So I have an idea of a high int Barbar. with low strength and the belt or gaulents as his main sorce. planing on beast barbarian. thoughts or ideas for other hulk out/nerd rage builds or other ways to flaver and have fun
So I have an idea of a high int Barbar. with low strength and the belt or gaulents as his main sorce. planing on beast barbarian. thoughts or ideas for other hulk out/nerd rage builds or other ways to flaver and have fun
You should take a look at Bladesinger, a Wizard subclass that, like Barbarian, has a limited number of times per day that it can get a lot better in combat, but unlike Barbarian, it's int-based.
Multi-classing might also be an option if you just want to add Rage for the durability (single level dip), Reckless Attack for attack advantage (two level dip) or sub-class abilities (three level dip), but these would delay progression in another class.
You might also take a look at Artificer class; both Battlesmith and Armorer can use Intelligence to attack with, and Armorer can be reasonably tanky.
It's not impossible to build a Barbarian with high Intelligence, you just won't get a lot of it; though if your DM is willing to give you Gauntlets of Ogre Power early on that could offset the inefficiency of the build for the sake of playing to the theme. Alternatively you might just build a classic Barbarian (Strength and Constitution) but negotiate with your DM for a bonus to Intelligence for non-combat use?
Last thing I'd say is that intelligence in a character can be as much about how you play them as their stats; for example if you agree with your DM that your character is well learned, then they shouldn't ask you to roll for anything that they'd probably just know, so the stats in that respect wouldn't matter.
Former D&D Beyond Customer of six years: With the axing of piecemeal purchasing, lack of meaningful development, and toxic moderation the site isn't worth paying for anymore. I remain a free user only until my groups are done migrating from DDB, and if necessary D&D, after which I'm done. There are better systems owned by better companies out there.
I have unsubscribed from all topics and will not reply to messages. My homebrew is now 100% unsupported.
Last thing I'd say is that intelligence in a character can be as much about how you play them as their stats; for example if you agree with your DM that your character is well learned, then they shouldn't ask you to roll for anything that they'd probably just know, so the stats in that respect wouldn't matter.
that line of logic only really works if the topic at hand is something that the character in question has spent their whole lives, otherwise it is kind of the same as saying "if you and your dm agree that your character is very strong, there is no need to roll for anything", intelligence is the stat used to determine how much knowledge your character has, how extensive their general education is, not just their smarts
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i am soup, with too many ideas (all of them very spicy) who has made sufficient homebrew material and character to last an thousand human lifetimes
that line of logic only really works if the topic at hand is something that the character in question has spent their whole lives, otherwise it is kind of the same as saying "if you and your dm agree that your character is very strong, there is no need to roll for anything", intelligence is the stat used to determine how much knowledge your character has, how extensive their general education is, not just their smarts
These aren't really comparable; being very strong doesn't necessarily mean you succeed at a feat of strength, as your hands could slip, you misjudge the weight or balance etc.
Intelligence as a stat in D&D is more about problem solving/observation rather than knowledge as such, though it can be used to roll for knowledge a character might know. A character with Intelligence 10 doesn't need to be ignorant or slow, they're just less likely to identify an obscure clue, or know something specialised that's outside their experience.
If you just want a character to be knowledgeable then a high Intelligence isn't required, as you can just agree with your DM what subjects your character knows well per their background, and only roll for problem solving within those, or things that aren't covered. For example, if you establish that your character is a cartographer, then they should have a good general knowledge of geography, so when asked to give directions between two locations they either might not roll, or might roll with advantage. But if they're lost in the wilderness with no obvious landmarks, you'd roll as normal (as the knowledge is no benefit to that situation). It's also worth noting that an extra point or two on Intelligence modifier doens't make you overwhelmingly better at investigation or obscure knowledge checks; everyone rolls a D20, and simply being proficient in a relevant skill adds a good bonus, so even if your chance of passing a check could be better, it doesn't mean there isn't any. Wizards etc. want high Intelligence because it also ties into their key features.
I raised it because koopanerd is looking to build a high Intelligence Barbarian, but my point is that high Intelligence might not be necessary depending upon what they're actually trying to achieve with the character, especially since it's not a stat that most (any?) Barbarian features interact with.
