Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Loather 01-09-04, 05:00 AM	Well the title says it all, I'm considering making a beefy dude to smash things up... I'm just throwing the idea out there for people to pick at, LET THE PICKING BEGIN!!
Gothic_Demon 01-09-04, 05:52 AM	Yes, barbarians are a dying class. Like all classes, they die. Unfortunately, the only classes that don't die are prestige classes, that I made up, and are written on my character sheet in pencil... [/sarcasm] :) Barbarians are fun to play and good characters, play one and have fun.
Telperion 01-09-04, 05:55 AM	Nothing quite so refreshing as ending a long week of working with a session of D&D. Take your favorite barbarian, wait for a figth scene and then unleash the barbarian with greater rage upon your enemies. Enjoy:).
jasper 01-09-04, 09:17 AM	THEY sew hunt tan leather but dye fabrics. no them thar city folk do that
Luminous Crayon 01-09-04, 12:09 PM	I think many people are prejudiced against the Barbarian. It's an easy trap to fall prey to. With a name that implies uncivilized savage and a default state of illiteracy, the Barbarian class screams "stupid brute" at anyone browsing its section of the PHB. Note, however, that a name is only an arbitrary label, and a mere two skill points can get rid of that embarassing illiteracy problem before the game even begins. The barbarian doesn't have to be played as a burly savage from the icy tundra mountains to the north. He doesn't have to wear bearskin clothes and make daisy chains out of his enemies' skulls. The class can just as easily be used to represent a warrior who bases his style of fighting on tapping emotional reserves, rather than drawing on training and practice (like the Fighter would.) Note that this use doesn't carry any cultural or intellectual baggage; I'm looking forward to the chance to play a high-Int, high-Cha barbarian from the city, and it's not going to seem the least bit out of place. Fighters fight with the head. Barbarians fight with the heart.
Salla 01-09-04, 12:47 PM	Barbarians aren't a dying class ... they're a KILLING class. :) Well said, Crayon, I must say. I've been going through the PHB, scribing the 'crunchy' parts of it into a text file (and ignoring the fluff) for just such a problem. That said, there's something insanely fun about playing an 18 INT Barbarian who has all his skill points sunk into Knowledges.
Rian Lightblade 01-09-04, 03:14 PM	I'm running for a group of seven that consists of 3 Barbarians 1 Cleric 1 Rogue 2 Rangers Almost half the party are Barbarians and the 3 Barbarian players are not planning on multiclassing out of Barbarian save for perhaps a PrC. I don't know about your group but they aren't dying out in mine.
Millennium 01-09-04, 04:46 PM	No. Absolutely not. The fact that I re-named my barbarian Kenny and dress him in an orange parka is just a coincidence.
The_Dark_One 01-09-04, 05:13 PM	They also mutliclass well: 1 (Barvarian Rogue): Sneak attack with a greatsword:D 2 (Barbarian Sorcerer): True Strike, then smack them with a greatsword. :D 3 (Barbarian Ranger) : Go the two-weapon fighting route, take monkey grip, then dual weild greatswords. :eek: :smirk: :twitch:
eudas 01-09-04, 05:28 PM	Barbarians Dying! News at 5, Film at 11. I friggin' hate barbs. No style, no subtlety, no brains. Never did like 'em... except Bharl. Yo! Bharl! Represent! I'll take a fighter class anyway over a barb. Blah. eudas
phosis21 01-10-04, 12:20 AM	I love the barbarian class as a concept and even as a well written story, the problem is indeed misconseption, people see Krusk being his dumb half-orcy self (stupid half-orcs) and they think of Conan and perhaps Wulfgar and say STUPID SAVAGE BRUTE THINGY! I see someone who fights with emotion, yes they may well make thier living in the wilderness, but a lot fo people in this time period do, so its not that hard yo imagine! On the other hand they dont get enough abilities fast enough to make them competitive with some of the other melee classes. Yes Rage is f***ing awesome, and combined with Frenzied Berzerker is just banging your head against the wall retarded, but the other key abilities are lacking. paladins get spells, lay on hands and mounts. Rangers get TWF and numerous wilderness feats for free. Fighters get buttloads of feats. barbarians get 3 pts of DR by 20th level, uncanny dodge and...umm. greater rage. They need more in my opinion. I love Barb's but a D12 and 3 pts of DR (useless by 20th level) aint gonna cut it, its nice, but not nice enough. GO BARBARIAN! personal fav is Barb/Rog, now they kick a little ass. Joe
Edymnion 01-10-04, 12:39 AM	Originally posted by Luminous Crayon The barbarian doesn't have to be played as a burly savage from the icy tundra mountains to the north. He doesn't have to wear bearskin clothes and make daisy chains out of his enemies' skulls. The class can just as easily be used to represent a warrior who bases his style of fighting on tapping emotional reserves, rather than drawing on training and practice (like the Fighter would.) Note that this use doesn't carry any cultural or intellectual baggage; I'm looking forward to the chance to play a high-Int, high-Cha barbarian from the city, and it's not going to seem the least bit out of place. Fighters fight with the head. Barbarians fight with the heart. Yup, in fact, this is what the Dwarven Battle Rager is. Battle Ragers are dwarven warriors that, guess what, fly into a rage in combat and don't stop fighting until there's nothing left to fight. Aka, they are Barbarians. Just rename the class to "Rager" and focus on their ability to throw the power of their emotions behind the force of their blade and just ignore the uncivilized stuff, and you'll probably enjoy the character a lot more. Barbarian just has too much baggage with the name that some people can't seem to see around...
