Orcish Barbarian Smackdown:

Ok, this one works best if the user is an NPC Fiendish Orc(so this one's for you, DMs), but the principles work fine for PCs too.

Required Race:
Half-Orc, Fiendish template

Required Classes:
Barbarian 6
Blessed of Gruumsh 9 (see Dragon #282)

Required Items
Orcish Double Axe (Greater MWeaponed to +5 / +5 by your friendly neighborhood cleric)
Boots of Speed (for haste)

Required Feats:

Ambidexterity
Two-weapon fighting
Improved Two-weapon Fighting

The Tactic Summary:

From surprise, the Blessed delivers a devastating charge. On the first round of combat, the Blessed then attacks 12 (yup, 12!) times.

The charge:

The Blessed charges, raging and using his Luck of Gruumsh ability to add +8 to hit, while smiting (from fiendish template), power attacking and using his Fist of Gruumsh ability to add to damage.

His attack is at: +15 base, +9 (luck of Gruumsh), +12 (strength: start with a 20 strength (18 +2 racial), add 4 for the level-ups (assuming 16th level here) then get +6 from an empowered bull's strength and +4 for the rage, puts you at 34 strength) and +5 (weapon). Also add +2 (charge).

This puts him at a +43. If you really want this to hurt, have him drink a potion of true strike first, and do a full power attack. Even without the TS, he can full power attack (15 points, let's say) and still be at +28, hitting AC 38 on average. Not bad.

Damage is:

1d8 + 15 (power attack) + 18 (two handed blow means 1.5 * 12) + 15 (smite from fiendish template) + 5 (weapon) =

1d8 + 53 + 3d6 (from Fist of Gruumsh), or on average, 68 points of damage.

If he crits (due to improved crit feat and keen weapon spell, if he has the sense to use them), he'll do:

3d8 + 159 + 3d6, which is roughly 192 points of damage. Not too slouchy.

But the really nasty surprise comes the next round, now that he's closed with the enemy.

The Blessed takes a full attack action, and uses his Thunderous Roar ability, so his main attacks are, if he's hasted,

(partial action) +34/+34
(standard action)+34/+34/+29/+29/+24/+24 as main attacks and

+34/+34/+29/+29

for his offhand attacks, giving a total of 12 attacks in one round.

Each attack does 1d8 + 12 + 5 (for main attacks) and 1d8 + 6 + 5 (for offhand attacks).

If he were to hit on all attacks (which I'll address here in a second), he'll do

8d8 + 96 + 40 (or, on average 172 pts of damage) from main attacks and

4d8 + 24 + 20 (or, on average, 62 pts of damage) from offhand attacks.

The total? 234 points of damage in Round One, following the 68-192 points of damage he did in the surprise round.

So the difficulty here is that he has to hit. That's true, but his lowest attack is at +24, and that's nothing to slouch at. Furthermore, four of his attacks are going to be at the highest level (+34) which is going to hit almost anything.

Paladin: "What ho, ye scurvy orcs! Flee my path, or suffer my righteous indignation."

Orcish Blessed of Gruumsh: SMACK! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!

Paladin: "Gurgle..."

Orcs: "Thanks, Carpe!"

Ah, yes...Orcs are back.

Enjoy,

quote:

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Originally posted by Carpe DM:
Orcish Barbarian Smackdown:

Paladin: "What ho, ye scurvy orcs! Flee my path, or suffer my righteous indignation."

Orcish Blessed of Gruumsh: SMACK! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!

Paladin: "Gurgle..."

Orcs: "Thanks, Carpe!"

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LOL!! These Smackdown ideas are a hoot! Tip o' the moon-and-stars covered hat to ya!

Clerics are BROKEN!

But really, the smite is just there for fun. The true tactic is in the 12 shot first round attack, and you can do that even if you're just a normal half-orc.

As for non-standard class, well, yes, I don't like using those as much either, but this is pretty official, as in from Dragon, so hey.

If you want to do this without the smite (i.e. without the fiendish template), I suggest using the Knockdown on the first (partial) charge and then unloading the other attacks (10 at this point) as your standard action, gettin +4 to hit b/c they're on the ground.

There are other variations too.

Very best,

Damage: 1d8 + 5 enhancement, +30/+36 (strength--depending on whether doubling the strength bonus happens before the 1.5 str bonus for a two handed weapon or if it's resolved as 2.5x str bonus) + whatever else (smite, power attack etc.).

Given an x3, keen, improved crit reach weapon, a critical would yield: 3d8 +105/123 points of damage.

Absorbing the attack of opportunity and using a scythe, it could become 8d4 + 150/164 points of damage on a crit.

Actually nothing in dragon is official at all. In fact alot of it is poorly thought out and unplaytested.

quote:

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Originally posted by Cranen:
Technically nothing is official except what is in the core three books. Things in other books like sword and fist are unofficial, but tend to be somewhat accepted at least. Things in Dragon magazine however are sometimes poorly balanced and are often not well accepted.

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I think the word you're looking for is optional. Because everything WotC publishes with the D&D logo is offical. It's just that everything outside the core rulebooks is optional.

quote:

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Originally posted by Carpe DM:
Point well taken about the non-standard template...after all, what DM would let you play a Fiendish orc. Which is why I noted that this was basically an NPC smack to balance all of the PC smacks I've been posting.

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I sure would, in fact I think I will encourage my PC's to use this idea.

Than after the feel all high and mighty I will have a Kobold kick their a$$.

Everyone should have ioun stones storing spells. Our friendly Barbarian in this example really should add Righteous Might to this mix (having had a cleric toss it in ahead of time). That'll turn each of his d8s to 2d6s, and will give him an ADDITIONAL +4 strength bonus (putting him at 20(base) + 4(level increases) + 6 (empowered bulls strength) + 4 (righteous might) + 4 (rage): 38 Strength or +14 strength, so +21 damage just from strength on a two-handed blow.

Then add powerlunge (feat) and we'll get +31 damage from strength on the partial charge in the beginning round. Then add weapon damage bonuses, smite (from feat) etc.

Very Best,

Carpe

quote:

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Originally posted by Carpe DM:

His attack is at: +15 base, +9 (luck of Gruumsh), +12 (strength: start with a 20 strength (18 +2 racial), add 4 for the level-ups (assuming 16th level here) then get +6 from an empowered bull's strength and +4 for the rage, puts you at 34 strength) and +5 (weapon). Also add +2 (charge).

Carpe

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It'w worth observing, that if you are assuming this a level 16 barbarian, thenit would have GREATER RAGE, which increses its strength by six, not 4.

Add +1 to all those attacks and the damage for each hit.