My first idea (Which I havent given up on) was simply a Barbian-Sorcerer multi class character, But it didn't come out the way I liked it.
My second idea was perhaps a duskblade-barbian which Is tempting but is a little weak on the magic side of things. though I'm not discounting it.
Please if you have any ideas (other the gestalt characters) please let me know. I dont have compleate arcane or warrior so if theres anything in there please tell me.
Yours truly
Valrora the Powerfull
PS
Sory for any spelling/grammer errors I'm dyslexic.
Anyway, I'm not too good at this sot of thing, but do any of the druidic spells appeal to you? I would think that the "nature" approach would fit with a Barbarian, unless your DM lets you reflavor spells.
This is why I objected to the Barbarian as a class. I've always regarded it as a cultural thing. Saying you want to be a Barbarian as a class is like saying you want to be a caveman when you grow up. (LOL, reminds me of a little kid I lived next door to, white as the day is long, who really really liked Mexican food and decided that he wanted to be a Mexican when he grew up!)
Anyway, I'm not too good at this sot of thing, but do any of the druidic spells appeal to you? I would think that the "nature" approach would fit with a Barbarian, unless your DM lets you reflavor spells.
Hmmm
I Dont wana go for druid because I was still thinkin a arcana character with powerfull magic that they infused into there culter.
Think primal mages
I would work closely with your DM, it should be Charaisma based casting class sorcerer obviously, with a modified spell list and spells known list.
Personaly, to fit the flavor I would look at the Adept NPC class as a starting point.
Otherwise, since I believe you are wanting to go with a Rager who can cast arcane spells... but you say Barb/Sorc don't match (I'd guess because of sorc's low HP) what about a Barb/Bard? Slightly more hp, and you can pick Perform (Oratory). A barbarian can easily and proudly give epic speeches an inspire his group/tribe with stories of how they can become as strong as warriors of the past.
Since you mentioned the duskblade, that leads me to believe you have the PHB2, so if your character has low Cha, or you prefer/need to melee more than cast in battle, look into getting Arcane Accompaniment (page 74)
Plus there is that cool Imperious Command feat from Drow of the Underdark... you can take Intimidating Rage, Instantaneous Rage, and Imperious Command. It's like having celerity on tap with your rages.
Isn't there a Rage Mage class? I have no idea what it's about, but I've heard of it via the boards, and it sounds like it might fit.
There is, though I forget the source. Complete Arcane, maybe?
What sort of arcane spells do you want to use? Buffs before combat? Area of effect damage spells? Mind-affecting stuff? An army of undead at your beck and call?
Determining that would go a long ways to finding the best way to help you realize your concept as a character. Also, what source books do you have access to?
Rage Mage is weak, IMO. Stay away from it.
Wild Soul is pretty cool, because you add a d6 to your caster level. If you roll well, you add caster levels to your spell. Roll crappy, you subtract caster levels....
Such a class isn't what I'd call "optimal" (I'd not go near it with a 10 foot pole when playing a mage), but such a class could add a certain level of chaos to the barbarian leader's personality and battle tactics.
Conversely, have you maybe thought about making him a cool, suave aristocrat/sorcerer or bard? Such a character could control the unwashed mass of heathens with a tongue of honey, and be small and weasley.
Just a thought, hope I helped.
Can't go wrong with Barbarian 1/Sorcerer 6 then go Eldritch Knight, either.
That depends on what sort of spellcasting he wants. If he's going to use buff spells, that's a pretty solid option. If he wants to use "attack" spells (fireball, enervation, magic missile, etc) then that solution isn't as good, because he can't cast while raging.
That depends on what sort of spellcasting he wants. If he's going to use buff spells, that's a pretty solid option. If he wants to use "attack" spells (fireball, enervation, magic missile, etc) then that solution isn't as good, because he can't cast while raging.
Well, by high level, raging would kinda be obsolete, especially if you factor in extra damage via Quickened low level spells + Arcane Strike (a must-have for this build). An additional +2 to hit and +3 damage, while nice, definitely isn't going to be missed.
You could probably work something out with your DM though - a feat, for example, that would let you cast while Raging. I don't think that's particularly game breaking.
Also a little more info that I have learned sinces posting: Only core books, meaning PHB, DM, and MM. Also The starting level WAS 2 but appertly I'm comeing in halfway-through so I need to start him at level4.
People usually go straight for the offensive abilities when they roll a caster/fighter hybrid; focusing on those defensive spells lets you get away with lower HP and armor, meaning that you can minmax for straight-up melee damage output.
Not to mention all the fun when you get to higher levels and start Polymorphing yourself into a Stone Giant. :D
The only reason to bring Charisma to the table at all is to take Instantaneous Rage, Intimidating Rage, and Imperious Command, three feats that should be taken as soon as possible and which will give the rage some extra use. You can use this to, surprise surprise, reduce your foes to cowering for a round so they die to your charge instead of launching a counterattack. It turns rage into an immediate action response that counters anything vulnerable to fear effects. It almost turns rage into celerity.
