The Gentleman’s Guide to Proper Barbarism
(A Barbarian Primer)
(Please note that this is still a work in progress, and hasn't been fully edited yet. This message will be removed upon completion)
Contents (by post):
- Introduction
- Races and Stats
- Class Features
- Sub Classes
- Skills and Backgrounds
- Feats
- Multiclassing
- Weapons and Armor
Introduction:
Welcome one and all, to an introduction of sorts to all things wonderfully Barbaric. The 5e Barbarian traces his roots back to the 3.x version of the class, along with a smattering of Prestige Classes from that edition, yet manages to come out remarkably different in this version of the game. By and large, that’s a good thing. Melee combat is more viable across a wider array of levels in 5e versus 3.x, and the Barbarian has a solid role it can play. It has a more linear power curve than other classes, and lacks some of the build versatility shown with others, but it remains very viable from 1-20, and can become a great clutch player for any party.
Do note that while I try and give some mechanical advice, do not consider this purely about character optimization. I like to look at things more than pure damage dice, as I do believe that truly effective characters move away from the one dimensional. Also, there is admittedly my own bias sprinkled around here and there. If I think something is cool, I may give it more of a thought than something that while is mechanically sound, is ultimately boring.
What the Barbarian is and what the Barbarian is not:
To start with, the Barbarian is not a Fighter. 5e has done a pretty good job of showcasing how the Fighter is versatile, effective, and a beast in melee. There are a ton of potential build options that are viable, and unlike 3.x where you had to struggle to make a great Fighter, now you have to struggle to make a poor one.
The Barbarian is, in some ways, the anti-Fighter. Barbarians are specific as opposed to general. Barbarians don’t have a build for every situation, don’t run the gamut of melee to ranged to magic, don’t have a ton of tactical play baked in, and don’t own the battlefield the same way that the Fighter can. The Barbarian just can’t match the Fighter’s versatility. But that is 100% okay.
What the Barbarian does bring to the party is an incredible Risk vs Reward system. At it’s core, the Barbarian has a ton of built in survivability. With the highest hit dice in the game, baked in resistances, advantage versus a ton of effects and the ability to stay fighting even after dropping to 0, the Barbarian is amongst the best of the best when it comes to staying alive in melee. But, they also have the ability to turn that around trade some of that defence for some on demand offence. It’s not always the right thing to do, not by a longshot, but it can be absolutely brutal when it’s triggered, and can be the sort of move that brings the party back from the brink of defeat. Or it can be the choice that triggers a TPK. Risk vs Reward.
The Core of the Barbarian
Unlike melee classes like the Fighter, Paladin or Ranger, the Barbarian has some pretty specific stats it needs to have. There is no strong Dex based option here. You need Str. No ifs, ands or buts. You also need Con. But… Wait… You also need Dex. Yup, the Barbarian is fairly on the MAD side.
From this point forward, the common colour coding is being used:
Sky Blue = Top of the line
Blue = Very strong choice
Black = Solid choice. There are better options, but this is more than serviceable
Purple = Not top tier. It may have niche use, but better options exist
Red = Mechanically weak. If you feel it fits your concept, go for it, but you will likely be less effective
Note: I tend to be more “middle ground” in terms of ratings. I find fewer things “absolutely terrible”, but at the same time, find fewer things “absolutely incredible”.
Stats:
Str: Top tier stat. Your offensive output is tied to your Str score.
Dex: Highly desirable. You may not be bumping this past a +2 modifier, but you need to get at least that far.
Con: Another top tier stat. Hit points are just too important to let slide. If you want to stay unarmored, it is doubly important.
Int: Classic Barbarian dump stat. It hurts your Int saves, but that’s about the only impact you feel.
Wis: 3 of your class skills are tied to it, and one of those is Perception. A “nice to have” stat.
Cha: Intimidation is based off of it, but not much else *unless* you go Path of the Berserker.
Common Races:
Dwarf: A strong choice, absolutely, but it has a lack of “razzle dazzle”. The Mountain Dwarf has stats that lineup perfectly for a Barbarian, which is great, but the armour and weapon related perks are wasted. The Hill variety of Dwarf has poorer stat allotment (though Wis is definitely useful) and a fun survivability perk, but losing the Str bonus is awfully painful.
Elf: Elves may not seem like a natural Barbarian choice, but they can actually fare pretty well. They likely won’t become the most dominant Barbarian, but they have some utility perks that come in handy. Being immune to Sleep spells is really handy at low level, Darkvision is always solid, and free proficiency in Perception is great. The Wild Elf sub race is the best fit for a Barbarian, with the extra move speed opening some nice avenues.
Halfling: Being small has built in disadvantages, unfortunately. Heavy weapons are out, which does kill off certain build ideas. Stat wise though, it isn’t all bad. Dex is a solid stat to have, and the Stout Halfling also gives Con, which is nice. All in all, it isn’t an obvious route to go, but options do exist.
Human: For the typical Human, the Barbarian isn’t quite the best fit. You lack the perks of other races, and increases in off stats aren’t the most useful thing in the world. That being said, if the Variant Human is allowed, that’s a whole different story. That turns the Human into one of the best choices for a Barbarian, from one of the worst. Having a feat at 1st level completely changes the game for you, and the extra skill is just gravy.
Uncommon Races:
Dragonborn: Str is great, but Cha is less useful. The perks you get though are pretty decent. Resistance to a damage type is always welcome, and an AoE attack (not a great strength of the Barbarian to begin with) that uses Con for the DC is really nice. Being able to regain it after a short rest is also great. The Dragonborn makes for a great Barbarian with a really cool trick up its sleeve.
Gnome: Similar to the Halfling, the small size of the Gnome is a noteworthy hurdle. Unfortunately, stat wise, the Gnome is in a worse place as well. Int is the Barbarian’s big dump stat, so that isn’t a huge help. Having advantage on Int, Wis and Cha saves though, is *very* nice. Neither sub race offers a big advantage though, with the bonus to Dex or Con being the selling point of either.
Half-Elf: On the surface the Half-Elf makes for a somewhat “meh” Barbarian. The bonus to Cha is not the most useful. However, it does have some other nice perks to go along with it. Darkvision, Fey Ancestry and two extra skills are actually nice perks. It makes for a slightly atypical Barbarian, but it isn’t mechanically terrible.
Half-Orc: The stats line up perfectly. Darkvision remains a great choice. Savage Attacks is a pretty strong damage gain. All in all a great choice for an offensively minded Barbarian. Relenless Endurance is a cool feature, but do note that the Barbarian does get something remarkably similar once he hits level 11.
Tiefling: If there was one race that is just flat out bad for the Barbarian in almost every way, it’s the Tiefling. Sadly, the stats don’t line up at all, and the spell casting ability loses a lot of its oomph since you can’t cast whilst Raging. Resistance to fire is nice, but you can grab that with the Dragonborn and come out with better stats and a nicer perk ability.
Now that that’s said and done, here’s the thing about racial abilities: Later in the game, they won’t matter as much. At 15th level, that +1 to your stat has less impact in overall performance. At lower levels though, the difference is much more noticeable. 5e is flat out a harder game at low level than either 3.x or 4e were. It is less forgiving, and getting dropped is really, really easy. Keep that in mind when looking at races. Some races might not have the “oomph” when it comes to doing to damage, but a lot of the survivability perks that they do have will come in really handy during those difficult low levels.
The Class Features:
Rage: Your primary mechanic. Your bread and butter. The apple of your eye. Rage, in this edition, is something that really defines the Barbarian. It is equal parts offence and defence, and is what gives you a leg up when compared to other melee classes. It isn’t tricky, it isn’t subtle, it isn’t flashy. It’s just a solid way of being dominant in melee.
