as her righteous fury is so great, that she had an epiphany one day. This was caused by one of a party members mushrooms (druid of the circle of spores) having got into her rations. She had an allergic reaction that threw her into a berserker rage. She realized that she could use her unfocused righteous anger in a much more constructive way.
I've only played two barbarians. One of them was my first character, so he didn't really have any personality other than liking bears. My current barb, Greta Van Tuskgrinder...is sort of a stereotypical, Scottish and stereotypically Scottish barbarian. I like to think that her rage stems from the fact that she feels like she doesn't fit into normal dwarf society and her going into this rage zone and smacking people around with spiky shoulder pads is her way of proving herself. *shrugs*
I have this idea for a character who's a prematurely hatched Yuan-Ti pureblood who was raised by a group of paladins, but because of being prematurely hatched, he doesn't have the mental stats to be a good paladin, so he becomes a Zealot barbarian instead. His rage would be him happily having snek boy emotions as he whomps enemies with his Paw's hammer.
I personally play a Barbarian Dwarf that is really just an anxiety mom friend, they just use their strengths to be more powerful, though they do get angry. Hope this helps 😅
My barbarian follows the Path of the Ancestral Spirit. In battle, his ancestors appear and provide aid.
To Schlomo the Barbarian, this takes the form of annoying parents and extended family who drop by to express how disappointed they are in him while he is fighting for his life. His mother asks why he couldn't have become a Shaman like his cousin (Shamans make a very comfortable living). They can provide guilt which fuels his rage-like state. Seinfeld fans can picture George's parents showing up in times of extreme duress...to add more duress.
On more than one occasion Schlomo has swung his axe while screaming, "Yes, I'm wearing a clean loincloth!"
I recently rolled a new Tortle barbarian who I enjoy thoroughly. He's typically slow, in normal turtle / Tortle fashion as he enjoys travelling the world at a leisurely pace, but when it's time to "Rage" he actually gets sad & somber. Being someone who appreciates life and who believes that no experience, especially a new one, should be rushed, he hates combat and the fact that killing someone means they lose the opportunity to have these experiences. It's also the one instance where his life speeds up, as he's experienced too much death and wishes for the battle to simply be over. Essentially his "Rage" is a melancholy blitz of regretful violence. One of the most fun ways I've had to RP battles.
I play a Mountain Dwarf Totem Barbarian named Blarg Bowelstone. He suffers from a common dwarven affliction known as Dumathoin's Curse, which is a fancy way of saying that he hasn't pooped in over five years. This makes him quite irritable and serves as a catalyst for his rages.
Kaldyr was a young guardsmen working in Waterdeep, the City of Splendors. As an aasimar, he carried within his bloodline the spark of Light present within all celestials. Most aasimar were destined for greatness...the Light within them imbued a natural charisma that attracted the people to them and inspired them. Many became warrior-heroes, or leaders. It was rare for an aasimar to lead a quiet life.
But Kaldyr had little care for glory, or ruling. He merely wanted to keep his city safe. Then, during the annual Festival of Joy, he met someone that would change his life forever...a priestess of llirra, goddess of joy and compassion. Her name was Ludmilla..and she was also a tiefling.
Tieflings were known for their demonic heritage, and much like aasimar carried celestial blood, tieflings had infernal blood...it gave them fangs, horns, and tails much like their fiendish cousins. Despite this, Kaldyr did not find Ludmilla to be monstrous at all...she had a beauty and grace matched only by the enormity of her smile, and the kindness which surpassed her looks. Kaldyr was immediately smitten by her, and the two of them started a romantic relationship.
Some would say that an aasimar and a tiefling could never get involved romantically...that the differences in their bloodlines, with celestials being the mortal enemies of fiends, prevented any emotional or physical attraction. Despite this, the two of them became hopelessly in love. Tieflings were not infatuated by aasimar like other mortals were, and so Kaldyr knew that Ludmilla's affections were genuine. Likewise, Kaldyr saw her for the charitable soul she was, and found her appearance captivating. Neither were bound by their ancestry, and their pursuit of one another carried on through the seasons, right up until the anniversary of their meeting when the Festival of Joy returned.
