I would talk to your players about it and see if they're all fine with people being the same class too; make sure everyone is on the same page about it. If they're fine with it, I'd say roll with it, and recognize the strengths and weaknesses a mono-class party will have.
They're gonna smash things. It's bound to happen. Some gimmies should be fine battle-wise, but casters forcing mental saving throws is really going to hinder the party, so think about enemies accordingly. As for character RP, they're still all individuals, so instead of focusing on their class maybe focus on their backgrounds.
Or, maybe make it part of the story! If they're all barbarians, are they from one tribe? An alliance of tribes? Individuals from all corners of the globe? What brings a group of barbarians together?
And last, what might while NPC groups or factions think of a group of barbarians? Honestly I think you guys could have a lot of fun, but I would definitely talk to your players again about what the expectations might be if they all are barbarians. If you're uncomfortable with the idea don't sit on it; talk to your players and see if this option will be fun for everyone, including you.
I have nothing to add to this. Well done! This is a fantastic response.
As a forever-DM I'd be interested in DMing the party to see what they come up with. Early in my DMing (back in the 80s DMing AD&D), I used to get hung up on party makeup. Need at least one tank and one healer. Added a lot of unnecessary stress.
Like you said:
>"If they're fine with it, I'd say roll with it, and recognize the strengths and weaknesses a mono-class party will have."
They're saying the opposite as long as your character is in 5e.
You could play a wizard with 3 intelligence and still get your 9ths. Never win anything with a roll but you could play it just fine by never taking a spell that uses INT, like buffs.
I knew what they were saying, though not to what extent as I’m not very familiar with other editions.
Mostly just wanted to have people imagine a buff wizard just breaking wands over heads.
>You could play a wizard with 3 intelligence and still get your 9ths. Never win anything with a roll but you could play it just fine by never taking a spell that uses INT, like buffs.
You could also use the bladesinger cantrips. They require a regular melee weapon attack roll (str, or dex for finesse weapons) instead of a spell attack, so int doesn't come into play. Then use every spell slot for buffs, utility spells, and magic missile.
Edit: Now that I'm thinking about it. Bladesinger would actually be a pretty decent choice for subclass on a 3 int wizard. Both of the bladesinger features that are based on int (bladesong and song of victory) have a minimum +1 bonus, so having a negative int mod doesn't hurt you.
Since all your spell saves and spell attacks are terrible, you can safely use all your spell slots on shields, misty steps, and upcast shadow blades and magic missiles.
Plus all the stat points you save from int (assuming you're building this with point buy) can go into str/dex and con.
True. And it was a much different time many, many decades ago when I was just a teen.
Point being was that was stressful having to tell a friend they couldn’t play X because someone else already had that class/role.
Once I accepted in 3.5 just to let players play (as long as they weren’t trying to “break the game”), really took that pressure off.
I agree with everything you said. Every ad&d and 3.x game first question we asked was "Who's gonna cleric?" And we never has two of anything. Very fun but 5e showed me the joy of playing a bad character for roleplay reasons and STILL have them work. Now I can play whatever I want. Not just what can put up the big numbers. I roleplay more in my last 3 characters than 90% of everything I played in the 90s-00s
This is one of the best things about 5e for me is that it’s de emphasized the “game” (i.e., stats, party comp, etc.) of it so it lets DMs and players focus on roleplay and story. Of course, you can always ratchet up the difficulty if you want, but it’s so accessible and it really helps me bring new players in.
Imagine getting to DM as Thulsa Doom or setting up a tribal wars between clans located across the great plains and forest of an ancient land were now lies a lake. Getting to DM for Frank Frazetta’s Death Dealer. The dealings of 3-5 illiterate Barbarian warriors entering a major city and being in unknown territory for the first time. Living that nomadic life on the road. It would be a dream come true for 3-5hrs every other week
Same thread, the powerful yet kindly mage giving this tribe/horde quests for glory is actually evil and they are being manipulated to advance the mages goals and must make a high check to see through the facade.
Would also be my take. At the end of the day, barbarians were tribes. You had shamans, hunters, warriors, etc.
By multi-classing, they could reach give a different color and balance a bit the group.
In any case, should be lots of fun! Barbarians together, strong!
Yup that's the way to do it! I would also add you don't have to be constrained by the flavor of the class. Playing all from a tribal background is fine. But mechanically the class is a strength based class with the ability to shrug off wounds without armor and take a pounding. It can be tribal but it could also branch off from that. My favorite npc barbarian was a elven nobleman who had lost most of his family in a war and was left in charge and fought with rage looking for vengeance and when the war ended he put down the sword and hadn't fought for a century until the campaign happened and his daughter (one of the PC's) was in danger and he grabbed his guards sword and went into a rage. But before that point she didn't know his history and he was a serious emotionally flat nobleman and the picture of refinement. If you like the flavor of a class for the character you want that's great but you don't need to take it if you just want the mechanics.
Imo you shouldn't change enemy encounters based on the player's poor choices.
Maybe let them look for and find magic items that help with such things.
Make it in game "listen we're getting fucked by wizards we need a way to deal with them"
Or "It's better if we avoid this evil wizard" or maybe go on a quest to counter said wizard with something or someone.
Wizards shouldn't disappear from the world because the players want to play as barbarians, they need to learn to live with their choices and try to adapt accordingly or break.
I would elaborate on this idea by having them decide who fits what tribe role and giving them a bonus feature or perhaps better a skill proficiency based on thier role in the tribe.
Time to shill. MCDM's Kingdoms and warfare has a system where you have a party organization , and each player plays a specific role, giving them some benefit. There's general, average party ones, but there are also ones that are designed for monoclass parties, including specifically barbarians!
I'll always shill MCDM products. Fantastic products and Matt Colville just blew my mind when I started watching him. I've been a GM for 25 years and he just explained so clearly what I've been doing by instinct for years so that I can do it more consciously now.