It does have limitations though, and they are important to note:
- No heavy armour allowed. Rage won’t work with anything bigger than medium armour.
- The damage bonus only applies to attacks using Str. No Dex based finesse Raging.
- Melee weapons only. You can swing your hand axe and get the damage bonus, but you lose that bonus if you throw it.
- You can’t cast spells whilst Raging, nor can you keep up concentration on spells already in play.
The ugly part of Raging is that you don’t get your Rages back after a short rest. You need a long rest to regain your uses. This makes you carefully consider when you’ll use these bad boys.
The flashiest part of Rage is the damage bonus. More numbers is always good. More damage means more deader enemies. But the real benefit is the resistance to 3 different damage types. This is especially true at low level. This resistance is what lets the Barbarian stay in melee longer than most other classes, and be less afraid when exchanging hits with the bad guys.
Unarmored Defence: Dex and Con to AC when out of armour is certainly nice, but it will require a better understanding of how magic items will roll out over the edition to see how viable it is. At the moment, a +3 Con and +2 Dex at 1st level (doable with the right race) matches the AC given by a chain shirt. It’s moving past that territory as you level where things get dicey.
Reckless Danger: This is the Risk vs Reward mechanic I mentioned earlier. Have Advantage now, give Advantage later. If you need to drop an enemy quickly, this can be amazing. If you are surrounded though, giving Advantage to multiple enemies could be disastrous. The flip side to this is that it allows you to do some pseudo-tanking. If you’d rather the enemy attack you than say the fragile Wizard nearby, this is some incentive to keep those attacks trained on you.
Danger Sense: This is a great defensive ability. Having Advantage on all Dex based saved will really help keep your hit points high, making you less of a burden on healing resources and keeping you in the fight longer than most other classes.
Primal Path: I’ll go into these more further down.
Ability Score Improvement: Nothing out of the ordinary here. Given how stat intensive the Barbarian is, it’s a bit more of a decision when it comes to stat vs feat.
Extra Attack: In line with classes like the Paladin and Ranger, and behind what the Fighter gets. Barbarians need to make the most of their attacks and with their Action resources.
Fast Movement: Another reason (as if we needed one) to stay out of Heavy Armor. Move speed increases are nice to have, but take some careful thought to truly take advantage of.
Feral Instinct: Moving first is great, especially for the Barbarian. You have the chance to dive in and do some serious damage, and then try and keep enemy attention locked on you and your superior level of hit points. Plan ahead with your party, and you will be able to setup some pretty cool and effective combos.
Brutal Critical: This is where crit fishing may start to become interesting for you. Looking for ways to increase your crit range (3 levels of Fighter, for example) may be interesting. Note that the Half-Orc has a similar ability, which stacks with this, making crits even more dangerous.
Relentless Rage: Again an element of Risk vs Reward. Being able to keep on fighting despite hitting 0 or fewer hit points can be amazing. That being said, it’s also an excellent opportunity for the enemy to have another shot at killing you outright.
Persistent Rage: This ability keeps you Raging even when an effect could stop you. Without it, you drop out of Rage on any turn where you do not attack, or do not take damage. Considering the smattering of spells and other effects that can lead to this, Persistent Rage becomes a welcome addition to an otherwsie somewhat clunky mechanic. Thanks to smbakeresq for pointing this out!
Indomitable Might: Strength is your primary ability and you have Advantage on checks with it whilst Raging. This ability is nice as it helps eliminate terrible rolls, it just feels out of place for an 18th level ability.
Primal Champion: This is icing on the cake. Right now, getting stats above 20 is really, really hard. The ability to get both Str and Con past that threshold is really nice. Of course, it’s a capstone ability, so it should be pretty darn impressive. Right Ranger?
Sub Classes:
The Barbarian has access to 2 subclasses, making it one of the classes with the fewest options in this regard. These two paths have some pretty different flavour, and help flesh out the Barbarian in different ways.
Path of the Berserker:
Skills & Backgrounds:
The Barbarian doesn’t fill the skill monkey role all that well, but they are more than capable of offering good party support in this regard. Barbarians gain advantage on Str based checks whilst Raging, so that is also something that may be good to remember.
Don’t be afraid to use your skill choices to customize your character a bit. Even mechanically weaker skills can still offer a good benefit to the party as a whole.
Class skills:
Animal Handling: Depends on the party makeup. If this can be covered by spell casting it loses a lot of importance.
Athletics: Highly desirable. Climbing alone can be a scary thing. Your natural ability here can be a boon to the party.
Intimidation: Cha is unlikely to be a great stat for you, so this may fall to party makeup. If it fits your concept, great, if it isn’t pivotal, there’s at least 4 classes naturally better than you.
Nature: Whilst thematically appropriate, Int is your traditional dump stat.
Perception: This is close to a “must have”, simply because there are no real diminishing returns for it being covered by multiple characters. It’s that important.
Survival: Very campaign specific, but thematically relevant and nice to have regardless.
Non Class Skills:
Acrobatics: Less important than Athletics, but still nice to have.
Sleight of Hand: A fun option, though not traditionally paired with the Barbarian.
Stealth: Slightly party specific, but with Dex being important to you anyway, this can open up some pretty fun options.
Arcana: Not your strong suit, and somewhat atypical for a Barbarian.
History: Doesn’t play to your strengths, but can be fun if you see your Barbarian as caring about stories and oral history.
Investigation: Also atypical and outside your comfort zone.
Religion: An unlikely pairing.
Insight: Might be thematically appropriate and is a useful tool for the party.
Medicine: Made somewhat irrelevant by the Healer’s Kit.
Deception: Nice to have, but others in your group are probably better at it.
Performance: Fun roleplaying opportunities abound, and potential depth for your character.
Persuasion: Why persuade when you can INTIMIDATE!!!
Backgrounds:
Your background generally gives you 2 skills, maybe a language or two, maybe a tool or two, a special perk, and a small amount of goods/gold. They can help flesh out your character a bit, offer some mechanical help, and help you better define where your Barbarian is coming from.
Acolyte: An atypical choice that may make for an interesting backstory. Religion as a skill isn’t the greatest, but Insight is decent. The extra languages can be useful, though it is not a traditional Barbarian specialty. The perk is fun and flavourful, though possibly campaign/DM specific.
Charlatan: Another odd choice, but potentially fun. The two tool kits can add a really strange layer to your Barbarian. The perk can add some fun roleplaying opportunities. This takes most Barbarians out of their comfort zone, but it isn’t a bad choice.
Criminal: Stealth and Thieves Tools are very solid mechanical choices, especially if you are running without a Rogue in your party. The perk of having a criminal contact is campaign dependant, but not something to be ignored.
Entertainer: Mentally, I always think of something like the circus strongman with this combo. Acrobatics and Performance aren’t bad skills to have, but they don’t really hit the typical Barbarian. The perk does offer some fun character building opportunities.
Folk Hero: Both skills are on your class list, but the tools can be useful. It’s a fun choice from a character standpoint, but it doesn’t wow with the mechanics.
Guild Artisan: The sort of choice that can help define a character and offer some fun options. The rules on crafting things though make this very campaign specific. Without a lot of downtime, well…
Hermit: Mechanically, this is probably the weakest Background for you. The skills don’t compliment your abilities and the perk is barely defined. If I were to stay away from 1 Background, it would be this one.
Noble: Practically the opposite of a traditional Barbarian, it may take some good storytelling chops to pull this one off. The skills don’t mesh that well with you, but access to the Gaming Kit could be fun.
