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Barbarians: Why not multiclass?
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<blockquote data-quote="FormerlyHemlock" data-source="post: 6752044" data-attributes="member: 6787650"><p>Barbarian's capstone: +4 to Str/Con, unlimited rages per day. Is that really worth 15 levels of investment? A Barbarian 20 and a Barbarian 5/Anything 15 will play virtually the same. They both get a bunch of ASIs and a Proficiency bonus. Barbarian is a fun and effective class at level 5, especially if you're a human who already has Polearm Master + Great Weapon Master, but after that point it's basically meh until level 20, which is pretty decent. And if you're already using your bonus action on GWM/Polearm Master, the 14th level totem abilities become much less interesting because the best one (Wolf) conflicts with that bonus action that you're already using.</p><p></p><p>Rather than "not wanting to slow down progression" in barbarian, it looks to me like you ought to be jumping on any opportunity to defect from barbarian as early as possible. For example, a Mobile Barbarian 5/Thief X could be pretty awesome in a Conan/Tarzan sort of way. I can see him now, Recklessly Attacking with his Battleaxe for sneak attack damage, then pulling back a few feet and tossing a caltrop right where the enemy is going to trip over it next turn. (Also, Stealth and Athletics Expertise is just too good to pass up.) Any enemy who actually hits him has to get past Rage <em>and</em> Uncanny Dodge so will only do 1/4 of normal damage. </p><p></p><p>GWM Polearm Master Barbearian 3/Fiend-Bladelock X also has lots of potential, since Rage only prevents casting or concentrating on spells, not maintaining them. You could totally Armor of Agathys V and enrage yourself when you want to wade into melee; when you don't want to melee, put on an antler helmet and throw Eldritch Blasts and Fireballs like some crazy Molo Ram imitation (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom). You wind up with only 3 rages per day instead of the 6 per day that a full Barbarian 19 would have, but you know, that's okay, because Fiendish Resilience, Dark One's Blessing, Armor of Agathys, and Foresight will make up for it. You'll get all the crazy destructive fun of beating things to death with your greataxe for d12+21 damage per hit (+2 Rage, +4 Str, +5 Lifedrinker, +10 GWM) plus 10d10 psychic, <em>and</em> the fun of throwing around Fireballs/Counterspell/Vampiric Touch when you want <em>that</em> instead. Warlocks have a notoriously narrow spell list but compared to a pure barbarian they wind up looking really versatile and good.</p><p></p><p>Man, now I want to play a Barbearian/Fiendlock.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="FormerlyHemlock, post: 6752044, member: 6787650"] Barbarian's capstone: +4 to Str/Con, unlimited rages per day. Is that really worth 15 levels of investment? A Barbarian 20 and a Barbarian 5/Anything 15 will play virtually the same. They both get a bunch of ASIs and a Proficiency bonus. Barbarian is a fun and effective class at level 5, especially if you're a human who already has Polearm Master + Great Weapon Master, but after that point it's basically meh until level 20, which is pretty decent. And if you're already using your bonus action on GWM/Polearm Master, the 14th level totem abilities become much less interesting because the best one (Wolf) conflicts with that bonus action that you're already using. Rather than "not wanting to slow down progression" in barbarian, it looks to me like you ought to be jumping on any opportunity to defect from barbarian as early as possible. For example, a Mobile Barbarian 5/Thief X could be pretty awesome in a Conan/Tarzan sort of way. I can see him now, Recklessly Attacking with his Battleaxe for sneak attack damage, then pulling back a few feet and tossing a caltrop right where the enemy is going to trip over it next turn. (Also, Stealth and Athletics Expertise is just too good to pass up.) Any enemy who actually hits him has to get past Rage [I]and[/I] Uncanny Dodge so will only do 1/4 of normal damage. GWM Polearm Master Barbearian 3/Fiend-Bladelock X also has lots of potential, since Rage only prevents casting or concentrating on spells, not maintaining them. You could totally Armor of Agathys V and enrage yourself when you want to wade into melee; when you don't want to melee, put on an antler helmet and throw Eldritch Blasts and Fireballs like some crazy Molo Ram imitation (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom). You wind up with only 3 rages per day instead of the 6 per day that a full Barbarian 19 would have, but you know, that's okay, because Fiendish Resilience, Dark One's Blessing, Armor of Agathys, and Foresight will make up for it. You'll get all the crazy destructive fun of beating things to death with your greataxe for d12+21 damage per hit (+2 Rage, +4 Str, +5 Lifedrinker, +10 GWM) plus 10d10 psychic, [I]and[/I] the fun of throwing around Fireballs/Counterspell/Vampiric Touch when you want [I]that[/I] instead. Warlocks have a notoriously narrow spell list but compared to a pure barbarian they wind up looking really versatile and good. Man, now I want to play a Barbearian/Fiendlock. [/QUOTE]
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