First Edition Barbarian

The Barbarian Character Class

for OSR Campaigns
Leonaru © 2014
What is a Barbarian? Saving Throws
Barbarians are tribal warriors that grew up in places A barbarian uses the fighter's saving throw matrix. In
far off form civilisation. Not spoiled by the comfort of addition to that he receives a +4 bonus vs. poison as
city life, barbarians are survivalists and fierce warriors. well as a +3 bonus vs. death, paralysation and pol-
However, not every member of a barbarian tribe is ymorph and a +2 bonus vs. rods, staffs and wands.
considered to be member of the barbarian class. For Barbarians gain A bonus to saves vs. spells for every
the purpose of this class description 'barbarian' refers four levels starting with level 4.
to a tribal warrior from such a tribe.
Weapon Proficiencies
A barbarian starts with six weapon proficiency slots
Class Basics and gains an additional one every two levels. Barbar-
STR 15, WIS 16 (max), DEX 14, ians are not eligible for weapon specialisation.
Attribute Requirements
CON 15
Prime Requisite None Dual-Classing
Barbarians cannot dual-class or be a member of two
Races Human
or more classes due to any other means.
Hit Die d12 (max 8)
Alignment Any Non-Lawful Table 1: Barbarian Experience Progression
Weapons Any Level XP College
Armour Any 1 0 1
Attack Progression As Fighter 2 6,000 2
Saving Throws As Fighter 3 12,000 3
Weapons Proficiencies 6+1 every 2 levels 4 24,000 4
Non-Proficiency Penalty -1 5 48,000 5

Weapon Specialisation N/A 6 96,000 6

7 190,000 7
Attribute Requirements 8 380,000 8
Barbarians require a Strength and Constitution score 9 500,000 8+4
of no less than 15 and a Dexterity of at least 14. A bar-
10 1,000,000 8+8
barian's Wisdom score cannot exceed 16.
11 1,500,000 8+12
Prime Requisite
A barbarian does not have a prime requisite and Special Abilities
does not gain an experience bonus from any ability
score. Armour Class Bonus
For every point of Dexterity above 14 a barbarian's ar-
Races mour class is reduced by two points. This adjustment
Of all races, only humans can be barbarians. replaces the armour class adjustment other classes
receive. Other bonuses from high Dexterity remain
Hit Die unchanged. When a barbarian armour as heavy or
heaver than banded or splint mail or carries a large
The barbarian uses the d12 to determine his hit points
shield, the armour class bonus is reduced to one point
and can gain a maximum of eight hit dice at level 8.
per point of Dexterity above 14.
After that point, the barbarian gain an additional four
hit points per level.
Hit Point Bonus
Alignment Instead of the usual hit points bonus from high Consti-
tution, barbarian gain a +2 hit points bonus per hit die
Barbarians can be of any non-lawful alignment.
for every point of Constitution above 14.
Weapons and Armour
Barbaric Speed
Barbarians can become proficient with any weapon,
Barbarians have a base movement rate of 150' in-
but have to become proficient with hand axe, knife
stead of the usual 120'.
and spear as well as any weapon the game master
considers fitting initially. Barbarians can wear any ar-
Barbaric Vigour
mour. However, heavy armour and large shield re-
duce a barbarian's Dexterity-based armour class bo- At level, a barbarian can damage creatures that re-
nus (see below under Armour Class Bonus). quire a +1 weapon to be hit even if he is just using a
mundane weapon. For every two level beyond lev-
Attack Progression el 4, this enchantment level is raised by one level up
to a maximum of +5 at level 12. A barbarian does
The barbarian uses the fighter's attack matrix.
not gain any attack roll or damage bonuses from this

2
ability. It merely allows him to hit creatures he could Avoid Backstabbing
not hit otherwise due his weapon's enchantment lev- When an enemy attempts to attack a barbarian from
el being too low. behind, the barbarian has a 5% chance per level of
sensing the attack and turning it into a normal at-
Climbing tack. This includes backstab attacks from thieves and
A barbarian can Climb Walls like a thief of equal lev- assassins. Furthermore, the barbarian is permitted a
el. Initially, this ability can only be used to climb trees counterattack, even he has already used up all his
and cliffs, but with some training, it can be applied to attacks for that round.
buildings as well.
Keen Senses
Hiding Barbarians surprise their opponents on a roll of 1 to
A barbarian can Hide in his surroundings like a thief 3 on a d6 (1 to 4 if their are familiar with the terrain).
can Hide in Shadows. If he is familiar with his current Barbarians themselves have only a 10% chance of
location, his chance to hide is equal to that of a bar- being surprised (5% if they are familiar with the envi-
barian three levels higher than he currently is. ronment).

Charisma Bonus Secondary Skills

When dealing with other barbarians, a barbarian re- Every barbarian has a number of secondary skills. Un-
ceives a Charisma bonus equal to his level. like the aforementioned primary skills, these skills can
only be used in an environment the barbarian is fa-
Athletics miliar with.
When standing, a barbarian can jump 10' forwards or
3' up or back. With a running start, a barbarian can Survival
leap 1d6+15' forward or 1d4:2+4' up. Springing allows Barbarians know the basics of survival. This includes
for an upward distance of 1d4+3'. (but is not limited to) gathering food, making fire
or building a shelter. A barbarian can also Predict
Detect Illusion Weather and Detect Animals and Plants like a druid
Barbarians have a 5% per level of detecting illusions. of the third level, though this abilities are nonmagical.
This ability caps at 75%.
Antidotes
Detect Magic A barbarian has a 10% chance of being able to find
A barbarian has a 25% chance of detecting magic. an antidote for someone who got poisoned or is ill. If
This chance increases by 5% per level up to a maxi- the poison or disease is known, the chance increases
mum of 90%. to 50% plus the victim's Constitution score.

