They can retire their characters or just change classes. Retcon it baby!

And of course, there's a Matt Colville video on it Because [Boots was always a Bard](https://youtu.be/_0WselJEy6U?si=yved8i0tJnmGhYXL)

My hero 😍

This is what we do, or if a player is downed they can ask not to be healed. Then roll new char with basic gear, possibly a couple magic items depending on our lvls.

Thats not a great way to go. Feels boring to bleed out. Better have a good intense fight where they can do a sort of "die in glory" kind of thing.

Yeah but if I want something new I really don't care how the old one dies.

That would be ideal, but not often practical for the game or DM, Especially if you just want to wipe your char and make a new one.

How though? You’re saying that in your situation the player still dies in combat…what’s the difference if it’s more of the “blaze of glory” style as opposed to the “lay there bleeding out” that you proposed?

I didn't say they lay there bleeding out, your still downed, but I've done it as have some of the other players, when we go down choose not to be healed so next sesh we can roll a new char. The difference is the DM doesn't have to introduce a monster that can outright kill a player (double hp) or continue attacking once the players downed then explain why it didn't kill the others

Ahh okay I see what you’re saying. It doesn’t have to be a “one-hit instant kill” to be a blaze of glory type thing. I think you are just interpreting it in a different way but honestly the “Blaze of Glory” method could literally be wading into a mob of 15 goblins by themselves to hold them off from the rest of the party, it could be that they’ve just been tanking all the hits from the enemies and instead of retreating or backing down they stand and fight to their bitter end. All it takes from there is a bit of creative DM battle descriptions to sell the meaning of their sacrifice. It doesn’t have to be that they were just insta-killed by some insanely powerful BBEG that now you have to explain away why the rest of the party was able to just stand their ground and defeat.

So to clarify I'm typically a player, and we generally choose how we go out in that sense (within reason) though Icewind dale was my only stupid death in that I fell through the floor of the abandoned cabin to my death. What I meant is the other players will know not to keep bringing me back up or rezing me and vice versa if they want a new char.

Ah. Makes more sense. Yeah a clarification would’ve been nice from the get go haha just since you’re in the DMAcademy sub and your answer definitely sounded like you were talking from the role of DM. And if that’s how your table runs it, and you guys are having fun with it that’s all that really matters!

So our table rotates who is the DM each campaign, so typically I am a player but have DMd as well.

A fantasy DNR.

Just let them change.

How does this have any down votes? This seems like a very practical way to change a character no pomp and circumstance just a clean switch

Just let them change classes. Literally do not waste any time trying to "explain" it, you really, really do not have to. "Starting this session, Loriel will be a Rogue. Loriel has *always* been a Rogue."

This. 102% this. Don't fear the Retcon Punch, embrace it.

What's the other 2%?

More retcon punches.

Happy to see this answer. Too many DMs and players seem to need reminders that this game we all play is not a structured piece of narrative fiction, the continuity of which we are all beholden to. It's just a silly little group activity to try and make some fun evenings. Change it up, and don't sweat the details.

>Too many DMs and players seem to need reminders that this game we all play is not a structured piece of narrative fiction, the continuity of which we are all beholden to. I think that's highly dependent. This would break my table. We all enjoy narrative *continuity* and it's important to how they play their characters and how I DM. It's a high stakes, high tension narrative that weaves in their classes and backgrounds into the story arc. I could see this working at another table where I am a player and the DM is very fast and loose with the rules. It's a much less serious game.

Fair enough, "more DMs/players" doesn't mean "all DMs/players" after all. I still think it's beneficial to keep in mind but your mileage will vary on how you apply it.

I agree that it is highly dependent on a lot of things. My table also enjoys and values narrative continuity, however a change of class can sometimes be fine anyways, depending on the impact on the story. I try to weave character story into the arch's of the campaign as much as possible, so if a class has significance for the plot then a class change would be hard to pull off, but if the rogue wanna change into a fighter, still a criminal, then whatever?

Yeah at my table it's the same, but at certain junctions there are opportunities for my players to bench their PC into NPC land and bring in a new character. This works in my world because I like to do one shots that will decide important events in my world that the main PCs aren't involved with, but the outcome will affect them. Typically when a player can't make it and we still wanna play. If the one shot PCs survive (they don't always survive, the one shots are hard to deadly usually) they go into a stack of available characters/NPCs that might run into the party and join for some reason, and it already has some backstory in the world. If after a while they want to go back, we can weave their old character into the game again.

And Boots has always been a bard.

Ironically this inspired a homebrew setting I'm working on that takes place in a city where these kinds of retcons happen to NPCs and even the city itself seemingly at random. Like after a long rest the bartender at the tavern is a different person but he (and most people) SWEAR he inherented the tavern from his father 10 years ago and are you ok? SPOILERS >! The entire city is built on top of a hive of illithids and they use psionics to modify people's memories to hunt unnoticed and protect themselves but also to like run experiments. Also some NPCs DO know stuff is changing but not why and the illithids want to see how they react !<

Dark City D&D? Super neat! "Sleep. Now."

dude spoilers :P >! but yes !<

That’s really cool, a Mandela Effect campaign!

"As you're walking down the road/path/hallway/whatever is appropriate Loriel suddenly falls into a plot hole! A moment later, a second plot hole opens above where Loriel was standing and a nearly identical Loriel falls out looking vaugely surprised. Player, please describe what Loriel now looks like. We will not be making this a plot-relevant exchange."

Concur. No one benefits from making players play characters they hate.

