Contents:
- Intoductions
- Stats and Races
- Class Features
- Path Features
- Skills, Backgrounds and Feats
- Weapons and Armour
- Multiclassing
- Sample Builds
Introductions:
In 5e, Barbarians have quite the Str/Dex split in their features. Most people will want to go strength based, and for them Jell_Moo has a nice guide to strength based Barbarians. For the rest of you, welcome to Graceful Destruction, a guide for dex based barbarians.
Please note that outside of their own section, I will be assuming no magic items. So if you pick up a magic item in a campaign, consider carefully how it might alter the advice given here.
Barbarians:
Barbarians have a tonne of split potential, and quite the variaty of selections. Whilst not a versatile as a Fighter, there are at least four different ways to play a Barbarian. With careful selection of Totems, you can create nigh-unkillable warriors, or nible supporters (who still kick ass). With the Path of the Berserker your options are more limited, but it has it's gems. Not to mention, you're a Barbarian, so you're one tough SoB on top of all that.
Why Go Dex?:
I had a lovely paragraph here before Chrome ate it, but sorry, Chrome ate it.
Pros:
- Initiative, Dex Saving Throws, AC, Accuracy and Damage all key off the same stat.
- Allows the highest player AC in the game.
- Allows the highest player Initiative in the game, excluding feats.
- Great Dexterity Saving Throws, even better when combined with certain class features.
Cons:
- 13 Str required to multiclass.
- Can't benefit from Rage bonus damage.
- Reckless Attack is useless to you.
From here on out the standard color scheme is in effect.
Gold = Must have.
Sky Blue = Top of the line.
Blue = Very strong choice.
Black = Solid choice. Better options exist, but so do worse. You're not hurting yourself taking these.
Purple = Not top tier. It may have niche use, but better options exist.
Red = IT'S A TRAP. Something exists that completely outclasses this.
Stats:
Strength: You need 13 if you want to multiclass, and some of your class features rely on it.
Dexterity: Your main stat. See above.
Constitution: Adds to your hit points, and if you're unarmored your AC.
Intelligence: Classic Barbarian dump stat. It hurts your Int saves, but that’s about the only impact you feel.
Wisdom: 3 of your class skills are tied to it, and one of those is Perception. A “nice to have” stat.
Charisma: Intimidation is based off of it, but not much else *unless* you go Path of the Berserker.
Races:
(Variant) Human: While baseline human is average (you get a bonus to Str, Dex AND Con), Variant Human is where it's at. See the feat section for what to pick up.
Half-Elf: You get a bonus to Charisma which may be wasted, but you get two +1s (hint: Dex and Con), Darkvision and some nice bonus skills. Oh and Fey Ancestry, because screw you control magicks.
Class Features:
I'm not going to use gold for this section, simply because you're getting these features, there isn't a choice.
Rage: You can't cast spells while raging, not that it will come up often. Other than that, Rage is a mixed bag:
- "You have advantage on Strength Checks and Strength Saving Throws." -- If you've the Strength to use it, it could be useful. Saving throws for Strength rarely come up though, and are you going to waste a rage to, say, open a stuck door? Purple.
-
"When you make a melee weapon attack using Strength, you gain a bonus to the damage roll that increases as you gain levels as a barbarian, as shown in the Rage Damage column of the Barbarian table." -- Yeah no, we don't do that. Red.
-
"You have resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage." -- Oh boy yes. We already have good health and nice AC, why not throw in some damage resistance on top of that? Sky Blue.
Unarmored Defense: YES. When you're not wearing armor (shields don't count), your AC is 10+Dex+Con. Simply wonderful. Assuming a shield and 16s in both stats, that's a level 1 AC of 18. 18!
Reckless Attack: Something something, when atacking with Strength, something. No.
Danger Sense: Remember when I promised you awesome Dexterity Saving Throw? Here they are. You have advantage on Dexterity saving throws against effects that you can see, such as traps and spells. I repeat: Advantage on saving throws against effects you can see. Not to be underestimated.
Extra Attack: Yes, nearly every weapon swinger gets it. No, that doesn't make it less great.
