Once upon a time, a mod of the r/UnearthedArcana subreddit got dared by one of his friends to make a penguin-based barbarian subclass.
Weirdly enough, people absolutely loved it.
So… here you go, I guess. And remember, happy feet lead to happy barbarians!
Penguin Barbarian
While it’s labeled as a subclass, this is more of a… subclass option. This is meant to be used in conjunction with the official PHB barbarian subclass, the Totem Warrior.
At the listed levels where you can choose an animal totem, you simply add the Penguin Totem to the list of available options.
Additionally, you can choose to replace the Totem Warrior’s 10th level feature with a new one inspired by the psychotic penguins from Madagascar.
Like I said, it’s weird. But I love it?
FEATURES:
- Protect your allies and huddle up for warmth! Then, shove them away! Gotta preserve that barbarian emotional distance!
- Swimming!
- And, my favorite… slide into your enemies to grapple them!
DESIGN NOTES:
- Look, I’m not even sure what the hell I was thinking. I think I originally made this at around… what, 3 am in the morning? I was dead tired because D&D had gone way too late like it always does.
- Oh, but I totally remember where Smile and Wave came from. I watched Madagascar a solid two days before I made this thing, so the inspiration is… not too subtle.
So… let me know what you think?