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See also Barbarian (disambiguation).

The barbarian fighter's extraordinary stamina and physical skills let him survive in the most punishing environments. He relies on muscle and wits, overcoming hardships with brute force and sheer determination. His weapons are crude, his tactics unsophisticated, but his passion and courage makes him the match of any warrior.

Requirements[]

Barbarian fighters require exceptional strength and endurance, reflected in their ability qualifications.

Table 1: Class Qualifications

Ability Requirements Strength 12
Dexterity 9
Constitution 12
Prime Requisites Strength
Constitution
Races Allowed Human
Alignments Allowed* Lawful Good,
Lawful Neutral,
Neutral,
Neutral Good,
Chaotic Good
* The DM may allow non-player characters to have any alignment. But to promote cooperation among the party members and to retain the sense of ethics common to most barbarian adventurers, we recommend that player characters stick with these choices. See Chapter 2 for more about alignments.

To generate the statistics for a barbarian fighter, we suggest Method V or VI from Chapter 1 of the Player's Handbook. If the DM approves, you may roll 1d12 on Table 2 and use the indicated statistics.

Table 2: Barbarian Fighter Pregenerated Ability Scores

D12
Roll
Str Dex Con Int Wis Cha
1 13 18 15 7 11 9
2 15 15 13 9 9 10
3 12 9 18 11 14 11
4 14 17 12 15 10 8
5 16 14 16 13 8 10
6 12 16 13 8 12 15
7 17 9 12 16 13 9
8 18* 9 15 12 7 12
9 13 15 12 7 15 7
10 17 13 15 9 7 11
11 16 10 12 8 13 16
12 12 12 17 10 15 8
* Roll percentile dice to determine the character's exceptional Strength score

Level Advancement[]

Barbarian fighters advance in level at a slower rate than standard warriors. They also use 12-sided dice to determine their hit points, receiving 1d12 hit points per level up to 9th, then gaining 3 hits points for every additional level. Table 3 lists these advancement rates, along with the corresponding THAC0 scores (the number rolled on 1d20 to hit Armor Class 0).

Two adjustments also apply:

  • A barbarian fighter whose Strength and Constitution scores are both 16 or more receives a 10% bonus to all earned experienced points.
  • A barbarian with an unusually high Constitution score receives a hit point adjustment as a warrior. A score of 17 gives a +3 bonus per hit die. A score of 18 gives a +4 bonus.

Table 3: Experience Levels

Level XP Needed Hit Dice
(d12)
THAC0
1 0 1 20
2 2,250 2 19
3 4,500 3 18
4 9,000 4 17
5 18,000 5 16
6 36,000 6 15
7 75,000 7 14
8 150,000 8 13
9 300,000 9 12
10 600,000 9+3 11
11 900,000 9+6 10
12 1,200,000 9+9 9
13 1,500,000 9+12 8
14 1,800,000 9+15 7
15 2,100,000 9+18 6
16 2,400,000 9+21 5
17 2,700,000 9+24 4
18 3,000,000 9+27 3
19 3,300,000 9+30 2
20 3,600,000 9+33 1

Table 4 indicates the barbarian fighter's proficiency slot allowances and saving throws by level

Table 4: Level Improvements

Prof. Saving Throws
Level W N/W PPDM RSW PP BW SP
1 4 3 14 16 15 17 17
2 4 3 14 16 15 17 17
3 5 4 13 15 14 16 16
4 5 4 13 15 14 16 16
5 5 4 11 13 12 13 14
6 6 5 11 13 12 13 14
7 6 5 10 12 11 12 13
8 6 5 10 12 11 12 13
9 7 6 8 10 9 9 11
10 7 6 8 10 9 9 11
11 7 6 7 9 8 8 10
12 8 7 7 9 8 8 10
13 8 7 5 7 6 5 8
14 8 7 5 7 6 5 8
15 9 8 4 6 5 4 7
16 9 8 4 6 5 4 7
17 9 8 3 5 4 4 6
18 10 9 3 5 4 4 6
19 10 9 3 5 4 4 6
20 10 9 3 5 4 4 6

Proficiency Abbreviations

W = Weapon profiaency slots
NIW = Nonweapon profiaenq slots

Saving Throw Abbreviations

PPDM = Paralyzation, Poison, or Death Magic
RSW = Rod, Staff, or Wand
PP =Petrification or Polymorph
BW = Breath Weapon
SP = spell

Movement[]

Barbarian fighters have a base movement rate of 15.

Barbarians are also capable of carrying heavy loads more efficiently than other characters. Using the optional Encumbrance rules from Chapter 6 of the Player's Handbook, the barbarian gains a +3 bonus for determining the movement rate while encumbered.

For instance, a human barbarian fighter with 18/56 Strength would be able to carry a maximum weight of 305 lbs. and have a movement rate of 4.

Note that the barbarian's ability to move faster while carrying a heavy load does not grant the barbarian a bonus to the amount of weight he can cany.

Armor and Weapons[]

Table 5 lists armor types available to the barbarian fighter, along with weights and costs. Costs are given as reference only; barbarian societies rarely use money (see Chapter 2). A character using a shield receives a -1 Armor Class bonus (for example, padded armor plus a shield gives an effective AC of 7).