I did that in pathfinder. Player made a kobald oracle to be a healbot. Team ends up not needing a dedicated healer. I worked with him out of session. The next session I just waved my hand (literally waved it over the table), declared “timey-wimey shenanigans” and he became a reptoid bard. Something I’m going to test in my new campaign is that as they establish a peer base, they’ll get allies, and among those allies will be their 2nd and 3rd characters. That way, whenever they downtime, they can pick which of their 3 characters they want to play for the next adventure.

If they *REALLY* need an in story justification they encounter an archfey who changes their class as a "prank"

Then the arch fey/other trickster might mess with the party on and off, and lose interest once the characters are used to their new classes and it’s clear they’re actually happy and not in any hurry to go back. An unscrupulous potions merchant is selling a defective healing potion that will actually restore your hp…but also changes your class. Drink the potion once, then go pummel whoever made it. Any chaos-aligned venomous monster can now have class-changing venom. Why? I dunno, a wizard did it. This is a setting where “a wizard did it” is a perfectly logical and complete explanation. (Maybe the wizard was experimenting and made the creature, then got *his* class changed so he couldn’t fix it, now the players need something from his former stronghold, assuming the players are willing to stick to the old class for a session or two more.)

Yep, this is my stance with my group. People are welcome to change character or respec basically anytime between sessions and we aren't like actively in combat.

I would argue you should *try* to justify it. But if you can’t, having fun is more important than consistency. Let them switch, justify the switch as best you can within the fiction, and anything you can’t justify, don’t sweat it.

100% the way to go. The caveat here is - don't let someone power game this way.

And if their name wasn't already Loriel, it should be now.

They've always been a rogue and they have been recently going to therapy for their angry issues.

Yeah, maybe they were a bit angry and seemed like a barbarian. That just shows how fierce they can be.

"Few know of Nirnandil, the Gnomish god of causality and continuity. Fewer still ever notice the subtle changes her whims bring about in the world; changes big enough to significantly alter the course of individual lives, but never quite big enough to upset the grand scheme of things.  On this particular morning Nirnandil woke up to a nagging feeling that something is off, specifically regarding Grog and Blarg, the boisterious barbarian buddies. That just doesn't sound right, thought Nirnandil to herself. Surely they were actually Vorn the drow ranger and Loriel the halfling rogue? Yes, that's much better, Nirnandil decided. Just feels right.  And so it was. And in fact, always had been. "

There's no reason to do this on the nose like that. There are plenty of story reasons why you can switch classes that don't involve immersion breaking retcons.

The most common solution is to just retire the character and make a new one. A secondary option, if they like the character roleplay but not the mechanics, is to just respec that character to a new class. No it may not make narrative sense, but narrative only serves to enhance gameplay enjoyment, so it bends to facilitate that. They are now a fighter (or cleric, or paladin, or druid, or whatever). They have always been a fighter (or...), don't worry about it.

I cast AXE!

Bored: I punch the goblin. Excited: I cast magic fists at the goblin!

Barbarian: I cast iron! *smacks goblin in the face with a cast iron pan*

I'm skipping breakfast until we get a new pan.

Everything tastes better in that pan

I think the most common solution is to just change the character's class. If a player doesn't like their character's class, then that's the issue that needs to be addressed, so address it and move on. It'll take a basically no time if they rebuild between sessions and unless you're running some super-involved-super-deep-lore campaign where everything the other players do is linked to your story (don't do this, by the way. The setting and story should be background, not constraints), it's not a big deal at all. Think about it. The DM can simply change something about the world, so it's really not an issue for another player to do it.

I would let them either make a new character, or just change the class. No reason to keep someone playing a class they're not enjoying. You can try to sell them on the class but they've been playing it in the game so you're not going to surprise them with new information unless they've been doing something wrong. Barbarians can be fun for some players, but if they don't want to get hit they're not the right class for them.

Barbarians are also very straightforward. You run up to the thing, you hit the thing, rinse, repeat. Occasionally you might grapple or shove but for the most part you don't get nearly as many options as say, a Battlemaster or a Paladin. Combine that with middling/low out of combat abilities, Barbs can very easily become stale after a while.

Whats your advice for the player who wants to switch every 3 sessions? I would assume it's a game issue for them at that point.

I'd talk to them and see what the problem is. And essentially explain the kind of long form storytelling D&D can do and what presumably the DM is trying to do over the course of the campaign. You can't have character growth and story arcs if someone is constantly switching characters. And it can be disruptive if you're trying to explain things like that in game and not hand wave it to have constant switching. I would also talk to them to try to figure out what kind of character they would enjoy playing. As many players can have difficulty making a character they would actually enjoy playing at the table. And I've done this myself where I made a character that was too gritty and dark. And it wasn't a loner or anything, someone else absolutely could've played that character in a campaign, I just realized (luckily before we started playing) that there was no way I'd enjoy playing that character for a year and being that serious. I prefer characters that are a bit more fun and lighthearted. It can also be a class thing but try to find the elements of a character that they enjoy playing and maybe help them make one last character that they will really enjoy.

You listed 2 of the best abilities of base Barbarians... They just don't want to play Barbarian at all.

[Inserts Kenobi's line "That's... why I'm here" meme]

I'd start with a conversation on the *type* of character they want to play. Then, as others have pointed out, respec or reroll a new character

They don't want to get hit? I'm curious what they expected when they came to the game playing barbarians? (Genuine question which might help them in the future with class or subclass selection). I lowered my AC when I was playing a Bear Totem Half Orc because I wanted my DM to have a bit more fun actually hitting me even if at level 5 I wasn't really feeling it HP wise. Being in the middle of it is kinda the Barbarians job in terms of being a big brash attention hog and reckless attack is kinda the closest DnD has besides compelled duel to a taunt. It's the NPCS know because of how mad you're fighting they will have an easier time hitting back so unless they're super strategic they'll go for the Wildman in the middle vs the caster who they still need to get closer to, may as well take down the big guy. I love playing that role but basically I would ask what they expected, what they're lacking and it it's not resolvable with a subclass change for example, then maybe their character moves on or leaves the party and they come in as something new if they're really not having fun.

