D&D 5E Altered barbarian help

[MarkB]

How would you suggest making a halfdragon that only uses its natural abilities and despises magic as an abomination, while also staying relevant as a melee/tank role? Or was I'm a dick your only comment?

If your character despises magic as an abomination, why would they hang around with other PCs who are spellcasters?

 

[Dorthorus]

If your character despises magic as an abomination, why would they hang around with other PCs who are spellcasters?

You can have friends who do things you're against and other times for the greater good

 

[Umbran]

Or was I'm a dick your only comment?

Mod Note:
So, he was a tad brusk, but that isn't what he said.

How about both of you dial it back to a friendly conversation, please and thanks.

 

[Umbran]

If your character despises magic as an abomination, why would they hang around with other PCs who are spellcasters?

Indeed, the "despise all magic" was introduced way back when in the 1e Unearthed Arcana Barbarian, and even then it was a problem - either you play it properly, and it becomes an albatross on the party's neck, or you play it poorly, effectively ignore it, and get power for nothing.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

How would you suggest making a halfdragon that only uses its natural abilities and despises magic as an abomination, while also staying relevant as a melee/tank role? Or was I'm a dick your only comment?

I would say you need to drop "despises magic as an abomination" unless the entire party is in on the same gag. It's going to cause more and more and more disruption problems as you level up, and it will make the entire game about your PC, because everyone will work around you refusing to use mechanics the game wants you to use. It's not interesting, cool, or fun. It's just disruptive and going to cause tons of conflict with PCs and NPCs all the time. If it's a pre-existing character, talk to the DM about having a moment that convinces him that hating magic was wrong or something. Or maybe he has a revelation from his god or whatever.

I'd also say "Just take Path of the Beast". You don't need a special "best of" Path. I think it's perfectly justifiable to say you have always-on 1d6 damage claws and 1d8 damage bite as natural weapons, from being a Half-Dragon. Speak to Animals is inoffensive, I think that's fine.

All Barbarians are relevant as melee/tanks, note, and the whole point of Path of the Beast is that it makes up for you not necessarily having awesome weapons elsewhere.

 

[Stormonu]

Lol I can give up the ritual

Wouldn't it still be Claw/Claw/Bite or claw/claw/tail at 1 and Claw/Claw/bite/ claw/claw/tail because you can only take 1 bonus action?

The armor for flight doesn't matter character is forbidden from using it.

Bite would be bonus action, Claws standard action, Tail from reaction. Nowhere near overwhelming considering what some classes could dish out (ex., minotaur warlock using horns/weapon/hellish rebuke), but I think worth mentioning.

Also, I have to admit I initially thought for some reason the barbarian class was granting the bite, claws & tail - not the race.

Still, this seems like this is going to be a difficult character to include in a group with any sort of spellcasters. I'd check if the rest of the group is okay with this sort of lone wolf character before moving forward.

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

Lol I can give up the ritual

Wouldn't it still be Claw/Claw/Bite or claw/claw/tail at 1 and Claw/Claw/bite/ claw/claw/tail because you can only take 1 bonus action?

The armor for flight doesn't matter character is forbidden from using it.

Path of the beast Barbarian only gets one of these abilities that they choose each time you rage. So you get either tail, or bite, or Claws. You'll get three claw attacks at 5th level if you pick claws for that rage.

There are options for dragonborn to get flight at level 5 by virtue of their race.

I would suggest that you roleplay your restrictions rather than try to treat them as flaws to gain extra power. No DM worth their dice is going to agree to a requirement that you kill another player's character just because that player didn't want to see you lose your character (which you are obviously very invested in) when it was bleeding out.

Letting you get all your level 3 abilities at level 1 is a big bonus in itself. I would suggest not trying to get more abilities from several different subclasses as part of your progression unless the other characters in the game get similarly powerful gestalt-type houserules.

For your first feat, I'd suggest asking if you can take the dwarven racial feat that lets you spend a hit dice when taking the dodge action. That will get you some method of in-combat healing.

How does your group generate ability scores? Roll, point buy? What other characters are in the party, or what sort of gaming group is it?

 

[Paul Farquhar]

How would you suggest making a halfdragon that only uses its natural abilities and despises magic as an abomination, while also staying relevant as a melee/tank role? Or was I'm a dick your only comment?

It's a role playing choice, not tied in any way to mechanics. That way it's up to you to decide what your character thinks is and is not magical, not for the DM to have to rule. And if the rest of your party decides your character is too much of an irritating ass and either has to change or leave, you don't have "it's part of my character mechanics" as an excuse.

"Staying relevant in a melee tank role" is the player's problem, not the DM's.

And I definitely wouldn't allow any player to play any race that is fundamentally more powerful, like half dragon. You can play a dragonborn.