A Barbarian's role in Eberron? [Archive] - Wizards Community

A Barbarian's role in Eberron? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
herb4
07-29-06, 09:06 PM I've just been getting back into D&D after a hiatus that dates back to the AD&D days. I'm pretty new to 3.5 and totallly new to Eberron, but I think I've figured out a way to turn this into an advantage from a roleplaying standpoint. Usually, I play snipers, archers, sneaky and clever types, but my new group needed a tank so I picked a Barbarian, and right away was uncertain about my role in the campaign. I'm not used to playing "dumb" characters, or tanks either, so I'm working on applying my Eberron ignorance into my Barbarian. At the same time, I'm worried that there is no role for a hack n slash guy in this world, given what I've seen so far - but here's what I've drummed up:

My character is young (15-16 - 1st lvl.), was born into war, lost his family and knows nothing outside of violence. He was never taught to read, write or do anything other than fight for his own survival, learning nothing of the world around him or other cultures. He knows very little about "The War" other than he was forced to fight in and somehow survived it, even though his family and homeland did not. He was born unnaturally strong and deceptively quick, so he uses these god-given traits to survive as best he can, but he's obviously handicapped by the social cards he was dealt - even though he doesn't realize it. Our campaign has us all cast as refuges from Cryre, fleeing the war-torn wasteland to Sharn where our adventures begins. I'm playing "An-Gorr " the Barbarian as a cynical, slightly freightened, distrustful wanderer with a prejudice against magic. He believes in iron, steel, earth and stone and, since he has no mastery and has only seen the destructive nature of magic and sorcery, wanders aimlessly in awe of his surroundings, uncertain of what to do next and highly suggestible due to his dim intellect and limited world view. He's more ignorant than stupid, and only knows what he's seen, heard and felt with his own senses. To An-Gorr, magic is dangerous folly, rooted in something beyond his grasp which is thereforenot to be trusted. It scares him, and now he is thrust into it for reasons beyond his control. His whole life has been beyond his control, in fact.

He's a bit of a gentle giant, possessing a basic sense of right and wrong and the will do to "good", but often lacking the skills to discern between the two. He'll be forced in most ways to learn the world around him and begrudgingly place his trust in his companions as they tell him what needs to be done next. He's a cynic by nature, and trusts the instructions of others only because he doesn't have any ideas of his own. If he's seen you and fought beside you before, he's apt to go along with your plan, but he's not sure why. With his homeland and family gone, he knows he needs money, food, lodging and something to do with his pent up anger and sharp temper. I picture him as a bit thick, but oddly insightful when it comes to matters of comeraderie, friendship, instinctual skepticism and looking out for his own survival. He's dumb, but he aint stupid.

An-Gorr never wants anyone to know that he's scared, and he masks it with his violent temper, foolish bravery and fighting savagery. His disdain for magic, rooted in fear, is expressed with a combination of scornful mocking, general ignorance and sour grapes rationalization towards what he cannot master or comprehend. When he kills a Warforged, it troubles him that it does not bleed. When aboard an airship or a train, he wants to grab the floor because he holds no faith in magic (but even more, he doesn't want others to know he's scared). At the same time, he is awestruck at the power of a magical greatsword or a spell that can mend his battle scars and restore his health. In these cases he reluctantly makes exceptions to his natural phobias, but deep down he remains convinced that something is wrong and unatural about this power.

....

Is this workable in Eberron? Sound about right? Any feedback or suggestions are welcome. I think I can use my own gaming ignorance to my character's advantage in this case. It will help me play "stupid" so to speak, and allow An-Gorr's discoveries in the campaign to mirror my own. Thoughts? Ideas? Suggestions?

thanks.
JulesCARV
07-29-06, 10:14 PM I see no reason why not. Maybe he could be from some small town near Thaliost (originally part of Aundair) on the Thranish-Karrnathi border that got repeatedly sacked by both sides whenever the territory changed hands, or something, if you want his history to be at the heart of the Last War rather than taking place somewhere more traditionally "barbaric" like the Eldeen Reaches or the Talenta Plains.
keropie
07-29-06, 11:03 PM Note: My absence from D&D just recently ended, and I had only played 1st and 2nd edition, so I'm not much more of an Eberron veteran than you, but. . .

