Forrghk
Half-Orc Barbarian (Totem Warrior) 3
Armor Class 14
Hit Points 35 (3d12)
Proficiency Bonus +2
Speed 30 ft
Alignment chaotic good
Languages Common, Elven, Orc
Ability Scores
Strength 16 (+3)
Dexterity 13 (+1)
Constitution 16 (+3)
Intelligence 8 (-1)
Wisdom 12 (+1)
Charisma 10 (+0)
Attacks
Melee Attack: Pigsticker +5 (2d6+3 slashing damage; heavy, two-handed)
Melee or Ranged Attack: Handaxe +5 (1d6+3 slashing damage; Light, thrown – range 20/60)
Melee or Ranged Attack: Javelin +5 melee (1d6+3 piercing damage; Light, thrown – range 20/60)
Skills Acrobatics +1, Animal Handling +3, Arcana -1, Athletics +5, Deception +0, History -1, Insight +1, Intimidation +2, Investigation -1, Medicine +1, Nature -1, Perception +3, Performance +0, Persuasion +0, Religion -1, Sleight of Hand +1, Stealth +1, Survival +3
Equipment pigsticker (greatsword), two handaxes, explorer’s pack, 4 javelins, walking staff, hunting trap, several “hand puppets,” set of traveler’s clothes, belt pouch, 10 gp
Class Features
Proficiencies
Armor Proficiencies: light armor, medium armor, shields
Weapon Proficiencies: simple weapons, martial weapons
Saving Throws: Strength and Constitution
Skill Proficiencies: Animal Handling, Athletics, Intimidation, Perception, Survival
Tool Proficiencies: Instrument (Pipes)
Racial Traits
Rage: On your turn, you can enter a rage as a bonus action. As long as you aren’t wearing heavy armor, you gain the following benefits while raging:
– You have advantage on Strength check and Strength saving throws
– When you make a melee weapon attack using Strength, you gain +2 to the damage roll.
– You have resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage
You cannot cast spells while raging. It lasts for 1 minute or until you are knocked unconscious, or if your turn ends and you have not attacked a hostile creature or taken damage. You can also end the rage as a bonus action. You can rage 3 times per day before you must take a long rest.
Unarmored Defense: While you are not wearing armor, your Armor Class equals 10 + your Dexterity modifier + your Constitution modifier.
Reckless Attack: When making your first attack on your turn, you can choose to gain advantage on melee attack rolls using Strength during this turn, but attack rolls against you also have advantage until your next turn.
Danger Sense: You have advantage on Dexterity saving throws against effects that you can see such as traps and spells. You lose this benefit if blinded, deafened, or incapacitated.
Spirit Seeker: You can cast beast sense and speak with animals as rituals.
Totem Spirit (Bear): While raging, you have resistance against all damage except psychic damage.
Darkvision: You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Menacing: You are proficient in the Intimidation skill.
Relentless Endurance: When you are reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, you can drop to 1 hit point instead. You can’t use this feature again until you finish a long rest.
Savage Attacks: When you score a critical hit with a melee weapon attack, you can roll one of the weapon’s damage dice one additional time and add it to the extra damage of the critical hit.
Background: Outlander (Outcast)
Wanderer: You have an excellent memory for maps and geography, and you can always recall the general layout of terrain, settlements, and other features around you. In addition, you can find food and fresh water for yourself and up to five other people each day, provided that the land offers berries, small game, water, and so forth.
Personality Traits: I’m always picking things up, absently fiddling with them, and sometimes accidentally breaking them.
Ideals: Greater Good. It is each person’s responsibility to make the most happiness for the whole tribe.
Bonds: My family, clan, or tribe is the most important thing in my life, even when they are far from me.
Flaws: There’s no room for caution in a life lived to the fullest.
History: Forrghk (pronounced exactly how you think it is) was born from a human woman taken captive by an Orcish chieftan. He was raised knowing that his half-blood status made him less than nothing to the tribe and that he would never take over leadership of the tribe. A strong fever that slightly retarded his mental development when he was young didn’t help. He spent much of his time with his mother or playing in the woods away from the rest of the tribe. It was here he followed two dire bear cubs back to their den as a young man. Upon seeing the cubs’ mother he grew convinced that he was looking at the great divine mother of ursine kind and he rushed home to tell his mother that he had seen the “great mommy bear.” He would dedicate the rest of his life to making this “deity” proud of him, modeling his life after the bear whenever possible. All the while he grew bigger and stronger until his father determined that keeping him around was a threat to his bloodline. He was cast out from his tribe and forced to find an earning on his own. Luckily for him, his childlike curiosity did more to endear him to other people than anything else and the few martial skills he had picked up from watching the tribe’s warriors earned him places in several mercenary companies throughout his years.
Design Notes: This character was admittedly more for me than it was for the rest of you. Forrghk has a near and dear place in my heart. I played him in a 3.5 campaign back in college and he quickly became a favorite character of mine and the rest of the group. He was possessed of a childish curiosity and intellect, but a savage and noble wisdom that made him incredibly fun to play. He collected trophies from his kills such as heads and hands, keeping them in a magical bag looted from a dragon’s hoard and using them to “scout ahead” and “entertain” his companions with macabre puppet shows. Pigsticker was the name of his greatsword, either because he had literally killed a pig with it or because he heard a mercenary call a small knife by that name and assumed that’s just what all bladed weapons were called. It was eventually replaced with a magical version that he named… shiny pigsticker. He’s easily been one of my favorite characters to play, and when I saw the Totem Warrior Primal Path for Barbarians in 5th Edition, I knew that I needed to eventually recreate him. So I did. Please enjoy.
Ben Erickson