Fast Movement: Gets you in position a little quicker. Not to shabby.
Feral Instincts: I promised highest Initiative and I deliver. Advantage on Initiative rolls. Yup. Oh and Surprise only means you have to rage first now, rather than missing a turn. So sad.
Brutal Critical: Even if you build towards criticals, they still don't turn up much. That said when it does trigger, hey, extra damage. Melee only so sorry any (cross)bow users.
Relentless Rage: Constitution checks to not die, what's not to like? Apart from the "only while raging" part.
Persistant Rage: That rage aint ending for nothing now, short of falling unconscious or the timer running out.
Indomitable Might: Not nearly as useful as for those who focus on Strength, but still good if you've some points in it.
Primal Champion: The Strength increase is nice to have, and helps with the above feature, but the real gold's at the +4 Con. That's more health and more AC. Neat.
Path Features:
Currently the Barbarian has two paths to choose from: Path of the Berserker, and Path of the Totem Warrior. The Path of the Berserker is straight-foward, but the features it contains are, for the most part, bad. It does, however, have a few redeeming gems. Meanwhile the Path of the Totem Warrior has a lot of choices you can make, resulting in a lot of different builds.
Path of the Berserker:
It's Risk vs. Reward, no doubt about that. But it's also a waiting game. The best feature is the capstone, at level 14. If you can wait that long, the path's very rewarding.
Frenzy: Exhaustion is bad, very bad. That said, a level of Exhaustion is removed every time you Long Rest. So, provided you've nothing else to do with your bonus actions, feel free to Frenzy the once every day, preferably close to the end of the day so the disadvantage on ability checks doesn't hurt so much. Also it's useless if you've a reliable source of bonus action attacks.
Mindless Rage: Not getting controlled is good m'kay? It's a solid ability, even if it's only situationally useful.
Intimidating Presence: Clearly they were thinking more flavour than mechanics when they wrote this ability. It's a nice, thematic ability... that relies on a stat that's tertiary at best.
Retaliation: This. Just, this. Any time you take damage from an adjacent enemy, you can spend your Reaction (provided you haven't already) to make an attack against them. Don't even need to be raging at the time. Simply wonderful.
Path of the Totem Warrior:
The Path of the Totem Warrior is all about choice. There are so many options here that five people could all be Totem Warrior Barbarians and they'd still have characters that play differently. Unlike the Berserker, none of the choices are straight up amazing, but (with the exception of fluff features) none of them are bad. Note that the choices are independent at each level: Just because you chose Eagle for Totem Spirit doesn't mean you have to chose it for Aspect of the Beast or Totemic Attunement.
Spirit Seeker: It's fluff, simple as. Speak with Animals as ritual takes a long time, making it quite situational. It can be thematic to your character though, and sometimes it might be useful.
Totem Spirit: And here, we. Go:
Bear: For those of you who want to tank, and don't feel resistance to just Bludgeoning, Piercing and Slashing damage while raging is enough, why not having resistance to all damage bar psychic, magical or otherwise?
Backgrounds and Skills:
Everything you could want to know wrapped up in one easy guide.
Feats:
Alert - Always a solid choice, but slightly diminished for a Barbarian who is less impacted by a Surprise round to begin with. Increases Initiative for those of you who really want to maximize it.
Athlete - Somewhat situational. The effects are great in an action/adventure style romp, but less impressive in a pure hack and slash.
Actor - Flavourful, but mechanical a poor choice.
Charger - Barbarians make the most out of individual Actions. This is a great way to gain extra oomph from them. Since you should be going first in combat very often, this is a way of getting to the enemy quickly and either doing damage, or arranging the battlefield.
Crossbow Expert - Hell yeah, gun crossbow totting hawkeye here! If you take this, don't go Path of the Berserker, since all it's abilities either are melee only or are outclassed by the feat's bonus action attack.
Defensive Duelist - Can I get a "hell yeah"? Let's add even more to our already high AC. A solid use of your reaction.
Dual Wielder - +1 AC means you're only losing 1 AC from not having a shield now. Better if you've a way of picking up Two-Weapon Fighting.
