Talk:Barbarian

Ok, simplification ideas: If we drop the Fury mechanism completely, we could re-write the rage powers to scale in different ways, and allow barbarians to activate any ones they want up to 3 each round?  Leave the progression of the class alone.

How to bribe barbarians to be aggressive if they don't get Fury?  Give them a bonus hit point for every enemy they are threatened by during their round, once per round.  Give them a second bonus hit point for every attack of opportunity they provoke.

Make intensifications a flat set of class features they 'just get'.  No choosing each round.

This takes them from tracking Fury, Rage Powers, and Intensifications each round to only choosing one to three Rage powers each round and adding bonus hit points.  Better?  Worse?  Same?  

Intensifications

• 4th lvl:
  • +2 fury
  • +1d6 damage to all attacks you make this round
• 8th lvl:
  • +2 fury
  • +1d6 damage to all attacks you make this round
  • +10 move
• 12th lvl:
  • +2 fury
  • +2d6 damage to all attacks you make this round
  • +10 move
• 16th lvl:
  • +2 fury
  • +2d6 damage to all attacks you make this round
  • +10 move
  • Bonus melee attack if you don't make a full attack
• 20th Lvl:
  • +3 fury
  • +3d6 damage to all attacks you make this round
  • +10 move
  • Bonus melee attack if you don't make a full attack
• 24th lvl:
  • +3 fury
  • +3d6 damage to all attacks you make this round
  • +20 move
  • Bonus melee attack if you don't make a full attack
• 26th lvl:
  • +3 fury
  • +3d6 damage to all attacks you make this round
  • +20 move
  • Bonus melee attack if you don't make a full attack
  • Degrade status condition 1 step
• 28th lvl:
  • +4 fury
  • +4d6 damage to all attacks you make this round
  • +20 move
  • Bonus melee attack if you don't make a full attack
  • Degrade status condition 1 step
• 30th lvl:
  • +4 fury
  • +4d6 damage to all attacks you make this round
  • +20 move
  • Bonus melee attack if you don't make a full attack
  • Degrade status condition 1 step
  • Inflict Bloodied on the first creature you hit this round (no roles, not usable on action point)
• 32nd lvl:
  • +4 fury
  • +4d6 damage to all attacks you make this round
  • +30 move
  • Bonus melee attack if you don't make a full attack
  • Degrade status condition 1 step
  • Inflict Bloodied on the first creature you hit this round (no roles, not usable on action point)
• 34th lvl:
  • +4 fury
  • +5d6 damage to all attacks you make this round
  • +30 move
  • Bonus melee attack if you don't make a full attack
  • Degrade status condition 1 step
  • Inflict Bloodied on the first creature you hit this round (no roles, not usable on action point)

Mien Instincts

• feral: Tantrum - counted as 8 lvls higher for purposes of calculating base weapon damage, max of x6 instead of x5.
• feral: Stalker - full speed stealth; once per encounter, you can re-initiate stealth in the same round you broke it, without taking the -20 penalty.

• primal: Abide the Storm - 1 element at 1, 2 at 10, all at 20, absorb at 30
• primal: earth's tender grasp - reduce falls; add forced move reduction w/level progression of 1, 2, 3 and 4

• superstition: Haunt Slayer - ghost touch with all attacks, and bonus fury each round vs undead
• superstition: Superstition - bonus to saves vs spell, spell-like and supernatural effects (scale with level); must save against all spells while raging

• urban: Gang Leader - while raging, grant allies within 10 feet a +1 to hit, +2 to damage (rage bonus). Damage scales with level, to-hit bonus much less so.
• urban: Battle Madness - for each ally within 10 feet of you at the start of your turn, you gain a cumulative +1 to hit and +2 to damage.

feat candidates:

• Trap Sense
• Big Brass Ones
• Nocturnal Predator
• Worldly
• Prone Fighting (everyone?)
• (epic) Prodigious Strength (everyone?; add min strength 24 req.)

get rid of:

• In The Thick Of It
• A Few Tricks

Add:

• armor ripper - each time you hit an enemy, reduce its AC by 1 (per hit) until start of your enxt turn.

Barbarian Example Build

(Probably not actually a legal build; needs reviewed; keeping it here in case we get around to building a viable sample build later, so we can steal ideas from this one)

Human, base stats: Str 16, Dex 13, Con 20, int 10, Wis 10, Chr 8.

Example Feats

1st Level: Toughness, Weapon Focus:Great Axe. The best axe there is combined with more hit points than God. (35 hitpoints at first level!)

3rd Level: Power Attack. Oh man, you hit like an anvil!

5th Level: Cleave. You're fast on your feet, find clusters of bad guys and cleave them.

7th Level: Combat Reflexes. You're going to be in the thick of things, and your attacks of opportunity are huge. Get more of them!

9th Level: Extra Rage power:DR . Be tougher!

11th Level: Extra Rage power:DR . Be Even TOUGHER!

13th Level: Extra Rage power:DR . HELL YEAH.

15th Level: Dodge. Some more armor class.

17th Level: Mobility. Let's you wander around the battlefield.

19th Level: Great Cleave. Cleave, and then CLEAVE SOME MORE.

Example Rage powers

2nd Level: Scent. You can smell the fear on'em.

4th Level: Renewed Vigor. You shake off some damage.

6th Level: Regenerative Vigor. You become even tougher to stop.

8th Level: Renewed Life. Ignore that pesky life drain crap.

10th Level: Renewed Vitality. Ability Damage? YOU LAUGH.

12th Level: Come and Get Me. Ahh, here it is. THIS is why you've taken all those defensive abilities all this time.

14th Level: Unexpected Strike. Moar damage! Only once a rage, but hey, it's good for when you want to put in a finisher.

16th Level: Flesh Wound. Getting a little low on hit points? Pick a reasonably sized attack. Make save. IGNORE IT.

18th Level: Fearless Rage. Fear is for lesser killing machines than you, my friend.

20th Level: Good For What Ails You. Drink booze, reroll some saving throws.

This build is a high toughness, moderate defense Barbarian. He'll be doing more than okay damage, but the maxed-out DR and defensive feats means he'll be in the fight a good long time.