In general, barbarians wield only weapons made of stone, wood, bone, or similarly crude materials. Because they lack the knowledge to create sophisticated weapons like crossbows and mancatchers, they're usually limited to the following choices:

Axe (hand, battle, and throwing)
Blowgun (barbed dart and needle)
Bow (short; flight arrows)
Club
Dagger
Dart
Harpoon
Javelin
Knife
Quarterstaff
Sling (stones only)
Spear

The DM may augment this list with any of the new weapons described in Chapter 5. He may also forbid a barbarian from using weapons inconsistent with his cultural background. For instance, a barbarian may come from a remote island where blowguns were never developed. An arctic barbarian may have no experience with slings. See Chapter 5 for more about weapon restrictions and variants.

As a barbarian increases in level, he can make more than one attack per round, shown in Table 6.

Table 5: Barbarian Armor

Type AC Cost
(GP)
Weight
(lbs.)
Padded 8 4 10
Leather 8 5 15
Studded Leather 7 20 25
Hide 6 15 30
* See Chapter 5 for descriptions of materials and construction.

Table 6: Attacks Per Round

Level Attacks/Round
1-6 1/round
7-12 3/2 rounds
13 & up 2/round

A barbarian may fight with two weapons at the same time, provided that the secondary weapon is smaller and lighter than the main weapon. He may make one additional attack per round beyond the normal limit. For instance, a 13th-level barbarian using one weapon attacks twice per round (see Table 6). Wielding two weapons, he may make three attacks (two with the main weapon, one with the secondary weapon). When using two weapons simultaneously, the barbarian suffers penalties on both weapons' attack rolls, as indicated on Table 7.

Table 7: Two-Weapon Attack Penalties

DEX
Score
Main Weapon
Penalty
Second Weapon
Penalty
1 -8 -10
2 -6 -8
3 -5 -7
4 -4 -6
5 -3 -5
6-15 -2 -4
16 -1 -3
17-18 0 -2

Physical Abilities[]

All barbarian fighters have a special aptitude for leaping, springing, protecting their backs, and climbing. As shown on Tables 8 and 9, these abilities improve as the barbarian rises in level.

Leaping and Springing[]

Leaping and Springing: The barbarian fighter is skilled at making leaps (horizontal jumps) and springs (vertical jumps). To make a running leap or spring, he must have a running start of at least 20 feet in a straight line; less than this, and the best he can do is a standing leap or spring. Standing leaps and springs are made from stationary positions.

Table 8 indicates the horizontal distances (for leaps) and vertical distances (for springs) for barbarian fighters of various levels. Distances are expressed in feet. Roll the die separately for each leap or spring.

Table 8: Leaping and Springing Distances

Level Running
Leap
Running
Spring
Standing
Leap
Standing
Spring
1 3d6+1 1d6 2d4 1d4
2 3d6+2 1d6+1 2d4+1 1d4+1
3 3d6+3 1d6+1 2d4+1 1d4+1
4 3d6+4 1d6+2 2d4+2 1d4+2
5 3d6+5 1d6+2 2d4+2 1d4+2
6 3d6+6 1d6+3 2d4+3 1d4+3
7 3d6+7 1d6+3 2d4+3 1d4+3
8 3d6+8 1d6+4 2d4+4 1d4+3
9 3d6+9 1d6+4 2d4+4 1d4+3
10 3d6+10 1d6+5 2d4+5 1d4+3
11 3d6+11 1d6+5 2d4+5 1d4+3
12 3d6+12 1d6+6 2d4+6 1d4+3
13 3d6+13 1d6+6 2d4+6 1d4+3
14 3d6+14 1d6+6 2d4+7 1d4+3
15 3d6+15 1d6+6 2d4+7 1d4+3
16+ 3d6+16 1d6+6 2d4+8 1d4+3

All distances are in feet. The DM should feel free to add in adjustments to these abilities based upon the barbarian's encumbrance and other factors.

Back Protection[]

Back Protection: Table 9 shows the barbarian fighter's chance of detecting an attack from behind, made by any character or creature. If the barbarian successfully detects the attack, he avoids it. Additionally, the barbarian is entitled to counter-attack the attacker immediately, even if the barbarian already attacked that turn.

Example: Grog the barbarian makes a club attack against a lizard man, while an ogre attempts to attack Grog from behind. After resolving his attack on the lizard man, Grog makes a back detection roll and succeeds; therefore, the ogre receives no special attack bonuses for attacking from behind. The ogre makes a normal attack against Grog; Grog is allowed a "free" counter-attack against the ogre. All of this occurs in the same round.

Climbing[]

Climbing: The barbarian fighter can climb walls and other surfaces-including ledges, cliffs, and trees-without the aid of tools. Table 9 indicates success chances. This skill works like the thief's climb walls ability.

Table 9: Back Detection and Climbing Chances

Level Back Detection Climbing
1 15% 60%
2 20% 65%
3 25% 70%
4 30% 75%
5 35% 80%
6 40% 85%
7 45% 90%
8 50% 95%*
9 55% 95%
10 60% 95%
11 65% 95%
12 70% 95%
13 75% 95%
14 80% 95%
15 85% 95%
16 90% 95%
17+ 95%* 95%
* Maximum percentile score
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