1st lvl Barb with mid-high stats help?

[loviatarfrostbringer]

Hi there,

In my new campaign, I pseudo-lucked out and rolled 5-15's and 1-14 for my character's base stats. I wanna play a Barbarian who switches off to the Frenzied Berzerker PrC at around 7th or so level. My DM would like a half-orc in the campaign and that race/class combo goes together well, but I feel I'd literally get stuck into having all my feats spent through 9th lvl to qualify.

I was thinking of taking 5th barb & 1 lvl ftr. That way I'd at least get a bonus ftr feat and the Uncanny Dodge.

My quandry is just that my stats (while desirable) are not 'WOW! I got an 18 Str barbarian' (know what I mean). I'm not bitching, just trying to decide what course would make the most effective (and enjoyable, of course) character.

Should I take half-orc or human (to get the feat prereq's quicker) or stick straight barb? I've done a little brainstorming on whether or not the extra +2 Str racial mod is worth it (comparing the #s with wpn in two hands vs. wpn-shld combo).

Your help is really appreciated, and I'd really like to hear if anyone has played a barbarian well and has tactics to share.

Thx.

 

[Crothian]

You can make yourself a very well rounded human Barbarian/ Fighter. Stick the 14 in Int, and you'll be doing just fine on skill points. You can use your 4th level stat increase to make Str or Con a 16, depending on which you want. You need 4 feats for the FB, so you'll have 2 feats of your own to spend. Or you can make a fighter2/barbarian 4 for an extra feat instead of uncanny dodge.

 

[Elder-Basilisk]

I'd follow your original plan. Half-orc Barbarian 5/Ftr 1

Bbn 1 Power Attack
Bbn 1/Ftr 1 Cleave
Bbn 2/Ftr 1 Intimidating Rage
Bbn 3/Ftr 1
Bbn 4/Ftr 1
Bbn 5/Ftr 1 Destructive Rage

I'd also consider taking your character up to barbarian 5/Fighter 2, using the fighter level instead of level 1 to pick up power attack and picking up Iron Will as your level 1 feat to help you avoid killing your party members.

As for the character, I'd take a half orc over a human. The most you'll get combat-wise out of the extra feat is +1 to hit (weapon focus). You get more than that out of the half-orc strength bonus--you get +1 to hit and +1 (or +2 when you hit 4th level) to damage.

I'd put the (modified) stats as follows:
Str 17, Dex 15, Con 15, Int 13, Wis 14, Cha 13.

That will enable you to take int-based feats if you change your character concept later (if other PCs aren't happy with the prospect of a homocidal maniac in their party for instance). The 17 strength can be bumped up to 18 at level 4. At level 8 you can boost your con as well which should give you another round to pummel your enemies before they cut you down (hopefully you kill them in the extra round if it comes to that). The 14 wisdom is just as good as a 15 for what you'll be using it for (will saves and wisdom based skills) Consequently you might as well have the 13 int for feat eligability and the 13 cha for the heck of it.

Another benefit of having odd dex and con scores until level 8 is that you'll be able to make use of a maximum roll on a cat's grace or endurance spell cast on you by another party member. . . .

As for playing barbarians, my experience is from a DM's perspective and from playing a Bbn/Ftr/Clr in Living Arcanis (RPGA shared campaign). This is my take on the barbarian class:

Fighting in 3e is all about damage trading. You attack, they attack, and you see who runs out of hit points first. There are tactical manuevers (disarm, trip, spring attack) but these effect combat primarily by reducing the rate at which you take damage (spring attack, disarm, sunder) or increasing the rate at which your opponent takes damage (improved trip, power attack, etc.).

This proceeds at different speeds for different characters.

A clever fighter/wizard usually pumps his AC through the roof with the shield spell but doesn't dish out damage as quickly as a raging barbarian. They put the process in slow motion. This is good if you're overmatched and need to rely on other characters to even the score (archers, flanking sneak attacking rogues, hasted sorcerors with magic missile, etc.). Normal fighters also often have this option through the use of expertise or spring attack. Barbarians rarely have a realistic option of doing this since their class abilities favor light armor and two handed weapons--both of which result in a low armor class. Barbarians usually rely on a cleric standing behind them and pumping them full of healing spells in order to survive situations in which they're outmatched.

In contrast to the fighter/wizard who puts the process into slow motion, barbarians generally put the process into overdrive. A raging barbarian is generally quite easy to hit but has enough hit points to take the beating. At higher levels, he can't be sneak attacked easily either. At the same time, raging barbarians rarely have trouble hitting their foes (unless their foe has maximized their AC). Attack bonusses above 10 are the norm from level 3 on. They also generally dish out massive amounts of damage too and often have the option of converting excess attack bonus into extra damage through power attack.

So the end result is that barbarians are not good targets for most finesse type attacks (trips don't work on people stronger than you, disarms don't work well against large, two handed weapons, and sneak attack doesn't work against people with Uncanny Dodge). They also (generally) lack the feats to use finess themselves. So, come to terms with the fact that you're a brute, find a good cleric to stand behind you with the cures and let the beat-down commence.

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

I would go with a half-orc Bbn4/Ftr 2. I think the extra fighter feat is worth more than "Can't be flanked," which you can always pick up with a single level of Bbn later if you find you really can't live without it.

I'd go with half-orc because you have the stats to suck up their racial penalties to Int and Cha and still be doing quite well for yourself. I would put my 4th level advance in Str, brigning you to an 18, which is great if you're using a two-hander because your damage bonus goes from +4 to +6 in one jump. (Str17 bonus = +3, x1.5 = +4; Str 18 bonus = |4, x1.5 = +6). At 8th level I'd advance either Dex or Con-- they have about equal weight, both adjust a saving throw (Fort or Reflex). Personally I'd probably go with Dex, since your rage increases your hp and decreases your AC.

And of course, you can't beat darkvision.

Finally, may I suggest you pick yourself up a copy of Heroes of High Favor: Half Orcs?

Read Reviews Here

Good luck-- and remember: All Power Attack, All the Time!


Wulf