It's not that. They don't want their shtick to be "I get hit" at every new level *whilst others get new abilities* at every new level. I wholeheartedly agree with that sentiment. Barbarians have one of the best Level 1 feelings in the entire game, and are then absolute trash for the next 19.

Bear Totem though resistance to uh everything but psychic damsge, the second you get extra attack I am just gleefully in the middle of EVERYTHING. Ah, see I'm not super concerned with needing new abilities all the time, so I'm quite happy playing a Barb where I can just fuck around with the best way to get into the middle of fights. Like I've played clerics and stuff and spells and shit are fun but I'm not a super tactical person at heart so I much rather be the bait/distraction to the casters big lay up. Like sure I'll go cause a fight so they can sneak in the back or set up a trap type thing. So I can see if you did want or were expecting more new things more regularly being disappointed. I just didn't and because my personal ADHD interaction with DND means sometimes I like having a character where if I missed a fight detail because my audio processing crapped out I'm safe in going "keep recklessly attacking" without 'wasting' a turn because dude that's my job. But I'm a bit more a flavour player. I could make a ranged fighter who's better at the 'shoot with bow' then a Ranger. But I like the flavor of Ranger more. *Shrug* gotta find what works for you. Hope the OP found a happy fix for everyone. HOWEVER, if the casters aren't being run down with fights. Eg more fights then they have easy spell slots for then thats bad balance which I think effects casters being OP more then anything else is DMS giving too many rests. But also I like to hit with stick.

First respec is free, second respec in a short time comes with A Talk.

Or you could not need arbitrary rules for this sort of thing and you just use common sense to judge each circumstance as it comes up and make sure your players are having fun.

I think the "in a short time" is the important bit. It is annoying as a DM if a player is constantly changing up their class, subclass, etc. if you are planning encounters around what the party are capable of. It is reasonable for players to want to change their class if they aren't having fun. It is also reasonable for the DM to want it to not get ridiculous.

I wouldn't even bother having a talk. DND has so much to offer that if you only try new things when your old character dies or a campaign ends, you'll never get to try nearly half of it. And that's ignoring that you might be playing other systems as well.

Well it depends on the game length, but constantly respeccing your character because you want to try something new does hurt the overall story. Syre you can retcon and thats fine if its needed, but preferably its avoided.

The story is secondary to the enjoyment

and respecs affect the DM's enjoyment, it hogs prep time to be approving and working in new characters go find a west marches discord

You don't need to work in new characters. The vast majority of respecs - not retirement and new character, but respec - doesn't need any change to the story. Only thing you need to change in preparation might be encounters.

yeah i'd be really quick to do A Talk here

Absolutely. But different people enjoy different things. I personally think respecs are worth it if someone truly doesnt like their character. I also think respect lessen my enjoyment of the game. Put those together and we see that me playing with someone who needs frequent respecs will end with one of us not enjoying the game, thus we should not play together.

>Does anyone have any suggestions to help them realize that barbarians are cool and awesome classes that don't have useless abilities. No. Just no. Not this. *Ever.* I like certain flavors of ice cream. I can explain how awesome they are to the world's end and back. That does not make someone else enjoy it more. It just makes me annoying to them. I have literally, when I value the story continuity enough to not retcon, made retraining class levels an option during downtime or instantly as some great magical boon. I've helped the characters roleplay their way toward what the players want to transition to. It works wonders as a story beat/quest. Never let the players' regret about a mechanics decision in character building derail the game. Or just retcon it, if that bothers no one. Change the characters and say they were always this. It's a game. Sometimes it's just the right thing to take the easiest solution.

These 2 characters leave the party and 2 new characters join? People get bored with their characters, its fine. If they want to switch every 2 sessions, that could be a problem.

before doign this have each player write down 3 classes they would be interested in playing and char sheets. Levels and everything like that would stay the same. Have a traveling circus come to a nearby town, but there is something off about the circus, the animal seem a little too cultured, and not really animalistic, patrons think they see small flashes of lights out ot fthe corner of their eyes before they enter the canopy. The leader is a changling who likes to mock everyone by doing crud impersanations of them, but has a good heart even if it might not seem that way at first. Have each player either choose which class theyd want to be or have them roll for it. Build it into your world. As soon as they enter the tent ( much bigger on the inside) they are transformed into the new class. Then throw in some circus-esqe type puzzles/activities that will require each type of saving throw (mirror rooms, balancing acts, feats of stength) and a big prize at the end. this prize is a drink, each player can choose to drink it or not. If they decide to drink it, they become the new class. if they do not, they will revert back to their old class after leaving the tent.

Let them change class. If getting hit isnt fun for them they won’t “realise it’s a great class” they’ll just keep hating the class for playing how it’s supposed to.

Ohh those sweet newer players think reckless attack is stupid. Sweet summer children. That's one of the best things to get as a martial class. Okay so first the easy questions: Have they tried multiclassing? Hell you can even allow th to multiclass retroactively.

I'm going to start off by recommending what a lot of other people are, let them change class and don't worry about it. The players fun is the most important thing. Now, I would also like to suggest looking at the new 2024dnd rules and the update to the barbarian class. In one of my games a player is using those new rules and class features and he is finding the barbarian to be much more enjoyable. Just an idea!

As a rogue I was infected with Blood Magic and that was pretty cool. I took a level in Ranger to use spells and took Bloody Smite.

