As title says, I was thinking about adding some fighter levels, we are about to hit level 8. Plan is for campaign to go to around level 15 or 16. So is it worth taking any fighter levels or should I stay all barbarian?
I'd definitely consider taking level 8 barb so you can get the asi.
A couple fighter levels can work well on a barb. But only up to level 4. That gives you action surge, a couple more weapon masteries, a fighting style, second wind. Then level 3 for a subclass and 4 for the asi. The extra attack features don't stack, so fighter 5 would be a wasted level.
But the important thing is to look at what you'd miss out on. For example, relentless rage (level 11 barb) is crazy good. Improved brutal strike is cool, and there would be some subclass features you'd miss out on.
So you can weigh what you get from each level of fighter vs what you miss out on from barb. In the end, its whatever you think will be more fin.
When actually using your character day in and day out, you need to determine what you are missing. Is what you are missing versus what you are gaining a worthwhile swap?
I f you are instantly creating a multiclass mid level character, then multi class can broaden you. But living with the change, can be very tedious and psychologically make you notice what you can't do.
If playing 2014 ruleset - Personally I would suggest straight barbarian until achieving level 8, then switch to fighter. You'll gain a lot more from those fighter levels than you will from barbarian levels after level 8, but your first goal should be to hit level 8 in barbarian.
If playing 2024 ruleset - I will say that brutal strike at level 9 can be nice, but I am not sure if it is nice enough to change the above advice.
Long answer: Fighter multiclassed with Barbarian can be pretty decent. 2 levels will get you Action Surge (always awesome for a martial character), Second Wind, more weapon masteries, and a fighting style. Tactical mind is also a nice feature to have in your back pocket. If you go for 3 levels, you can get a subclass. These would be my top picks:
Battlemaster will allow you to add extra damage to your attacks with maneuvers that also add various conditions like causing your target to be Frightened or knocking them Prone. Couple Precision Attack with Reckless Attacks and you will basically never miss while your combat superiority dice hold out.
With constant easy advantage from Reckless Attacks, 3 levels of Champion Fighter will increase your critical hit chance to 19%, which will feel awesome if you are a Zealot or Berserker as those subclasses get a damage boost which will also be doubled in the event of a critical hit.
What subclass you took from Barbarian would also greatly impact my choice to multiclass or not.
If you took the Path of the World Tree, I would suggest you stay straight class. The Battering Roots feature at level 10 is awesome, as is Travel along the Tree at 14.
If you are a Berserker, I would wait to multiclass until after you get Retaliation at level 10.
For Zealot, I would go ahead and multiclass now, as I think the level 10 feature Zealous Presence is hard to use effectively with the limited uses.
Path of the Wild Heart is the hardest one to decide on. The level 10 feature is...bad in my opinion, but the level 14 feature is really good, so it's a toss-up. Likely this one would come down to party composition for me (do you have a caster friend or a species that can give you a fly speed when needed, for example).
As title says, I was thinking about adding some fighter levels, we are about to hit level 8. Plan is for campaign to go to around level 15 or 16. So is it worth taking any fighter levels or should I stay all barbarian?
I'd definitely consider taking level 8 barb so you can get the asi.
A couple fighter levels can work well on a barb. But only up to level 4. That gives you action surge, a couple more weapon masteries, a fighting style, second wind. Then level 3 for a subclass and 4 for the asi. The extra attack features don't stack, so fighter 5 would be a wasted level.
But the important thing is to look at what you'd miss out on. For example, relentless rage (level 11 barb) is crazy good. Improved brutal strike is cool, and there would be some subclass features you'd miss out on.
So you can weigh what you get from each level of fighter vs what you miss out on from barb. In the end, its whatever you think will be more fin.
When actually using your character day in and day out, you need to determine what you are missing. Is what you are missing versus what you are gaining a worthwhile swap?
I f you are instantly creating a multiclass mid level character, then multi class can broaden you. But living with the change, can be very tedious and psychologically make you notice what you can't do.
If playing 2014 ruleset - Personally I would suggest straight barbarian until achieving level 8, then switch to fighter. You'll gain a lot more from those fighter levels than you will from barbarian levels after level 8, but your first goal should be to hit level 8 in barbarian.
If playing 2024 ruleset - I will say that brutal strike at level 9 can be nice, but I am not sure if it is nice enough to change the above advice.
Playing D&D since 1982
Have played every version of the game since Basic (original Red Box Set), except that abomination sometimes called 4e.
Short answer: it depends.
Long answer: Fighter multiclassed with Barbarian can be pretty decent. 2 levels will get you Action Surge (always awesome for a martial character), Second Wind, more weapon masteries, and a fighting style. Tactical mind is also a nice feature to have in your back pocket. If you go for 3 levels, you can get a subclass. These would be my top picks:
Battlemaster will allow you to add extra damage to your attacks with maneuvers that also add various conditions like causing your target to be Frightened or knocking them Prone. Couple Precision Attack with Reckless Attacks and you will basically never miss while your combat superiority dice hold out.
With constant easy advantage from Reckless Attacks, 3 levels of Champion Fighter will increase your critical hit chance to 19%, which will feel awesome if you are a Zealot or Berserker as those subclasses get a damage boost which will also be doubled in the event of a critical hit.
What subclass you took from Barbarian would also greatly impact my choice to multiclass or not.
If you took the Path of the World Tree, I would suggest you stay straight class. The Battering Roots feature at level 10 is awesome, as is Travel along the Tree at 14.
If you are a Berserker, I would wait to multiclass until after you get Retaliation at level 10.
For Zealot, I would go ahead and multiclass now, as I think the level 10 feature Zealous Presence is hard to use effectively with the limited uses.
Path of the Wild Heart is the hardest one to decide on. The level 10 feature is...bad in my opinion, but the level 14 feature is really good, so it's a toss-up. Likely this one would come down to party composition for me (do you have a caster friend or a species that can give you a fly speed when needed, for example).
I agree with everyone here about about Barb 8 but would like to point out 9 can also be useful for the crit bonus dice thingy(can’t remember name)
And you run, and you run
To catch up with the sun, but it’s sinking
And racing around
To come up behind you again
The sun is the same in a relative way
But you’re older
Shorter of Breath
And one day closer to death
currently in love with redesigning subclasses send me a message and I will try