Path of the Battlerager Barbarian : D&D 5e Subclass Review

Featured art for this Battlerager Barbarian article is “Battlerager” by nerdhaven. Creative Commons License.
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The Path of the Battlerager Barbarian arrived in the Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide. Like many subclasses introduced in that sourcebook, it’s noticeably underpowered, especially compared to newer subclasses introduced in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything and Xanathar’s Guide to Everything.

In this review, I’ll take a gander at the Battlerager features and how these synergize with the Barbarian class features, plus assess suitable feats, races (Dwarf or Dwarf!), and multiclass options. Finally, I’ll flesh out these considerations into character concepts.

As always, these are just my thoughts. If you have any other ideas about the Battlerager, I’d love to hear about them in the comments below!

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Battlerager Prerequisites – 1st Level

The only race that can take the Path of the Battlerager is the Dwarf, which will make the race selection part relatively straightforward! You need to take that into account if you plan to choose this Path at level 3. This is the only remaining subclass with a race prerequisite (Bladesingers no longer have to be Elves). I anticipate it will get updated at some point. As the source material says, DMs can lift this racial restriction so you can pick another race in the Forgotten Realms. It’d be fun to play as a Centaur raised by Dwarves.

Apparently, Battleragers are known as Kuldjargh, which translates to ‘Axe Idiot’ in Dwarvish. This title indicates a Dwarf follows the Dwarven gods of war.

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Battlerager Armor – 3rd Level

This feature allows you to use spiked armor as a weapon. This sounds great, but there are a couple of potential downsides:

• You must obtain spiked armor.
• Spiked armor is not exceptional armor. It is medium armor with a base AC of 14. It can be improved by up to a +2 bonus with Dex (14 Dex for maximum bonus).

Both of these downsides can potentially be overcome with the help of your DM. A quest to find some spiked armor could be fun. Your armor may have been handed down the family line. You could take proficiency in Smith’s Tools and make some yourself. With help from your DM, you can upgrade your armor to magical armor later in your campaign.

As a side note – it’s also exceedingly unusual for a subclass to be dependent on a specific item. I can’t think of any others so hindered.

Assuming you can actually get hold of the necessary item – what does this wondrous item provide? 

• While you rage you can make a bonus action melee weapon attack with your armor spikes. Range 5ft, 1d4 piercing damage, Strength for hit and damage rolls.
• When you successfully grapple a creature (using the special Grapple Attack action) you do 3 piercing damage. This doesn’t require Rage.

Disappointing Start?

The numbers here are slightly underwhelming; however, there are few plus points.

Firstly, the bonus action attack doesn’t require any previous action. If you look at some of the other bonus action attack options such as the Polearm Master Feat, two-weapon fighting, or Great Weapon Master Feat, all of these allow bonus action attacks only after an attack from the main weapon. You don’t even need to attack at all to trigger the Battlerager bonus action attack. You could use the Dodge or Dash action instead – or Grapple or Shove – and still trigger the bonus action.

Barbarians get advantage on Strength checks while raging and grappling and shoving both involve contested Strength (Athletics) checks, so grappling seems an interesting option for the Battlerager. You get to both do a little damage when the grapple initiates and get a bonus action attack (assuming you are raging as well).

However, if you look at the bigger picture, the Totem Warrior can get resistance to all damage (except psychic) while raging at this level, so Battlerager Armor is lackluster compared to that.

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Reckless Abandon – 6th Level

With a slightly ‘meh’ level-three ability, you’d expect your level 6 ability to rock. Alas, poor Yorick.

• You gain temporary HP equal to your Constitution modifier when you start your Reckless Attack while raging. If there are any left after your Rage ends they vanish.

You can start Reckless Attacking each turn for advantage on every attack, but it has the notable downside of giving all enemies advantage on their attacks against you in return. Temp HP doesn’t stack, so (while both raging and attacking recklessly) with 14 Constitution, you can start every turn with 2 temp HP, and at level 20 with 24 Constitution, it’s 7 temp HP.

It’s a bit of mitigation for the downside of Reckless Attack. It’s a shame you only get it while you are Raging. You don’t get a lot of temp HP. By way of comparison, the new Twilight Cleric from Tasha’s at level 6 will provide 7 to 12 temp HP to every friendly creature within 30 feet using their Twilight Sanctuary channel divinity.

