3.5 FR Dwarven Battlerager Help, Gear/Feats [Archive] - Wizards Community

3.5 FR Dwarven Battlerager Help, Gear/Feats [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Jairami
05-11-04, 12:45 AM So I'm playing a druid right now going into the Banewarrens, and the DM has warned us to have a backup character on standby as from what he can tell there is going to be a body count on this module.

With that in mind I've got a shield dwarven axe idiot in mind as the game is set in the Forgotten Realms. Can I get some help with feats and gear at different levels? I've got my ideas below, but as you can see, my gear selections are very vague and uninventive. The ultimate druid's guide is very helpful with the gear portion.

The game is 3.5 though we still have a lot of 3.0 books like Quintessential Fighter (Two Handed Power Strike --2x STR mod when taking the full attack action with a two handed weapon), and the Miniature's Handbook, and more.

Shield Dwarf Battlerager

Barbarian1 Bullheaded, Fast movement, illiteracy, rage 1/day
Barbarian2 Uncanny dodge
Barbarian3 Endurance, Trap sense +1
Fighter1 Power Attack
Fighter2 Cleave
Battlerager1 Destructive Rage, rage 2/day, gruff, rock gut
Battlerager2 Close Quarters Fighting, fearless
Battlerager3 Improved Unarmed Strike, rage 3/day
Battlerager4 Reckless Offensive, Intimidating Rage, Great Cleave
Battlerager5 Rage 4/day, natural armor +2
Frenzied Berserker1 Frenzy 1/day, diehard
Frenzied Berserker2 Two Handed Power Strike, supreme cleave
Frenzied Berserker3 Frenzy 2/day
Frenzied Berserker4 Deathless Frenzy
Frenzied Berserker5 Iron Will, frenzy 3/day, improved power attack
Frenzied Berserker6 Inspire frenzy 1/day
Frenzied Berserker7 Frenzy 4/day
Frenzied Berserker8 Reckless Attack, Greater frenzy, inspire frenzy 2/day
Frenzied Berserker9 Frenzy 5/day
Frenzied Berserker10 Inspire Frenzy 3/day, tireless frenzy, supreme power attack

Gear:
Mithral Spiked Full Plate Armor
Greataxe of Wrathful Healing
Horned Helm
Belt of Giant Strength
Amulet of Health
Cloak of Resistance
Animated Shield

Abilities:
32 Pt-Buy
STR 18
DEX 12
CON 16
INT 10
WIS 10
CHA 6

Any pointers/improvements/suggestions?
The Lone Drow
05-11-04, 05:08 AM You're getting 10 levels of Frenzied Beserker. Feats? What feats? :D

The build looks more than alright from here. You'll be a friggin powerhouse.
Jairami
05-11-04, 10:56 AM True, but he won't have 10 levels of Frenzied Berserker until the game is over. Likely the game will be over or he will be dead by the time he is 15th level as I understand there are quite a few nasty spell casters who don't care how many hit points you have. :)

And I'm not sure when my druid is going to die, so I don't know what level the axe idiot will be brought in at. ;) So I don't know if I should rearrange the feats a little, swap them out for something different, and I don't know what gear to get at what levels. :)

I can just trade off upgrading the items I already have listed, but like I said, that seemed kinda unimaginative and with the great information in the druid's guide I was hoping that someone would have similar ideas for what to get when for a barbarian. :D
Wyrd
05-11-04, 01:35 PM Add "berserking" to your weapon. Whatever enhancement bonus it has, or gains by greater magic weapon, it will become 2 higher once you're in rage.

Also have a look at the "mask of the implacable", I think it's in RoF or UE, it's expensive, but gives fast healing 2.
celloshane
05-11-04, 02:52 PM If you can squeeze TWF into the build, the armor spikes become much more useful. It also helps suit the basic premise of the Battlerager. Also, I'm not sure on this, but won't the full plate reduce your speed back to 20 ft.? Personally, I'd prefer the full 30.

I'm toying with a Battlerager build myself, my version includes Reaping Mauler and focuses more on grappling.
Jairami
05-11-04, 03:25 PM I put the plate in there because of the statement in Races of Faerun about how much shield dwarves revere mithral armor.

And as it's mithral it counts as medium armor, but I can tack on the articulated enhancement from quintessential dwarf to make it allow for movement like it was light armor, allowing for the full 30.

With an item of Dex, if the DM will allow that to qualify, I guess the dwarf could drop iron will for two weapon fighting... But with the huge strength if the axe doesn't kill something or he really wants to put the helmet or shoulders/elbows/knees/teeth to work, he could probably just take the hit penalty and keep going. But I don't think he'll be doing the one extra attack for d4 + 1/2 strength enough to make the feat worth it.

