Barbarian - Path of the Machine-Breaker

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## Barbarian Path

### Path of the {subclass-name}
Machine-Breakers are barbarians with a burning hatred for machines, firm in the belief that unnatural automation threatens the livelihoods of honest folk. They are champions for the working person, believers in the equality and dignity of labor and opponents of oppressors everywhere. They learn to deliver tremendous blows, aimed at stripping away a machine's armor and exposing its workings to pinpoint strikes.

Machine-Breakers are more likely to come from working-class backgrounds, exemplifying those whose livelihoods are threatened by industrialization gone amok. While most Machine-Breakers start from a place of righteous anger, some can tilt towards evil alignments if their fury comes to control them.

#### Path of the {subclass-name} Features
| Barbarian Level  | Feature |
|:---:|:-----------|
|  3rd  | Smashine Blows, Against the Machines |
|  6th  | Tools of the Enemy, Staggering Smash |
|  10th | Righteous Hammering, Have You Tried Kicking It? |
|  14th | Rebellious Leader, Strip Defenses |

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> ##### In the Ivory Kingdom
> Many of the Kingdom's rebels count themselves as Machine-Breakers; opposing unnatural constructs is even more obvious when they are also unnatural undead. Some rebels who initially hoped for compromise — some sort of accomodation between the capitalists and the struggling workers — have found themselves pushed onto the Path by the establishment's relentless hostility.

#### Smashing Blows
When you choose this path at 3rd level, you learn to deliver a staggering strike capable of stripping away a creature's defenses. One time on each of your turns when you hit a creature with a melee attack, you can choose to make it a smashing blow, adding the following effects:
* The attack deals bonus damage of the weapon's type equal to half to your barbarian level.
* The next attack another creature makes against the target before the start of your next turn is made with advantage.
* You learn all the target's damage resistances. It loses a damage resistance of your choice until the end of your next turn.
* If the target is a construct, the bonus damage is doubled.

#### Against the Machines
Also at 3rd level, you learn about the tools of your enemy and how to dismantle them. You have advantage on any ability checks to identify or understand constructs and machines, and any time you hit an object, you automatically score a critical hit.

\pagebreakNum

#### Tools of the Enemy
At 6th level, you can adapt your fighting style to counter rigid-minded opponents. When you hit an enemy with a Smashing Blow, you can choose to gain any damage resistance you disable. This resistance lasts for the duration of your rage. You can only have one resistance at a time through this feature.

#### Staggering Smash
Also at 6th level, your Smashing Blows are capable of disorienting a rigid-minded creature. When you hit a creature with a Smashing Blow, you can force it to make a Wisdom saving throw with a DC equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Strength modifier. On a failure, when it makes an attack within the next minute, you can use your reaction to force it to change targets to another of its choosing.

You can only use your Staggering Smash against a given creature one time, after which it can't be affected by it again for 24 hours.

#### Righteous Hammering
At 10th level, you can inspire your allies to slam your enemies with the same righteous fury. As a bonus action while you are raging, you can grant an ally the ability to make a Smashing Blow before your rage ends. It uses your barbarian level to determine the bonus damage.

Once you use your Righteous Hammering, you can't do so again until the next time you rage or until you score a critical hit.

#### Have You Tried Kicking It?
Also at 10th level, you gain an uncanny knack for operating the rare machines you don't take apart. When you would make an ability check to operate some sort of strange machinery, you can instead roll 1d20 and add your barbarian level to the result.

#### Rebellious Leader
At 14th level, your ferocity against your foes stirs your allies' hearts in battle. When you use your Smashing Blow, creatures of your choice within 30 feet gain temporary hit points equal to the bonus damage dealt. While they have these temporary hit points, they benefit from any damage resistance you gain through Tools of the Enemy. These temporary hit points fade after 1 minute.

#### Strip Defenses
Also at 14th level, when you hit an enemy with a Smashing Blow, you can choose to reduce an immunity to a resistance instead of disabling a resistance. This counts as disabling a resistance to the same damage type for your other features.

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### Path of the {subclass-name} quirks
The following are some optional quirks for a player of this path to choose from.

| d6  | Quirk |
|:---:|:-----------|
|  1  | You name your weapons after they destroy their first construct. |
|  2  | You insist on using only handcrafted weapons and armor. |
|  3  | You take extremely good care of your equipment, insisting it is "made to last". |
|  4  | You once attacked an innocent windmill. |
|  5  | Your deepest secret is that you never actually worked a trade. |
|  6  | You keep one part from every smashed machine as a trophy. |

\pagebreakNum

## Change Log
#### v{current-version}
* A few small languages fixes
* Fixed the features table

#### v0.2
* Revised Smashing Blows
* Added Staggering Smash
* Replaced Exposing Malfunction with Righteous Hammering
* Renamed Mechanical Savant and Inspiring Rage

#### v0.1
* Rough Draft

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> ##### Credits & References:
> Path of the {subclass-name} created by [somanyrobots](https://www.somanyrobots.com "somanyrobots.com") | 
> [Discord](https://discord.gg/6p6DqCxTTw "Discord") | [Patreon](https://www.patreon.com/somanyrobots "patreon.com/somanyrobots")
>___
> ##### Art
> Path of the Machine-Breaker, by [Alifka Hamamm Nugroho](https://www.artstation.com/alifkahammamnugroho "Artstation - Alifka Hamamm Nugroho")
> ___
> ##### Background Image Stains
> [Jared Ondricek](https://watercolors.giantsoup.com/)
> ___
> ##### License
> © 2026 somanyrobots, [CC BY-NC 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/)
> ___
> ##### 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](https://dnd.wizards.com/resources/systems-reference-document "SRD 5.1").
> 
> * The SRD 5.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License [available here](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode "CC-BY").