Table 2: Barbarian Special Abilities

Avoid
Level Climb Walls* Hide Detect Illusion Detect Magic
Backstabbing
1 85% 20% 5% 25% 5%
2 87% 25% 10% 30% 10%
3 89% 30% 15% 35% 15%
4 91% 35% 20% 40% 20%
5 93% 40% 25% 45% 25%
6 95% 45% 30% 50% 30%
7 96% 50% 35% 55% 35%
8 97% 55% 40% 60% 40%
9 98% 60% 45% 65% 45%
10 99% 65% 50% 70% 50%
11 99% 70% 55% 75% 55%
12 99% 75% 60% 80% 60%
13 99% 80% 65% 85% 65%
14 99% 85% 70% 90% 70%
15 99% 90% 75% 90% 75%
16 99% 91% 75% 90% 80%
17 99% 92% 75% 90% 85%
*Includes the 5% bonus for humans to Open Locks and Climb Walls

3
First Aid Restrictions
A barbarian can give first aid by binding wounds or
set broken bones. This immediately heals one hit point Rhabdophobia
and doubles the healing rate. To double the healing Barbarians are suspicious of magic and those who
rate of other characters, the barbarian has to contin- employ it. Low-level barbarians will not use magic
ue to administer aid. items willingly and only reluctantly cooperate with
mages. A barbarians who destroys a magic item
Outdoor Tracking gains experience equal to that item's value. Barbari-
A barbarian can track creatures like a ranger, though ans accept clerics, shamans and other users of divine
he can only use this ability outdoors. The base chance magic, but will remain sceptical of high-level clerics.
for tracking is 10% plus 10% per level of the barbarian. Over time, some of these restrictions are lifted (see
The base chance cannot exceed 110%. In addition Table 4).
to that, the tracking chance is modified under cer-
tain conditions (see Table 3). Table 4: Barbarian Rhabdophobia
Level Lifted Restriction
Table 3: Outdoor Tracking 2 Cooperation with clerics
Condition Modifier 3 Use magic potions
Soft ground +20% 4 Use magic weapons
Moderately hard ground +10% 5 Use Magic armour
Hard ground - 6 Cooperation with mages
Very hard ground -50% 7 Use offensive magic items
Per additional creature 9 Use protection scrolls
+2%
after the first
10 Use magic items in general
For every 12 hours passed -5%
For every hour of precipi-
tation
-25% Barbaric Illiteracy
A barbarian starts his career speaking only his tribal
One ground category
Creature attempted to language and the common tongue. Barbarians do
lower, impossible if already
hide its trail not use alignment languages and are illiterate. They
very hard ground
can learn to read and write later, though.

Tertiary Skills
A barbarian will have a number of tertiary skills like Magic Items
Animal Handling, Fishing, Horsemanship, Rafting or A barbarian can use magic items usable by fighters
Snare Building. Which skill these are is determined by but is restricted in their use as described above.
the game master and depends on nature of the bar-
barian's homeland.
Henchmen and Followers
Barbarian Horde Barbarian can hire henchmen, but do not attract fol-
lowers outside the barbarian hoard.
A barbarian of level 8 or higher can summon a
barbarian horde while in his home territory. For the
purpose of this horde, dervishes and berserkers are A Barbarian's Stronghold
considered to be barbarians. The horde will have a Barbarians do not settle down and construct strong-
members equal to the XP the barbarian has divided holds.
by 1,000 and has to be summoned for a specific pur-
pose, like the destruction of an enemy stronghold.
The horde can only be kept together for a number
of weeks equal to the barbarian's level. Barbarians
with an effective Charisma score of 23 or more with
respect to other barbarians or barbarians who distrib-
ute a lot of treasure among the other barbarians can
keep the horde together for another 1d2 weeks. if a
horde is summoned, its leader should lead it into bat-
tle as soon as possible and disband it afterward. A
horde that dissolves for other reasons with result in a
heavy loss of reputation for the barbarian who sum-
moned it. When the horde is summoned, the leader
will also call two lieutenants of half his level. These two
lieutenants will in turn have two aides each of half
their level.

4
Name: Alignment: Level:
Class: Sex: XP:

Abilities
Str: To Hit: Damage: Encumbrance : Major Test : Minor Test:
Dex: Missile To Hit: Surprise:
Con: Hit Points: Minor Test: Major Test:
Int: # Languages:

Wis: Mental Save:

Cha: # Henchmen: Loyalty: Reaction:

Saving Throws
Paralysis, Poison, Death Rod, Staff, Wand Petrification, Polymorph Breath Weapon Spell

Equipment
Armour Gloves Boots
Helmet Bracers Cloak
Shield Ring #1 Ring #2
Other Other Other

Target AC 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 -7 -8 -9 -10
# To Hit

Weapon Type Rate of Fire Damage Range Special

Barbarian Skills
Climb Hide Detect Illusion Detect Magic Avoid Backstabbing Tracking

Treasure, Gear & Special Abilities

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