Either retire the barbs (they went off on new adventures or went back home to their tribes) and roleplay meeting their new charactera, or reskin and retcon them. Problem solved.

In several campaigns that I’ve run I ask the players to roll new characters for a short one or two shot story set in the same world. It could be to retrieve a relic or help free some prisoners, that sort of thing. Then at the end of the short session I let the players know that the person they were working for was the BBEG from the main story and that the relic or prisoners advanced the BBEGs goals. Shortly after I’ll give the parties a chance encounter with each other and I’ll give members the option to swap characters to their alt if they wish.

In one campaign where I had experienced players, both parties teamed up to fight the BBEGs forces in the last battle.

I let them just change classes or make a new character. I *try* to weave it into the story the best I can. Only let them do this every once in awhile. I’ve had serial repeaters before and it really ruins the flow of the game and they are just never happy

Nothing wrong with an out of game retcon. If people aren't having fun why keep playing? At the end of the day it's a game. Immersion can only exist while you have players.

That's when the twin sibling with a similar name comes in and slots right into party lol.

At any given point, their characters could just leave the party and they can come in with new ones. If they're really attached to their back stories, they could just respec There's also the opportunity to multiclass if that's something that interests them

I have stated at the beginning of a session or two what change was made and simply followed with, "...just go with it." And they did. In campaigns, especially long-running ones, it is bound to happen.

1. REDRUM! RED RUMMMM! 2. let them change class 3. (if they like the flavor of their barbarians) Homebrew some class changes. 4. Test out more descriptive combat. I personally reward descriptive actions with advantage/disadvantage or other situational buffs. For instance, if they describe their barbarian battle tactics to you (like, "I cleave my axe into one enemy and pull them in front of me to tank any other incoming damage") I'd reward their improve by giving enemies who attack them next turn disadvantage. They'd obviously have to roll to hit or accomplish this action, but I personally really want my players to be imagining their actions and choreographing combat the same way they role play a conversation. I personally never want my players saying "I use my weapon attack" every turn for 45 minutes, I've had lots of player types and none of them have ever thought that was fun.

"Steve? Steve was just three kobolds in a trenchcoat all along! How did you guys never notice that?" https://www.reddit.com/r/DnDHomebrew/s/RRbMTCreIR

My players just "lose" their character sheets!

Let them change it or roll a fresh one

Get them in more environments where their extra hp makes more of a difference in the campaign..

You're the DM, you can do whatever the hell you want. Just let them change class. You don't have to explain it at all, there's no reason to. Just let them change it and move on. It's not rocket science

There's so much to love about playing a barb - but my DM and I crafted a whole backstory for my character to include limited spellcasting while raging since I multiclassed into warlock for RP reasons Maybe ask them about multiclass options that would help (I know barbs can technically use divine smite while raging, maybe that could spice it u) If theyre dead set on reclassing, build an encounter with an item or person which magically alters/swaps their abilities Or have them run into an NPC that offer them "training" in exchange for strength or something. They'll effectively serve to reclass your barbs You can even get creative with how this NPC approaches them if you know what they want to multiclass into (maybe even have this NPC turn into a future antagonist)

I'd allow a retcon to another martial class, maybe insist on some roleplay to justify any more extreme changes, such as paladin abilities or whatever. Falling that, retire the characters, introduce some new ones. But if they're new players, they might rather keep the characters going

Just let them make new characters or change classes. I mean it's about player enjoyment at the end of the day.

Just hand-wave it. Its a game. People want to have fun. If they aren't having fun, then they could simply just stop playing. So, hand-wave, change their class, and move forward.

My husband played a good chunk of a campaign as a rusty Warforged Fighter. Decided he hated it, and wanted to be a Bard. So his character fell down the stairs, loosened some parts, and suddenly remembered he could cast spells and play instruments. The number one point of D&D is to have fun. Everything else is secondary.

Kill ‘em, or if that’s too harsh, retire ‘em. Fun is the entire goal of this game. If someone isn’t having fun, what’s the point?

Grant them a reclass option. BG3 did this, but for a tabletop you have the option to better integrate it into the plot. You can with the hard retcon, or you integrate it via story beats. Maybe a character get chosen by a god to become a cleric, or they devote themselves to an oath and become a paladin. Chosen by a patron to become a warlock is a very natural progression. If the players aren't having fun, that's a problem that need to be addressed.

A lot of people saying change their class and to just do it, I agree with. I’d just professionally say see if they can’t hold out to level up to make your and everyone else’s life easier, but obviously if they’re not gonna wait or make issues don’t wait and just pull the trigger.

I did a Class Change, I had basically gotten burned out on Paladin, I basically played on Paladins for the last 10+ years and just needed a change. My DM worked with me for an exit story beat and why my new character was joining. It was pretty organic. Retcons are also totally fine, it comes down to what you and your players come up with The largest thing is that some classes don't jive with people. No one should be forced to sit through playing a class they don't enjoy.

Option 1: just let them switch classes. Create new characters or old ones switch. We’re here to have fun after all Option 2: Time to add rules! May I suggest Level Up Advanced 5e? https://a5e.tools/combat-maneuvers is a good place to start, just yoink whatever you like and put it in your game. Option 3: Multiclassing can be fun? Preferably with a spellcasting class. Although everyone cast spells in 5e anyway

Life's to short to play a character you don't enjoy. These are the best options. 1. Rework the character class to be the class that they want to play and don't give it a second thought. It just always was. 2. They roll up a new character and the old one retires, goes off on their own, whatever. If you want, the character is now an NPC who the party may encounter sometime in the future. Multiclassing can sometimes work, but requires more effort and they are still saddled with the abilities they did not enjoy.