Outlander: Probably the most iconic Background for a Barbarian. The two skills are on your skill list already, but one of them is Athletics, which is great. An extra language is nice, and the musical instrument can add flavour to your character. The perk is nice, though it does step on the toes of the Survival skill a little.
Sage: Like the Hermit, pretty atypical for a Barbarian. The two languages are nice, but the rest is rather “meh”.
Sailor: Two of the best skills for you, sure they’re already on your skill list, but they are good ones make this a fun fit. The perk is campaign specific, but potentially useful. If you use the Pirate Variant, much fun can be had!
Soldier: Some great skill potential here as well. I find the perk pretty restrictive though. It practically requires DM benevolence for it to be useful.
Urchin: Who knew Urchins were this good? Stealth as a skill is great, and both Thieves Tools and the Disguise Kit are fun options. The perk is also pretty great, with tons of opportunity for it to shine in many campaigns.
Feats:
Alert - Always a solid choice, but slightly diminished for a Barbarian who is less impacted by a Surprise round to begin with.
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 - Ranged is not your forte. Pass.
Defensive Duelist - You don’t do finesse. Pass.
Dual Wielder - This is either a good way for extra damage, but be careful. This is incompatible with Frenzy, can’t be done in the same turn you Rage, or used with the Wolf Totem knock down. Otherwise, it does give you the chance to do extra Rage damage, which is good. It can work with careful planning, but may not be the best use of your Bonus Action. Approach with caution. The big issue with this feat is that if you go this route, you pretty much *have* to dip into either Fighter or Ranger to get the associated Fighting Style to be competitive. If you need to multiclass away from your core class to be viable, it's likely not a top tier choice.
Dungeon Delver - Situational and you have class abilities that replicate some of the features. Flavourful, but maybe not the optimum choice.
Durable - Someone better at statistics needs to figure this one out. My guestimate is that it isn’t terrible, but it also isn’t a top tier choice.
Elemental Adept - Nope.
Grappler - As the Barbarian has a very natural affinity for Grappling, this feat can be a nice boon to have. This feat gives you the ability to restrain the enemy, which can be useful and also plays well into the Risk vs Reward style of play. It can be a little situational, but it's absolutely a fun trick to pull out when it applies.
Great Weapon Master - If you plan on using a Great Weapon, there is zero reason not to take this feat. The cleave effect is really nice, but do make note that it eats up your bonus action. The second half of the feat that allows to take a penalty to hit isn’t my favourite, but I hate to have anything affect my to hit. Somebody better at math will need to figure out the specifics though.
Healer - This isn’t really the Barbarian’s bag.
Heavily Armored - Bad choice. Too many of your class features don’t allow for Heavy Armor.
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.
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 bit. It isn’t bad, but the impact of a single die at d6 isn’t terribly significant. There are better options available.
Medium Armor Mastery - Your Con is generally higher than your Dex, which may limit how useful the feat is. If you aim for the Medium armour route you may see some benefit, but your stats may line up better for the unarmored route, in which case avoid.
Mobile - If you are going for the high mobility route via the Eagle Totem, this can actually play nicely into your bag of skills. This one depends on your party makeup.
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.
Polearm Master - This feat gets a lot of love from those building melee characters, and for good reason. The ability to use your opportunity attack on people closing in with your is great. Just be careful how you mix it in. If you are a Berserker and gain the Retaliation ability, this feat loses some steam. Just make sure you understand what you are spending your Actions on routinely, and what you *will* be spending your actions on in the future before grabbing this feat. That being said, the Barbarian can make amazing use out of this based on the Action economy of this edition. Plan your build accordingly.
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.
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 used ranged attacks enough to really warrent a feat investment in them.
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 - Very cool flavour, but outside of fulfilling your character concept, you aren’t likely to see a ton of use out of this unless your DM skews the campaign in that direction, or unless you really want to invest in a Grappler.
Tough - Again, someone better at math may want to chime in here, but I’m not sold on the value. Increasing your Con by 2 instead gives you 1 extra hit point per level, a better Con save and potentially an increase in AC. The Barbarian I think, can do better.
War Caster - You are not a caster.
Weapon Master - You are already proficient with every weapon in the game.
Multiclassing:
Here, I want to make just a quick look at some options, along with the concept of a “dip” to grab some goodies from another class. I’m going to leave some of the finer points of multiclassing up to the individual though, especially anything that takes away from the character being majority Barbarian.
The biggest issue for Multi-Classing with the Barbarian are the stat requirements. Whilst meeting the Str or Dex requirements are most certainly not an issue, Wis based classes are a little tough, and Int or Cha based ones are almost certainly not going to be doable.
I'm not going to color grade this section simply because it falls more into the character concept side of things than true optimization. I'll simply offer a few thoughts per class. As always, this is geared for characters that are primarily Barbarian. Meaning that is the character gets to level 20, at least 11 of those levels are Barbarian levels.
Bard - The Cha investment is too high for the typical Barbarian to make. Whilst this makes for a flavourful style of character, the mechanics don't interact all that well. Since you cannot cast spells whilst Raging, it becomes tough to really justify the experience. Still, this is a path you can consider if you want to be more of a skillmonkey, or perhaps have a small selection of spells to use in instances when you aren't Raging.
Cleric - The Wis requirement may be a little tough for some races/builds, but it should at least be doable. The biggest issue you run into is that you don't gain as much s other classes when you hit this route. Most others are looking for Martial Weapons (which you have) or Heavy Armor (which you don't want). That being said, the NAture Domain is pretty thematically appropriate, and while it makes you an atypical Barbarian, the Divine Strike ability at 8th level can be a fun thing to have.
Druid - I'll admit to a level of bias with this one. I love the idea of a shapeshifting Bear Barbarian. A raging bear is just so much fun in my mind. Like the Cleric, the 13 Wis is a little build dpendant, so it may not be the best choice. Look a little further below for more thoughts on this specific pairing.
Fighter - By far the most natural choice. Even just a few Fighter levels can give you a ton of versatility in your playstyle. The Champion sub-class may be your more typical match thematically, but I'm a huge fan of going the Battle Master route. Having on demand abilities that cause effects and up damage are great, especially when the recharge on a short rest. Most Barbairans won't have the Int to make it as an Eldritch Knight, though it may actually be possible to do so using only Abjuration spells.
Monk - Again, the Wis could be troublesome depending on your build. The big issue with this pairing is that there is some innate incompatibility here. Martial Arts only functions with Monk weapons, which are pretty atypical for most Barbarians. You also can't be using a Shield, which eliminates tank builds. This leaves you with either a dual wielding style build or with a Polearm Master build using a quarterstaff. The other immediate issue is that the Unarmored Defense ability is wasted. I'm not saying that this is a bad build, just that it's atypical and will require some outside of the box thinking to make work.
Paladin - Oh how I wish this build were easier to do, but the Cha investment is really rough. Funelling spells into Divine Smite whilst Raging just sounds like a blast. I like the favor and fun of the pairing, but mechanically it just doesn't work out.
Ranger - You can fit into this pairing pretty easily as well. The only real issue is that for the most part, you get a lot more out of multiclassing with the Fighter than you do with the Ranger. Still, this is a very sound fit thematically, and it's not bad, not at all, mechanically. Part of the issue though comes from the fact that a lot of the Ranger's "oomph" comes from spellcasting. Since you can't do this and Rage at the same time, it is a clunky fit at best. The odd thing is that a few levels with the Hunter archetype can actually help your tanking ability. Strange, but abilities like Horde Breaker and Escape the Horde can go a long way towards your multi-enemy abilities.