Former D&D Beyond Customer of six years: With the axing of piecemeal purchasing, lack of meaningful development, and toxic moderation the site isn't worth paying for anymore. I remain a free user only until my groups are done migrating from DDB, and if necessary D&D, after which I'm done. There are better systems owned by better companies out there.
I have unsubscribed from all topics and will not reply to messages. My homebrew is now 100% unsupported.
So I have an idea of a high int Barbar. with low strength and the belt or gaulents as his main sorce. planing on beast barbarian. thoughts or ideas for other hulk out/nerd rage builds or other ways to flaver and have fun
You should take a look at Bladesinger, a Wizard subclass that, like Barbarian, has a limited number of times per day that it can get a lot better in combat, but unlike Barbarian, it's int-based.
Multi-classing might also be an option if you just want to add Rage for the durability (single level dip), Reckless Attack for attack advantage (two level dip) or sub-class abilities (three level dip), but these would delay progression in another class.
You might also take a look at Artificer class; both Battlesmith and Armorer can use Intelligence to attack with, and Armorer can be reasonably tanky.
It's not impossible to build a Barbarian with high Intelligence, you just won't get a lot of it; though if your DM is willing to give you Gauntlets of Ogre Power early on that could offset the inefficiency of the build for the sake of playing to the theme. Alternatively you might just build a classic Barbarian (Strength and Constitution) but negotiate with your DM for a bonus to Intelligence for non-combat use?
Last thing I'd say is that intelligence in a character can be as much about how you play them as their stats; for example if you agree with your DM that your character is well learned, then they shouldn't ask you to roll for anything that they'd probably just know, so the stats in that respect wouldn't matter.
Former D&D Beyond Customer of six years: With the axing of piecemeal purchasing, lack of meaningful development, and toxic moderation the site isn't worth paying for anymore. I remain a free user only until my groups are done migrating from DDB, and if necessary D&D, after which I'm done. There are better systems owned by better companies out there.
I have unsubscribed from all topics and will not reply to messages. My homebrew is now 100% unsupported.
that line of logic only really works if the topic at hand is something that the character in question has spent their whole lives, otherwise it is kind of the same as saying "if you and your dm agree that your character is very strong, there is no need to roll for anything", intelligence is the stat used to determine how much knowledge your character has, how extensive their general education is, not just their smarts
i am soup, with too many ideas (all of them very spicy) who has made sufficient homebrew material and character to last an thousand human lifetimes
These aren't really comparable; being very strong doesn't necessarily mean you succeed at a feat of strength, as your hands could slip, you misjudge the weight or balance etc.
Intelligence as a stat in D&D is more about problem solving/observation rather than knowledge as such, though it can be used to roll for knowledge a character might know. A character with Intelligence 10 doesn't need to be ignorant or slow, they're just less likely to identify an obscure clue, or know something specialised that's outside their experience.
If you just want a character to be knowledgeable then a high Intelligence isn't required, as you can just agree with your DM what subjects your character knows well per their background, and only roll for problem solving within those, or things that aren't covered. For example, if you establish that your character is a cartographer, then they should have a good general knowledge of geography, so when asked to give directions between two locations they either might not roll, or might roll with advantage. But if they're lost in the wilderness with no obvious landmarks, you'd roll as normal (as the knowledge is no benefit to that situation). It's also worth noting that an extra point or two on Intelligence modifier doens't make you overwhelmingly better at investigation or obscure knowledge checks; everyone rolls a D20, and simply being proficient in a relevant skill adds a good bonus, so even if your chance of passing a check could be better, it doesn't mean there isn't any. Wizards etc. want high Intelligence because it also ties into their key features.
I raised it because koopanerd is looking to build a high Intelligence Barbarian, but my point is that high Intelligence might not be necessary depending upon what they're actually trying to achieve with the character, especially since it's not a stat that most (any?) Barbarian features interact with.
Former D&D Beyond Customer of six years: With the axing of piecemeal purchasing, lack of meaningful development, and toxic moderation the site isn't worth paying for anymore. I remain a free user only until my groups are done migrating from DDB, and if necessary D&D, after which I'm done. There are better systems owned by better companies out there.
I have unsubscribed from all topics and will not reply to messages. My homebrew is now 100% unsupported.
I was expecting this to be about a barbarian with Scribe or another similar background.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
It got surprisingly mechanical