Been musing on this after I had the thought of playing a drow barbarian as a sort of pseudo-drider, and decided to see what everyone else thinks. Sure, you could just reskin existing totem abilities that are sort of spider-like, but I think this is also a relatively balanced option. Or I've gone completely mad. We'll see!
Level 3 Totem Spirit (Spider) - While raging, you can use a bonus action (or reaction on an attack of opportunity) to cause another creature you can see within 10 feet to make a Dexterity saving throw (DC = 8 + Constitution modifier + proficiency bonus); the target is restrained by webbing on a failure, and can use an action on their turn to attempt a Strength check to escape. The spirit of the spider makes you adept at trapping your prey.
Level 6 Aspect of the Beast (Spider) - You gain the agility of a spider. Climbing no longer costs you extra movement, and you are unaffected by movement restrictions caused by webbing.
Level 14 Totemic Attunement (Spider) - While raging, you can use a bonus action to make a melee bite attack against a creature whose speed is 0, dealing 1d4 + your Strength modifier in piercing damage on a hit, plus 1d6 poison damage.
Also I would switch the level 6 and 14 abilities. The reason is because level 6 is usually where the more ribbon like abilities are for totem. Also with totem you need to make the abilities only there on a rage. The reason is because that it what the other subclass abilities are like.
I dont know what you mean by "ribbon like" all totem level 6 abilities are applicable (primarily) outside of combat. As a movement ability, I think this is fine. Also, no level 6 totem ability requires rage.
Changed the level 3 ability from the web spell (which rightly shouldn't work RAW while raging) to a web attack, and level 6 no longer lets you climb upside down.
Changed the level 3 ability from the web spell (which rightly shouldn't work RAW while raging) to a web attack, and level 6 no longer lets you climb upside down.
It's not clear to me if you need to roll to hit with Web attack or if it works like a web spell and creatures need to make a DEX save to avoid being webbed.
If you want it to be a full web spell I think the number of web attacks should be limited. As casting web also uses a resource: spell slots.
I would suggest a limit per long rest that is tied to your Barbarian level, so that it scales nicely. Like CON bonus + 1/4 Barb lvl round down with a minimum of one.
I don't know if Poison damage is only once or has it a reoccurring tick damage? 1d12 seems quite high. At first sight it does feel like the first totem animal which has all 3 features which are good. So maybe the climbing speed should also be limited per day. As now fortresses and buildings become that much easier to enter. I don't recall other totems to alter movement in such a permanent way.
I can't help to think that this subclass works like spiderman, only he lacks the ability to swing on spider strings.
I would say for balance reasons make that web ability once per rage, and I'm kinda iffy about it being a bonus action. Maybe make it to where it takes up one attack in like a multi-attack. So before level 5 it uses your action, and post level 5 you can do something like attack followed by web or web followed by attack (former is less broken then the latter). Overall seems like a fun totem path and balanced besides that. The poison damage could probably be increased to 1d12 if it only occurs on the bonus attack simply because poison damage type sucks and needs something :p. It might be fun or interesting to make it an extra 1d4 on any melee attacks you do though instead of on that bonus action, but I don't know what the ramifications of that are nor do I feel like seeing if that is fine or broken (probably isn't).
Edit: Sorry didn't realize you finished it haha. Hope it works out!
I would say for balance reasons make that web ability once per rage, and I'm kinda iffy about it being a bonus action. Maybe make it to where it takes up one attack in like a multi-attack. So before level 5 it uses your action, and post level 5 you can do something like attack followed by web or web followed by attack (former is less broken then the latter). Overall seems like a fun totem path and balanced besides that. The poison damage could probably be increased to 1d12 if it only occurs on the bonus attack simply because poison damage type sucks and needs something :p. It might be fun or interesting to make it an extra 1d4 on any melee attacks you do though instead of on that bonus action, but I don't know what the ramifications of that are nor do I feel like seeing if that is fine or broken (probably isn't).
Edit: Sorry didn't realize you finished it haha. Hope it works out!
The Web attack should be instead of another attack, rather than a bonus action. That seems like a very good balance correction. Restraining opponents with a bonus action to get advantage on all you attack rolls is quite OP. Also I would remove the usage on a reaction. That's like granting 1/3rd of the Sentinel Feature on top of it: someone trying to run away from you: just web them and they are stuck.
OR Keep it as a bonus action but make it a once per Rage feature, allowing more of a burst but limit the use.