Rogue - This can work for a very thematic build, but the restrictions on Sneak Attack make it a tough one to mix with the typical Barbarian. Really, the money abilities that the Rogue gives you are
Cunning Action, Uncanny Dodge and Evasion. All of which can really help with your tanking. The Assassin Archetype gives you some useful kits as well as the Assassinate ability, which synergizes nicely with the Barbarian.
Sorcerer - The Cha requirement remains a big issue. The other problem rests in the fact that the Sorcerer relies so much on casting, and this just doesn't mesh with Rage. It's not an impossible mix, but you will likely face some issues when it comes to effectiveness in combat.
Warlock - Cha rears its ugly head once more... Warlocks are a bit of a strange beast insomuch as it almost looks like there's synergy, but so much really depends on using spells that it just hurts the overall effectiveness of the character. For me, this looks mostly like a quick 2 level dip for some flavour abilities, but not much more than that.
Wizard - Yay! Not Cha! Boo! Int! Like the Sorcerer, the Wizard is just based so much on spellcasting that it become difficult to synergize with the Barbarian. Outside of a specific flavour build, there isn't much to be said for the pairing.
The Dip
In essence, you grab a level or 2 of another class to gain some abilities/proficiencies that you lack. The Barbarian, as a whole, can benefit from this, but not quite so much as other classes. Given the Barbarian aversion to heavy armour, most of the traditional dips have less value. So while other characters may grab a level of Fighter to gain Heavy Armor (taking the Fighter level at level 1), the Barbarian doesn’t get that benefit. This does give the Barbarian the benefit of not taking a level in another class first, which can really hamper your character concept.
Fighter 1 or 2 levels - The benefits here are pretty straight forward. A small self heal which is nice at low level, but loses oomph as you go higher, and the Fighting Style ability. The Fighting Style ability is really, really nice. A tankier Barbarian benefits well from the Duelist ability to pop out additional damage. A TWF Barbarian gains a great deal of extra damage from the related ability as well. The GWF related ability is also nice, but a smudge lower than the other two. The others in general don’t measure up quite as nicely.
If you want that second Fighter level, you have two options. If you are thinking about the crit fishing route, the Champion Improved Critical ability is very strong. But it’s an all or nothing idea. If you aren’t going to work at crit fishing, it may not be all that. On the other hand, the Battle Master gives you some great utility abilities, as well as some increased damage when using them. Regaining your damage dice after a short rest is really nice too, as it gives you a little something between Rages.
Other dips are possible, but they don’t give you the same return on investment that the Fighter dip does.
Multi-Classing Example
In terms of more in depth multi classing, just make sure that you keep an eye on the stat requirements. Anything with an Int or Cha stat requirement is unlikely to be met unless you play against type. Str is obviously the easiest to hit, but Wis can be doable. This brings me to one I like, that while not amazingly optimized, is still a slot of fun:
Barbarian/Druid of the Moon- I’ll leave the level breakdown to you, but I’d suggest either levels 6, 8 or 9 for the Druid levels. 6 and 9 are the breakpoint for where the Druid gains access to new CR forms, whereas 8 gives you access to both swimming and flying forms as well as access to all 5 ability boosts.
The fun part of the combo is that just about all of your Barbarian combat goodies work whilst in Beast form. Rage will give you some added survivability and damage, which is great, and you are less fearful of Dex based saves than the traditional Druid would be. Given that you are unlikely to actually want to cast spells, you can use your spell slots for self healing as a bonus action. Not too shabby. Then, after you’ve taken enough damage, shift back and you’re still a capable Barbarian.
Weapon Selection:
The Barbarian has some odd limitations on what weapons are really effective for him. Rage requires a Str based melee weapon, so finesse weapons and ranged attacks are out. This leaves you with Str based attacks generally using one of three setups:
Great Weapon - The simplest path to high damage, but not necessarily the best. Feat synergy is pretty strong, but it is feat intensive which will impact your stats. It’s classic Barbarian though, and still a very solid choice, and pretty economical in regards to your Actions. Consider looking into the Polearm Master and Great Weapon Master feats, while also looking at Sentinel. Weapon wise, for pure damage you want to look at the Maul and Greatsword, or if you go the Polearm route the Glaive and Halberd.
Two Weapon Fighting - This build *really* benefits from that 1 level dip in Fighter to get your Str damage on your off hand weapon. It also pretty much requires the Dual Wielder feat (which has a small increase in AC, which is just gravy here). This build will likely yield the most potential damage per round, you just have to be careful with your bonus actions. Remember that things like Rage take one, as do other feats and the knock down from the Wolf Totem ability. Mixing damage types will likely yield the best results, so pick 2 of Battleaxe/longsword (slashing), Morningstar (piercing), Warhammer (bludgeoning). That being said, if your concept rocks two of the same weapons for visual synergy, then go for it!
Sword and Board - Increased survivability is always nice. A Barbarian with a shield makes for a nice tank. A Barbarian with a shield and the Shield Master feat makes for one of the best tanks in the game as your abilities synergies so well with it. A 1 level dip into Fighter will help bring your damage up with the Duelist Fighting Style. Preferred weapons here are the battle-axe, longsword and war hammer.
Armor -vs- No Armor
Generally speaking, your stats will determine whether you should go the medium armour or the no armour route (light armour is seldom applicable). Which option works best will likely change as you level, and in direct relation to your wealth and your stats. Your Dex modifier will likely range between +1 and +3, depending on race and stat allocation, whilst your Con modifier will likely be in the +2 to +3 area. The sweet spot is AC 15-16. That’s the best you can afford in Medium armour at level 1, along with a +2 Dex mod. (If you care about sneaking, you’ll have he Chain Shirt and a base AC of 13, if you don’t you’ll have Scale Mail and a base AC of 14). If your Con + Dex modifiers together give you an AC bonus of +5 or better, you are likely better off going unarmored. If not, then it’s medium armour city for you.
-=Reserved=-
Changelog
Sept 14, 2014
- Multiclassing: Fleshed out the section a bit more, adding thoughts on specific Barbarian/Class options.
- All Sections: Minor formatting changes.
Sept 13, 2014
- Feats: Changed Dual Wielder from Blue to Black. I still think that this can be a path to high damage, the issue at hand is that it requires a dip into Fighter or Ranger to be effective. It's a required investment that other builds (GWF or sword & board) just don't need.
- Feats: Changed Polearm Master from Blue to Sky Blue. No matter how I slice it, this feat is just a great investment. It uses your Actions extremely well, and can be combo'd with other fun items to increase overall value. It's just a great way to really spread Rage damage around.
Nice guide, I agree with a lot of it.
You're overrating Charger imo. It'll happen once or twice a combat, for +5 damage and taking up your entire turn. Not a great way to spend a feat/ABI compared to many of the other options.
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I think you underrate Grappler. Advantage on attacks against whoever you grapple is nice and means you don't need the downside of Reckless when grappling. Playing as a grappler also provides good stickiness, equivalent to Sentinel in that regard.
If you have the Wolf totem spirit you and all melee get advantage against an immobile enemy with no significant downside (unlike e.g. prone), making this better than the Wolf Attunement Knockdown (prone disadvantages ranged attacks), although it eats up an entire attack rather than a bonus.
Barbarian is the best class at grappling with Rage giving them advantage on the Athletics contest check and the extra movement allowing additional drag distance if you want to move the grappled target.
Weapons would be Warhammer/Longsword/War Axe for the versatility of d8/d10 whether you want a free hand to grapple at that moment.
Definitely a workable flavour option. Maybe not optimal for all situations but not trash-tier either.
----
For multi-classing another option is to take 3-5 Barbarian levels, then go Rogue. Wear medium armor, wield a rapier using Strength, shield for additional AC so you can Reckless Attack when you feel like it. Or ditch the shield and reckless attack, go grappling sneak attacks!
