New Barbarian Paths Xanathar's Guide - Dungeons and Dragons

[@chaddixon9764]

Path of the Ancenstral Guardian Barbarian rages: "I call upon the power of Uncle Leroy!"

[@TitanGamingTV]

His impetuousness, and ferocity, are unmatched.

[@GhostCastle88]

Uncle LeRoy..... JENKINS

[@TitanGamingTV]

The king himself!

[@chaoticwarrior3341]

Reminder zealot doesn’t die until rage ends and only if you have 0 hit points when it ends combine that with lvl 15 where rage doesn’t end until you end it or go unconscious this can be pretty hard to get rid of

[@TitanGamingTV]

Yeah the Zealot definition is pretty legit. I've got a player who wants to do this next campaign.

[@randallgpreston]

chaoticwarrior3341. At lvl 15 your rage doesn't end early, but it can still end after the one minute. Talking with your DM is important about reactivating your rage before you die to keep on living.

[@chaoticwarrior3341]

Persistent Rage: Beginning at 15th level, your rage is so fierce that it ends ONLY if you fall unconscious or if you CHOOSE to end it. PHB page 49

[@chaoticwarrior3341]

True I missed that word in my response, though I still feel that it can be taken as not ending before you end it or go unconscious, if the DM rules it as such. Though that is the same for many rules though. Even if ruled as such a sleep spell or charm spell or instant kill spell would kill this barbarian.

[@twilight5625]

A villian Zealot Barbarian who roams the land conquering with his healer sounds like an awesome idea for a campaign.

[@TitanGamingTV]

It sure does. Even better when its an ancient conqueror that's threatening to be resurrected (for free) in modern day by fanatics.

[@twilight5625]

Question. The ability that allows the Barbarian to be ressurected for free, does that affect extend for pretty much forevor? Meaning, if you die you can still be ressurected for free 2000 years later?

[@TitanGamingTV]

There's no time limit stated -- means a particularly nasty villain like this is a SERIOUS threat to realm stability forever.

[@twilight5625]

Titan Bear Gaming That is really Awesome. Just Flat out cool. Also, love your videos!

[@TitanGamingTV]

Thanks pal -- it always makes me happy to hear people like them. I've been on a break for a little while, but I'll be back in full steam shortly with some new content types.

[@PartridgeQuill]

I really like how you explore the different roles these paths take in a party and how they could interact in combat with their allies. Great video, as always.

[@Matthias-pj6th]

I actually had a Zealot Barbarian the other month who had an *awesome* RP for it, he was the last living member of his tribe, which believed in the Eternal Feast where people who died while remaining true to their path would go to the afterlife and feast an revel with their ancestors... except for him. Due to a crime committed by one of his ancestors, the Zealot was cursed with Immortality, unable to attend the Eternal Feast and actively *HATED* the god who gave him these powers because the god would intervene anytime somebody tried to resurrect him, causing it to automatically succeed whether he wanted to come back or not and it would resurrect him anyways (After a week or two of their soul lingering in their afterlife, a spectator of the Eternal Feast but never a participant) even if somebody didn't try to. So you had a Barbarian who believed in a warrior's heaven and was made immortal by one of their gods as punishment for their ancestor's crime, who's only goal in life was to have their final death so that they could join the Feast.

[@TitanGamingTV]

That’s a great layer to the character. Way to turn it on its head and make it even more compelling.

[@Strife159Highloch]

For the Zealot barbarian, I found that if your setting isn't very rez spell friendly, give them extra death saving throw failures before death. Rather than making them easier to rez, make it harder for them to die in the first place.

