Choosing a Homeland Terrain[]
Choose a homeland terrain while creating your barbarian fighter or cleric. All choices are subject to the DMs approval. Once selected, a homeland terrain never changes.
In theory, any combination of geographic and climatic features could serve as a homeland terrain. For convenience, it 's best to confine the choices to a few general categories, such as desert, arctic, jungle, forest (temperate or cold woodlands), mountains (high rocky peaks with sparse vegetation), hills (highlands, which may or may not be forested), plains, and swamp. The DM may augment this list with any unusual terrain types found in the campaign world, such as aquatic (oceans, rivers, coasts) or subterranean. In the SPELLJAMMER® campaign setting, the barbarian 's homeland terrain could be outer space!
With permission from the DM, players may narrow these definitions to make them more precise. A forest homeland terrain might be a temperate forest (comfortable temperatures, lush vegetation, wide variety of animals) or a cold forest (adjacent to a polar region, near-frigid temperatures, coniferous trees, scarce game). Aquatic could be freshwater aquatic or temperate saltwater aquatic. For most campaigns, such precision isn 't necessary. Assume that a barbarian with a forest homeland terrain is equally comfortable in a variety of woodland environments.
If a homeland consists of two or more contrasting geographic areas, choose the dominant one for the homeland terrain. If a barbarian hails from a mountainous territory dotted with a few forests, choose mountain. If he dwells in a swamp edged by a jungle to the north and a string of hills to the south, use swamp.
The choice of homeland terrain is usually obvious, especially if the player already has a background in mind for his barbarian, or if the DM has established barbarians in a particular location in his campaign world. But if you 're not sulp which terrain type applies, consider the following:
Isolation: Barbarian cultures tend to develop in inaccessible areas that outworlders find difficult or impossible to reach. Therefore, barbaians are more likely to live in high mountains than low hills, torrid deserts than lush plains, dense jungles than light forests.
Animal Species: If you've been thinking about what the barbarian wears or what materials he uses to make weapons, you should have an idea of the animals that live in his homeland. If he uses ivory arrowheads, for instance, he probably shares his terrain with elephants or walruses. List a few species that live in the barbarian's homeland, then see if an appropriate terrain suggests itself.
Random Selection: If all else fails, you can randomly select a homeland terrain for your barbarian by rolling 1d20 on Table 18. Note that this table reflects the likelihood of barbarians appearing in various terrain types rather than the actual distribution of geographies in a typical campaign world.
| D20 Roll | Homeland Terrain |
|---|---|
| 1 | Artic |
| 2-3 | Desert |
| 4 | Cold forest |
| 5-6 | Temperate forest |
| 7-8 | Hills |
| 9-12 | Jungle |
| 13-15 | Mountain |
| 16-17 | Plain |
| 18 | Swamp |
| 19 | Unusual (such as subteranean or aquatic) |
| 20 | DM's choice |
Homeland Terrain Advantages[]
Barbarian fighters and shamans have the folowing advantages when operating in their homeland terrain:
Survival: A barbarian is inherently skilled at surviving in the extreme conditions associated with his homeland terrain. In game terms, he automatically has the survival proficiency in his homeland terrain, at no cost in proficiency slots.
In unusually difficult or demanding situations, the DM may require a survival check (equivalent to an Intelligence check). If the barbarian rolls less than or equal to his Intelligence score on 1d20, he succeeds in his efforts, with these results:
- He knows the fundamental precautions necessary to survive in his homeland terrain. A desert barbarian realizes that the best time to find water is shortly after dawn, when dew collects under plant leaves and the cawing of birds signals the location of puddles. A jungle barbarian knows that two small fires are better than one large fire; smaller fires are easier to control and are less likely to spread. This knowledge doesn 't guarantee a barbarian 's survival; it merely improves his chances. A DM who isn 't sure if the barbarian knows certain survival lore may require a survival check.
- A successful survival check enables him to find enough food to feed himself and one other character, providing sufficient food is available. He may make a separate check to locate enough water to keep himself and a companion alive for 24 hours, again assuming that water is available. He may attempt each check once per day.
- By careful observation, he can interpret subtle changes in his environment that allow him to anticipate natural disasters. A plains barbarian recognizes the distinctive howl of a wolf that precedes an earthquake. A mountain barbarian becomes aware of an impending rock slide by the way pebbles tumble down a slope. The DM may require a survival check to confirm a barbarian 's observations.
Hiding: A barbarian automatically has the hiding proficiency (described in Chapter 4) in his homeland terrain; no proficiency slots are needed.
Surprise: A barbarian can move with such stealth in his homeland terrain that opponents suffer a -2 penalty to their surprise die rolls. To move stealwy, the barbarian must be alone, or his party must consist entirely of barbarians, elves, or halflings, none of whom are wearing metal armor.
Tracking: A barbarian automatically has the tracking proficiency in his homeland terrain. This proficiency is described in Chapter 5 of the Player 's Handbook. (For more detail about tracking modifiers and identification checks, consult The Complete Ranger 's Handbook.)
Animal Lore. A barbarian automaticall has this proficiency, described in the Player's Handbook, for all species native to his homeland terrain.
Intelligence and Charisma Limits[]
Although there are no fixed maxima for a barbarian 's Intelligence and Charisma scores, the DM may wish to simulate his cultural limitations by imposing a penalty from -2 to -6 (determined by the DM) to all Intelligence and Charisma checks made in the outworld. The barbarian uses his normal scores for checks in his homeland.
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