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Jell_Moo wrote:
1eejit wrote:
ppaladin123 wrote:
Two weapon fighitng(purple) versus great weapon fighting (sky blue). ( don't know how to add color)
Being a barbarian, great weapon is the obvious better choice and here why:
two weapon fighting require your bonus action. If you go path of the beserker, you receive a additional acttack using your bonus action. If you are doing two weapon fighting you will do 1d6 (light weapon) +5 (strenght) if you have a great weapon you will do 2d6/1d10 or 1d12 (greatsword, glaive or greataxe) +5(strenght). Then Great weapon master (the feat) also give you an additional attack with your bonus action if you crit or if you kill a creature. Considerign that you are a barbarian, with a great weapon, and advantage on your attack (recless attack) and even with the -5attack/+10damage you should most likely hit the target and most likely kill it, giving you an additional attack with advantage and +10 damage.
On top of this, if you dip 3 level in fighter to get champion and crit with a 19, with advantage, that give you 20% crit per attack. at level 5 when you get your 2nd attack, so that give you 40% chance to crit per round so you kill one of the little minion to get your bonus action or you got 40% chance to crit and gain your 3rd attack. plus the action surge which if you fail to kill something and fail to crit, you can have one more action which can be translate in 2 weapon attack to kill a target and increase your crit chance even more.
With great weapon master, path of the beserker become a lot less appealing since they are very redundant. Path of the berserker give you a bonus attack all the time, great weapon master give you a bonus attack very often (dependanting on the situation) and could be as high as 90% of the time if there is many little minion around the big target. and give the advantage to the animal spirit path.
with Brutal critical (and half orc savage attack) you add your weapon dice to the damage, so if you use a great weapon you add 1d12 or 1d10 on a crit (1d6 if you take the greatsword, but for this reason I beleive greataxe is slightly better specially if you are both barbarian AND half orc, with a light weapon you can add 1d6 (1d8 if you take the two weapon feat)
I do not believe that two weapon fighting can get even near this kind of damage and combo.
Even for tanking, I believe that great weapon is better then sword and board because a dead ennemy is an ennemy unable to attack the wizard, so you do your job as a tank. Doing that kind of damage, is deterrent enought for any ennemy to not move away from you so you don't need sentinel.
Personnaly I love the combo greatweapon fighting/polearm master which let you use your reaction for a 4th attack if the target come close to you.
one more commment: the wolf path that let you prone the target, is great for YOU and all the othe rmelee friend in your team, but your ranged party member won't be happy since they have disavantage to attack a prone target further then 5ft. If your team is mostly melee, then yes wolf should be blue sky, but if your team is moslty ranges then it should be red and some DM could even consider that as disruptive to the group since you are giving disavantage to the range players.
Jell_Moo wrote:
Sorxores wrote:
1eejit wrote:
For the math side :
Durable is better for low HD classes. At level 1, you will recover at best 2 extra hp : {2*3 = 6 hp} instead if {1+3 = 4} hp, for an average of {3/12 = 0.25 hp}. A primal champion gains {21/12 = 1.75 hp}. The alternate interpretation offers 4 extra hp at high level as it almost insures you'll get the maximum back.
Great Weapon Master balances out if you half your chance of hitting to double your damage. Such as when you do 10 damages on 11+, using GWM would do 20 damages on 16+. At level 1 against an AC11 creature it average 2 extra damage. For a primal champion where you do around 17 damage, the creature must have less than AC19 to break even.
Tough is best for a class with low HD that wont improve its constitution, such as a monk. And it does not help for recovery.
And if you want to reach 24 Str/Con, you'll only have 1 feat and only if you start 16/16. Variant human can start with Athlete, Resilient(Dex) or Tavern Brawler and get a second feat if they gimp their mental abilities.
If you want to min max but still use "two weapon fighting" use pole arm mastery. The feat lets you attack with the handle as a bonus action with a d4, but you use all your mods, it just says attack with out the TWF conditions. With a human barbarian in rage at first level it first level with 16 str you get an attack for d10+7 and then the bonus attack at d4+7, and it costs you only one feat and no fighter levels. At first level that's an average damage of 22, with a top of 28. The ability to add your mods trumps any die size, and will scale better. It also has the advantage of only needing one magic weapon later; in addition, the handle attack is bludgeoning, a different damage type.
If you take the great weapon fighting feat later this greatly helps that feat, you have 2 chances to crit and if using reckless, you can choose the -5 penalty on both attacks for +10 on each; advantage on both attack rolls cancels the -5 out, I read somewhere a reroll is equivalent to a +5 bonus. That's + 20 dmg if both hit.
Used in this way to me the pole arm master becomes GOLD to me, it has advantage over sentinel because the DM doesn't have to let you use it. Sentinel reads better than it plays, smart DM will just walk creatures up to you and fire away without moving, since you will be on the front lines you will generally have the lowest AC and be the biggest hitter, a sure fire recipe to get focused fired anyway. Sentinel is better on the Fighter, who will have more AC then you. With pole arm master the DM will be forced to approach you and eat attack or let you rage away.
The barb has less pressure on his bonus actions then other classes, the pole arm master feat gives an additional attack option that will be as hard hitting as a fighter with TWF and the Dual Wielding Feat.
This is better if you dip into fighter until level 3, you can get increased crit chance plus great weapon fighting, which as written applies to bonus attack with pole arm master too, although the effect is small because of the d4. However the 3 levels of fighter puts 2 additional bonus actions in your pool, probably best used in non rage combats. This will cost you your capstone though and slower access to barbarian archetypes. If keen weapons are available I do not think I would do this, just stick with base classes and get that keen weapon.
For one feat to give you an extra chance at an opportunity attack and the equivalent of the fighter TWF it seems far to good to pass up if you want to go in that direction. It also allows you to enjoy full TWF option and stay a barbarian to get that great capstone.
P.S. I just read where the developers tweeted that the pole arm master feat works when the enter at 10' for glaive, pike or halberd and at 5' (next to you) for quarter staff. In this case I would talk to my DM like I have and argue that my maul or great axe has a 5 foot handle and I should be able use it just like the staff for purposes of that feat. The flavor is strong.
The persistent rage benefit will come later at higher levels, where paralysis, hold spells, freezing breath, dominate, etc will come into play. The DM will freeze you out of a round without doing hp dmg to end you rage. An effect that doesn't allow you to move but far enough away not to attack, that sort of thing.
Great guide by the way!
bid wrote:
A few tidbits:
Polearm Master vs TWF: Some great points being raised. Polearm Master requires the feat and little else to be effective. You can dip in Fighter and see improvement, but you really do not have to. That's a great strength. TWF *requires* that dip, without it, the style is lacklustre. Damage wise, you pull out ever so slightly ahead with TWF, before you take into account the raction attack that the polearm nets you, which is great. You just need to make sure that it doesn't interfere with another ability that uses your reaction on a regular basis (like Retliation, for example).
What TWF does give you though, and it's a very unsung perk, is +1 to AC. On the surface, it seems piddling. But, AC is actually bought at a fair premium in this edition, at least at this point in time. That little bonus can actually make a pretty fair difference in how you perform. It is not a huge difference, but it does give you a better opportunity to prtotect yourself against multiple opponents, and it also gives you the smallest bit of extra protection for your Reckless Danger ability.
That being said, I may look at re-writing the weapon section at some point, because I seem to be conveying the notion that TWF is my prefered method of combat which isn't what I was trying to get across. I may break it down more inti an "Offense" and "Defense" type of breakdown, rather than purely by weapon layout. I do appreaciate the feedback though! There is a lot of food for thought there.
