Barbarian Rage and Fatigue

[ptolemy18]

So... say a player is playing a 4th level Barbarian who can rage 2x a day.

After the first rage, they are fatigued. BUT if they rage again, does that automatically eliminate the fatigue? Or are they raging AND fatigued (i.e., +4 STR, +4 CON for rage... but also -2 STR, -2 DEX for fatigue... for a total of +2 STR, +4 CON, -2 DEX plus other effects)? If it doesn't automatically eliminate the fatigue, then that means that barbarians with multiple rages-per-day aren't as good as I thought they were... (because even if they can rage twice a day, they still have to wait a long time between rages for the fatigue to wear off...)

On a similar note... what if a barbarian is fatigued from another effect, like heat exhaustion? Can they rage while they're fatigued? (I assume they can, right? Because otherwise fatigue would be a huge handicap for a barbarian, and there's lots of effects which can cause fatigue.) If they rage while fatigued, do the rage bonuses and fatigue penalties mix, like in the example I gave above?

Thanks for your help!

Jason

 

[the Jester]

A barbarian can rage only once per encounter. The fatigue goes away after the encounter is over. Thus, unless he's fatigued before he rages in the first place, or something causes him to become fatigued while raging (waves of fatigue, for example), this won't happen.

In the unlikely event that a barb is raging and fatigued at the same time, yes the mods stack.

 

[ptolemy18]

A barbarian can rage only once per encounter. The fatigue goes away after the encounter is over. Thus, unless he's fatigued before he rages in the first place, or something causes him to become fatigued while raging (waves of fatigue, for example), this won't happen.

In the unlikely event that a barb is raging and fatigued at the same time, yes the mods stack.

Hold on... even if an encounter goes on for, like, 20 rounds, a barbarian with multiple rages can't rage more than once?

Jason

 

[werk]

Hold on... even if an encounter goes on for, like, 20 rounds, a barbarian with multiple rages can't rage more than once?

Jason

SRD: A barbarian can fly into a rage only once per encounter.

 

[Daermon]

Also, if a barbarian is under a condition that causes fatigue when a rage ends, he becomes exhausted.

At least, that's true in the case of a Frenzied Berserker, so I am assuming it's true across the board.

 

[Bad Paper]

This raises a question that came up in our game recently. Our party decided to completely buff up with all their spells before charging into a dungeon (knew the layout beforehand). Kill the first room of baddies, run to the next one, kill them, etc. etc. etc. The whole thing took two entire nights of constant fighting. Since the barbarian raged a short time in, she was basically fatigued for the entire time, because we couldn't figure out how long it would take for her to rest.

The pace of battle was entirely up to us, and our buff spells all had durations of nine or ten minutes or longer, but how long should we have waited for the barbarian to be able to rage again? What exactly is an encounter?

There was a stretch in there where we had to hustle for almost a minute to get to the next group of baddies. That would have been the perfect time for resting, if any.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

The pace of battle was entirely up to us, and our buff spells all had durations of nine or ten minutes or longer, but how long should we have waited for the barbarian to be able to rage again? What exactly is an encounter?

That's the important question.

The encounter pretty much ends "when the DM says it does."

Generally, this is applied as "once initiative stops mattering."

So, if you've rolled initiative again, you're probably in a new encounter.

 

[Shallown]

We had the same problem with how long the fatigue last in those sorts of sitautions when you litterly move room to room fighting. We ruled that the fatigue lasted as long as you raged.

Also if you are fatigued when rage ends you are then exhausted which last an hour then you are just fatiguied.

Later

 

[werk]

SRD: After 8 hours of complete rest, fatigued characters are no longer fatigued.

So, rage, fatigued until you can rest 8 hours. Rage again while fatigued, and you become exhausted when you come down. 1 hour of rest and you return to simply fatigued.

I guess I don't see the confusion except that it seems a bit harsh. Rage really taps your resources, it's a big benefit, and takes a lot out of you.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

SRD: After 8 hours of complete rest, fatigued characters are no longer fatigued.

So, rage, fatigued until you can rest 8 hours.

Except that Rage has special rules on fatigue, and doesn't follow the normal fatigue rules.