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Battlerager Charge – 11th Level

You can Dash as a bonus action while raging. Given that Barbarians can lose their Rage if they don’t attack another creature or take damage in a turn, this is not a bad feature. It does clash a bit with the Battlerager Armor bonus action.

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Spiked Retribution – 14th Level

An attacker within five feet who hits you will suffer three piercing damage in retaliation from your spiked armor. This occurs if you are wearing it, are raging, and are not incapacitated.

Honestly, you could have got this in addition to your other features at 3rd level (along with a free suit of +1 spiked armor), and nobody would object.

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Subclass Summary

This subclass offers few features, and what you get isn’t much. None of the Battlerager features are actively detrimental, so at least it beats the Berserker Barbarian.

All the subclass features are tied to Rage, except the extra damage on a successful grapple (which does need spiked armor). If you run out of Rages, you basically don’t have a subclass. If you don’t have your spiked armor (ambushed while sleeping?), you have half a subclass.

I still think this subclass could do with some serious care and attention, which may become the subject of a future article! Revising underpowered subclasses is good fun.

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Feat Options

Just for once, you might be able to skip Polearm Master. You already have a reliable bonus action attack (again, assuming you have the armor!), so just taking Great Weapon Master would probably be more efficient. Dwarves are medium-size creatures, so they wield heavy weapons without penalties.

Sentinel instead of (or in addition to) Great Weapon Master would also be a great pickup. You can add some battlefield control and protect your spellcasters.

Shield Master is also not all that attractive as its bonus action shove ability contends with one of the few subclass features you have. You might be able to persuade your DM to create a homebrew spiked shield and do some damage with it.

Fighting Initiate affords you a fighting style from the Fighter – Unarmed Fighting Style might be an interesting option. This allows 1d8 unarmed strikes (if not wielding weapons or a shield), and at the start of each turn, you can do an extra 1d4 damage to any creature grappled by you.

Dwarven Fortitude doesn’t often get recommended, but you can +1 to Constitution and expend 1 hit die to gain that hit die + Constitution modifier HP while using the Dodge action. Given that you can still use your spiked armor bonus action attack while dodging, this might be situationally useful.

Skill Expert or Prodigy could provide expertise in Athletics for grapples without needing a multiclass dip.

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Race Options

You can be a Dwarf – Hill, Mountain, or Duergar. Hill Dwarf for an extra HP per level, Mountain Dwarf for an extra +1 to a starting ability, Duergar for Sunlight Sensitivity, Superior Darkvision, and a few spells.

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Multiclassing

A level of Forge Domain Cleric or a couple of levels of Artificer for the infusions would provide a way to pick up some +1 spiked armor. You could also pay a smith in town to do the same.

One level of Rogue or Ranger could provide expertise in Athletics for grapples.

Adding a couple of levels of Fighter for a Fighting Style, Second Wind, and (most importantly) Action Surge is always a great option for Barbarians. Reaching level three with a Fighter would allow you to take a Fighter subclass like the Rune Knight. My grappler concept could benefit from the increased size of a Rune Knight.

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Build Ideas

I have two different build ideas for a Battlerager Barbarian.

Classic: Great Weapon Master + Sentinel + bonus action attack using spiked armor.

• The Greataxe idiot. Simple, effective, powerful.

Grappler: Unarmed Fighting Style (Feat or dip), Expertise in Athletics (Feat or dip)

• You can’t hit a creature you have grappled with a heavy weapon – all heavy weapons are two handers and one of your hands is busy grappling.
• On the other hand (pun intended), you don’t need a free hand to hit a creature with an unarmed strike – you can use headbutts and kicks.
• You can grapple two creatures if both your hands are otherwise free. And then kick and headbutt both of them to death with your 1d8 unarmed strikes along with grapple damage bonuses from spiked armor and Unarmed Fighting Style and bonus action spiked armor attacks.
• It’s not a lot, but it’s what I got!

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Summary

That wraps up my review of the Path of the Battlerager! In summary, there’s not much going on power-wise with the Battlerager features. The dependency of features on equipment is a very odd game design, and this subclass definitely needs some love! Please cast Message in the comments either here or on YouTube if you have any questions or suggestions!