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Message: <blockquote data-quote="FormerlyHemlock" data-source="post: 6935683" data-attributes="member: 6787650">I understand your point about "the weight a party member is expected to pull" at the metagame level--the level at which you expect, rightly or wrongly, that if the Barbarian goes away he will be replaced by some other PC. But characters don't know anything about the number of players at the table, or replacement characters, or anything else. From the in-character, in-world viewpoint, having a brave Barbarian ally along is nothing but a plus unless you're worried about the food he eats or the share of the treasure he will take. (If so, negotiate that share down to something you both find reasonable. A player who makes a Str 6 Barbarian is probably going to be quite reasonable about getting a reduced share of the treasure anyway, because clearly he is not a munchkin.)RE: tanking... so, you think enemies are just going to ignore the Barbarian and take opportunity attacks every round instead as they flee from him? That increases his DPR by about 50%, since he's now getting three attacks per round for about 2d6+1 points per hit. (2d6 greatsword, -2 for Str, +3 for Rage.) Two of those attacks are at advantage due to Reckless Attack; the opportunity attack does not benefit from Reckless Attack. And then if he grapples them, melee enemies now have no choice but to attack him or spend actions breaking free, since they physically cannot reach anyone else.Kobold.com-generated Medium encounter for four 9th level characters: Flameskull + 2 Hobgoblin Captains.Success rate for a 9th level Str 6 Athletics-proficient Raging Barbearian to grapple a Hobgoblin Captain: (d20a-2+4) beats d20+2 64% of the time, and he gets two attempts, so success rate is (1-(1-0.64)^2) = 87%.87% of the time, the Hobgoblin Captain is forced to engage the Barbearian.Good luck with that "ignoring" strategy. This scarred barbarian may be old and crippled, but he's not out of the game yet, not by a long shot.</blockquote>

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