Not when he'll be doing 3-5 attacks with the greataxe at d12 + 2x strength and healing half the damage he deals everytime he gets a full attack.

I wonder if I can get a dwarven rune caster to make me a rune of Lion's Charge 3/day... Or one of righteous might...
Jairami
05-11-04, 09:08 PM So figuring that the lowest level that the berserker will start is 7th and the highest is likely 15th (as surely I will have lost interest or lost the life of my druid by then), the range of gear values I'd like to represent are from 19,000 gp to 200,000 gp.

At the low end we've got:

Greataxe +1 (2,320 gp)
Cloak of Resistance +1 (1,000 gp)
Spiked Breastplate +1 (1,400 gp)
Ring of Protection +1 (2,000 gp)
Gauntlets of Ogre Power (4,000 gp)
Amulet of Health +2 (4,000 gp)

And at the high end we've got:

Berserking Greataxe of Wrathful Healing +1 (50,320 gp)
Articulated Mithral Full Plate Armor +1 (28,050 gp)
Lenses of See Invisibility 2/day (4,800 gp) or See Invisibility made Permanent (5,560 gp)
Winged Boots (16,000 gp)
Ring of Protection +2 (8,000 gp)
Cloak of Resistance +4 (16,000 gp)
Belt of Giant Strength +4 (16,000 gp)
Amulet of Health +4 (16,000 gp)
Shirt of Natural Armor +2 (8,000 gp)
Rune of Righteous Might 2/day (36,000 gp)

So at 15th level for the 200,000 gp we have alotted the dwarf looks something like this when Raged, Frenzied, and Righteous Might'd:

43 STR
28 CON

AC 26
DR 5 Good

+33/+33/+28/+23/+18 for 3d6+35 (heals 1/2 the damage dealt)

So against the sample 15th level NPC fighter he'll usually hit 5 times per round for 225 damage total. Barely even cracking the 200 mark even after he's buffed. Though this doesn't account for critical hits or improved power attack, which against the AC 25-28 creatures of this level is only a good idea on rounds where the dwarf will not get a full attack action.

So there's got to be some more optimizations I'm missing here.
Jairami
05-12-04, 10:10 AM [bump]
Wyrd
05-12-04, 11:56 AM You are a dwarf ... your speed is never reduced by armor or load.
Jairami
05-12-04, 12:41 PM Even though the fast movement ability specifically says:

"This benefit applies only when he is wearing no armor, light armor, or medium armor and not carrying a heavy load."

?
Lforino
05-12-04, 01:18 PM I thoguht Mithril Full Plate is treated as Medium armour, thus allowing the extra movement.
Funny Slaughter
05-12-04, 01:53 PM furious from OA is also an interesting weapon enhancement, treats your rage as one type better, i.e. rage to greater rage.

gs
Funny
Jairami
05-12-04, 02:15 PM Ah! Wonderful. That's a useful tidbit. :)
mostholycerebus
05-13-04, 12:45 AM Looks ok. I've always thought a Bard/Battle Howler of Grumsh with Extra Rage would also make a decent Battlerager. Based on the 2e Dwarves book (great book for fluff BTW) with the singing battle dirges and all.
Chasmodai
05-13-04, 04:54 AM Well, if you want to bring Bards into it...

Try a Bard 3/Barbarian2 /Battlerager 5/Warchanter3/ Frenzied Berserker 7. Song of Recklessness is a great combo with Power Attack, if you don't care about AC so much.

Bard and Warchanter gives you a good Will save to help deal with Frenzy, Barbarian 2 gives you Uncanny Dodge. Warchanter 3 is simply for Song of Recklessness, which increases your attack at the expense of AC (so you can Power Attack more).

Good feats to take would be Lingering Song, so your SoR lasts longer. Instantaneous Rage is useful if you don't want to Frenzy at the moment in time (Rage in response to damage dealt, so you can get a +2 Will save to help you from Frenzying). Combat Brute and Shock Trooper are lovely feats for a FB, although you do have to check with your DM to see if Improved Power Attack and Momentum Swing stack.

For items, take all those weapon abilities that enhance your raging. Check OA and Masters of the Wild for more info on that. Armor of the Unending Hunt from Complete Warrior would make you insane. It's a +2 Chainmail that makes you immune to fatigue and exhaustion. The only problem is that the armor is (flavor-text wise) elven.

