How to Stoke the Fire Within: A Guide to the Barbarian
So, I decided to try my hand at making some character optimization guides, starting with Barbarian.I’ll mostly be focusing on optimization and not roleplay, so there’s always more room to add flavor to your character.Now, let’s cut right to the punch/axe/sword/head.
This thread will be updated every so often. I won't have all of this ready right away, so I'll be adding to it in individual posts.
Throughout this guide, I'll be using colors to denote how useful a certain ability/race etc. is. Here's the scale:
Gold is a must have, at least in my opinion.
Green is a very good ability, but could maybe be replaced with something else.
Blue is a solid choice, but there are perhaps better ones.
Black is just average.
Red is most likely useless, or almost useless.
Gray is something that is rarely useful, but can be surprisingly good in some situations.
Currently playing in: Quest for the Shunned City, Coliseum of Conquest, DragonDenn's Dragonlords, Shipwrecked on Fugue, Tomb of Annihilation, Razor's Lost Mine of Phandelver, The Lost Kenku & One Grung Above
Currently DMing: Princes of the Apocalypse, Out of the Abyss, Coliseum of Conquest—The Arena (Sometimes)
Barbarian is, of course, a melee class focused on dishing out as much damage as possible while tanking any punishment with an absolutely ludicrous pool of hit points, especially when combined with their resistances.
Pros:
Great damage output, with Extra Attack, Rage, Reckless Attack and a slew of other damage based abilities.
Great survivability.Barbarians are the only class with a d12 as a hit dice, so you’re going to be living a while when you combine that with Rage’s damage resistances.
Decent movement for a melee class.In fact, is the only class with a speed increase among your other main beefy melee classes (Fighter, Paladin, even Cleric).
Good quality of life perks, such as advantage on initiative, advantage on Dex saving throws against certain effects, and certain class features granting immunity to charmed, or granting other useful effects (like the 7th level Totem abilities).
Cons:
Less than great AC.While Unarmored Defense is nice, Dexterity is most likely not going to be one of your best skills.You’re probably better off going with medium armor.Half plate and a shield won’t give you a bad AC for sure, but it could still be better.
Very few ranged attacks.Your main ranged options are going to be things like handaxes and javelins.Not too bad, but definitely not great.
Susceptibility to spells.Unless you’ve gone Berserker and gotten that immunity to charm, you’re most likely going to eat saving throw spells all the time.Wisdom saving throws are rather common, and Wisdom probably won’t be too high on your list.
Overconfidence.This is a little bit of a stranger one, but it can be very tempting to think that with your hit points, you’re invincible.You always run straight into the fray, no matter what.Enemies can still melt you very quickly, especially spellcasters that can bypass your Rage resistances.You’ll also always be a target, as most likely you’re the largest and most threatening looking member of your group.
Currently playing in: Quest for the Shunned City, Coliseum of Conquest, DragonDenn's Dragonlords, Shipwrecked on Fugue, Tomb of Annihilation, Razor's Lost Mine of Phandelver, The Lost Kenku & One Grung Above
Currently DMing: Princes of the Apocalypse, Out of the Abyss, Coliseum of Conquest—The Arena (Sometimes)
While you’ll be focussing mainly on Strength and Con, you’ll want other abilities to be at least decent.
Strength: If you’re going damage oriented, you’ll want at least a 15 if not a 16.If not, still probably a 14 at least.This will be one of your most often used scores, and is always important.
Dexterity: Always good for those saving throws and AC.Not as important as Strength and Con, but it’s up there.You’ll want at least a +1.
Constitution: No matter what kind of barb you are, you'll need as much Con as you can get.
Wisdom: Would probably be pretty meh if it weren't for the large amount of saving throws relying on it. It has some decent skills you can learn attached to it as well, such as Perception and Survival.
Intelligence: This will almost surely be your dump stat. You probably won't use the skills attached to it very often, and Intelligence saving throws don't come up very often.
Charisma: Could be another dump stat, but you could also easily want a decent Intimidation bonus.
Currently playing in: Quest for the Shunned City, Coliseum of Conquest, DragonDenn's Dragonlords, Shipwrecked on Fugue, Tomb of Annihilation, Razor's Lost Mine of Phandelver, The Lost Kenku & One Grung Above
Currently DMing: Princes of the Apocalypse, Out of the Abyss, Coliseum of Conquest—The Arena (Sometimes)
As a barbarian, really any race that gives a bonus to either Strength or Constitution (or both) will work.However, some race abilities mesh better overall with the class.
PH Races:
Dragonborn: Definitely not a bad choice.+2 to Strength is nothing to sneeze at, although you don’t get any bonus to Con and get a boost to what will possibly be your dump stat. Breath Weapon is decent for dealing with enemies resistant to your weapons, and having another resistance is always nice.
Mountain Dwarf: Never a bad choice for any Str-based melee character, and barbs are no exception. You get some welcome poison resistance, and some nice boosts to your primary stats. Becomes gold if you're going for a Battlerager.
Hill Dwarf: Not a bad choice, but you're probably better off going one of the other dwarven subraces (unless you just really want those hit points).
Dark Elf (Drow): Eh . . .no. No bonus to Strength or Con, a bonus to one of your possible dump stats, although the Dex bonus isn't bad. Spellcasting helps redeem this race, but, overall, you're much better off with other picks.
High Elf: This race gives you an even more useless ability score bonus than a drow, and worse other abilities. High elves make drow look like a good choice.
Wood Elf: Meh. It's better than drow, but not by much. You're probably not going to be doing much hiding.
Forest Gnome: Basically the same as a deep gnome, but with slightly more useless abilities (for a barb, at least).
Rock Gnome: While a Con bonus is good, the rest of the package isn't.
Half-Elf: Actually not too bad, especially if you wanted to put more Charisma on your barbarian. You could use the other two increases on Str and Con. You're probably better off with going one of the variants, most likely Wood Elf for the movement speed or Drow for the spellcasting.
Lightfoot Halfling: Lucky is good, but not worth the Small size. (Remember, you can't use heavy weapons without disadvantage as a small character.)
Stout Halfling: Better than all the other halflings, but you're probably better off with a dwarf.
Half-Orc: Whooooo . . .boy. Strength bonus, Con bonus, crit bonus, survivability bonus, even free Intimidation! Half-Orcs will always be one of your go-to barbarian races, and that's for good reason. Savage Attacks meshes well with Brutal Critical, and Relentless Endurance meshes well with Relentless Rage. Top that off with the bonuses, and you've got yourself an absolute terror.
Human: Eh, not bad. You'll probably be better off with races with actual abilities or . . .
Variant Human: Much better. Starting off with a feat at level 1 is fantastic, and opens up later ASIs. You'll probably end up going something like Tough or Great Weapon Master, although I could also see Sentinel or maybe even Shield Master. I'll go over feats later on.
Tiefling (Normal): Nope. Bonuses to both of your dump stats, with a decent spellcasting trait and fire resistance barely helping at all.
EEPC Races:
Aarakocra: If your DM allows these, you still probably shouldn't bother. Flight and a Dex increase are decent, but Wisdom and no Strength or Con aren't. Although, flight alone can be extremely powerful.
Air Genasi: Definitely not bad. Levitate isn't a bad spell, and bonuses to Dex and Con are welcome. Probably your best bet if you really want to try out a Dex barbarian (which isn't really recommended for optimization).
Earth Genasi: Good ability score increases, but somewhat mediocre abilities. Pass without trace is a great spell, but not so much for a barb. Earth walk is only good if your DM uses a lot of difficult terrain, and you consistently get annoyed by it.
Fire Genasi: Meh. Con is good, Int isn't. Fire resistance and spellcasting aren't bad, though.
Water Genasi: Also meh. Con is good, Wis is decent. Your spellcasting trait is worse than fire, and your damage resistance won't come up as often (probably), but still not a bad pick.
Deep Gnome: While advantage on saving throws against most magical effects is nice, it's really not worth getting a +2 bonus to your dump stat. You also won't be able to use heavy weapons, which applies for the rest of the gnomes as well.
Goliath: Basically half-orc without Savage Attacks and slightly different Relentless Endurance. Half-orc would probably be better unless you're going full tank.
VGtM Races:
Fallen Aasimar: Not too bad. +2 to Charisma isn't great, but those resistances, Str bonus and Necrotic Shroud are top notch abilities for a barb.
Protector Aasimar: Definitely the worst of the Aasimar. Wisdom and Charisma just aren't useful enough to you, but it's other abilities keep it from being completely useless.