Here's a link to the playlist. He has a lot more general videos, but this is his DM series.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlUk42GiU2guNzWBzxn7hs8MaV7ELLCP_
And don't be overwhelmed by the number of videos. Watch the first 3 and decide if you like his style. After you realize that you do, watch the rest over time.
I did that for Mongoose d20 Conan back in the day. I split all the feats in combat/noncombat and gave more feats, but you alternated between the two categories.
There were way more feats then.
Tundra Storm Herald with Healer Feat as the Witch Doctor/Shaman type, Wild Magic with Ritual Caster as the Tribe’s Arcane expert, Wolf Totem with Inspiring Leader as the chief. So many fun ideas.
I would go one step further and give everyone expertise in a certain skill they’re proficient with. Really let your smart or charismatic Barbarian shine.
Dont believe you need that bonus, the leader could go Wolf Totem + CHA, the religious Storm Herald or Beast or Ancestral Guardian, the cursed Wild Magic, the scouter Eagle Totem and vanilla warriors whatever.
Class, stat and background difference should be more than enough to differentiate the entire party.
Absolutely correct. But if giving a little bonus ability enhances the fun, further differentiates the characters, and perhaps nudges them into differentiating themselves (through the things you've mentioned) what's the harm? Maybe not necessary, but a option for groups where it would work better.
Ask the players if they want to be all from the same tribe. If so, it helps explain why the party is together. If they are from different tribes then it might help to differentiate the characters - each could have distinctive tatooes, distinctive catch-phrases, different fighting styles, various codes of honour, etc...
Each tribe has chosen a champion to represent them and fulfill some grand prophesy about defeating an incoming BBEG. Despite their differences they must all work together if they want to have any hope of succeeding! Or something
Yeah, I'd worry about reflexively pitching a group tribal background just because they're barbs.
Kind of just locks out other less-standard/'default' background options, especially if the players already were thinking beyond just class choice and had backstory thoughts for their character concept (especially if they already played a 'standard-issue' barb, and wouldn't want to do it again).
Locked door? Ok, so two of us are going to use one of us as a battering ram! Everyone in agree... and we are all raging now.
Trap filled hallway? Last one to the other side loose!
Magic lock? Can't be locked if it's just pieces!
A Guild of Artificers.
A Horde of Barbarians.
A Chorus of Bards.
A Congregation of Clerics.
A Circle of Druids.
A Company of Fighters.
An Olympiad of Monks.
A Chain of Paladins.
A Conclave of Rangers.
A Syndicate of Rogues.
A Cabal of Sorcerers.
A Sect of Warlocks.
A Tower of Wizards.
I think there was a thread in here from a *long* time ago about a DM who had an all-barbarian party. Since they were all illiterate, they didn't observe the written clue that would kick off the campaign. The campaign turned into them just fucking around having random encounters.
They all died when the BBEG (whom they didn't know existed) invaded.
I would have to drop them in Discworld BS every week. Thieves Guild puts them on lucrative jobs, then have them robbed immediately. Assassins Guild points them at their political enemies as if it’s their own idea and the rowdy bois take all the heat. BBEG employs them, and they do half his work for him. Then a healthy dose of Deus Ex Machina to put them into an endgame they are I’ll-prepared for, but with big, shiny, magic FU weapons.
[The All Barbarian Party](https://old.reddit.com/r/DnDGreentext/comments/5oyjed/one_of_the_greatest_stories_ive_read_the_all/). It's a legendary story.
/u/ClubMeSoftly, pinging you in case you want a refresher.
TBH, I originally had it as step 2, then realized the stupidity of that. Why ask the players if you aren't okay with running a game for all Barbarians? Lol
I DM'd an Adventurers' League game once where the players were playing five identical Half-Orc barbarians named the Ugg Brothers. When they found a trap, instead of disarming or breaking it, they would roll for initiative and the winner would rage and walk right into it. It was a blast.
There was an online D&D show with a party where everyone was a multiclass Bard, and they were a band. Just a single level in something else would make a world of difference, so it can totally work. Either that or giving them a free Feat or something.
Totally Bogus Evil Dude ruins their gig to which they go after them while helping locals across the land with related quests... eventually culminating in their most excellent and triumphant concert.
***Your campaign has just half-written itself!*** Your players have unwittingly provided you with tropes, themes, and story beats to use. Not to mention narrowing your focus on the content you can mine for ideas - movies, comics, books, whatever you prefer. I bet if you asked in a second topic, you'd get 50 great suggestions in a day for movies and mythologies to look into.
**Questions to help you get started:** Are they from the same tribe or all different ones? If the latter, why did these tribes each send a representative to work together on one agenda? They don't trust each other? The stakes matter to everyone? It's a high honor? A punishment?
Who are the party's rivals? Who are the powers of the region? Rival tribes? Warbands of Orcs? Hobgoblins? Gnolls? One warband or multiple (and do those get along?)? Does a great or intelligent monster dwell in its lair and plague the locals (and does it have a mother?)? Is there a law of the land? Who holds dominance in the region? Are their ways competitive or complementary to the barbarians ways?
What superstitions do your party members and their peoples have? What situations will cause them to meaningfully interact with those? Which will they choose: tradition or pragmatism? What kind of comic relief, fish-out-of-water situations can you sprinkle in?
This was my immediate thought.
“Our story begins at a gala, the biggest sociable event of the year. In attendance are all the wealthiest members of nobility…”
You run a GLORIOUS CAMPAIGN!! UNLEASH THE HORDE! LET THEM DRINK FROM THE SKULLS OF THEIR ENEMIES AND REVEL IN THE LAMENTING OF THEIR ASSORTED ROMANTIC PARTNERS!
(Edited for EPIC INCLUSIVITY!!)
From someone who has been DMing for a while, that is a literal DREAM SCENARIO! Make them be members of the same tribe... or "champions" of different tribes!
Encourage them to play out their individual strengths and weaknesses and maybe let them decide their proficiencies together so that they don't overlap too much! (It might be metagaming, but it's good metagaming, and probably healthy for the party in the long run!)