[@TitanGamingTV]

Thats a great point Strife. How 'friendly' your setting is to resurrection is a VERY relevant concept here. Great way to return some oomph to this archetype if resurrection is less prevalent in your world. Thanks Strife :)

[@Snele90]

Ever since I saw the Storm Herald in Unearthed Arcana I've had an idea for a Fire Genasi Barbarian. Once a sorcerer in training the Genasi showed promise in mastering the magic that coursed through his blood. But, one day, the Genasi went a little bit overboard (like sorcerers tend to do) and was caught and punished for his misuse of his innate magical talents. Becuase he was found too dangerous to be allowed to further wield such magical ability, his magic was bound inside him, never to be accessible to him again. Now with no way to escape from his body in the shape of magic the raw elemental energy of fire trapped inside him turned into a fiery rage that he has trouble controlling and every time he gets angry fire just erupts out of him. It's a bit of a different take from what the name of the path implies but it works with the descriptions. :) Just because I have the idea for a character that path is my favorite so far, but I would love to try out the others as well. The Zealot seems like an unstoppable killing machine. :D

[@TitanGamingTV]

That’s a killer origin story MrDash. Very fitting for the archetype.

[@dracodominus2800]

I agree. That's a great backstory that I may or may not certainly be stealing at some time in the future....

[@chaddixon9764]

3:26 Well Idk about you but my Barbarians tend to have wisdom as their highest mental stat since they tend to be proficient in Perception, Survival or both.

[@TitanGamingTV]

Wisdom is a pretty high demand stat, you're quite right. Useful to everyone.

[@RatchildUK]

Would be pretty awkward to play as an Ancestral Barb Half Orc and your spirits were that of your parents...........

[@TitanGamingTV]

Family feud! Temporary player buffs depending on which side of the family is present. Custom archetype for the archetype go.

[@NathanT_Performer]

I'm watching all your videos and I really like your honesty when it comes to not liking what wizards has done, as well as your excitement when something seems really awesome

[@TitanGamingTV]

Thanks Nathan -- I try to exemplify the role I think we play as members of the RPG community. The powers that publish games (WOTC, Paizo, etc) rely on us being intelligent and discerning in our assessment of the game products, while simultaneously being appreciative that these bodies exist at all to bring us such wonderful games. And of course lastly, that the point of the game is fun :P Welcome to the adventuring party!

[@Charnel_Heart]

Dex/Con Shifter (beasthide) Zealot Barbarian. Grab a shield and shift, you have 23 AC, physical resistances, and temp health on top of your bloated barbarian health pool. And then the barbarian con saves and zealot shenanigans begin. As we say at the table where I'm running this, "Local idiot werewolf thinks he's immortal, more at five."

[@TitanGamingTV]

That's one savage character.

[@hjthesurvivor2757]

Im currently working on a Half-Orc barbarian Zealot whose chosen deity is Gorum, The Lord of Iron whom I am borrowing from Pathfinder. His name is Geirk an homage to Krieg from Borderlands 2 who was his inspiration lol

[@TitanGamingTV]

Sounds like a winner to me!

[@santiagofrolik5851]

Loved the mulan reference!! The ancestors Barbarian souns like so much fun!

[@TitanGamingTV]

Did I mention I was the great stone dragon?!

[@santiagofrolik5851]

Take care of your self! Mushu may break you!! haha

[@JayfroC]

I'm new to the D&D scene and I can indeed confirm that the Ancestral Guardian allows for some awesome roleplay moments. One that is fresh in my mind happened towards the end of Curse of Strahd. After a crazy final battle, Strahd turned invisible and started running when he realized he was at a disadvantage. So this guy just bailed on us, right? WRONG! I rolled a nat 20 on a Perception check and, while Strahd did escape the gaze of the entire party, my spirit warriors immediately stared him down. Then I proceeded to go there and finish him off with the good ol’ King Kong jawbreaker. At least that’s how I described it, and the group erupted like it was the coolest thing ever.

[@owl2944]

A player in my campaign plays a Centaur Barbarian. I think it's a very interesting angle because although his character has pretty poor intelligence and isn't remotely cultured he has a high wisdom. It just makes him different from the classic blockhead barbarian. As well as being half-man, half-horse.

[@TitanGamingTV]

I love it, barb is very fitting for centaur race!

[@owl2944]

Mmm yeah I thought so. It didn't say anything about barbarians in the centaur entry(In the Monster Manual) though, oddly enough.

