D&D 5E Can we optimize a Small Barbarian?

Dasem

First Post
I love characters that are a square peg in a round hole. Something that goes against the grain, often comically so.

So I'm thinking of a Gnome or a Halfling Barbarian. Not opposed to either, both have their merits. One is immune to rolling 1s, the other has advantage on spells targeting Int, Wis and Cha.

My party have no Strength based character at all. So the idea of the strongest party member being so little amuses me.

Now, how can we make this work as effectively as possible?

20, 18, 16, 12, 10, 10. Level 8. One Feat.

All Unearthed Arcana allowed.


I'm almost thinking Bear Barbarian 5, Deep Stalker Ranger (Light, Dark, Underdark UA article) 3, but I'm open to all ideas.

Only two things set in stone are Small Race, and Bear Barbarian (that resistance is too good).
 
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famousringo

First Post
Can't use heavy weapons, so IMO dual wield is the way to go. Gives you something to do with your bonus action, an extra attack to enjoy your rage bonus with. Take the feat for an AC bonus and so you can smash people with battleaxes in proper barbarian fashion, and the fighting style for offhand damage boost.

As for race, Gnome Cunning is nice in that it plugs just about the only hole in a bearbarian's defense, but IMO the plus .5 to every roll a character makes from Lucky is better than +5 to the rare magic save. Halfling does also offer advantage on fear saves and better stat bonuses for a barbarian.

Halfling's biggest weakness gets plugged by Deep Stalker's darkvision, but otherwise I don't see much point to the class. The hit-and-run fighting style doesn't mesh well with the in-your-face barbarian beyond the opening round. Unless you really feel you need dark vision, better to be a hunter.

Rogue is another option if you just want some utility. If you're planning to keep advancing as barbarian, I like 3 levels in Champion to really exploit those Brutal Criticals and because Action Surge is always awesome.
 

Dasem

First Post
Going dual hammers or axes as a Halfling, with immunity to 1s and Champion to take advantage of Brutal Critical... Not bad. Plus Action Surge and Two-Weapon Style.
 

XMorsX

First Post
Greetings. Halflings make better dex barbs than str, but you can make it work with such high stats. Stout halflings are the best for the +1 Con, although you do not seem to have a use for it. Your first feat can be Lucky, since you already have a maxxed out Str and high Con. Coupled with resistance from bear totem it will make you very durable.

The obvious flaw of this character is that he will never be able to utilise Great Weapon Master, so he will lack behind in damage compared to any other martial. And a martial without proper DPR is a gimped martial. You are still good at tanking, but without proper DPR you give no reason to the intelligent enemies to attack you. There are ways to lessen the impact of your sub par damage, either by addressing the issue directly, or by giving you versatility.

For direct damage increasing, one lvl of fighter gives you a combat style, two lvls action surge, level three maneuvers. Paladin can be interesting thanks to divine smite, less so than a Fighter for a two lvl dip though, both because of lesser benefits as well as because you will need to move stats around. Ranger also makes for a nice 3 lvl dip and deep stalker is both strong and flavorful, but honesltly the combat benefits of the class suit more a burst attacker like an assasin rogue. It can make a good dip later in your career, but at 8 lvl, barb 5 / battlemaster fighter 3 makes for a stronger character overall (or fighter 5 / barb 3, depending in what you want to progress).

An alternative could be a mix of barb and druid, removing your disadvantage from small size with wild shaping for combat and casting for utility. This is definately a Druid first build at these lvls though, you will want to go barb 1 for con saves / druid 6 for access to polar bear and giant elk (most potent combat forms of their lvl and probably the peak of moon druid strenght) / barb 2 for bear totem resistance / druid 4 for elemental wild shape. Afterwards either you go with druid for more wild-shape forms (unimpressive though) and spellcasting, or you return to barbarian or another martial that suits you for more combat prowess. Monk has great synergy in particular, especially the first lvls as you get to add your wisdom to AC. The first lvl can even be taken as early as after or before barb 2 in the example above, or even maybe at lvl2 (So at 8 lvl you are a raging bear Barb 1 / monk 1 /druid 6). Sun Soul monk gives you a way to deal with flying enemies in beast form too.

Another great bonus of the druid / barb multiclass is that ghostwise halfling becomes a top tier choice since they have a wis bonus and the ability to communicate in beast form.