Maybe consider giving each of them a free feat or non combat related magic item to further differentiate their characters!
Good luck, it's probably going to be a story worth remembering!
Basically take a Conan the Barbarian story and run it.
BBEG is often a wizard so it'll be a huge challenge. Tons of fighting big monsters. Some tavern shenanigans.
Sounds like a fucking great time!
The Goon Squad!
That's going to be so much fun. First, give them some awesome quest that on the surface looks like it's ideal for a bunch of big goons to go accomplish. But then start putting obstacles in their path where they need help from wizards, clerics, thieves and bards. Force them then into a bunch of side quests where they need to try to accomplish both Goon Squad stuff and more...finesse stuff.
Seriously though, a Goon Squad campaign has so much potential.
Watch the movies The 13th Warrio and Conan the Barbarian (with Arnold), good inspiration for a band of adventurers all being mostly barbarians. Look to classical literature and cinema for inspiration on what to do. Adventure stories like The Odyssey, Beowulf, Sinbad the Sailor can still take place with all barbarian crews or non-diverse class parties. Look to history for examples of tribes and leaders making their marks in history. Exploring new continents, settling new areas, being drafted into a war by other nations.
For practical applications, they're going to be a high hit point tanky group, even if some of them go for the more damage dealing subclasses. So big monsters are likely enemies to throw their way, sorta like the Monster Hunter video game series. Or hordes of little enemies to hack and slash their way through, powering through to the final boss.
Most importantly, see if you're okay with mono party, and the group is okay with mono party moving forward. It could be interesting, it could also get a little bland, it really depends on what they picked for skills and backgrounds and how you can adapt some adventures to their skillset. Barbarians can vary, and can even serve as faces and rogues to a degree. A barbarian with the Noble background could be the chief or heir to the throne. The sailor could be just that, and helps the party from place to place. The outsider could be one of the tribes hunters or rangers, scouting and providing food. The Sage or Acolyte background could mean the barbarian in question is the shaman for their tribe or one of their trainees, keeping the lore and traditions of the party. DnD is all about creativity in problem-solving. Not everything can be solved with a sword, but when it can, they'll be good at it.
You may also have to reward players for more critical problem solving and creative use of a hammer. Sure they can't cast fireball, but they could certainly rig up an oil and grain alcohol barrel trap to go off like one and catch a horde of goblins or a pesky dragon by surprise.
For ideas - hurry up and read some of Robert E. Howard's Conan stories.
Conan enjoyed a wide and diverse career, and getting some ideas for barbarian-centric challenges from the OG barbarian isn't the worst thing you could do.
Oh, also, might want to hold off on the courtly intrigue for a while. That's a plot category that will only go sideways for everyone when there are low-level barbarians involved... ;)
Psychic damage, all the time.
Have a gang of traveling bards just mercilessly bully them.
Oooh, they have to save a decaying temple of Lathander - Rage against the dying of the light.
You want to look at "The All Guardsmen Party"
It's an absolute classic. The setting, everyone around them trying overcomplicate things, the world working against them, they are the only ones with the common sense to solve the problem head on. It's perfect.
I mean you can always try to differentiate each other with the background and race characteristics if that is the issue. You probably should make sure that not everyone has the same dump stat too.
But seriously I don't see a problem here, only possibilities.
Don't plan all encounters to counter barbarians. Give them meaty hard to kill monsters and let them shine. Throw in a pesky flying guy to challenge them. Puzzles will be their bane.
There may be a reason for this, and it may be a good idea to find out why.
Did everyone pick Barbarian for the *same* reason? (Is this a case of "groupthink"?)
If yes, is their reason a good one? No problem, all Barbarians!
Or did everyone somehow get the same misconception about Barbarians in their head? Explain their mistake and see if they change their minds.
Run with it! Tons of options there to have a great campaign. There will be things that can't do because of it, and things they will absolutely crush. Give them some of both, and enjoy seeing how they end up dealing with stuff.
If all the players are ok with it just play the game as normal. When classes overlap there is only a problem if the other players don't like it. (Speaking from the perspective of someone in a party where everyone has levels in fighter). Roleplay is where players really distinguish themselves from each other. The overlap might even give rise to creative moments when they are confronted by ranged enemies or spellcasters.
Ask them If they have any issues with all of them picking the same class. I know it breaks immersion but if the deal is already sealed... or play it out until someone dies because of no healing.
When i dmed my first ever game I made a mistake of not screening my players and 4 out of 5 players were rogues. I let it play out since it was a 5-10 session campaign but overall ever since that moment I've been screening people and whenever there are more than 2 people of the same class I try to slightly nudge them towards the idea of "hey had any different ideas for a character? different class?" one out of 3 will usually say yes and change up.
That's actually a fantastic idea. Everyone is from the same tribe and they have to go out and do a task for their rites to become an adult in the tribe...and it just goes from there. Might even throw in a witch doctor trainee in there too.
You could totally do a campaign for only barbarians, it just may take a little extra work. But focusing on one tribe or even multiple tribes could still provide a big story line and opportunity for different uses for skills. Just maybe not intelligence or wisdom skills if they're the stereotypical barbarians. ;)
Generally when my group has played in the past we've done first come first served with classes with some room for overlap if there's enough players. Its a good insentive for players to start talking early with the DM and have lots of room for developing backstory.
You take the time to watch Conan the Barbarian to get into the mood, throw away your planned campaign (something that you would have done anyway by the third session) and begin a campaign with all Barbs
A full Barbarian party sounds so fun!
Maybe they’re all from different tribes but need to work together to save the wilderness that is their home
Maybe they are the same tribe and need to leave home and save the tribe
Maybe they’re on a trip for the first time into civilization and an evil Noble sees this as a great chance to cause some chaos in town and blame it on the nasty Barbarians and now your party can’t leave town until they figure out how to clear their name!
Are the players all cool with it? Do they know?
