I'm in a war campaign battling legions of evil in a land filled with demons, necromancers and other bad stuff. There are 6 of us in the party and im thinking Elk to maybe give us all a fast pace to stay ahead of our enemies. But this is my 1st totum Barb and I'd love some opinions on the other aspects of beast and your why?
Elk
Whether mounted or on foot, your travel pace is doubled, as is the travel pace of up to ten companions while they’re within 60 feet of you and you’re not incapacitated (see “Adventuring,” for rules on travel pace). The elk spirit helps you roam far and fast.
The Aspect of the Elk Beast: effect on travel pace to me is more subpar than what Tiger for example brings to a character. I'd pick extra Skills proficiency.
On a lot of barbarians I already have the proficiencies from Tiger. I like Elk, but it very much requires some DM buy in so they can remember you have it, otherwise its just meaningless. The Eagle and Wolf are the ones I see as the most useful. In particular their last lines:
Additionally, dim light doesn’t impose disadvantage on your Wisdom (Perception) checks.
you can move stealthily while traveling at a normal pace (see “Adventuring,” for rules on travel pace).
While forgotten by many DM's the -5 to passive perception in dim light is a big deal. If you are in a stealth party the ability to move full speed and be stealthy is also really nice. It can also sometimes mean you get advantage on your first turn pending how your DM wants to handle you always being stealthy.
On a lot of barbarians I already have the proficiencies from Tiger. I like Elk, but it very much requires some DM buy in so they can remember you have it, otherwise its just meaningless. The Eagle and Wolf are the ones I see as the most useful. In particular their last lines:
Additionally, dim light doesn’t impose disadvantage on your Wisdom (Perception) checks.
you can move stealthily while traveling at a normal pace (see “Adventuring,” for rules on travel pace).
While forgotten by many DM's the -5 to passive perception in dim light is a big deal. If you are in a stealth party the ability to move full speed and be stealthy is also really nice. It can also sometimes mean you get advantage on your first turn pending how your DM wants to handle you always being stealthy.
The Aspect of the Elk Beast: effect on travel pace to me is more subpar than what Tiger for example brings to a character. I'd pick extra Skills proficiency.
Totally get it. Proficencies are like gold. Being able to move as a party at 60 vs 30 while trying to catch an enemy platoon or maybe more importantly out run an enemy platoon to avoid capture seems pretty valuable to a whole party in this situation.
The Aspect of the Elk Beast: effect on travel pace to me is more subpar than what Tiger for example brings to a character. I'd pick extra Skills proficiency.
The Aspect of the Elk Beast: effect on travel pace to me is more subpar than what Tiger for example brings to a character. I'd pick extra Skills proficiency.
Totally get it. Proficencies are like gold. Being able to move as a party at 60 vs 30 while trying to catch an enemy platoon or maybe more importantly out run an enemy platoon to avoid capture seems pretty valuable to a whole party in this situation.
It can help for sure, but situational things that benefit a party are usually not all that detrimental if you don't have it your party will get by anyway.
Elk does require some DM buy in, but if you've got that then it can feel good. I play a totem barbarian in an icewind dale campaign. An important aspect of the campaign is moving between towns and being able to do that in half the time has really felt like it affected the outcome of certain situations. Our DM makes sure to mention on a regular basis that the faster travel is due to my character so that it doesn't get taken for granted. He even made a couple of situations where the faster travel was detrimental so that using the ability was a choice.
Elk does require some DM buy in, but if you've got that then it can feel good. I play a totem barbarian in an icewind dale campaign. An important aspect of the campaign is moving between towns and being able to do that in half the time has really felt like it affected the outcome of certain situations. Our DM makes sure to mention on a regular basis that the faster travel is due to my character so that it doesn't get taken for granted. He even made a couple of situations where the faster travel was detrimental so that using the ability was a choice.
Sounds like your DM respects all aspects of the game. Mine has mentioned it would be a worthwhile choice for what she has planned.
I'm in a war campaign battling legions of evil in a land filled with demons, necromancers and other bad stuff. There are 6 of us in the party and im thinking Elk to maybe give us all a fast pace to stay ahead of our enemies. But this is my 1st totum Barb and I'd love some opinions on the other aspects of beast and your why?
Elk
Whether mounted or on foot, your travel pace is doubled, as is the travel pace of up to ten companions while they’re within 60 feet of you and you’re not incapacitated (see “Adventuring,” for rules on travel pace). The elk spirit helps you roam far and fast.
The Aspect of the Elk Beast: effect on travel pace to me is more subpar than what Tiger for example brings to a character. I'd pick extra Skills proficiency.
On a lot of barbarians I already have the proficiencies from Tiger. I like Elk, but it very much requires some DM buy in so they can remember you have it, otherwise its just meaningless. The Eagle and Wolf are the ones I see as the most useful. In particular their last lines:
Additionally, dim light doesn’t impose disadvantage on your Wisdom (Perception) checks.
you can move stealthily while traveling at a normal pace (see “Adventuring,” for rules on travel pace).
While forgotten by many DM's the -5 to passive perception in dim light is a big deal.
If you are in a stealth party the ability to move full speed and be stealthy is also really nice. It can also sometimes mean you get advantage on your first turn pending how your DM wants to handle you always being stealthy.
Thanks super helpful..
Totally get it. Proficencies are like gold. Being able to move as a party at 60 vs 30 while trying to catch an enemy platoon or maybe more importantly out run an enemy platoon to avoid capture seems pretty valuable to a whole party in this situation.
It can help for sure, but situational things that benefit a party are usually not all that detrimental if you don't have it your party will get by anyway.
Elk does require some DM buy in, but if you've got that then it can feel good. I play a totem barbarian in an icewind dale campaign. An important aspect of the campaign is moving between towns and being able to do that in half the time has really felt like it affected the outcome of certain situations. Our DM makes sure to mention on a regular basis that the faster travel is due to my character so that it doesn't get taken for granted. He even made a couple of situations where the faster travel was detrimental so that using the ability was a choice.
Sounds like your DM respects all aspects of the game. Mine has mentioned it would be a worthwhile choice for what she has planned.
Don't underestimate the RP fun potential of Bear at this level. I've never regretted being the guy who can Lift Really Heavy Things :)
Does sound fun.