Barbarian Rage and buffs need input please

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

Barbarians are supposed to do massive amounts of damage. It wouldn't be fair if a fighter could drink a Potion of Bull's Strength and do as much as the barbarian, whereas the barbarian suffers certain penalties during and after rage, has fewer feats, and also gets no benefit from the Potion.

(Besides, once the fighter gets Weapon Specialization, he can actually out-damage the non-raging barbarian.)

The unnamed bonus should probably be changed to "rage" or even morale bonus, just to avoid confusion. For instance, the Emotion: Rage spell doesn't stack with rage... it's a good thing they remembered to put that clarification in.

 

[chip079]

thanks for all the input everybody i can now implement my top secret plan. MWAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!

 

[Bendrig]

...my top secret plan.

Hit people...

Hard!

They'll never expect that of a barbarian...


or

Why do I suddenly have visions of a Half-orc in a french maid uniform wielding a feather duster two-handed...

 

[Kae'Yoss]

Why do I suddenly have visions of a Half-orc in a french maid uniform wielding a feather duster two-handed...

Because you are very, very naughty, and you know it!

 

[Destil]

The unnamed bonus should probably be changed to "rage" or even morale bonus, just to avoid confusion. For instance, the Emotion: Rage spell doesn't stack with rage... it's a good thing they remembered to put that clarification in.

Actually, the proliferation of too many bonus types would be more trouble than it is worth, there's little need to track any more of these things. Circumstance bonuses fit for practically every bonus not included that you can think of, and since circumstance bonuses stack when they don't arise from essentially the same circumstances, those are great to use instead of unnamed bonuses. I.E. a +2 circumstance bonus due to rage. Then emotion and what ever other spells you want can also be given circumstance bonus due to rage.


The preceding has been paid for by the commity to elect circumstance bonuses for something or other.

 

[Ridley's Cohort]

Rage on top of buffed Str is pretty potent, but it is one of the very cards the Barbarian has in his hand that the Fighter doesn't also get.

If you limit the stacking the Barbarian class is far too weak compared to the Fighter once you reach ~10th level when the well equiped Fighter will have good permenant buffing items.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

Rage and Bull's Strength (or whatever you have that gives you your enhancement bonus) have to stack so that Barbarians can compete with fighters (they're on the loosing side already): Fighters can specialize in weapons, which gives them +2 on damage rolls the whole long day (though it's only on one weapon per feat, characters tend to use not to many types of weapon anyway), while barbarians get their +2 to damage (due to rage) only when they're actually raging. A fighter with a belt of giant strength (+4) would have +4 on their damage, while a barbarian would still have only +2, because rage and the belt wouldn't stack.

 

[Alariel]

A fighter with a belt of giant strength (+4) would have +4 on their damage, while a barbarian would still have only +2, because rage and the belt wouldn't stack

The Belt of Giant Strength is an enhancement bonus to strength. Why wouldn't it stack with a barbarian's rage?

 

[Ridley's Cohort]

The Belt of Giant Strength is an enhancement bonus to strength. Why wouldn't it stack with a barbarian's rage?

KaeYoss is speaking rhetorically. He is just pointing out that the barbarian is shafted in the long run if the rage bonuses don't stack with enchancement bonuses.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

KaeYoss is speaking rhetorically. He is just pointing out that the barbarian is shafted in the long run if the rage bonuses don't stack with enchancement bonuses.

Yep. And make that "more shafted". The fighter gets his specialization bonus all the time. But the barbarian has got other benefits as well, and rage is not for STR only