After a night of laughter and dancing, both Kaldyr and Ludmilla retired to a local tavern, where a group of drunken revellers loudly celebrated the Festival of Joy. Like many who see an aasimar, their eyes found themselves drawn to where Kaldyr was sitting...but they also spied Ludmilla, and suddenly their attitude grew menacing. Tieflings were considered bad omens, and untrustworthy, and the drunken men soon approached Ludmilla, demanding she leave or suffer consequence. Kaldyr intervened, declaring that Ludmillia was a priestess of llira, and threatened any who would harm her. Ludmilla attempted to calm both Kaldyr and the men...when one of them lashed out at her. Kaldyr blocked the strike, and soon a violent skirmish ensued between him and the drunken thugs, with Ludmilla desperately trying to pry them away. In the scuffle, Kaldyr watched with horror as one of the men produced a knife and slashed at him...and accidentally stabbed Ludmilla, who stepped between the blow. The men, in their stupor and bruises, fled the scene, leaving Kaldyr holding onto the dying body of Ludmilla.
Kaldyr had called upon his celestial blood before, to conjure light and heal minor wounds. But now, however, he found that his power had abandoned him for some reason. With looming dread, he realized that his celestial powers would not work on Ludmilla, due to her Infernal heritage...celestials, by cosmic law, were forbidden from aiding their enemy, even an innocent one. Hands pressed against her bleeding wound, he could only sob as he watched her life fade away...but Ludmilla's smile, one of relief at his safety, never wavered, mimicking the same she always had. Then...she was gone.
Kaldyr broke that night. Both in heart and spirit. He cursed the Light, and his heritage, condemning it for not saving someone so innocent. And so, Kaldyr was left with only one thing...pure, inconsolable rage. He tracked down the men responsible for his love's death, and one by one, he butchered them in a frenzy of steel and blood. But his vengeance still was not quelled, and he began to see that his so-called "City of Splendor" was filled with corruption and murderous criminals. He forsook his position as guardsman; killing criminals with little regard for law or mercy. With every villain slain, the Light in him ebbed away. Nothing fulfilled him; only anger and gloom remained.
Over the course of a year or so, his murderous crusade moved away from Waterdeep; pressures from both the city law and the criminal guilds forcing him abroad. He became a private mercenary, waging war on those who would harm innocents.
One night, after a particularly gruesome hunt, Kaldyr was approached in his dreams by a strange vision...a woman's voice in a palace of ice and shadow: The Raven Queen. The Raven Queen was impressed by his skills: He had claimed more kills than he could remember, and she had taken notice. She offered him her blessing, in exchange for his service: He would hunt the most vile sort of evil men..those who would extend their life and achieve immortality, at the cost of the blood and suffering of innocents. Among them, necromancers, followers or Orcus, and the warrior monks of the Order of the Long Death. Kaldyr initially denied the offer; he wouldn't be some tool for yet another cosmic power....but The Raven Queen calmly stated that Death and The Shadowfell was her dominion, and that if he swore himself to her, she would give him that what he desired...a chance to re-unite with his lost love, Ludmilla, in the afterlife, and that she would prevent her soul from passing into the Infernal depths for which her soul is naturally drawn to.
Reluctantly, Kaldyr agreed...on the condition that he would not be compelled to kill an innocent. When he awoke, he was imbued with The Raven Queens power...and the Light within him crushed beneath the weight of darkness. He became what is known as a "Fallen" aasimar...a celestial descendant touched by darkness, turned from the Light. Kaldyr became known as Kaldyr the Black, a bogeyman to every assassin, necromancer, or criminal that dared cross his path...a living nightmare that served Death herself. Killing became routine; his burning rage turned to icy ruthlessness by his connection to the Goddess of Winter.
With every foe slain, their soul was offered to The Raven Queen...and with every kill, Kaldyr clung to the grim hope he'd join his lost love, though he knew his service would last for many years, and that his Queen would not let him die so easily...
He's a Path of the Zealot Barbarian, one whose "rage" now manifests as the dark, menacing power of the Shadowfell, due to his service to The Queen. His "hard to kill" nature comes from his connection to The Raven Queen, giving him resistance to death so he may continue Her work. As a bonus, his "Necrotic Shroud" features serves as a sort of alternate "rage"...one he uses to frighten and intimidate killers. He isn't a mindless devotee to The Queen...but he respects her commitment to Death as a sort of "balance", and is willing to serve her because his goals align with hers.
