barbarian issues... [Archive] - Wizards Community

barbarian issues... [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Zorminster
07-13-05, 11:20 AM Okay, so im playing in a friends campaign as Tandar the barbarian.
Backstory:
Grew up in a warring barbarian tribe, mother died while he was young, father slain in battle a bit later (about 12-13 or so). He was raised by the clan and became a valiant warrior, finally the steelmails (his clan- fond of steel) were defeated and slain/banished. He sought other livelihood as hired muscle on a mercenary ship. yadda yadda, his contract ran out under new management and was left jobless. He got into a fight with some guards and was banished from the huge city along with some elfs (the humans dont take well to demihumans in this world). They travelled back to a village near the elves homes. - At this point i left for the evening but the dm says hes got a way to convince my character to adventure with them. -

Heres some problems im having-
How to get a better armor class. Im a barbarian with an AC of 14. Ive got a 16 str, 15 con, 13 wis, 10 dex, 8 char, 10 int. I wield either a heavy flail or a great axe. I am wearing a chain shirt. I felt chain shirt was the most likely and fitting thing for my barbarian. Although his clan was the steelmails, they were never fond of bulk or movement restricting armor or shields. (Apparently is a clutz compared to the rest of his clan although much more resiliant). Well, as it happened a certain barbarian was nearly slain in the first combat encounter in part due to my rushing off and trying to kill 4 hobgoblins (Tandar is only level 2). After critting and cleaving my way through 3 of them the last one finally dropped me. Somehow throughout the night i was missed about 5 times by humanoids (dunno how that happened with only a 14 ac). From what i have seen of other similarly classed players i have a painfully low armor class that needs boosting for character viability. My thoughts are as such:
1) Magical armor [not going to happen until at the very least the end of this campaign]
2) Upgrading to a bit more protective gear [this is more likely, but a shield wont ever be taken]

I need something that will work and flow w/ my character and backstory to get him into that which his clan loathed; bulky armor.
rbrt_Spade
07-13-05, 11:24 AM what level are you?
cvazi
07-13-05, 11:31 AM Mithril breastplate might be a nice option to raise AC, but what you really need to be focusing on is acquiring DR. if you have the pre-reqs, take a couple levels in fighter to get "evasive target" which lets you ignore power attack damage from the target of your dodge.
Zorminster
07-13-05, 01:10 PM (Apparently is a clutz compared to the rest of his clan although much more resiliant). Well, as it happened a certain barbarian was nearly slain in the first combat encounter in part due to my rushing off and trying to kill 4 hobgoblins (Tandar is only level 2). After critting and cleaving my way through 3 of them the last one finally dropped me. Somehow throughout the night i was missed about 5 times by humanoids (dunno how that happened with only a 14 ac). From what i have seen of other similarly classed players i have a painfully low armor class that needs boosting for character viability. My thoughts are as such:

level 2. as previously mentioned.
Phrennzy
07-13-05, 01:19 PM Dodge as a feat.
Ring of protection.
Amulet of natural armor.
Get party mage to cast Mage Armor on you.

Guess what, all 4 of those bonuses stack.

Since you are low level, the first three are probably out. But the mage might be convinced to goose you up for the next 2-3 hours. The party rogue might be able to use a wand of shield or mage armor on you as well, if you can get one.

You might get a buckler - they don't have much in the way of penalties like a regular shield does.
DragonDeadite
07-13-05, 02:19 PM The Barbarian in the game I'm running is having the same problem, except his AC sits at 16 (at least until he rages) and he's been taken out HARD a couple times. He's been fairly lucky with it right now, but his problem is going to be taken care of soon. He's getting a Magical Chain Shirt to help boost his AC, everyone in the group is contributing to the cost of this since they know he takes most of the damage. Amulets and Rings are best, but hard to come by. The only other suggestion I can think of... use the wizard as a human shield. :D
Zorminster
07-13-05, 03:12 PM sounds good- ill get my wizard right up there in the frey! sadly i dont think mage armor is going to work out for me... darn that wizards alignment... yea- i forgot about the rage issue- i rage and i fall to 12. thats pathetic. i might as well stand flat footed (oh yea, no diff since my dex BLOWS- talk about your average joe character :) the only one in my group more average than me is indeed- ------ our wizard. go figure)
Puca
07-13-05, 03:41 PM The other problem with mage armor is that it won't stack with the +4 AC bonus you get from your chain shirt.

I think, and this is just me, that smacked down a half a dozen time should probably help him overcome his cultural aversion to shield, at least until he can finally get some decent items to boost that AC.

Maybe spend that 100gp to upgrade your armor. In your position, even an extra +1 might be worth it. (7% less chance of getting hit I think?)

Maybe when your wizard hits 3rd level, try to get him to learn Cat's Grace. (I know, there are a lot of better options, but you can hope.) Thatll give you a little boost.
Flushmaster
07-13-05, 04:27 PM Mage armor won't stack with your normal armor, but if you have a cleric in the group (as much as you seem to get hit, I'm assuming this is the reason you still live) they can cat shield of faith on you. At level two it only grants you a +2 AC bonus and lasts for two minutes, but it's a deflection bonus so it stacks, and 2 minutes is 20 rounds so it should last at least for the duration of the encounter.

If you don't have the Dodge feat, I highly suggest you pick that up when you hit level 3.

You might consider going to breastplate armor for an extra point of AC. It'll slow you down a bit until you can afford a mithril version but as a barbarian you're faster already and will still likely bee the quickest melee combatant on the field (barring any monks, after a few levels).

