D&D 5E Obvious synergies you never realized

[MonkeezOnFire]

Sure, but the best druid spells are concentration, and raging barbarians cannot concentrate.

A normal moon druid can drop a concentration spell, transform, fight, get hurt, lose concentration, transform back and drop a new concentration spell, and repeat.

A moonbarian cannot. Their druid spellcasting slots are inefficiently used, and they need to boost druid levels to make their animal form suck less.

The person in our party did it so that the druid was the dip and mostly focused on barbarian so the lack of magic wasn't much of an issue. Spell slots were mostly used for utility or out of combat or healing. Damage wasn't amazing compared to my single classed paladin but the character was basically unkillable.

 

[Sacrosanct]

A moonbarian cannot. Their druid spellcasting slots are inefficiently used, and they need to boost druid levels to make their animal form suck less.

I don't know about that. I played a barbarian/moon druid (basically Barak from the Belgariad). I used the spell slots to heal myself in bear form often, and since I had resistance, it was essentially double the healing for the same slot.

 

[Esker]

The person in our party did it so that the druid was the dip and mostly focused on barbarian so the lack of magic wasn't much of an issue. Spell slots were mostly used for utility or out of combat or healing. Damage wasn't amazing compared to my single classed paladin but the character was basically unkillable.

If you're wildshaping into CR 1 creatures at high levels though, you're taking a big hit to your offensive potential when wildshaped, and in terms of added HP, you've got to take 4 off the top due to trading two d12 hit die levels for two d8 hit die levels, and most of the rest probably are rendered meaningless due presumably having a lower AC than you would as a person.

 

[MonkeezOnFire]

If you're wildshaping into CR 1 creatures at high levels though, you're taking a big hit to your offensive potential when wildshaped, and in terms of added HP, you've got to take 4 off the top due to trading two d12 hit die levels for two d8 hit die levels, and most of the rest probably are rendered meaningless due presumably having a lower AC than you would as a person.

Turning into a CR 1 creature while retaining the vast majority of your barbarian class features. Our DM ruled that there's no reason a tiger wouldn't still be able to use rage, extra attack, reckless attack, unarmored defense, fast movement and the like.

So yea you're getting two attacks at +5 to hit, 1d10+3 damage instead of +7 to hit, 1d12+4 damage which isn't amazing but it's not that bad considering everyone else in our party was tuned to deal damage.

 

[NotAYakk]

So wildshape (giant octopus) gives you 52 HP as a minor action. It also grabs as an attack, but a +5 to hit attack.

You can, however, shape into an octopus at the end of a turn after beating on something and use it to soak 104 HP of damage. Then dismiss it on your next turn and attack. Then repeat another time.

Not bad, 208 HP of soak.

 

[Esker]

Turning into a CR 1 creature while retaining the vast majority of your barbarian class features. Our DM ruled that there's no reason a tiger wouldn't still be able to use rage, extra attack, reckless attack, unarmored defense, fast movement and the like.

Sure, I was already taking that into consideration. Keep in mind that unarmored defense will be based on your beast DEX and CON. If you're a tiger you get +2 for AC 14. Presumably as a barbarian you would have had at least 16 or 17.

So yea you're getting two attacks at +5 to hit, 1d10+3 damage instead of +7 to hit, 1d12+4 damage which isn't amazing but it's not that bad considering everyone else in our party was tuned to deal damage.

It's about a 5 point delta in average DPR. Of course, if you took GWM it's quite a bit more than that since a tiger can't wield a greataxe.

 

[Esker]

So wildshape (giant octopus) gives you 52 HP as a minor action. It also grabs as an attack, but a +5 to hit attack.

You can, however, shape into an octopus at the end of a turn after beating on something and use it to soak 104 HP of damage.

Well, true, you can re-up on the HP multiple times. If the enemies have a +5 to hit you as well, though, the difference between the octopus's AC 12 and the barbarian's AC 17 (say) is about 1.6 vs 2.2 attacks per hit, so those octopus HP are only worth about 2/3 of a barbarian HP each.

 

[NotAYakk]

Well, true, you can re-up on the HP multiple times. If the enemies have a +5 to hit you as well, though, the difference between the octopus's AC 12 and the barbarian's AC 17 (say) is about 1.6 vs 2.2 attacks per hit, so those octopus HP are only worth about 2/3 of a barbarian HP each.

But by level 20, most will hit your barbarian AC. So HP is HP. And 52 (x2) is still decent.

It gets better if your DM allows the +2 HP feat to work (16x2 more HP!)

 

[Esker]

But by level 20, most will hit your barbarian AC. So HP is HP. And 52 (x2) is still decent.

It gets better if your DM allows the +2 HP feat to work (16x2 more HP!)

I wouldn't use level 20 as the go-to comparison point. But yes, the "discount factor" gets closer to 100% as attack bonuses go up, especially if you're attacking recklessly.

Applying Tough to beast form seems a bit cheesy, but even by a liberal reading, beasts don't have levels.

I guess the other point to make is that the extra HP only matter if the raging barbarian would have gone down in the first place, which is less and less likely as you go up in levels.

 

[Sacrosanct]

A dedicated polearm user can still switch to a thrown weapon (even a spear) and get the same STR bonus to hit and damage as a dedicated spear user.

They'd only be missing out on the extra +2 damage from Dueling, which interestingly still applies to a thrown melee weapon, per Sage Advice:

Does the Dueling Style apply to a thrown melee weapon?

D&D Sage Advice ·

www.sageadvice.eu

Also, it’s not just a +1 AC difference either, especially at higher levels. I think it’s a safe bet you’d have a magic shield at some point. Either a better AC, or another benefit, or both.