[@bonage0456]

Personally, the storm herald has such amazing flavor, but mechanically the 3rd level aura is pretty weak for a bonus action, considering the sea path is less damage than a zealot gets for free (and can be halved) and is only a 10ft range and the desert affects allies. Tundra isn't too bad, but the other two could use a buff most likely. Nerfing the damage or making it a bonus action activation I feel would have been a sufficient nerf from the Unearthed Arcana version, but doing both seems overkill.

[@TitanGamingTV]

I'm with you, bonage045. What do you think of the overall kit for storm herald W.R.T. Zealot?

[@jbirkins]

It would be super-thematic if Ancestral Guardian got to cast Speak with Dead once a day as well as Augury.

[@dylanmaguire3595]

I'm very annoyed at one specific thing in these classes. A player at my table is a water genasi barb, and she's planning to go for storm Herald, with the sea rage. But at 6th level, she gets... swimming... and amphibious... both of which she's had since level one...

[@TitanGamingTV]

100% feel that. Redundancy in character features is a peeve of mine. I would feel justified amplifying the effects at 6th level, either increasing move speed, granting an ally water breathing, or giving some other form of water-mastery related power.

[@dylanmaguire3595]

Titan Bear Gaming I'm thinking of doing something like that for sure

[@RatchildUK]

I would add the 30 ft swim speed ontop of the racial swim speed to make it 60ft. I'm actually planning a similar combo (Triton instead of Genasi) and that's what I would pitch.

[@dylanmaguire3595]

RatchildUK I like the idea but I do feel like that makes them far more powerful in water than on land

[@notorious.scoundrel]

I actually thought of making a Thor-ish Storm Herald, but I the Zealot is much better at killing. However, I've gotten really into the Ancestral Guardian, because I wanted a reflavouring of the Rage (so I made that the first of his name took over when it was rage time and other two great warriors in his lineage helped as he progressed through the levels) and wanted to really have an Obi-Wan/Luke kinda relationship, where Maoz (the first of his name) appeared in times of great need and guided him as a warrior. I really love how the character turned out and I've really gotten into RP the 3 ghost warriors.

[@grimmofsparta5022]

I'm sorry, but the Zealot is pretty broken. When you go below zero and the rage is about to end, just have the rage end then reset it. Not dying after failing 3 saving throws and only dying *if* the rage ends will just make it pointless for BBEGs to try and knock out the tank first because they CAN'T. Very rarely do fights go past 5 rounds. A minute (how long a rage lasts) is 10 rounds

[@TitanGamingTV]

I'm going to rename the Zealot the "attack the barbarian to cause failed death saves" archetype now.

[@SamFinklestein]

If you incapacitate them in another way that also ends their rage, and a rage ends at the start of your turn, at which point you fall dead unless you have recovered hit points. It is extremely strong, but not invincible.

[@TitanGamingTV]

It definitely feels in line with some of the other death-defying abilities that Xanathar's Guide brought in. Samurai has a similar one. Welcome to the party Christian!

[@grimmofsparta5022]

Christian Christiansen that may be true, but any advanced players that do a cleric barbarian combo will just heal him the round *before* the rage ends, the rage ends on his next turn, then he rerages.

[@grimmofsparta5022]

Titan Bear Gaming if only Wizard spent that much time looking at the Wizard and Rouge. I don't know why they didn't add the Lore Mastery Wizard, it's powerful, but it drains spell slots much faster than normal

[@alanbennett4017]

I like the idea of playing an Ancestral Guardian Barbarian who dumped Intelligence hard, and has to use Consult the Spirits just to be a functional sentient creature.

[@WorgenGrrl]

Ancestral Guardian sounds very good for the person more focused on the RP element. Imagine having someone in the party talk to themselves all the time and the party think he/she is nuts until they see the spirits of the family members in battle...or better still....Have the DM decide if the party gets to see the Ancestors in battle.

