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Primal Path

Comments from the Finger: The first of four modern subclasses for Insomnia. Contemporary-style barbarians are fairly common in pop culture, especially in action movies. This one should evoke some of those Logan vibes to hammer the design home.

Barbarians that walk the Path of the Drifter call nowhere home. Propelled by grief, betrayal, or a sense of unfettered freedom, these barbarians drift between seedy dive bars and cheap motels, never placing down roots or making too many friends. They work best alone, or so they like to claim.

These barbarians conceal a well of rage just under the surface, erupting forth to meet any threat or provocation. For some, this rage serves as a justification to wander, as their hot temper can quickly erode relationships. For others, rage serves as a tool for vengeance or protecting the defenseless, as their journey propels them down one endless vendetta after another.

Barfighter

When you choose this path at 3rd level, you are proficient with improvised weapons and your unarmed strikes use a d6 for damage.

Lone Wolf

Also by 3rd level, you work better alone. When a creature makes an attack roll against you while you are raging and no friendly creatures are within 5 feet of you, you can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on that attack roll.

Reckless Outburst

Beginning at 6th level, once on each of your turns, when you hit a creature with a Reckless Attack and deal damage, you can choose to reroll the damage die and deal an extra 1d6 damage to the creature. You must use the new roll of the damage die, even if it is lower. 

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.

Never Outnumbered

By 10th level, you excel at fighting entire groups. When a creature hits you with an attack, you gain a +4 bonus to AC against all subsequent attacks made by that creature for the rest of the turn.

Additionally, other creatures don’t gain advantage on attack rolls against you as a result of the Ambusher, Blood Frenzy, Grappler, or Pack Tactics traits, nor do they gain advantage as a result of the Help action. Furthermore, circumstances such as enemies flanking or surrounding you don’t grant other creatures advantage on attack rolls against you.

Guts and Grit

Beginning at 14th level, when you use your Lone Wolf feature to impose disadvantage on an attack roll, you can also roll a d12. If the attack hits you, you reduce the damage taken by the amount rolled. If the attack misses, you gain a bonus equal to the number rolled to the next damage roll you make before the end of your next turn.

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