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Zorminster 07-13-05, 11:20 AM	Okay, so im playing in a friends campaign as Tandar the barbarian. Backstory: Grew up in a warring barbarian tribe, mother died while he was young, father slain in battle a bit later (about 12-13 or so). He was raised by the clan and became a valiant warrior, finally the steelmails (his clan- fond of steel) were defeated and slain/banished. He sought other livelihood as hired muscle on a mercenary ship. yadda yadda, his contract ran out under new management and was left jobless. He got into a fight with some guards and was banished from the huge city along with some elfs (the humans dont take well to demihumans in this world). They travelled back to a village near the elves homes. - At this point i left for the evening but the dm says hes got a way to convince my character to adventure with them. - Heres some problems im having- How to get a better armor class. Im a barbarian with an AC of 14. Ive got a 16 str, 15 con, 13 wis, 10 dex, 8 char, 10 int. I wield either a heavy flail or a great axe. I am wearing a chain shirt. I felt chain shirt was the most likely and fitting thing for my barbarian. Although his clan was the steelmails, they were never fond of bulk or movement restricting armor or shields. (Apparently is a clutz compared to the rest of his clan although much more resiliant). Well, as it happened a certain barbarian was nearly slain in the first combat encounter in part due to my rushing off and trying to kill 4 hobgoblins (Tandar is only level 2). After critting and cleaving my way through 3 of them the last one finally dropped me. Somehow throughout the night i was missed about 5 times by humanoids (dunno how that happened with only a 14 ac). From what i have seen of other similarly classed players i have a painfully low armor class that needs boosting for character viability. My thoughts are as such: 1) Magical armor [not going to happen until at the very least the end of this campaign] 2) Upgrading to a bit more protective gear [this is more likely, but a shield wont ever be taken] I need something that will work and flow w/ my character and backstory to get him into that which his clan loathed; bulky armor.
rbrt_Spade 07-13-05, 11:24 AM	what level are you?
cvazi 07-13-05, 11:31 AM	Mithril breastplate might be a nice option to raise AC, but what you really need to be focusing on is acquiring DR. if you have the pre-reqs, take a couple levels in fighter to get "evasive target" which lets you ignore power attack damage from the target of your dodge.
Zorminster 07-13-05, 01:10 PM	(Apparently is a clutz compared to the rest of his clan although much more resiliant). Well, as it happened a certain barbarian was nearly slain in the first combat encounter in part due to my rushing off and trying to kill 4 hobgoblins (Tandar is only level 2). After critting and cleaving my way through 3 of them the last one finally dropped me. Somehow throughout the night i was missed about 5 times by humanoids (dunno how that happened with only a 14 ac). From what i have seen of other similarly classed players i have a painfully low armor class that needs boosting for character viability. My thoughts are as such: level 2. as previously mentioned.
Phrennzy 07-13-05, 01:19 PM	Dodge as a feat. Ring of protection. Amulet of natural armor. Get party mage to cast Mage Armor on you. Guess what, all 4 of those bonuses stack. Since you are low level, the first three are probably out. But the mage might be convinced to goose you up for the next 2-3 hours. The party rogue might be able to use a wand of shield or mage armor on you as well, if you can get one. You might get a buckler - they don't have much in the way of penalties like a regular shield does.
DragonDeadite 07-13-05, 02:19 PM	The Barbarian in the game I'm running is having the same problem, except his AC sits at 16 (at least until he rages) and he's been taken out HARD a couple times. He's been fairly lucky with it right now, but his problem is going to be taken care of soon. He's getting a Magical Chain Shirt to help boost his AC, everyone in the group is contributing to the cost of this since they know he takes most of the damage. Amulets and Rings are best, but hard to come by. The only other suggestion I can think of... use the wizard as a human shield. :D
Zorminster 07-13-05, 03:12 PM	sounds good- ill get my wizard right up there in the frey! sadly i dont think mage armor is going to work out for me... darn that wizards alignment... yea- i forgot about the rage issue- i rage and i fall to 12. thats pathetic. i might as well stand flat footed (oh yea, no diff since my dex BLOWS- talk about your average joe character :) the only one in my group more average than me is indeed- ------ our wizard. go figure)
Puca 07-13-05, 03:41 PM	The other problem with mage armor is that it won't stack with the +4 AC bonus you get from your chain shirt. I think, and this is just me, that smacked down a half a dozen time should probably help him overcome his cultural aversion to shield, at least until he can finally get some decent items to boost that AC. Maybe spend that 100gp to upgrade your armor. In your position, even an extra +1 might be worth it. (7% less chance of getting hit I think?) Maybe when your wizard hits 3rd level, try to get him to learn Cat's Grace. (I know, there are a lot of better options, but you can hope.) Thatll give you a little boost.
Flushmaster 07-13-05, 04:27 PM	Mage armor won't stack with your normal armor, but if you have a cleric in the group (as much as you seem to get hit, I'm assuming this is the reason you still live) they can cat shield of faith on you. At level two it only grants you a +2 AC bonus and lasts for two minutes, but it's a deflection bonus so it stacks, and 2 minutes is 20 rounds so it should last at least for the duration of the encounter. If you don't have the Dodge feat, I highly suggest you pick that up when you hit level 3. You might consider going to breastplate armor for an extra point of AC. It'll slow you down a bit until you can afford a mithril version but as a barbarian you're faster already and will still likely bee the quickest melee combatant on the field (barring any monks, after a few levels).