Willie the Duck 01-10-04, 04:03 PM	barbarians stand in the front line in light armor and with two handed weapons instead of shields. With nothing to protect them but their massive hp totals, barbarians are the party members most at risk of dying. The most common way that a party figures out that it is in over its head is for the enemy to eat the barbarian.:D
Tehril 01-10-04, 04:08 PM	I have a barbarian 1/rogue 3/ranger 3 half orc. I plan on having him take a home brew PrC called the "Spirit Warrior". Despite only having 1 actual level in barbarian, I still refer to him as "my half orc barbarian". It doesn't matter how many other classes I add... he will always be the barbarian. The Spirit Warrior PrC is designed to be a spiritual and animalistic warrior from his tribe... its whole purpose heavily rooted in their religion and history. He is deeply spiritual and moral... even more moral than the supposedly "civilized" companions he keeps... well, most of them... and sometimes only in his own eyes. He is a calm, tea (herbal blend) drinking, thoughtful savage warrior... dangerous when his ire is roused... but he is not your typical barbarian image. In fact, I've crafred his entire clan and tribe of orcs & half orcs (he is a half orc, half ogre...half orc stats... mix, btw) around these principles. I guess I was just tired of orcs being treated as mindless brutes... and the barbarian class thrown in with them. Sort of a "Planet of the Apes" spin on things. They view the 'civilized' folk as savage and barbaric for making useless war on each other. etc etc etc So you see...in my characters world... the barbarian class is far from dying. It is everything. In fact, until recently, my party had 5/6 barbarians in the party.
MisterGuignol 01-10-04, 04:16 PM	Originally posted by phosis21 On the other hand they dont get enough abilities fast enough to make them competitive with some of the other melee classes. Yes Rage is f***ing awesome, and combined with Frenzied Berzerker is just banging your head against the wall retarded, but the other key abilities are lacking. paladins get spells, lay on hands and mounts. Rangers get TWF and numerous wilderness feats for free. Fighters get buttloads of feats. barbarians get 3 pts of DR by 20th level, uncanny dodge and...umm. greater rage. They need more in my opinion. I love Barb's but a D12 and 3 pts of DR (useless by 20th level) aint gonna cut it, its nice, but not nice enough. Actually, a barbarian is often better at melee than a fighter, especially at high levels. Even with the fighter's "ton of feats", a barbarian's rage gives them better bonuses to hit and damage than the weapon focus/weapon specialization trees. And don't forget, the barbarian also gets a load of extra hit points while raging as well. DR+extra HP=killing machine. BTW - with a single feat your barbarian can get heavy armor without crippling his other abilities.