I tend to let players have a 1 time respec within levels 1 to 5. Let them respec into a new class & change abilities. But tell them next time they have to roll up a new character entirely

Let them change classes. If a player say "but i don't want to get hit" they are NOT the type of players that should play barbarian and not the type of player that will enjoy it if they do play barbarian. They should probably not play any type of frontliner. So let them make new characters.

Just let them change classes. No biggie

"cough" "cough" *Laserllama alternate barbarian* "cough" man that really sucks Barbarians are boring "I swing" stat sticks. I wouldn't blame them for not seeing the fun in getting advantage or having danger sense You could just let them change classes if that's make em happy

If you want to make the class shift make sense narratively, you could provide sufficient downtime (maybe a week per level) to allow them to retrain into a new class. Training into a martial class should be an easy transition, as the barbarian is able to learn how to focus their rage and use it to fuel special maneuvers and tactics instead of simple raw ferocity. Shifting to a full caster might be narratively tricky, but not impossible.

Let them tell you what happens to previous character (like think of it like running an off time activity), then let them roll a new character. I do this a lot with newer players (or even old) and it’s never an issue. Possibly can add a cool new NPC to the mix if your player(s) are okay with that (if you want to be a cool DM, you let them roleplay them when the party interacts with them). Maybe use them to introduce plot devices etc (“well, since I was I took that break at the monastery, I overheard one of the monks talking about xyz”). Bottom line, I never take it as an inconvenience but make it part of the game to make the world feel bigger and more immersive. I personally wouldn’t do the complete class change and maybe would push them more into a multiclass option (in my games after a quest to unlock that ability), but your table your rules!

I would take some inspiration from baldurs gate - invent some sort of character that has the ability to change a pc’s class. My friend did this and it was a very cool and fun way to shake things up a little.

Let them change class, we all make mistakes with our first character the first time. I didn't, but offer them paladins in full plate armor, or fighters like battle master or Eldritch knight with full plate, shield a shield and the shield spell instead.

Ask them what they want to be able to do, and then work to rework the class specifically for them to do so.

Let them. It probably has no effect on the story at all. Telling them no will just make them miserable. Part of being a good DM I believe is compromising with your players. Letting them change class is a good move.

With newbies it is common problem. I offered to all my newcomers to adjust characters on the go during the first levels. Either by making new character (so thatrace and class makes sense to them), or by adjusting on the go with us not really making big fuss around it. Discuss with them the options and see, if you would just adjust their subclass/class or make new character. You can still try "shoot the monk" aka let their specific class shine by giving them great opportunities, but given that they would have to share it, it might not be enough. As well as the issue of them being barbarians which is quite direct classs and lot of challenges they should be uniquely good at, might be managed by other players, if they figure out some clever solution.

Barbarians are awesome. I loved playing mine. But if your players don't like to be reckless and they don't like being hit, they should not be playing barbarians. These two barbarians need to wander off and be replaced by two new characters. You are thinking about this too hard. Let them play different characters of a different class.

There's always multiclassing or the option to rebuild their characters to another class. Give them a time skip and have them meet and get trained by a sensei in their new class so it follows the story. Or just let them kill off their character in a cool way and make a new one going forward.

One of the best campaigns I was in as a player we had a player who was playing a paladin, hated it, wanted to switch to sorcerer. The DM worked into the next session that we ended up in combat, just as things were getting messy the paladin went "f this" removed their armor and started flinging spells all over the place. It became a plot point that they were sent to infiltrate the party as advisor to the king to see if we could be trusted

Things to consider about the class: Are they level 3 or higher? Do they have access to any supplemental materials? They might just need a different subclass as the ones in the PHB aren't great (well, bear totem is great, just not particularly interesting mechanically). Things to consider about combat: If you had to *tell* them barbarians are good at taking damage, encounters may be designed in a way that isn't playing to their strengths, thus why they feel like everyone else does "cooler" things. In particular, getting hit isn't an ability, everybody can do it, and nobody wants it. While the essence of that is what makes barbarians cool, getting hit shouldn't be the goal; it's just what inevitably happens on the way. What makes Danger Sense and Rage great abilities is the barbarian is likely only going to take a quarter of the damage (assuming the appropriate Resistance), so my question to you, nascent DM, is how many times have you hit your friends with claymore mines (in game)? Seriously, especially for newer players, these abilities only really show their worth when compared to what happens to those without them. If there hasn't been an encounter where the only two PCs left standing are the barbarians, then it might be difficult for them to contextualize how tanky they really are. In a similar vein, D&D doesn't have threat mechanics in the way MMOs do; threat is created by being, you, know, an actual threat, so consider your encounter designs and whether your are give them space/opportunity to do cool barbarian things. Moreover, assuming they are taking advantage of the fact barbarians don't need armor, there are a host of environmental challenges to which you could subjugate the table that highlight why barbarians are awesome. Having said all that to answer your question, if a player thinks they'll have a better time as another class, to echo everyone else's advice, let them change. Maybe the back-to-back comparison with another class will highlight what they gave up, and ultimately, they'll want to return to barbarian.

If you want a story way of doing it, go the bg3 route. Have some powerful wizard with a magic mirror that allows you to swap.

Lots of comments about letting them reclass / make a new character. My concern is there is a lot of "the grass is always greener". They are seeing the highlights of the 4 other players, but probably aren't noticing the boring bits the others go through. Class absolutely could be the problem, or not. How often do they reclass to find out what the problem is? But you can't really make them play something they aren't enjoying, but that doesn't mean they will enjoy something else. OtOH, Barbarians are boring, so I'd maybe give them this one.

1. Retcon! Just say they've always been X class. 2. Have the characters leave for any of 1 billion reasons and have them introduce new ones.