On the Level 14 Totemic Attunement: I don't like the wording: "melee bite attack against a creature whose speed is 0" I would replace it with .... Or do you want it to work also on grappled creatures? Seems very fluffy. I'll change it: "..melee bite attack against a webbed or creature grappled by you.. ". I don't think that 1d4 + STR Piercing + 1d6 Poison damage on a bonus attack is too puny. With STR 16 (at level 14 you might have a STR item) it would average 5,5 Piercing + 3,5 Poison per round extra. Don't forget that Rage bonus applies too: 8,5 Piercing + 3,5 Poison BONUS.
As a reference Zealots get: 1d6 + half Barb level, which would be at lvl 14: 10,5 Radiant or Necrotic, which is a very good damage type, yet is can only be tagged onto the first Hit of your turn. So no extra chances to hit.
Personal Preference:
I would go with the web attack instead of regular attack option, because 10 ft range is enough of a restriction to make it not too over powered in combat. But definitely check with your DM before you implement this. Or just play-test it a couple of sessions. It depends largely on what type of combat encounters are like. Swarms of minions will be less effected by this but spell-casting lieutenants will hate this ability.
As a whole, this subclass is quite versatile: crowd control through Web, climb speed for infiltration and scouting and lastly extra damage potential for more close combat effectiveness.
Not bad, certainly flavorful. My biggest hangup is the action economy of the web ability. Being able to use it as many times as you want as a bonus action/reaction just seems like too much, especially at lower levels. I think it would do better if it replaces either your Action or one attack(including an Attack Of Opportunity). And in terms of frequency, I would limit how many times per rage, perhaps equal to either their Str or Con modifier. For most basic fights that'd likely be more than enough times, and for longer fights it'll make the player have to think a bit rather than just acting like Spider-Man with a full pack of web fluid. Maybe let them regenerate a use when they score a critical hit or drop someone to 0 HP(but they still can't have more "charges" than their ability modifier). I like the ability, I just think being able to impose the Restrained condition too often could be OP AF :)
The Level 6 ability seems appropriate. Just as refinement I might tweak it to "You gain the agility of a spider. You gain a climbing speed equal to your walking speed, and movement restrictions caused by both natural and magical webbing do not affect you. You have Advantage on Strength(Athletics) checks required for difficult climbs and on Dexterity(Acrobatics) checks to avoid losing your balance."
The poison bite attack for Level 14 is fine, I might tweak the condition a bit. In addition to being able to bite someone who has a movement speed of 0, I would also say that if you make a successful melee weapon attack against a target on your turn, you can use your Bonus Action to try and bite them. I might boost the basic damage output a little, to something like 1d6+Str piercing and 1d6 poison, but the d4 is probably fine. It *might* be worth explicitly stating that your Rage damage bonus applies as well, just because someone would eventually ask. :)
Overall I like it. It's got character, it seems fairly balanced, I could absolutely see a Drow Barbarian going down this path.
So looking at totem warrior again, the first ability seems to usually be passive while raging buffs, the second ability is utility non-raging buff, and third ability is usually an active while raging option.
So you may just switch it to level 14 (the bite is kind of meh) and new level 3 ability (maybe add the poison bite as an action here with no speed restrictions).
If you want to keep web at level 3, maybe require an attack to hit before spending bonus action to web (like a martial maneuver) except also able to use as reaction w/o BA.
Thanks to everyone for the interest! I'm still modifying this concept (and have yet to actually playtest it), so feedback is very much appreciated. I may use jd2319's suggestion for the level 6 ability, and replace the 0 speed restriction on the bite attack with a CON save to resist being poisoned/paralyzed on a hit.
As for the level 3 web ability... I'll freely admit that it breaks the mold of other Totem abilities a bit. The current bonus action version was actually inspired more by the Storm Herald auras than existing Totems. On reflection it feels a bit cluttered to have both the web ability and bite attack as bonus actions, so once again I'm looking to modify it. Right now I'm considering two options:
A) a once-per-rage use of the web spell without concentration as an action
or
B) the single-target DEX save version at a range of 20 ft. as an attack.
On further consideration, I think I've come up with a level 3 ability that's considerably more simple (and so obvious in hindsight that I'm kicking myself for not thinking of it in the first place): while raging, enemies have disadvantage on attempts to evade or break your grapple attacks. I'm now considering a secondary effect, either...
A) an attack following a successful grapple can be used to force the target to make a DEX save; failure leaves the target restrained by webbing, while success lets the target use a reaction to attempt to escape (still at disadvantage)
or
B) you can attempt a grapple as a reaction on an attack of opportunity.