Kinger 01-10-04, 04:18 PM	If you're worried about AC as a barbarian, try out monstrous races. Lizardfolk Barbarians are really nasty, let me tell you. Apart from an extra FIVE natural armor (and the ability to wear armor OVER it), Lizardfolk also receive boosts to strength and constitution to make that Rage hurt even more and last even longer. And try a Barbarian Sunderer. Rage, then smash that weapon or shield of theirs. BWAHAHA!! Barbarian Brawlers are cool too. Rage and grapple! Full base attack bonus AND uber strength! Rip that foe a new one! A BIG new one! Toss in lizardfolk for natural attacks and you got a heck of a winner. And Barbarians with Power Attack and a two-hander are kings of one-smash-kills. AC is irrelevant if the enemy is dead before they can hit you. :) A Barbarian with primarily throwing weapons could be interesting too... Yup, Barbarians can hold their own in my books, despite other classes seeming to get the better of them. Plus, there's just something inherently cool about a guy who can wrestle a bear and WIN half the time.
kami 01-10-04, 04:27 PM	Originally posted by Kinger If you're worried about AC as a barbarian, try out monstrous races. Lizardfolk Barbarians are really nasty, let me tell you. Apart from an extra FIVE natural armor (and the ability to wear armor OVER it), Lizardfolk also receive boosts to strength and constitution to make that Rage hurt even more and last even longer. They may be nasty, but 2 racial HD and LA +1 makes a Half-Dragon a better choice. +4 Natural Armor, an extra natural attack when making a full attack. They also gain breath weapon, dragon immunities and a STR-increase 4 times higher than that of a Lizardfolk.
Tehril 01-10-04, 04:39 PM	Add in a nasty ECL as well. I'm fairly sure the Lizard folk don't have as high an ECL penalty as the half dragon. I'm content with my half orc. Why would you need anything more? ***bliss***
William Coburn 01-10-04, 08:22 PM	If you want to see an awesome non steriotypical barbarian pick up any of Pratchett's storys about Cohen (The Light Fantasitc, Interesting Times, and The Last Hero. Cohen is smart, charsimatic, yet still retains the classical "Smack 'em in the face until they stop smacking back" logic. I find him much more intersting then the average barbain mostly becuase his rage isn't "Cohen smash uggly cultests," instead he becomes cold and meticulus, sorta like a tank in a loincloth.
Geethree 01-10-04, 09:57 PM	It's already been said, but people just expect barbarians to be stupid. This isn't an unfair assumption, though. The average barbarian would have a high strength, a high dexterity (to make up for the lack of heavy armor), and a high constitution. His highest mental stat would be in Wisdom. This means intelligence and charisma and hurt. Since they are also stereotypically Half-Orcs, this means that Int and Cha are hurt more. And these barbarians are very effective. I wouldn't want to meet one in a dark alley, that's for sure. However, the less brutish ones can be just as effective. It just takes a little more effort to play a smart barbarian. A barbarian tracker with a high Wis and Int can be downright frightening. They can and will hunt you down, then they fly into a terrifying rage and tear you to pieces.
Tehril 01-11-04, 12:01 AM	^ That is not only part of my character concept... but has a large background story dedicated to it... and has been put to use several times in game. Yes... it IS a frightening thing when a barbarian (wielding a great ase) goes on the hunt... finds you... and...:fight!: :devil: :cloud9: :bow:
lantzer 01-11-04, 02:19 PM	Originally posted by Luminous Crayon I think many people are prejudiced against the Barbarian. It's an easy trap to fall prey to. With a name that implies uncivilized savage and a default state of illiteracy, the Barbarian class screams "stupid brute" at anyone browsing its section of the PHB. Note, however, that a name is only an arbitrary label, and a mere two skill points can get rid of that embarassing illiteracy problem before the game even begins. The barbarian doesn't have to be played as a burly savage from the icy tundra mountains to the north. He doesn't have to wear bearskin clothes and make daisy chains out of his enemies' skulls. The class can just as easily be used to represent a warrior who bases his style of fighting on tapping emotional reserves, rather than drawing on training and practice (like the Fighter would.) Note that this use doesn't carry any cultural or intellectual baggage; I'm looking forward to the chance to play a high-Int, high-Cha barbarian from the city, and it's not going to seem the least bit out of place. Fighters fight with the head. Barbarians fight with the heart. Agreed. Not caring for PrCs, I've been looking at the core classes and came up with an interesting build of Barbarian, Bard, and Fighter. Those three classes can make a very effective Dervish character. The barbarian portion is there to give the energy and wildness of the dervish sword dance. The bard is to add the inspirational and artistic aspects. The fighter adds the raw combat power and cool effects of the feats. (I'm thinking whirlwind tree and specialization.) It works very nicely - and doesn't require the character to be any uncouth skin-wearing northern berzerker. People often have trouble separating the character from the class.
