I have been going against type for a barbarian and I know that can be a dangerous path to walk, but I am also feeling very resistant to the "dumb hulk smash" stereotype as well, so I wanted to build a melee DEX barbarian. By default, they miss out on some things like bonus rage damage and reckless attack, but they also get to excel in unarmored defense so they aren't a complete waste. Nonetheless, I wanted to make an animal totem that would play to the strengths (pun intended) of a DEX barbarian while attempting to hold true to the rage-based nature of the class and not cross into areas that would be better suited for other DEX martial classes like monks and fighters. Furthermore, since barbarians typically need to balance STR, DEX, and CON, I wanted to make sure that I didn't create an end-around to allow barbarians to disregard STR completely and just focus everything on DEX and CON without any drawbacks. And also, I needed an animal that seemed appropriate to the tactics and attitude I was trying to convey.
Enter the monkey--a creature known for its hot temper as well as its nimble cunning.
Level 3
When you make a melee weapon attack using Dexterity, you gain a bonus to the damage roll that increases as you gain levels as a barbarian, as shown in the Rage Damage column of the Barbarian table. The spirit of the monkey allows you to direct your rage through finesse rather than brute force.
Level 6
You gain the agility of a primate. While raging, you may use any of your movement up to your speed to climb trees, walls, or other structures and strike from above. This climbing movement must be followed immediately by the attack action, making one or more melee attacks with advantage against your target.
Level 14
Like a furious monkey, you attack from many directions at once, confounding and frustrating your target. When you take the attack action and make a melee attack while raging, you may grant an ally who can see you advantage on their attacks against your target until the end of their turn.
What do you think? Too good? Not good enough? Not interesting?
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"Not all those who wander are lost"
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I have been going against type for a barbarian and I know that can be a dangerous path to walk, but I am also feeling very resistant to the "dumb hulk smash" stereotype as well, so I wanted to build a melee DEX barbarian. By default, they miss out on some things like bonus rage damage and reckless attack, but they also get to excel in unarmored defense so they aren't a complete waste. Nonetheless, I wanted to make an animal totem that would play to the strengths (pun intended) of a DEX barbarian while attempting to hold true to the rage-based nature of the class and not cross into areas that would be better suited for other DEX martial classes like monks and fighters. Furthermore, since barbarians typically need to balance STR, DEX, and CON, I wanted to make sure that I didn't create an end-around to allow barbarians to disregard STR completely and just focus everything on DEX and CON without any drawbacks. And also, I needed an animal that seemed appropriate to the tactics and attitude I was trying to convey.
Enter the monkey--a creature known for its hot temper as well as its nimble cunning.
What do you think? Too good? Not good enough? Not interesting?
"Not all those who wander are lost"