Scourge Aasimar: Also not a bad choice. Basically Fallen Aasimar with Con instead of Strength, and an AoE damage ability instead of a debuff.
Bugbear: Actually, quite a good choice. Good ability score bonuses, limited reach on all weapons, and an ambush ability. If you felt like making a stealthy barbarian, this would most likely be your best bet. Only downsides are no bonus to Con, and the fact that bugbears are a monstrous race.
Firbolg: Meh. No Con bonus and abilities that don't really work with the class overall make this race just not really worth it.
Goblin: Much better choices exist, like . . .pretty much everything else other than maybe high elves (and kobolds). The inability to wield heavy weapons, no Str bonus and meh abilities that just don't work for barbs make this really just not worth it.
Hobgoblin: Not too bad due to that Con bonus, but an Int bonus is useless. Its abilities are also mostly useless except for Saving Face, which is limited use anyways.
Kenku: Nope. No bonus to Str or Con, and abilities that are much more suited to Rogues.
Kobold: This is, almost without a doubt, the worst race for a barbarian. Not only are you Small, your Strength score is reduced by 2. Pack Tactics is decent, but Sunlight Sensitivity basically cancels that out.
Lizardfolk: Not bad at all. No bonus to Str, but Con is always good, and Wisdom is decent. Hungry Jaws is very good for a barb, so overall a solid race. If you have trouble getting access to normal weapons, this race easily becomes green.
Orc: A slightly worse version of Half-Orc. Aggressive is good, but it can't replace both Relentless Endurance and Savage Attacks.
Tabaxi: Meh. Feline Agility is good, but doesn't make up for a lack of Str or Con.
Triton: An interesting choice, but probably not the most optimal one. Does have Strength and Con, but your spellcasting isn't that great. Picking up another damage resistance is always good, however.
Yuan-ti Pureblood: If this race gave a bonus to Con instead of Int, it would almost be worth it just for Magic Resistance. Alas, it doesn't.
SCAG Races:
Aquatic Half-Elf: Pretty useless, unless you're in an aquatic campaign. If you are, there are worse options.
Drow Half-Elf: Half-Elf with spellcasting, but that doesn't really matter since you're a barbarian.
High Half-Elf: You have one of those, and you don't need the other.
Wood Half-Elf: The best option by far. You're probably best off going speed, but this still isn't that that useful.
Ghostwise Halfling: Meh. Really not worth the Small size.
Feral Tieflings: Much better than normal tieflings, but that's really not saying much. No bonus to Strength or Con and a bonus to a dump stat just make fire resistance and racial spellcasting not really worth it.
MToF Races:
Eladrin: You want a drow without spellcasting but with very limited teleportation? Nah, didn't think so. For sure could open up some interesting roleplay, but it's definitely not optimal.
Sea Elf: If you're in a campaign involving lots of water, not too bad of a choice. No Strength bonus, but that's not that big a deal. If you're not dealing with a lot of water, this race is pretty much useless.
Shadar-Kai: Now these elves aren't too bad. Bonuses to Dex and Con are always welcome, and their resistances and teleportation could help you out in a tough spot. Not the best choice, but not the worst. Keep in mind, this race might not always work in your campaign setting.
Githyanki: Eh. Better choices exist, but they aren't bad. Strength is good, Int isn't, but misty step is a good panic option if you've gone in too deep once you reach level 5.
Githzerai: Don't bother. Mental Discipline is decent, but it's just not enough to make up for the rest.
Baalzebul Tiefling: Same as normal tiefling, but with worse spells. Not really sure there's ever a reason to pick this race for any class, to be honest.
Dispater Tiefling: Better than normal tiefling, but there are better options if you're dead set on going tiefling. Dex is decent, your spellcasting isn't.
Fierna Tiefling: Better ASIs than normal tiefling, worst spellcasting. Just about as worth it.
Glasya Tiefling: Dispater tiefling but with better spellcasting. Still not really a good choice.
Levistus Tiefling: Muuuuch better than the others so far. Con is good, and so is the spellcasting. Probably your best option for tiefling.
Mammon Tiefling: Normal tiefling with worse spells. Nope.
Mephistopheles Tiefling: Normal tiefling with slightly different spells. Nope.
Zariel Tiefling: Slightly worse than Levistus Tiefling imo, but better than the others. Strength bonus with paladin spells is interesting at least, although you can't concentrate on them in Rage.
I won't be covering the WGtE races or Ravnican races, as I don't own those books. Just a disclaimer: these races are rated on how good they are for a barbarian. Just because I say they're basically trash for barb doesn't mean they aren't good.
Currently playing in: Quest for the Shunned City, Coliseum of Conquest, DragonDenn's Dragonlords, Shipwrecked on Fugue, Tomb of Annihilation, Razor's Lost Mine of Phandelver, The Lost Kenku & One Grung Above
Currently DMing: Princes of the Apocalypse, Out of the Abyss, Coliseum of Conquest—The Arena (Sometimes)
Now, let's talk about the class features you'll get. Here's some rating and info about barbarian's base class features (not subclass features):
Hit Points
Barbarians have the highest hit dice of any class, and is the only one to have it.You’re going to be able to take a lot of hits.
Proficiencies
Pretty standard.Only thing really missing is proficiency in heavy armor, but you won’t be able to use that with Rage anyways.
Rage
Rage is, of course, your primary class defining feature.Rage is what makes a barbarian unique from all the other melee classes.It’s one of your most useful abilities, and you’ll want to use it wisely.While some of the qualifiers that come with maintaining it, you should have too many issues with that.Really the only downside to Rage is its limited uses, and the fact that it blocks you from multiclassing into most spellcasting classes.
Unarmored Defense
Nice, but not great.Mostly just good until you can get your hands on some good medium armor, which might take a while.
Reckless Attack
While this may seem like a high risk ability, it’s not as much as it seems.This is due to one simple fact—you’re going to be able to take the hit better than the other person, most likely, especially considering your own damage potential.This is another class defining feature, and you’re probably going to want to use it as much as possible.
Danger Sense
This is another great ability, especially since one of your main weaknesses are spellcasters.Having better saving throws is always useful in dealing with mages.
Ability Score Improvements
Pretty standard.Only reason it’s not rated higher is because you’re not a Fighter.
Extra Attack
Again, pretty standard.Only reason it’s not rated higher is because you’re not a Fighter.
Fast Movement
This is actually quite nice, as no Fighter or Paladin gets a speed boost.You’re going to be able to get into the thick of things much faster, and close with spellcasters more easily.
FeralInstinct
This ability is pretty situational, but is very useful when it does matter.
Brutal Critical (1, 2, and 3 Dice)
Another somewhat situational ability that is absolutely brutal when it is triggered, especially when combined with a Half-Orc’s Savage Attacks.With a greataxe, you could end up with 6d12 + 5 damage on a crit, which is just plain ridiculous.
Relentless Rage
Basically Relentless Endurance but better.Probably the best survivability increase you’ll get (other than more Rages).
Persistent Rage
Mainly a situational quality of life change, but it’s useful when it matters.Now you don’t have to worry about using your Rage as much.
IndomitableMight
While it might not seem too useful in combat at first, this basically means you’ll get an automatic 20 on any grapple check.Very useful out of combat as well, but still somewhat situational.
Primal Champion
This is your capstone ability, and it’s a doozy.It really doesn’t get much better than this.You’re basically increasing your attack bonus, damage bonus and both saving throw bonuses by 2, and your hit points by a full 40.
Now, for the subclasses:
Path of the Ancestral Guardian:
Type: Tank
This is your other best option for tank if you don't want to go Totem Warrior. Very useful if you want to focus on preventing damage to other people rather than yourself, especially someone squishy like the party wizard. I would rate this subclass higher if the Bear totem didn't exist.
Ancestral Protectors
Very good at forcing opponents not to go for squishy targets, and softening the blow if they do.
Spirit Shield
Yet another way of softening the blow to a squishy target.Less useful than Ancestral Protectors, however, at least until you get Vengeful Ancestors.
Consult the Spirits
Very flavorful, but only occasionally useful.This is your ability that’s mainly there to look cool, and not do too much else.
Vengeful Ancestors
Now this is a true capstone.While Spirit Shield is sort of meh without this, this makes that into an enormously useful ability that you’ll want to use as often as possible.Not only does it reflect damage, force damage is quite possibly the least commonly resisted damage type in the entire game.