EDIT: Started writing it before the posts above, the crit fishing twf style is also effective and is an as-good-as-it-gets way to add the damage you need to pull your weight. I am still not sure if I would prefer champion fighter from battelmaster though. I still consider Battlemaster optimal since one or more maneuvers at first round of combat are better than a potential big critical at the end of the fight, but overall both archetypes have their moments.
 
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bid

First Post
20, 18, 16, 12, 10, 10. Level 8. One Feat.
Halfling 20 14 18 10 10 16 for medium armor, pick any subrace.

Elk 5 / swashbuckler 3, lucky by default or inspiring leader if no one goes Cha.
Not only are you the strongest, you are the fastest.
 

ClockworkNinja

Explorer
20, 18, 16, 12, 10, 10. Level 8. One Feat.

All Unearthed Arcana allowed.

Is that before or after stat increases from race and level?

How about this: Halfling (lightfoot) Barbarian 5 Paladin 3
Stats after racial modifiers:
STR20 DEX18 CON18 INT10 WIS10 CHA13
Polearm master feat
Dueling fighting style

Using a shield and a quarterstaff (one handed), you will have an AC of 20. When raging, your three attacks (two standard, one bonus action) will each have a +9 damage modifier. If they all hit, that's an average damage of 36.5.
 


Colder

Explorer
How optimized are we talking? Because from a DPR perspective, I think that ClockworkNinja's got the right idea.

But if you don't want such a specialized build, I think that TWF is the way to go. Grab a level or three in Fighter or Ranger for the TWF fighting style, spend your ASI on the Dual-Wielder feat. You won't have quite as much AC or do as much damage as Clockwork Ninja's PAM Shield & Staff build, but you'll have a lot more versatility in your available tactics. Are you in close? Draw two battleaxes for a maximum-damage approach. Is an enemy just out of your reach (which they might often be because you're slower than your average barbarian)? You don't need to dash, just chuck a couple of javelins at them to keep your rage going.

Since Halflings don't get Darkvision naturally, I think the Deep Stalker Ranger is the best option for multiclassing in that case. If you go Gnome or don't think that will be an issue, though, I think that Battle Master would give you great amounts of utility to use, since most maneuvers can be used on both melee and ranged attacks, which makes your thrown weapons deadly.
 
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Dasem

First Post
Alright. Hypothetically. Let's allow the Dwarf as a race. They're little, though still Medium (technically). Let's do a side by side run down of the numbers.

Please, someone correct me if I screw up some math. Due to Reckless Attack, let's assume all attacks will hit, so we can compare max damage.


Dwarf Bear Barbarian 8
Maul
Greatweapon Master
2d6 + 5 + 2 + 10 = 24 x 2 = 48 (Unsure how to calculate the possible BA attack of GWM)

Gnome Barbarian 5 / Fighter 3 (I know Maneuvers can help, especially the new Monster Slayer from Gothic Heroes UA, but unsure how to calculate)
1d8 + 5 + 2 = 12 x 3 = 36

It's a considerable drop in DPR... But Dwarf still sorta fits the concept. Damn. Freakin' decisions.


Though something to strongly consider if Multiclassing into Fighter would be using the Monster Hunter archetype, since I could add the superiority die to Int, Wis and Cha saving throws.

Though the Scout archetype lets me add Superiority Die to my AC, and if the attack STILL hits, I take half damage... This would stack with my Bear Resistance.... Whoa. That's damn good, actually.
 
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GrumpyGamer

First Post
Halfling Nimbleness: You can move through the
space of any creature that is of a size larger than yours.

Mobile (Feat):
+10 movement.
Don't Provoke against any target you attack in a round, regardless of if you hit.

I know you said Bear totem Barbarian but...

5 Berserker Barbarian / 3 Hunter Ranger
Using Horde Breaker and Frenzy you could have 4 attacks (if two enemies are next to each other; 3 attacks if not) and retreat to "safety" each turn. It might not be the maximum build for damage per round, but it does a good job of optimizing your small size.

You become a whirling death ball.
4*(4.5 (Longsword) +2 Dueling style +5 Strength + 2 Rage damage) = 54 damage (Assuming all hits and no crits)

Bonus: You can use a shield, so that helps a bit with AC, so with an 18 Dex and a 16 Con you have an AC of 19.
 
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