Path of the Skald (Barbarian Subtype)

[Demon Tongue]

Warrior-poets, tribal drum-masters, and fearless commanders who lead from the front and live the stories they later tell, skalds are bards who have mastered the art of war and weaponry alongside their music and magic. Direct, bold, and strong, skalds master turning their force of personality into their companions' force of arms. You gain proficiency with one instrument and gain that instrument.

Spellcasting:
Same as Eldritch Knight expect you use bard spells instead of wizard and you use Charisma instead of Intelligence.

Song of Rage:
Starting at 3rd level, whenever you rage instead you can play a song of rage and anyone of your choice within 30 feet of you rages.

Controlled Rage:
Starting at 6th level, You can cast spells and concentrate on them while raging.

Battlecaster:
Starting at 10th level, whenever you cast a spell or cantrip with a casting time of one action, you may make one weapon attack as a bonus action.

Self-Inspired Rage:
Starting at 14th level, whenever you play a song of rage, you also rage.


Open to feedback :smallsmile:

[Arkhios]

A few things come to mind.

Firstly, I'm not sure if this is necessary sub-class, as Bards belonging to the College of Valor are downright depicted as skalds. But ignore my self-righteous rambling on that issue. It's a matter of preference :)

Now, onto the matter of mechanics:

Spellcasting: I'd have skalds use charisma instead of intelligence since they are "bards".

Song of Rage: Spreading a full rage to practically unlimited targets is too strong. I'd cut it to half of the skald's own bonus to damage. Not sure if resistance to damage is a good thing to share on everyone, but advantage on strength checks and saving throws could be shared.

[Demon Tongue]

A few things come to mind.

Firstly, I'm not sure if this is necessary sub-class, as Bards belonging to the College of Valor are downright depicted as skalds. But ignore my self-righteous rambling on that issue. It's a matter of preference :)

Now, onto the matter of mechanics:

Spellcasting: I'd have skalds use charisma instead of intelligence since they are "bards".

Song of Rage: Spreading a full rage to practically unlimited targets is too strong. I'd cut it to half of the skald's own bonus to damage. Not sure if resistance to damage is a good thing to share on everyone, but advantage on strength checks and saving throws could be shared.

Thanks for the quick feedback. The spellcasting ability was changed b/c it was always meant to use Charisma. I will consider how to balance the song of rage more. Please check out my other homebrews!

[Arkhios]

Just had an idea, taking precedent from druid's wild shape:

at 6th level you could maintain a concentration but not cast spells while raging.

In general, ability to rage and cast spells simultaneously is pretty strong. Being able to concentrate on spells already active would be a big bonus as well.

About the battlecaster, I don't think it's good design to make preassumptions about a multiclass or abilities that are from another class, such as bardic performance (which doesn't even exist as 5th Edition Bard features); as it stands right now, none of the Primal Path features are specifically described as bardic performances, so it refers to a non-existent feature. However, since Song of Rage is the closest equivalent for such an ability, and requires no action to activate, it feels odd to give a bonus attack just for the convenience, when the other triggering abilities require an action.
(I'm fairly sure you took inspiration for "Barbaric Skald" from Pathfinder, and it's alright. Just keep in mind that 5th Edition is not Pathfinder nor is it straightforwardly comparable; their action economies are much more different from each other so it should be read and understood carefully.)
Allowing this bonus action from casting of a spell or a cantrip not limited to those of a bard is a more subtle way to say that "yes, you can multiclass and be able to use this, but it isn't neccessary."

My suggestion would be like this:
Battlecaster:
Starting at 10th level, whenever you cast a spell or cantrip with a casting time of one action, you may make one weapon attack as a bonus action.

[Demon Tongue]

Just had an idea, taking precedent from druid's wild shape:

at 6th level you could maintain a concentration but not cast spells while raging.

In general, ability to rage and cast spells simultaneously is pretty strong. Being able to concentrate on spells already active would be a big bonus as well.

About the battlecaster, I don't think it's good design to make preassumptions about a multiclass or abilities that are from another class, such as bardic performance (which doesn't even exist as 5th Edition Bard features); as it stands right now, none of the Primal Path features are specifically described as bardic performances, so it refers to a non-existent feature. However, since Song of Rage is the closest equivalent for such an ability, and requires no action to activate, it feels odd to give a bonus attack just for the convenience, when the other triggering abilities require an action.
(I'm fairly sure you took inspiration for "Barbaric Skald" from Pathfinder, and it's alright. Just keep in mind that 5th Edition is not Pathfinder nor is it straightforwardly comparable; their action economies are much more different from each other so it should be read and understood carefully.)
Allowing this bonus action from casting of a spell or a cantrip not limited to those of a bard is a more subtle way to say that "yes, you can multiclass and be able to use this, but it isn't neccessary."

My suggestion would be like this:
Battlecaster:
Starting at 10th level, whenever you cast a spell or cantrip with a casting time of one action, you may make one weapon attack as a bonus action.

Yes, I did take inspiration from the Skald class of Pathfinder. I loved it so I wanted it to be in 5e. So I did the best I can. I like the suggestion to Battlecaster and I will accept the edit.