Path of theBattlerager:
Type: Damage
Battlerager is the class for you if you really just want to tear things to pieces (literally). Imo it's a better pick than Berserker if you don't want to go Zealot, but it's only available for dwarves and people with really nice DMs. This subclass would be rated higher if Zealot didn't exist, and if it wasn't just (mostly) for dwarves.
Battlerager Armor
A nice damage boost. Basically a slightly weaker version of Frenzied Rage (see Path of the Berserker), but without the drawback of exhaustion.
Reckless Abandon
You mean I get rewarded for being a reckless fool? Sign me up! In all seriousness, this is an amazing ability, and really gives you no reason not to just use reckless attacks constantly (while you're raging, at least).
Battlerager Charge
Meh. It's not too bad, considering you're going to be a little slower as a dwarf, and goes well with Fast Movement. Only downside is the inability to use your Battlerager Armor attack afterwards. This could also be used for getting out of sticky situations by disengaging as an action and then just dashing away.
Spiked Retribution
Basically the Berserker's capstone, but without having to spend your reaction or rely on dice. Not going to deal as much burst damage, but it's going to be a lot steadier. A very solid final class ability.
Path of the Berserker:
Type: Damage
While Berserker may be the standard barbarian subclass, and probably the most often seen one, I'm not a huge fan of it. Frenzied Rage is just a little too situational, as are most of it's other abilities. Zealot or Battlerager will almost always be a better choice.
Frenzy
While this is an undeniably powerful ability, you really only want to use it when know you're going to take a long rest afterwards, or get greatly restored by your spellcaster shortly afterwards. Exhaustion is just too annoying of a penalty.
Mindless Rage
This ability is decent, but only if you're actually running into things trying to charm or frighten you.
Intimidating Presence
While fright is a powerful debuff, there are many creatures immune to it. Your turn is probably better spent just attacking.
Retaliation
Finally, a not mostly situational ability. Only unfortunate part is that you have to spend your reaction.
Path of the Storm Herald:
Type: Support/Damage
This is probably one of the most unique barb classes, but it's kind of underwhelming. It's probably the best subclass at dealing with a horde of small enemies, and Sea heralds aren't bad at burst damage, but they're overall just kind of meh.
Storm Aura (Desert)
Nice, but would be nicer if it didn't also damage your enemies. I could see an interesting combo with Scourge Aasimar, but not to great overall.
Storm Aura (Sea)
Desert but more controllable and with a saving throw. Your best bet for single target damage, but mostly useless against high Dex enemies.
Storm Aura (Tundra)
Now this is nice. Probably the best of the level 3 choices, and a great help to any fragile spellcasters you may be protecting.
Storm Soul (Desert)
Fire resistance and heat resistance. Fire damage is a pretty common type of damage, and extreme heat can be annoying. Still somewhat situational, but probably the most common damage type of all the Storm Soul abilities.
Storm Soul (Sea)
Lightning damage and underwater mobility. Not too bad, especially if you know you're going to be dealing with underwater battle in your campaign. Lightning damage is also fairly common.
Storm Soul (Tundra)
Cold resistance and . . .cold resistance. The least common type of damage out of all the three, and probably the most useless secondary ability. Still not bad.
Shielding Storm
Nice! A very solid buff for those around you, especially useful when combined with SA (Tundra).
Raging Storm (Desert)
Not bad. Only downside is the fact that's it's fire damage (which is commonly resisted), and it uses your reaction.
Raging Storm (Sea)
Better than it sounds at first, but still situational. Won't work on large monsters with high Strength, and is useless if the monster goes right afterwards and stands back up. Could maybe be combined with a grapple.
Raging Storm (Tundra)
Again, useless on big enemies. Good for keeping spellcasters from escaping, and doesn't cost a reaction. Still kind of situational.
Path of the Totem Warrior:
Type: Tank/Support
This is, by far, the best tank class, simply because of the first bear totem (and last). Resistance against everything but psychic is ridiculous, and an ability not even found in many high leveled monsters (except for fiends). Even if you're not a tank, this class is still a good choice for things like the wolf totem.
Totem Spirit (Bear)
Just plain ridiculous. Unless you're going up against a mind flayer, you'll be taking almost three times as long to kill as any other character (due to the higher hit die as well as resistances).
Totem Spirit (Eagle)
Not bad, but most other 3rd level totems pale when compared with Bear and Wolf. If you want to focus on mobility, this is a good choice.
Totem Spirit (Elk)
While this is useful, Eagle is probably a more useful movement ability.
Totem Spirit (Tiger)
Honestly, pretty useless. You're not going to be jumping much in most campaigns.
Totem Spirit (Wolf)
If you don't want to go the defensive path and go Bear, this is your next best option. Basically pack tactics, which is incredibly useful.
Aspect of the Beast (Bear)
Eh. Mostly situational, or just even plain useless. If you really need to drag something, just rage and you'll have advantage anyways. If you're not in combat, you could just have a friend help you move the object.
Aspect of the Beast (Eagle)
Pretty decent. Not going to be used terribly often, but better than Bear.
Aspect of the Beast (Elk)
If your DM keeps track of traveling pace and it's important, this is a decent ability. If not, it's useless. Even if it is, you're probably better off choosing Wolf.
Aspect of the Beast (Tiger)
Meh. More skills are decent, but not life-changing. You're not going to be a skill monkey anyways.
Aspect ofthe Beast (Wolf)
If your DM keeps track of traveling speed, this ability is very useful. I can see this being especially good in an exploration heavy campaign like Out of the Abyss.
Spirit Walker
Meh. Not bad, but hella situational. This ability is mostly just to add flavor.
Totemic Attunement (Bear)
This is the perfect complement to the level 3 Bear ability, if you want to go full tank. Only ability better at doing this in the entire game is Ancestral Protectors, or maybe compelled duel.
Totemic Attunement (Eagle)
Another nice movement ability, especially when combined with the level 3 Eagle ability. Not a bad choice.
Totemic Attunement (Elk)
Actually pretty good. Damage as a bonus action is always good.
Totemic Attunement (Tiger)
Same as above, but in a slightly different situation. Only downside is that it works less often than Elk.
Totemic Attunement (Wolf)
Decent, although you're already giving your friends advantage if you took the previous Wolf ability. Nice when combined with a grapple, or just for keeping targets from getting away.
Path of the Zealot:
Type: Damage
This is, imo, the best barbarian subclass for sheer damage. It's more versatile than Berserker, and still deals a punishing blow. And, it has better survivability than Berserker.
Divine Fury
This is your bread and butter damage ability. It may not have the same sheer numbers as Berserker's bonus action attack, but it's much more consistent. Not only that, it's using an uncommonly resisted damage type.
Warrior of the Gods
While this ability is very situational, it's incredibly useful when it matters, especially at lower levels when you have less money.
Fanatical Focus
Slightly worse legendary resistance at level 6? Sign me up.
Zealous Presence
A very nice ability to pop at key moments in a battle. This ability can mean the difference between winning and losing.
Rage beyond Death
Now this is ridiculous. As long as your cleric has spell slots/potions, you're basically immortal unless you're fighting something that can deal your entire health in one hit (which is extremely unlikely).
Currently playing in: Quest for the Shunned City, Coliseum of Conquest, DragonDenn's Dragonlords, Shipwrecked on Fugue, Tomb of Annihilation, Razor's Lost Mine of Phandelver, The Lost Kenku & One Grung Above
Currently DMing: Princes of the Apocalypse, Out of the Abyss, Coliseum of Conquest—The Arena (Sometimes)
While Barbarian is a powerful class on its own, it can be refined by the addition of other classes. Here's what I think of all the different combinations you can have:
Barbarian/Bard (Bardbarian)
A surprisingly good choice, as long as you don't mind having to have a decent Charisma. Inspiration isn't a spell and therefore can be used during rage, as well as having expertise and other useful abilities unrelated to spellcasting.
Barbarian/Cleric
Nope. Cleric's rely too much on spellcasting to be useful during rage. Better than some spellcasting classes, though, due to Divine Strikes and Channel Divinity.
Barbarian/Druid
If you're using Circle of the Land, Shepherd or Dreams, druid is a waste of XP. Now, if you're using Circle of the Moon, this becomes amazing. Wild Shape essentially gives you two extra hp pools which can become larger than with any other subclass (and Rage resistances do apply during it), and you can spend your spell slots to heal without actually casting a spell.
Barbarian/Fighter
Now this is a classic, and for good reason. Whether you go more fighter or more barb, these two classes work almost perfectly together. Barbarians would gain Second Wind, Action Surge and whatever subclass benefits you may choose. Fighters gain Reckless Attack, Rage, and whatever subclass benefits you choose. I can see a Champion's Improved Critical meshing well with a Barbarian, while a Battle Master's added accuracy and damage is also a good touch. Really the only subclass to avoid is Eldritch Knight, for obvious reasons.
