D&D 5E It is OK for a class to be the worst

[Ruin Explorer]

Eh, even taking into account the THP from Tireless it still doesn't have the durability of the Barbarian.

It does however make one heck of a multiclass combo. THP+Resistance has always been good.

Oh boy. I need to point this out to the Barbarian I'm in a party with. The player is a total THP addict.

 

[Guest 6801328]

I think there's always been overlap in the concept of the Barbarian and the concept of the Ranger.

That's because both of them should really be templates you overlay on top of other classes, not separate classes.

Ah, the shackles of legacy.

 

[FlyingChihuahua]

Oh boy. I need to point this out to the Barbarian I'm in a party with. The player is a total THP addict.

I mean, THP is freaking great for barbs to begin with, so I can see where the enthusiasm comes from.

 

[BookBarbarian]

That's because Classes are a bit more on the "gameplay" side of things than anything else.

Rangers are fairly obvious, they're supposed to be the ones who are the best at one of the three pillars of the game, while Barbarian is the easiest and most understandable name for what the class actually is (melee fighter with big dumb super mode).

Bingo. Especially about the super mode. That's pretty much all that ties the Barbarian subclasses together from a narrative perspective, as opposed to say a Ranger, Wizard, or Fighter who more or less specializes. The Subclass for the barb leans more towards defining the source of their power, A bit like a sorcerer.

I play a lot of Barbarians I have an interesting time with the shift at level 3 when Rage starts sprouting lightning, ghosts and such. If I haven't tied the subclass I plan on choosing into the backstory it can cause some dissonance.

 

[BookBarbarian]

Oh boy. I need to point this out to the Barbarian I'm in a party with. The player is a total THP addict.

A while back I saw a Fiend Patron Warlock/Bear Totem Barbarian multiclass that really made advantage of the THP from downing foes. it looked surprisingly effective.

 

[FlyingChihuahua]

A while back I saw a Fiend Patron Warlock/Bear Totem Barbarian multiclass that really made advantage of the THP from downing foes. it looked surprisingly effective.

Plus you can get Armor of Agathys with that, which sounds very entertaining.

 

[BookBarbarian]

And even despite not being optimized, I'm sure he contributes meaningfully.

With my table all I have to do to contribute meaningfully is make rational decisions

 

[Oofta]

With my table all I have to do to contribute meaningfully is make rational decisions

Huh. Maybe that's what I've been doing wrong all along. Rational decisions? Radical!

 

[Guest 6801328]

With my table all I have to do to contribute meaningfully is make rational decisions

My kinda table.

 

[Gladius Legis]

Wasn't one of the oft-floated criticisms of the recent UA ranger that it had features that made it a better barbarian than the core barbarian?

Not quite. It is one UA Ranger feature option, Tireless, that removes a level of exhaustion with every short rest. It can be taken at Lv. 1, thus making Ranger a way-too-attractive dip for a Berserker Barbarian.

(Tireless itself is OK if taken after 6 Ranger levels, so that's what the change should be when it goes to print, IMO.)