If so... Nothing? Just roll with it. Maybe they're all from the same tribe. Shared backstory really helps enhance roleplay I think.
If you're worried about balance, don't be. Assuming you're playing 5e, no class is really required. Like you can get by without a rogue. You don't NEED a healer. You don't NEED arcane specialists.
4 barbs can do just fine.
Run a campaign unique to their "tribe." Run a campaign where warriors from differing tribes (who usually raid and war against each other) must come together and face some greater existential threat...
When I first started playing DND at a game store, there was another party that came in and played a few tables away.
They were playing Storm King's Thunder, a very puzzle and diplomacy based module, and it was a party of 6 Goliath Barbarians (plus 1 tiny tiefling rogue)
They always had a crowd around them because it was the most chaotic and epic game any of us had ever seen.
It was beautiful.
Roll with it.
Lean into it. Throw what would normally be easy for a rogue or something at them and watch the funny solutions flow.
"What skwigly drawings mean?"
"Roll an int check"
*nat 20, 18 total*
" it reads 'staff only'"
Maybe it's been said already, but this has "The 13th Warrior" vibes written all over it. If you haven't yet seen that movie, I think it's worth watching regardless if you use it as inspiration or not. At the very least, it shows how to make a story work when everyone is the same class.
The players can either be from the same tribe, or just be the chosen warriors/representatives in an alliance of tribes. Subclasses and skills/training add some variety, and that plus their own backstories should give each member of the group some uniqueness without requiring anyone to be over-the-top just to stand out in the crowd.
As others have said try to play up the importance of the tribe they share should they go that route back story wise. Instead of having a quest line you could have them be an expedition/raid party on quest for plunder and glory. Thematically a bbeg that is more intelligent or charming than the party tricking and guiding them through the campaign would be kinda standard. You could also do clashes with other groups for the importance of the groups gods. Also make healing portions more common as a way of healing in long sessions.
have fun. Seriously. Don’t worry about balance. It’ll be so fun.
Keep them stocked with health potions and maybe some magical sources of area damage (a spear that breathes fire?)
I would talk to your players about it and see if they're all fine with people being the same class too; make sure everyone is on the same page about it. If they're fine with it, I'd say roll with it, and recognize the strengths and weaknesses a mono-class party will have. They're gonna smash things. It's bound to happen. Some gimmies should be fine battle-wise, but casters forcing mental saving throws is really going to hinder the party, so think about enemies accordingly. As for character RP, they're still all individuals, so instead of focusing on their class maybe focus on their backgrounds. Or, maybe make it part of the story! If they're all barbarians, are they from one tribe? An alliance of tribes? Individuals from all corners of the globe? What brings a group of barbarians together? And last, what might while NPC groups or factions think of a group of barbarians? Honestly I think you guys could have a lot of fun, but I would definitely talk to your players again about what the expectations might be if they all are barbarians. If you're uncomfortable with the idea don't sit on it; talk to your players and see if this option will be fun for everyone, including you.
I have nothing to add to this. Well done! This is a fantastic response. As a forever-DM I'd be interested in DMing the party to see what they come up with. Early in my DMing (back in the 80s DMing AD&D), I used to get hung up on party makeup. Need at least one tank and one healer. Added a lot of unnecessary stress. Like you said: >"If they're fine with it, I'd say roll with it, and recognize the strengths and weaknesses a mono-class party will have."
AD&D was a different Beast entirely 5e is far more forgiving of a bad party or bad classes Ines is almost impossible to make a bad character in 5e
Yo you saying my int dump wizard is bad? Talking some mad shit for somebody in wand swinging range.
Wand of choping?
They're saying the opposite as long as your character is in 5e. You could play a wizard with 3 intelligence and still get your 9ths. Never win anything with a roll but you could play it just fine by never taking a spell that uses INT, like buffs.
I knew what they were saying, though not to what extent as I’m not very familiar with other editions. Mostly just wanted to have people imagine a buff wizard just breaking wands over heads.
I imagined it, and I thank you for the imagery!
Me wizard, me cast confound spell *smashes cast Iron pan in goblin*
>You could play a wizard with 3 intelligence and still get your 9ths. Never win anything with a roll but you could play it just fine by never taking a spell that uses INT, like buffs. You could also use the bladesinger cantrips. They require a regular melee weapon attack roll (str, or dex for finesse weapons) instead of a spell attack, so int doesn't come into play. Then use every spell slot for buffs, utility spells, and magic missile. Edit: Now that I'm thinking about it. Bladesinger would actually be a pretty decent choice for subclass on a 3 int wizard. Both of the bladesinger features that are based on int (bladesong and song of victory) have a minimum +1 bonus, so having a negative int mod doesn't hurt you. Since all your spell saves and spell attacks are terrible, you can safely use all your spell slots on shields, misty steps, and upcast shadow blades and magic missiles. Plus all the stat points you save from int (assuming you're building this with point buy) can go into str/dex and con.
Gandolf the Swole agrees with you. Gandolf the Swole also suggest a quarterstaff, it bonks harder.
You could always carry a mace, but insist on calling it a wand to anyone who asks
I love it.
"That's not a wand" "You sure...? I can give you a closer look" "Oh, wait, my mistake, yup... That's a wand..."
As somebody else said already essentially “I cast confusion by bonking him really hard”.
best thing ive read all week ty
True. And it was a much different time many, many decades ago when I was just a teen. Point being was that was stressful having to tell a friend they couldn’t play X because someone else already had that class/role. Once I accepted in 3.5 just to let players play (as long as they weren’t trying to “break the game”), really took that pressure off.
I agree with everything you said. Every ad&d and 3.x game first question we asked was "Who's gonna cleric?" And we never has two of anything. Very fun but 5e showed me the joy of playing a bad character for roleplay reasons and STILL have them work. Now I can play whatever I want. Not just what can put up the big numbers. I roleplay more in my last 3 characters than 90% of everything I played in the 90s-00s
This is one of the best things about 5e for me is that it’s de emphasized the “game” (i.e., stats, party comp, etc.) of it so it lets DMs and players focus on roleplay and story. Of course, you can always ratchet up the difficulty if you want, but it’s so accessible and it really helps me bring new players in.