Dungeon Delver - Situational and you have class abilities that replicate some of the features. Flavourful, but maybe not the optimum choice.
Durable - +1 Con if you've an odd number in that stat, which is nice. There's some confusion on the second point as to whether it refers to the roll total, or what you literally roll on the dice. Black if the former, Blue if the latter.
Elemental Adept - Yeah. No.
Grappler - Worst feat forever. Either doesn't work, or is outclassed by other options. Only way you could get a worse feat is one that actively hurt you
Great Weapon Master - Yeah you can't really use Great Weapons. The cleave can be nice, but it's too situational to be black.
Healer - It works, but it's probably better left to a Rogue with their Fast Hands.
Heavily Armored - Hah, no. Think of all the Barbarian features you would lose.
Heavy Armor Master - See above.
Inspiring Leader - The Charisma investment is a little prohibitive for the typical Barbarian.
Keen Mind - No particular benefit for the typical Barbarian.
Lightly Armored - You already have proficiency.
Linguist - There are better ways for you to learn languages. Outside of character specific reasons, this falls outside of the typical Barbarian’s zone. Ciphers might be useful to your campaign though.
Lucky - This is a really nice feat if you want to improve on your tankiness. The extra rolls can really help in a pinch, and regaining them a long rest lets you tie them into your Rages pretty well.
Mage Slayer - While slightly specific, this feat works well with a Barbarian, especially one that focuses on mobility. Considering how a well played caster can wreak havoc, this ability can be a life saver.
Magic Initiate - You aren’t outfit well for casting. You can’t cast whilst in a Rage, and by and large outside of utility or character reasonings, you won’t get that much from this.
Martial Adept - Having only one Superiority Die hurts this ability a lot. There are better options available.
Medium Armor Mastery - If you aim for the Medium armour route you may see some benefit, but your stats probably line up better for the unarmored route, in which case avoid. Black because certain enchantments can only be found on armour.
Mobile - If you're one to nip past the frontlines and smash the squishies, you'll probably want this. Otherwise, it's nice, but not great.
Moderately Armored - Nope.
Mounted Combatant - Do you want to play your Barbarian as a mounted warrior? If yes, take this feat. If not, skip.
Observant - Perception is so important to a group that this feat warrants a look at if your group needs a spotter. Still, others may have a more natural affinity for the role, so this will depend on what you want your character to focus on. Ties in nicely with the Eagle's ability to see really long distances.
Polearm Master - None of these can be dex-based. Better if you take a level in Monk. Be warned though- doing so still doesn't make it a finesse weapon.
Resilient - If you want to shore up your defences a bit, this is not a bad choice, but it is a sharp cost for very specific survivability. If your DM likes to toss out things like Hold Person at you on a regular basis, this becomes great. If not, it loses some oomph. Can be good for rounding out an odd Dexterity score.
Ritual Caster - You probably won’t have the Int, but you may have the Wis to gain access to this. Honestly, this falls to a character specific choice. Does it fit your concept? Then go ahead. Otherwise, you should probably avoid.
Savage Attacker: Very, very good. This can turn a terrible attack into a great one. Whilst you can only use it once per turn, the more attacks you make, the more likely you will see this shining.
Sentinel - This feat is amazeballs. It increases your stickiness and punishes those that try and get cute by moving around you. Combined with the Bear Totemic Attunement, you have some great attention grabbing ability.
Sharpshooter - You are unlikely to have something to compensate for the drop in accuracy. if you do, be it by multiclassing or party support, it's better.
Shield Master - A great way to increase survivability. Taking zero damage from Dex related saves is great, and since you have advantage on those saves to begin with, that’s a ton of damage you can simply avoid. If you use a shield, this feat is a great pick.
Skilled - Honestly, unless you have a specific concept in mind, pass on this. There are better ways to gain access to skills.
Skulker - Atypical for the run of the mill Barbarian, but if you plan on going with a stealthy one (and it’s totally viable) this fat is very nice to have.
Spell Sniper - Nope.