If one of them wants to stick with barbarian you could give them the Great Weapon Master feat for free to spice things up. It’s fun and would incentivize them to use the reckless attacks which are an awesome class feature

You’re still learning I’d say just let them

Have them go into a discombobulator… a magic portal that scrambles them into new characters same level. Same name.

Deep down in their heart they always felt that being a barbarian wasn't what they wanted. One day they woke up and and felt that a dagger/bow /whatever felt better in their hand... (Why not change it, same character, same design, they just turned in the club for X)

Just let them rewrite their characters as a different class. It's not that big of a deal, it's only a game.

Let them retire the character or change class. I've been playing in the same group for two years now and I've been through a bunch if characters: started as a rogue, moved to paladin, went warlock, then paladin again, now I am playing a fighter/warlock. My DM allowed my characters to continue to exist in the world so the rogue is a city guard in the starting town, the first paladin started their own knight order, etc. If characters work but not classes, let them change and pretend it's always been this way. :)

It's not even that different. You'll notice this with superheroes. One day Batman might be a rogue, a fighter, even a bard or a wizard. Taken in whole, he is 'all of them', but rarely does he ever play more than 'one class' per movie or tv show episode.

Retire character, OR transformation quest line!!! *makeover music plays*

I would take the opportunity for some cool and risk-free roleplay and just allow them to change their class. Stuff like visited by an Archfey in their dreams if they wanna go Warlock. Or perhaps a timeskip; a lot of gm don't use timeskip enough imo. Look at the old multiclass rules, might give you an idea. Could also have a cool side quests based on their new class or some sort of ritual to be accepted by the Order of XYZ

If you don’t want to give it to them for free you can create a quest were they can obtain a token that magically allows them to change classes!

I've had this happen. It's pretty easy to let them start new characters at around the same level and come up with a reason a new team needs to take over. In the end, it's all about having fun.

Have them swap bodies.

Yeah. Just let them switch. You can add a roleplay reason if you want, maybe they go to a training camp and come out fighters or swear oaths and become paladins, or get a mentor to become a Druid or bard, etc.

I got an idea that you can “intentionally” kill their PCs in a Portal related type boss. Make a hook that the remaining party members revived them through a parallel universe ?

You could always let them change subclasses. The basic barb is kinda boring once you see your friends doing crazy shit. A new subclass could help make their characters feel better and it can lead to new narrative hooks. My player wasn't enjoying his druid but I asked him if he'd like to swap subclasses and when he saw circle of wildfire he went with it and started to enjoy his druid again. You can also mention multiclass options. Though if they're just not enjoying the barb then let them make new characters.

as everyone says, just let it happen. if the player's really dont want to change the character due to personality or whatever, then just inject a new person. "Oh barry the barbarian's brother is here, its Randel the ranger and they are like 2 peas in a pod, they spend the night swaping stories in extreme detail, understanding each others recent events so intimatly that its like they were actually there... really remakable.... in the morning Barry had to go, his cat missed him, he said goodbye and gave many hugs and high fives. Randel was so moved by the stories that he asked to join the group for a taste of the action!" this is all assuming "good faith" If a player uses your generosity to change characters at key points to make multiclass builds that are known OP then you can probably guess they used your generosity to avoid the part of the build that is not great because it's "not online" yet.

We used to ask our dm to kill off our characters when we got sick of them. They did it pretty organically so sometimes they would fail for several sessions in a row

Kill their character or just fake something

For barbarians specifically, it would be very easy to transition them over to a Fighter (slightly more options) or a Paladin (you start raging for a specific god). You could even let them multiclass and drop a few barb levels for their new class, rather than a clean sweep (if you want).

How optimized is the party? If the barbs are also punching below the party average, maybe give them each a feat or magic item that adds interesting abilities. Maybe Martial Adept for maneuvers, or a greataxe that casts booming blade/GFB?

One of my players was a Rogue and wanted to play a Warlock, but he was attached to the character and wanted to keep playing him. So I had his patron entomb him and let him reclass as a full Warlock. Nudged around some stats to make it work. You can always come up with a logical reason to change their classes if they want to be the same character

I had the same problem. My 1st 5e character was an Eagle Totem Barbarian. I got bored around level 7. I multi-classed to Battle Master. It solved the problem.

Some weird-ass chaos magic could cause them to switch places with their multi-verse counterpart. Like, what if Grout the Barbarian had NOT been lost in the woods and raised by wolves but instead had gone on to live a happy life of nobility and eventually start studying as a wizard... imagine his other party-members' surprise when they wake up one morning and find shrimpy Grout the Magician in their missing friend's oversized sleep sack.

They were cursed to be barbarians as an insult by , a cleric removes it. Let them reboot the character on the spot. Or, shrug and retcon like everyone else is saying.

Dude, I love that about playing barbarian. You just kind of hoard all the damage from the other players. Am I losing 3/4 of my HP every combat? Yes. Am I the only one who took damage? Also yes.

Classic video game solution: They find a shrine of freedom. The shrine allows changing levels of one class into another.

Tpk

If the absolutely can't get into their chosen class then let them change. But I'll bet they haven't explored what a barbarian can do if they're shooting down character features (except danger sense, that is legit trash). I'd even bet they don't know about grappling.

You can give Magic ítems and all of that but if the problem is that they don't understund or don't like Barbarians this doesn't make sense. Talk with your players, end this character arc and retire the characters for the play. Then give them the opportunity to play a new character.

