The original barbarian class, adapted for Swords & Wizardry

Like its fellow iconic D&D classes, the ranger, illusionist, and bard, the first published iteration of the barbarian debuted in the pages of a periodical. In the barbarian's case, however, it wasn't one of TSR's official publications, but rather Great Britain's own White Dwarf, back before it existed exclusively to promote the Warhammer tabletop wargaming lines. Author Brian Asbury's barbarian first appeared in the December 1977 issue, with some additions meant to update it for the newly-released AD&D game appearing later on in 1979.

Since my goal here is to adapt the class to a format compatible with the original D&D-based Sword & Wizardry game, I'm drawing exclusively on the 1977 version rather than attempting to incorporate the AD&D elements (with one qualified exception; see below). I was also forced to settle one area of ambiguity, in that neither of the WD articles specified what attack table barbarians are meant to use. Since they save as clerics and their experience progression is also quite similar to that of clerics, I opted to assign them the cleric attack table as well.

Finally, as a personal aide, I've always been especially skeptical of the need for a dedicated barbarian class in D&D, considering that Conan himself was a primary inspiration for the fighter. Still, the notion has proven itself an enduring one and I'm happy to present it here for the many who don't share my reservations.

BARBARIAN

Grim warriors hailing from the untamed hinterlands, the uncommon bravery and preternatural reflexes of the Barbarians are shaped by their close ties with the primal forces of nature. Their battle prowess is the stuff of legends, as is their craftiness and guile. Woe to the "civilized" opponent who takes their feral appearance and lack of formal education as weaknesses to be exploited, for the proud Barbarian is nobody's fool!

Like the Monk, many of the Barbarian's most potent skills require good ability scores to access. Players considering this class should be aware that Strength 13+, Dexterity 13+, Intelligence 9+, and Wisdom 14+ are all needed to fully realize its potential.

ABOUT BARBARIANS

Prime Attribute: Constitution, 13+ (+5% experience bonus).

Hit Dice:1d6+1 at 1st level, 1d6/level thereafter (Gains 1 hp/level after 10th level).

Armor/Shield Permitted: Shield permitted. Barbarians may initially wear no armor, but gain the ability to use leather armor at 6th level and ring or chain mail at 11th level.

Weapons Permitted: Long sword, spear, hand axe. Barbarians with Strength 13+ may also use battle axes. For every point of Dexterity a Barbarian has in excess of 12, one additional weapon may be used. The exceptions to this are complex mechanical weapons such as crossbows, which Barbarians shun on principle.

Ancestry: Human.

Alignment: Any.

Fighting Ability: Barbarians use the same attack table as Clerics.

Saving Throws: Barbarians have the same base saving throws as Clerics of four levels higher than their actual level. They do not benefit from a Cleric's +2 bonus to saving throws against paralysis and poison, however.

Magic Items: Barbarians may use any magic item available to Fighters, Thieves, and members of all classes. An exception is writing-based magic items such as books and manuals, which may only be employed by Barbarians with Wisdom 14+. Barbarians of lesser Wisdom are assumed to be illiterate due to their primitive upbringings.

BARBARIAN CLASS ABILITIES

Catch Missiles: Barbarians with Dexterity 13+ have a percentage chance to pluck missiles shot or hurled at them right out of the air, causing these attacks to automatically miss regardless of attack roll. Each such missile requires its own roll and this ability is only effective against physical projectiles of manageable size. Thus, such things as magic missile or lightning bolt spells cannot be caught, nor can the huge boulders hurled by giants. Magical weapons subtract 5% from the Barbarian's success chance for each "plus" they possess. Barbarians with Dexterity 15 or 16 gain a +5% bonus to this skill, and this bonus increases to +10% for Barbarians with 17 or 18 Dexterity.

Climb Walls: Barbarians with Dexterity 10+ may climb sheer surfaces. This functions as the Thief skill of the same name.

Danger Sense: This represents the chance on 1d6 of automatically detecting any source of imminent danger within a 20-foot radius of the Barbarian. The precise nature and location of the danger is not necessarily revealed, only the simple fact of its existence.

Ferocity: Barbarians with Strength 10+ gain a +1 bonus on all to-hit rolls.

First Strike: Barbarians with Strength 13+ and Dexterity 10+ have a 75% chance of being able to deliver an exceptionally deadly opening blow in melee. This ability applies only to the Barbarian's first attack roll in a given combat encounter and only if the Barbarian's side has won the initiative roll on that round. The attack gains a +2 to-hit bonus and deals double damage if successful. This increases to triple damage at 5th level and quadruple damage at 9th level.