I like it^^ I think the character sounds very reasonable and well fleshed out, as things stand. As to how 'usuable' he'll be, that depends on the campaign, of course. There are plenty of places in Eberron (and even in Sharn) where stuff needs it's head beat in, and you'll be good at that, of course. However, if you guys end up in more of an intrigue type thing, you'll probably want/need to multiclass out of that pretty fast. I've kinda run into that playing a warrior (background here (shameless plug!) (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=672230) ) in a group that consists of a scout/cleric, monk, beguiler/warlock/??? (we don't necessarily always share the crunch of our characters, but I think he's just beguiler/warlock), psion(telepath), rogue/warlock, and me (war). When we're out smashing stuff about, I'm fine, but when we're in the city, I'm pretty much the strong, silent type (which is fine, since that fits well enough into his concept). But so far we've had plenty of opportunity to hit stuff, so as long as you get to spend some time doing that, you should be fine. If you need to 'socialize' An-Gorr, maybe he becomes fascinated with some part of society, or even just social interaction.
remmun
07-31-06, 12:38 AM if your dm is worth his salt then he'll make sure that your barabarian gets his chance to do what he does best.

another roleplaying idea that comes to mind is his young age. perhaps he finds a mentor or father like figure within the group that he has a special relationship with. he trusts his judgment completly and will never question an order given by him. such as jump in the river, when he can't swim.

i much like the ideas you've come up with. it's interesting to hear a very detailed variant to the typical "dumb strongman".

that's just my take on it
herb4
07-31-06, 06:05 PM Thanks for the feedback, guys. Like I said, ususally I don't like to play hacker/slashers 9or dumb characters), but I think I can meld my ignorance of Eberron, 3.5 and combat types into a character that actually plays naive and thick. Ebberon seems to be a "forget all the D&D cliches" type of world, so playing ignorant won't be streatch.

The other problem I have is the guy gave us 24 point buy system (which he made low on purpose), and it's as tough as it sounds. I'm playing a human, so no racial bonuses. We start at 8 for each stat and buy one-to-one up to 14. From there it's 2 points for a 15, 3 for a 16 and so on. Like I said, tough. So here's what I did:

Str: 14
Dex: 14
Con: 14
int: 8
Wis: 14
Cha: 8

He's allowoing us to tweak our characters thru the first few sessions and let us get a feel the campaign. I'm thinking about dropping some points in Int, Wis and Cha to beef up my Strength and Dex, but my God, that'll leave me with this:

Str: 16
Dex: 16
Con: 13
int: 6
Wis: 11
Cha: 6

I dunno. It's not really worth doing unless I get up to 16 in a given stat. What do you think? Leave him like he is or tweak him out?
keropie
07-31-06, 06:13 PM I guess I don't feel the wisdom from the backstory... I mean, wis:14 is fairly high and such... but then again, I don't really see him as a wis:10 kinda guy necessarily, either, meaning it would be hard to drop it enough to raise something to 16... I think if you're looking at raising a stat though, that wisdom is the easiest stat to dumb some from.

But I always vote for going with character concept as opposed to twinking. My warrior has a meaningless wis:13 (all he really gets out of it is a will save bonus), but it's just because I see him as more than normally determined.
herb4
07-31-06, 08:47 PM You're right, which is why I considered dumping Wisdom to a point. My guy only has as much wisdom as 16 years of constant violence can give him, and that's gotta be less than what I gave him. I put points in it for Skills purposes, but really, what does he have to put points into in the first place? You're right, there is no Wisdom in his backstory outside of "The Hard lessons of Life", street-smarts/survival and such.

I mainly want him to be usefull and play a role in the campaign other than just being the first gminature on the board who closes distance. I can only do this by figuring out WHY he is what he is...I mean, every group can use a tank, but to make it interesting (at least for me) is another matter. I like hack n slash, but I like to know WHY I'm hackin and slashin, and bring something to the game in between fights. I like story and characters, and it's hard to turn a Barbarian into something other than Conan.

