The Unearthed Arcana 7 for D&D is out and comes with several changes and tweaks to the angriest class in the game, the Barbarian. This time around, the class has seen some previous changes undone and a few subclass reworks, as well as a brand new one being introduced in this most recent playtest.
The Unearthed Arcana materials are part of the ongoing playtests as Wizard of the Coast prepares for the 2024 release of the new core rulebooks, and these new changes for the Barbarian add and refine to its magically inclined subclasses.
Related: DnD 5E Should Make Popular Potion Homebrew Rule Canon
How D&D Has Changed The Barbarian’s Existing Powers
The Barbarian has seen several changes to its feats and abilities in the latest playtest, including some changes to when certain feats are unlocked, tweaks to how and when they can be used, as well as some being imported from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything.
- Danger Sense returns to level 2. It now works even if you have the Blinded or Deafened conditions.
- Reckless Attack now grants Advantage to your Strength-based attack rolls until the start of your next turn, so Opportunity Attack can benefit from this feature, as can subclass features like Retaliation.
- Primal Knowledge has moved to level 3 from 2, matching the level of Primal Knowledge in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything.
- Instinctive Pounce has been imported from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, which allows you to move up to half your Speed as a bonus action when you enter Rage.
- Relentless Rage has returned to level 11.
- Persistent Rage has returned to level 15, and now the Unconscious condition, not Incapacitated, shuts off your Rage. In addition, the feature incorporates the function of the Rage Resurgence feat which allows Barbarians to regain a Rage charge on Initiative.
- Indomitable Might has returned to level 18, and it now applies to Strength saving throws and Strength checks.
- Primal Champion returns to level 20 and once again increases the scores by 4.
How One D&D Changed Barbarian Subclasses
The latest Unearthed Arcana includes several changes to some Barbarian subclasses, including the Path of the Berserker, Path of the Wild Heart (formerly Path of the Totem Warrior), and Path of the Zealot.
Path of the Berserker
This subclass has only had one change this time around to the Intimidating Presence feat, which can now be used as a bonus action rather than an action.
Path of the Zealot
- Divine Fury now allows the Barbarians to determine the damage type they deal each time they deal damage, giving them more freedom to adapt when needed.
- Warrior of the Gods now includes the ability to regain some additional HP when they are healed by a spell or magic items for more survivability.
- Zealous Presence now allows you to use this feat more times between a long rest by expending uses of your Rage.
- Rage Beyond Death will now turn you into a warrior spirit after successfully using Relentless Rage. This will grant you fly speed equal to your movement. You can hover and move through creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain and you take 1d10 Force damage if you end your turn inside a creature or object. You can also use your reaction to make an attack that has hit you miss. This lasts for 1 minute or until you regain any hit points or drop to 0.
Path of the Wild Heart
Animal Speaker, which was formerly Spirit Seeker, now has its spellcasting ability specified, which is Wisdom, and allows you to cast Beast Sense and Speak with Animals as Ritual Spells.
Rage of the Wilds, formerly Totem Spirit, has seen several changes to each option which are as follows:
- Bear no longer grants Resistance to all but one damage type. The former design was too powerful. It now allows you to gain Resistance to two damage types of your choice.
- Eagle lets you take both the Dash and the Disengage action when you
activate your Rage and as a Bonus Action. - Wolf’s ability to give players advantage on melee attack rolls has had its range increased to 10 feet.
Aspect of the Wilds, formerly Aspect of the Beast, has also seen some changes to both names and effects which are as follows:
- Elephant (formerly Bear) now grants proficiency in the Athletics or Insight skill, granting Expertise if you already have proficiency.
- Owl (formerly Eagle) now grants proficiency in the Investigation or Perception skill, granting Expertise if you already have proficiency.
- Spider (formerly Wolf) now grants proficiency in the Stealth or Survival
skill, granting Expertise if you already have proficiency.
Related: Dungeons & Dragons: Starting Tips For New Players
Nature Speaker, formerly Spirit Walker, now has its spellcasting ability specified, which is also Wisdom
Power of the Wilds, formerly Totemic Attunement, has seen changes to names and abilities much like Aspects of the Wild. These are as follows:
- Lion (formerly Bear) is no longer stopped by immunity to the Frightened condition.
- Falcon (formerly Eagle) now allows a persistent Fly Speed while your Rage is active, provided you aren’t wearing any armor.
- Ram (formerly Wolf) no longer uses your Bonus Action but requires a saving throw.
Barbarian Is Getting a New Subclass in One D&D: The Path of the World Tree
Along with changes to existing subclasses, the Barbarian will be getting a brand new subclass called the Path of the World Tree, which sees Barbarians draw their strength and Rage from the cosmic ash tree Yggdrasil. These are the feats for this new subclass.
Level 3: Vitality of the Tree
When you activate your Rage, you regain a number of Hit Points equal to your Barbarian level. At the start of each of your turns while your Rage is active, you can choose another creature within 10 feet of yourself to gain Temporary Hit Points.
To determine the number of Temporary Hit Points, roll a number of d6s equal to your Rage Damage bonus, and add them together. If any of these Temporary Hit Points remain when your Rage ends, they vanish.
Level 6: Branches of the Tree
While your Rage is active, whenever a creature you can see ends its turn within 20 feet of you, you can use your Reaction to summon spectral branches of the World Tree around it. The target must succeed on a Strength saving throw (DC equal to 8 + your Proficiency Bonus + your Strength modifier) or be teleported to an unoccupied space you can see within 5 feet of yourself or in the nearest unoccupied space you can see.
The space the target teleports to must be on a surface or liquid that can support it; otherwise, the target doesn’t teleport.
Level 10: Battering Roots
Tendrils of the World Tree extend from your melee weapons. While you wield any melee weapon, your reach with that weapon increases by 10 feet, and when you hit with it, you can activate the Push or Topple property even if you’re using another Mastery property with that weapon.
Level 14: Travel Along the Tree
As an action, you touch a Huge or larger tree or a Teleportation Circle to create a link through the World Tree to a Teleportation Circle somewhere else on the same world or on another plane of existence. When you do so, you can specify a target destination in general terms, such as the City of Brass on the Elemental Plane of Fire, and you and up to five willing creatures within 30 feet of you appear at the Teleportation Circle closest to that destination. If a Teleportation Circle is too small to hold all the creatures you transported, they appear in the unoccupied spaces closest to the circle.
Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a Long Rest. If you’ve run out of uses of this feature, you can expend five uses of your Rage, choosing to activate this feature instead of Rage.
Related: Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants Review – Big Ideas
These changes to the Barbarian’s magical subclasses look to give the class a bit more flavor, and the changes to certain feats, as well as the overall class features, give it more ways to use its strength, while also having a new subclass that offers something a bit different for players to enjoy. Naturally, with the new rules not expected to release until next year, we can imagine some more changes are coming, but so far, its looking pretty good for the Barbarian.
