#variant rules

So, I have a character I play, one of my first really, that I built with this homebrew class that I found when I was but a 5e noob. Little did I know that that class was really poorly made and did not play well with the rest of the game (not to mention it was an unorganized mess). I didn’t know dandwiki was not where you want to go when you have no idea what you’re doing, either, which is the bigger reason it sucked.

Anyway, I wanted this character to function like a monk with a focus on unarmed attacks. I had heard and loved the story of a luchador themed barbarian character that only punched and grappled grappling a dragon and then “pinning them” while being suspended hundreds of feet in the air and killing them both. But I didn’t want to be a monk, because we already had a monk in the game and monks were more complicated than I was ready for. Eventually I multi-classed this character into barbarian because I thought it would be fun to punch and rage at the same time. The downside of the original homebrew was that the creator never added an extra attack ability to their class, so I was only attacking once per turn... but if I put enough levels into barbarian I could get that extra attack and all the other juicy good stuff. But the multi-class, the more I went into it, became a huge mess and hard to manage because they were already so similar. It didn’t help that the homebrew really only existed for punching power and a slight bonus to intimidation at that point.

So, I made this. A treatise of what I liked about that homebrew that can easily be stapled to the standard 5e barbarian. It’s one ability that functions similar to a monks martial arts and a feat that you can pursue (or talk to your GM and see if you can add it to your level up queue, which would be best at level 6 or 12 probably) to gain additional benefits from using unarmed attacks in combination with your primal path abilities. It could be a huge downside or a huge upside depending on how you use it.

The benefit is that you can add some style into your game play without futzing over things like brass knuckles and even pump up your power a little bit. It’s good flavor and fits better than a punching weapon because it makes ALL of your unarmed attacks better, not just your fists (because it only makes sense that you could turn a kobold into a pancake by headbutting them in a rage). It isn’t more powerful than your standard barbarian with weapons (even with the feat you will likely be doing less damage overall), but it makes the trade off viable for most games. Particularly if you take the feat, you can have a lot of fun with your barbarian without relying on finding magic weapons and armor to carry you through tough encounters.

Different types of armor tend to hold up better against different attacks. As an optional rule, use the following to alter damage based on the armor your character is wearing and the damage type. This would be in addition to Armor Class, not instead of. The damage reduction applied from this variant cannot reduce damage beyond a minimum of 1 damage. This reduction is negated if the creature has resistance to the damage type in question. For instance, a raging barbarian would have resistance to all nonmagic damage, which would overwrite their Hide Armor's reduction to bludgeoning damage.

This variant is more balanced for mid-level adventurers where this slight damage reduction would still matter (unlike in the 15-20 level range) but wouldn't be overpowered (like in the 1-5 range). This variant does require a tad of bookkeeping but since players don't change armor that often.

Remember that these resistances would apply to enemies' armor as well. Apply to creatures that don't wear armor by putting their natural armor into a category. For instance, a dinosaur or dragon might consider their scales to be Plate armor, while a Giant Toad might be considered Leather.

I paired Studded Leather and Ring Mail in with Leather and Chain Mail for those that still think they are worth including.

Padded: Bludgeoning damage and non-heavy piercing damage are reduced by 1.

Padded armor could consist of 20 to 30 layers of cloth that can help absorb impacts from arrows and bludgeoning damage, but not against heavy spears and the like.

Leather/Studded Leather: Slashing and bludgeoning damage is reduced by 1.

The padding helps resist bludgeoning blows while the hardened leather absorbs some slashing damage like a weak short of  cutting mat.

Hide: Bludgeoning damage is reduced by 2.

Hide is thick and usually padded with several layers against hard blows.

Chain Shirt: Non-heavy slashing and piercing damage is reduced by 1.

A simple chain shirt could blunt slashing damage and the flexibility of the chain could disperse piercing blows, but not against heavy weapons with lots of weight behind them.

Scale Mail: Slashing damage is reduced by 1.

The scales of this armor are effective at deflecting slashing weapons away from the body.