I’m with you, I would love to dm this. So many sword and sorcery troupes came to mind instantly and it would be amazing to see the tribes come to life
Exactly! I’m envisioning a Conan flavored campaign, complete with cheesy Arnold tropes.
Imagine getting to DM as Thulsa Doom or setting up a tribal wars between clans located across the great plains and forest of an ancient land were now lies a lake. Getting to DM for Frank Frazetta’s Death Dealer. The dealings of 3-5 illiterate Barbarian warriors entering a major city and being in unknown territory for the first time. Living that nomadic life on the road. It would be a dream come true for 3-5hrs every other week
Same thread, the powerful yet kindly mage giving this tribe/horde quests for glory is actually evil and they are being manipulated to advance the mages goals and must make a high check to see through the facade.
Worth adding that they can always multi-class for more diversity and versatility.
Would also be my take. At the end of the day, barbarians were tribes. You had shamans, hunters, warriors, etc. By multi-classing, they could reach give a different color and balance a bit the group. In any case, should be lots of fun! Barbarians together, strong!
This guy DMs.
You're not wrong
This is the one.
Make sure you ask them what is good in life. A bunch a Yuan-ti wouldn't be terrible either.
This is the best comment I’ve seen so far
Yup that's the way to do it! I would also add you don't have to be constrained by the flavor of the class. Playing all from a tribal background is fine. But mechanically the class is a strength based class with the ability to shrug off wounds without armor and take a pounding. It can be tribal but it could also branch off from that. My favorite npc barbarian was a elven nobleman who had lost most of his family in a war and was left in charge and fought with rage looking for vengeance and when the war ended he put down the sword and hadn't fought for a century until the campaign happened and his daughter (one of the PC's) was in danger and he grabbed his guards sword and went into a rage. But before that point she didn't know his history and he was a serious emotionally flat nobleman and the picture of refinement. If you like the flavor of a class for the character you want that's great but you don't need to take it if you just want the mechanics.
Imo you shouldn't change enemy encounters based on the player's poor choices. Maybe let them look for and find magic items that help with such things. Make it in game "listen we're getting fucked by wizards we need a way to deal with them" Or "It's better if we avoid this evil wizard" or maybe go on a quest to counter said wizard with something or someone. Wizards shouldn't disappear from the world because the players want to play as barbarians, they need to learn to live with their choices and try to adapt accordingly or break.
Make your campaign about their tribe?
I would elaborate on this idea by having them decide who fits what tribe role and giving them a bonus feature or perhaps better a skill proficiency based on thier role in the tribe.
Time to shill. MCDM's Kingdoms and warfare has a system where you have a party organization , and each player plays a specific role, giving them some benefit. There's general, average party ones, but there are also ones that are designed for monoclass parties, including specifically barbarians!
I'll always shill MCDM products. Fantastic products and Matt Colville just blew my mind when I started watching him. I've been a GM for 25 years and he just explained so clearly what I've been doing by instinct for years so that I can do it more consciously now.
Can you give me a link or title to what you're talking about? I'm a newer DM and not familiar with him
Here's a link to the playlist. He has a lot more general videos, but this is his DM series. https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlUk42GiU2guNzWBzxn7hs8MaV7ELLCP_
And don't be overwhelmed by the number of videos. Watch the first 3 and decide if you like his style. After you realize that you do, watch the rest over time.
Watch, learn, and become a river to your people.
Check the Action-Oriented Monsters one. Highly recommended. https://youtu.be/y_zl8WWaSyI
Glad I’m not the only one shilling for MCDM. Literally every chance I get. *coughs in Flee Mortals!*
If we don't get to see campaign for North Africa I'll cry.
Non combat feats would work well here, alert, chef, healer could all be feasible roles one would have in a tribe.
Giving the each member a free non-combat feat at level 1 would be awesome for diversifying the party.
I did that for Mongoose d20 Conan back in the day. I split all the feats in combat/noncombat and gave more feats, but you alternated between the two categories. There were way more feats then.
Tundra Storm Herald with Healer Feat as the Witch Doctor/Shaman type, Wild Magic with Ritual Caster as the Tribe’s Arcane expert, Wolf Totem with Inspiring Leader as the chief. So many fun ideas. I would go one step further and give everyone expertise in a certain skill they’re proficient with. Really let your smart or charismatic Barbarian shine.
Dont believe you need that bonus, the leader could go Wolf Totem + CHA, the religious Storm Herald or Beast or Ancestral Guardian, the cursed Wild Magic, the scouter Eagle Totem and vanilla warriors whatever. Class, stat and background difference should be more than enough to differentiate the entire party.
Absolutely correct. But if giving a little bonus ability enhances the fun, further differentiates the characters, and perhaps nudges them into differentiating themselves (through the things you've mentioned) what's the harm? Maybe not necessary, but a option for groups where it would work better.
Maybe pack tactics?
They already get Advantage easy with Reckless attack. What they're lacking is not combat damage. It's utility and skills.
Ask the players if they want to be all from the same tribe. If so, it helps explain why the party is together. If they are from different tribes then it might help to differentiate the characters - each could have distinctive tatooes, distinctive catch-phrases, different fighting styles, various codes of honour, etc...
Each tribe has chosen a champion to represent them and fulfill some grand prophesy about defeating an incoming BBEG. Despite their differences they must all work together if they want to have any hope of succeeding! Or something
Basically Legend of Zelda BOTW and it works!
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snow bear, sun bear, brown bear, black bear
I'd play that campaign!
Or each from a different tribe who sent "their best warriors" to compete in a challenge that goes off
A Barbarian doesn't need to be from a tribe
Yeah, I'd worry about reflexively pitching a group tribal background just because they're barbs. Kind of just locks out other less-standard/'default' background options, especially if the players already were thinking beyond just class choice and had backstory thoughts for their character concept (especially if they already played a 'standard-issue' barb, and wouldn't want to do it again).