Barbarian/Monk
I haven't ever seen this, but I could see making a niche build with this. Monks work much better with Dex, but it's not impossible to work out. Probably not the best choice.
Barbarian/Paladin
Haven't seen this one either, but I could see it being surprisingly decent. You wouldn't be able to cast spells, but you could always just use your spells for slots. Only downside is how MAD (Multiple Ability score Dependent) you'll end up, relying on Strength, Con and Charisma, while needing decent Dex because you can't wear heavy armor.
Barbarian/Ranger
Why even bother. Ranger is much better as a Dex class than Strength, and you probably won't have that high of a Wisdom score. Only benefit is Fighting Style, but you can get that one level early with a Fighter multiclass.
Barbarian/Rogue
While Rogue may primarily be thought of as a Dex class, Sneak Attack just requires the finesse property, not for you to use it. Thus, you can go something like Rogue 2 Fighter 1 Barb whatever, use two finesse weapons with Strength (Fighter for the TWF Fighting Style), and just spam Reckless Attack so you always have Sneak Attack.
Barbarian/Sorcerer
Meh abilities for a melee fighter, and a great spellcasting feature . . .that you can't use. Leave the spellslinging to someone else.
Barbarian/Warlock
Better than Sorcerer due to Armor of Agathys, but still not good. Don't bother. If you really want Armor of Agathys, just go Conquest paladin. Even that's probably not worth it, though.
Barbarian/Wizard
A spellcasting feature that you can't use utilizing your dump stat. With abilities that only apply to spellcasting (except for Bladesinger, but that uses too much Int to be useful), this is probably the worst class to go.
Now, all this theory-crafting is well and good, but let's see some of it in action. Here's a few possible character builds using some of the better combinations:
The Shapeshifting Barbarian:
Here's an example of a Barbarian Moon Druid build. This is just a guideline, and could probably be optimized a bit more. I went with 8 Barb 12 Druid for Elemental Wild Shape and the ASI. The spells don't really matter too much, as you'll mostly be using the spell slots for healing.
This is the classic Fighter/Barbarian build. I put 9 levels into Barb for Brutal Critical, and 11 into Fighter for two Extra Attacks. Champion for the added chance to get a Brutal Critical, with savage attacks coming into play as well.
And, here's an example of a Barb/Rogue build. Higher Dex than most Barb builds (mostly just for stealth and AC), and lower Con because of that. Also threw in a level of Fighter for Two Weapon Fighting, and Dual Wielder for the AC bonus and damage bonus (from using rapiers instead of shortswords, just didn't add the rapiers because I wanted to keep it at starting equipment).
Currently playing in: Quest for the Shunned City, Coliseum of Conquest, DragonDenn's Dragonlords, Shipwrecked on Fugue, Tomb of Annihilation, Razor's Lost Mine of Phandelver, The Lost Kenku & One Grung Above
Currently DMing: Princes of the Apocalypse, Out of the Abyss, Coliseum of Conquest—The Arena (Sometimes)
While feats are technically an optional rule, I haven't run across any games that don't use them. So, I figured I should cover which ones I think are worth it, and which ones aren't.
Normal feats:
Actor: Unless you went Bard, not worth it at all. Still not really worth it if you went bard. This is most likely someone else's job.
Alert: Not bad, although Feral Instinct partially negates this. Probably not worth the ASI.
Athlete: Not bad, but still probably not worth it. If you know you'll be doing a lot of climbing, just pick up some rope and climbing gear.
Charger: While situational, actually quite useful. As a barbarian, you're going to want to get into the fray as quickly as possible. This is probably one of the best ways to do so, since you can still attack after dashing.
Crossbow Expert: This is someone else's job. Why are you using a crossbow in the first place?
DefensiveDuelist: Not bad if you're dual wielding finesse weapons. Useless otherwise (unless you're using one finesse weapon (probably a rapier) and a shield).
DualWielder: Pretty much a necessity if you're dual wielding, especially as a rogue. Otherwise, who cares.
Dungeon Delver: Not bad if you're in that kind of campaign, but this is probably someone else's job. You'll also already have advantage on some trap saving throws from Feral Instinct.
Durable: Not a bad choice. Becomes amazing if you're a dwarf with the Dwarven Fortitude feat.
Elemental Adept (Any): This is someone else's job.
Grappler: Not bad. Becomes much better if you're a Battlerager.
Great Weapon Master: Obviously, only for those with Great Weapons. It's a great choice, though, as long as your Attack bonus is high enough. You'll probably want to hold off on getting this feat until you're higher leveled. Great for damage, and great for clearing hordes of weak enemies.
Healer: This is not your job. If you're also a paladin, this might be your job.
Heavily Armored: Useless, useless, and more useless. Proficiency in armor that you're never going to wear is just not good.
Heavy Armor Master: More benefits for armor you're never going to wear is useless.
Inspiring Leader: If you've gone partially into Bard, not a bad choice. Otherwise, this isn't your job.
Keen Mind: You don't have one, and you don't need to have one.
Lightly Armored: You already have this.
Linguist: This is someone else's job.
Lucky: Good for any class. Having more luck is always nice.
Mage Slayer: Pretty decent. You're going to be irritated enough by mages, might as well irritate them as well.
Magic Initiate: This is someone else's job. Could be useful if you wanted the SCAG cantrips, however (this would be for a niche build, not necessarily recommended).
Medium Armor Master: If you have a +3 Dex, definitely worth it. If you don't, don't bother.
Mobile: Not bad, especially for panic situations.
Moderately Armored: You have this already.
Mounted Combatant: If you have a mount, go for it. Obviously useless if you don't.
Observant: This is someone else's job.
Polearm Master: This is actually very good, as long as you use Polearms. Probably better than GWM if you're using a two-handed polearm.
Resilient (Dex or Wis): Common saving throws that hurt to fail. At the same time, might not be worth an ASI (unless you're encountering a lot of spellcasters).
Resilient (Str, Con, Int, Cha): Either you already have this, or it's just not worth it.
Savage Attacker: Not bad. Might not be worth an ASI, but it is useful (especially when paired with Great Weapon Fighting).
Sentinel: Very good, especially as a Bear Totem Warrior, or Ancestral Protector barbarian. This is one of the best tanking feats in the game, along with Shield Master and Tough.
Sharpshooter: This is someone else's job.
Shield Master: This is good, but you probably aren't using a shield.
Skilled: This is someone else's job, unless you're a bard (or maybe even rogue). Still probably not worth it.
Skulker: This is someone else's job.
Spell Sniper: This is someone else's job.
Tavern Brawler: If you're using an unarmed strike build, probably necessary. Not terribly useful otherwise.
Tough: This gives you an even more ridiculous hit point pool. Definitely worth it.
War Caster: This is someone else's job.
Weapon Master: You already have this.
Racial Feats:
Bountiful Luck: Why are you playing a halfling? I guess if you are, it's worth it.
Dragon Fear: Not bad. Probably not worth it.
Dragon Hide: Worse unarmored defense and claws. Meh.
Drow High Magic: Why are you a drow and why are you casting spells?
Dwarven Fortitude: This is one of my favorite feats in the entire game. It's amazing. It's pretty much a necessity if you're a dwarf.
Elven Accuracy: Why are you an elf and why are you using Dex weapons?
Fade Away: Why are you a gnome?
Fey Teleportation: Why are you a high elf?
Flames of Phlegethos: Why are you a tiefling and why are you casting spells?
Infernal Constitution: If you're a tiefling, this is good. If you're a Bear Totem Barb, useless.
Orcish Fury: Somewhat situational, but very good.
Prodigy: This is not your job.
Second Chance: Decent, but why are you a halfling?
Squat Nimbleness: Not bad, if you're a Dwarf. Dwarven Fortitude is much better, though.
Svirfneblin Magic: Why are you a deep gnome?
Wood ElfMagic: Why are you a wood elf and why are you casting spells?
Currently playing in: Quest for the Shunned City, Coliseum of Conquest, DragonDenn's Dragonlords, Shipwrecked on Fugue, Tomb of Annihilation, Razor's Lost Mine of Phandelver, The Lost Kenku & One Grung Above
Currently DMing: Princes of the Apocalypse, Out of the Abyss, Coliseum of Conquest—The Arena (Sometimes)
Well, that's it for this guide. I hope you find it helpful!
