Barbarian Barbarians were mighty warrior s who rely on their strength and incredible toughness , characterized by a bestial rage empowered either by ancestral totem s and nature spirit s or an inner passion for violence . Barbarians were less versatile than fighter s but were tougher and capable of dealing heavy damage to their foes much more quickly . The most famous barbarian of Toril was likely Wulfgar , friend and companion to Drizzt Do ' Urden . Culture . Barbarians were common within several organizations within Faerûn such as Uthgardt warrior traditions of the Silver Marches and Icewind Dale , the primal warriors of the Reghed Glacier , wild tribes of the Chondalwood , Chult , and the famous berserkers of Rashemen and its neighboring regions . However , contrary to common belief , not all warriors who lived outside civilization ' s borders were barbarians . Only those who embrace the wild and primal ways of the " rage " could rightly call themselves a barbarian , imbuing them with a wild spirit not found among most warriors . Where civilized people emphasized what separated from them wild animals , barbarians took pride in their bestial nature and looked upon the tamer sensibilities of civilization with disdain . Barbarians ' feral nature means they lacked the discipline to be lawful , though all other alignments were found among barbarians . Barbarians had a reputation , perhaps not completely deserved , as reckless ruffians and savage nuisances who needless disrupted society by acts of mayhem . However , barbarians , while undoubtedly feral and unpredictable by the nature of their rages were not necessarily uncultured brutes . Time and time again , barbarians proved their cunning and resourcefulness as well as their sheer physical power and endurance . Sometimes , in spite of their aversion to an organized order , barbarians even demonstrated honor . However , barbarians were united - no matter their origins - by a marked lack of discipline or patience for the laws and traditions that others adhered to . Likewise , while a generalization , it is true to some degree that nearly all barbarians came from outside the confines of settled civilization , being far more common among nomadic tribes or frontier settlers than they were among urban city dwellers . It is from these remote origins that barbarians often derived their reverence for nature , which brought them closer to druid s , ranger s , and others who venerated the wilderness . Many barbarians were human , since humans were among the most widespread of the races as well as , in many cases the most uncivilized . However , orc and goblinoid barbarians were more common still and were sometimes the most commonly encountered warriors of their race . Barbarians from the other races were relatively rare , though among elves there were the wild elves , among halfling s the ghostwise , and among dwarves the wild dwarves , each of which possessed barbarian traditions . Half - elves from the Yuirwood were also sometimes drawn to the way of the barbarian , as were planetouched raised among tribal cultures . Dragonborn , goliath , and half - elven barbarians were also somewhat common , with dragonborns and half - elves preferring the way of thaneborn barbarians , while goliaths were more often rageblood barbarians . Barbarians held varying attitudes towards magic . On the one hand , barbarians distrusted most things they did not understand and this extended towards what they called " book magic " or magic learned in a school or university , such as that used by swordmage s or wizard s . On the other hand , barbarians were themselves wielders of primal magic , as were the druids many barbarians called friends or allies . Likewise , barbarians often showed a large degree of respect for sorcerer s , whose approach to magic was similar to their own unbridled style of combat . In no small way it is likely that the barbarian prejudice against scholarly magic was due in some part to the fact that many barbarians were illiterate . Barbarians ' bravery and wanderlust made them uncommonly suited for the adventurer ' s lifestyle . Often coming from nomadic tribes , most barbarians had few qualms with the traveling life typical to adventuring parties . Of the difficulties suffered by barbarians in adapting to a life of adventure , the greatest was most commonly the loss of family structure that comes from leaving the tribe . With time , however , many barbarians found the bonds with their new companions a worthy substitute . Abilities . As handy with a weapon as a fighter , barbarians became tougher and more agile as they grew more powerful . The most experienced barbarians were almost incomparably powerful , with a strength and constitution well beyond that of most mortals . Though barbarians could wield one - handed weapons many preferred to use two - handed weapons in order to deal maximum damage . Barbarians were also well - versed in the use of light armor but some lacked training in slightly heavier forms of protection such as chain shirt s or shield s , while very few were trained in and most lacked training in heavy armor such as splint armor . Because most of them were untrained in the use of heavy armor , barbarians trained themselves to take incredible levels of punishment that could easily fell less sturdy warriors . Additionally , most barbarians were capable of moving much more quickly while wearing half plate or lighter armor , by a factor of between thirty and forty percent . Another boon to barbarians ' feral and exposed style of attack was their aptitude for quickly following up one attack with another immediately thereafter , overwhelming their enemies until they were able to deal fatal blow . This , along with their instinctive sense for danger , which made them nigh impossible to flank effectively or put off guard , made barbarians far more formidable than their lightly armored appearance would suppose . Many barbarians drew upon the primal energies of the natural world and its guardian spirits , often in the form of ancestral totems , for empowerment , gaining powerful abilities called evocation s . The feral might gained by barbarians could manifest in many other ways and some used it to empower themselves to the point of nigh invulnerability , finding it easier to take blows and plow onward rather than dodge them . Others gained the ability to literally shape their fate , affecting the quality of luck dealt them through force of will . The most distinctive aspect of barbarians was their ability to " rage , " wherein they let loose powerful emotional bursts fueled by their primal power or inner fury . When they raged , barbarians gained a number of powerful benefits , including an apparent increase in strength , an ability to deal more damage , and greater insensitivity to many forms of physical damage . This rage usually lasted about a minute , but with experience and training most barbarians could extend it indefinitely . Barbarians also were known to take on other , less common abilities . While raging barbarians were typically unable to cast evocations , spell s , or other similar abilities , some actually received a bonus to their lesser evocations that lasted until their rage collapsed or they enter a new one . Barbarians could also use a fraction of their raging power to deal a devastating attack known as a " rage strike . " Primal paths . Barbarians came in a number of different varieties , with a number of diverse capabilities . Two of the main divergent branches of barbarians were the Path of the Berserker and the Path of the Totem Warrior . Path of the Berserker . Where some barbarians drew upon the essence of nature and primal magic for their power , barbarians on the Path of the Berserker instead relied on their own fury and unbridled bloodlust to pull them through a fight . As a result , Berskerers relied less extensively on primal magic and instead focused on improving their rage ability . When a Berserker raged they could enter into an even deeper state of primal fury known as a frenzy . While frenzied , a Berserker was capable of attacking more quickly , although such effort eventually tired them out . Raging Berserkers were also utterly fearless and immune to the effects of charms . In addition to possessing an improved version of regular barbarians ' rage ability , Berserkers were also much more frightening to behold and sufficiently powerful Berserkers could actually cause their enemies to run in terror from them through their presence alone . Experienced Berserkers also maintained exceptionally good battle reflexes , allowing them to strike a retaliatory blow to anyone who injured them in a fight . Path of the Totem Warrior . Barbarians with a more spiritual side pursued the Path of the Totem Warrior , a calling which enhances barbarians ' capacity for primal magic and forging a strong connection between them and their spirit animal . The spirit animal chosen by Totem Warriors - which was often related to their particular tribal culture - granted them a number of supernatural abilities , such as the ability to carry extra weight , enhance the ability of their allies in battle , or even fly a limited distance in short bursts . Additionally , Totem Warriors also sometimes took on physical features similar to their spirit animal , such as excess hair or unusually colored eyes . In addition to the abilities mentioned above , Totem Warriors also gained the ability to cast druid spells such as " beast sense " or " commune with animals " as rituals . Their ability with these spells were somewhat limited compared with that of a druid , but nonetheless allowed the Totem Warrior to tap into the primal essence of nature in order to enhance their awareness or gather information .