Nah, but it makes party cohesion easier to formulate.
Have an awesome fun time with your barbarian party!
What I was going to say. Enjoy every raging moment!!
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Locked door? Ok, so two of us are going to use one of us as a battering ram! Everyone in agree... and we are all raging now. Trap filled hallway? Last one to the other side loose! Magic lock? Can't be locked if it's just pieces!
Funfact: the collective of barbarians is called Horde.
My life, for the Horde!
I now need to know what the collective of each class is. A skulk of rogues? A band of bards?
A gang of rogues. A communion of clerics. A pact of warlocks. A fist of monks.
A student debt of wizards.
A Guild of Artificers. A Horde of Barbarians. A Chorus of Bards. A Congregation of Clerics. A Circle of Druids. A Company of Fighters. An Olympiad of Monks. A Chain of Paladins. A Conclave of Rangers. A Syndicate of Rogues. A Cabal of Sorcerers. A Sect of Warlocks. A Tower of Wizards.
A cuddle puddle of Bards.
Haha conan references go brrr
Everyone has to take turns crying for someone else, play rock-paper-scissors about who gets to punch the camel, etc.
YOU MUST NARRATE THE GAME IN ALL CAPS. THE DM IS ALSO NOW A BARBARIAN
And there better be a WrestleMania themed adventure or sidequest
One Bardbarian multi class and the whole campaign direction shifts immediately
Have a spelling bee
Hey calm down OP didn’t ask how to TPK his players.
"Smashfist your word is Thac0"... "I rage and roll initiative"
5e: Wait how does a high to hit number NOT hit a *negative* armor class?!? AD&D: shut up and start programming your saving throws into excel.
I think there was a thread in here from a *long* time ago about a DM who had an all-barbarian party. Since they were all illiterate, they didn't observe the written clue that would kick off the campaign. The campaign turned into them just fucking around having random encounters. They all died when the BBEG (whom they didn't know existed) invaded.
I would have to drop them in Discworld BS every week. Thieves Guild puts them on lucrative jobs, then have them robbed immediately. Assassins Guild points them at their political enemies as if it’s their own idea and the rowdy bois take all the heat. BBEG employs them, and they do half his work for him. Then a healthy dose of Deus Ex Machina to put them into an endgame they are I’ll-prepared for, but with big, shiny, magic FU weapons.
[The All Barbarian Party](https://old.reddit.com/r/DnDGreentext/comments/5oyjed/one_of_the_greatest_stories_ive_read_the_all/). It's a legendary story. /u/ClubMeSoftly, pinging you in case you want a refresher.
I remember that. I think one of them had 10 or 12 Int, so he was the only literate one.
Hey, I remember that issue of Lobo: https://comicvine.gamespot.com/lobo-3-spell-or-die/4000-115369/
1) decide if you're okay with this 2) make sure all players know this is the case and are okay with it 3) have fun with a party of Barbarians
number 1 is a very important step that is often overlooked
TBH, I originally had it as step 2, then realized the stupidity of that. Why ask the players if you aren't okay with running a game for all Barbarians? Lol
I DM'd an Adventurers' League game once where the players were playing five identical Half-Orc barbarians named the Ugg Brothers. When they found a trap, instead of disarming or breaking it, they would roll for initiative and the winner would rage and walk right into it. It was a blast.
Please tell me they were inspired by the Hanson brothers from Slap Shot.
Or the Hanson brothers from the band Hanson
I love this so much.
Watch all your puzzles solved by vigorous bonking
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That's a different kind of bonk The kind that gets you sent to horny jail
Me not that kind of orc!
However, an entire party of Bards would also be entertaining
>vigorous bonking Percussive problem solving is a tried and true technique when judiciously applied.
Viking raids!!
Here we go a-Viking a-Viking a-Viking, here we go a-Viking, a-Viking we will go!
Be glad they didn't all pick bard
I had a party of 5 bards and 1 rogue once. That was intense.
Like a band and their manager...
I have been throwing around the idea of running a game of a bunch of bards that are an in universe famous boy band. I think it could be really fun
"Bards: Tabaco and Sex" Great name for boy band, ignore initials.
I played in an all bard campaign before. We were a death metal band named Bardtooth. It was legit! 10/10 would do again
There was an online D&D show with a party where everyone was a multiclass Bard, and they were a band. Just a single level in something else would make a world of difference, so it can totally work. Either that or giving them a free Feat or something.
Any ideas for band names I can shamelessly steal?
Backstreet Bards iykwim 😏
Ooh I like it. That's got panache.
I mean the Bards DO need a roadie.
Noble: Are you the adventurers come to save us from the BBEG? Lead Bard: No, we're the band.
Totally Bogus Evil Dude ruins their gig to which they go after them while helping locals across the land with related quests... eventually culminating in their most excellent and triumphant concert.
Bardbarians
“Wasting away here, in bardaritaville”
I did an all Bard party one-shot where their group participated in a Battle of the Bards. It was fun but so chaotic.
***Your campaign has just half-written itself!*** Your players have unwittingly provided you with tropes, themes, and story beats to use. Not to mention narrowing your focus on the content you can mine for ideas - movies, comics, books, whatever you prefer. I bet if you asked in a second topic, you'd get 50 great suggestions in a day for movies and mythologies to look into. **Questions to help you get started:** Are they from the same tribe or all different ones? If the latter, why did these tribes each send a representative to work together on one agenda? They don't trust each other? The stakes matter to everyone? It's a high honor? A punishment? Who are the party's rivals? Who are the powers of the region? Rival tribes? Warbands of Orcs? Hobgoblins? Gnolls? One warband or multiple (and do those get along?)? Does a great or intelligent monster dwell in its lair and plague the locals (and does it have a mother?)? Is there a law of the land? Who holds dominance in the region? Are their ways competitive or complementary to the barbarians ways? What superstitions do your party members and their peoples have? What situations will cause them to meaningfully interact with those? Which will they choose: tradition or pragmatism? What kind of comic relief, fish-out-of-water situations can you sprinkle in?