If you have any suggestions, comments, or things I missed, feel free to post here. I'll try to respond as often as possible, and fix any errors I might have missed.
I'll start another soon, based on the poll I posted.
I'll be starting a Rogue guide, so the poll is now closed. Kind of wish there was a way to do that, unless I'm missing something.
Currently playing in: Quest for the Shunned City, Coliseum of Conquest, DragonDenn's Dragonlords, Shipwrecked on Fugue, Tomb of Annihilation, Razor's Lost Mine of Phandelver, The Lost Kenku & One Grung Above
Currently DMing: Princes of the Apocalypse, Out of the Abyss, Coliseum of Conquest—The Arena (Sometimes)
Currently playing in: Quest for the Shunned City, Coliseum of Conquest, DragonDenn's Dragonlords, Shipwrecked on Fugue, Tomb of Annihilation, Razor's Lost Mine of Phandelver, The Lost Kenku & One Grung Above
Currently DMing: Princes of the Apocalypse, Out of the Abyss, Coliseum of Conquest—The Arena (Sometimes)
Currently playing in: Quest for the Shunned City, Coliseum of Conquest, DragonDenn's Dragonlords, Shipwrecked on Fugue, Tomb of Annihilation, Razor's Lost Mine of Phandelver, The Lost Kenku & One Grung Above
Currently DMing: Princes of the Apocalypse, Out of the Abyss, Coliseum of Conquest—The Arena (Sometimes)
That’s funny. I have a Warlock Barbarian that has proficiency with heavy armor... same with a ranger... huh. In that case, I see your reasoning for rating it this. Funny, funny. I honestly skipped through the rage section and proficiency section because I thought I knew what they had. Jokes on me :)
Just fixed the fact that some of the races were in the wrong place. I forgot that Sea Elves, Eladrin and Shadar-Kai are actually from MToF, since they're just filed under elf on here. Also fixed Deep Gnome, since it should have been in the EEPC section.
Currently playing in: Quest for the Shunned City, Coliseum of Conquest, DragonDenn's Dragonlords, Shipwrecked on Fugue, Tomb of Annihilation, Razor's Lost Mine of Phandelver, The Lost Kenku & One Grung Above
Currently DMing: Princes of the Apocalypse, Out of the Abyss, Coliseum of Conquest—The Arena (Sometimes)
Currently playing in: Quest for the Shunned City, Coliseum of Conquest, DragonDenn's Dragonlords, Shipwrecked on Fugue, Tomb of Annihilation, Razor's Lost Mine of Phandelver, The Lost Kenku & One Grung Above
Currently DMing: Princes of the Apocalypse, Out of the Abyss, Coliseum of Conquest—The Arena (Sometimes)
So i'm new to DnD this is only my second adventure. in my first one i went full fighter/champion but was told i played him like a barbarian, so this time i went barb and i kind of hated him was thinking of multiclassing into druid and was wonder why you to more lvls in druid than barb. please enlighten this poor noob.
This wouldn't matter too much unless you were going all the way to level 20. I put it that way because (imo) the abilities a level 12 druid would have were more important than the abilities a level 12 barbarian would have. If you want help trying to figure out what class to do when, I could try and help you out (probably better to do it in a PM).
Currently playing in: Quest for the Shunned City, Coliseum of Conquest, DragonDenn's Dragonlords, Shipwrecked on Fugue, Tomb of Annihilation, Razor's Lost Mine of Phandelver, The Lost Kenku & One Grung Above
Currently DMing: Princes of the Apocalypse, Out of the Abyss, Coliseum of Conquest—The Arena (Sometimes)
Thanks for the guide! Barbarian is one of the classes with the fewest up to date guides, so this really helps diversify the perspectives. Good work!
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Horatio Hirschfeld - Squire imbued with fae powers, in the Coliseum of Conquest (W2/L1) DM for Reavers of Harkenwold, and sometimes The Fighting Grounds of the Coliseum
Currently playing in: Quest for the Shunned City, Coliseum of Conquest, DragonDenn's Dragonlords, Shipwrecked on Fugue, Tomb of Annihilation, Razor's Lost Mine of Phandelver, The Lost Kenku & One Grung Above
Currently DMing: Princes of the Apocalypse, Out of the Abyss, Coliseum of Conquest—The Arena (Sometimes)
Excellent guide LordShadowthorn! I've been waiting for something like this on these forums, I'm usually looking at older barbarian guides on other sites.
Can't wait to see what you put together for your rogue guide.
Also:
You can just tell everyone you love Dwarves, it's okay no one will judge you ;)
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How to Stoke the Fire Within: A Guide to the Barbarian
So, I decided to try my hand at making some character optimization guides, starting with Barbarian. I’ll mostly be focusing on optimization and not roleplay, so there’s always more room to add flavor to your character. Now, let’s cut right to the punch/axe/sword/head.
This thread will be updated every so often. I won't have all of this ready right away, so I'll be adding to it in individual posts.
Throughout this guide, I'll be using colors to denote how useful a certain ability/race etc. is. Here's the scale:
Gold is a must have, at least in my opinion.
Green is a very good ability, but could maybe be replaced with something else.
Blue is a solid choice, but there are perhaps better ones.
Black is just average.
Red is most likely useless, or almost useless.
Gray is something that is rarely useful, but can be surprisingly good in some situations.
Check out my Extended signature here
Class Guides: Barbarian, Rogue, Sorcerer, Bard General Guides: PvP
Currently playing in: Quest for the Shunned City, Coliseum of Conquest, DragonDenn's Dragonlords, Shipwrecked on Fugue, Tomb of Annihilation, Razor's Lost Mine of Phandelver, The Lost Kenku & One Grung Above
Currently DMing: Princes of the Apocalypse, Out of the Abyss, Coliseum of Conquest—The Arena (Sometimes)
What is a Barbarian?
Barbarian is, of course, a melee class focused on dishing out as much damage as possible while tanking any punishment with an absolutely ludicrous pool of hit points, especially when combined with their resistances.
Pros:
Cons:
Check out my Extended signature here
Class Guides: Barbarian, Rogue, Sorcerer, Bard General Guides: PvP
Currently playing in: Quest for the Shunned City, Coliseum of Conquest, DragonDenn's Dragonlords, Shipwrecked on Fugue, Tomb of Annihilation, Razor's Lost Mine of Phandelver, The Lost Kenku & One Grung Above
Currently DMing: Princes of the Apocalypse, Out of the Abyss, Coliseum of Conquest—The Arena (Sometimes)
Ability Scores
While you’ll be focussing mainly on Strength and Con, you’ll want other abilities to be at least decent.
Strength: If you’re going damage oriented, you’ll want at least a 15 if not a 16. If not, still probably a 14 at least. This will be one of your most often used scores, and is always important.
Dexterity: Always good for those saving throws and AC. Not as important as Strength and Con, but it’s up there. You’ll want at least a +1.
Constitution: No matter what kind of barb you are, you'll need as much Con as you can get.
Wisdom: Would probably be pretty meh if it weren't for the large amount of saving throws relying on it. It has some decent skills you can learn attached to it as well, such as Perception and Survival.
Intelligence: This will almost surely be your dump stat. You probably won't use the skills attached to it very often, and Intelligence saving throws don't come up very often.
Charisma: Could be another dump stat, but you could also easily want a decent Intimidation bonus.
Check out my Extended signature here
Class Guides: Barbarian, Rogue, Sorcerer, Bard General Guides: PvP
Currently playing in: Quest for the Shunned City, Coliseum of Conquest, DragonDenn's Dragonlords, Shipwrecked on Fugue, Tomb of Annihilation, Razor's Lost Mine of Phandelver, The Lost Kenku & One Grung Above
Currently DMing: Princes of the Apocalypse, Out of the Abyss, Coliseum of Conquest—The Arena (Sometimes)
Races
As a barbarian, really any race that gives a bonus to either Strength or Constitution (or both) will work. However, some race abilities mesh better overall with the class.
PH Races:
Dragonborn: Definitely not a bad choice. +2 to Strength is nothing to sneeze at, although you don’t get any bonus to Con and get a boost to what will possibly be your dump stat. Breath Weapon is decent for dealing with enemies resistant to your weapons, and having another resistance is always nice.
Mountain Dwarf: Never a bad choice for any Str-based melee character, and barbs are no exception. You get some welcome poison resistance, and some nice boosts to your primary stats. Becomes gold if you're going for a Battlerager.
Hill Dwarf: Not a bad choice, but you're probably better off going one of the other dwarven subraces (unless you just really want those hit points).
