Planing a Barbarians Development

[jarlaxlecq]

In terms of development ideas would you advise consentration feats on his rage, things like extra rage, and other rage feats. Or Feats in another direction in terms of balanceing him out. As a level 1 Half Orc Barb his 1 feat so far is power attack. I plan to keep him a straign barbarian. Wish weapon of choice will be a large, vicious looking Sword (Great Sword)

 

[Darklone]

Where have the axe-wielding barbarians gone.... *sniff*

 

[jarlaxlecq]

Where have the axe-wielding barbarians gone.... *sniff*

Sword, Axe, whatever, which one doesn't matter, its going to be 2 handed weapon

 

[mikebr99]

Where have the axe-wielding barbarians gone.... *sniff*

Isn't that a song from the 60's?

 

[Darklone]

Well... Cleave is an obvious choice. Great Cleave if it fits the campaign. Otherwise Weapon Focus, Improved Critical and so... and you're done with the few feats you have.

 

[mikebr99]

Yeah... stay away from the extra rage stuff, unless you plan to leave the Barbarian class, or you are in so many combats a day that you do need more.


Mike

 

[Endur]

Cleave, Weapon Focus, Improved Bull Rush, Shock Warrior (complete warrior)

In terms of development ideas would you advise consentration feats on his rage, things like extra rage, and other rage feats. Or Feats in another direction in terms of balanceing him out. As a level 1 Half Orc Barb his 1 feat so far is power attack. I plan to keep him a straign barbarian. Wish weapon of choice will be a large, vicious looking Sword (Great Sword)

 

[Thanee]

For style reasons, you should pick the greataxe for a half-orc barbarian.

Power Attack is a must, of course.
The Rage feat chain doesn't seem very useful to me (only Extra Rage if you multiclass).

Cleave is very good. Great Cleave isn't something I'd waste a feat on. Situations, where this is really useful tend to be rare, or it just doesn't make a difference in the end.

Combat Expertise + Improved Trip is an obvious choice for a high strength barbarian. Trip is probably the most advantageous combat maneuver in 3.5.

Improved Critical can be bought via Keen, so isn't really needed. Weapon Focus is always nice to have, but you just have so many feats.

Close Quarter's Fighting is also good, since you rely on a non-light weapon, grapples will be bad.

Karmic Strike can also be pretty nasty, especially combined with Combat Reflexes and Improved Trip.

Now for something completely different, Iron Will is a very good feat choice, or Track might be worthwhile.

And don't forget to put a high stat on Con. You'll need it.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Tyrol]

Where have the axe-wielding barbarians gone.... *sniff*

My Dwarven Barbarian is all about axe-wielding


A small excerpt from my character description:

A survey of Rahul’s weaponry discloses his extreme propensity toward axes, and as such, they litter his body at any convenient location. Most often used, a dwarven war-axe hangs from the right side of his belt, always within comfortable reach of his brawny right hand. A lighter throwing axe rests similarly on the opposite side of his person. Second and third throwing axes are found strapped to either thigh, and tucked into the top of each boot are a pair of smaller hand axes. Behind him, the leather wrapped haft of a greataxe protrudes just above his shoulders. Mounted in a harness upon his back, it can easily be released during combat. In his left hand he carries a large steel shield. Unlike his weapons, the shield is streaked with mud. It may have once bore an emblem upon it, but it is no longer recognizable, even if washed.

 

[Kalendraf]

If you're going Half-orc barb w/ no multiclassing, that definitely restricts the feats somewhat. Here's what I suggest:

Lvl 1: Power Attack (reason - pre-req for cleave, great for 2-hand weapons)
Lvl 3: Cleave (reason - often gives extra attack)
Lvl 6: Weapon Focus (reason - helps with power attack)
Lvl 9: Improved Critical (reason - score big damage more often, helps get more cleaves)

That's enough to get you up to double-digit levels. By then you should have some idea of how your character fits in the party and can pick up other feats to round them out. The improved bull rush idea is decent. Improved overrun is somewhat similar and probably worth considering. If you have enough intelligence, there's expertise. Lightning reflexes may be useful to boost saving throws. Combat reflexes can help get even more attacks, especially if you've got others in the party who can do things like trip, etc.