That aside, from a gaming standpoint, do you think it's better to dump the points and get the Dex and Str up or balance him a bit?
keropie
08-01-06, 02:09 AM Which wis based skills are you looking at? To me, wisdom is one of the weaker stats for melee characters in the game. At least int gives you bonus skill points, which (as you pointed out) are more useful for rounding out your character.

Game wise, strength is probably going to do him more than anything else out there. I mean, hit more and harder? What's not to like? Eventually you can do something like the mithril breastplate +5, so dex isn't as relevent (to me) unless you're going to use it based on the backstory, so I'd tend to just run with str.

We had a 30 point buy, and this is what I ended up with:

Str: 16 (he uses a greatsword, so I might as well hit stuff hard)
Dex: 14 (but I still want him as a more mobile fighter than a guy who just stands there)
Con: 12 (extra hp are nice, but eh)
Int: 12 (I'd rather not be dumb, and it doesn't feel right)
Wis: 13 (I'm still more determined (willpower) than smart, though)
Cha: 9 (But I'm so focused that I tend to be cold to people, and less than charming)

So I could see yours as

Str:16
Dex:14
Con:14
Int:10
Wis:8
Cha:8

If you want to go all physical, or

Str:16
Dex:14
Con:12
Int:10 (or 12)
Wis:10 (or 8)
Cha:8

Or something like that. But yeah, the 24 point buy seems harsh :( I still prefer rolling, it's just more fun and more 'organic.' ^^
Zuj
08-02-06, 01:09 AM The way he sounds to me, I would definitely drop the wisdom. I am thinking that his stats would be:

Str: 15
Dex: 14
Con: 15
Int: 8
Wis: 10
Cha: 8

I don't really see him as especially wise or overly determined. Keep in mind that a 10 is considered "average" and not low. From a mechanical standpoint, you'd be ALOT better off this way, as you could raise your str and con a bit more easily over time. But to each their own.
herb4
08-04-06, 05:36 PM Thanks for the feedback, and especially for the revised builds.

I think you guys are right. Given the modest point buy we were given, I think it's best if I zero in on my main areas (Str, Dex, AC, and HP) and screw the rest.

Point buy sux. Rolling is just so much more exciting and organic.

Thanks again.
herb4
08-18-06, 06:12 PM Well, so far so good in Eberron, if anyone's still interested.

Since we've started out in Sharn, I REALLY get to play up my guy's general disdain for and hidden, deep-rooted fear of magic. Our DM's running a module of some sort, but I'm not sure what it is. We found a book and are looking for a seven pointed crest of some sort, for which we'll be paid once we retrieve it, from sector E-213 or something. My party seems grateful to have a damage dealer in their midst, and the role-players who's characters are smarter and more politically involved in the proceedings are exploiting my strenght and my ignorance appropriately. There have been ambushes, double crosses, dis-information and a general sense of wondering who to trust - and I'm playing my big dumb brute accordingly. There's already a subtle rift developing between myself, the war-forged in our party and the Artificer who created him, who seems to have asserted himslef as the de-facto leader of our clan.

It's fun, but i'm still not sure about this whole Eberron thing. I still like strangers in taverns, giant spiders in dark caves mysterious and tempramental spell casters, hissing goblins, wonderous and rare magic weapons and riding a horse through the rain to the vampire's castle as i run out of food. Airships and magic trains.....not so much...but I do like the story, low-level style and character development that Eberron seems to offer, and I did tweak An-Gorr to make him better at what he CAN do and weaker at what he can't.

At least I seem to have found a comfortable niche in the campaign so far.