Dark Elf (Drow): Eh . . .no. No bonus to Strength or Con, a bonus to one of your possible dump stats, although the Dex bonus isn't bad. Spellcasting helps redeem this race, but, overall, you're much better off with other picks.
High Elf: This race gives you an even more useless ability score bonus than a drow, and worse other abilities. High elves make drow look like a good choice.
Wood Elf: Meh. It's better than drow, but not by much. You're probably not going to be doing much hiding.
Forest Gnome: Basically the same as a deep gnome, but with slightly more useless abilities (for a barb, at least).
Rock Gnome: While a Con bonus is good, the rest of the package isn't.
Half-Elf: Actually not too bad, especially if you wanted to put more Charisma on your barbarian. You could use the other two increases on Str and Con. You're probably better off with going one of the variants, most likely Wood Elf for the movement speed or Drow for the spellcasting.
Lightfoot Halfling: Lucky is good, but not worth the Small size. (Remember, you can't use heavy weapons without disadvantage as a small character.)
Stout Halfling: Better than all the other halflings, but you're probably better off with a dwarf.
Half-Orc: Whooooo . . .boy. Strength bonus, Con bonus, crit bonus, survivability bonus, even free Intimidation! Half-Orcs will always be one of your go-to barbarian races, and that's for good reason. Savage Attacks meshes well with Brutal Critical, and Relentless Endurance meshes well with Relentless Rage. Top that off with the bonuses, and you've got yourself an absolute terror.
Human: Eh, not bad. You'll probably be better off with races with actual abilities or . . .
Variant Human: Much better. Starting off with a feat at level 1 is fantastic, and opens up later ASIs. You'll probably end up going something like Tough or Great Weapon Master, although I could also see Sentinel or maybe even Shield Master. I'll go over feats later on.
Tiefling (Normal): Nope. Bonuses to both of your dump stats, with a decent spellcasting trait and fire resistance barely helping at all.
EEPC Races:
Aarakocra: If your DM allows these, you still probably shouldn't bother. Flight and a Dex increase are decent, but Wisdom and no Strength or Con aren't. Although, flight alone can be extremely powerful.
Air Genasi: Definitely not bad. Levitate isn't a bad spell, and bonuses to Dex and Con are welcome. Probably your best bet if you really want to try out a Dex barbarian (which isn't really recommended for optimization).
Earth Genasi: Good ability score increases, but somewhat mediocre abilities. Pass without trace is a great spell, but not so much for a barb. Earth walk is only good if your DM uses a lot of difficult terrain, and you consistently get annoyed by it.
Fire Genasi: Meh. Con is good, Int isn't. Fire resistance and spellcasting aren't bad, though.
Water Genasi: Also meh. Con is good, Wis is decent. Your spellcasting trait is worse than fire, and your damage resistance won't come up as often (probably), but still not a bad pick.
Deep Gnome: While advantage on saving throws against most magical effects is nice, it's really not worth getting a +2 bonus to your dump stat. You also won't be able to use heavy weapons, which applies for the rest of the gnomes as well.
Goliath: Basically half-orc without Savage Attacks and slightly different Relentless Endurance. Half-orc would probably be better unless you're going full tank.
VGtM Races:
Fallen Aasimar: Not too bad. +2 to Charisma isn't great, but those resistances, Str bonus and Necrotic Shroud are top notch abilities for a barb.
Protector Aasimar: Definitely the worst of the Aasimar. Wisdom and Charisma just aren't useful enough to you, but it's other abilities keep it from being completely useless.
Scourge Aasimar: Also not a bad choice. Basically Fallen Aasimar with Con instead of Strength, and an AoE damage ability instead of a debuff.
Bugbear: Actually, quite a good choice. Good ability score bonuses, limited reach on all weapons, and an ambush ability. If you felt like making a stealthy barbarian, this would most likely be your best bet. Only downsides are no bonus to Con, and the fact that bugbears are a monstrous race.
Firbolg: Meh. No Con bonus and abilities that don't really work with the class overall make this race just not really worth it.
Goblin: Much better choices exist, like . . .pretty much everything else other than maybe high elves (and kobolds). The inability to wield heavy weapons, no Str bonus and meh abilities that just don't work for barbs make this really just not worth it.
Hobgoblin: Not too bad due to that Con bonus, but an Int bonus is useless. Its abilities are also mostly useless except for Saving Face, which is limited use anyways.
Kenku: Nope. No bonus to Str or Con, and abilities that are much more suited to Rogues.
Kobold: This is, almost without a doubt, the worst race for a barbarian. Not only are you Small, your Strength score is reduced by 2. Pack Tactics is decent, but Sunlight Sensitivity basically cancels that out.
Lizardfolk: Not bad at all. No bonus to Str, but Con is always good, and Wisdom is decent. Hungry Jaws is very good for a barb, so overall a solid race. If you have trouble getting access to normal weapons, this race easily becomes green.
Orc: A slightly worse version of Half-Orc. Aggressive is good, but it can't replace both Relentless Endurance and Savage Attacks.
Tabaxi: Meh. Feline Agility is good, but doesn't make up for a lack of Str or Con.
Triton: An interesting choice, but probably not the most optimal one. Does have Strength and Con, but your spellcasting isn't that great. Picking up another damage resistance is always good, however.
Yuan-ti Pureblood: If this race gave a bonus to Con instead of Int, it would almost be worth it just for Magic Resistance. Alas, it doesn't.
SCAG Races:
Aquatic Half-Elf: Pretty useless, unless you're in an aquatic campaign. If you are, there are worse options.
Drow Half-Elf: Half-Elf with spellcasting, but that doesn't really matter since you're a barbarian.
High Half-Elf: You have one of those, and you don't need the other.
Wood Half-Elf: The best option by far. You're probably best off going speed, but this still isn't that that useful.
Ghostwise Halfling: Meh. Really not worth the Small size.
Feral Tieflings: Much better than normal tieflings, but that's really not saying much. No bonus to Strength or Con and a bonus to a dump stat just make fire resistance and racial spellcasting not really worth it.
MToF Races:
Eladrin: You want a drow without spellcasting but with very limited teleportation? Nah, didn't think so. For sure could open up some interesting roleplay, but it's definitely not optimal.
Sea Elf: If you're in a campaign involving lots of water, not too bad of a choice. No Strength bonus, but that's not that big a deal. If you're not dealing with a lot of water, this race is pretty much useless.
Shadar-Kai: Now these elves aren't too bad. Bonuses to Dex and Con are always welcome, and their resistances and teleportation could help you out in a tough spot. Not the best choice, but not the worst. Keep in mind, this race might not always work in your campaign setting.
Githyanki: Eh. Better choices exist, but they aren't bad. Strength is good, Int isn't, but misty step is a good panic option if you've gone in too deep once you reach level 5.
Githzerai: Don't bother. Mental Discipline is decent, but it's just not enough to make up for the rest.
Baalzebul Tiefling: Same as normal tiefling, but with worse spells. Not really sure there's ever a reason to pick this race for any class, to be honest.
Dispater Tiefling: Better than normal tiefling, but there are better options if you're dead set on going tiefling. Dex is decent, your spellcasting isn't.
Fierna Tiefling: Better ASIs than normal tiefling, worst spellcasting. Just about as worth it.
Glasya Tiefling: Dispater tiefling but with better spellcasting. Still not really a good choice.
Levistus Tiefling: Muuuuch better than the others so far. Con is good, and so is the spellcasting. Probably your best option for tiefling.
Mammon Tiefling: Normal tiefling with worse spells. Nope.
Mephistopheles Tiefling: Normal tiefling with slightly different spells. Nope.
Zariel Tiefling: Slightly worse than Levistus Tiefling imo, but better than the others. Strength bonus with paladin spells is interesting at least, although you can't concentrate on them in Rage.
I won't be covering the WGtE races or Ravnican races, as I don't own those books. Just a disclaimer: these races are rated on how good they are for a barbarian. Just because I say they're basically trash for barb doesn't mean they aren't good.
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Class Guides: Barbarian, Rogue, Sorcerer, Bard General Guides: PvP
Currently playing in: Quest for the Shunned City, Coliseum of Conquest, DragonDenn's Dragonlords, Shipwrecked on Fugue, Tomb of Annihilation, Razor's Lost Mine of Phandelver, The Lost Kenku & One Grung Above
Currently DMing: Princes of the Apocalypse, Out of the Abyss, Coliseum of Conquest—The Arena (Sometimes)
Class Features
Now, let's talk about the class features you'll get. Here's some rating and info about barbarian's base class features (not subclass features):
Hit Points
Barbarians have the highest hit dice of any class, and is the only one to have it. You’re going to be able to take a lot of hits.
