So, the barbarian gets the class feature feral instinct at 7th level. The feat description says, and I quote :
......if you are surprised at the beginning of
combat and aren’t incapacitated, you can act normally
on your first turn, but only if you enter your rage before
doing anything else on that turn.
What does this exactly mean? That the barbarian cant get surprised? Or that he gets to play during the surprise round? Or both? Or maybe sth completely different that I cant grasp atm?
Thanks in advance for your answers.
I read it as the Barbarian can enter a Rage to play during a surprise round.
However, once you reach 7th level, I advise you to remind your DM of this ability so it can be incorporated. Even if (s)he forgets, and you're attacked (seemingly at random), remind them that you can pop Rage and enter combat before your allies that are surprised.
It doesn't actually say you aren't "surprised", so I'm guessing that other effects which depend on your status being "surprised" would still apply, such as the "auto-crit on surprised targets" feature of a Rogue's Assassinate skill. But it does give you the ability to act anyway if you're surprised, provided you're able to begin your turn by going into a Rage. If you have already Raged as many times as you're able between Long Rests, then you don't have this option. You still get advantage on your Initiative roll, though. So basically, if you're trying to be stealthy, be careful when sneaking up on a Barbarian, you might not get as clean a first shot at him as you think. 