In regards to the Fighter dip, I still remain fairly convinced that if you are going to go for the 3 level commitment, that the Battle Master subclass gives you more bang for your buck than the Champion. Again, this is more in the territory for a math expert to really chime in when it comes to pure damage numbers, but I'm a fan of on demand damage with a fairly nice effect, especially when it recharges on a short rest.
This guide is awesome. If I were making a straight up barbarian, I'd definitely be following all of the advice above. I think you defintely hit the nail on the head with the Risk vs Reward methodology.
I could use a little help with my character. I am making a roleplaying character first and foremost.
It is a human barbarian rogue named Babapapa. Modeled after Robert E Howard's Conan and your typical Lousiana Bayou Redneck with a devil may care attitude and a lust for adventure who strives to live life to it's fullest. Rumor has it, that he may be the bastard child of the swamp witch Babayaga. Often thought of as just a big stupid barbarian, as he often allows people to think so, he is really quite the cunning wolf (totem path). (*I thought about renaming the Bear totem "Swamp Dragon" aka Alligator, or rename the Eagle totem for the Raven)
I used the variant human creation rule, (Stats = Str:14, Dex:16, Con:16, Int:10, Wis:10, Cha:8) I have taken the Alert feat, and I have chosen the Criminal background. I am dual weilding scimitars. My goal at this time is to get him to second level as a barbarian and third level as a rogue as fast as possible. I am shooting for the Rogue's 3rd level Assassinate ability that allows me to auto crit if I successfully strike first in combat combined with the barbarian's Reckless Attack ability which gives me advantage and thus allows sneak attack. After 5th level I may or may not dip one level into Fighter class for the Two Weapon fighting style. I do know that I want to get to at least 4th level in each class for the bonus feats or ability bonus.
I recently made third level as a barabarian with this character and I am looking to rebuild him. Just because I am making a Roleplaying character doesn't mean I want to play a "gimped" character. I would like some advice on how to make this concept more efficient/effective without losing the character concept. What kind of level progression would you recommend? Below is the route I think I will most likely go;
1st - Barbarian - Rage (must have the HP and damage resistance)
2nd - Barbarian - Reckless Attack (must have that advantage, and this fits his carefree personality perfectly)
3rd - Rogue - Sneak Attack (combined with Reckless attack, very nice, which also fits his deceptively cunning personality as well), Expertise in Stealth and Perception.
4th - Rogue - Cunning Action (must have that combat versitility)
5th - Rogue - Assassinate (combined with +8 initiative, advantage, and sneak attack damage from the earlier abilities!)
6th - ?
7th - ?
8th - ?
9th - ?
10th - ?
11th - ?
12th - ?
* it should be noted that I rarely play characters past 12th level.
What feats would you recommend for this concept, or would you recommend Stat bonuses? Do you think dipping into fighter is worth it? If so, how many levels? Any feedback is greatly appreciated.
Jell_Moo wrote:
Grappler sucks. It restrains you as well as the target and is in most cases flat-out worse than Tavern Brawler's grab+prone combo.
jwraper wrote:
Jay_Ibero_911 wrote:
1eejit wrote:
jwraper wrote:
Jay_Ibero_911 wrote:
1eejit wrote:
Jay_Ibero_911 wrote:
1eejit wrote:
Prone is simply awful with ranged attackers in your team. They have to go into melee range to avoid disadvantage. That puts them at the mercy of the target should it break grapple and stand or at the mercy of any allies of your target. Big Bads often have backup.
On the other hand restrained gives your ranged attackers advantage, from range. Much superior.
Houserules? Hah! It's simply interpretation of the rules. Grappling is "wrestling with a creature", that's not really viable while standing at your full height while the target is lying on the ground. Unless you're a gnome I guess. 5E is all about DMs interpreting a set of flexible rules based on common sense. No need to cry and call one using their common sense an awful DM.
Level 3 Bear and Wolf, and the level 14 totems work in heavy armor.
Level 3 bear in paticular gives you back most of the rage benifit. You still lose the damage boost, but you'll be very very tanky.
Otherwise, nice job.
Worth noting for the Shield Master feat is that by RAW your shove action to prone the target can occur prior to your other attack, gaining advantage on all of them. (Bonus actions can be taken at any point during your turn.)
Shoving is a contested strength (athletics) test vs either strength (athletics) or dexterity (acrobatics). While raging, you enjoy advantage on strength checks so have a great likelihood of winning the contest.
There's also some situational bonuses to shoving a target 5' away from you, such as if fighting at the edge of a cliff or freeing a grappled ally from that state.
Finally, Shield Master is a direct enhancement to Danger Sense - you have advantage vs dexterity saving throws from effects that you can see, with shield bonus to the save if it targets only you, and on a successful save you can spend your reaction to take zero damage.
A barbarian using a shield is probably going with path of the totem warrior, if Frenzy was drawing their eye to path of the berserker they're probably also looking at great weapons. This feat gives you a better version of the level 14 wolf totem attunement.
Sword and Board is probably one of the less likely Barbarian combos, but for those that go that route, Shield Master has a lot to offer.
Jay_Ibero_911 wrote:
1eejit wrote:
Yunru wrote:
There is, however, a clear definition as to what they do. And since they both do the same thing, it doesn't matter how the DM decides it's done, the end result is the same.
1eejit wrote:
Getting hit by all their attacks is ideal, this conversation started comparing Sentinel VS Grappler for tanking. You want the enemy to focus on you if you're considering these feats. Your Barbarian is one of the least squishy classes around, with the resistance, d12 HP and a lot of benefit to getting a good CON score.
Tanking is not taking the most damage possible. It's reducing the most damage possible (generally by taking it yourself instead of having the squishies take it). Which Prone + Grab does better (since you also don't take as much damage).
Yunru wrote:
Yunru wrote:
Unfortunately, the best Druid forms require Druid 15:
Elementals are immune to exhaustion.
1eejit wrote:
imho the dwarf, particularly the Mountain/Shield dwarf deserves a better rating.
You mentioned half-orc's darkvision and dragonborn's resistance as a plus. Dwarf has darkvision,too...as well as a resistance (poison) and advantage to saving throws (poison). Sure, a dragonborn with red/gold ancestry may have fire resistance, but resistance to poison is better than none.
The half-orc's Savage Attacks and Relentless Endurance are very nice. I especially like the latter, Still the barbarian is not really a crit fisher unless he wields a keen weapon and Relentless Rage and Brutal Critical also soften the impact of those two feats during a barb's career. Though they both are a major factor for the half-orc being the prime pick for a barbarian.
The dwarf's Stonecunning and Tool Proficiency may not bring anything in case of combat, though you could at least build/repair your own weaponry if choosing the smith's tools they might only be of use, if your DM makes something out of it.
Nevertheless the mountain dwarfs +2STR +2CON has great impact in the ability line-up, since you can go for STR 16, DEX 14, CON 16, WIS 12, INT 8, CHA 12 by 27 point buy. That's only one negative ability modifier, while the others are at plus. The half-orc needs to spend 9 points ro get CON 16 at lvl1 and the dragonborn can't even get there before lvl4.
I'd recommend a barbarian going greataxe instead of maul or greatsword. Even if you're not an orc, the 1d12 ends up out-damaging the 2d6 (once you get brutal critical) unless you're attacking low AC enemies.
The only thing that might change this is if you get great weapon fighting style by multiclassing, which is better for greatswords/mauls. That makes it about even. So a non-orc barbarian with brutal critical AND great weapon fighting style attacking a medium AC (50% of hitting) enemy would have about the same damage per swing with a maul or greataxe. Greatswords/mauls would be still be better with low AC and greataxes would be better against high AC. But, if you're playing an orc, and/or if you get an expanded crit range through multiclassing, the greataxe starts to outshine the others more handily.