Tavern Brawler - Not for you, since all the features need a good Strength score.
Tough - Increasing your Con by 2 instead gives you 1 extra hit point per level, a better Con save and potentially an increase in AC. There are better feats. That said, +2 HP per level is still 2 more than you'd otherwise get.
War Caster - You are not a caster.
Weapon Master - You are already proficient with every weapon in the game.
Reserve 2
M- M- M- Multiclass!
Multiclassing requires 13 Strength. Yeah. Combined with the need for high Dexterity and Constitution, you're not going to have much leeway in what classes you can take. That said, I'll list them all still for those who rolled good stats.
Reserve 4
Interesting thread, Yunru. I'm curious to see the builds you post.
Right, just the big two left: Weapons and Armour (magical and otherwise), and sample builds. I will be accepting sample build suggestions btw, so please, feel free to suggest some. :P
I had thought about a barbarian as I wanted to create a whirling dervish dual weld type of character. I figured since most of the barbarian features were wasted with finesse weapons, I would have to go variant Human with the Dual Wield feat and pick up a level or two of fighter and dual wield long swords.
I would think the rogue would by sky blue in the multiclass section? Maybe I'm missing something?
If you manage a moderate str score you can attack with reckless and str while using a finesse weapon when the rage damage exceeds the amount of damage lost from dex mod giving a small power attack effect.
FrogReaver wrote:
Mention under rogue multiclass that expertise (athletics) makes shield master bonus-action-shoves great again - your bonus will be at least equal to that of a Str Barbarian (if not higher) and you still have advantage on Str-based skill checks. If you are going to multiclass rogue, shield master should be at least light blue or gold.
i think, anyway.
Other than that, great guide. I notice that dexbarians don't have any normal feature for using their bonus actions, so two rogue levels for cunning action and Shield Master (with expertise in athletics) would be making use of an otherwise wasted resource (bonus actions).
Yunru wrote:
Interesting concept.
Honestly, I think for a DEX-based character, there are better ways to build a guy than a barbarian. Throwing away one of the classes most useful abilities, Reckless Attack, just seems so counter-productive.
Now, as part of a hybrid class? Perhaps some levels of Rogue? I could see a 4 or 5 level dip in Barbarian having some potent uses, sure. Start as a Rogue for the obvious reasons and when you MC with Barbarian, you get Shield proficiency and can make a defensive guy that way, perhaps doing decent damage with Sneak and great mobility with 40' move and Cunning Action. Assuming you go heavily Rogue, you'll even make up the feat you drop if you do a 15/5 split, with the extra Rogue feat at 10th.
You can't dump Str, so it will need to be a 13, but the idea of a scrawny Barbarian is offensive. Even if you spike Dex and use finesse weapons, you should still have somewhat broad shoulers and look like you eat red meat.
Patron1972 wrote:
+1 to this guide.
I like the idea of stuffing as much stuff as possible
onto the Eagle 6 ability, with >> 100' eyesight.
Drow with goggles, Deep Gnome, or Devil's Sight.
Perhaps a custom item of x2 Darkvision distance (Common?).
Observant feat. Comprehend Languages ritual.
Chain'Lock 3 to get this over onto your mobile "sensor".
Spell Sniper on Eldritch Blast, or Distance on Bows.
Noctaem and Mistwell noted the Skulker feat detail.
Kiting and Scouting. Use rage for emergencies,
to get out of combat and re-establish range.
If a player wanted to do a Dex barbarian, I'd definitely look at making a level 1 variant and even making a unique subclass for it (We liked the Frenzied barbarian in PHB2). I personally wouldn't want a player to give up their class's damage bonus features, nor would I want to tell them to use a different class when a class spoke to them. Rogue's require the use of finesse weapons, but they don't require you to be finessing them. A dex barbarian does get less MAD, though, but that's an issue with the system itself and not with the barbarian.
Xeviat-DM wrote:
Yunru wrote:
We need more guides like this.
Also, it might be worth pointing out that gauntlets of ogre power give you essentially the best of both worlds: accuracy when you need it, damage when you don't.