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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Nyaricus" data-source="post: 2508021" data-attributes="member: 35678">hello everyone!! first off, let me say that i am currently creating and DMing a low-magic campaign (called Ascension - Paths of Power) and i am mainly inspired from 1) JRR Tolkien and 2) real-world concepts of monsters, classes, etc. i dont like the idea of the barbarian from the PHB, because they are (poorly) based off of the Berserkers of Norse tradition, but its kinda like a universal class for any sort of primative culture/race. Also, many of the abilities are poorly chosen. why on Earth should a primative individual have Trap Sense? because out in their barren homeland deep in the pits of their jungle (yeah, viking-orcs now live in the amazon rainforest) they obviously come across many "Flaming Lawn Darts" traps every other day. Also, the fast movement gained doesnt make any sense. Quite simple, Nordic peoples were taller, and thus moved much faster that other human ethnic groups. That, and the fact that the Vikings were a raiding civilization. they needed to strike fast, kill and loot, and then get the hell outta there. thus, the fast movement is kinda overdone. finally the barbarian rages too many times per day, and doesnt have enough Damage reduction That said, Tolkien doesnt really have any true Berserkers in his campaign (the closest thing being those wild men from the southern woods and Beorn) so, i went right to the source > the tales of the Berserkers from the Nordic Sagas. Berserkers are some of the most terrifying warriors you may ever have to face (or play <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f61b.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":p" title="Stick out tongue    :p"  data-smilie="7"data-shortname=":p" /> ) they rely on going into a terrifying rage (called, in truth, a Berserkergang, but for simplification is just called a "rage" here) in which they go nuts, and rush into battle bare-chested, swinging with all their might at their foes untill they collapse from exhastion or kill all their enemies. They seems to be immune to weapons, and to shrug off hits that would kill another man, they were daunting in apperance, and faced rejection in their commuties due to their terrifying rages, and thus formed groups of Berserkers, and were sometimes employed to be "shock troops" by certain kings/leaders in and around Europe (one had a bunch in constantinople at one time, if i remember this all correctly, cus this is mostly off the top of my head <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f61b.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":p" title="Stick out tongue    :p"  data-smilie="7"data-shortname=":p" />). Also, Beserkers in general belonged to cults of war-gods (although they hardly had any powers originating from their gods, keep in mind that for RPing purposes, they might consider their DR, etc, as gifts bestowed to them by their gods) and that will come into play for my Berserkers' Prestigue Class (but more later on that) so, to sum this all up, here is my . . .  BERSERKER CLASS HD = d12BAB = HD (as fighter)Good Fort, bad Ref and WillClass Skills: Climb, Craft, Intimidate, Jump, Knowledge (Religion), Survival, SwimNumber of Skills at 1st level (2+Int mod)x4, 2+Int mod after thatAlignment: must be chaotic (good, neutral or evil) For standard weapon and armour proficiencies, he get all simple and martial weapons except as follows: no katars (punching daggers), crossbows or kukris. This is for flavour, and i am sure someone will complain, esp. about the crossbows.  proficients in all shields (except tower shields). Also, Shields are generally wooden, if they arent using a two handed weapon. For armour, the Berserker gets proficiencies in no armour except as follows: Berserkers (and Berserkers only) may use wolf or bear skins as armour. their stats are as follows: Bear -or- Wolf Hide Armourlight armour | +2 Armour | Max Dex = +5 | AC check penalty = -1 | Arcane SpF = 15%speed = no ajustment | weight = 15 pounds | cost = 10 gp | hardness/hp = 4/30  If you are like me and using the Weapon Group Proficencies (from Unearthed Arcana), he gets Basic Weapons and any 3 others, plus the Armour and Shields mentioned above 1 Rage 1/day2 3 Skill Focus (Intimidate)4 Damage Reduction 1/-5 Rage 2/day6 7 Intimidating Rage (see Complete Warrior book)8 Damage Reduction 2/-9 Rage 3/day10 11 Improved Rage12 Damage Reduction 3/-13 Rage 4/day14 15 Tireless Rage16 Damage Reduction 4/-17 Rage 5/day18 19 Greater Rage20 Damage Reduction 5/- Now, for Rage Specifics: same as the PHB, except i renamed the rages to fit in with the "supposedly" standard names of progression. So the PHB "greater rage" is my improved rage, and the PHB "mighty rage" is my greater rage. also, the Berserkers Damage reduction is times by 1.5 while in a rage. Round down (ie, a level 6 Berserker has a DR of 3/-. when he rages, that is increased but 1.5, so he gets a DR of 4.5, or (rounded down) 4) Anyways, write in, and tell me what you think, and suggestions for any balancing issue you may have found---------------------------some balance issuses which i have identifyed are: 1) possible alternative DR aquisition rates. (mine is 1 DR every two levels, and 1.5 times DR in a rage. Thoughts on this?)2) when should the Berserker get Tireless Rage (barbarian gets it at level 17) and Indomidable Will (barbarian gets it at level 14)? I was thinking level 18 for T-Rage, and 15 for I-Will. thoughts on this?3) Berserkers in Nordic Sagas, while in a rage, attacked everything in sight > rocks, trees, enemies, and even allies. Perhaps, for playability purposes, a Berserker could have a Will save to resist attacking allies. the DC could be 10 + number of rounds already spent in rage. This save would only apply if there are no other visible enemies left. thoughts on this?>>>>i would appreciate all feedback on these, thanks</blockquote>

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