Barbarian Primal Path: The Boarder

# Primal Path: The Boarder
They had the upper hand. They were coming from behind the frigate with a iron-tipped ram set to release a thunderous boom on impact, and the frigate had no time to turn. He smiled as he looked through his spyglass, seeing the crew beginning to flounder and panic, but his smile began to falter as he saw a mass of muscle smirk as she began to crouch at the stern of her ship. No matter, they were at least several dozen feet away, and pose all she wanted, there was nothing she could. Yet he felt his heart beat faster in his chest and sweat beginning to percolate on his forehead as she drew an axe the size of his torso. And one blink was all it took, before he felt his heart drop. He didn’t actually see her move, he only witnessed her aftermage, and the flurry of splinters and broken wood in her wake as he pulled away from the spyglass to see her soar over him, farther and faster than no normal mortal ever could. In less than a second, she swung downwards and tore through their main mast, her axe crushing through the wood like glass, as she descended on his first mate, cutting his torso in half like butter in one decisive blow. As he scrambled for his flintlock, she just smiled and flexed. They never expect a Boarder.

Although Boarders are classified by their ability to leap great distances, where they find this primal strength is often subject to the individual and their past. Consider consulting the Boarder Strength table below to determine your Boarder’s source of unnatural strength.

##### Boarder Strength

| d6  | Source of Strength |
|:---:|:-----------:|
|  1  | You witnessed a previous crew or captain die, and the vengeance and rage that filled out has allowed you to take down small ships and masts with ease. |
|  2  | You were in possession of cursed treasure, that has permanently altered your physiology to the point where you can perform incredible feats of strength, but you still hear whispered echoes of your sins and transgressions on the wind. |
|  3  | You had helped slay a great seabeast, and as you were coated in its blood in the aftermath, its power was infused into you. |
|  4  | The spirit of a long dead captain has taken residence in your body, giving you unnatural feats of strength. |
|  5  | You found yourself in the center of a wild magic storm, and although your crew didn’t make it, you came out with strange strengths that you cannot fully comprehend. |
|  6  | A divine being saw your feats of strength and resilience and has blessed you with unnatural strength. |

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### Sea Legs

Upon choosing this Primal Path at 3rd level, you gain a swimming speed equal to your walking speed and you cannot be knocked prone from a ship’s failed ram attack, or when a ship you are standing on gets rammed.

### Boarding Leap

Upon choosing this Primal Path at 3rd level, you’ve trained your muscles and call upon an unnatural strength to leap at your enemies. Whenever you enter your rage, you can make a Boarding Leap, where you move up to half of your movement to an unoccupied space. If you hit a creature with an attack immediately after ending this movement and you have moved at least 10 feet with this leap, the target of your attack must succeed on a Strength saving of 8 + your Proficiency bonus + your Strength modifier or be knocked prone. You cannot knock a target prone if they are more than 2 size categories larger than you. You can also opt to make a Boarding Leap before making a melee weapon attack, provided you make the attack Recklessly, you are currently raging, and you have not yet made a Boarding Leap this turn.

If, at the end of this leap, you are not on a surface or liquid that can support you, you fall and take damage as normal.

<div class='footnote'> By KoatheDM. Art by Warmtail. </div>

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### Legs of Iron

Beginning at 6th level, whenever you make a long jump or high jump, you can move an additional amount of feet equal to 5 times your Constitution modifier. You may also add this bonus in distance to your Boarding Leaps.

Additionally, you reduce all damage taken from falling by 5 times your level, and you cannot be knocked prone from falling.

### Breakneck Slam

Beginning at 10th level, whenever you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack after making a Boarding Leap or while falling at least 20 feet onto the creature, you deal an additional 1d6 bludgeoning damage to the creature per 20 feet moved. You can choose for this extra damage to also be dealt to all objects that are neither worn nor carried in a 10 foot radius centered on the creature you hit.

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### Living Cannon

Beginning at 14th level, you are a force to be reckoned with, and your boarding leaps alone can devastate small seafaring vessels. Your Breakneck Slam’s damage dice are replaced with d8s, and all creatures within a 10 foot radius of the creature you hit must also succeed on a Strength saving throw equal to 8 + your Proficiency bonus + your Strength modifier or take this additional damage, only taking half damage on a success.

Additionally, you deal double damage to objects and structures, you can now knock creatures prone with your Boarding Leap regardless of their size, and when you hit with a melee weapon attack while raging, you can deal half of the damage dealt to a structure, object, or ship within 5 feet of the target you hit that is within your reach.

<div class='footnote'> By KoatheDM. Art by Warmtail. </div>

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## Changelog
- Version 1.1
    - Increased movement damage calculation for Breakneck Slam from 10 feet to 20 feet
    - Changed Boarding Leap to be used once per turn
- Version 1.0
    - Initial release

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### More!

This homebrew was made by KoatheDM, and you can find more homebrew content on [Patreon!](https://www.patreon.com/koathedm) I also have an [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/koathedm/) account, [Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/user/keonikoa) account where I post and tease other homebrew content by the name of KoatheDM, and a [Twitter](https://twitter.com/koa_dm) where I also tease upcoming content! This document was made through GMBinder. Art by Warmtail.

<div class='footnote'> By KoatheDM </div>