On further consideration, I think I've come up with a level 3 ability that's considerably more simple (and so obvious in hindsight that I'm kicking myself for not thinking of it in the first place): while raging, enemies have disadvantage on attempts to evade or break your grapple attacks. I'm now considering a secondary effect, either...
A) an attack following a successful grapple can be used to force the target to make a DEX save; failure leaves the target restrained by webbing, while success lets the target use a reaction to attempt to escape (still at disadvantage)
or
B) you can attempt a grapple as a reaction on an attack of opportunity.
Keep in mind that a lot of Barbarians will be wielding two-handed weapons, so they often can't spare a hand to maintain a grapple.
Maybe move the poison-related ability to Level 3, and the web ability to Level 14? That way you don't have to worry about the web ability being OP at lower levels. Level 3 could be something like "When raging, you have resistance to poison damage and advantage on saving throws to avoid the Poisoned condition. Once on each of your turns while raging, when you hit a creature with a weapon attack they must make a Constitution save(with the DC keying off your Str or Con, probably Con). If they fail the save, they take additional poison damage equal to your Rage damage bonus, and are Poisoned until the start of your next turn. If they succeed on the save, they are immune to this effect until the start of your next turn."
Not sure how I'd define the Level 14 ability, but it could be closer to your original ideas for the web ability, that risked being OP at low levels.
On further consideration, I think I've come up with a level 3 ability that's considerably more simple (and so obvious in hindsight that I'm kicking myself for not thinking of it in the first place): while raging, enemies have disadvantage on attempts to evade or break your grapple attacks. I'm now considering a secondary effect, either...
A) an attack following a successful grapple can be used to force the target to make a DEX save; failure leaves the target restrained by webbing, while success lets the target use a reaction to attempt to escape (still at disadvantage)
or
B) you can attempt a grapple as a reaction on an attack of opportunity.
Keep in mind that a lot of Barbarians will be wielding two-handed weapons, so they often can't spare a hand to maintain a grapple.
Maybe move the poison-related ability to Level 3, and the web ability to Level 14? That way you don't have to worry about the web ability being OP at lower levels. Level 3 could be something like "When raging, you have resistance to poison damage and advantage on saving throws to avoid the Poisoned condition. Once on each of your turns while raging, when you hit a creature with a weapon attack they must make a Constitution save(with the DC keying off your Str or Con, probably Con). If they fail the save, they take additional poison damage equal to your Rage damage bonus, and are Poisoned until the start of your next turn. If they succeed on the save, they are immune to this effect until the start of your next turn."
Not sure how I'd define the Level 14 ability, but it could be closer to your original ideas for the web ability, that risked being OP at low levels.
I'm aware it would be a trade-off between weapon damage and the ability to grapple, but presumably anyone thinking about taking this Totem would know this and equip themselves accordingly with a versatile or one-handed weapon. Seems like a fair balance to me for a thematically appropriate choice.
I'll probably go with the enemy disadvantage against grapple and grapple as opportunity attack option, and throw in the web spell as a ritual like other spells in the subclass. Saving throw against being poisoned from the bite attack at level 14 sounds good, with the DC for both the poison save and web being based on CON. Feels like we're close to something playable...!
Maybe check out the 1st level spell ensnaring strike, seems more like what you're looking for as opposed to 2nd lvl spell web. It's a single target restrain effect, that rides on an attack for a bonus action and deals damage. All while being considered less powerful than web. A ranger or paladin could cast this three times daily at level three which is funnily enough the same level you get this ability and your rages per day go to three.
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Been musing on this after I had the thought of playing a drow barbarian as a sort of pseudo-drider, and decided to see what everyone else thinks. Sure, you could just reskin existing totem abilities that are sort of spider-like, but I think this is also a relatively balanced option. Or I've gone completely mad. We'll see!
Level 3 Totem Spirit (Spider) - While raging, you can use a bonus action (or reaction on an attack of opportunity) to cause another creature you can see within 10 feet to make a Dexterity saving throw (DC = 8 + Constitution modifier + proficiency bonus); the target is restrained by webbing on a failure, and can use an action on their turn to attempt a Strength check to escape. The spirit of the spider makes you adept at trapping your prey.
Level 6 Aspect of the Beast (Spider) - You gain the agility of a spider. Climbing no longer costs you extra movement, and you are unaffected by movement restrictions caused by webbing.
Level 14 Totemic Attunement (Spider) - While raging, you can use a bonus action to make a melee bite attack against a creature whose speed is 0, dealing 1d4 + your Strength modifier in piercing damage on a hit, plus 1d6 poison damage.
