Path of Impulse

All barbarians are well acquainted with the concept of harnessing power from a deep emotional well. However, some barbarians learn to explore facets of their emotional spirit other than rage alone, tapping into the varied emotional experience of a mortal mind. These barbarians explore the versatility of their spirit, and their mood is liable to swing at the drop of a hat.

Emotional State

When you choose this path at 3rd level, whenever you go into a rage, you can choose to also go into an Emotional State. Choose one of the following Emotional States from the options below whenever you go into an Emotional State, which grants you extra effects while you are raging.

• Sorrow: You tap into a deep sadness within you. You gain resistance to Radiant, Cold, and Psychic damage, as your body becomes disconnected and senseless. Whenever you take damage that you are resistant to, you can use your reaction to reduce the damage that you take by 3 (minimum of 0). This damage reduction is applied after you calculate resistance. This damage reduction increases to 4 at 9th level and 5 at 16th level.

• Fury: You sharpen the mindless anger of a normal rage to focus your anger to a sharpened point. You gain resistance to Poison, Acid, and Necrotic damage, as your fury burns corrupting forces from your body. Additionally, your additional rage damage increases by 2. This added damage increases to 3 at 9th level and to 4 at 16th level.

• Joy: You are overtaken by giddy excitement in the rush of battle. You gain resistance to Force, Fire, and Lightning damage, as your own energy burns as hot as magical force. Additionally, your movement speed increases by 5 feet. This additional movement speed increases to 10 feet at 9th level and to 15 feet at 16th level. This movement speed is in addition to the movement speed increase granted by Fast Movement.

Ardent Strikes

Starting at 6th level, the emotional energy within you begins to suffuse your weapons. While you are raging and in an Emotional State, you may cause any weapon attacks you make to deal one of the damage types that your chosen Emotional State grants you resistance to, rather than the weapon’s usual damage.

When you choose to deal one of these damage types, you may treat any 1 on a damage die as a 2.

Drain Passion

At 10th level, you gain the ability to absorb the emotions from your allies and enemies alike. You learn the Calm Emotions spell. You use your Constitution whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Constitution modifier when setting the saving throw DC for this spell.

Spell Save DC: 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Constitution modifier

You can cast this spell a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

When you enter an Emotional State, you can cast this spell as part of the same bonus action, without expending a use of this ability. You can not lose concentration on this spell due to entering your rage. However, you can still lose concentration by other methods, such as failing a saving throw to maintain concentration or becoming incapacitated.

 

Catharsis

Starting at 14th level, you can release your pent-up emotions in a single burst. When you hit with an attack affected by your Ardent Strikes ability, you can choose to immediately end your rage. If you do so, the attack deals an additional 3d12 damage of the chosen damage type. Additionally, your attack ignores both resistance and immunity to the damage type you deal.

Once you have used this ability, you cannot enter the Emotional State that you were in when you used this ability until you finish a long rest.