There aren't any race/class restrictions in 5e, so smol barbarians are allowed. There aren't any damage penalties or anything like that. However, when playing a barbarian, small creatures may run into a few barriers:
They have disadvantage on attack rolls made with weapons that have the Heavy property (aka most of the high damage weapons). The rules on that can be found here: https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/basic-rules/equipment#WeaponProperties. "Heavy. Creatures that are Small or Tiny have disadvantage on attack rolls with heavy weapons. A heavy weapon's size and bulk make it too large for a Small or Tiny creature to use effectively."
Small barbarians may also run into problems with grappling, as they can only grapple creatures one size above them (so only Medium creatures). This is fine if you want to engage in pankration with the local sheriff, but if you wanna hug that kraken, you may be out of luck. Rules for that can be found here: https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/basic-rules/combat#Grappling
Outside of those two caveats, playing a Small Barbarian is completely allowed (unless, of course, your DM says otherwise).
I always liked the notion of a small race punching high above their weight without looking like it, like a sleeper car! For exemple a Stout Halfling Barbarian with a warhammer as big as it is. The weapon options are not as optimal as medium race with Heavy weapons, but the difference is not that immense neither and the character can still be combat effective nonetheless.
There aren't any race/class restrictions in 5e, so smol barbarians are allowed. There aren't any damage penalties or anything like that. However, when playing a barbarian, small creatures may run into a few barriers:
They have disadvantage on attack rolls made with weapons that have the Heavy property (aka most of the high damage weapons). The rules on that can be found here: https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/basic-rules/equipment#WeaponProperties. "Heavy. Creatures that are Small or Tiny have disadvantage on attack rolls with heavy weapons. A heavy weapon's size and bulk make it too large for a Small or Tiny creature to use effectively."
Small barbarians may also run into problems with grappling, as they can only grapple creatures one size above them (so only Medium creatures). This is fine if you want to engage in pankration with the local sheriff, but if you wanna hug that kraken, you may be out of luck. Rules for that can be found here: https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/basic-rules/combat#Grappling
Outside of those two caveats, playing a Small Barbarian is completely allowed (unless, of course, your DM says otherwise).
I worked with a DM to make a feat that removes these restrictions for a small character. I suspect many DMs would be okay with this at the expense of an entire feat.
If you want to forego a great weapon and use a one handed weapon with a shield (or dual wielding), and don't care about grappling, small barbarians are as effective as medium ones.
Small barbarians may also run into problems with grappling, as they can only grapple creatures one size above them (so only Medium creatures). This is fine if you want to engage in pankration with the local sheriff, but if you wanna hug that kraken, you may be out of luck. Rules for that can be found here: https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/basic-rules/combat#Grappling
I know this post was a while ago, but this issue is now solved with the Path of the Giant subclass. It turns your size to large (assuming there is room) while raging.
Keep in mind that size is now fluid. You chose if your character is either small or medium.
Sorry, that's not what "fluid" generally means. Fluid usually implies that something is in a state of flux. As in, you can change between alternate states or even have in-between states. When you make a Size choice for your PC, it's a one-time choice. Yes, you can use a spell or a subclass ability to change it later, but those require resources, generally. You cannot spontaneously decide to change your PC's size from Medium to Small or Small to Medium without spending something.
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Is there anything in 5e that says a small creature can't be a barbarian or anything that shows they would have reduced damage or weapon restrictions
There aren't any race/class restrictions in 5e, so smol barbarians are allowed. There aren't any damage penalties or anything like that. However, when playing a barbarian, small creatures may run into a few barriers:
They have disadvantage on attack rolls made with weapons that have the Heavy property (aka most of the high damage weapons). The rules on that can be found here: https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/basic-rules/equipment#WeaponProperties. "Heavy. Creatures that are Small or Tiny have disadvantage on attack rolls with heavy weapons. A heavy weapon's size and bulk make it too large for a Small or Tiny creature to use effectively."
Small barbarians may also run into problems with grappling, as they can only grapple creatures one size above them (so only Medium creatures). This is fine if you want to engage in pankration with the local sheriff, but if you wanna hug that kraken, you may be out of luck. Rules for that can be found here: https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/basic-rules/combat#Grappling
Outside of those two caveats, playing a Small Barbarian is completely allowed (unless, of course, your DM says otherwise).
I always liked the notion of a small race punching high above their weight without looking like it, like a sleeper car! For exemple a Stout Halfling Barbarian with a warhammer as big as it is. The weapon options are not as optimal as medium race with Heavy weapons, but the difference is not that immense neither and the character can still be combat effective nonetheless.
Keep in mind that size is now fluid. You chose if your character is either small or medium.
I worked with a DM to make a feat that removes these restrictions for a small character. I suspect many DMs would be okay with this at the expense of an entire feat.
If you want to forego a great weapon and use a one handed weapon with a shield (or dual wielding), and don't care about grappling, small barbarians are as effective as medium ones.
I know this post was a while ago, but this issue is now solved with the Path of the Giant subclass. It turns your size to large (assuming there is room) while raging.
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FYI, the UA article released yesterday revises the heavy weapon trait to be based on ability scores rather than size.
The heavy weapon thing is the main one.
I would call the grapple thing a tie, they can't grapple large creatures, but they can move through their space.
On the plus side a small character can get cover easier and can generally hide easier.
Thank you! Is this from PlayTest 7 of the PHB? (I'm assuming in the Barbarian section?)
UA 7, yes. But it's in the weapons section. It's not a barbarian-specific feature.
Sorry, that's not what "fluid" generally means. Fluid usually implies that something is in a state of flux. As in, you can change between alternate states or even have in-between states. When you make a Size choice for your PC, it's a one-time choice. Yes, you can use a spell or a subclass ability to change it later, but those require resources, generally. You cannot spontaneously decide to change your PC's size from Medium to Small or Small to Medium without spending something.