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<blockquote data-quote="Mannahnin" data-source="post: 8512783" data-attributes="member: 7026594">Yup.&nbsp; But Gygax didn't include a berserk mechanic for them, despite Berserkers being a monster type with a mechanic going back all the way to OD&amp;D, two different optional/NPC classes in Dragon (issue 3 for OD&amp;D, issue 133 for 1E), and a troop type in Chainmail before that.&nbsp; Gygax apparently read those prose descriptions of battle fury as not being synonymous with berserk.&nbsp; I will say that Conan definitely has a lot of &quot;fight with cunning&quot; moments all through those stories too.Berserkers became a regular PC option with 2E kits, and then got folded into the main Barbarian class in 3E, as folks have noted.&nbsp; And I think folks are right that the WHY is because WotC wanted to expand the archetype to be more than just &quot;Conan, the Class&quot;.&nbsp; Norse Berserkers (and Irish, like the mythical Cuchulainn, or Slaine from 2000AD) share some definite thematic ground with barbarian warriors from uncivilized lands ala Conan and so many pulp knock-offs, and yeah, the berserk ability gives greater mechanical differentiation from Fighters.Sure, the &quot;lots of classes&quot; approach is valid too.&nbsp; It's just not NECESSARY to represent Conan. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile&nbsp; &nbsp; :)"&nbsp; data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />That sounds cool.&nbsp; In the Original Edition Delta OD&amp;D house rules, as I recall all Fighters get a single Feat at 4th level, and one of them is a berserker rage ability.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Mannahnin, post: 8512783, member: 7026594"] Yup. But Gygax didn't include a berserk mechanic for them, despite Berserkers being a monster type with a mechanic going back all the way to OD&D, two different optional/NPC classes in Dragon (issue 3 for OD&D, issue 133 for 1E), and a troop type in Chainmail before that. Gygax apparently read those prose descriptions of battle fury as not being synonymous with berserk. I will say that Conan definitely has a lot of "fight with cunning" moments all through those stories too. Berserkers became a regular PC option with 2E kits, and then got folded into the main Barbarian class in 3E, as folks have noted. And I think folks are right that the WHY is because WotC wanted to expand the archetype to be more than just "Conan, the Class". Norse Berserkers (and Irish, like the mythical Cuchulainn, or Slaine from 2000AD) share some definite thematic ground with barbarian warriors from uncivilized lands ala Conan and so many pulp knock-offs, and yeah, the berserk ability gives greater mechanical differentiation from Fighters. Sure, the "lots of classes" approach is valid too. It's just not NECESSARY to represent Conan. :) That sounds cool. In the Original Edition Delta OD&D house rules, as I recall all Fighters get a single Feat at 4th level, and one of them is a berserker rage ability. [/QUOTE]

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