Barbarian Path
Path of the Ancient Beast
The Path of the Ancient Beast is for warriors in tune with nature - specifically, a primal and atavistic form of it, moving with the rhythms of colossal lizards and timeless titans. They hail from forgotten jungles and ancient mountain peaks, where they run alongside dinosaurs or prehistoric mammals. Ancient Beast barbarians take their inspiration from such awe-inspiring creatures, commanding primal powers in the mold of these forgotten giants.
Ancient Beast barbarians rarely come from settled or civilized societies, unless those cultures have managed to tame dinosaurs or other mighty beasts. They can follow any alignment; their path concerns itself with the expression and source of their power, not its uses.
Path of the Ancient Beast Features
| Barbarian Level | Feature |
|---|---|
| 3rd | Ancient Rage |
| 6th | Primal Rush |
| 10th | Ancient Shapes |
| 14th | Saurian Fury |
Ancient Rage
When you adopt this path at 3rd level, you can channel the fury of a dinosaur while you rage. When you rage, select one of the following archetypes below, gaining its benefits for the duration of your rage.
Thunder Lizard
While raging, you can shake the earth with the might of a great dinosaur. When you take the Attack action, you can replace one attack with a small earthquake. All other creatures within 5 feet must make a Strength saving throw, taking 2d6 bludgeoning damage and falling prone on a failure.
Charging Ceratops
While raging, you can charge your enemies with the fury of a horn-crested beast. Once on your turn if you move at least 15 feet on your turn before making an attack, you can attempt to slam them to the ground. If the attack hits, the target takes 1d6 additional damage, and must make a Strength saving throw or be knocked 10 feet back or knocked prone (your choice).
Clawed Raptor
While raging, you can leap across the battlefield to savage your enemies. Your jump distance is doubled. If you jump at least 15 feet before making an attack, you can make one unarmed strike as a bonus action, which does slashing damage instead of bludgeoning.
Primal Rush
At 6th level, your charge is as difficult to handle as a rampaging dinosaur. While raging, your movement speed increases by 10 feet, and you have advantage on all checks or saving throws to resist being grappled or restrained.
Ancient Shapes
At 10th level, you can modify your form, taking on primal traits to overcome any obstacles in your way. You learn alter self, with Wisdom as your spellcasting ability, and can cast it without expending a spell slot. When cast in this way, it doesn't require concentration and you can cast it while raging. You can cast it in this way once, regaining the ability after a short or long rest.
Saurian Fury
At 14th level, your rage allows you to more fully embody the dinosaur's power. When you select an archetype for your Ancient Rage, it gains additional benefits.
Thunder Lizard
Your earthquake attack's damage increases to 4d6 bludgeoning, and you can increase its radius up to 15 feet.
Charging Ceratops
Your charge attack's bonus damage increases to 2d6, and opportunity attacks made against you are at disadvantage.
Clawed Raptor
If you hit an enemy with an unarmed strike, the next attack against the same target is made at advantage.
But I Don't Even Like Dinosaurs!
If you'd rather use the Path of the Ancient Beast to embody some other animal themes, it should be straightforward to adapt the dinosaur flavor to other animals as needed.
Path of the Ancient Beast quirks
The following are some optional quirks for a player of this path to choose from.
| d6 | Quirk |
|---|---|
| 1 | You embellish your clothing with feathers and scales. |
| 2 | You prefer raw meat and fresh vegetables to cooked food. |
| 3 | Your eyes have a golden, reptilian gleam, and narrow to vertical slits at nighttime. |
| 4 | You call birds "cousin". |
| 5 | You have a mortal fear of rocks falling from the sky. |
| 6 | You prefer tri-horned helmets and wickedly-curved weapons. |
Change Log
v0.2
- Updated art & license
v0.1.1
- Fixed limitations on alter self
v0.1
- Rough Draft
Credits & References:
Path of the Ancient Beast created by somanyrobots Discord | Patreon
Art
Path of the Ancient Beast, by Olga Jaworska
Background Image Stains
License
- © 2024 somanyrobots
5E SRD Content
This work includes material taken from the System Reference Document 5.1 (“SRD 5.1”) by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available here.
The SRD 5.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License available here.