On November 11th, Wizards Of The Coast will release their first published books in the Forgotten Realms since the release of the 2024 Core Rulebooks: Heroes Of Faerun, which is a player expansion book, and Adventures In Faerun, a sourcebook for Dungeon Masters.

As a big fan of this setting, I was instantly hooked when I heard the announcement earlier this year, and made sure to pre-order it as soon as I could. I was lucky enough to get the books in advance through my game store because of the Wizards Play Network.

As mentioned earlier, Heroes Of Faerun is specifically for players to use, although Dungeon Masters should definitely get it if they are planning to run a campaign in the Forgotten Realms and wants to offer these options. The player expansion book offers new and updated subclasses as well as brand new backgrounds and feats, all tied to the world of the Forgotten Realms. The book does have a lot more content in the book, such as lore about species in the setting, a guide to life in Faerun, the deities, new items, magic (including a new mechanic called “Circle Magic”) and factions.

There’s a lot that we could dive into, but I wanted to look at this from a Barbarian point of view, so let’s dive into which options are best to use if you’re planning to play this class.

No Subclass Options For Barbarians

Unlike its predecessor, Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide, the Heroes Of Faerun does not provide any new subclasses for Barbarians. Not to go on a tangent about this, but I personally was a bit disappointed to see Karlach featured so much in this book and in the Adventures In Faerun book and then to find out that there was not a Barbarian subclass option available. This doesn’t mean they should have – it was just more of a personal disappointment since I love this class so much. But I’ve also noticed that since the release of the 2024 core rulebooks, there have been many Unearthed Arcana playtests released and only the most recent one that was dropped on October 30th had any new materials for Barbarians. Even then, this was an update to existing ones from 2014 subclass options. One thing I hope to see more in the future is brand new subclass options (and I will admit, I want to see the Path of the Giant get updated). So hopefully we will see this soon.

Backgrounds

Backgrounds for 2024 rules were revamped a bit to include your ability score increases and an Origin Feat. The Backgrounds in the Heroes Of Faerun are brand new backgrounds that have ties to the land and world of Faerun. As a Barbarian, here are probably the best options you can choose for your character:

• Rashemi Wanderer. This may not be everyone’s first choice for Barbarians, but this deserves first place for me personally because of the flavor. If you’re not familiar with the Rashemi, look up Rashemen in the Heroes Of Faerun or on the Forgotten Realms wiki. They have a strong connection to Barbarians, magic, and the Red Wizards of Thay. Just a really cool history to read up on (plus, your favorite Ranger, Minsc, is from there!). With this background, you receive ability score increases to Strength, Constitution, and Charisma (the last one being helpful for Intimidation checks, rules as written). You also gain the Tough feat which helps with your Hit Points and being proficient in Intimidation and Perception allows you to take on more proficiencies from your Barbarian class.
• Zhentarim Mercenary. Again, may not immediately scream Barbarian here, but I think when someone looks at this closely, you can find that this is a highly valued option. Ability score inreases in Strength, Dexterity, and Charisma are, again, beneficial for Barbarians, as well as proficiencies in Intimidation and Perception. It also gives proficiency in Forgery Kit, which I think from a roleplay perspective can give a lot of possibilities for your Barbarian to have more usefulness beyond violence. But the Origin Feat that it comes with, Zhentarim Ruffian, is a fantastic pair for your Barbarian character (more on this Origin Feat below).
• Ice Fisher. This background is probably the most optimal choice for Barbarians because the Ability Score increases are Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution (all core abilities for the brutal class), and you get the Alert Feat, which allows you to add your Proficiency Bonus to your Initiative Rolls and you can switch spots in Initiative order with a willing ally, which is huge. Only downside is the flavor. I don’t have any interest personally playing a fisher. You can definitely reflavor this as another tundra-exposed background, but the equipment is still focused on a fisher so you’d have to make changes to that as well.
• Flaming Fist Mercenary. In terms of mechanics, you gain the exact same benefits as the Rashemi Wanderer. Same ability score increases, Origin Feat, and skill proficiency. The only difference is the tool proficiency (Smith’s Tools vs. Cartographer’s Tools from Rashemi Wanderer) and equipment. Flavor wise, this is another great option if you want to create a character that is more urban and has a career in being a paid muscle. Plus… you get a Portable Ram.

Feats

Feats in D&D 2024 fall under one of the following categories: Origin Feats (which you gain as part of your Background you select as well as an option for when you reach certain levels), General Feats, Fighting Style Feats (which requires you to have the Fighting Style Feature), and Epic Boon Feats (which you have to have a minimum character level of 19 or higher).

Heroes Of Faerun introduces new Feats in the Origin, General, and Epic Boon categories. Here are my top Feats for playing a Barbarian from this player expansion book (this time in no particular order):

• Zhentarim Ruffian (Origin). This gives you Exploit Opening, which is essentially Savage Attack on Opportunity Attacks, and Family First, which allows you to use your Heroic Inspiration to give yourself and everyone in your party Advantage on an Initiative roll.
• Purple Dragon Commandant (General). This allows you to increase your Strength or Dexterity by 1, use a Bonus Action to give an ally Temporary Hit Points equal to 2d6 plus the modifier of the ability score you increased (you can do this a number of times equal to your Proficiency Bonus per Long Rest), and you have Advantage on attack rolls while Bloodied, which can come in handy for only needing to use Reckless when the situation calls for it (e.g. Brutal Strike).
• Dragonscarred (General). This allows you to increase your Constitution or Charism by 1, gain resistance on a damage type of your choosing (Acid, Cold, Fire, Lightning, or Poison), and use the Dragon’s Terror benefit as a Bonus Action (an ability that gives the Frightened condition to someone that fails their Wisdom Saving Throw until the end of your next turn). The downside is it requires that you take the Cult of the Dragon Initiate Feat and that you have a decent Wisdom score for the Dragon’s Terror ability.
• Boon of Desperate Resilience (Epic Boon). This allows you to increase your Strength or Constitution score by 1 and you have Resistance to every damage type except Force when you are Bloodied. Pair that with Purple Dragon Commandant, and you are scarier and harder to kill when you are closer to death.
• Boon of the Soul Drinker (Epic Boon). Increase an ability score by 1, gain Resistance to Cold and Necrotic damage, and use a Reaction to regain 50 Hit Points when an enemy within 120 feet of you is reduced to 0 Hit Points (you gain this ability back after finishing a Short or Long Rest).

The Future Of Barbarians In Faerun (And Beyond!)

As you can see, there are a lot of great options for your Barbarian class from the latest Dungeons & Dragons book, Forgotten Realms: Heroes Of Faerun. I’m personally very excited about these options. I’m planning to use some of these in an actual play campaign I’ll be playing in, so it’ll be a lot of fun and very exciting to come up with a new Barbarian in the world of Faerun.

Let me know which Backgrounds and Feats you personally liked from this player expansion book, whether it is for your Barbarian or for another character class. I’m excited to hear all of the great characters we get to play in the Forgotten Realms.

Don’t forget to go Reckless or go home. (Unless you have the Purple Dragon Commandant Feat, that is).