With the world as exhausting as it is today, we all need some good escapism. That's why we turn to DnD. And if your campaign is like mine, you and your party of unlikely heroes are forced to set aside the idea of a normal life to fight tooth-and-nail against a tyrannical monster who has somehow swindled their way into a god-like seat of power and will do everything they can to maintain their ego-driven oppressive regime. (Perhaps this big bad is a beholder, a mind flayer, or just a really fucking stupid jester in orange face-paint.) Ahhh, what an effective way to escape the problems of our daily lives.

If this is your game, perhaps the Barbarian of Social Justice is for you. When I set out to design this archetype it originally started as a Paladin on an oath to change the world for the better but it just didn't feel right. I wanted to capture the raw fury (the rage if you will) I (and others like me) felt over these last four years as our outgoing president stoked white supremacy and xenophobia, and misogyny. Hopefully this subclass captures the solidarity, the righteous anger, and the movement building we've seen over the last four years in response to all that.

So whether you're playing a barbarian fighting systemic oppression, or just a barbarian who has more thoughts and feelings than a hulkish "me smash" then give this subclass a try. Because the biggest change comes from people too angry to sit back and watch evil happen.

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Special thanks to Sally Tamarkin for her sensitivity reading this subclass. Check out more of her work on sally.gay