Hardy: Barbarians are twice as resistant to disease as the typical human. It is up to the Referee to determine what this means in concrete game terms, but a +2 or greater bonus to saving throws against diseases is a solid choice.

Hear Noise: As the Thief skill of the same name.

Instinctual Evasion: Keen senses naturally improve a Barbarian's armor class by one point. This is cumulative with any armor class bonuses from armor, magic, or high Dexterity.

Sign Language: Barbarians of Intelligence 9+ are adept at making themselves understood via hand signals and other body language. A successful roll indicates that a particular concept or idea (within reason, of course) can be communicated to any intelligent being capable of viewing the Barbarian's gestures.

Strong Heart: Barbarians do not frighten easily. Being subjected to any spell or magic item capable of instilling fear or panic in a victim has a 50% chance of instead driving a Barbarian into a berserk rage. In this state, the Barbarian gains +2 on all to-hit rolls and (if an NPC) need not check morale for the remainder of the current encounter. If this roll fails, the Barbarian is still able to attempt any standard saving throws the magic in question allows for.

Tracking: This ability is similar in most respects to the one of the same name possessed by Rangers. The base chance of success should be adjusted as follows based on the difficulty of the terrain the Barbarian's quarry has traversed.

Outdoors	Penalty
Hard ground	-20%
Rain or snow	-30%
Crosses water	-40%

Indoors	Penalty
Regular passage	-25%
Normal door	-30%
Trap door	-40%
Chimney	-50%
Secret door	-55%

Hide in Shadows (Optional): In the 1979 follow-up to his original Barbarian feature, Brian Asbury recommends that Barbarians with Dexterity 11+ and Intelligence 9+ also be given the Hide in Shadows skill, as per a Thief of the same level. Whether this ability is available or not is a matter for the individual Referee to decide.

Barbarian Advancement Table

Level	XP Required for Level	Hit Dice (d6)*	Saving Throw
1	0	1+1 hp	11
2	1,500	2+1 hp	10
3	3,000	3+1 hp	9
4	6,000	4+1 hp	8
5	12,000	5+1 hp	7
6	24,000	6+1 hp	6
7	48,000	7+1 hp	5
8	96,000	8+1 hp	4
9	200,000	9+1 hp	4
10	325,000	10+1 hp	4
11	450,000	10+2 hp	4
12	575,000	10+3 hp	4
13	700,000	10+4 hp	4
14	825,000	10+5 hp	4
15	950,000	10+6 hp	4
16	1,075,000	10+7 hp	4
17	1,200,000	10+8 hp	4
18	1,325,000	10+9 hp	4
19	1,450,000	10+10 hp	4
20	1,575,000	10+11 hp	4
21+	+125,000 per level	+1 hp/level	Remains at 4

*Hit points shown for levels after the character no longer gains full hit dice are the total combined number. An 11th-level Barbarian has 10 HD plus 2 hit points total.

Barbarian Skills

Level	Catch Missiles	Climb Walls	Danger Sense	Hear Noise	Hide in Shadows*	Sign Language	Tracking
1	5%	80%	1	1-2	10%	10%	40%
2	10%	81%	1	1-2	15%	20%	45%
3	15%	82%	1	1-3	20%	30%	50%
4	20%	83%	1-2	1-3	25%	40%	55%
5	25%	84%	1-2	1-3	30%	45%	60%
6	30%	85%	1-2	1-3	35%	50%	65%
7	35%	86%	1-3	1-4	40%	55%	70%
8	40%	87%	1-3	1-4	55%	60%	75%
9	45%	88%	1-3	1-4	65%	65%	80%
10	50%	89%	1-4	1-5	75%	70%	85%
11	55%	90%	1-4	1-5	85%	75%	90%
12	60%	91%	1-4	1-5	95%	75%	95%
13	65%	92%	1-5	1-6	100%	75%	100%
14	75%	93%	1-5	1-6	100%	75%	100%
15	80%	94%	1-5	1-6	100%	75%	100%
16	85%	95%	1-5	1-6	100%	75%	100%
17	90%	96%	1-5	1-6	100%	75%	100%
18	95%	97%	1-5	1-6	100%	75%	100%
19	100%	98%	1-5	1-6	100%	75%	100%
20	100%	99%	1-5	1-6	100%	75%	100%
21	100%	100%	1-5	1-6	100%	75%	100%
21+	No further improvement

* Optional skill (see above).