Can A Barbararian Use Magic?

Rage is a powerful skill that can be used by Barbarians to cast spells, but they cannot cast or concentrate on them while raging. This rage lasts for 1 minute and ends early if the player is knocked unconscious or if their turn ends. Barbarians benefit from STR, DEX, and CON, which are already multiple ability-score dependent (MAD).

While a Barbarian can cast spells, they cannot cast or concentrate on them while raging. This makes their best ability their greatest downfall if they want to cast spells. However, spells can be cast before or after raging, and concentration is essential for maintaining their rage.

Barbarians are the only D and D class that doesn’t have a dedicated spellcasting subclass, and even the Wild Magic subclass works via abilities rather than full magic use. However, spellcasting is not completely off the table.

The problem with casting as a Barb is keeping their rage up, as most spells don’t attack, so they usually have to be taking damage to keep their rage up. The Barbarian class has great incentives to have a high Con modifier and can cast spells while raging.

One option is to keep the Eldritch Blasts for pre-rage use and then pick spells that don’t require concentration but key well off of Barbarian abilities. Unlike the ranger and paladin, the barbarian doesn’t really cast spells, and so is more like the fighter than any other class.

In conclusion, while Barbarians can cast spells, they cannot cast or concentrate on them while raging. While they can cast some spells through items, their best ability is to maintain their rage. However, there is no guarantee that spellcasting is completely off the table for Barbarians.