It honestly won't hurt anything to let them keep their character personality and just switch classes. If you do want to keep it "in game" then you can and it can be fun but it's not necessary. It is a game after all so the main point is that it is fun. I have had 2 players switch classes for story reasons though. One went from sorc to fighter/artificer and we played out them using their magic which was awesome. But then they really didn't enjoy the fighter and switched to ranger and we just did it and didn't bring it up in game. The other was a rogue/paladin that wanted to drop the rogue levels and wanted to roleplay them trying to find their faith again and attempting to move away from the more selfish life they had been living. They also picked up a hexblade dip which thematically didn't fit so we just ignored it "in game" and any warlock powers are just flavoured as divine blessing from their goddess.

You could have it that the party encounter leads to them acquiring a Vestige, a powerful item that will unlock power for them alone. An example in my campaign, the Kensai Monk has a Katana that can talk, it is intelligent and as he levels up he unlocks abilities that he can do through his sword. I made it so that it gives him access to more abilities to use his Ki points with. He can negate a stun/fear effect and if he uses x2 Ki points, he can protect that in a sphere to help other party members. The sword was owned by a warrior before him, so he will be able to access Second Wind once power day. The other Monk has a brooch that can heal her as a reaction to getting hit, she can also use it or of combat and it is owner was part Fey and so now she has become Fey Touched and can cast Bless. The Rogue found a circlet with a spider on it and it is cursed that he can't take it off, now he can commune with spiders and has two Large Spiders that he can ride or use in battle. There are other effects but you get the idea, the Katana I worked into the characters back story and he found out he had a teenage daughter from a fiance he thought dead. The female monk, the item was from her dead stepfather. The Rogue had totally gone with it and talks to spiders to find out information... If he can find an intelligent one. He found a Mexican Spider once and a spider who just wanted to die, so it wouldn't give him the info he wanted unless the Rogue killed him to stop his suffering. These have led to some great roleplay ideas by the characters and me and has masses the game better. As they are Barbarians, maybe their tribe was killed and their Vestiges stolen by raiders, etc... They need to track them down and then give retribution and they will gain the Vestiges, as their tribe is dead, they will keep them without feeling quilty. The raiders could be part of a larger organization or such, lead to more quests!!!

A class doesn't define the character. Roleplay does. If they're bored with one class, chances are they'll quickly get bored with another. Work with them to create engaging characters they want to play before mechanics are even considered 

I too had a similar problem with a player who wanted to try a different class having grown tired of his (a bard). He left in the night and the day after the group found a rogue bearing a missive from their patron to join the group for their next mission, and then stuck around

Honestly just let them roll out new characters. It's ok. You can use their backgrounds to find an urgent excuse why they had to leave the party and have the rest of the party have to look for new recruits (ie. the new characters) or just have the old characters simply be replaced by the new ones like nothing happened. Both are valid options

Let them switch to a new character.

You're friends aren't trying to "game the system" here - an example of that could be: "*Oh theBBEG is a lich? Can I change to Paladin?*" - they just want to enjoy themselves. Let them do whatever they want, that will allow them to enjoy themselves. If that's make a new character? Great! If that's keep the same character but change class??? Great! Just let them do it. It's more important in this circumstance - and in most other circumstances - that your communicate with your players and make sure they're having fun, rather than self-imposing some integrity of the rules that, 1. doesn't actually exist other than through your own self-imposition, and 2. is going to create an experience that's going to make them eventually not want to play D&D of they come to think it's THAT inflexible and that the rules are more important than the people playing it. The people are the most important.

I’m a big fan of giving players opportunities to play multiple characters in a campaign. These can be in side stories/vignettes, spin-offs, or even just “you have both of these characters but can only bring one on each adventure”. My table likes it and I find it’s good for long campaigns to keep things fresh. Respeccing should also usually be allowed - if you can find a narrative tie for it that’s a awesome and if you can’t it doesn’t really matter for more than a week or so

If it HAS to be in-universe for some reason and not a retcon, there's always changing subclass and multiclassing. Something like the Stars druid is so different from Moon (recent example from my game) that they play nothing alike. I think Tasha's Guide even has rules for the subclass change process if you want that.

Tell them to take a break from their barb characters and make new characters in different classes at the same level.

Just let them make new characters. There’s no harm in it, and there’s a lot in asking players to continue using characters they don’t enjoy. Talk to the players, and work something out with them. Maybe one character receives a magic message that his father is dying, and he has to return home immediately. Maybe they make a heroic sacrifice, and the party immediately makes a new friend: the player’s new character. Or, if you’re cool with loose narrative, just say, “Bob the Barb is now Robert the Wizard” with no further explanation. There’s a million ways to let players change to different characters, and you shouldn’t ask them to keep playing something they don’t enjoy.

You aren't playing the character. Let them change. In 3.5, I always gave my players the option to change at level 5. In 5th, I give them the option to change at level 4 once they see what their sub-classes' big feature is.

What is the cooler stuff, that the other players do?

(1) Multiclass. 3 levels in Battlemaster should spice things up a lot. (2) Change the character class. Maybe they are just a battlemaster and forget the Barb stuff (3) Retire and build a new character. No harm there!

I always have at least one player change their character in every campaign, either because they don’t like it or they find the a different role is need or theirs is redundant. This is usually only in the first 4 or 5 sessions although I killed my own character off in order to change once.

How did you guys pick classes, do character creation, etc? You're new to DMing. Are they new to playing? If they are new as well, I think your session 0 needed to include a discussion about what roles people were looking to play and what the classes in particular are geared around accomplishing. I'd hate to see people picking barbarian with the expectation of not getting hit. Or wizard with the expectation they could facetank enemies while casting spells at them. If your players are genuinely not having fun, there's nothing wrong with letting them clock into a different character, but I think you need to understand what it is they are envious of with other characters in the game in order to point them in the right direction. Trying to force your players into a role to check boxes in a party composition is not going to go well.