Of course, this could be fixed with one level of Horizon Walker.
:D

Enjoy. Hope this helps.
Jairami
05-13-04, 11:00 AM Thankfully the Quintessential Fighter feat "Reckless Attack" already does that. :ayyyy!:

Penalty to your AC for the round equal to any number up to your base attack grants the same number as a bonus to damage.

Seems like a very barbarian attack style if you really want to bring someone down. :)

So we've got berserking furious weapons of wrathful healing, winged boots, lenses of see invisibility, and stat boosters.

Looking good. :bow:

Oh, and dwarven battleragers who are singers of gruumsh? That's even worse than wearing namby pamby elven girly clothes! :D
mostholycerebus
05-13-04, 01:53 PM Originally posted by Jairami
Oh, and dwarven battleragers who are singers of gruumsh? That's even worse than wearing namby pamby elven girly clothes! :D

Well, it's a toolbox, ya'know? I never let something as meaningless as a PrC's title get in the way of building what i'm trying to do. You wanted a Battlerager. According to my 2e Dwarf book, with lots of good fluff on Battleragers (and Vindicators :drool: ) they fight and rage while singing. BHoG is one way to do that.

I'm also looking at Bard/BHoG/Singh Rager, but i'll have to check that out later. Still, raging, charging, singing, and shouting to full-attack your enemy while making them Panicked seems what a tattooed, fermented goat-milk drinking maddwarf is all about.
Jairami
05-13-04, 03:02 PM tattooed, fermented goat-milk drinking maddwarf

I'm going to have to remember that description. :D
Jairami
05-13-04, 03:09 PM Here's what I ended up submitting to the DM BTW:

Vorin Madclaw, Male Dwarf Barbarian3 Fighter2 Battlerager2 CR 7; Size: M Type HUMANOID; HD (5d12)+(2d10)+21; hp 79; Init +2 (+2 Dex); Spd Walk 30'; AC 22 (flatfooted 22, touch 12), Berserking Greataxe +12/+7 (1d12+7 20/x3) or Armor Blades +12/+7 (1d6+4 20/x3) or Light Crossbow +9 (1d8 19-20/x2); SA: +1 racial bonus on attack rolls against orcs and goblinoids, +2 racial bonus on Appraise and Craft checks that are related to stone or metal, +4 racial bonus on saving throws against poison, +2 racial bonus on saving throws against spells and spell-like effects, +2 insight bonus on saving throws against all mind-affecting spells and effects, +4 Dodge bonus to Armor Class against monsters of the giant type, Bonuses when enraged (STR +4, CON +4, Willpower +2, AC -2, HP 14), Fearless, Gruff, Uncanny Dodge (can't be flatfooted), Rage (Ex) 2 times/day (8 rounds), Rock Gut, Stability, Stonecunning, Trap Sense (Ex) +1; Vision: Darkvision (60') AL: CG; Sv: Fort +14, Ref +5, Will +5; Str 19, Dex 14, Con 16, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 6

Skills and Feats: Climb +6, Diplomacy -6*, Intimidate +14, Jump +6, Knowledge (Religion) +2, Listen +10, Perform (Sing) -4, Tumble +4; Bullheaded, Cleave, Close-Quarter Fighting, Endurance, Intimidating Rage, Power Attack
Possessions: Articulated Masterwork Full Plate +1 with Armor Blades, Berserking Greataxe +1, Cloak of Resistance +2, Ring of Protection +1, Shirt of Natural Armor +1, Light Crossbow, 2 Cases of 10 Bolts, Explorer's Outfit, Spiked Helmet

Fearless (Ex): At 2nd level, a battlerager becomes immune to fear and similar effects. He also gains a +2 insight bonus on saves against all mind-affecting spells and effects.
Gruff (Ex): Battleragers are known to be rude, uncouth, and violent. They suffer a -4 penalty on all Charisma ability checks and Charisma-based skill checks, except for Intimidate checks. Battleragers receive a +2 bonus on all Intimidate checks.
Rock Gut (Ex): A battlerager’s natural resistance to poison is stronger than most dwarves. At first level, his +2 racial bonus on saving throws against poison increases to a +4 racial bonus.
Stability: A dwarf gains a +4 bonus on ability checks made to resist being bull rushed or tripped when standing on the ground (but not when climbing, flying, riding, or otherwise not standing firmly on the ground).
Stonecunning: This ability grants a dwarf a +2 racial bonus on Search checks to notice unusual stonework, such as sliding walls, stonework traps, new construction (even when built to match the old), unsafe stone surfaces, shaky stone ceilings, and the like. Something that isn’t stone but that is disguised as stone also counts as unusual stonework. A dwarf who merely comes within 10 feet of unusual stonework can make a Search check as if he were actively searching, and a dwarf can use the Search skill to find stonework traps as a rogue can. A dwarf can also intuit depth, sensing his approximate depth underground as naturally as a human can sense which way is up.
Weapon Familiarity: Dwarves may treat dwarven waraxes and dwarven urgroshes as martial weapons, rather than exotic weapons.