Go with the 1st level in Barbarian, the rest before PrC in Sorcerer, and head straight for Abjurant Champion/Dragonslayer/Spellsword/Eldritch Knight. Fight like a regular gish, and use your instantaneous Imperious Command (which will nearly always work) in emergencies or when you need to (for example) one-shot the BBEG.
Get some Spell-Storing Weapons. Put Vampiric Touch in them.
Use the Whirling Rage variant. You want Pounce too.
As you craft the build, review monsters in the various MMs and make sure that you can kill or disable in a single round anything up to +1 CR above the given level. Maybe it takes some buff spells to present that kind of threat, and take those into account, but if you aren't bringing that kind of lethality to the table then the whole glass cannon strategy will be useless in the game. Instead of being awesome, you'll be splattered by an angry enemy that survived your assault.
For a multi classed barbarian/arcane spellcaster the Abjurant Champion from the Complete Mage will help allot. The Battle Sorcerer would be a good class to build on.
This also paves the way for the greenstar adept or dragon disciple prc, if you feel so inclined. You will effectively be a primary fighter who uses just a splash of magic to augment your combat capabilities.
Only problem will be ASF, so you may need a feat like southern magician to get around it (unless you are willing to eschew armour, or can acess twilight mithral chain shirts).
I kind of like the idea of the single Sorcerer level. It could indeed be useful for the wand/scroll access, and the Skittish Nerves on round 1. It's kind of unfortunate to put off the iterative attack by a level, but whatever. It's playable.
What I really like about the single sorcerer-level plan is that it doesn't require a heavy Charisma investment. Stat points might be hard to come by in his game. Being able to keep a relatively low Charisma modifier might open him up for Half-Orc.... or Half-Ogre, options that wouldn't look so good if he were going for a heavy magic-using build like most gish we see.
I'd like to get a ruling whether Arcane Strike (Complete Warrior) can be used during a rage.
Barring that, Barbarian 16/Battle Sorcerer 4 is a PrC-free way to splash arcane buffing fun onto your charge-monkey. Barb X/Battle Sorcerer X/Abjurant Champion 5 is certainly stronger if you have the material. Rage Mage has its benefits, but, having played one, I'm not a huge fan.
I've no idea of your access to the material, but if you have Unapproachable East, the Runescarred Berserker was the first idea that popped up when I thought about 'mystic barbarian'.
He's already said core books only.
The evocation/attack spell angle is the completely wrong direction for a barbarian/sorcerer.
Is it optimized? Hell no! There's no synergy at all between the two classes. Even worse, using an ability from one (rage) prevents access to the abilities of the other (spells).
But just because it's a poor choice from an optimization perspective doesn't mean the combo can't be fun -- especially if everybody else in his group discards optimization as a decision factor.
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Valrora, since you're stuck with core only you have a limited number of choices. Here's a few options. Not all of them are the "best" choices to make, but they can still be fun.
A) Play a bard or sorcerer, and simply roleplay the "barbarian" angle. As a bard, you'd probably focus on storytelling as your Perform skill of choice, since it has a very tribal feel. With the bard angle, you'd have some fighting ability (though not a lot); instead, you'd be an inspiration to your party members, using your bardic music and spells to make them better.
As a sorcerer, you'd be staying out of melee combat entirely. So that may not be what you want.
B) Play a barbarian, and put skill ranks in Use Magic Device. In this scenario, you wouldn't be an arcane caster, but rather you'd just have a knack for "figuring out how stuff works." One benefit is you would also be able to activate items with divine spells, such as a wand of cure light wounds. One downside is that you'd potentially be taking items away from another caster in your group -- especially a problem with scrolls if you have a wizard.
C) Go for the best "gish" build available in core only that suits your desires. That'd be barbarian 1/sorcerer 6, then jump into the eldritch knight prestige class (found in the DMG). You'd be pretty weak up front, because you'd have a lot of d4s as your Hit Dice. Even when you hit the prestige class, you wouldn't be super-powerful, but you would become more survivable.
Given your limitation of core only, I think A or B is your best option.
The OP never said Core only, his original post mentions non-Core classes and specifically asks for advice from splatbooks.
And then in a later post he said:
Also a little more info that I have learned sinces posting: Only core books, meaning PHB, DM, and MM.
I'd like to get a ruling whether Arcane Strike (Complete Warrior) can be used during a rage.
Yes it can. The ability lists the feats that you cannot use and this one isn't listed among the forbidden types.
Nor does it involve a skill check, spell casting, concentration or patiences.
Instead you are using a spell slot for an ability other than casting a spell.
However, the most important opinion is you Dungeon Master's. They may decide that it is enough like spell casting to disallow it.