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Tips on playing a Barbarian for the first time
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<blockquote data-quote="Eldorian" data-source="post: 829090" data-attributes="member: 10504"><p>Consider Power lunge and a Glaive. Glaives rock on charging barbarians. See if you can get a feat or something that lets you make a turn while charging, it's always fun to charge <strong>around</strong> the enemy mooks and one hit the caster behind them. Wear lots of spiked armor, to avoid improved grapples from huge monsters like purple worms. Basically forget about AC, it's too hard to keep up with dex as a third stat and light armor, and rage penalties. Instead go for miss chances, like from a blur spell, or cloaks of displacement. My 12th level barbarian wears a cloak of major displacement made from displacerbeast hide, looks snazzy. <strong>Always</strong> use two handed weapons. The str bonus from raging gets an extra one half if you use both hands to fight, and two weapons means only one attack on charges, and more feats used up. Double weapons work tho, because you can double hand them on charges for 1 and a half str mod. Orc double axe works, but requires levels of fighter to pull off at a reasonable level. The spiked chain is a good weapon as well, very utilitarian. Power attack is next to useless on full round attacks, but it's your friend for coup de grace, inaminate objects (or nearly inanimate, like gelatanous cubes) and for charges. Power attack ruins irritative attacks. Be dumb, it's more fun, and you need a dump stat. If you dump charisma, intimidation will be harder. Get a single rank of tumble (this goes for <strong>all</strong> characters). If you would take an AoO, try to tumble. Also try to tumble from falls. Max your ranks of jump and intimidate, the increased move on barbarians often allows them to leap obsticals that the DM just didn't expect (been on both sides of this one). Intimidate is your means of comunicating with the world. It may be a good idea not to focus on any specific weapons. Then, any two handed weapon the party finds is a good weapon, and most one handed weapons are decent used two handed, as long as they are more magical that what you were using.</p><p></p><p>RP stuff: Get drunk as often as possible, including being drunk on adventures. If a friend suggests an activity that would further your goals but is <strong>really</strong> dangerous, do it. Any plan that uses you for bait is a good plan. Always support the violent solution to any problem. Be kind to your cleric, he keeps you alive. Never learn to read. Parade about half naked whenever possible, and laugh at the people that are offended. My barbarian wore cold weather gear, but only the loin cloth when it wasn't cold. Intimidating helms are nice, and armor spikes are a must.</p><p></p><p>All this advice comes from actual play, and I've been playing a barbarian in 3e since 3e came out. Good times...</p><p></p><p>Eldorian Antar</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Eldorian, post: 829090, member: 10504"] Consider Power lunge and a Glaive. Glaives rock on charging barbarians. See if you can get a feat or something that lets you make a turn while charging, it's always fun to charge [b]around[/b] the enemy mooks and one hit the caster behind them. Wear lots of spiked armor, to avoid improved grapples from huge monsters like purple worms. Basically forget about AC, it's too hard to keep up with dex as a third stat and light armor, and rage penalties. Instead go for miss chances, like from a blur spell, or cloaks of displacement. My 12th level barbarian wears a cloak of major displacement made from displacerbeast hide, looks snazzy. [b]Always[/b] use two handed weapons. The str bonus from raging gets an extra one half if you use both hands to fight, and two weapons means only one attack on charges, and more feats used up. Double weapons work tho, because you can double hand them on charges for 1 and a half str mod. Orc double axe works, but requires levels of fighter to pull off at a reasonable level. The spiked chain is a good weapon as well, very utilitarian. Power attack is next to useless on full round attacks, but it's your friend for coup de grace, inaminate objects (or nearly inanimate, like gelatanous cubes) and for charges. Power attack ruins irritative attacks. Be dumb, it's more fun, and you need a dump stat. If you dump charisma, intimidation will be harder. Get a single rank of tumble (this goes for [b]all[/b] characters). If you would take an AoO, try to tumble. Also try to tumble from falls. Max your ranks of jump and intimidate, the increased move on barbarians often allows them to leap obsticals that the DM just didn't expect (been on both sides of this one). Intimidate is your means of comunicating with the world. It may be a good idea not to focus on any specific weapons. Then, any two handed weapon the party finds is a good weapon, and most one handed weapons are decent used two handed, as long as they are more magical that what you were using. RP stuff: Get drunk as often as possible, including being drunk on adventures. If a friend suggests an activity that would further your goals but is [b]really[/b] dangerous, do it. Any plan that uses you for bait is a good plan. Always support the violent solution to any problem. Be kind to your cleric, he keeps you alive. Never learn to read. Parade about half naked whenever possible, and laugh at the people that are offended. My barbarian wore cold weather gear, but only the loin cloth when it wasn't cold. Intimidating helms are nice, and armor spikes are a must. All this advice comes from actual play, and I've been playing a barbarian in 3e since 3e came out. Good times... Eldorian Antar [/QUOTE]
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