*With a -6 to Diplomacy Vorin will cause NPC’s to react to him as one category more unfriendly unless he rolls a 7 or higher on his reaction check. If the NPC is already unfriendly, they will be hostile towards Vorin unless he rolls an 11 or higher on his reaction check. If the NPC is already hostile towards Vorin, he is not capable of improving the situation even if he rolls a 20.

Raging: hp 93, AC 20, Attack +16/+11 (1d12+12), Fort +16, Ref +5, Will +7 – fatigued after 8 rounds

Background: A former member of the Gutbuster Brigade under Thibbledorf Pwent, he was shamed when in a frenzy he slew one of his squad. Named ‘Madclaw’ by an elf contingent up from Silverymoon, Vorin has traveled the world to escape his shame. Vorin has a habit of taking suicidal missions, though as yet, none have killed the tough as nails dwarf. He was last seen to be roaring his way through ice worms with the Wolf Lodge Rashemi berserkers. Word has it he was drawn further south by tale of a prison for evil so deadly, none could hope to survive its depths.

-------------------------------------------------

And the intemediate build:

Vorin Madclaw, Male Dwarf Barbarian3 Fighter2 Battlerager5 Frenzied Berserker1 CR 11; Size: M Type HUMANOID; HD (9d12)+(2d10)+44; hp 138; Init +2 (+2 Dex); Spd Walk 30'; AC 25 (flatfooted 25, touch 13), Furious Berserking Greataxe +16/+11/+6 (1d12+8 20/x3) or Armor Blades +16/+11/+6 (1d6+5 20/x3) or Light Crossbow +13 (1d8 19-20/x2); SA: +1 racial bonus on attack rolls against orcs and goblinoids, +2 racial bonus on Appraise and Craft checks that are related to stone or metal, +4 racial bonus on saving throws against poison, +2 racial bonus on saving throws against spells and spell-like effects, +2 insight bonus on saving throws against all mind-affecting spells and effects, +4 Dodge bonus to Armor Class against monsters of the giant type, +2 Natural Armor, Bonuses when enraged (STR +6, CON +6, Willpower +3, AC -2, HP 33), Bonuses when frenzied (STR +8, +1 Attack, AC -4, +2 Subdual/round), Fearless, Frenzy (Ex) 1 times/day (10 rounds), Gruff, Uncanny Dodge (can't be flatfooted), Rage (Ex) 4 times/day (10 rounds), Rock Gut, Stability, Stonecunning, Trap Sense (Ex) +1; Vision: Darkvision (60') AL: CG; Sv: Fort +19, Ref +7, Will +7; Str 20, Dex 14, Con 16 (18), Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 6

Skills and Feats: Climb +7, Diplomacy -6*, Intimidate +17, Jump +7, Knowledge (Religion) +2, Listen +10, Perform (Sing) -4, Tumble +10; Bullheaded, Cleave, Close-Quarter Fighting, Destructive Rage, Diehard, Endurance, Great Cleave, Improved Unarmed Strike, Intimidating Rage, Power Attack, Reckless Offensive
Possessions: Amulet of Health +1, Articulated Masterwork Full Plate +1 of Death Ward with Armor Blades, Furious Berserking Greataxe +1, Cloak of Resistance +3, Ring of Protection +2, Shirt of Natural Armor +1, Light Crossbow, 2 Cases of 10 Bolts, Explorer's Outfit, Spiked Helmet

Raging: hp 171, AC 23, Attack +21/+16/+11 (1d12+15), Fort +22, Ref +7, Will +10 – fatigued after 10 rounds
Raging and Frenzied: hp 171, AC 19, Attack +25/+25/+20/+15 (1d12+21), Fort +22, Ref +7, Will +10, +2 Subdual/round – exhausted after 10 rounds
HeiligeMariaMutterJesu
09-26-04, 12:56 PM if there are no mongoose orn any non-WotC materials permitted what would you Two-Handed Strike and Reckless Attack replace with?
Andreas0815
09-26-04, 02:06 PM I would say a Barb 4/fighter 1/Battlerager 5/Holy Liberator 10 would be nice, too.