Proficiencies
Pretty standard. Only thing really missing is proficiency in heavy armor, but you won’t be able to use that with Rage anyways.
Rage
Rage is, of course, your primary class defining feature. Rage is what makes a barbarian unique from all the other melee classes. It’s one of your most useful abilities, and you’ll want to use it wisely. While some of the qualifiers that come with maintaining it, you should have too many issues with that. Really the only downside to Rage is its limited uses, and the fact that it blocks you from multiclassing into most spellcasting classes.
Unarmored Defense
Nice, but not great. Mostly just good until you can get your hands on some good medium armor, which might take a while.
Reckless Attack
While this may seem like a high risk ability, it’s not as much as it seems. This is due to one simple fact—you’re going to be able to take the hit better than the other person, most likely, especially considering your own damage potential. This is another class defining feature, and you’re probably going to want to use it as much as possible.
Danger Sense
This is another great ability, especially since one of your main weaknesses are spellcasters. Having better saving throws is always useful in dealing with mages.
Ability Score Improvements
Pretty standard. Only reason it’s not rated higher is because you’re not a Fighter.
Extra Attack
Again, pretty standard. Only reason it’s not rated higher is because you’re not a Fighter.
Fast Movement
This is actually quite nice, as no Fighter or Paladin gets a speed boost. You’re going to be able to get into the thick of things much faster, and close with spellcasters more easily.
Feral Instinct
This ability is pretty situational, but is very useful when it does matter.
Brutal Critical (1, 2, and 3 Dice)
Another somewhat situational ability that is absolutely brutal when it is triggered, especially when combined with a Half-Orc’s Savage Attacks. With a greataxe, you could end up with 6d12 + 5 damage on a crit, which is just plain ridiculous.
Relentless Rage
Basically Relentless Endurance but better. Probably the best survivability increase you’ll get (other than more Rages).
Persistent Rage
Mainly a situational quality of life change, but it’s useful when it matters. Now you don’t have to worry about using your Rage as much.
Indomitable Might
While it might not seem too useful in combat at first, this basically means you’ll get an automatic 20 on any grapple check. Very useful out of combat as well, but still somewhat situational.
Primal Champion
This is your capstone ability, and it’s a doozy. It really doesn’t get much better than this. You’re basically increasing your attack bonus, damage bonus and both saving throw bonuses by 2, and your hit points by a full 40.
Now, for the subclasses:
Path of the Ancestral Guardian:
Type: Tank
This is your other best option for tank if you don't want to go Totem Warrior. Very useful if you want to focus on preventing damage to other people rather than yourself, especially someone squishy like the party wizard. I would rate this subclass higher if the Bear totem didn't exist.
Ancestral Protectors
Very good at forcing opponents not to go for squishy targets, and softening the blow if they do.
Spirit Shield
Yet another way of softening the blow to a squishy target. Less useful than Ancestral Protectors, however, at least until you get Vengeful Ancestors.
Consult the Spirits
Very flavorful, but only occasionally useful. This is your ability that’s mainly there to look cool, and not do too much else.
Vengeful Ancestors
Now this is a true capstone. While Spirit Shield is sort of meh without this, this makes that into an enormously useful ability that you’ll want to use as often as possible. Not only does it reflect damage, force damage is quite possibly the least commonly resisted damage type in the entire game.
Path of the Battlerager:
Type: Damage
Battlerager is the class for you if you really just want to tear things to pieces (literally). Imo it's a better pick than Berserker if you don't want to go Zealot, but it's only available for dwarves and people with really nice DMs. This subclass would be rated higher if Zealot didn't exist, and if it wasn't just (mostly) for dwarves.
Battlerager Armor
A nice damage boost. Basically a slightly weaker version of Frenzied Rage (see Path of the Berserker), but without the drawback of exhaustion.
Reckless Abandon
You mean I get rewarded for being a reckless fool? Sign me up! In all seriousness, this is an amazing ability, and really gives you no reason not to just use reckless attacks constantly (while you're raging, at least).
Battlerager Charge
Meh. It's not too bad, considering you're going to be a little slower as a dwarf, and goes well with Fast Movement. Only downside is the inability to use your Battlerager Armor attack afterwards. This could also be used for getting out of sticky situations by disengaging as an action and then just dashing away.
Spiked Retribution
Basically the Berserker's capstone, but without having to spend your reaction or rely on dice. Not going to deal as much burst damage, but it's going to be a lot steadier. A very solid final class ability.
Path of the Berserker:
Type: Damage
While Berserker may be the standard barbarian subclass, and probably the most often seen one, I'm not a huge fan of it. Frenzied Rage is just a little too situational, as are most of it's other abilities. Zealot or Battlerager will almost always be a better choice.
Frenzy
While this is an undeniably powerful ability, you really only want to use it when know you're going to take a long rest afterwards, or get greatly restored by your spellcaster shortly afterwards. Exhaustion is just too annoying of a penalty.
Mindless Rage
This ability is decent, but only if you're actually running into things trying to charm or frighten you.
Intimidating Presence
While fright is a powerful debuff, there are many creatures immune to it. Your turn is probably better spent just attacking.
Retaliation
Finally, a not mostly situational ability. Only unfortunate part is that you have to spend your reaction.
Path of the Storm Herald:
Type: Support/Damage
This is probably one of the most unique barb classes, but it's kind of underwhelming. It's probably the best subclass at dealing with a horde of small enemies, and Sea heralds aren't bad at burst damage, but they're overall just kind of meh.
Storm Aura (Desert)
Nice, but would be nicer if it didn't also damage your enemies. I could see an interesting combo with Scourge Aasimar, but not to great overall.
Storm Aura (Sea)
Desert but more controllable and with a saving throw. Your best bet for single target damage, but mostly useless against high Dex enemies.
Storm Aura (Tundra)
Now this is nice. Probably the best of the level 3 choices, and a great help to any fragile spellcasters you may be protecting.
Storm Soul (Desert)
Fire resistance and heat resistance. Fire damage is a pretty common type of damage, and extreme heat can be annoying. Still somewhat situational, but probably the most common damage type of all the Storm Soul abilities.
Storm Soul (Sea)
Lightning damage and underwater mobility. Not too bad, especially if you know you're going to be dealing with underwater battle in your campaign. Lightning damage is also fairly common.
Storm Soul (Tundra)
Cold resistance and . . .cold resistance. The least common type of damage out of all the three, and probably the most useless secondary ability. Still not bad.
Shielding Storm
Nice! A very solid buff for those around you, especially useful when combined with SA (Tundra).
Raging Storm (Desert)
Not bad. Only downside is the fact that's it's fire damage (which is commonly resisted), and it uses your reaction.
Raging Storm (Sea)
Better than it sounds at first, but still situational. Won't work on large monsters with high Strength, and is useless if the monster goes right afterwards and stands back up. Could maybe be combined with a grapple.
Raging Storm (Tundra)
Again, useless on big enemies. Good for keeping spellcasters from escaping, and doesn't cost a reaction. Still kind of situational.
Path of the Totem Warrior:
Type: Tank/Support
This is, by far, the best tank class, simply because of the first bear totem (and last). Resistance against everything but psychic is ridiculous, and an ability not even found in many high leveled monsters (except for fiends). Even if you're not a tank, this class is still a good choice for things like the wolf totem.
Totem Spirit (Bear)
Just plain ridiculous. Unless you're going up against a mind flayer, you'll be taking almost three times as long to kill as any other character (due to the higher hit die as well as resistances).
Totem Spirit (Eagle)
Not bad, but most other 3rd level totems pale when compared with Bear and Wolf. If you want to focus on mobility, this is a good choice.
Totem Spirit (Elk)
While this is useful, Eagle is probably a more useful movement ability.
Totem Spirit (Tiger)
Honestly, pretty useless. You're not going to be jumping much in most campaigns.
Totem Spirit (Wolf)
If you don't want to go the defensive path and go Bear, this is your next best option. Basically pack tactics, which is incredibly useful.
Aspect of the Beast (Bear)
Eh. Mostly situational, or just even plain useless. If you really need to drag something, just rage and you'll have advantage anyways. If you're not in combat, you could just have a friend help you move the object.
Aspect of the Beast (Eagle)
Pretty decent. Not going to be used terribly often, but better than Bear.