[@gooseman2851]

I think an interesting thing to do for ancestral thing is make the character schizophrenic

[@TitanGamingTV]

I like it -- speak from the perspectives of several ancestors. Would be very comical.

[@soren9780]

Oh god... Think about this with mobile and 2 levels in Rogue You will never get hit and if there is a Pali or Fighter they become bear barbs with psychic resistant

[@TitanGamingTV]

One tough machine!

[@lucca6153]

I want to be a half orc that just really misses his grandma

[@TitanGamingTV]

Totally a valid character load-out! Make it happen.

[@winsleymanalang6903]

Yasha's gonna be more of a beast!!! 'O'

[@claudepainter-wain1788]

I need some help with ideas for a homebrew Path of the Totem Warrior, I want to make a character devoted to the spirit of the Vulture and make it a little distinct from the Eagle. What sort of things would you suggest to make it mechanically different or reflavour it, a more calculating barbarian that is happy to make the Con saves to stay awake without food and water for days tracking prey and is more enduring and lean than a standard barb, going for more Con than Str and dropping Cha completely. (everyone hates vultures and carrion eaters) I was thinking of taking the Necromancer's Grim Harvest, maybe having a Chill touch healing reduction effect on attacks and taking the Battlemaster's or Inquisitive's one minute analyse for weaknesses to find out an enemy's remaining HP or vulnerabilities. Maybe add a little Lizardfolk lore to it. Have you got any cool ideas for bringing a Barbarian to the table that wants to target the dying and channel a vulture?

[@TitanGamingTV]

Okay, first I love the thematic idea here. Huge starting points for that. Onto abilities... Forgive me for pulling away from the necromantic direction -- I think we can instead focus on the lean, survival aspect of the Vulture for flavor and still get some appealing character features. Totem Spirit at 3rd level: Vulture. The spirit of the Vulture toughens your survival instincts and makes you a consummate survivor. When you enter a rage, you gain 4 temporary hit points. The temporary hit points increase when you reach certain levels in this class, increasing to 6 at 5th level, 8 and 10th level, 10 at 15th level, and 12 at 20th level. Aspect of the Beast at 6th level: Vulture.You gain the tenacity of the vulture doggedly circling its prey, waiting for death to provide its next meal. Each day you may choose to abstain from one of your life's necessities, Food, Water, or Rest. You do not suffer a level of exhaustion for abstaining from the chosen necessity, should you have otherwise suffered one. You may choose to ignore the same necessity every day consecutively for a maximum number of days equal to 3 + your Constitution modifier, before needing to sate that need to survive. Totemic Attunement at 14th level: (this one's tough because Eagle grants you flight speed, which you might need to forego for your idea here. Your call). Vulture. You are at your best when your basic life necessities motivate your actions. When you make use of your Vulture Aspect of the Beast at level 6 to abstain from one of your life's necessities, for the entire following day you become empowered while raging. You gain a bonus to attack rolls and damage rolls equal to half of your proficiency bonus, rounded down. Let me know what you think!

[@claudepainter-wain1788]

Man I love it! I wanted to focus on having to survive following vultures living off Carrion for months as the background and refusing to carry rations about, these benefits play into that and give reason for it. Really like ignoring the exhaustion levels (Like an oldschool Mul) I felt this path would be the polar opposite of a Frenzy Berserker Barb, never exhausting myself through Rage, only being able to beat a half-orc Berserker after surviving/stalking him for days and fighting when he's at 3 exhaustion levels and I'm fine. I'd give up the flight for something as cool as this thank you, you seem to have a better grasp of what mechanics would suit too, I'd probably accidentally give myself too much temp HP effects or damage to bloodied foes and annoy my DM. Cast-Iron stomach feat for eating things that have been dead a couple of days. Can't wait to play a Barbarian that almost looks almost malnourished but is an incredible, resilient threat to enemies. Want to flavor the rage as being cool as well, was thinking something like; having blood rush to my face and neck making it bright red mimicking their bare featherless heads, having the scars caused by Vulture pecks when I was left to die glow when raging or something. I'll pass your ideas onto my group, I'm pretty sure they'd love ideas as much as I do.