No need to worry about this nasty enchantments, and you are unaffected by fatitude, too. And both your Will and your Fort Save would be quite high...

Or say, a Barb 4/fighter 1/Battlerager 5/Holy Liberator 5/Frenzied Berserk 5

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Jairami 05-11-04, 12:45 AM	So I'm playing a druid right now going into the Banewarrens, and the DM has warned us to have a backup character on standby as from what he can tell there is going to be a body count on this module. With that in mind I've got a shield dwarven axe idiot in mind as the game is set in the Forgotten Realms. Can I get some help with feats and gear at different levels? I've got my ideas below, but as you can see, my gear selections are very vague and uninventive. The ultimate druid's guide is very helpful with the gear portion. The game is 3.5 though we still have a lot of 3.0 books like Quintessential Fighter (Two Handed Power Strike --2x STR mod when taking the full attack action with a two handed weapon), and the Miniature's Handbook, and more. Shield Dwarf Battlerager Barbarian1 Bullheaded, Fast movement, illiteracy, rage 1/day Barbarian2 Uncanny dodge Barbarian3 Endurance, Trap sense +1 Fighter1 Power Attack Fighter2 Cleave Battlerager1 Destructive Rage, rage 2/day, gruff, rock gut Battlerager2 Close Quarters Fighting, fearless Battlerager3 Improved Unarmed Strike, rage 3/day Battlerager4 Reckless Offensive, Intimidating Rage, Great Cleave Battlerager5 Rage 4/day, natural armor +2 Frenzied Berserker1 Frenzy 1/day, diehard Frenzied Berserker2 Two Handed Power Strike, supreme cleave Frenzied Berserker3 Frenzy 2/day Frenzied Berserker4 Deathless Frenzy Frenzied Berserker5 Iron Will, frenzy 3/day, improved power attack Frenzied Berserker6 Inspire frenzy 1/day Frenzied Berserker7 Frenzy 4/day Frenzied Berserker8 Reckless Attack, Greater frenzy, inspire frenzy 2/day Frenzied Berserker9 Frenzy 5/day Frenzied Berserker10 Inspire Frenzy 3/day, tireless frenzy, supreme power attack Gear: Mithral Spiked Full Plate Armor Greataxe of Wrathful Healing Horned Helm Belt of Giant Strength Amulet of Health Cloak of Resistance Animated Shield Abilities: 32 Pt-Buy STR 18 DEX 12 CON 16 INT 10 WIS 10 CHA 6 Any pointers/improvements/suggestions?
The Lone Drow 05-11-04, 05:08 AM	You're getting 10 levels of Frenzied Beserker. Feats? What feats? :D The build looks more than alright from here. You'll be a friggin powerhouse.
Jairami 05-11-04, 10:56 AM	True, but he won't have 10 levels of Frenzied Berserker until the game is over. Likely the game will be over or he will be dead by the time he is 15th level as I understand there are quite a few nasty spell casters who don't care how many hit points you have. :) And I'm not sure when my druid is going to die, so I don't know what level the axe idiot will be brought in at. ;) So I don't know if I should rearrange the feats a little, swap them out for something different, and I don't know what gear to get at what levels. :) I can just trade off upgrading the items I already have listed, but like I said, that seemed kinda unimaginative and with the great information in the druid's guide I was hoping that someone would have similar ideas for what to get when for a barbarian. :D
Wyrd 05-11-04, 01:35 PM	Add "berserking" to your weapon. Whatever enhancement bonus it has, or gains by greater magic weapon, it will become 2 higher once you're in rage. Also have a look at the "mask of the implacable", I think it's in RoF or UE, it's expensive, but gives fast healing 2.
celloshane 05-11-04, 02:52 PM	If you can squeeze TWF into the build, the armor spikes become much more useful. It also helps suit the basic premise of the Battlerager. Also, I'm not sure on this, but won't the full plate reduce your speed back to 20 ft.? Personally, I'd prefer the full 30. I'm toying with a Battlerager build myself, my version includes Reaping Mauler and focuses more on grappling.
