Axe Beak Lumberjack | 5E 2014

Barbarian Subclass

Comments from the Finger: Whatever you’re currently thinking, this subclass is dumber than that.

Axe Beak Lumberjack

The heft and swing of an axe are second-nature to barbarians of every stripe, but only lumberjacks unlock the axe’s true potential. The prospect of felling trees has driven lumberjacks to ever more cumbersome and specialized axes, but it took the mad ingenuity of a barbarian to pick up and swing an axe beak.

A terrestrial bird similar to an ostrich, the axe beak’s moniker comes from its distinctive wedge beak. Barbarians that breed and train axe beaks find excellent mounts and ferocious, feathered weapons with which to fell their foes.

Sidebar: Acquiring Axe Beaks
Though axe beaks are uncommon mounts, they are nonetheless sold by exotic beast dealers for 100 gp.

Lumberjack

Starting when you choose this path at 3rd level, you gain proficiency in carpenter’s tools and any ability check you make to fell trees, split logs, or chop anything else with an axe.

Bird Raider

Also at 3rd level, you gain proficiency in the Animal Handling skill, and you have advantage on Wisdom (Animal Handling) checks you make to befriend and control axe beaks. If you finish a long rest with a trained axe beak, the axe beak adds twice your barbarian level to its hit point maximum.

Additionally, while you’re raging, you can swing an axe beak within 5 feet of you as a weapon. If the axe beak isn’t trained by you, you must succeed on a contested Strength (Athletics) check to seize the axe beak as a weapon. The axe beak counts as a heavy, two-handed martial melee weapon that deals 2d8 slashing damage on a hit. After attacking with the axe beak, it returns to its space or any other unoccupied space of your choice within your reach.

At 6th level, attacks using an axe beak count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.

Mounted Master

By 6th level, you and your bird companion are inseparable in combat, due largely to how tightly you hold it. You gain the following benefits:

• Attacks of opportunity made against your mount have disadvantage.
• If your mount is subjected to an effect that allows it to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, it instead takes no damage if it succeeds on the saving throw, and only half damage if it fails.
• Whenever you and your mount take a short rest, your mount regains all of its hit points.

Tomahawk Neck

Beginning at 10th level, when you make an attack with an axe beak and miss, you can choose for the axe beak to use its reaction to repeat the attack against the same target. On a hit, it deals 1d8 + your Strength modifier slashing damage.

Felling Blow

By 14th level, you and your axe beak can fell foes like trees. If you deal damage to a creature using your axe beak and the creature’s remaining hit points are lower than the damage you dealt to it with that attack, the creature instead drops to 0 hit points. You can then use your bonus action to move up to half your movement speed and make a melee weapon attack.