So... thoughts?
Not bad. Make CON the spellcasting ability for web.
I dont know what you mean by "ribbon like" all totem level 6 abilities are applicable (primarily) outside of combat. As a movement ability, I think this is fine. Also, no level 6 totem ability requires rage.
Changed the level 3 ability from the web spell (which rightly shouldn't work RAW while raging) to a web attack, and level 6 no longer lets you climb upside down.
It's not clear to me if you need to roll to hit with Web attack or if it works like a web spell and creatures need to make a DEX save to avoid being webbed.
If you want it to be a full web spell I think the number of web attacks should be limited. As casting web also uses a resource: spell slots.
I would suggest a limit per long rest that is tied to your Barbarian level, so that it scales nicely. Like CON bonus + 1/4 Barb lvl round down with a minimum of one.
I don't know if Poison damage is only once or has it a reoccurring tick damage? 1d12 seems quite high. At first sight it does feel like the first totem animal which has all 3 features which are good. So maybe the climbing speed should also be limited per day. As now fortresses and buildings become that much easier to enter. I don't recall other totems to alter movement in such a permanent way.
I can't help to think that this subclass works like spiderman, only he lacks the ability to swing on spider strings.
Third time's the charm, hopefully!
I think the latest revision is pretty well balanced with other barbarian subclass abilities.
I would say for balance reasons make that web ability once per rage, and I'm kinda iffy about it being a bonus action. Maybe make it to where it takes up one attack in like a multi-attack. So before level 5 it uses your action, and post level 5 you can do something like attack followed by web or web followed by attack (former is less broken then the latter). Overall seems like a fun totem path and balanced besides that. The poison damage could probably be increased to 1d12 if it only occurs on the bonus attack simply because poison damage type sucks and needs something :p. It might be fun or interesting to make it an extra 1d4 on any melee attacks you do though instead of on that bonus action, but I don't know what the ramifications of that are nor do I feel like seeing if that is fine or broken (probably isn't).
Edit: Sorry didn't realize you finished it haha. Hope it works out!
The Web attack should be instead of another attack, rather than a bonus action. That seems like a very good balance correction. Restraining opponents with a bonus action to get advantage on all you attack rolls is quite OP.
Also I would remove the usage on a reaction. That's like granting 1/3rd of the Sentinel Feature on top of it: someone trying to run away from you: just web them and they are stuck.
OR
Keep it as a bonus action but make it a once per Rage feature, allowing more of a burst but limit the use.
On the Level 14 Totemic Attunement:
I don't like the wording: "melee bite attack against a creature whose speed is 0" I would replace it with ....
Or do you want it to work also on grappled creatures? Seems very fluffy. I'll change it: "..melee bite attack against a webbed or creature grappled by you.. ".
I don't think that 1d4 + STR Piercing + 1d6 Poison damage on a bonus attack is too puny. With STR 16 (at level 14 you might have a STR item) it would average 5,5 Piercing + 3,5 Poison per round extra. Don't forget that Rage bonus applies too: 8,5 Piercing + 3,5 Poison BONUS.
As a reference Zealots get: 1d6 + half Barb level, which would be at lvl 14: 10,5 Radiant or Necrotic, which is a very good damage type, yet is can only be tagged onto the first Hit of your turn. So no extra chances to hit.
Personal Preference:
I would go with the web attack instead of regular attack option, because 10 ft range is enough of a restriction to make it not too over powered in combat. But definitely check with your DM before you implement this. Or just play-test it a couple of sessions. It depends largely on what type of combat encounters are like. Swarms of minions will be less effected by this but spell-casting lieutenants will hate this ability.
As a whole, this subclass is quite versatile: crowd control through Web, climb speed for infiltration and scouting and lastly extra damage potential for more close combat effectiveness.
Not bad, certainly flavorful. My biggest hangup is the action economy of the web ability. Being able to use it as many times as you want as a bonus action/reaction just seems like too much, especially at lower levels. I think it would do better if it replaces either your Action or one attack(including an Attack Of Opportunity). And in terms of frequency, I would limit how many times per rage, perhaps equal to either their Str or Con modifier. For most basic fights that'd likely be more than enough times, and for longer fights it'll make the player have to think a bit rather than just acting like Spider-Man with a full pack of web fluid. Maybe let them regenerate a use when they score a critical hit or drop someone to 0 HP(but they still can't have more "charges" than their ability modifier). I like the ability, I just think being able to impose the Restrained condition too often could be OP AF :)
The Level 6 ability seems appropriate. Just as refinement I might tweak it to "You gain the agility of a spider. You gain a climbing speed equal to your walking speed, and movement restrictions caused by both natural and magical webbing do not affect you. You have Advantage on Strength(Athletics) checks required for difficult climbs and on Dexterity(Acrobatics) checks to avoid losing your balance."