Darkhunter 01-11-04, 02:50 PM	Originally posted by William Coburn If you want to see an awesome non steriotypical barbarian pick up any of Pratchett's storys about Cohen (The Light Fantasitc, Interesting Times, and The Last Hero. Cohen is smart, charsimatic, yet still retains the classical "Smack 'em in the face until they stop smacking back" logic. I find him much more intersting then the average barbain mostly becuase his rage isn't "Cohen smash uggly cultests," instead he becomes cold and meticulus, sorta like a tank in a loincloth. And is good at being where the enemy's sword isn't....In the books the silver horde is well past their prime and still puts a hurting on the enemy--does old age still count against you in the new-fangled DnD system?. Barbarian is my favorite class...I run with being more civilized than the "civilized" folks.
Kinger 01-11-04, 04:51 PM	Just to point out, the ECL of a fighting class isn't nearly as terrible as it would be for a spellcaster like the lizardfolk's favoured class: druid. The Lizard's nice stats, 3 natural attacks, and nice natural armor balance it out, I think.
Taran Alvein 01-11-04, 09:13 PM	Originally posted by Luminous Crayon I think many people are prejudiced against the Barbarian. It's an easy trap to fall prey to. With a name that implies uncivilized savage and a default state of illiteracy, the Barbarian class screams "stupid brute" at anyone browsing its section of the PHB. Note, however, that a name is only an arbitrary label, and a mere two skill points can get rid of that embarassing illiteracy problem before the game even begins. Yeah. I agree. My friend, Joe, plays "The Smart-Ass Barbarian", who made CHA his dump stat and has a fairly average INT (14), and a fairly decent WIS (16). Thanks to good rolls (as well as using some of his Level Up point upgrades), he has a STR and CON of both 18 as well.
ElFenrir 01-11-04, 11:53 PM	I have a barbarian who's a younger fellow(16), rolled extremely well, has an 18 Str and 16 Con, and his intelligence is decent(12). I had a 15 I put in Charisma, as he is quite a likable lad. I play him as curious(wis was lowest score), and he is illiterate, but the party's female elf is teaching him how to read. I will purchase literacy for him when he levels again(he's been learning the past three levels.) I thought it would be cool to do. He does keep some teeth and claws and such from beasts, but bigger ones that were a good fight to him. His only human remains are two teeth from one of the wizards he managed to kill that wiped out his family(backstory.) He keeps them to keep him going to slay the rest of the group involved in the tragedy. so yeah, barbs don't have to be played as "kronk smash!!!"
William Coburn 01-12-04, 12:19 AM	Originally posted by Darkhunter And is good at being where the enemy's sword isn't....In the books the silver horde is well past their prime and still puts a hurting on the enemy--does old age still count against you in the new-fangled DnD system?. Barbarian is my favorite class...I run with being more civilized than the "civilized" folks. Age still counts in D&D, however Cohen and crew are all drasticaly epic levels. Oddly, I'm inclined to belive that Pratchett has some basis in D&D; Cohen is still illterate with 16+ intell, wizards use the vanican system, etc.
Kinger 01-12-04, 12:45 AM	Originally posted by Taran Alvein Yeah. I agree. My friend, Joe, plays "The Smart-Ass Barbarian", who made CHA his dump stat and has a fairly average INT (14), and a fairly decent WIS (16). Thanks to good rolls (as well as using some of his Level Up point upgrades), he has a STR and CON of both 18 as well. 14 INT fairly average. Hehehe... Oh, for PCs? Okay, yeah, that makes sense. In comparison to everyone else, though, 14 is really really smart. Your barbarian is probably as smart as my calculus professor. :) Barbarian: "Krug finally done calculating complex differential equation. Secret was to substitute in square root of negative one and solve for x, then implement mean value theorem in second equation to find x, too. Then use quadratic equation." Wizard: "Hey, Krug, you forgot to take into account that the variables aren't necessarily rational numbers." Barbarian: "Wha?! KRUG SMASH!!!"