Jairami 05-11-04, 03:25 PM	I put the plate in there because of the statement in Races of Faerun about how much shield dwarves revere mithral armor. And as it's mithral it counts as medium armor, but I can tack on the articulated enhancement from quintessential dwarf to make it allow for movement like it was light armor, allowing for the full 30. With an item of Dex, if the DM will allow that to qualify, I guess the dwarf could drop iron will for two weapon fighting... But with the huge strength if the axe doesn't kill something or he really wants to put the helmet or shoulders/elbows/knees/teeth to work, he could probably just take the hit penalty and keep going. But I don't think he'll be doing the one extra attack for d4 + 1/2 strength enough to make the feat worth it. Not when he'll be doing 3-5 attacks with the greataxe at d12 + 2x strength and healing half the damage he deals everytime he gets a full attack. I wonder if I can get a dwarven rune caster to make me a rune of Lion's Charge 3/day... Or one of righteous might...
Jairami 05-11-04, 09:08 PM	So figuring that the lowest level that the berserker will start is 7th and the highest is likely 15th (as surely I will have lost interest or lost the life of my druid by then), the range of gear values I'd like to represent are from 19,000 gp to 200,000 gp. At the low end we've got: Greataxe +1 (2,320 gp) Cloak of Resistance +1 (1,000 gp) Spiked Breastplate +1 (1,400 gp) Ring of Protection +1 (2,000 gp) Gauntlets of Ogre Power (4,000 gp) Amulet of Health +2 (4,000 gp) And at the high end we've got: Berserking Greataxe of Wrathful Healing +1 (50,320 gp) Articulated Mithral Full Plate Armor +1 (28,050 gp) Lenses of See Invisibility 2/day (4,800 gp) or See Invisibility made Permanent (5,560 gp) Winged Boots (16,000 gp) Ring of Protection +2 (8,000 gp) Cloak of Resistance +4 (16,000 gp) Belt of Giant Strength +4 (16,000 gp) Amulet of Health +4 (16,000 gp) Shirt of Natural Armor +2 (8,000 gp) Rune of Righteous Might 2/day (36,000 gp) So at 15th level for the 200,000 gp we have alotted the dwarf looks something like this when Raged, Frenzied, and Righteous Might'd: 43 STR 28 CON AC 26 DR 5 Good +33/+33/+28/+23/+18 for 3d6+35 (heals 1/2 the damage dealt) So against the sample 15th level NPC fighter he'll usually hit 5 times per round for 225 damage total. Barely even cracking the 200 mark even after he's buffed. Though this doesn't account for critical hits or improved power attack, which against the AC 25-28 creatures of this level is only a good idea on rounds where the dwarf will not get a full attack action. So there's got to be some more optimizations I'm missing here.
Jairami 05-12-04, 10:10 AM	[bump]
Wyrd 05-12-04, 11:56 AM	You are a dwarf ... your speed is never reduced by armor or load.
Jairami 05-12-04, 12:41 PM	Even though the fast movement ability specifically says: "This benefit applies only when he is wearing no armor, light armor, or medium armor and not carrying a heavy load." ?
Lforino 05-12-04, 01:18 PM	I thoguht Mithril Full Plate is treated as Medium armour, thus allowing the extra movement.
Funny Slaughter 05-12-04, 01:53 PM	furious from OA is also an interesting weapon enhancement, treats your rage as one type better, i.e. rage to greater rage. gs Funny
Jairami 05-12-04, 02:15 PM	Ah! Wonderful. That's a useful tidbit. :)
mostholycerebus 05-13-04, 12:45 AM	Looks ok. I've always thought a Bard/Battle Howler of Grumsh with Extra Rage would also make a decent Battlerager. Based on the 2e Dwarves book (great book for fluff BTW) with the singing battle dirges and all.
Chasmodai 05-13-04, 04:54 AM	Well, if you want to bring Bards into it... Try a Bard 3/Barbarian2 /Battlerager 5/Warchanter3/ Frenzied Berserker 7. Song of Recklessness is a great combo with Power Attack, if you don't care about AC so much. Bard and Warchanter gives you a good Will save to help deal with Frenzy, Barbarian 2 gives you Uncanny Dodge. Warchanter 3 is simply for Song of Recklessness, which increases your attack at the expense of AC (so you can Power Attack more). Good feats to take would be Lingering Song, so your SoR lasts longer. Instantaneous Rage is useful if you don't want to Frenzy at the moment in time (Rage in response to damage dealt, so you can get a +2 Will save to help you from Frenzying). Combat Brute and Shock Trooper are lovely feats for a FB, although you do have to check with your DM to see if Improved Power Attack and Momentum Swing stack. For items, take all those weapon abilities that enhance your raging. Check OA and Masters of the Wild for more info on that. Armor of the Unending Hunt from Complete Warrior would make you insane. It's a +2 Chainmail that makes you immune to fatigue and exhaustion. The only problem is that the armor is (flavor-text wise) elven. Of course, this could be fixed with one level of Horizon Walker. :D Enjoy. Hope this helps.
