Barbarian Combat Skills and Warcries

(Version 1.00 - Last Modified: 08/04/2004)

Inspired by the Barbarian class in Diablo II from Blizzard Entertainment

Introduction
Combat Skills

Bash
Berserk
Concentrate
Double Swing
Double Throw
Frenzy
Leap
Leap Attack
Stun
Whirlwind

Warcries

Battle Command
Battle Cry
Battle Orders
Howl
Shout
Taunt
War Cry
Yell

Introduction

Two of the barbarian warrior's areas of specialization are described in detail in this document. The first area is Combat Skills, which are special actions that the barbarian can use and usually enhance an attack or modify an attack to make it more powerful or more accurate, or modify the attack in some other way. The second area is Warcries, which are magical spells that the barbarian warrior can cast quickly that usually have a negative effect on nearby enemies or a positive effect on nearby allies. Using a warcry takes only one melee attack, making them faster then casting spells, but the barbarian lacks the versatility of a real spellcaster.

Combat Skills

Bash

Duration: Instant
P.P.E.: 4
Description: While the barbarian is attacking, he can activate this combat skill to gain a bonus to strike and to inflict additional damage on the target of the attack. Unlike some abilities that require a melee attack to activate, this ability can be activated at will, but only once for each attack. When activated, the barbarian receives a bonus of +1 to strike per level of experience. If the attack hits the target, the attack inflicts an additional +1 point of damage per level of experience. For example, if a Barbarian with 12 levels in Combat Skills used this ability, he would receive a bonus of +12 to strike and would inflict +12 points of damage from the attack. This combat skill can be used with any physical attack or hand-held weapon, but it cannot be used with a ranged or thrown weapon and it cannot be combined with any other combat skill.

Berserk

Requires: Bash, Concentrate, Double Swing, Double Throw, Frenzy, and Stun.
Duration: 1D4 melee rounds, plus an additional melee round at levels 14 and 15.
P.P.E.: 30
Description: With this combat skill, the barbarian can cross the fine line between anger and rage. Once this line is crossed, a barbarian can harness primal forces that are buried deep within his body. While in a rage, the barbarian receives a bonus of +3D6 to PS attribute (minimum of 25) and PS becomes supernatural, +1D6 to PP and PE attributes, and his Spd attribute doubles, to a minimum of 30. The barbarian also gains +2 attacks per melee, +3 to initiative, +5 to strike, +2 to all other offensive combat actions, and becomes immune to horror factor, awe factor, mind control, pain, and possession. Unfortunately, the barbarian loses a measure of control and suffers a penalty of -4 on all defensive actions, cannot perform any deflection actions such as Roll with Punch, Fall, or Impact, cannot use any skills that require a percentile roll, and must always attack or move towards an enemy if one is present. Even in the middle of a berserker rage, the barbarian can still tell friend from foe and will not attack a friend after all other enemies have been killed.

Concentrate

Requires: Bash and Stun.
Duration: Instant
P.P.E.: 20
Description: While the barbarian is attacking, he can activate this combat skill to focus is mind for a brief time on a single opponent. Unlike some abilities that require a melee attack to activate, this ability can be activated at will, but only once for each attack. When activated, the barbarian receives a bonus of +1 to strike per level of experience. If the attack hits the target, the attack inflicts an additional +3 points of damage per level of experience and the target cannot perform any action that would reduce the damage, such as a roll with punch, fall, or impact. Finally, until the barbarian's next melee attack, he gains a bonus of +1 per level of experience to all defensive rolls. For example, if a Barbarian with 11 levels in Combat Skills used this ability, he would receive a bonus of +11 to strike, would inflict +33 points of damage from the attack, and would gain a bonus of +11 to all defensive rolls until his next melee attack. This combat skill can be used with any physical attack or hand-held weapon, but it cannot be used with a ranged or thrown weapon and it cannot be combined with any other combat skill.

