| Post/Author/DateTime | Post |
|---|---|
| #1jaappletonSep 22, 2015 7:50:00 | This isn't about optimizing, or weapon selection, or feat progression. This is about how to be reckless, daring, sometimes outright dumb. To me, a Barbarian is a reckless warrior that lives only to kill other things and get glory for it. That's how I'm playing, anyway. So I need ideas on how to do that. I'll post some examples below of stuff I've done so far, and I need your help know ways to top it. |
| #2jaappletonSep 22, 2015 7:53:44 | I've bodyslammed a goblin through a table. Wrapped a giant spider in chains, and used it as a massive flail. I've thought of grappling enemies, and plunging out the window with them (and landing on top of them), but I haven't had the opportunity yet. So, any ideas on what else to do? |
| #3Macv12Sep 22, 2015 8:15:17 | When you're in a bar and get in some sort of disagreement, grab a nearby support beam and tear it out, bringing the balcony or the whole bar down. Then use whatever's handy to beat whoever's handy.
Maybe work out a feat with your DM that makes it viable to pick people up and use them as weapons, thrown or otherwise. Using a bandit as an improvised weapon works well enough in any case. |
| #4jaappletonSep 22, 2015 9:10:15 | I love it! My DM often goes by 'rule of cool', so the feat may not even be necessary. |
| #5YunruSep 22, 2015 9:22:43 | Be a Bear Totem Barbarian. Be raging. Be arriving via Wizard's Catapult spell. |
| #6jaappletonSep 22, 2015 9:23:51 | .....I am Bear. Level seven so far. And Yunru, that is the greatest thing that I've ever read. |
| (Reply to #3)Yunru |
|
| #8Tempest_StormwindSep 22, 2015 9:39:10 | You see a forest. I see a quiver full of cabers.
Alternatively, listen to some power metal. They frequently use this sort of character in the song lyrics themselves. Now imagine your character as a barbarian warrior-poet, and he's writing them about himself. Equal parts bravery and bluster, they're a way of amplifying the glory he seeks from his deeds. (5e gives out musical instruments with appropriate barbarian backgrounds, like Outlander, and having a personality trait like this doesn't make you a bard any more than being able to read makes you a wizard.) |
| #9jaappletonSep 22, 2015 9:46:19 | Read? Such a thing is blasphemous in the eyes of a Barbarian! :P Anyway, I thought of going all Kain on Raziel. Ripping the wings off a flying creature. |
| #10VeleriaSep 22, 2015 11:53:04 | My favorite move is to grapple an enemy while raging and drag them off a cliff to see which one of us walks away. (spoiler: It's usually me.)
|
| (Reply to #10)jaappleton |
|
| #12pdegan2814Sep 22, 2015 14:12:44 |
|
| #13pdegan2814Sep 22, 2015 14:13:43 |
|
| #14Tempest_StormwindSep 22, 2015 15:01:57 |
|
| #15Slagger_the_ChuulSep 22, 2015 15:33:35 | As a general rule, try to incorporate breaking something into everything you do. If you ever find yourself taking some action where you're not breaking something, find a way to add some pointless destruction. If you can't break something, at least make some noise. If you can't make some noise, at least make a mess.
Leave your mark on the world with everything you do. Make it plain to all that a barbarian has been here. |
| #16VeleriaSep 22, 2015 19:29:06 | For me the legendary tougness of a barbarian is fun to play with. Find something scary you have resistance to, A.K.A. falling damage or an allies blade barrier and then tough it out with a big bat enemy meanwhile you hold them prone with grapple so they are just your victim attacking back at disadvantage or spending all their actions trying to break the grapple. |
| #17the-alchemistSep 23, 2015 10:10:35 | A few ideas: -Read comics. Hulk, Classic Deadpool, the upcoming Drax the Destroyer. Plenty of creative destruction. -Use the environment. There's a dead bandit on the floor? Now he's a two-handed club. Devils have pointy horns? Now they are spears. You see a flameskull, I see a flaming thrown weapon. -Combo. The bear rage/catapult idea sounds fun, but there are plenty of other combinations. Have a caster teleport you on top of a small creature and crush him like a bug. Squeeze monsters to death with your bare hands; most monsters tend not to have high constitution scores. -Monk. If your DM allows multiclassing, be a barbarian monk. Having barbarian strength plus monk abilities such as martial arts or deflect missiles would make you unstoppable, and leave your hands free to do other things. |
| #18transcendantviewerSep 24, 2015 0:07:49 | I've got a bit of a spoiler here, but I played a Bear Totem Barbarian in Hoard of the Dragon Queen. One of the last fights we had in the module was against the vampiress. We engaged her in broad daylight, so we could keep her contained. She charms my barbarian. When the charm wore off, my barbarian (Armstrong's his name. He was heavily inspired by Alex Louise Armstrong from FMA) grapples the Vampire while Raging and leapt out the window with her. And the best part was that I was 6th level and got a bit off on her while we fell. Then proceeded to wrestle her on the ground for the next few turns while she burned up in the sunlight. Made one of the hardest fights of the castle into one of the most hilarious. Still almost died though. |