sjogren 01-12-04, 05:54 AM	Originally posted by Kinger Barbarian: "Krug finally done calculating complex differential equation. Secret was to substitute in square root of negative one and solve for x, then implement mean value theorem in second equation to find x, too. Then use quadratic equation." Wizard: "Hey, Krug, you forgot to take into account that the variables aren't necessarily rational numbers." Barbarian: "Wha?! KRUG SMASH!!!" :rofl:
Taran Alvein 01-12-04, 09:42 AM	The funny thing is, for one particular part of my campaign, when the group was infiltrating a small castle pretending to be the bodyguards to one of the other PCs (who claimed to be a noble, and always dressed the part anyways), the part FIGHTER played this whole "Og good guardian. Og smash people try to hurt Elhena." thing. It was pretty funny because here we have a Fighter playing a stereotypical Barbarian bit.
Taran Alvein 01-12-04, 09:42 AM	Arg. Double Post.
harel_dr 02-08-04, 04:12 PM	barbarians are actually a dying class. im lvl 5 and i died 4 times. i had lycantrophy a little while ago. but i got it out.and the others couldnt face my damage reduction. :D:D:D
Galahad the Pure 02-08-04, 04:50 PM	Barbarians are NOT a dying class. A little while ago, the History Channel declared "Barbarian Week" which I can only attribute to the popularity of D&D's barbarians. ;) One of the episodes was on the Vikings, and they showed how important it really was for barbarians to be smart. I think it was Herald Hardrada who, when invading Italy, ordered his men to capture birds who had made nests in the cities. Then, they tied lit pieces of tinder to the birds' legs and set them free to return to their nests. The tinder burnt through the nests, and then the buildings, and then the whole city. Barbarians are smart.:cool:
RRG 02-08-04, 05:27 PM	Barbarians are the greatest class out there, if you can use them with the proper finnesse. First off, you must have two or 3 levels of fighter to pick up those crucial extra feats needed to give the Barbarian a boost in lower levels. MotW also has a group of feats that boosts your raging ability, which is also a necessity. Instantaneous Rage, Extra Rage, and Extended Rage are all good choices. Then, grab the Bear Warrior prestige class from OA or some other book that happens to have it. If you aren't aware of this classes special ability, it is: TURN INTO A BEAR WHILE RAGING Run through a dungeon with a barbarian bear warrior, and you'll see barbarians are NOT a dying class.
CyberCat 02-08-04, 05:47 PM	Bear warrior is nice, but there are better ones. The thing about bear warrior is that you face the same problems as a druid, but without the spells to help out.
harel_dr 02-08-04, 05:52 PM	iBarbarians are NOT a dying class. A little while ago, the History Channel declared "Barbarian Week" which I can only attribute to the popularity of D&D's barbarians. i saw this show, but it doesnt has to do with D&D
Kolo 02-08-04, 05:57 PM	Naw, they're not dying. There are just so many people that multiclass into barbarian around that the real deal is becoming a rarity. But they're still around, that's for sure. For one thing, a barbarian BBEG is IMPOSSIBLE to kill under the right circumstances... give them a boost to CON and STR and make them rage and half a party is down in a blink. (Also, use them in groups... 2-5 raging axe-wielding maniacs is not something you want to face even once in your life. Give me a dragon any day.) Besides, I always wanted to revive my good old 2ndE character Mogg the Barbarian Cannibal, or maybe roll up his son, the half-orc Mag. Mogg is one of the most memorable characters I've ever played, and my favorite class is the Wizard...
harel_dr 02-20-04, 01:23 PM	Originally posted by Rian Lightblade I'm running for a group of seven that consists of 3 Barbarians 1 Cleric 1 Rogue 2 Rangers Almost half the party are Barbarians and the 3 Barbarian players are not planning on multiclassing out of Barbarian save for perhaps a PrC. I don't know about your group but they aren't dying out in mine. hey thats allmost my group:smirk:
Crossover-Chronicler 02-20-04, 01:38 PM	I'm personally very fond of Barbarians. They don't get much play IMCs (I DM, mostly) but I expect that to change with the introduction of Champion of Gwynharwyf, the 3.5 Bear Warrior (along with the 3.0 stuff I'm still converting), and some of the variants I'll be allowing when I pick up Unearthed Arcana.
SmiloDan 02-20-04, 03:54 PM	The campaign I run has a halforc barbarian 6 named Chewie (his ear was bitten off and was chewy) and a halforc barbarian 1/wizard (conjurer) 6 named Og.