D&D 5E Doing the barbarian dip...

[BookBarbarian]

Eagle Totem 3rd lvl abiltiy has bonus action dash. So you can get that bit of rogue-ness and still be pure barbarian if you wish.

 

[CapnZapp]

My question is this: is it worth dipping into Rogue for 2 or 3 levels?

After you've reached fifth level in Barbarian: be my guest and multiclass however you like. You really can't mess up too badly by this stage.

Before that, there is probably nothing that will be nearly as good as reaching that 5th level as a single-classed Barbarian.

Is it worth losing the barbarian 18th-20th level abilities in order to dip into rogue?

Since most campaigns end way earlier than level 18, that's a "hell yes for most campaigns".

Only if you feel reasonably sure your DM will power on up until and preferably well past level 20, would I even briefly worry about the capstone abilities.

I mean, if you reach level 20 and play the final three sessions there, in which you might not have that many real fights, that can't compare to the dozens and dozens of sessions you've enjoyed your multiclass abilities.

Honestly, I wouldn't worry one bit about abilities that happen after level 11 or thereabouts at any stage. Chances are you won't get to use them much, and even if you do, they are invariably less impressive than the first few levels of all classes.

(Level 9 spells excluded, obviously)

 

[Flamestrike]

Mechanically speaking: No. You are gaining very little by dipping into rogue (since you are most likely not interested in using a finesse weapon).

Forget sneak attack, expertise in athletics (shove, trip, grapple) and perception, cunning action (bonus action dodge, disengage, dash) alone are worth it. A third level for assasinate and you have a truly scary half orc greataxe murder machine.

Barbarian goes great with rogue.