The poison bite attack for Level 14 is fine, I might tweak the condition a bit. In addition to being able to bite someone who has a movement speed of 0, I would also say that if you make a successful melee weapon attack against a target on your turn, you can use your Bonus Action to try and bite them. I might boost the basic damage output a little, to something like 1d6+Str piercing and 1d6 poison, but the d4 is probably fine. It *might* be worth explicitly stating that your Rage damage bonus applies as well, just because someone would eventually ask. :)
Overall I like it. It's got character, it seems fairly balanced, I could absolutely see a Drow Barbarian going down this path.
So looking at totem warrior again, the first ability seems to usually be passive while raging buffs, the second ability is utility non-raging buff, and third ability is usually an active while raging option.
So you may just switch it to level 14 (the bite is kind of meh) and new level 3 ability (maybe add the poison bite as an action here with no speed restrictions).
If you want to keep web at level 3, maybe require an attack to hit before spending bonus action to web (like a martial maneuver) except also able to use as reaction w/o BA.
Thanks to everyone for the interest! I'm still modifying this concept (and have yet to actually playtest it), so feedback is very much appreciated. I may use jd2319's suggestion for the level 6 ability, and replace the 0 speed restriction on the bite attack with a CON save to resist being poisoned/paralyzed on a hit.
As for the level 3 web ability... I'll freely admit that it breaks the mold of other Totem abilities a bit. The current bonus action version was actually inspired more by the Storm Herald auras than existing Totems. On reflection it feels a bit cluttered to have both the web ability and bite attack as bonus actions, so once again I'm looking to modify it. Right now I'm considering two options:
A) a once-per-rage use of the web spell without concentration as an action
or
B) the single-target DEX save version at a range of 20 ft. as an attack.
I eagerly await your thoughts.
I prefer option B
On further consideration, I think I've come up with a level 3 ability that's considerably more simple (and so obvious in hindsight that I'm kicking myself for not thinking of it in the first place): while raging, enemies have disadvantage on attempts to evade or break your grapple attacks. I'm now considering a secondary effect, either...
A) an attack following a successful grapple can be used to force the target to make a DEX save; failure leaves the target restrained by webbing, while success lets the target use a reaction to attempt to escape (still at disadvantage)
or
B) you can attempt a grapple as a reaction on an attack of opportunity.
Keep in mind that a lot of Barbarians will be wielding two-handed weapons, so they often can't spare a hand to maintain a grapple.
Maybe move the poison-related ability to Level 3, and the web ability to Level 14? That way you don't have to worry about the web ability being OP at lower levels. Level 3 could be something like "When raging, you have resistance to poison damage and advantage on saving throws to avoid the Poisoned condition. Once on each of your turns while raging, when you hit a creature with a weapon attack they must make a Constitution save(with the DC keying off your Str or Con, probably Con). If they fail the save, they take additional poison damage equal to your Rage damage bonus, and are Poisoned until the start of your next turn. If they succeed on the save, they are immune to this effect until the start of your next turn."
Not sure how I'd define the Level 14 ability, but it could be closer to your original ideas for the web ability, that risked being OP at low levels.
I'm aware it would be a trade-off between weapon damage and the ability to grapple, but presumably anyone thinking about taking this Totem would know this and equip themselves accordingly with a versatile or one-handed weapon. Seems like a fair balance to me for a thematically appropriate choice.
I'll probably go with the enemy disadvantage against grapple and grapple as opportunity attack option, and throw in the web spell as a ritual like other spells in the subclass. Saving throw against being poisoned from the bite attack at level 14 sounds good, with the DC for both the poison save and web being based on CON. Feels like we're close to something playable...!
Web as a ritual doesn't really work though. It's a combat spell, and casting it as a ritual takes 10 minutes.
Maybe check out the 1st level spell ensnaring strike, seems more like what you're looking for as opposed to 2nd lvl spell web. It's a single target restrain effect, that rides on an attack for a bonus action and deals damage. All while being considered less powerful than web. A ranger or paladin could cast this three times daily at level three which is funnily enough the same level you get this ability and your rages per day go to three.