Barbarian vs Frenzied Berseker

[DarkMaster]

Yeah... I would be pissed too.

"I was just role-playing my character !"

Well, you choose that character, knowing full well the specs. Bye bye.

FB are better as solo adventuring PC's or as DM's evil NPC's.

ooOOOOOoooh.....

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Perfectly agree that is why I do not provide any opportunity for my player to take this prestige class, unless I am fed up of the current party composition and what some new blood. For sure I metagame after the rampage to make sure that once it's job is done is no longer part of the picture.

 

[Altamont Ravenard]

Yeah... I would be pissed too.

"I was just role-playing my character !"

Well, you choose that character, knowing full well the specs. Bye bye.

Maybe I expressed myself badly.

I was playing a cleric. Another guy was playing a Frenzied Berserker. He went on a rampage and killed my cleric. I was pissed. I got raised. My character tried to reconcile with the FB (he was sorry, I placed a Mark of Justice on him and told him if it ever happened again, he'd have to leave the group). Later, while interrogating someone, the FB went into a rampage and ultimately attacked city guards. When he came out of Frenzy, he surrendered, was taken in, and ultimately put to death. The rest of the party didn't try to save him.

The FB's player was really sorry (as was the FB) and I didn't stay angry at the player. He was happy to roll up a less dangerous character.

I don't know if the PrC is balanced or not. I just know that the drawbacks affect the rest of the party more than they affect the Berserker. That's what I hate most about it.

AR

 

[JoeBlank]

When he came out of Frenzy, he surrendered, was taken in, and ultimately put to death. The rest of the party didn't try to save him.

The FB's player was really sorry (as was the FB) and I didn't stay angry at the player. He was happy to roll up a less dangerous character.

Sounds like you at least got some good role-playing out of the situation. I like the use of Mark of Justice, and the FB's acceptance of his fate.

And I agree with you, although I don't have such an experience to back up my opinion. The class is just too much of a liability to one in a party.

 

[Endur]

The Barbarian is a player character class and the Frenzied Berserker is an NPC. The Frenzied Berserker can't be a PC because he murders all his friends.

What differenciates these two clases? aside from one being a core and the other being a prestige class. can you be raged and frenzied at the same time? What are the pros and cons?

Thanks

 

[Norfleet]

I liked the FB story where the surviving party members hid behind the corpse of a monster and made it kick at the FB to seem like it was attacking, so he'd keep attacking it.

 

[frankthedm]

The liability to the party aspect makes the FB really had to peg down as too tough or too weak.

 

[Black Knight Irios]

I think the FB is pretty dangerous, especially for the own party and that is a fact, no matter what you say. I really don't want to have a FB in my party around, e.g. a trap sets of the FB fails his save an goes on a rampage, cutting through the party's mage with a single tremendous blow. Yeah seems like fun, no, not at all. I think an encounter with an FB as an opponent for the party would be quite funny to run...or an NPC that starts adventuring along the party and is a FB, the first fight would be very interesting, so it might be the last they fight together...hahaha...I think if one of my players adopted that PC it would be more fun for me than him and the rest of the party.

 

[coblen]

have you forgot that if the fb just works to up his will save than he can control his killing spree

 

[Particle_Man]

Have ypu forgotten that everyone fails their will save on a 1 on a d20 roll, no matter what?

Frenzied Berserkers are a PrClass I ban outright when I DM. And I am fairly permissive.

 

[Michael Silverbane]

Have ypu forgotten that everyone fails their will save on a 1 on a d20 roll, no matter what?

That's not entirely true anymore. With the Steadfast Determination feat (from PHB II, I believe) you gain two benefits... The first is that you use your Con modifier (instead of you Wis modifier) for Will saves. The second is that a roll of a natural 1 on a will save is no longer an automatic failure.

Later
silver