Path of the Garden | Barbarian Subclass, and on ribbons

This is a relatively new subclass I started working on last weekend. Barbarian is definitely my favorite class to brew for, and it shows in the amount I make of them!

To start, this brew's combat loop is about the same complexity as the Path of the Tempest's. At the start of your turn while raging, or when you enter a rage, you create a bloom of flowers, essentially a land mine. When another creature gets too close, you can use your reaction to trigger it, causing damage. Sometimes, it may be wise to let a couple creatures move in first, then trigger, and it can also be used to control the space, blocking off certain routes on the battlefield. 

For this homebrew, I tried to get some features that were very much ribbons (Flowercraft and Orchard Walk), and features that essentially scaled off each other (the other three). With the combat loop of placing blooms, the class is encouraged to move through the field, potentially drawing others towards bombs, or moving around to control an area. It could equally spend its time staying on one target in melee, forcing them to make saving throws or choose to take opportunity attacks.

I'd also like to talk about ribbon features. In 5e, most abilities can be split between "rocks" and "ribbons". Rocks are core features; in this subclass, Blooming Petals, Sakura Flurry, and Seasonal Bloom are rocks. Ribbons are thematic features, adding to the flavor of a brew without messing with its balance; in this subclass, Flowercraft is a ribbon, while Seasonal Bloom is somewhat of a mix between a ribbon and a rock (leaning heavily towards ribbon).

In brewing, one of the most important things of a brew is it's thematic, specifically how the player can feel that thematic when playing it. A ribbon feature can be something small, such as borrowing an effect from a cantrip or minor feat (like Flowercraft does, taken from druidcraft), or could be a bit larger, but only situationally useful. If you look at some official content, you'll see ribbon features all over the place, which is a great place to start adding these thematics into your own games. Some prime examples include Storm Sorcerer's Storm Guide, Paladin's Divine Sense, Ranger's Primeval Sense, the second half of Ranger's Vanish, Horizon Walker Ranger's Detect Portal, and Grave Cleric's Eyes of the Grave. Another good place to look is in cantrips and feats, such as druidcraft, prestidigitation, Observant, Keen Mind, and others of that style. Adding ribbons into a brew helps a lot, and in my opinion, the best homebrews are often set apart by the inclusion of ribbons (either as stand alone features, or integrated into other features), which allow them to masterfully make the flavour of the brew really stand out!

Next time, I plan on releasing some new animal tokens for the Totem Warrior Barbarian!