Opinions on potential Aasimar Barbarian build

[CTurbo]

I've been thinking about the idea of playing a beautiful woman Barbarian who would usually wear a dress and now I actually have the stats to pull it off so I'm seriously considering it for an upcoming character.

Originally, I was going to be a Half-Elf and use the two free skills in some social skills, but then it occurred to me that Aasimar would fit the "beautiful" theme even better as well as having a super fun once per long rest racial ability that's almost like a rage in itself. I'm still considering Half-Elf or even vHuman, but for the rest of this post, lets assume I'm going Aasimar. One of the biggest things I'm looking for here is which subrace of Aasimar to choose.

I like Protector Aasimar a lot thematically, but with a +2 Cha and +1 Wis, this is easily the least helpful stat boost option of the three.
I like the Fallen Aasimar both mechanically and thematically, but I really want this character to be GOOD, and even thought the DM has confirmed that I can play a good Fallen Aasimar, I'm still struggling coming up with how to do so. Even still, I do like the idea that the fear from the racial effects my friends as well. Sounds awesome. (they'd be immune at level 10 anyway)
I like Scourge too because I feel like REALLY fits in with the whole rage concept and I LOVE the fact that I would deal damage to myself and friends standing close to me. I feel like it adds some extra depth to my character since she would feel so guilty about hurting her friends unintentionally during her transformations.

Character backstory and background are still in development, but I'm open to suggestions on backgrounds. I do see her as from a well off background though. Possibly rich heritage.

I see her as VERY friendly, sweet, caring, protective, and probably flirty, but with an extremely explosive temper.
She will NOT look like a Barbarian. She will not ever wear armor, and despite having a high Str, will not look anywhere near as strong as she is.(think Wonder Woman). I'm also having a hard time seeing her using a huge 2 handed weapon. She'll be a reasonable height and weight but probably a little bit taller than the average adult human women. 5' 6" - 5' 9" and 120-140lbs probably.

Things I'm certain off-
1. stats are 18, 17, 16, 15, 13, 12
2. Female Barbarian
3. no armor
4. Charisma is important to character concept
5. Don't want to multiclass(although I MAY take a level of Bard later as I feel it does fit her concept a little)
6. Starting at level 2 with a free feat
7. Will be the party face
8. Will be very much a good character.

Things I'm still debating on-
1. race/subrace
2. background(I'm leaning towards Far Traveler)
3. what type of weapons to use(thinking about going Longsword and shield but don't want my AC to be TOO high ironically)
4. which feat to start with
5. which Barb subclass to go with(90% sure I'll go Zealot but open to suggestions)
6. should I take a single level of Bard at some point? Inspiration dice and more skills would be great. I don't see her as a big spell caster so I would probably take 4 out of combat rituals and always cast them as such. Cantrips would probably be Mending and Vicious Mockery
7. Chaotic, Neutral, or Lawful? I like the idea of being LG, but I think CG would fit better if I go with Fallen. Maybe that's why she's a Fallen?

Both Fallen and Scourge could start me with 18 Str, 16 Dex, 18 Con, and 17 Cha. Protector drops Str or Con to 17, but I could make that 1 point up with my free feat if I needed to.

Which brings me to feats. I'm undecided but I have an idea of what I want and what I don't want.

I like Inspiring Leader, Sentinel, Mobile, Res(Wis), Ritual Caster, Diplomat, and possibly Skilled in order to get social skill proficiencies. Alert and Lucky are always good for anybody, and Tavern Brawler is my +1 Str/Con feat of choice if I did choose Protector Aasimar. Two feats I am not interested in for this build is PAM and GWM. I just can't see her using a weapon that fits them. Oh yeah I do kind of like Shield Master for her....

So yeah I think that's what I've got so far. Any opinions or suggestions?

 

[RogueJK]

For Race, I like the flavor of Aasimar, but Variant Human or Half Elf would be a better choice mechanically. Half Elf boosts your CHA plus two of your primary stats, plus gets you two free skills to be a better Face. Variant Human would be my second choice, since it lets you start with +1 to two of your primary stats, plus a free skill, plus an extra feat for a total of two at start, which could be nice. Aasimar is a distant third. I wouldn't do Aasimar, unless you're doing it strictly for roleplaying reasons.

For Background, I think Courtier fits nicely both with your character concept of a girl from a noble family, as well as for the skills you'll want. Namely, it gets you the two main Face Skills of Persuasion and Insight. As a Face, you likely also want Deception and possibly Intimidation. You'll also want a grapple defense and exploration skill, either Athletics or Acrobatics. And you'll want to try to get Perception too, since it's the most common skill roll. That's 6 total skills. If you're a Half Elf, you can get all six. Use your two free skills to get Perception and Deception. Barbarian gets you Athletics and Intimidation. Courtier Background for Insight and Persuasion. But if you go with a race other than Half Elf, you'll have to pare down the list to just 4 or 5 skills, and/or use a Feat to pick up one of the skills.

Longsword and Shield would work nicely for a more classically-trained fighter from a civilized, noble family. Maybe something like Arya Stark, where the family initially tried to discourage her interest in martial weaponry, but later relented and got her formal lessons in swordplay.

For your free Feat, I'd consider one of the skill-based half-feats to round out one of your odd stats and give you Expertise in a Face skill like Persuasion.

For subclass, I'd skip the ones that are more along the line of a ""wild tribesman Barbarian", like Totem Warrior or Storm Herald. Berserker could fit, but Frenzy has problems. Zealot would work well as a more civilized godly Barbarian, especially if you do decide to stick with Aasimar, and the extra damage boost will help offset the fact that you're not using the traditional 2H weaponry. Otherwise, Ancestral Guardian would also be a good choice for a more civilized Barbarian. So I'd go Zealot for a more religious bent, or Ancestral Guardian for a more "the spirits of my family's forebearers protect me" bent.

I wouldn't bother with the Bard dip. If you want her to have some utility casting, you could look at the Ritual Caster or Magic Initiate feat as your free feat.

Your call on Alignment.


I'd do something like this:

Half Elf Barbarian 2
Free Feat: Everybody's Friend
STR 18
DEX 16
CON 17+1
INT 12
WIS 13+1
CHA 15+2+1

Skills: Deception (Half-Elf, Expertise from feat), Perception (Half-Elf), Athletics (Barbarian), Intimidation (Barbarian), Insight (Courtier), Persuasion (Courtier, Expertise from feat)
Languages: Common, Elven, +3 more


Or if you do decide to stick with an Aasimar, something like:

Fallen or Scourge Aasimar Barbarian2
Free Feat: Diplomat
STR 17+1 / 18
DEX 16
CON 18 / 17+1
INT 12
WIS 13
CHA 15+2+1

Skills: Insight (Courtier), Persuasion (Courtier, Expertise from feat), Athletics (Barbarian), Intimidation (Barbarian)
Languages: Common, Celestial, +2 more

 

[CTurbo]

Even though I'm still leaning toward Aasimar I do really like everything the Half-Elf has to offer. I really like Everybody's Friend too. It's perfect. With Half-Elf, technically I could start with 20 Str after free feat.

I agree with most of what you're saying. Zealot or AG are a way better fit than Totem or Storm. You're spot on with the skills. Every character I make has Perception and either Athletics or Acrobatics. I need Persuasion and Deception for sure. Intimidation would be fun, and Insight is always important too.