D&D 5E Are Barbarian’s “Meh”

[Paul Farquhar]

Some barbarians need to be hit in at the earliest possibility in a combat, or they need to be hit from time to time, one good thing about barb which 5e does right is that they do not rely so much on AC, but also on HP and DR

Depending on how the DM plays it, enemies may be more likely to target the guy without a shirt than the guy in full plate.

And if you show some imagination and choose a race with a dex bonus (e.g. non-v human, wildhunt shifter) then unarmoured defense is more competitive.

Indeed, Dex-barbarians are good all round, telling us that the damage bonus from rage aint worth much.

 

[ccs]

A barbarian could be a conan-like barbarian sure. But she could be a viking berserker, a soldier with anger issues, a brutal thug or - as I mentioned earlier - a mendicant dervishe.

Or a terrified 1/2ling serving girl with PTSD, forced into the adventurer life, who freaks out & fights recklessly because she's NOT a trained combatant.
In a fight she's as dangerous to herself & her allies as she is to whatever's attacking her.

 

[Don Durito]

In a fight she's as dangerous to herself & her allies as she is to whatever's attacking her.

I've love it if barbarians actually were dangerous to their allies.

Now that would be some effing old school flavour.

 

[Coroc]

Weapons in 5e are broad categories, not precise definitions. "Pike" includes any pointy stick that is too heavy to wield one-handed.

Note that apart from damage type its game stats are the same as a halberd, and halberds are typically only about 6 feet long.

And, given that the reach of a 5e pike is only 10', we have to conclude that it cannot be 15' long.

Compare "longsword", a weapon that does not exist outside of D&D.

Yep I recommend to rename the long sword to bastard sword, the great sword to long sword (For those two leave anything else in stats etc) and to introduce an arming sword, 1d8 S one handed use only (STR weapon, no versatility here) if you are like me putting some value on historic accuracy.

10' is already to much to be used like a spear with PM, a good compromise would be about 7'-8' max for something you want to operate a bit like a Kung Fu Bo.

A real Pike starts at 4m, would be 12'

The winged lancers a historic polish heavy cavalry were used to break up pike formations using 4 things, incredible courage, horses with covered eyes, a well disciplined formation attack routine and lances up to 18 ft, so that they could hit before the pike man due to longer reach.

 

[Zardnaar]

Weapons in 5e are broad categories, not precise definitions. "Pike" includes any pointy stick that is too heavy to wield one-handed.

Note that apart from damage type its game stats are the same as a halberd, and halberds are typically only about 6 feet long.

And, given that the reach of a 5e pike is only 10', we have to conclude that it cannot be 15' long.

Compare "longsword", a weapon that does not exist outside of D&D.

Longswords a claymore IRL. Or bastard sword or any other hand and a half sword.

 

[ccs]

I've love it if barbarians actually were dangerous to their allies.

Now that would be some effing old school flavour.

When she rages I roll randomly per attack to see wich adjacent creature is targeted.
This has had the full blessing of every DM I've played her under.
It's an awesome surprise to the other players though. They're used to fighting alongside barbarians who use tactics, focus fire on one enemy & who're... safe.... to be next to even though they're going nuts & swinging axes about.

Here in 5e she's a modified Ancestral Guardian so it's not too deadly to allies.
But you should see what damage she's capable of over in PF.... You do not want to stand next to that version of her.

 

[Coroc]

When she rages I roll randomly per attack to see wich adjacent creature is targeted.
This has had the full blessing of every DM I've played her under.
It's an awesome surprise to the other players though. They're used to fighting alongside barbarians who use tactics, focus fire on one enemy & who're... safe.... to be next to even though they're going nuts & swinging axes about.

Here in 5e she's a modified Ancestral Guardian so it's not too deadly to allies.
But you should see what damage she's capable of over in PF.... You do not want to stand next to that version of her.

Oh wow it is a real character you playing, I thought it was just theory. Kudos once more that is a good use of refluffing things.
The bad version of her would be wielding a halberd.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

If you want more authenticity, then spear should be shortspear, pike becomes longspear (perhaps with a weight reduction), and a pike should have stats something like this:

Pike 5gp 1d8 piecing 18lb heavy, reach, two-handed, special

Special: The pike adds 10' to your reach but cannot target anything closer than 10'. You cannot use polearm master feat with this weapon.

On the other hand, a realistic pike is wholly impractical for dungeoneering (or any kind of indoor use) so leave it off the equipment list all together.

 

[Coroc]

...

On the other hand, a realistic pike is wholly impractical for dungeoneering (or any kind of indoor use) so leave it off the equipment list all together.

Only really useful for opponents in formation or if the players are part of a military unit somehow.

 

[Zardnaar]

Only really useful for opponents in formation or if the players are part of a military unit somehow.

Combat and Tactics 2E.