That being said, the numbers are fairly close, so there's no reason not to go for the style you like.
Seems that the polearm is a very good weapon at lower lvls, since you already got a 3 attacks at lvl 5 and they are all supported by str mod and the damage bonus from rage. Plus it's easier to achieve an OA. This should make Recklessness also more worthwhile.
If you can manage the Wis 13, 3 levels of Ranger gets you Horde Breaker, which gives you a free extra attack (no action needed) when two enemies are adjacent to each other and you attack one of them. You don't even need to hit the original target!
A bit of a hefty price to pay, but that could go well with a great weapon, helping with not having any AoEs of your own.
Steerpike84 wrote:
the_move wrote:
FluffyBunbunKittens wrote:
Jell_Moo wrote:
mellored wrote:
I am thinking about playing a mountain dwarf barbarian wielding a halberd. The reach might compensate a bit for the missing 5 ft and I think having 3 attacks at lvl5 + one more as a possible oa/reaction might make Recklessness more worthwile. Especially if you can dish out more attacks than you'll have to take. Also the 10ft speed increase might soften the dwarfs disadvantage, since 7 ft move is still pretty good. Going for Berserker, because not being charmed or even be able to temporarily breaking out of charms is gold imho.
Jell_Moo wrote:
FluffyBunbunKittens wrote:
Jell_Moo wrote:
Markus.l wrote:
Also you can get a bonus action attack so easily that Frenzying for one really seems a lackluster choice.
Just wanted to say, this is a really well-written guide!
I usually have little interest in playing a Barbarian and generally skip them in reading the PHB, so while I'm not sure why I opened this guide I'm sure glad I did.
Consistent formatting, clear and thorough descriptions, and a genuine commitment to highlighting out-of-combat uses for options and interesting seeds for alternative builds (among other reasons), make this - IMHO - a model guide. You've actually got me thinking about rolling one up for my next game. Strong work!
Jell_Moo wrote:
ittyan wrote:
Markus.l wrote:
Note: Level 17 Eagle choice can be bonkers when combined with a Barbarian's natural grappling capability (high strength, advantage on opposed grapple checks, an Extra attack action).
Couple this with taking the Eagle choice from level 3 AND the increased speed? You're looking at grabbing a mook, hitting him once with Extra Attack, bonus action to "Dash" then fly 80 feet in the air for a beautiful pile driver...
(also, Grappler the feat, is garbage. Shoving is better, and you can easily get advantage, anyway...)
Great guide, though! Making a really fat dwarf with max constitution at the sacrifice of a little strength. Oh the joyous times he shall have!
On the two not-greatweapon options...
TWF: If you are playing in a random magic item campaign, TWF (with Dual-Wielder) gives you the most options to be able to use what you come across. So you don't run into a 'meh, another artifact that is not polearm/rapier/heavy weapon, toss it on the pile' situation in a gang of nothing but specialists/casters.
Shield Master: this synergizes the hell out of Barbarian, it's shocking, really.
- shove (at advantage in Rage for being a Str check) to get advantage for your two attacks, without having to Reckless Attack for it
- shoving also gives advantage to your melee friends, without having to rely on Wolf (leaving you free to pick Bear instead)
- shield bonus to Dex save, when you are the only class with Str primary (good for shoves), but can still expect a good Dex score too
- no damage from successful AoE saves, when you also get advantage on most Dex saves...
I had not realized just how good Shield Master + Barb combo looked before this list. It made me revise my previously-TWF plans for my Barb for tomorrow's gaming session.
On Danger Sense... why does it specify that you need to be able to see the effect? Rather than being a blanket 'adv on Dex saves unless you are blinded etc', it puts in that extra qualifier.
If an orc shaman fires at you with a burst of flame, it's much easier for your danger sense than a blast of freezing air? What if it's foggy outside, can you then see this invisible air attack moving? What if the trap is a poison needle under your thumb, is that visible or not, seeing how it could be on the other side of a lever and under your palm?
Why is it phrased like that? Because that is sooo natural language?
[quote="FluffyBunbunKittens"]
On the two not-greatweapon options...
TWF: If you are playing in a random magic item campaign, TWF (with Dual-Wielder) gives you the most options to be able to use what you come across. So you don't run into a 'meh, another artifact that is not polearm/rapier/heavy weapon, toss it on the pile' situation in a gang of nothing but specialists/casters.
Shield Master: this synergizes the hell out of Barbarian, it's shocking, really.
- shove (at advantage in Rage for being a Str check) to get advantage for your two attacks, without having to Reckless Attack for it
[/quote
Wouldn't the bonus action shove from the Sheld Master feat come after the attack action? If so, you'd have to wait for the next round to take advantage of their prone state--though, I'm sure they'd be standing by then 
[quote="Tal-eth"]
FluffyBunbunKittens wrote:
Thanks for a stellar write-up.
One thing to consider with feats is that some feats come with the stats increase. That makes Athlete, Tavern Brawler, Resilient, and Durable far more desirable.
barbarously wrote:
IxidorRS wrote:
I love barbarians. They have their choice of being the highest DPR character in the game. They alternatively can choose to be one of the tankiest ones.
How about a Human Variant Barb build please? What feat would you all suggest a player take at lvl 1 for this build and what other feats do you recommend if using a Greatsword?
Also, at level 4 should I do the ability score increase or another feat?
Definitely take the Greatweapon Fighting feat. While raging, Reckless Attack makes it so great!
Don't know if you plan on including this build, but it looks like a Dex/Con Stout Halfling with Totem of the Bear is the tankiest tank in the entire 5th Edition. That resist all but psychic from Rage is incredible. I can send you a sample build if you want.
robmox wrote:
smbakeresq wrote:
Why no one is considering a barbarian dex build?
Tardis wrote:
HermanTheWize wrote:
Tardis wrote:
Hell I looked at the Warforged and thought "I'm going to make a Warforged Dex-Babe."
Beside the class featues could you post what level you get them, somethnig just a little convenient for the reader, but not a big deal.
Example:
Unarmored Defence(Level 1): Dex and Con to AC when out of armour is certainly nice, but it will require a better understanding of how magic items will roll out over the edition to see how viable it is. At the moment, a +3 Con and +2 Dex at 1st level (doable with the right race) matches the AC given by a chain shirt. It’s moving past that territory as you level where things get dicey.
Reckless Danger(Level 2): This is the Risk vs Reward mechanic I mentioned earlier. Have Advantage now, give Advantage later. If you need to drop an enemy quickly, this can be amazing. If you are surrounded though, giving Advantage to multiple enemies could be disastrous. The flip side to this is that it allows you to do some pseudo-tanking. If you’d rather the enemy attack you than say the fragile Wizard nearby, this is some incentive to keep those attacks trained on you.
Danger Sense(Level 2): This is a great defensive ability. Having Advantage on all Dex based saved will really help keep your hit points high, making you less of a burden on healing resources and keeping you in the fight longer than most other classes.
Primal Path(Level 3): I’ll go into these more further down.
Ability Score Improvement(Level 4): Nothing out of the ordinary here. Given how stat intensive the Barbarian is, it’s a bit more of a decision when it comes to stat vs feat.
Extra Attack(Level 5): In line with classes like the Paladin and Ranger, and behind what the Fighter gets. Barbarians need to make the most of their attacks and with their Action resources....
Edit: Btw awesome guide, looks like a lot of work went into it and I want you to know I appreciate the effort.
Tardis wrote:
FrogReaver wrote:
22 ac Includes a shield. Barbarian 5 rogue 15 is actually a good way to build a tough rogue. (I personally wouldn't call it a barbarian though)
Jamwes wrote:
FrogReaver wrote:
Yunru wrote:
Heck, even just in general Dex Babes have better ranged damage.