Double Swing

Duration: Instant
P.P.E.: 5
Description: While the barbarian is attacking, he can activate this combat skill to gain a bonus to strike and gains the ability to attack with a weapon he is holding in each hand. Unlike some abilities that require a melee attack to activate, this ability can be activated at will, but only once for each attack. When activated, the barbarian receives a bonus of +1 to strike per level of experience and if he hits the target, he rolls damage for each weapon he attacked with and applies any damage bonus to each weapon. When attacking with the multiple hand-held weapons, they must be single-handed weapons and only one strike roll is necessary, the result applies to each weapon, and the target of the attack only needs to avoid the attack, not each weapon. For example, if a Barbarian wielding two short swords, with a damage bonus of +3, and with 6 levels in Combat Skills used this ability, he would receive a bonus of +6 to strike and would inflict 2D6+6 points of damage with a successful strike. This combat skill can only be used with melee weapons and only with weapons that the barbarian could wield with one hand and both weapons must hit the same target.

Double Throw

Duration: Instant
P.P.E.: 5
Description: While the barbarian is attacking, he can activate this combat skill to gain a bonus to strike and gains the ability to throw a weapon from each hand. Unlike some abilities that require a melee attack to activate, this ability can be activated at will, but only once for each attack. When activated, the barbarian receives a bonus of +1 to strike per level of experience and if he hits the target, he rolls damage for each weapon he attacked with and applies any damage bonus to each weapon. When attacking with the multiple thrown weapons, they must be weapons that the barbarian could thrown with one hand and only one strike roll is necessary, the result applies to both weapons, and the target of the attack only needs to avoid the attack, not each thrown weapon. For example, if a Barbarian throwing two spears, with a damage bonus of +2, and with 8 levels in Combat Skills used this ability, he would receive a bonus of +8 to strike and would inflict 2D6+4 points of damage with a successful strike. This combat skill can only be used with weapons that can be thrown with one hand and both weapons must hit the same target.

Frenzy

Requires: Bash, Double Swing, and Double Throw.
Duration: 2 melee rounds, plus an additional melee round at levels 11, 13, and 15.
P.P.E.: 20
Description: While this ability is active, the Barbarian enters into a frenzied rage, viciously attacking any nearby enemies, and becoming stronger and faster with each successful attack. Once this ability is activated, there is no discernible change in the Barbarian, but with each successful attack, he begins to glow red, and each subsequent attack makes the barbarian glow brighter and brighter. Each time the Barbarian hits a target, he gains a cumulative bonus of +1 to strike, +3 to damage, and +1 to Spd. At every other level of experience starting at level 11 (so at levels 11, 13, and 15), the Barbarian receives an additional bonus of +1 to strike, +3 to damage, and +1 to Spd.
For example, if a Barbarian with 11 levels in Combat Skills and using this ability hits targets four times in a row, then for his fifth attack he would receive a bonus of +8 to strike, +24 to damage, and +8 to Spd. However, if his attack is dodged or parried, then he loses all of these bonuses and has to start from scratch with no bonuses on his first attack after his previous attack was dodged or parried. No matter what type of combat actions that the target may use, such as simultaneous attack or even roll with punch, impact, or fall, as long as the Barbarians's attack hit the target and it was not parried, then it counts as a hit for increasing the bonuses the Barbarian receives.

Leap

Duration: Instant
P.P.E.: 4
Description: When this ability is activated, the barbarian immediately takes a giant leap in a direction of his choice. The barbarian can jump up to 10' (3 m) across and up to 5' (1.5 m) high per level of experience with a running start or while standing still. For example, a barbarian with 8 levels in Combat Skills could jump up to 80' (24.4 m) across and up to 40' (12.2 m) high. When the barbarian lands, if he lands in a group of creatures, those creatures are magically pushed back by the force of the barbarian landing. All targets within a 5' (1.5 m) radius of where the barbarian lands are pushed back in a direction of the barbarians choice. If a creature pushed back runs into another creature that was not pushed back, both creatures must make a Maintain Balance roll of 15 or higher or be knocked down.