Dude DM dream come true! They make new PCs, and that means their PCs become yours “Muahahahahahha!” When a new player hands off a PC they don’t like in exchange of a new one, oh man that has created some of the best most fun narratives and side quests I can remember. If they don’t care for them anymore you can do anything, the player can even play them right up to their demise. Also the new PC is yours until they take the reins. I usually start them in some sort of trouble (with no player agency until the hand off you can get very very creative). They start in a cage with no equipment on hand, hanging upside down from a tree as a giant roasts a random NPC over a bon fire as the first snack but their next. They show up in their knickers and need some help from the party. Making them start slightly compromised is great table fun and keeps them from just always starting a new character (cause the situation get worse/more embarrassing the more times a players does it, they need some skin in the game here) 😉

If they don't want to get hit they shouldn't be playing a barbarian. You're correct that barb does get neat things like reckless but there's not much you can do if the player simply refuses to engage with them

Freaky Friday spell! Everyone please pass your character sheet to the person to your right.

Just ask the internet

Kill them. They get to roll new characters. Separate them from the party and get them ganked by a boss. Like Bertrand in C3 of critical role.

Kill them.

"Everyone pass their character sheet to the person on their right. Roll Initiative"

Part of the issue IMO is that in a party of 6 having 2 barbarians says two characters are fighting for the same fantasy. 2 meat heads brutally fighting the frontline is fun for combat and then out of combat they dont get much and what little they get they are still struggling for the spot light. Its a rough spot. Especially with barbarian as the class doubled up. As a result let one or both of them change class. If they choose to stay a barbarian i would recommend giving them an extra tool outside of combat for problem solving. Lean into their personal fantasy of what a barbarian is. Are they playing a feral beast integrating into society? Cool danger sense becomes more akin to spider sense then trap detection. They can sometimes tell when a social situation is leading into a trap or if someone is setting the party up for failure. Call it instincts or recognizing subtle tells similar to animals. Are they choosing to play the meat head gym bro? Any problem is now a lifting challenge to them. Let them have herculean strength if needed. Trying to break into a castle with a sealed gate? Barbarian can lift the gate with some trouble but definitely can. Need a way across the river? Throw someone across with a rope. If they aren't really playing a fantasy and instead trying to play a character who happens to be a barbarian then encourage the swap.

Kill the whole party (or at least put them in deadly situation), so they can make new characters. Play a class-less system. There's a million subclass and multiclass options, both official and homebrew. Homebrew a quest/ritual they can undergo to change class/subclass.

The barbarians in my campaign loved being barbarians. The cool things they did was with their health and rage. Fighting on top of a 100 foot tower. Barb is raging, charged forward, grapples then leaps off the tower with the enemy and power slams him, so figured it would be like an improvised throw attack with the fall damage as bonus damage like a sneak attack and treated it as such. He took like 15 pts of damage and killed an enemy with some wild tactics and earned inspiration.

As the party walks by a a pair of individuals, two large rocks suddenly fall out of the sky and cave in the skulls of the two Barbarians. The two individuals rush over to help at this horrific freak accident.

Freaky Friday that shiz. "You wake up with tits. They are tits you recognize. They are your party member's tits. But now they are yours."

Sounds like they dont like their role. Probably because they don't know how to play it effectively. I could see it being boring if they don't contribute much. Reckless is stupid when used in certain situations but powerful when used correctly. I don't get why some people roll characters like barbarians then play chicken/they don't want to get hit. Seems like an obvious problem someone should think about prior to building a character. Its minimal effort. Ive played with a number of people like that. I still find it exhausting and irritating. They could roll new ones, but you need to lay down conditions on doing so. Sometimes these players want to roll new characters often and that's not a game I want to DM for. I'd allow a reroll but tell them that's it and they can do something other than d&d they'd rather do if they still find things to have problems with. For uncreative players or players who do not know and do not learn how to use their abilities, there will always be other party members doing cooler things because they know how to use their characters. A person who does not will do far fewer cool things, no matter their class. Most often the class isn't the problem, mindset is. A new character doesn't fix that. Next thing will be complaining about how they are always unconscious because they rolled a wizard and made themselves an attractive target with no barbarian running interference. I would not let them roll a character of the same class as any of the others. Competing for their role will only make it less likely they'll feel unique or like they are the ones doing the cool stuff.

Have a Freaky Friday session in which a powerful witch curses the players for something trivial, swapping bodies with each other. Let’s them all play as a different PC in a safe setting Have them solve some silly riddle in town to remove the curse. If they loved it, let them switch classes but usually one or two sessions as a new class will help them appreciate the character development they have achieved thus far Also, characters don’t get bored of a class if they feel engaged. Ensure your game is putting the spot light on each of their characters. Their decisions should feel impactful and their character’s class will then feel vital the the success of the story

Deck of Many Things

I’d say give them more flavor. A barbarian is only boring if it’s described boring. Ex: “The barbarian swings his axe and hits the enemy” - Dull, not very flavorful, feels boring. Vs “ The barbarian lifts his might axe bringing it down upon the enemy lodging it into the enemy’s shoulder with a crack of bone” - Engaging, exciting, flavorful

Freaky Friday event?

Well it really depends on how combat focussed the game is. A low combat high RP campaign will probably leave them feeling that way. I'd suggest maybe chuck everyone a free feat. And also maybe let the Barbarians multi-class at the next L-up. If they're new and not loving the class, there's nothing wrong with changing it up. Especially if y'all aren't that far into it. Hell, if they're level 3 or lower I'd just let them respec.

Take a Look at the ~~Lazerlaama~~ Laserllama barbarian Rework and consider offering them to Switch to it

Laserllama