| #19jaappletonSep 24, 2015 3:48:55 | Every time you 'almost' die is just one more scar you get, and each of those is both a badge of honor and a conversation piece! |
| #20BloodMoon666Sep 24, 2015 5:08:37 | Barbarian only in battle, huh? And you call yourself a barbarian, psht! I once had to buy a NPC a bottle of wine so he'd help us. Went into the wine store alone with exactly one gold coin. Turned out the specific bottle requested was 15gp. Disliking the big city and haggling like the barbarian I am, I placed the gold on his counter, took the wine and started leaving. The fool of a shopkeeper summoned his guard who came between me and the door. I took my shield, and slammed him HARD into the closest wine rack asking him(the shopkeeper) tersely: "You sure you want to do this?". Sure as day he was too shocked to answer. Put away my shield. Just to be safe though, I flexed some muscles and asked: "Is there going to be any trouble with the city guard later..wouldn't want to come back here since the place looks fragile judging by your help, here." The answer was a silent no, so I took off. "YOU'RE FIRED!" was the last thing I heard walking away.. |
| #21jaappletonSep 24, 2015 5:16:32 | A shield? A SHIELD, you say?! I dare say, such a thing is as inappropriate as a... A... My Int is 6, I'll get back to you on that, but no Barbarian needs a shield! Pish posh, such tomfoolery has no place in the world of Barbarism! Your hands are meant to hold only the following things: Weapons, people, food, ale, and treasure! |
| #22BloodMoon666Sep 24, 2015 6:14:10 | Let me tell you, young'un! You ain't seen a tanky barbarian until you've seen a shieldmaster barbarian! Took my inspiration from the viking board and sword type warrior........and I'll have you know my desert/steppe native tribe is the fiercest, most skilled and most feared of all tribes on the great plains I call home! |
| #23jaappletonSep 24, 2015 6:18:04 | The Champion of Gruumsh could slay your puny Nordic- Ah, I love this. I really do :D But you bring up a good aspect of Barbarism that I hadn't considered ; Outside of combat, aside from flexing my muscles as often as possible to get my way, what else can be done? |
| #24Ralif_RedhammerSep 24, 2015 7:31:53 | As many have said, doing crazy, reckless stunts that make great use of the environment at hand go well with a barbarian's theme and abilities. Yeah, you have plenty of straight combat abilities, but getting creative is always more awesome.
Outside of combat, I think it's about playing up your character's traits, about being an outsider and/or savage, without being a complete village idiot. Maybe channeling Crocodile Dundee a bit? |
| #25jaappletonSep 24, 2015 8:40:56 | My character went into a goblin cave to retrieve an artifact at lv2. My half Orc, being green-ish, thought that Goblins might love by the same rule as Orcs: "Strongest is leader". So he challenged for leadership of the Goblins in solo combat. And won. He's since fashioned a makeshift crown he wears, and refers to himself as a King, and has claimed Diplomatic Immunity on several occasions where he should have been arrested. |
| #26Danny_MontannySep 24, 2015 14:45:03 | http://community.wizards.com/forum/dungeon-master-help/threads/4253706
On post #12 I detail out some house rules that facilitate using heavy objects. Your size and carrying capacity are taken into account how much damage you can do with said objects. So your Half-Orc, assuming the level 6 Bear ability, would do 2d8 + Str modifier with something heavy they could wield/throw. Get an Enlarge spell put on you and it goes up to 3d10! I Even detail splitting up the damage if you use objects that aren't particularly solid, like furniture or other creatures. So if your guy was to take a live Goblin and smack another goblin with it, you'd split the damage between the two, potentially killing them both. |
| (Reply to #26)jaappleton |
|
| (Reply to #27)Danny_Montanny |
|
| #29BloodMoon666Sep 25, 2015 2:16:40 | Well it's not just "flexing your muscles to get your way" out of combat. Read and take inspiration from the barbarian flavour text from the PHB. For me, it wasn't about getting my way as much as getting annoyed at being in the city and finally letting that frustration out in a meaningful way. Also my character was the kind of guy who has no problems with people for no reason, but if there's someone giving me problems, they have a BIG problem staring back at them. Kind of live & let live tribal/country/rular mentality combined with a "don't phuck with me" gangsta attitude. |
| #30FunkySpunkOct 01, 2015 20:20:06 |
|
| #31pdegan2814Oct 01, 2015 20:43:20 |
|
| #32FunkySpunkOct 01, 2015 21:10:33 | LOL, ooops. I missed it! |
| #33FunkySpunkOct 01, 2015 21:12:00 |
|
| #34Mad_JackOct 02, 2015 6:00:43 |
|
| #35BRJNOct 05, 2015 18:34:42 | If you can find a copy of 4e Primal Power, there is an extensive fluff discussion of non-stereotype Barbarians. (I was so impressed that I actually bought my own copy.)
A half-orc barbarian who is building a collection of ale mugs, sorted by material (ceramic, pewter, wood, glass) and decorative theme (leaves, geometric symbols, pretty women, homeland) and crafter's race (elf, dwarf, halfling, tiefling) and capacity (1 oz shot glass --> 1 gallon mini-barrel).
|