Leap Attack

Requires: Leap
Duration: Instant
P.P.E.: 15
Description: This ability is similar to Leap, but it does not allow the barbarian to leap as far, although it does allow the barbarian to make an attack against a target that it lands on. When this ability is activated, the barbarian immediately takes a giant leap in a direction of his choice. The barbarian can jump up to 5' (1.5 m) across per level of experience and up to 5' (1.5 m) high at level 2 and an additional +5' (1.5 m) at levels 4, 7, 10, 13, and 15 with a running start or while standing still. For example, a barbarian with 8 levels in Combat Skills could jump up to 40' (12.2 m) across and up to 15' (4.6 m) high. When the barbarian lands, if he lands in a group of creatures, he can make a single attack one of those creatures with a bonus of +5 to strike and +5 to damage. The creature he attacks and all other creatures within a 5' (1.5 m) radius of where the barbarian lands are pushed back in a direction of the barbarians choice. If a creature pushed back runs into another creature that was not pushed back, both creatures must make a Maintain Balance roll of 15 or higher or be knocked down.

Stun

Requires: Bash
Duration: Instant
Saving Throw: Save vs. spell magic
P.P.E.: 8
Description: While the barbarian is attacking, he can activate this combat skill to gain a bonus to strike and to stun the target of the attack. Unlike some abilities that require a melee attack to activate, this ability can be activated at will, but only once for each attack. When activated, the barbarian receives a bonus of +1 to strike per level of experience. If the attack hits the target, the target must make a save vs. spell magic or be stunned for 1D6 melee rounds, plus an additional melee round at levels 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15. While stunned, the targets can take no offensive actions and suffer a penalty of -6 to all defensive combat rolls. This combat skill can be used with any physical attack or hand-held weapon, but it cannot be used with a ranged or thrown weapon and it cannot be combined with any other combat skill.

Whirlwind

Requires: Bash, Concentrate, Leap, Leap Attack, and Stun
Duration: Instant
P.P.E.: 30
Description: Of the barbarian people, the first to harness the primal forces of their ancestors was the Tribe of Thunder. Seeking to emulate the power of the tornadoes that were a common sight in the late summer of their home, the Tribe of Thunder devised this combat skill and it is now available to all Barbarians. When activated, the barbarian spins incredibly fast and attacks all enemies that are within reach of the weapons they are holding, performing one attack against each creature in range and alternating between each weapon they are holding (roll to determine which weapon the barbarian is holding makes the first attack). If the barbarian is holding only one weapon, then all attacks are made with that weapon. In addition, the barbarian can move while he attacks unless he is complete surrounded by enemies. The barbarian can move 5' (1.5 m) at level 13 and an additional +5' (1.5 m) with each additional level, and the barbarian can attack any new target that becomes available after moving, but he can only attack a single target once per use of this ability.
As the barbarian makes an attack on each surrounding target, he must roll to strike each target, but because the barbarian is moving so quickly, the target of the attack can only avoid the attack, such as by dodging it, and cannot grab the barbarian or attack the barbarian instead of dodging, such as with Simultaneous Attack. Finally, the barbarian gains a bonus of +3 to strike with each attack at level 13 and an additional +1 to strike with each additional level, and the barbarian gains a penalty of -4 to damage from each attack (with a minimum damage of 1) at level 13, but gains a bonus of +3 to damage with each additional level of experience. For example, a barbarian with 14 levels in Combat Skills using this ability would gain a bonus of +4 to strike with each attack, but would have a penalty of -1 to damage with each attack.

Warcries

Battle Command

Requires: Battle Orders, Howl, Shout, and Yell
Duration: 1 melee round per level of experience
Area of Effect: 5' (1.5 m) per level of experience
Targets: Self and up to one ally per level of experience
P.P.E.: 20
Description: Similar to Battle Orders, this warcry involves the barbarian contacting his ancient ancestors, but instead of simply gaining their advice, the barbarian and his allies are partially possessed by the ancient ancestors of the barbarian. This possession is harmless and does not change a target's personality, but they gain the knowledge and experience of the barbarian's ancestors. All class abilities, hand-to-hand combat skills, spells, regular skills, and psionic powers function as if the barbarian and all affected allies that can hear the barbarian were two levels higher. This does not give access to abilities that are not already possessed, with the exception of abilities granted by hand-to-hand skills.