Bad choices made at the brothel. Itchy. Makes him rage.
I use summon instrument to summon my kettle drum, hold it overhead like Donkey Kong, and chuck it at the nearest kobold.
I've run two Barbarians in the past. My first one, a Berzerker, used booze and other substances of questionable legality in order to achieve a state of maximum hype which for all intents and purposes is a rage. My current Barbarian, using Matt Mercer's Path of the Juggernaut, just shuts her brain off. In her regular attitude, she's way too oblivious and confused to be get actually angry at things, but when there's a fight she needs to fight or when she gets hit, her sleepy demeanor drifts away, leaving nothing but a blank expression, beastly throaty growls, and a very painful maul.
Some good ideas in here for Rage-flavor! I may incorporate one or two little details into my own character, some of which I have been doing subconsciously already but will now make official. Going Totem so I can say "Strength of the BEAR" like Bravestar :) Plus I do not want to feel like I am "gaming" Tomb of Annihilation by going Zealot...unless I go Necrotic damage hmmm...
My current character is a Goliath Barbarian with the Gladiator background. He has some head trauma from his childhood (getting knocked off a mountain by a Dragon can do that to a young lad), so he is a "very special needs" kind of guy outside of combat. He is gullible, idiotic and easily distracted. When it comes time for battle though, something in him changes. Almost as if he is "remembering" who/what he is or is supposed to be. He is focused, clear-headed. He even speaks better, and "knows" what he is doing, and perhaps a bit "evil" or at least quite mean spirited in the way he behaves while he is in Battle Mode. Heck, he has chopped up some snake-creatures to make steaks, and stomped the head of one into sauce to assist the group in interrogating another. The DM and the rest of the party have not picked up on this yet! Part of his background is that he was sent on this quest by the Arena owner, who happens to be my backup character - an Evil Old One Warlock, which goes far into explaining this sort of behavior while he is raging. It would also perhaps support Necrotic Damage Zealot a bit, but I feel like Totem will fit better for how the game has gone thus far.
I like using adrenaline rush as an explanation for my barbarians
I'm currently playing an aarakocra barbarian. as they reach adulthood at around 4 years old, I'm roleplaying him as essentially a child in a fully grown body. while perfectly clever and 'mature', he is completely controlled by his emotions. so when it comes to combat, as soon as anyone either attacks his friends, attacks him or even just teases him about his height (he's 3'11") his anger is let loose. i've found the way I really enjoy using the rage function is role play it religiously, if he is raging he makes very rash very un-thought-through choices. we just had an encounter where we were ambushed, three of the party where knocked down as my aarakocra was flailing away at the captain. having vanquished the captain he turned around to see the rest of the bandits fleeing into the woods with his friends bleeding on the ground; he of course flew straight after them screaming, leading to him vs 6 bandits which ended very quickly. when he woke up his first question was about the those that had been injured, he was raging because of his protectivness of them
I like doing different things (because the whole 'raging mindless Barbarian' thing has been done SO many times!) so I've run Barbs that had cold, calculating rages (this works well for Storm Herald with the Tundra option). Zealot Warriors make great 'frothing at the mouth' types but they can also be the 'chanting holy words while they fight' type (which is more fun).
Make it your own. Break from the herd and do your own thing. Make your own mark.
I've have had or seen used a variety of ways to represent 'rage' over the years (some likely mentioned by others)
Anger - The typical foaming at the mouth, seeing red type deal
Trance - Essentially like you would expect of an elite athlete or almost monk like ability where the mental state dictates enhanced abilities "getting in the zone" so to speak
Skill - an ability to move into an exceptional combat stance or a specific style of training
Channel - imbuing some external force into the character such as a totem spirit, god like (similar to the zealot concept) power or even becoming possessed by an entity
Empowerment - a build up of some aspect that then empowers the character, akin to things like going super-sayn or the human torch's "flame on"
Shape-shift - taking on a new or enhanced form, akin to a hybrid lycanthrope form but not always a beast form
Enhancement - enchanted tattoos, drinking various substances or some other external aspect when activated provides the enhancements offered by 'raging'
I'm sure there are many other options as well, don't worry so much about matching the specifics to the lore but the effects to why the enhancement is gained.