As always, further input is welcome.
Devlonir
08-19-06, 03:37 AM Hehe, like i hear this.. You're character is just like a human version of Spike in the Stormreach stories on the eberron website! I love that character so much! You are doing it just great! And don't worry, if your campaign ever goes to Xen'Drik or the Mournland or anywhere in Khyber, you will get more then enough chances to do the things you say you like about D&D :)

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
herb4 07-29-06, 09:06 PM	I've just been getting back into D&D after a hiatus that dates back to the AD&D days. I'm pretty new to 3.5 and totallly new to Eberron, but I think I've figured out a way to turn this into an advantage from a roleplaying standpoint. Usually, I play snipers, archers, sneaky and clever types, but my new group needed a tank so I picked a Barbarian, and right away was uncertain about my role in the campaign. I'm not used to playing "dumb" characters, or tanks either, so I'm working on applying my Eberron ignorance into my Barbarian. At the same time, I'm worried that there is no role for a hack n slash guy in this world, given what I've seen so far - but here's what I've drummed up: My character is young (15-16 - 1st lvl.), was born into war, lost his family and knows nothing outside of violence. He was never taught to read, write or do anything other than fight for his own survival, learning nothing of the world around him or other cultures. He knows very little about "The War" other than he was forced to fight in and somehow survived it, even though his family and homeland did not. He was born unnaturally strong and deceptively quick, so he uses these god-given traits to survive as best he can, but he's obviously handicapped by the social cards he was dealt - even though he doesn't realize it. Our campaign has us all cast as refuges from Cryre, fleeing the war-torn wasteland to Sharn where our adventures begins. I'm playing "An-Gorr " the Barbarian as a cynical, slightly freightened, distrustful wanderer with a prejudice against magic. He believes in iron, steel, earth and stone and, since he has no mastery and has only seen the destructive nature of magic and sorcery, wanders aimlessly in awe of his surroundings, uncertain of what to do next and highly suggestible due to his dim intellect and limited world view. He's more ignorant than stupid, and only knows what he's seen, heard and felt with his own senses. To An-Gorr, magic is dangerous folly, rooted in something beyond his grasp which is thereforenot to be trusted. It scares him, and now he is thrust into it for reasons beyond his control. His whole life has been beyond his control, in fact. He's a bit of a gentle giant, possessing a basic sense of right and wrong and the will do to "good", but often lacking the skills to discern between the two. He'll be forced in most ways to learn the world around him and begrudgingly place his trust in his companions as they tell him what needs to be done next. He's a cynic by nature, and trusts the instructions of others only because he doesn't have any ideas of his own. If he's seen you and fought beside you before, he's apt to go along with your plan, but he's not sure why. With his homeland and family gone, he knows he needs money, food, lodging and something to do with his pent up anger and sharp temper. I picture him as a bit thick, but oddly insightful when it comes to matters of comeraderie, friendship, instinctual skepticism and looking out for his own survival. He's dumb, but he aint stupid. An-Gorr never wants anyone to know that he's scared, and he masks it with his violent temper, foolish bravery and fighting savagery. His disdain for magic, rooted in fear, is expressed with a combination of scornful mocking, general ignorance and sour grapes rationalization towards what he cannot master or comprehend. When he kills a Warforged, it troubles him that it does not bleed. When aboard an airship or a train, he wants to grab the floor because he holds no faith in magic (but even more, he doesn't want others to know he's scared). At the same time, he is awestruck at the power of a magical greatsword or a spell that can mend his battle scars and restore his health. In these cases he reluctantly makes exceptions to his natural phobias, but deep down he remains convinced that something is wrong and unatural about this power. .... Is this workable in Eberron? Sound about right? Any feedback or suggestions are welcome. I think I can use my own gaming ignorance to my character's advantage in this case. It will help me play "stupid" so to speak, and allow An-Gorr's discoveries in the campaign to mirror my own. Thoughts? Ideas? Suggestions? thanks.