Breastplate: Slashing and bludgeoning damage from non-finesse weapons is reduced by 1

Breastplate prioritizes the defense of the torso and sometimes the neck for improved mobility, but leaves the outer limbs exposed for those quick enough to punish them.

Half Plate: Slashing and bludgeoning damage from non-finesse weapons is reduced by 2.

Half plate by definition didn't cover the legs for improved mobility, so someone able to easily aim for that area would deal more damage.

Chain Mail/Ring Mail: Slashing and piercing damage is reduced by 1.

Chain mail could blunt slashing damage and the flexibility of the chain could disperse piercing blows.

Splint: Slashing damage is reduced by 2.

Splint mail can ward off slashes but has gaps between the splints where there is only fabric that piercing weapons would be drawn to as they skid around the metal. Bludgeoning could harmfully bend the splints, which were mostly used on arms and legs.

Plate: Slashing and bludgeoning damage is reduced by 2.

Plate armor is excellent at defending against most melee damage, but piercing damage concentrates each hit on one point and is able to pierce the armor.

New Armor Items

Brigandine: 2000 gp, 60 lbs. This suit of armor is as effective as Splint Mail and is Heavy Armor. It is made from steel plates sewn between elaborate patterned cloth. It is mainly meant as ornamentation for nobility rather than combat. Because of this, the wearer gains advantage on CHA skill checks to either seem like nobility or to persuade or intimidate as if a noble.

Lamellar: 200 gp, 30 lbs. Lamellar is a set of metal plates strung together and worn over your regular armor. It applies a +1 bonus to AC but imposes disadvantage on all DEX-based skill checks and saving throws. You must be proficient in medium armor to wear lamellar effectively.

Padded Jack: 5 gp, 10 lbs. A coat of cloth padding that can be worn over your regular armor. It applies disadvantage to all DEX-based skill checks and saving throws, but it reduces all incoming bludgeoning and slashing damage by 1. You must be proficient in light armor to wear a padded jack effectively.

Reinforced Trapper: 45 gp, AC 15 (disadvantage on stealth). Plates of iron used to reinforce a large chain shirt. You must be proficient in heavy armor to wear a reinforced trapper effectively.

Unique/Magical Armor

Coral Armor: Uncommon. Breastplate, Half Plate, Splint, or Full Plate armor can be made with enchanted coral. Armor of this type become virtually weightless in water, granting advantage on Athletics skill checks to swim in water.

Devilhusk: Rare. A set of +1 Leather, Studded Leather, or Hide armor that is made from a barbed devil's hide. Creatures grappling someone wearing Devilhusk take 1d10 piercing damage at the start of each of their turns. The wearer also has resistance to fire damage. The wearer's AC is considered to be 10+DEX when attacked with a silvered weapon.

Electrified Armor: Rare. Any metal armor can be made into electrified armor. This armor has been enchanted to rebuke attackers with electricity. Whenever the wearer is hit by an attack from a weapon composed mostly of metal, the attacker must make a DC 13 DEX saving throw or take 2d6 lightning damage.

Ghasthide Armor: Uncommon. Leather, Studded Leather or Hide armor can be made with the flesh of a ghast. Such armor can be used once per short rest to exude an awful stench using the wearer's action. Each creature in a 20 ft. radius must make a DC 14 CON save or become poisoned for 1 minute. The wearer also gains advantage on saving throws against paralysis.

Phasing Armor: Very Rare. A set of +1 Leather or Studded Leather armor that seems to be made of a teal mist that isn't entirely too keen on staying in the shape of armor. The wearer can enter the Ethereal Plane for 1 minute a number of times each day equal to their CHA modifier. The creature can move through solid objects but if they end their turn inside of an object they take 1d10 force damage. When they return to the Material Plane, if they are inside of an object, they are transported to the nearest unoccupied space and take 1d10 force damage.

Rhinohide: Rare. Heavy armor, AC 17 (No Dex) (disadvantage on stealth) STR 16 required to wear. Whenever the wearer of a set Rhinohide Armor moves more than 20 ft. in a straight line towards an enemy, the next attack they make against that creature takes an additional 1d6 bludgeoning damage.