Yunru wrote:
FrogReaver wrote:
mellored wrote:
FrogReaver wrote:
mellored wrote:
FrogReaver wrote:
So a quiver of maybe 4 javalins. I like that. It still doesn't solve the having to attack at range the whole fight but it gets you through a decent portion of it. I'm sure most DM's can be convinced to allow 2 quivers of javalins to be used and so that would get you really close to enough for the whole fight. Thanks, I like that.
You could always accary around a brace of daggers, since you can actually use Str to attack with those too.
Ghost_Gallus wrote:
FrogReaver wrote:
Enough isn't a number
mellored wrote:
Yunru wrote:
Monk - Again, the Wis could be troublesome depending on your build. The big issue with this pairing is that there is some innate incompatibility here. Martial Arts only functions with Monk weapons, which are pretty atypical for most Barbarians. You also can't be using a Shield, which eliminates tank builds. This leaves you with either a dual wielding style build or with a Polearm Master build using a quarterstaff. The other immediate issue is that the Unarmored Defense ability is wasted. I'm not saying that this is a bad build, just that it's atypical and will require some outside of the box thinking to make work.
...
Excuse me while I make a hodgepot Sniper class.
Yunru wrote:
What stats do you aim for a Barbarian? Half Orc or Human Variant?
Str 15
Dex 14
Con 15
Int 8
Wis 10
Cha 8?
The first target is to get Greater Weapon Master then get Str. to 20 then con?
Seuleslintan wrote:
@FrogReaver When are you going to get yourself a image for your account?
HermanTheWize wrote:
FrogReaver wrote:
HermanTheWize wrote:
FrogReaver wrote:
In my attempt to understand why people are so adverse to taking the Tough feat, I did some calculating.
The total health added from toughness by the time you hit lvl 20 is 40 health.
Please note that I am not telling you that it adds ANOTHER 40 health when you hit lvl 20, but that you have gained a total of 40 health over the course of time. This is the same no matter when you take the feat and no matter what other feats you have.... it is a guaranteed deal. 40 extra hit points.
Now, the issue is, that you delay a conmod increase. I ran a spreadsheet and uses no extra feats, abilities, and what-not... that could change your health, con score, or conmod. I added the tough feat at first opportunity (lvl 4). It does not matter when you add the feat... the ending health number does not change.
Edit: Please ignore where it says con score +1 when allowed with additional feats... That column is just your basic conscore with +1 allowed every time you can raise your stats based on the "you may increase two stats by 1 rule.)
Seuleslintan wrote:
FrogReaver wrote:
I noticed one thing about the quiver of javelins/brace of daggers argument that most people seem to have forgotten......
After the first (or second) round, you can throw a maximum of one weapon/round regardless of your number of attacks, unless you have the dual-wielder feat.
Turn 1: Start with a weapon in each hand (assuming pre-combat prep time).
-
Action: Throw 1 weapon
-
Bonus Action/Extra Attack: Throw 2nd weapon
-
Interact with Objects: Draw one replacement weapon.
Turn 2
- Action: Throw weapon.
- Interact with Objects: Draw replacement weapon.
- Bonus Action/Extra Attack: Throw 2nd weapon
Turn 3
- Interact with Objects: Draw replacement weapon
- Action: Throw weapon.
- Bonus Action: Draw replacement weapon (Requires fast hands).
- Extra Attack/Action Surge: Throw 2nd weapon.
If you have dual-wielder, this becomes much easier (as you can draw 2 weapons with a single interaction with objects/use object)- with the problem occuring when you attempt to throw the third weapon each turn.
Cendragon wrote:
Doodis wrote:
Multiple attacks take advantage of Reckless attack, right? So, if you're level 5+ or using an attack from Frenzy, Retribution or GWM - your advantage extends to every attack you might take, right?
"When you make your first attack on your turn, you can decide to attack recklessly."
Would've been stupid if it wasn't like that. You'd have no reason not to give advantage to each of your attacks after the first, since you'll give enemies advantage anyway..
Eternal91 wrote:
True, my bad. Seems a lot more powerful of an ability now.
smbakeresq wrote:
Eternal91 wrote:
It was pointed out to me that I was wrong. So you might want to check that again. It applies to all attacks you make the same turn it seems.
Is this guide going to cover the new races? Genasi, Goliaths, etc? I'm dying to see the thoughts on Goliath Barbarians in 5E.
Jell_Moo wrote:
The non-spellcasting ranger presented in Unearthed Arcana looks like it might be a good fit for a multiclass barbarian; much better than the spellcasting Ranger.
But I'm not sure if the Combat Superiority feature can be used when raging. Has there been any discussion or ruling on that?
I'm going to flout the conventional wisdom established in this thread that "Berserker is terrible" and that "Frenzy is so mechanically poor".
From what I've seen as a DM, Frenzy is a game changer in boss fights for anyone who's going down the traditional GWF route (i.e. maul, greataxe, greatsword). If you can time your Frenzy so that you use it during the last fight each day, you never suffer from the effects of exhaustion. If you miscalculate, the penalty on ability checks doesn't really hamstring your character quite as much as people seem to suggest. You just have to rely a bit more on your buddies during the exploration phase and, while you might fail a Perception roll and lose initiative, once you rage again, that 1 level of exhaustion will barely come into play. If you miscalculated the first time, go ahead and frenzy again if you're pretty sure you've actually reached the last fight this time. IMO, Retaliation is also categorically better than anything the Totem Warrior path provides, combining well with Sentinel to give you tons of opportunity attacks. All in all, I think it's a much tighter race between the two paths than this thread seems to suggest, unless you're using polearms or TWF, both of which compete for the bonus action attack provided by Frenzy. Just my 2 cents based on what I've seen.
Frenzy triggers once per day that way. Totems trigger safely every time you rage.
Yunru wrote:
Yeah Retaliation is awesome, if nothing else because you don't have to be in a rage to use it. But unless you're starting at a level with it, that's a lot of playing without the advantages of the other path for an eventual reward.
The problme is less "Berserker is terrible" and more "Frenzy is borderline unusable."
the problem with frenzy is polearm master.
suggested houserule, frenzy allows you to make an extra attack (not a bonus action).
Ghost_Gallus wrote:
Leugren wrote:
Ghost_Gallus wrote:
Leugren wrote:
jaappleton wrote:
I may be rehashing an old topic but there are a lot of replies here.
Aspect of the Beast: Again, 3 options.
Bear - Given your natural inclination to have a through the roof Str, and having advantage on Str checks whilst Raging, this actually seems rather lacklustre. Not useless, but a little too situational.
Eagle - On the one hand, the increased sight is very, very situational. On the other hand, not having disadvantage on Perception checks due to dim light is really, really good.
Wolf: Again, very situational, but also useful to have when you need it. This really depends on the party makeup and the type of adventure you are on
So my issue is:
I am playing a 6TH lvl Dragonborn Barbarian and was wondering besides the 1 mile vision, which doesn't help since we are in a massive dungeon, what use is the Eagle totem to me? I have darkvision so is there really ever dim light. I just don't see a use in the Eagle with my race, but could be wrong.
Azathor wrote:
gignere wrote:
Please Note:
This guide is being moved to the ENWorld forums.
Here is a link to the guide there:
http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?468633-Guide-The-Gentleman%92s-Guide-to-Proper-Barbarism&p=6701374#post6701374
If the original author would like to take control of that new thread, I can work with him/her and the ENWorld forum owner, Morrus, to enable that. Just drop me a private message at ENWorld.