5e Path of the Beast - Barbarian Subclasss - Baldur's Gate 3

Baldur's Gate 3

5e Path of the Beast - Barbarian Subclasss

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Sumradagnoth

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DISCLAIMER

Bringing Path of the Beast to BG3 is problematic because the game rules do not match tabletop in many ways - one of these ways fundamentally impacts the Beast mechanics: **BG3 treats Natural Attacks as Unarmed Attacks, and Unarmed Attacks are not considered Weapon Attacks. BG3 also expects Weapons to be held.**This rule change from tabletop is reflected throughout many base game functions which control conditions on many class abilities (example: Paladin Smite). RAW, the Beast Barbarian's natural attacks are both Natural Weapons *and* Simple Melee Weapons which are a part of your body and not held. To make this work RAW, it would require rewriting numerous Spells/Abilities to account for the Beast Barbarian's attacks - not a great option. You can sort of trick the game into thinking the Unarmed Attack is a Weapon Attack, but it has several adverse reactions (example: your sword attack bonuses now applying to your claws). So this subclass has been created with the Beast's natural attacks only counting as Unarmed Attacks. So, many things you can do with them RAW will not work. Conversely, things in the game specific to Unarmed Attacks will work. It is a trade off and a concession I had to make to get this released. I don't love it, but it is what it is. NOTE: Reckless Attack *has* been modified to work with their natural attacks, only for the Beast Barbarian, since it is a part of the Barbarian kit.
I am not a 3D modeler. All of the Beast Form abilities are represented through carefully selected VFX and animations to add a level of immersion. I believe very little of the feel of the subclass has been lost by doing this - if I felt it was a poor playing experience, I would have canned the entire mod. Opinion.

******GENERAL NOTES******* This was tested primarily with no other mods loaded but the requirements I listed. I have played using the subclass with my normal loadout (~100 mods) with no issues, but YMMV.

This mod supports level progression through level 20 (use with UnlockLevelCurve)
This mod intends to be as faithful to 5e RAW as I can get it, because that is my preference, and I likely will not be deviating from this. Where I have made exceptions (due to game limitations or QoL) they are noted below.
There WILL be bugs after initial release (hopefully not many). Please use the Bug reports and I will do my best to fix them quickly, as I always do.

Path Of The Beast
Barbarians who walk the Path of the Beast draw their rage from a bestial spark burning within their souls. That beast bursts forth in the throes of rage, physically transforming the barbarian.
Such a barbarian might be inhabited by a primal spirit or be descended from shape-shifters.

Source: Tasha's Cauldron of Everything

Form of the Beast
Starting when you choose this path at 3rd level, when you enter your rage, you can transform, revealing the bestial power within you. Until the rage ends, you manifest a natural weapon. It counts as a simple melee weapon for you, and you add your Strength modifier to the attack and damage rolls when you attack with it, as normal.
You choose the weapon’s form each time you rage:
Bite. Your mouth transforms into a bestial muzzle or great mandibles (your choice). It deals 1d8 piercing damage on a hit. Once on each of your turns when you damage a creature with this bite, you regain a number of hit points equal to your proficiency bonus, provided you have less than half your hit points when you hit.
Claws. Each of your hands transforms into a claw, which you can use as a weapon if it’s empty. It deals 1d6 slashing damage on a hit. Once on each of your turns when you attack with a claw using the Attack action, you can make one additional claw attack as part of the same action.
Tail. You grow a lashing, spiny tail, which deals 1d8 piercing damage on a hit and has the reach property. If a creature you can see within 10 feet of you hits you with an attack roll, you can use your reaction to swipe your tail and roll a d8, applying a bonus to your AC equal to the number rolled, potentially causing the attack to miss you.

IMPLEMENTATION: Rules as Written.

IMPORTANT NOTES: To get the attacks to work with the BG3 Unarmed Attack buffs, I had to do some tricky things. In the combat log, you will notice a 0 damage entry for every attack - this is a safeguard against the various Unarmed Damage scaling features from overwriting the Beast Form attack damage dice and damage type. The extra Claw Attack is tied to your current Attack Action. If you have additional Action points (like from Haste), and you use them, you will lose the Extra Attack because you began a new Attack Action. You must have your main hand free in both weapon sets or the Claw attack will not highlight on the hotbar (RAW). The Tail will not be visible outside of Attack and Reaction animations. You can make Opportunity Attacks with these - set your default Opportunity Attack Reaction to "Ask" so you have a choice of which to use.

KNOWN ISSUES: The Tail (since it isn't a weapon) can't have the Reach property, so the Opportunity Attack range is 5 feet (normal Attacks and the defensive swipe Reaction with the Tail work at Reach range).

Bestial Soul*Beginning at 6th level, the feral power within you increases, causing the natural weapons of your Form of the Beast to count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.
You can also alter your form to help you adapt to your surroundings. When you finish a short or long rest, choose one of the following benefits, which lasts until you finish a short or long rest:

You gain a swimming speed equal to your walking speed, and you can breathe underwater.

You gain a climbing speed equal to your walking speed, and you can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check.

When you jump, you can make a Strength (Athletics) check and extend your jump by a number of feet equal to the check’s total. You can make this special check only once per turn.*

IMPLEMENTATION: Rules as Written for counting as magical, and for the duration of the chosen benefit. Benefits have been modified to fit the game. They are not as strong as the Wildheart Animal Aspects, but you can switch between them on Short Rests. It feels balanced.

SWIM: Your speed increases in water surfaces.
CLIMB: You can Dash through difficult terrain without being slowed.
JUMP: Your Jump distance is increased.

Infectious Fury*At 10th level, when you hit a creature with your natural weapons while you are raging, the beast within you can curse your target with rabid fury. The target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw (DC equal to 8 + your Constitution modifier + your proficiency bonus) or suffer one of the following effects (your choice):

The target must use its reaction to make a melee attack against another creature of your choice that you can see.

Target takes 2d12 psychic damage.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.*

IMPLEMENTATION: Rules as Written. You get two reactions to choose from. Pay attention to the hotbar for the Rabid Attack option. Targets within range (melee RAW) for the Rabid Attack will be highlighted.

KNOWN ISSUES: The combat log may say the Beast Barbarian made the Saving Throw. This is wrong, and the Save is actually made by the target.

Call the HuntAt 14th level, the beast within you grows so powerful that you can spread its ferocity to others and gain resilience from them joining your hunt. When you enter your rage, you can choose a number of other willing creatures you can see within 30 feet of you equal to your Constitution modifier (minimum of one creature). You gain 5 temporary hit points for each creature that accepts this feature. Until the rage ends, the chosen creatures can use the following benefit once on each of their turns: when the creature hits a target with an attack roll and deals damage to it, the creature can roll a d6 and gain a bonus to the damage equal to the number rolled.
You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

IMPLEMENTATION: Rules as Written.

SPECIAL THANKS AND CREDITS: juumeijin and drkekyll for helping troubleshoot some issues during the mod creation.