Battle Cry

Requires: Howl and Taunt
Duration: 1 melee round per level of experience
Area of Effect: 5' (1.5 m) per level of experience
Targets: All enemies in the area of effect
Saving Throw: Save vs. spell magic
P.P.E.: 15
Description: The barbarian can unleash a battle cry so powerful, that it unnerves all of his enemies in the area of effect. The enemies that fail their saving throw suffer the following penalties: -3 to all offensive actions against the barbarian, -4 to all damage rolls against the barbarian (to a minimum of 1 point of damage), -1 to all offensive actions against allies of the barbarian, and -2 to all damage rolls against the allies of the barbarian (to a minimum of 1 point of damage). Enemies that succeed the saving throw are still shaken by the warcry and suffer a penalty of -1 to all offensive actions against the barbarian and his allies.

Battle Orders

Requires: Shout and Yell
Duration: 1 melee round per level of experience
Area of Effect: 5' (1.5 m) per level of experience
Targets: Self and up to one ally per level of experience
P.P.E.: 15
Description: By channelling the spirits of the ancients, a barbarian allows the ancients to direct the barbarian's actions and the actions of their allies. The barbarian and all allies within the area of effect that can hear the barbarian speak gain the following bonuses: +2 to all combat rolls, +4 to all damage rolls, and increase the Spd attribute by +10.

Howl

Duration: Instant
Area of Effect: 10' (3 m) per level of experience
Targets: All enemies in the area of effect
Saving Throw: Save vs. spell magic
P.P.E.: 6
Description: When used, this warcry causes all enemies in the effected area to make a save vs. horror factor of 10 at first level. Increase horror factor by +1 at levels 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 14.

Shout

Duration: 1 melee round per level of experience
Area of Effect: 5' (1.5 m) per level of experience
Targets: Self and up to one ally per level of experience
P.P.E.: 10
Description: When this warcry is activated, the barbarian and all affected allies gain a natural Armor Rating of 10 and gain 2D6 +2 per level of experience temporary S.D.C. points. Increase the natural Armor Rating by +2 at levels 5, 10, and 15. Temporary S.D.C. points are lost before regular S.D.C. and hit points. The temporary S.D.C. is not cumulative when this warcry is used multiple times, only the highest total of temporary S.D.C. will be used for the barbarian. For example, if a barbarian had 3 points of temporary S.D.C. remaining from a previous use of this warcry and used this warcry again with a result of 12 points of temporary S.D.C., the 12 would replace the 3 remaining temporary S.D.C. points.

Taunt

Duration: 1 melee round per level of experience
Area of Effect: Up to 10' (1.5 m) per level of experience
Targets: All enemies in the area of effect
Saving Throw: Save vs. spell magic
P.P.E.: 10
Description: All enemies in the area of effect must make a save vs. spell magic. Those that fail become enraged at the barbarian and attempt to attack him for a number of melee attacks equal to the barbarian's level. They will also attack any creature or thing that is preventing them from attacking the barbarian. However, while they are under the effects of this warcry, a creature suffers the following penalties: -4 to strike, -3 to all other combat rolls, and it cannot perform defensive actions unless it is avoiding an attack from the barbarian.

War Cry

Requires: Battle Cry, Howl, Taunt, and Yell
Duration: Instant
Area of Effect: 5' (1.5 m) per level of experience
Targets: All enemies in the area of effect
Saving Throw: Save vs. spell magic
P.P.E.: 30
Description: With this ability, the barbarian unleashes an incredible roar that damages and stuns all nearby enemies. All enemies in the area of effect take 1D4 points of magical sonic damage per level of experience and are stunned for 1D4 melee rounds. Stunned targets can take no offensive actions and suffer a penalty of -3 to all defensive combat rolls. Targets that succeed on their saving throw take only half damage and are not stunned.

Yell

Duration: Instant
Area of Effect: 5' (1.5 m) per level of experience
Targets: One target
Saving Throw: Save vs. spell magic
P.P.E.: 5
Description: With this ability, the barbarian unleashes a yell that damages a single enemy. The chosen target of this warcry takes 2D6 +1 per level of experience points of sonic damage. Targets that succeed on their saving throw take only half damage.