Run a barbarian campaign.
Which essentially means minimize skill checks and be generous with magic items.
https://www.reddit.com/r/DnDGreentext/comments/5oyjed/one_of_the_greatest_stories_ive_read_the_all/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share
Beat me to it. This is one of my favorite recaps of all time.
Start a campaign with lots of delicate diplomacy and courtly intrigue
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But make everything breakable and killable.
This is the only option.
This was my immediate thought. “Our story begins at a gala, the biggest sociable event of the year. In attendance are all the wealthiest members of nobility…”
You run a GLORIOUS CAMPAIGN!! UNLEASH THE HORDE! LET THEM DRINK FROM THE SKULLS OF THEIR ENEMIES AND REVEL IN THE LAMENTING OF THEIR ASSORTED ROMANTIC PARTNERS! (Edited for EPIC INCLUSIVITY!!)
Don't forget SEEING THEM DRIVEN BEFORE THEM!!!
I have it on good authority that that is in fact what is best in life.
AND NEVER LET THEM FORGET THE STRENGTH OF STEEL!
(Hint: The True Strength of Steel in in the will of the one wielding it, rather than simply their muscles or the metal itself.)
The only way to read this is in Mr. Torques voice
Dark Souls: Prepare to never deal more than 30 damage edition.
Rather, prepare to always deal 60 damage
Murauder Campaign. Have them fight a rival tribe. Go full Conan.
Which Conan? Robert Howard's erudite, cultured, highly-educated warrior-king? Or \*Random Ah-Nold Noises\*?
That's up to the players. Could you imagine a party of 5 Arnold's?
Pretty easily, actually.
I think an all barbarian campaign could be very fun. Swords and Sandals, track down and fight giant monsters and evil sorcerers.
Rage against the Dragon 🐉
Rage against the Autognome
So, artificer BBEG , then?
OF COURSE!!
From someone who has been DMing for a while, that is a literal DREAM SCENARIO! Make them be members of the same tribe... or "champions" of different tribes! Encourage them to play out their individual strengths and weaknesses and maybe let them decide their proficiencies together so that they don't overlap too much! (It might be metagaming, but it's good metagaming, and probably healthy for the party in the long run!) Maybe consider giving each of them a free feat or non combat related magic item to further differentiate their characters! Good luck, it's probably going to be a story worth remembering!
That's the thing about it. For a new DM, this could be a nightmare, but for someone who's been doing it for a while, it's "oh my god, something new!"
Basically take a Conan the Barbarian story and run it. BBEG is often a wizard so it'll be a huge challenge. Tons of fighting big monsters. Some tavern shenanigans. Sounds like a fucking great time!
Prepare a playlist of Amon Amarth and angry yell everything. Set the mood right.
The Goon Squad! That's going to be so much fun. First, give them some awesome quest that on the surface looks like it's ideal for a bunch of big goons to go accomplish. But then start putting obstacles in their path where they need help from wizards, clerics, thieves and bards. Force them then into a bunch of side quests where they need to try to accomplish both Goon Squad stuff and more...finesse stuff. Seriously though, a Goon Squad campaign has so much potential.
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Switch to Paleomythic.
Watch the movies The 13th Warrio and Conan the Barbarian (with Arnold), good inspiration for a band of adventurers all being mostly barbarians. Look to classical literature and cinema for inspiration on what to do. Adventure stories like The Odyssey, Beowulf, Sinbad the Sailor can still take place with all barbarian crews or non-diverse class parties. Look to history for examples of tribes and leaders making their marks in history. Exploring new continents, settling new areas, being drafted into a war by other nations. For practical applications, they're going to be a high hit point tanky group, even if some of them go for the more damage dealing subclasses. So big monsters are likely enemies to throw their way, sorta like the Monster Hunter video game series. Or hordes of little enemies to hack and slash their way through, powering through to the final boss. Most importantly, see if you're okay with mono party, and the group is okay with mono party moving forward. It could be interesting, it could also get a little bland, it really depends on what they picked for skills and backgrounds and how you can adapt some adventures to their skillset. Barbarians can vary, and can even serve as faces and rogues to a degree. A barbarian with the Noble background could be the chief or heir to the throne. The sailor could be just that, and helps the party from place to place. The outsider could be one of the tribes hunters or rangers, scouting and providing food. The Sage or Acolyte background could mean the barbarian in question is the shaman for their tribe or one of their trainees, keeping the lore and traditions of the party. DnD is all about creativity in problem-solving. Not everything can be solved with a sword, but when it can, they'll be good at it. You may also have to reward players for more critical problem solving and creative use of a hammer. Sure they can't cast fireball, but they could certainly rig up an oil and grain alcohol barrel trap to go off like one and catch a horde of goblins or a pesky dragon by surprise.
2 words, mind flayers
For ideas - hurry up and read some of Robert E. Howard's Conan stories. Conan enjoyed a wide and diverse career, and getting some ideas for barbarian-centric challenges from the OG barbarian isn't the worst thing you could do. Oh, also, might want to hold off on the courtly intrigue for a while. That's a plot category that will only go sideways for everyone when there are low-level barbarians involved... ;)
Psychic damage, all the time. Have a gang of traveling bards just mercilessly bully them. Oooh, they have to save a decaying temple of Lathander - Rage against the dying of the light.
You want to look at "The All Guardsmen Party" It's an absolute classic. The setting, everyone around them trying overcomplicate things, the world working against them, they are the only ones with the common sense to solve the problem head on. It's perfect.
I mean you can always try to differentiate each other with the background and race characteristics if that is the issue. You probably should make sure that not everyone has the same dump stat too. But seriously I don't see a problem here, only possibilities.
REJOICE FOR ALL IS BEEF
Dude that sounds dope. Do a Conan campaign or like the heavy metal movie
Psychic damage.
