Real men don't cry, but 17th level barbarians do!

[Summer-Knight925]

Actually real men do cry, let's just make that clear

now onto the story/thread question

so I'm playing a barbarian, he's 17th level (as I said)...

His 'best friend' in role-play terms was brutally mashed by a few giants, he swore and oath to kill all giants before he rested (In respect of course, its more of HE HATES ALL GIANTS FOREVER)

so I said "he breaks down and cries over the lifeless form of his blood brother (an NPC not worth bringing back) and bellows out "I WILL AVENGE YOU!" in a very dramatic way.

The DM...ehem, I mean GM...turned to me and said "You now treat all weapons you wield as though they are giant bane"

everyone in the group was like "awesome! thats so sick!"
everyone but one guy...he contested it and still does, since then we haven't gamed...his reasoning?

"He's a barbarian! not a ranger! he fights everything without emotion! HE CAN'T EVEN READ! he can't cry, its out of character"

can someone give me a few points to shoot this down or help the player understand this?

 

[Tovec]

"He's a barbarian! not a ranger! he fights everything without emotion! HE CAN'T EVEN READ! he can't cry, its out of character"

Emphasis Mine. This is why he's wrong.

Rage (Ex)

A barbarian can call upon inner reserves of strength and ferocity, granting her additional combat prowess. Starting at 1st level, a barbarian can rage for a number of rounds per day equal to 4 + her Constitution modifier. At each level after 1st, she can rage for 2 additional rounds. Temporary increases to Constitution, such as those gained from rage and spells like bear's endurance, do not increase the total number of rounds that a barbarian can rage per day. A barbarian can enter rage as a free action. The total number of rounds of rage per day is renewed after resting for 8 hours, although these hours do not need to be consecutive.
While in rage, a barbarian gains a +4 morale bonus to her Strength and Constitution, as well as a +2 morale bonus on Will saves. In addition, she takes a –2 penalty to Armor Class. The increase to Constitution grants the barbarian 2 hit points per Hit Dice, but these disappear when the rage ends and are not lost first like temporary hit points. While in rage, a barbarian cannot use any Charisma-, Dexterity-, or Intelligence-based skills (except Acrobatics, Fly, Intimidate, and Ride) or any ability that requires patience or concentration.
A barbarian can end her rage as a free action and is fatiguedfatigued or exhausted but can otherwise enter rage multiple times during a single encounter or combat. If a barbarian falls unconscious, her rage immediately ends, placing her in peril of death. after rage for a number of rounds equal to 2 times the number of rounds spent in the rage. A barbarian cannot enter a new rage while

As long as the DM is okay with it - and in fact gave you the power you are fine. The guy is a wimp who doesn't like Roleplaying. Also, cool power and backstory reward.

 

[Summer-Knight925]

I think the emotionless side of it was the fact hes a warforged (we're playing in eberron, I know, its pathfinder but something about it are still awesome sauce) and the entire time called him a robot, the warforged has shed more blood than any of the characters (granted he doesnt actually bleed) and the term blood brother was used because a tribe of orcs (the 'gosh-calla!' [inside joke in the group]) allowed him into their tribe (after all, slaying a balrog, I mean balor, taking the death throes and walking out holding the greatsword (yay for disarm!) and gave it to the tribe's chief...well I think I made a good friend

then the frostfell froze over and a group of frost giant vikings (from everice, which in our setting reaches the frostfell via the world is spherical) began to invade the demon wastes...so thats how they came

but that guy who said no is playing a fighter who has kind of taken a back seat to my greataxe work...I think he despises my character (although not me, he's saved my life more than once, literally saved my life) and just feels like its a bit much, I get where he's coming from and all, he's a good guy too, I don't want him to feel any negativity towards me

 

[Marius Delphus]

Apart from the obvious:

- "He's my character, not yours"
- "The GM is down with it, why not roll with it"
- "You're getting static all up in my moment"
- "Next time you roll a barbarian, you can not-cry all you like"
- "This is a 'role-playing' game, remember"
- "Illiteracy has exactly nothing to do with my character's emotional life"
- "Crowning Moment of Awesome" (see tvtropes.org)

I got nothin'.