Jairami 05-13-04, 11:00 AM	Thankfully the Quintessential Fighter feat "Reckless Attack" already does that. :ayyyy!: Penalty to your AC for the round equal to any number up to your base attack grants the same number as a bonus to damage. Seems like a very barbarian attack style if you really want to bring someone down. :) So we've got berserking furious weapons of wrathful healing, winged boots, lenses of see invisibility, and stat boosters. Looking good. :bow: Oh, and dwarven battleragers who are singers of gruumsh? That's even worse than wearing namby pamby elven girly clothes! :D
mostholycerebus 05-13-04, 01:53 PM	Originally posted by Jairami Oh, and dwarven battleragers who are singers of gruumsh? That's even worse than wearing namby pamby elven girly clothes! :D Well, it's a toolbox, ya'know? I never let something as meaningless as a PrC's title get in the way of building what i'm trying to do. You wanted a Battlerager. According to my 2e Dwarf book, with lots of good fluff on Battleragers (and Vindicators :drool: ) they fight and rage while singing. BHoG is one way to do that. I'm also looking at Bard/BHoG/Singh Rager, but i'll have to check that out later. Still, raging, charging, singing, and shouting to full-attack your enemy while making them Panicked seems what a tattooed, fermented goat-milk drinking maddwarf is all about.
Jairami 05-13-04, 03:02 PM	tattooed, fermented goat-milk drinking maddwarf I'm going to have to remember that description. :D
Jairami 05-13-04, 03:09 PM	Here's what I ended up submitting to the DM BTW: Vorin Madclaw, Male Dwarf Barbarian3 Fighter2 Battlerager2 CR 7; Size: M Type HUMANOID; HD (5d12)+(2d10)+21; hp 79; Init +2 (+2 Dex); Spd Walk 30'; AC 22 (flatfooted 22, touch 12), Berserking Greataxe +12/+7 (1d12+7 20/x3) or Armor Blades +12/+7 (1d6+4 20/x3) or Light Crossbow +9 (1d8 19-20/x2); SA: +1 racial bonus on attack rolls against orcs and goblinoids, +2 racial bonus on Appraise and Craft checks that are related to stone or metal, +4 racial bonus on saving throws against poison, +2 racial bonus on saving throws against spells and spell-like effects, +2 insight bonus on saving throws against all mind-affecting spells and effects, +4 Dodge bonus to Armor Class against monsters of the giant type, Bonuses when enraged (STR +4, CON +4, Willpower +2, AC -2, HP 14), Fearless, Gruff, Uncanny Dodge (can't be flatfooted), Rage (Ex) 2 times/day (8 rounds), Rock Gut, Stability, Stonecunning, Trap Sense (Ex) +1; Vision: Darkvision (60') AL: CG; Sv: Fort +14, Ref +5, Will +5; Str 19, Dex 14, Con 16, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 6 Skills and Feats: Climb +6, Diplomacy -6, Intimidate +14, Jump +6, Knowledge (Religion) +2, Listen +10, Perform (Sing) -4, Tumble +4; Bullheaded, Cleave, Close-Quarter Fighting, Endurance, Intimidating Rage, Power Attack Possessions: Articulated Masterwork Full Plate +1 with Armor Blades, Berserking Greataxe +1, Cloak of Resistance +2, Ring of Protection +1, Shirt of Natural Armor +1, Light Crossbow, 2 Cases of 10 Bolts, Explorer's Outfit, Spiked Helmet Fearless (Ex): At 2nd level, a battlerager becomes immune to fear and similar effects. He also gains a +2 insight bonus on saves against all mind-affecting spells and effects. Gruff (Ex): Battleragers are known to be rude, uncouth, and violent. They suffer a -4 penalty on all Charisma ability checks and Charisma-based skill checks, except for Intimidate checks. Battleragers receive a +2 bonus on all Intimidate checks. Rock Gut (Ex): A battlerager’s natural resistance to poison is stronger than most dwarves. At first level, his +2 racial bonus on saving throws against poison increases to a +4 racial bonus. Stability: A dwarf gains a +4 bonus on ability checks made to resist being bull rushed or tripped when standing on the ground (but not when climbing, flying, riding, or otherwise not standing firmly on the ground). Stonecunning: This ability grants a dwarf a +2 racial bonus on Search checks to notice unusual stonework, such as sliding walls, stonework traps, new construction (even when built to match