JulesCARV 07-29-06, 10:14 PM	I see no reason why not. Maybe he could be from some small town near Thaliost (originally part of Aundair) on the Thranish-Karrnathi border that got repeatedly sacked by both sides whenever the territory changed hands, or something, if you want his history to be at the heart of the Last War rather than taking place somewhere more traditionally "barbaric" like the Eldeen Reaches or the Talenta Plains.
keropie 07-29-06, 11:03 PM	Note: My absence from D&D just recently ended, and I had only played 1st and 2nd edition, so I'm not much more of an Eberron veteran than you, but. . . I like it^^ I think the character sounds very reasonable and well fleshed out, as things stand. As to how 'usuable' he'll be, that depends on the campaign, of course. There are plenty of places in Eberron (and even in Sharn) where stuff needs it's head beat in, and you'll be good at that, of course. However, if you guys end up in more of an intrigue type thing, you'll probably want/need to multiclass out of that pretty fast. I've kinda run into that playing a warrior (background here (shameless plug!) (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=672230) ) in a group that consists of a scout/cleric, monk, beguiler/warlock/??? (we don't necessarily always share the crunch of our characters, but I think he's just beguiler/warlock), psion(telepath), rogue/warlock, and me (war). When we're out smashing stuff about, I'm fine, but when we're in the city, I'm pretty much the strong, silent type (which is fine, since that fits well enough into his concept). But so far we've had plenty of opportunity to hit stuff, so as long as you get to spend some time doing that, you should be fine. If you need to 'socialize' An-Gorr, maybe he becomes fascinated with some part of society, or even just social interaction.
remmun 07-31-06, 12:38 AM	if your dm is worth his salt then he'll make sure that your barabarian gets his chance to do what he does best. another roleplaying idea that comes to mind is his young age. perhaps he finds a mentor or father like figure within the group that he has a special relationship with. he trusts his judgment completly and will never question an order given by him. such as jump in the river, when he can't swim. i much like the ideas you've come up with. it's interesting to hear a very detailed variant to the typical "dumb strongman". that's just my take on it
herb4 07-31-06, 06:05 PM	Thanks for the feedback, guys. Like I said, ususally I don't like to play hacker/slashers 9or dumb characters), but I think I can meld my ignorance of Eberron, 3.5 and combat types into a character that actually plays naive and thick. Ebberon seems to be a "forget all the D&D cliches" type of world, so playing ignorant won't be streatch. The other problem I have is the guy gave us 24 point buy system (which he made low on purpose), and it's as tough as it sounds. I'm playing a human, so no racial bonuses. We start at 8 for each stat and buy one-to-one up to 14. From there it's 2 points for a 15, 3 for a 16 and so on. Like I said, tough. So here's what I did: Str: 14 Dex: 14 Con: 14 int: 8 Wis: 14 Cha: 8 He's allowoing us to tweak our characters thru the first few sessions and let us get a feel the campaign. I'm thinking about dropping some points in Int, Wis and Cha to beef up my Strength and Dex, but my God, that'll leave me with this: Str: 16 Dex: 16 Con: 13 int: 6 Wis: 11 Cha: 6 I dunno. It's not really worth doing unless I get up to 16 in a given stat. What do you think? Leave him like he is or tweak him out?
keropie 07-31-06, 06:13 PM	I guess I don't feel the wisdom from the backstory... I mean, wis:14 is fairly high and such... but then again, I don't really see him as a wis:10 kinda guy necessarily, either, meaning it would be hard to drop it enough to raise something to 16... I think if you're looking at raising a stat though, that wisdom is the easiest stat to dumb some from. But I always vote for going with character concept as opposed to twinking. My warrior has a meaningless wis:13 (all he really gets out of it is a will save bonus), but it's just because I see him as more than normally determined.
