Class Feature Friday: Fury Instinct (Pathfinder 2nd Edition Barbarian Instinct)
Many of the barbarian instincts in 2nd Edition draw inspiration from rage power chains and archetypes from 1e that add a slight supernatural edge to the equation. Drawing upon animal totems, the power of dragons or the dead, and so on.
Today’s subject is not one of those. Indeed, the fury instinct is about as no-frills as it gets: a simple barbarian, their anger pure, simple, and personal.
But that isn’t to say that fury barbarians are boring. Far from it. Remember that despite the name, “rage” is not always anger, at least not always or entirely. There are also elements of battle-lust, adrenaline, excitement, and such.
Exactly what their rage-state means to the barbarian is a varied and diverse answer. Some may channel their frustration at past wrongs into how they fight today, while others might simply enjoy fighting that much.
Unlike other instincts, those of the fury instinct do not have a distinct initial power or an anathema. Instead they gain an additional barbarian feat at first level. Both this flexible starting power and lack of anathema makes them very versatile in terms of how they shape their progress and how they choose to use their might.
Like other barbarians, the increase in damage their rage provides goes up over time, and while it may never reach the heights of certain other instincts, it is unhampered by restrictions like elemental damage type, or the type of weapon or attack they must use.
They also learn now to counter the momentum of enemy weapons to reduce the harm they take from them, though unarmed and natural attacks are not subject to this.
In addition to the abilities of this instinct, there is one rage power associated with this instinct, namely Furious Vengeance, which lets the warrior strike back immediately when injured.
Flexible as they are, fury barbarians can successfully draw upon any and all barbarian feats that don’t have another instinct as a prerequisite, allowing you to build them as you please.
Sporting impressive flexibility in terms of build, plus an additional early-game feat, fury barbarians are not to be underestimated, and can reliably be useful in combat in most situations. Their resistance against weapon attacks makes them somewhat predisposed to focusing on armed foes, but it’s not a major focus.
Despite being the “vanilla” option, there’s still a lot to consider about roleplaying them within the context of instincts. Do they belong to a culture that does not ascribe totems to their warriors? If this is not the case, why do they lack such a totem? Do they feel isolated by that choice, or do they believe they are forging their own path by relying on their own power? How do non-cultural barbarians feel about all this?
Keev was often described by her tribemates as constantly in a bad mood, and indeed she was, but few could understand why. In truth, the goblin lass was also a changeling, one who could sense that she was different from her kin. Thankfully the chieftain found the perfect place to channel her anger: as his champion.
While traversing the desert, the party happens upon a nomad wandering alone. When noticed, he challenges them to a sparring match, fighting with shocking fury. Only afterwards does he reveal that he is searching for allies to aid in destroying an aghash div that plagues his people, and the party passed his trial by combat.
The warriors of the Storm Clan revel in the power of the air, particularly massive thunderstorms. Many of them accept the totem of the cloud dragon or other elemental totems to embrace that power into themselves. But Lakos, son of Vakos, does not, instead seeking to become like a storm on the battlefield without magic. Rumor has it he tried to accept the totem, but for some reason, he was rejected.
