Seems like a good enough option for a Barbarian, mostly due to the Ability bonuses, with a nice boost to damage and (possibly, depending on stats allocation) a decent enough boost to your WIS saving throws.
Remember, though, that you cannot use the Natural Armor in conjunction with your Unarmored Defense, as they are two separate AC calculation which are mutually exclusive.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
Indeed, one thing to keep into consideration, though, is that 17 is not a bad AC by any means, and you could therefore decide not to invest much in DEX, making it another potential dump stat, and focus your efforts in increasing mostly your STR and CON.
You would still have a decent enough AC, that you can still improve with magic items if you feel the need, and you'd still get the bonus, for example, from the Unarmored Movement, as that does not go into conflict with Natural Armor. You could even decide to go a bit off-track from the usual "great weapon" Barbarian and opt to use a shield, making your AC effectively 19, which is nothing to sneeze at.
With the added benefit of the racial AC boost giving you added survivability, I don't think it's a bad choice at all.
I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. —Maya Angelou
Remember that for Barbarian's Unarmored Defense to equal a Tortle's natural shell would required an total CON and DEX of +7, which means either a +5 and a +2, or a +4 and +3.
In general it allows a Barbarian with a Con of 14 or 16 and Dex 14 to have the equivalent of Hide or Chain shirt without armor. A Scalemail, Breastplate or Half Plate still beat these out.
I did a Kensai Monk (15)/ Totem Barbarian (3 Path of the Elk) Tortle Str based character. I built him to be the fastest Tortle alive. I got the boots of speed so most of the time I had a 160' run speed while raging and our wizard at the time loved to put haste on me as well.... quite fun.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
What are peoples thoughts on a Tortle Barbarian?
I am on the fence with it so I thought I would seek out some opinions here on the forums.
She/Her Player and Dungeon Master
Seems like a good enough option for a Barbarian, mostly due to the Ability bonuses, with a nice boost to damage and (possibly, depending on stats allocation) a decent enough boost to your WIS saving throws.
Remember, though, that you cannot use the Natural Armor in conjunction with your Unarmored Defense, as they are two separate AC calculation which are mutually exclusive.
Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
The Unarmored Defense vs Natural Armor is part of the reason I am not sure about going with Tortle.
She/Her Player and Dungeon Master
Indeed, one thing to keep into consideration, though, is that 17 is not a bad AC by any means, and you could therefore decide not to invest much in DEX, making it another potential dump stat, and focus your efforts in increasing mostly your STR and CON.
You would still have a decent enough AC, that you can still improve with magic items if you feel the need, and you'd still get the bonus, for example, from the Unarmored Movement, as that does not go into conflict with Natural Armor. You could even decide to go a bit off-track from the usual "great weapon" Barbarian and opt to use a shield, making your AC effectively 19, which is nothing to sneeze at.
With the added benefit of the racial AC boost giving you added survivability, I don't think it's a bad choice at all.
Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
Those are some valid points. I will roll it up.
She/Her Player and Dungeon Master
Plus, a turtle with a great sword/axe sounds amazing!
I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. —Maya Angelou
Remember that for Barbarian's Unarmored Defense to equal a Tortle's natural shell would required an total CON and DEX of +7, which means either a +5 and a +2, or a +4 and +3.
In general it allows a Barbarian with a Con of 14 or 16 and Dex 14 to have the equivalent of Hide or Chain shirt without armor. A Scalemail, Breastplate or Half Plate still beat these out.
What does a Tortle excel at?
Tortles get a bonus to Strength and Wisdom, a high natural armor class and a few fluffy turtle powers like swimming and holding their breath.
She/Her Player and Dungeon Master
cleric?
Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
I am looking to play a barbarian, the race is the optional part. The DM decided he didn't want me to play a Tortle so I am going with Goliath instead.
She/Her Player and Dungeon Master
I went with Halfling for my barbarian ...
You guys should try out my Grikor race. I play a zealot Barbarian Grikor in a home game.
Dungeon Master for Heroes of Agarra
I have a growing library of Homebrew: Subclasses | Races | Feats | Items
You check out my newest Homebrew: Doctor - The Survey Corps - Order of the Shadow Master
Not my style but thanks for sharing.
She/Her Player and Dungeon Master
Oogway would roll in his grave if he saw a tortle barbarian, otherwise, the choice seems to be already chosen,
(that's what I get for looking at the oldest posts)
I did a Kensai Monk (15)/ Totem Barbarian (3 Path of the Elk) Tortle Str based character. I built him to be the fastest Tortle alive. I got the boots of speed so most of the time I had a 160' run speed while raging and our wizard at the time loved to put haste on me as well.... quite fun.