 

[Tovec]

You should have said something

I think the emotionless side of it was the fact hes a warforged (we're playing in eberron, I know, its pathfinder but something about it are still awesome sauce) and the entire time called him a robot, the warforged has shed more blood than any of the characters (granted he doesnt actually bleed) and the term blood brother was used because a tribe of orcs (the 'gosh-calla!' [inside joke in the group]) allowed him into their tribe (after all, slaying a balrog, I mean balor, taking the death throes and walking out holding the greatsword (yay for disarm!) and gave it to the tribe's chief...well I think I made a good friend

then the frostfell froze over and a group of frost giant vikings (from everice, which in our setting reaches the frostfell via the world is spherical) began to invade the demon wastes...so thats how they came

but that guy who said no is playing a fighter who has kind of taken a back seat to my greataxe work...I think he despises my character (although not me, he's saved my life more than once, literally saved my life) and just feels like its a bit much, I get where he's coming from and all, he's a good guy too, I don't want him to feel any negativity towards me

Oh, so its Warforged. That would have been a good reason to back up the whole "illetarate barbarian =/= emotions" On that specific offense how can it rage?
Beyond that my final point still stands, as long as it has emotion I would say it can rage and want to avenge its blood brother.
If it doesn't show emotion then the swearing blood brother thing is out of left field.
Either way, the Bane quality for giants doesn't ruin anything for me. If the DM is allowing it then I really couldn't care less. You are level 17, at that level it is a really really minor ability to add. Its not favoured enemy its Bane. Bane is a +1 on a weapon.
Also, is the blood brother able to be resurrected (I'm not clear on warforged anatomy/souls) because if so, at level 17, it IS worth getting an NPC, especially one you care about, resurrected. Maybe not the full cost one but at level 17 you have levels to burn.

 

[Summer-Knight925]

it does show emotion. Often.

it is a LIVING construct in the eberron setting guide, so it has emotions and free will.

and the npc can't be brought back, against their views or something, either way it fine, adds to him not being brought back, its fine if hes dead...just not to Abrahms (the warforged, named after the tank, which he totally is)

but he does have emotions, he loves, hates, enjoys and dislikes

he actually married the cleric in the group (I think the real life player likes me in real life ) and loves her, and it works out okay because she can't...well she's taken a vow of chastity, so technically she isnt breaking stricture, woot!

but yeah, enough with the story

 

[concerro]

I think the emotionless side of it was the fact hes a warforged (we're playing in eberron, I know, its pathfinder but something about it are still awesome sauce) and the entire time called him a robot, the warforged has shed more blood than any of the characters (granted he doesnt actually bleed) and the term blood brother was used because a tribe of orcs (the 'gosh-calla!' [inside joke in the group]) allowed him into their tribe (after all, slaying a balrog, I mean balor, taking the death throes and walking out holding the greatsword (yay for disarm!) and gave it to the tribe's chief...well I think I made a good friend

then the frostfell froze over and a group of frost giant vikings (from everice, which in our setting reaches the frostfell via the world is spherical) began to invade the demon wastes...so thats how they came

but that guy who said no is playing a fighter who has kind of taken a back seat to my greataxe work...I think he despises my character (although not me, he's saved my life more than once, literally saved my life) and just feels like its a bit much, I get where he's coming from and all, he's a good guy too, I don't want him to feel any negativity towards me

Warforged have emotions also. There is nothing to indicate that they don't. I have always played them as less emotionally stable due to their lack of life experience on average, but that is not a rule in the book. I can totally see one being sad at losing a friend.

 

[Summer-Knight925]

I didn't go warforged Juggernaut because I wanted him to still feel, granted his build is fairly simple, his personality feels complex, he suffers from low-self esteem, now chronic depression, and because of his low wisdom, tends to be delusional (whenever an illusion spell is used)

its fun though

 

[Systole]

What the GM gave you was about on par with a feat. In my opinion, it's a little too much reward for RP (even if it was really good RP) unless it was time-limited -- like, until the end of the current adventure or something. That said, it makes sense given the situation, and it's hardly unbalancing either way. You're level 17. You've got, what, nine feats already, plus rage powers, plus damage reduction, plus 400,000-something gp worth of magical items? And this guy is whining about an extra feat? Bollocks.

 

[Summer-Knight925]

I called him today and talked to him about it, aside from he being more understanding after a few days, we also are sitting down at starbucks to configure a dual-combat style that we'll use in combat, and this is our last adventure for this group AND we're fighting lots of giants, so yeah...its a little more powerful

but he plays a fighter who does a lot of fancy stuff with a light weapon, a duelist nonetheless, so how about this

His high armor class makes him great for fighting the larger single foes meanwhile my rage makes me a great minion masher, so we're going to fight as such, he takes on the big ones, sometimes (if it is too much for him alone) he'll fight defensively until I can make my way over, we're going to crunch numbers over some coffee and figure out 'codes' to make the DM be like "whaaaat?" when we do it, from what the adventure has delt us so far, the final battle will be deadly and will need us to do fight as such