- Loswaith
I'm fairly new to DnD (a couple misfires in the past), but I recently rolled a Goliath Barbarian. He is a large, angry man who likes hitting things.
.....and he has a pacifist mate. They were separated when ol' Fenrir got arrested, but now he's out of prison and his mate is missing (probably because he wandered off to help people, silly do-gooder). But prison is a lonely place, and he kind of got to talking to himself, so now his Wolf's (imaginary) voice whispers to him to calm down already.
So, yes, I made a stereotypical rush in, hit things, blind fury raging Barbarian - the whispers aren't present in battle because his pacifist Wolf wouldn't be there (along with a few other specific situations). But outside of combat, his anger is more or less restrained by the whisperings of his Wolf. I gave him the Totem Warrior path, with his Wolf Spirit Animal being a mixture of an actual Wolf and his beloved.
Maybe it's unoriginal for me to have him go into combat roaring and bashing because he's angry and he enjoys it, but I've always thought it's the details and how you play them that matter. It's his backstory and how it influences him now, not his rage, that makes him (to me) an interesting character.
I also handed the fate of his Wolf over to our DM, though judging by the crazed laughing, it probably won't turn out well for them.
For someone who claims to have a stereotypical character, this is a GREAT background IMHO. This is what I love at my table as a DM or as a player. I can see huge RP opportunities here.
What if you have an enemy with a child that has a Wolf totem? You might be willing to kill Daddy but your Wolf spirit might tell you to spare the daughter.
Your party is lost (for whatever reason) and everyone but you is dying of cold (because GOLIATH). You see your wolf spirit in the distance, leading you to safety...
Your group is in the process of rescuing someone (like you do) and you see your wolf spirit standing behind them, growling. Is the 'prisoner' a trap or danger of some kind?
Just TONS of stuff to do with this! Well done!
Have an aasimar zealot. He fell because he was possessed by a powerful demon while young. Over time it was suppressed and he learned to control the flow of power from the demon with help from his faith.
When he rages he's letting a small portion of the demon take hold on infest his body. He's even learned to take the form of the demon for short periods of time(aasimar nova)
I am currently playing a paladin barbarian. (5 Paladin, 1 Barbarian) In another lifetime, she may have been trained as a barbarian straight out of the gate because she does have some anger issues but like to think of it as her righteous fury is so great, that she had an epiphany one day. This was caused by one of a party members mushrooms (druid of the circle of spores) having got into her rations. She had an allergic reaction that threw her into a berserker rage. She realized that she could use her unfocused righteous anger in a much more constructive way.
I've only played two barbarians. One of them was my first character, so he didn't really have any personality other than liking bears. My current barb, Greta Van Tuskgrinder...is sort of a stereotypical, Scottish and stereotypically Scottish barbarian. I like to think that her rage stems from the fact that she feels like she doesn't fit into normal dwarf society and her going into this rage zone and smacking people around with spiky shoulder pads is her way of proving herself. *shrugs*
I have this idea for a character who's a prematurely hatched Yuan-Ti pureblood who was raised by a group of paladins, but because of being prematurely hatched, he doesn't have the mental stats to be a good paladin, so he becomes a Zealot barbarian instead. His rage would be him happily having snek boy emotions as he whomps enemies with his Paw's hammer.
Hombrew: Way of Wresting, Circle of Sacrifice
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.
Repressed-aggression that otherwise doesn't show.
Rock stuck in their boots.
Political dissatisfaction.
Traffic. Lines.
Feelings of inadequacy.
I personally play a Barbarian Dwarf that is really just an anxiety mom friend, they just use their strengths to be more powerful, though they do get angry. Hope this helps 😅
I'm currently running a half-orc Path of the Giant. She doesn't rage so much as she temporarily channels the power of a storm giant.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
So funny and reminds me of my Mom, Oy!
Uhhhhh anger it’s that movie no anger well not much