RE: Barbarian's HP in Rage

[glass]

I find the extra hit points to be a severe liability. I've seen more barbs die from having their rage end...

They'd have been dead before the rage ended if it wasn't for the extra hp from the Con boost.


glass.

 

[Thurbane]

Well, it depends on game style and such, I suppose, but in my games I've almost always found a fighter of equivalent level to a barbarian to be a more effective melee combatant. Platemail and all those feats have always ended up being more useful than raging, in my personal experience. YMMV.

...I also believe the "fatigued for the duration of the current encounter" clause of rage to be poorly executed. The fatigue should be for a definite number of rounds rather than the nebulous duration of "current encounter". We generally houserule it as 1 round of fatigue for each round of raging. I've seen one game where the character gets a Fort save each round to break the fatigue, with the DC gradually dropping each round.

Don't get me wrong - I think barbarians are a perfectly playable class, but all else being equal I would take a fighter any day of the week.

 

[irdeggman]

Don't get me wrong - I think barbarians are a perfectly playable class, but all else being equal I would take a fighter any day of the week.

So would I but only because of the versatility. For sheer melee damage output, a barbarian (at low to mid levels anyway) is superior though.