Fury of the Fallen (Feral Winged Variant Tiefling Ancestral Guardian)

This is a second flying barbarian, and this one is going to have a bit more reliable flight due to being a Winged Tiefling rather than a Protector Aasimar. As with the Aasimar, the Tiefling's stat bonuses don't really help it much in terms of being a good Barbarian, so I'm going to be tight with Ability Score bonuses again. That said, if you're rolling for stats or you find appropriate magical items, it certainly can free up room for getting feats that just raw leveling doesn't have much availability for.

I've considered a couple different options for the particular variety of barbarian to go with that fits as a counterpoint to the Wrath of Heaven build. I could obviously do another Zealot but the two would likely end up looking very close to each other, especially where there is not much room for Feats in either build. I think instead I will go with the Ancestral Guardian and the idea that restless souls gather around the character in hopes of being avenged. This would be rather than direct ancestors.

For background, I think Folk Hero might work well.

As a secondary thought, I'm also applying the Feral variant which gives the Tiefling +2 Dex rather than +2 Cha.

For this I am using my typical theoretical 30 pt array of 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10.

1st Level Feral Winged Tiefling Barbarian

Str: 15

Dex: 15

Con: 14

Int: 12

Wis: 10

Cha: 12

HP: 14

AC: 14
Speed: 30ft, 30ft Fly

Proficiency Bonus: +2

Darkvision 60ft
Infernal Resilience
Winged

Armor Proficiencies: Light and Medium Armor, Shields

Weapons: Simple and Martial Weapons

Tools: Smith's Tools, Land Vehicles

Saving Throws: Strength, Constitution
Languages: Common, Infernal

Proficient Skills
Animal Handling (Folk Hero) +2
Athletics (Barbarian) +4
Intimidation (Barbarian) +3
Survival (Folk Hero) +2

Background: Folk Hero

Rage (2/+2)
Unarmored Defense

Reasoning: Not much in the way of choice here. I considered applying the 12 to Dex but decided it might be worth it to take it to 15, this will allow it to get to 16 even if I take the same line of improvements I gave the Wrath of Heaven build.

2nd to 5th Level

2nd Level - Danger Sense, Reckless Attack, +9 HP (23)

3rd Level - Primal Path: Ancestral Guardian, Ancestral Protectors, Rage (3/+2) +9 HP (32)

4th Level - Ability Score Improvement: +1 Str, +1 Dex, +9 HP (41)

5th Level - Proficiency Bonus: +3, Extra Attack, Fast Movement, +9 HP (50)

Reasoning: The first thing to do is still to bump Strength and Dexterity up to even numbers. There isn't much else in the way of options in this stretch. Barbarians outside of Totem Warrior don't offer much in the way of building. Most of the subclasses are rubber stamps.

5th Level Statistics

5th Level Feral Winged Tiefling Ancestral Guardian

Str: 16

Dex: 16

Con: 14

Int: 12

Wis: 10

Cha: 12

HP: 50

AC: 15
Speed: 40ft, 30ft Fly

Proficiency Bonus: +3

Darkvision 60ft
Infernal Resilience
Winged

Armor Proficiencies: Light and Medium Armor, Shields

Weapons: Simple and Martial Weapons

Tools: Smith's Tools, Land Vehicles

Saving Throws: Strength, Constitution
Languages: Common, Infernal

Proficient Skills
Animal Handling (Folk Hero) +3
Athletics (Barbarian) +6
Intimidation (Barbarian) +4
Survival (Folk Hero) +3

Background: Folk Hero

Rage (3/+2)
Unarmored Defense
Danger Sense
Reckless Attack
Ancestral Guardian
Ancestral Protectors
Extra Attack
Fast Movement

6th to 10th Level

6th Level - Spirit Shield (2d6), Rage (4/+2), +9 HP (59)

7th Level - Feral Instinct, +9 HP (68)

8th Level - Ability Score Improvement: +2 Con, +17 HP (75)

9th Level - Proficiency Bonus +4, Brutal Critical (1 Die), Rage (4/+3), +10 HP (85)

10th Level - Consult the Spirits, Spirit Shield (3d6), +10 HP (95)

Reasoning: Now the character starts to differentiate from the Wrath of Heaven due to the class features chosen. However, the fact remains that this subclass is something of a rubber stamp and the base stats in even my 30 pt array don't leave much room for feats in a race not well-suited to Barbarian.