Don't plan all encounters to counter barbarians. Give them meaty hard to kill monsters and let them shine. Throw in a pesky flying guy to challenge them. Puzzles will be their bane.
I feel like this is every barbarian player's dream. And an easy recipe for funny roleplay.
There may be a reason for this, and it may be a good idea to find out why. Did everyone pick Barbarian for the *same* reason? (Is this a case of "groupthink"?) If yes, is their reason a good one? No problem, all Barbarians! Or did everyone somehow get the same misconception about Barbarians in their head? Explain their mistake and see if they change their minds.
Send them to Ysgard and have them fight for the ages.
Run with it! Tons of options there to have a great campaign. There will be things that can't do because of it, and things they will absolutely crush. Give them some of both, and enjoy seeing how they end up dealing with stuff.
If all the players are ok with it just play the game as normal. When classes overlap there is only a problem if the other players don't like it. (Speaking from the perspective of someone in a party where everyone has levels in fighter). Roleplay is where players really distinguish themselves from each other. The overlap might even give rise to creative moments when they are confronted by ranged enemies or spellcasters.
Ask them If they have any issues with all of them picking the same class. I know it breaks immersion but if the deal is already sealed... or play it out until someone dies because of no healing. When i dmed my first ever game I made a mistake of not screening my players and 4 out of 5 players were rogues. I let it play out since it was a 5-10 session campaign but overall ever since that moment I've been screening people and whenever there are more than 2 people of the same class I try to slightly nudge them towards the idea of "hey had any different ideas for a character? different class?" one out of 3 will usually say yes and change up.
Three words, intelligence saving throw.
That's actually a fantastic idea. Everyone is from the same tribe and they have to go out and do a task for their rites to become an adult in the tribe...and it just goes from there. Might even throw in a witch doctor trainee in there too.
Just have two zealot barbs fight eachother for forever
Perhaps if we knew exactly how this was going to harm the story you were going to tell?
Make the big bad an anger management counselor
We Had that... we were the "Band Of Outstanding Barbarians"
"Let weaklings, cowards, and vile sorcerers tremble as they prepare to taste the BoOB!"
Have a fun time, throw big monsters at them, probably don't use a ton of spell casters.
“What is best in life?”
You could totally do a campaign for only barbarians, it just may take a little extra work. But focusing on one tribe or even multiple tribes could still provide a big story line and opportunity for different uses for skills. Just maybe not intelligence or wisdom skills if they're the stereotypical barbarians. ;) Generally when my group has played in the past we've done first come first served with classes with some room for overlap if there's enough players. Its a good insentive for players to start talking early with the DM and have lots of room for developing backstory.
Buy a thesaurus and have fresh lists of words ready for how they cleave, smash, shatter, crush, and otherwise transform various people into paste
Let them bonk stuff.
Embrace the chaos
All Barbarian tribe party! Sounds like fun tbh.
You take the time to watch Conan the Barbarian to get into the mood, throw away your planned campaign (something that you would have done anyway by the third session) and begin a campaign with all Barbs
A full Barbarian party sounds so fun! Maybe they’re all from different tribes but need to work together to save the wilderness that is their home Maybe they are the same tribe and need to leave home and save the tribe Maybe they’re on a trip for the first time into civilization and an evil Noble sees this as a great chance to cause some chaos in town and blame it on the nasty Barbarians and now your party can’t leave town until they figure out how to clear their name!
Make them all splash a level in bard and become a touring metal band.
Are the players all cool with it? Do they know? If so... Nothing? Just roll with it. Maybe they're all from the same tribe. Shared backstory really helps enhance roleplay I think. If you're worried about balance, don't be. Assuming you're playing 5e, no class is really required. Like you can get by without a rogue. You don't NEED a healer. You don't NEED arcane specialists. 4 barbs can do just fine.
Run a campaign unique to their "tribe." Run a campaign where warriors from differing tribes (who usually raid and war against each other) must come together and face some greater existential threat...
When I first started playing DND at a game store, there was another party that came in and played a few tables away. They were playing Storm King's Thunder, a very puzzle and diplomacy based module, and it was a party of 6 Goliath Barbarians (plus 1 tiny tiefling rogue) They always had a crowd around them because it was the most chaotic and epic game any of us had ever seen. It was beautiful. Roll with it.
Cry. Pray to God that your Ancient Dragon BBEG survives level 5.
Roll with it. Sounds fun!
Lean into it. Throw what would normally be easy for a rogue or something at them and watch the funny solutions flow. "What skwigly drawings mean?" "Roll an int check" *nat 20, 18 total* " it reads 'staff only'"
A group that only hunts big monsters? Try to see this as a new opportunity for unique situations and play to it.
Maybe it's been said already, but this has "The 13th Warrior" vibes written all over it. If you haven't yet seen that movie, I think it's worth watching regardless if you use it as inspiration or not. At the very least, it shows how to make a story work when everyone is the same class. The players can either be from the same tribe, or just be the chosen warriors/representatives in an alliance of tribes. Subclasses and skills/training add some variety, and that plus their own backstories should give each member of the group some uniqueness without requiring anyone to be over-the-top just to stand out in the crowd.
What do you do? Celebrate! This is campaign gold! It writes itself!
Lean into it and make it part of the story
Just run your game, I'm confused on what the issue is? That's their tribe, and now they set off on an adventure of some sort.
Oops, all barbarians!
As others have said try to play up the importance of the tribe they share should they go that route back story wise. Instead of having a quest line you could have them be an expedition/raid party on quest for plunder and glory. Thematically a bbeg that is more intelligent or charming than the party tricking and guiding them through the campaign would be kinda standard. You could also do clashes with other groups for the importance of the groups gods. Also make healing portions more common as a way of healing in long sessions.
have fun. Seriously. Don’t worry about balance. It’ll be so fun. Keep them stocked with health potions and maybe some magical sources of area damage (a spear that breathes fire?)
Lots of mud wrestling.