[@aqure9]

The zealous path is very strong. A possible one man wrecking ball which the game needs at least one of.

[@TitanGamingTV]

It also screams villain to me. A player at my current table is planning for this archetype when we hit 3, he's very enthused.

[@aqure9]

Titan Bear Gaming I like the idea of holy avenger team with Sun Soul, Divine Soul, Celestial, and Zeolite.

[@TitanGamingTV]

DEFINITELY holy avenger. Wow.

[@randallgpreston]

For the Zelot, warrior of the gods, what do they mean by raising to life but not from undeath? Does this mean if I become an undead whatever I can't be raised? I doubt quite understand, how would I become undead?

[@TitanGamingTV]

"If a spell, such as raise dead, has the sole effect of restoring you to life (but not undeath), the caster doesn't need material components to cast the spell on you." The benefit is strictly for the material components cost of resurrection spells. Raise Dead has a 500gp diamond in its materials cost under normal circumstances. For Zealots, their friends don't need to have/spend the diamond to raise them. The undeath case is just addressing the thematic space that as a power granted by the Gods, the Gods wouldn't allow the power to create mass undead from Zealots, their devotees. Look at Create Undead 6th-level necromancy spell. It requires 150gp onyx per corpse targeted. This was just thrown in for that thematic case. Definitely not part of the usual player circumstances.

[@randallgpreston]

Titan Bear Gaming what do they mean by (not from undeath)

[@TitanGamingTV]

It's saying that if someone were to cast a spell to turn a dead Zealot's corpse into a zombie, or a skeleton, it would still require material costs. The free materials cost would not apply.

[@Antdevamp]

PFF, what do you think? Zealot obvs. Radiant Horus Re, my fellow players went "Oh shit."

[@bearnial975]

I'm torn between the Purple dragon Knight and Ancestral Guardian. I love the thematic for PDK slightly more but Ancestral Guardian seems more mechanically viable for Adventurer League. Thoughts?

[@ultrakombou]

What is best in life?

[@blindbeholder9713]

ONE FOR ALL!!!

[@jackwilliams6352]

ancestral guardian could really play well into a JoJo type character build

[@BlueDavrial]

It's a shame that Storm Barb is so bad in execution. The others are really cool AND function really well, but Storm is just so underpowered in comparison, and ESPECIALLY so when compared to the even stronger PH barbs

[@AZDfox]

I have an idea for an Ancestral Guardian voodoo priest character

[@conradkorbol]

I am not sure if you will see this comment since it’s old but I notice in all your videos there are these jarring cuts. You might want to add slides that say the sub class or change of subject as transitions to make the cuts less jarring

[@TitanGamingTV]

Yeah this video is particularly bad with it, I think I actually slipped on the edit a few times and some unintentional cuts found their way in. Some transition slides arent a bad suggestion though, thanks Conrad!

[@conradkorbol]

Titan Bear Gaming no problem. I really like this channel. I have been loookg for someone who talks about he classes in depth. Also you made me look at these sub classes way differently. Almost all the ones I thought were good you didn’t think were as good, and the ones I hated you made me appreciate more. It really goes to show how a players mind completely changes a class

[@TitanGamingTV]

I'm happy to hear that Conrad - that means I'm doing the discussion well! Welcome to the family mate!

[@gondolaFGC]

Just tell me anscestral guardian ain't a Jojo's reference...

[@JorisVDC]

2:20 you failed to mention the limitation that the ancestral protectors only work on the first creature which you hit with an attack. Which is very important, because it limits it's use. A good way to maximize the effect of ancestral protectors is to attack a doe with a ranged weapon, who is already engaged with your allies. Which would result in making that one enemy ineffective. Yet you need to hit it and might need two attacks to do this with an inferior weapon. You could of course use a glaive and tag creatures in 10' reach, which is the best way to apply this debuff. So for the lack of correctly representing the mechanics, I had to down vote.