Rune-Circle Armor: Very Rare. A Chain Shirt, Chain Mail, or Ring Mail set of armor can be made as Rune-Circle Armor. Each individual ring is enchanted as tiny a circle of protection. The Rune-Circle armor grants the wearer advantage on saving throws against magic. The wearer also cannot be charmed, frightened, or possessed by fiends, celestials, elementals, fey, aberrations, or undead.

Silenced Armor: Rare. A set of silenced armor grants advantage on Stealth skill checks, even if it would normally impose disadvantage on such checks. Any armor can be enchanted to become Silenced Armor.

Snailshell Carapace: Very Rare. This pearlescent Scale Mail armor is composed of magically treated shell from a Flail Snail and has an affinity for magic energy. Succeeding at a saving throw against a non-cantrip spell causes the wearer to gain 1d6 temporary hit points per level of the spell. The temporary hit points fade after 1 minute.

Stone Armor: Rare. +1 Breastplate, Half Plate, and Full Plate can be made with stone shaped by magic. This armor allows the wearer to cast Meld into Stone once per day. The wearer becomes immune to the petrified condition.

A Note on Studded Leather and Ring Mail Armor

In short, this armor didn't exist. It really only exists as a numeric increment in the game to provide more options for armor.

Adding nonessential studs to leather doesn't enhance its ability to deflect attacks, and instead might even help catch slashing weapons or become studded in the wearer's skin from a bludgeoning weapon. Studs only exist for ornamentation and historically only had the function of holding leather armor pieces together.

Ring mail is extremely rare in history and many historians believe it was either used beneath a full set of armor or is simply a misinterpretation of chain mail. In theory, it only seems only effective at deflecting slashing and bludgeoning attacks as it is literally a bunch of giant rings that don't interlock, leaving plenty of room to guide an arrow or pike right on through. It certainly doesn't earn the right to exist as a heavy armor in D&D.

Radiation is a harmful energy that can affect the health of most creatures. For the sake of resistances and vulnerabilities, radiation counts as both poison and necrotic damage. Radiation can occur in many circumstances. Typically by weather or artificial sources. Whenever a creature takes radiation damage, the amount of hit points lost are considered irradiated. An irradiated hit point requires twice as much as a regular hit point to be regained, an irradiated hit point that only comes under the effects of 1 hit point regained is no longer considered irradiated.

Radiation Sickness Radiation sickness is a side effect of overexposure to radiation. Whenever one has a certain amount of their hit point maximum irradiated, they come under a level of exhaustion. This exhaustion cannot be removed until they have no affected hit points or a number of affected hit points less than the current requirements to gain that level of exhaustion from radiation.

1/10 hit point maximum: 1 Level

⅛ hit point maximum: 2 Levels ⅙ hit point maximum: 3 Levels

¼ hit point maximum: 4 Levels ½ hit point maximum: 5 Levels

¾ hit point maximum: 6 Levels

Adventuring Equipment

Gas Mask. The gas mask is a full face mask equip with goggles and air filters to keep one from inhaling toxic substances. While worn you are immune to poison damage and the poisoned condition but gain a disadvantage on all perception checks, cannot use the second range increment of ranged and thrown weapons and it requires a DC 18 perception check to discern anything you say verbally. Cost: 10 gp

Purifying Inhaler. This inhaler is used to rid people of the symptoms of radiation. When used as an action, it cleans 2d8 irradiated hit points. Cost: 50 gp

Magical Items

Gas Mask of Replenishment

Very Rare Requires Attunement

While this gas mask is worn, if you take damage from radiation, you instead regain hit points equal to half the radiation damage you would take. If you take 10 points of radiation damage you can instead decide to heal one disease or condition. The filter on this gas mask lasts for 4 hours and fills up enough for another 1d4 hours at dawn. (The maximum duration of usage being stored being 4 hours)

Nuked Weapon

Uncommon

This weapon has a -1 to attack and weapon damage rolls that cannot be repaired but deals an additional 1d4 radiation damage

Super nuked weapon

Uncommon

This weapon has a -2 to attack and weapon damage rolls that cannot be repaired but deals an additional 1d8 radiation damage

Ultra nuked weapon

Rare