10th Level Statistics

10th Level Feral Winged Tiefling Ancestral Guardian

Str: 16

Dex: 16

Con: 16

Int: 12

Wis: 10

Cha: 12

HP: 95

AC: 16
Speed: 40ft, 30ft Fly

Proficiency Bonus: +4

Darkvision 60ft
Infernal Resilience
Winged

Armor Proficiencies: Light and Medium Armor, Shields

Weapons: Simple and Martial Weapons

Tools: Smith's Tools, Land Vehicles

Saving Throws: Strength, Constitution
Languages: Common, Infernal

Proficient Skills
Animal Handling (Folk Hero) +4
Athletics (Barbarian) +7
Intimidation (Barbarian) +5
Survival (Folk Hero) +4

Background: Folk Hero

Rage (4/+3)
Unarmored Defense
Danger Sense
Reckless Attack
Ancestral Guardian
Ancestral Protectors
Extra Attack
Fast Movement
Spirit Shield (3d6)
Feral Instinct
Brutal Critical (1 Die)
Consult the Spirits

11th to 15th Level

11th Level - Relentless Rage, +10 HP (105)

12th Level - Ability Score Improvement: +2 Con, Rage (5/+3), +22 HP (127)

13th Level - Proficiency Bonus +5, Brutal Critical (2 dice), +11 HP (138)

14th Level - Vengeful Ancestors, Spirit Shield (4d6), +11 HP (149)

15th Level - Persistent Rage, +11 HP (160)

Reasoning: Given the heavier focus on defense and directing attacks toward the Barbarian that the Ancestral Guardian has, I decided to focus on increasing Con over Strength here. I also considered the Sentinel, Shield Master, and Mage Slayer feats to further add into that.

15th Level Statistics

15th Level Feral Winged Tiefling Ancestral Guardian

Str: 16

Dex: 16

Con: 18

Int: 12

Wis: 10

Cha: 12

HP: 160

AC: 16
Speed: 40ft, 30ft Fly

Proficiency Bonus: +5

Darkvision 60ft
Infernal Resilience
Winged

Armor Proficiencies: Light and Medium Armor, Shields

Weapons: Simple and Martial Weapons

Tools: Smith's Tools, Land Vehicles

Saving Throws: Strength, Constitution
Languages: Common, Infernal

Proficient Skills
Animal Handling (Folk Hero) +5
Athletics (Barbarian) +8
Intimidation (Barbarian) +6
Survival (Folk Hero) +5

Background: Folk Hero

Rage (5/+3)
Unarmored Defense
Danger Sense
Reckless Attack
Ancestral Guardian
Ancestral Protectors
Extra Attack
Fast Movement
Spirit Shield (4d6)
Feral Instinct
Brutal Critical (2 Dice)
Consult the Spirits
Relentless Rage
Vengeful Ancestors
Persistent Rage

16th to 20th Level

16th Level - Ability Score Improvement +2 Con, Rage (5/+4), +27 HP (187)

17th Level - Proficiency Bonus +6, Brutal Critical (3 Dice), Rage (6/+4), +12 HP (199)

18th Level - Indomitable Might, +12 HP (211)

19th Level - Ability Score Improvement: Tough, +50 HP (261)

20th Level - Primal Champion, +53 HP (314)

Reasoning: I decided to let Strength stay relatively low and have it rise at the end via Primal Champion. Ideally, there might also have been the discovery of a Strength enhancing item in the course of the game. Either way, this would result in lower accuracy and damage over the course of the game, but this creates a substantial amount of hit points. That said, I likely would take Tough much earlier if this were my long-term goal in order to best make use of those hit points throughout the campaign.

20th Level Statistics

15th Level Feral Winged Tiefling Ancestral Guardian

Str: 20

Dex: 16

Con: 24

Int: 12

Wis: 10

Cha: 12

HP: 314

AC: 20
Speed: 40ft, 30ft Fly

Proficiency Bonus: +6

Darkvision 60ft
Infernal Resilience
Winged

Armor Proficiencies: Light and Medium Armor, Shields

Weapons: Simple and Martial Weapons

Tools: Smith's Tools, Land Vehicles

Saving Throws: Strength, Constitution
Languages: Common, Infernal

Proficient Skills
Animal Handling (Folk Hero) +6
Athletics (Barbarian) +11
Intimidation (Barbarian) +7
Survival (Folk Hero) +6

Background: Folk Hero

Feat: Tough

Rage (Unlimited/+4)
Unarmored Defense
Danger Sense
Reckless Attack
Ancestral Guardian
Ancestral Protectors
Extra Attack
Fast Movement
Spirit Shield (4d6)
Feral Instinct
Brutal Critical (3 Dice)
Consult the Spirits
Relentless Rage
Vengeful Ancestors
Persistent Rage
Indomitable Might
Primal Champion

Some 5e Builds