D&D 5E Goblin Barbarian

[estralita]

This is a situation where I have a character in mind, but have been hesitant to put into practice. I know the small size is hindrance, but it doesn't seem insurmountable. But I am wondering what the best way to go about things. Right now I'm looking into joining a game starting at level 5. My initial thoughts are as a sword and board ancestral guardian build.

 

[Kobold Stew]

Do it! As long as the DM is open to you playing a goblin, a Gobarbarian should work fine. Here are some thoughts:

Goblin:

• +2 Dex and +1 con are both useful, but you'll still want to put a high score into strength. Perhaps post-tasha you could swap one of the bonuses for strength, but you really don't need to, as both of these stats benefit your unarmoured defense. A 16 Str Barb at level 5 is totally playable (e.g. initial 14+2 from ASI).
• The biggest benefit of the race is Nimble Escape, which gives you a Disengage (or Hide for your bonus action. Make class choices that play into that. The Disengage will work well with Rage (but, e.g., it would conflict with the Eagle totem spirit.

Barb:

• Ancestral guardian should work well, and the spectral goblns chasing you around is fun. It works well with a quick/disengaging fighter because you draw fire from your opponents, but if you've got away you also use up their movement chasing you.
• A shield build makes sense for any "sticky" melee build.
• For fun, I would pick something other than a longsword (morningstar or war pick are equally effective with this build, and get used a lot less often).

Hope this helps!

EDIT: If you are allowed feats, Dual wielder works pretty well: you get an AC bonus instead of a shield, and can have two war picks!

 

[tommybahama]

Pole arm master using either a spear or staff with shield. You can always re-flavor the weapon to your liking. You'll be able to choose between a bonus action attack or disengage/hide. And a reaction attack when they come into your reach.

Since you are small, get a sled dog (RotFM, uses the wolf stat block) as a mount for a free dash or disengage. And since you don't need armor, get the best barding you can afford for your sled dog. There will be no reason for enemies to target your armored sled dog over you when you have no armor. Always have it dodge if it is not dashing or disengaging. Have a back up sled dog in case the first one dies.

 

[FrogReaver]

This is a situation where I have a character in mind, but have been hesitant to put into practice. I know the small size is hindrance, but it doesn't seem insurmountable. But I am wondering what the best way to go about things. Right now I'm looking into joining a game starting at level 5. My initial thoughts are as a sword and board ancestral guardian build.

Goblin Barbarian will be great. Goblins have some great Barbarian abilities, bonus action disengage, darkvision and fury of the small will all be nice.

I think it would be cool to focus on the con aspect since goblins get that natively. So start with 14str and 14 dex and 16 con. I'd boost con first with my ASI's. Then, since you'll have tons of hp, i'd look for a subclass that increases damage. Zealot is probably the best here for that. Though Frenzy Barbarian can be great in certain campaigns. (Generally items that boost str to 18 aren't uncommon - which is one reason to go something other than str early).

Finally it comes to weapons. Most people's mind go to wielding a versatile 1d10 weapon (since they aren't heavy you don't get disadvantage for using them. Other peoples minds go to feats like PAM. However, I'd advise just dual wielding short swords. It saves the feat and your damage is so close to the same (range bonus damage still adds to the TWF bonus attack even though mod isn't).

Also of importance. If you are starting with 14 str (probably have to as a goblin with no +str bonus) then Polearm Master (PAM) is going to be dealing 1d6+4 + 1d6+4 + 1d4+4 damage at level 5 with a spear. With 2 short swords and the con boost you will be doing 1d6+4 + 1d6+4 + 1d6+2. That amounts to 1 less average damage. If you boosted Str instead of Con at level 4 ASI then the Short Sword TWF would do more damage.

 

[FrogReaver]

This is a situation where I have a character in mind, but have been hesitant to put into practice. I know the small size is hindrance, but it doesn't seem insurmountable. But I am wondering what the best way to go about things. Right now I'm looking into joining a game starting at level 5. My initial thoughts are as a sword and board ancestral guardian build.

Totally missed the ancestral guardian build in my initial advice.

I think there could be some nice interaction with ancestral protectors, PAM and nimble escape for bonus action disengage. I think I would lean toward PAM on this version. You would go up, attack twice with reckless attack, bonus action disengage and either 1) move out of their movement distance or 2) move back and force them to trigger the PAM reaction attack to attack you or 3) they actually attack your ally at disadvantage.