Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Hristo 04-12-04, 09:33 AM	I had that problrm with my DM. My barbarian wanted to drink a cure wounds potion while in a rage, before going to figth with a better oponent, he said no, player handbook doesn'y said it's forbbiden, so?
Salla 04-12-04, 09:52 AM	I don't think it would take any concentration or patience to pop or break open a potion vial and chug the contents, myself. I'd say it's do-able. By the PHB, things a Barbarian can't do while raging: Cannot use any Charisma, Dexterity, or Intelligence-based skills (except Balance, Escape Artist, Intimidate and Ride) ... irrelevant to this situation. Cannot use the Concentration skill. Any abilities that require patience or concentration. Can't cast spells or activate magic items that require a command word, spell trigger, or spell completion to function. Now, that last one's the important one. It outlaws the use of three different kinds of magic items, but NOT use-activated magic items, which is the type potions are. Your DM is wrong.
Mad Miso 04-12-04, 11:14 AM	Sure he can. Just make sure he drinks it "angry" style. Rip the stopper off with his teeth and suck it dry. leave bite marks on the class and growl once or twice while giving a nearby opponent the bird.
detectevil 04-12-04, 11:33 AM	Since the DMG doesn't prohibit the barbarian from doing anything during a rage (because, honestly, the barbarian is unlikely to do any of those things anyway), according to it a barbarian could drink a potion while raging with no problem. But the rules, as stated in the PHB, suck. So you DM fixed one of them. No biggie.
Tony Vargas 04-12-04, 12:47 PM	Yes, you can drink a potion while raging. I'd think, it'd be more apropriate to do so after the fight (before you lose those extra hps from your boosted CON), since, in the middle of it, you may not be too aware of how hurt you really are... but that's just a likely-to-get-you-killed RP point, not a matter for the rules. ;) After 5th level, a barbarian gains enough extra hps to be up and fighting in a Rage, when he would have been killed outright, otherwise, so some healing before that last round of Rage ends can be life-or-death.
Scarlet Knight 04-12-04, 12:47 PM	I don't understand why the rules that allow a raging barbarian to drink potions "suck." I can envision a crazed barbarian warrior chugging down a potion in the midst of battle, then angrily smashing the glass vial by hurling it down to floor. I can see a dwarven barbarian doing the same thing with his mug of beer in the middle of a bar fight. Why would a raging character be unable to drink something?
Salla 04-12-04, 02:21 PM	Originally posted by Scarlet Knight Why would a raging character be unable to drink something? They're reading too much into the Rage ability and paying far too much attention to the fluff of it. Just because you're in a rage doesn't mean you become a complete idiot who's unaware of everything around him and is incapable of doing anything besides swinging your weapon around. Note that your INT and WIS scores don't drop when you're raging. Note that you can simply sit and wait for foes to come to you; you don't have to go to them. You can stop fighting in mid-rage without the rage ending. There are no penalties to Spot or Listen checks when raged; you're fully aware of your surroundings. You can determine friend from foe, you can tell when you're badly hurt. You get angry, not stupid. You can drink a potion if you think you're going to need it.
Roland the Crownbreaker 04-12-04, 02:37 PM	People confuse 3E barbarian rage with the 2E berserker kit. (which WAS unaware of how hurt he was) Maybe someone with the frenzied berserker PrC would not have the sense to drink a potion, but a normal barbarian would. It doesn't make them stupid, after all. "Damien eats soup in fit of rage!" Headline from a Kids in the Hall skit