Gnome Barbarian Build Guide

Levels 1-4

Start with a stat spread of STR 15, DEX 13, CON 14, INT 10, WIS 12, and CHA 8. You need 14 Dexterity eventually to max out your AC in Half-Plate. At level 3, take the Path of the Totem Warrior and select the Bear totem. Bear Totem grants resistance to all damage except psychic while raging, which stacks flawlessly with Gnomish Cunning's mental save advantage. At level 4, completely ignore standard ASI bumps and take the Squat Nimbleness feat. This bumps your Strength to 16, increases your abysmal 25-foot walking speed by 5 feet, and grants you proficiency in Acrobatics. With Fast Movement at level 5, you'll be zipping around at 40 feet per round.

Levels 5-10

At level 5, you gain Extra Attack. Wield a Longsword and a Shield. Your damage won't break records, but you will constantly apply Rage bonus damage (+2) twice a turn. At level 8, take the Shield Master feat. Because you have Advantage on Strength checks while Raging, your bonus action shove to knock enemies prone will almost never fail. This sets up your melee allies perfectly. At level 9, Brutal Critical comes online; it's less impactful with a d8 Longsword than a d12 Greataxe, but it's a nice passive boost when you roll a 20 on your Reckless Attacks.

Levels 11-16

Relentless Rage at level 11 makes you even harder to kill, allowing you to drop to 1 HP instead of 0 with a DC 10 Constitution save. At level 12, take a +2 Strength ASI to push your primary stat to 18. Level 14 brings your next Totem feature; choose the Bear totem again to impose disadvantage on enemies attacking anyone other than you. Since you are virtually unkillable thanks to Bear Totem resistance and Gnomish Cunning, forcing enemies to focus on your 104+ HP pool is exactly what you want. At level 16, cap your Strength to 20 with your final ASI.

Levels 17-20

Your damage plateaus hard in Tier 4, remaining at a flat 7.15 DPR without magical weapons, but your durability skyrockets. At level 20, Primal Champion increases your Strength and Constitution by 4, pushing both beyond the normal cap of 20. Your AC naturally increases if you rely on Unarmored Defense, but stick to magical Half-Plate if you have it. Your HP hits a staggering 158. You are a 3-foot-tall, 24-Strength demigod who cannot be charmed, frightened by magic, or easily damaged by physical strikes.

Squat Nimbleness

Take this at level 4. It fixes the Gnome's slow 25-foot speed, bumps your odd 15 Strength to 16, and gives you advantage on Athletics checks to escape grapples. When stacked with the Barbarian's Fast Movement, you operate at a comfortable 40-foot speed, ensuring enemies can't kite you.

Shield Master

Since the Small size prevents you from using Great Weapon Master, you need a way to weaponize your bonus action. Shield Master lets you shove a creature prone as a bonus action. Since Rage gives you advantage on Strength (Athletics) checks, you will consistently knock medium and large enemies prone, granting yourself and your melee rogues/fighters advantage on subsequent attacks.

Sentinel

Because your damage output with a one-handed weapon is lower, enemies might try to ignore you and run past you to attack your wizard. Sentinel punishes them for doing so by dropping their speed to 0 when you hit them with an opportunity attack. It forces them to deal with your massive d12 hit die.

Tier 1 (Levels 1-4)

Prioritize buying a Longsword, a Shield, and Scale Mail. You want to rush Half-Plate as soon as you have 750 gold to maximize your AC. Keep a few Javelins on hand to maintain your Rage if you can't reach a target, though your 40-foot speed with Squat Nimbleness helps mitigate this.

Tier 2 (Levels 5-10)

Seek out a +1 Longsword and Winged Boots. Gnomes have a notoriously hard time dealing with flying enemies. Winged Boots give you a fly speed equal to your walking speed, allowing you to fly up and grapple annoying airborne casters, bringing them down to your level.

Tier 3 (Levels 11-16)

Look for a Belt of Dwarvenkind. Yes, it's ironic on a Gnome, but it grants +2 Constitution, darkvision (which you have, but it increases the range), and resistance to poison damage. You should also be hunting for a +2 Shield to push your AC into the low 20s.

Tier 4 (Levels 17-20)

Your ultimate goal is a Belt of Storm Giant Strength to artificially boost your Strength to 29, completely bypassing the need for Primal Champion's STR buff. Pair this with a Blood Fury Tattoo to add 4d6 necrotic damage to your strikes and heal yourself, drastically improving your lackluster Tier 4 DPR.

This build thrives when paired with a melee Rogue, such as a Swashbuckler or Assassin. Because you will be constantly knocking targets prone with your Shield Master bonus action, the Rogue will have guaranteed advantage on their melee attacks, triggering Sneak Attack every single round without needing to flank.

You also desperately need a buffer who can cast Enlarge/Reduce or Holy Weapon. A Cleric or Sorcerer who can cast Enlarge on you not only increases your weapon damage by 1d4, but temporarily changes your size to Medium, theoretically allowing you to wield Heavy weapons without disadvantage for the duration of the fight.

Fighter 2 Dip

Taking two levels of Fighter is almost mandatory for this build in Tier 3. It grants you the Dueling Fighting Style, which adds a flat +2 damage to every hit with your Longsword, helping patch your low DPR. You also get Action Surge, allowing you to make four attacks in a single turn for burst damage.

Rogue 2 Dip

A two-level dip into Rogue gives you Expertise in Athletics. When combined with Advantage from Rage, your Shield Master shoves become mathematically impossible for most monsters to resist. You also gain Cunning Action, letting you Dash as a bonus action to close gaps instantly.

• Trying to wield a Greataxe: Small creatures have disadvantage on attack rolls with Heavy weapons. Never use a Greatsword, Greataxe, or Halberd. Stick to versatile weapons like the Battleaxe or Longsword.
• Forgetting Gnomish Cunning's limitations: Your advantage on INT, WIS, and CHA saves only applies to magic. If a Dragon uses its Frightful Presence (which is a non-magical ability), Gnomish Cunning does not help you.
• Dumping Dexterity: You need exactly 14 Dexterity to get the maximum +2 AC bonus from Medium Armor. Dumping DEX means you will get hit significantly more often, draining your effective HP.
• Ignoring your Bonus Action: Without Polearm Master or Great Weapon Master, your bonus action sits idle. If you don't take Shield Master, you must fight with two weapons (like dual Handaxes) to maximize your Rage damage bonus.