the old), unsafe stone surfaces, shaky stone ceilings, and the like. Something that isn’t stone but that is disguised as stone also counts as unusual stonework. A dwarf who merely comes within 10 feet of unusual stonework can make a Search check as if he were actively searching, and a dwarf can use the Search skill to find stonework traps as a rogue can. A dwarf can also intuit depth, sensing his approximate depth underground as naturally as a human can sense which way is up. Weapon Familiarity: Dwarves may treat dwarven waraxes and dwarven urgroshes as martial weapons, rather than exotic weapons. With a -6 to Diplomacy Vorin will cause NPC’s to react to him as one category more unfriendly unless he rolls a 7 or higher on his reaction check. If the NPC is already unfriendly, they will be hostile towards Vorin unless he rolls an 11 or higher on his reaction check. If the NPC is already hostile towards Vorin, he is not capable of improving the situation even if he rolls a 20. Raging: hp 93, AC 20, Attack +16/+11 (1d12+12), Fort +16, Ref +5, Will +7 – fatigued after 8 rounds Background: A former member of the Gutbuster Brigade under Thibbledorf Pwent, he was shamed when in a frenzy he slew one of his squad. Named ‘Madclaw’ by an elf contingent up from Silverymoon, Vorin has traveled the world to escape his shame. Vorin has a habit of taking suicidal missions, though as yet, none have killed the tough as nails dwarf. He was last seen to be roaring his way through ice worms with the Wolf Lodge Rashemi berserkers. Word has it he was drawn further south by tale of a prison for evil so deadly, none could hope to survive its depths. ------------------------------------------------- And the intemediate build: Vorin Madclaw, Male Dwarf Barbarian3 Fighter2 Battlerager5 Frenzied Berserker1 CR 11; Size: M Type HUMANOID; HD (9d12)+(2d10)+44; hp 138; Init +2 (+2 Dex); Spd Walk 30'; AC 25 (flatfooted 25, touch 13), Furious Berserking Greataxe +16/+11/+6 (1d12+8 20/x3) or Armor Blades +16/+11/+6 (1d6+5 20/x3) or Light Crossbow +13 (1d8 19-20/x2); SA: +1 racial bonus on attack rolls against orcs and goblinoids, +2 racial bonus on Appraise and Craft checks that are related to stone or metal, +4 racial bonus on saving throws against poison, +2 racial bonus on saving throws against spells and spell-like effects, +2 insight bonus on saving throws against all mind-affecting spells and effects, +4 Dodge bonus to Armor Class against monsters of the giant type, +2 Natural Armor, Bonuses when enraged (STR +6, CON +6, Willpower +3, AC -2, HP 33), Bonuses when frenzied (STR +8, +1 Attack, AC -4, +2 Subdual/round), Fearless, Frenzy (Ex) 1 times/day (10 rounds), Gruff, Uncanny Dodge (can't be flatfooted), Rage (Ex) 4 times/day (10 rounds), Rock Gut, Stability, Stonecunning, Trap Sense (Ex) +1; Vision: Darkvision (60') AL: CG; Sv: Fort +19, Ref +7, Will +7; Str 20, Dex 14, Con 16 (18), Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 6 Skills and Feats: Climb +7, Diplomacy -6*, Intimidate +17, Jump +7, Knowledge (Religion) +2, Listen +10, Perform (Sing) -4, Tumble +10; Bullheaded, Cleave, Close-Quarter Fighting, Destructive Rage, Diehard, Endurance, Great Cleave, Improved Unarmed Strike, Intimidating Rage, Power Attack, Reckless Offensive Possessions: Amulet of Health +1, Articulated Masterwork Full Plate +1 of Death Ward with Armor Blades, Furious Berserking Greataxe +1, Cloak of Resistance +3, Ring of Protection +2, Shirt of Natural Armor +1, Light Crossbow, 2 Cases of 10 Bolts, Explorer's Outfit, Spiked Helmet Raging: hp 171, AC 23, Attack +21/+16/+11 (1d12+15), Fort +22, Ref +7, Will +10 – fatigued after 10 rounds Raging and Frenzied: hp 171, AC 19, Attack +25/+25/+20/+15 (1d12+21), Fort +22, Ref +7, Will +10, +2 Subdual/round – exhausted after 10 rounds
HeiligeMariaMutterJesu 09-26-04, 12:56 PM	if there are no mongoose orn any non-WotC materials permitted what would you Two-Handed Strike and Reckless Attack replace with?
Andreas0815 09-26-04, 02:06 PM	I would say a Barb 4/fighter 1/Battlerager 5/Holy Liberator 10 would be nice, too. No need to worry about this nasty enchantments, and you are unaffected by fatitude, too. And both your Will and your Fort Save would be quite high... Or say, a Barb 4/fighter 1/Battlerager 5/Holy Liberator 5/Frenzied Berserk 5