What to do with 1st level orc barbarians

[krupintupple]

Or the barb could win initiative, charge (covering up to 80-ft), and still attack at +10 to-hit (+1bab, +6str, +2charge, +1weapon focus). Given that a 1st lv PC averages around 16-17 AC, he stands a fairly high chance of hitting.

this is also equally valid, but i was under the impression that it would've been a standard four person party against the lone barbarian. either way, the barbarian's damage is high enough in either case to pose a serious threat. i've usually tried to keep them off screen, or detectable with well thought out skill and character actions, so as to give the PCs a slight upper hand. TPK's are balls.

...maybe suggest the party travel only in rugged terrain, preventing charges due to obstructions or something?

 

[Drowbane]

So, let's make an orc barbarian. Start with Str 15, add +4 for being an orc, for a 19. When he goes into a rage, his Str increases to 23, for a bonus of +6. If he wields a greataxe, he does 1d12+9 damage, with an average of 15.5. That's enough to drop a fighter in one hit. That's enough to kill a rogue or a cleric on a good roll. CR 1.

How do you make an encounter with a 1st level orc barbarian work with 1st level characters?

Let the dice fall where they may. Crit Happens.
If the orc were a PC, he'd have a 22/26r Str.

edit: in case the above wasn't clear enough... I don't see the problem here. On the other hand, I have a long-standing tradition of starting PCs off at level 3 (I blame Darksun).

 

[krupintupple]

Let the dice fall where they may. Crit Happens.

crit happens. that is completely and extremely awesome and i think i'm going to steal that from ye!

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

...maybe suggest the party travel only in rugged terrain, preventing charges due to obstructions or something?

I don't know...there are just so many ways to screw over a charge, the party (if at least half win initiative, especially the casters) might be better off trying to entice a charge.

 

[pawsplay]

What problem are you trying to solve?

Mostly, anticlimax.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Does anyone in the party have a ranged weapon? A decent ranged damage spell?

Depending upon your party's size and tactics and the roll of the dice, the encounter could be a cakewalk or a TPK. Run it as is.

If you're really worried about the TPK or some such, as DM, you can always "fudge" in the party's favor. Deus Ex Machina works just as well for players as NPCs.

 

[Drowbane]

crit happens. that is completely and extremely awesome and i think i'm going to steal that from ye!

I wish I could say I invented that.

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

Does anyone in the party have a ranged weapon? A decent ranged damage spell?

Barring the use of the dozen or so spells that would stop the Barbarian, this is what I'd recommend for fighting it: Hit and run, hiding if possible, with ranged weapons. Just like thoe darn kobold commandos from Baldur's Gate.

How efficiently and swiftly the party deals with the orc and its chances of not taking a loss will be heavily dependent on how aware you make them of the NPC's sheer power before the fight. If they see him literally hewing screaming villagers in half, it might give them an idea of how dangerous he is. Starting distance will also play a large part in it.

The enemy in this case though, is pretty much binary. Either they'll have a (near) death or two, or will escape unscathed. You should put more emphasis on the pretext before the fight and put the fear of god into your players and maybe go so far as to think of the encounter more in terms of role playing potential than as an "epic fight," IMHO.

Or just play it straight and have him appear with no "intro" and be a killer DM. Whatever.

 

[Mark Chance]

It's been my experience that it's generally bad policy to assume the worst will happen (e.g., the raging orc barbarian will do X) and then to nerf the encounter from that assumption. Rather, if there're concerns about the orc barbarian being too great a risk for the PCs at the moment, it's better to just not use the orc barbarian at the time. Wait until the PCs have improved. Four 2nd-level PCs against the same 1st-level orc barbarian plus a couple of 1st-level orc warriors sounds like a more interesting encounter.

 

[frankthedm]

Barbarian is a powerful and modestly front loaded class. No player ever worries about doing to much damage. If you have a problem with how much damage a barbarian does out the gate, rule that barbarians only get simple weapons and great club proficiency.