herb4 07-31-06, 08:47 PM	You're right, which is why I considered dumping Wisdom to a point. My guy only has as much wisdom as 16 years of constant violence can give him, and that's gotta be less than what I gave him. I put points in it for Skills purposes, but really, what does he have to put points into in the first place? You're right, there is no Wisdom in his backstory outside of "The Hard lessons of Life", street-smarts/survival and such. I mainly want him to be usefull and play a role in the campaign other than just being the first gminature on the board who closes distance. I can only do this by figuring out WHY he is what he is...I mean, every group can use a tank, but to make it interesting (at least for me) is another matter. I like hack n slash, but I like to know WHY I'm hackin and slashin, and bring something to the game in between fights. I like story and characters, and it's hard to turn a Barbarian into something other than Conan. That aside, from a gaming standpoint, do you think it's better to dump the points and get the Dex and Str up or balance him a bit?
keropie 08-01-06, 02:09 AM	Which wis based skills are you looking at? To me, wisdom is one of the weaker stats for melee characters in the game. At least int gives you bonus skill points, which (as you pointed out) are more useful for rounding out your character. Game wise, strength is probably going to do him more than anything else out there. I mean, hit more and harder? What's not to like? Eventually you can do something like the mithril breastplate +5, so dex isn't as relevent (to me) unless you're going to use it based on the backstory, so I'd tend to just run with str. We had a 30 point buy, and this is what I ended up with: Str: 16 (he uses a greatsword, so I might as well hit stuff hard) Dex: 14 (but I still want him as a more mobile fighter than a guy who just stands there) Con: 12 (extra hp are nice, but eh) Int: 12 (I'd rather not be dumb, and it doesn't feel right) Wis: 13 (I'm still more determined (willpower) than smart, though) Cha: 9 (But I'm so focused that I tend to be cold to people, and less than charming) So I could see yours as Str:16 Dex:14 Con:14 Int:10 Wis:8 Cha:8 If you want to go all physical, or Str:16 Dex:14 Con:12 Int:10 (or 12) Wis:10 (or 8) Cha:8 Or something like that. But yeah, the 24 point buy seems harsh :( I still prefer rolling, it's just more fun and more 'organic.' ^^
Zuj 08-02-06, 01:09 AM	The way he sounds to me, I would definitely drop the wisdom. I am thinking that his stats would be: Str: 15 Dex: 14 Con: 15 Int: 8 Wis: 10 Cha: 8 I don't really see him as especially wise or overly determined. Keep in mind that a 10 is considered "average" and not low. From a mechanical standpoint, you'd be ALOT better off this way, as you could raise your str and con a bit more easily over time. But to each their own.
herb4 08-04-06, 05:36 PM	Thanks for the feedback, and especially for the revised builds. I think you guys are right. Given the modest point buy we were given, I think it's best if I zero in on my main areas (Str, Dex, AC, and HP) and screw the rest. Point buy sux. Rolling is just so much more exciting and organic. Thanks again.
herb4 08-18-06, 06:12 PM	Well, so far so good in Eberron, if anyone's still interested. Since we've started out in Sharn, I REALLY get to play up my guy's general disdain for and hidden, deep-rooted fear of magic. Our DM's running a module of some sort, but I'm not sure what it is. We found a book and are looking for a seven pointed crest of some sort, for which we'll be paid once we retrieve it, from sector E-213 or something. My party seems grateful to have a damage dealer in their midst, and the role-players who's characters are smarter and more politically involved in the proceedings are exploiting my strenght and my ignorance appropriately. There have been ambushes, double crosses, dis-information and a general sense of wondering who to trust - and I'm playing my big dumb brute accordingly. There's already a subtle rift developing between myself, the war-forged in our party and the Artificer who created him, who seems to have asserted himslef as the de-facto leader of our clan. It's fun, but i'm still not sure about this whole Eberron thing. I still like strangers in taverns, giant spiders in dark caves mysterious and tempramental spell casters, hissing goblins, wonderous and rare magic weapons and riding a horse through the rain to the vampire's castle as i run out of food. Airships and magic trains.....not so much...but I do like the story, low-level style and character development that Eberron seems to offer, and I did tweak An-Gorr to make him better at what he CAN do and weaker at what he can't. At least I seem to have found a comfortable niche in the campaign so far. As always, further input is welcome.
Devlonir 08-19-06, 03:37 AM	Hehe, like i hear this.. You're character is just like a human version of Spike in the Stormreach stories on the eberron website! I love that character so much! You are doing it just great! And don't worry, if your campaign ever goes to Xen'Drik or the Mournland or anywhere in Khyber, you will get more then enough chances to do the things you say you like about D&D :)