Aspect of the Beast (Elk)
If your DM keeps track of traveling pace and it's important, this is a decent ability. If not, it's useless. Even if it is, you're probably better off choosing Wolf.
Aspect of the Beast (Tiger)
Meh. More skills are decent, but not life-changing. You're not going to be a skill monkey anyways.
Aspect of the Beast (Wolf)
If your DM keeps track of traveling speed, this ability is very useful. I can see this being especially good in an exploration heavy campaign like Out of the Abyss.
Spirit Walker
Meh. Not bad, but hella situational. This ability is mostly just to add flavor.
Totemic Attunement (Bear)
This is the perfect complement to the level 3 Bear ability, if you want to go full tank. Only ability better at doing this in the entire game is Ancestral Protectors, or maybe compelled duel.
Totemic Attunement (Eagle)
Another nice movement ability, especially when combined with the level 3 Eagle ability. Not a bad choice.
Totemic Attunement (Elk)
Actually pretty good. Damage as a bonus action is always good.
Totemic Attunement (Tiger)
Same as above, but in a slightly different situation. Only downside is that it works less often than Elk.
Totemic Attunement (Wolf)
Decent, although you're already giving your friends advantage if you took the previous Wolf ability. Nice when combined with a grapple, or just for keeping targets from getting away.
Path of the Zealot:
Type: Damage
This is, imo, the best barbarian subclass for sheer damage. It's more versatile than Berserker, and still deals a punishing blow. And, it has better survivability than Berserker.
Divine Fury
This is your bread and butter damage ability. It may not have the same sheer numbers as Berserker's bonus action attack, but it's much more consistent. Not only that, it's using an uncommonly resisted damage type.
Warrior of the Gods
While this ability is very situational, it's incredibly useful when it matters, especially at lower levels when you have less money.
Fanatical Focus
Slightly worse legendary resistance at level 6? Sign me up.
Zealous Presence
A very nice ability to pop at key moments in a battle. This ability can mean the difference between winning and losing.
Rage beyond Death
Now this is ridiculous. As long as your cleric has spell slots/potions, you're basically immortal unless you're fighting something that can deal your entire health in one hit (which is extremely unlikely).
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Class Guides: Barbarian, Rogue, Sorcerer, Bard General Guides: PvP
Currently playing in: Quest for the Shunned City, Coliseum of Conquest, DragonDenn's Dragonlords, Shipwrecked on Fugue, Tomb of Annihilation, Razor's Lost Mine of Phandelver, The Lost Kenku & One Grung Above
Currently DMing: Princes of the Apocalypse, Out of the Abyss, Coliseum of Conquest—The Arena (Sometimes)
Multiclassing
While Barbarian is a powerful class on its own, it can be refined by the addition of other classes. Here's what I think of all the different combinations you can have:
Barbarian/Bard (Bardbarian)
A surprisingly good choice, as long as you don't mind having to have a decent Charisma. Inspiration isn't a spell and therefore can be used during rage, as well as having expertise and other useful abilities unrelated to spellcasting.
Barbarian/Cleric
Nope. Cleric's rely too much on spellcasting to be useful during rage. Better than some spellcasting classes, though, due to Divine Strikes and Channel Divinity.
Barbarian/Druid
If you're using Circle of the Land, Shepherd or Dreams, druid is a waste of XP. Now, if you're using Circle of the Moon, this becomes amazing. Wild Shape essentially gives you two extra hp pools which can become larger than with any other subclass (and Rage resistances do apply during it), and you can spend your spell slots to heal without actually casting a spell.
Barbarian/Fighter
Now this is a classic, and for good reason. Whether you go more fighter or more barb, these two classes work almost perfectly together. Barbarians would gain Second Wind, Action Surge and whatever subclass benefits you may choose. Fighters gain Reckless Attack, Rage, and whatever subclass benefits you choose. I can see a Champion's Improved Critical meshing well with a Barbarian, while a Battle Master's added accuracy and damage is also a good touch. Really the only subclass to avoid is Eldritch Knight, for obvious reasons.
Barbarian/Monk
I haven't ever seen this, but I could see making a niche build with this. Monks work much better with Dex, but it's not impossible to work out. Probably not the best choice.
Barbarian/Paladin
Haven't seen this one either, but I could see it being surprisingly decent. You wouldn't be able to cast spells, but you could always just use your spells for slots. Only downside is how MAD (Multiple Ability score Dependent) you'll end up, relying on Strength, Con and Charisma, while needing decent Dex because you can't wear heavy armor.
Barbarian/Ranger
Why even bother. Ranger is much better as a Dex class than Strength, and you probably won't have that high of a Wisdom score. Only benefit is Fighting Style, but you can get that one level early with a Fighter multiclass.
Barbarian/Rogue
While Rogue may primarily be thought of as a Dex class, Sneak Attack just requires the finesse property, not for you to use it. Thus, you can go something like Rogue 2 Fighter 1 Barb whatever, use two finesse weapons with Strength (Fighter for the TWF Fighting Style), and just spam Reckless Attack so you always have Sneak Attack.
Barbarian/Sorcerer
Meh abilities for a melee fighter, and a great spellcasting feature . . .that you can't use. Leave the spellslinging to someone else.
Barbarian/Warlock
Better than Sorcerer due to Armor of Agathys, but still not good. Don't bother. If you really want Armor of Agathys, just go Conquest paladin. Even that's probably not worth it, though.
Barbarian/Wizard
A spellcasting feature that you can't use utilizing your dump stat. With abilities that only apply to spellcasting (except for Bladesinger, but that uses too much Int to be useful), this is probably the worst class to go.
Now, all this theory-crafting is well and good, but let's see some of it in action. Here's a few possible character builds using some of the better combinations:
The Shapeshifting Barbarian:
Here's an example of a Barbarian Moon Druid build. This is just a guideline, and could probably be optimized a bit more. I went with 8 Barb 12 Druid for Elemental Wild Shape and the ASI. The spells don't really matter too much, as you'll mostly be using the spell slots for healing.
Here's the character link.
The Slightly More Controllable Barbarian:
This is the classic Fighter/Barbarian build. I put 9 levels into Barb for Brutal Critical, and 11 into Fighter for two Extra Attacks. Champion for the added chance to get a Brutal Critical, with savage attacks coming into play as well.
Here's the character link.
The Sneakish Barbarian:
And, here's an example of a Barb/Rogue build. Higher Dex than most Barb builds (mostly just for stealth and AC), and lower Con because of that. Also threw in a level of Fighter for Two Weapon Fighting, and Dual Wielder for the AC bonus and damage bonus (from using rapiers instead of shortswords, just didn't add the rapiers because I wanted to keep it at starting equipment).
Here's the character link.
Disclaimer: these are examples, not strict guidelines to always be followed.
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Class Guides: Barbarian, Rogue, Sorcerer, Bard General Guides: PvP
Currently playing in: Quest for the Shunned City, Coliseum of Conquest, DragonDenn's Dragonlords, Shipwrecked on Fugue, Tomb of Annihilation, Razor's Lost Mine of Phandelver, The Lost Kenku & One Grung Above
Currently DMing: Princes of the Apocalypse, Out of the Abyss, Coliseum of Conquest—The Arena (Sometimes)
Feats
While feats are technically an optional rule, I haven't run across any games that don't use them. So, I figured I should cover which ones I think are worth it, and which ones aren't.
Normal feats:
Actor: Unless you went Bard, not worth it at all. Still not really worth it if you went bard. This is most likely someone else's job.
Alert: Not bad, although Feral Instinct partially negates this. Probably not worth the ASI.
Athlete: Not bad, but still probably not worth it. If you know you'll be doing a lot of climbing, just pick up some rope and climbing gear.
Charger: While situational, actually quite useful. As a barbarian, you're going to want to get into the fray as quickly as possible. This is probably one of the best ways to do so, since you can still attack after dashing.
Crossbow Expert: This is someone else's job. Why are you using a crossbow in the first place?
Defensive Duelist: Not bad if you're dual wielding finesse weapons. Useless otherwise (unless you're using one finesse weapon (probably a rapier) and a shield).
Dual Wielder: Pretty much a necessity if you're dual wielding, especially as a rogue. Otherwise, who cares.
Dungeon Delver: Not bad if you're in that kind of campaign, but this is probably someone else's job. You'll also already have advantage on some trap saving throws from Feral Instinct.
Durable: Not a bad choice. Becomes amazing if you're a dwarf with the Dwarven Fortitude feat.
Elemental Adept (Any): This is someone else's job.
Grappler: Not bad. Becomes much better if you're a Battlerager.
Great Weapon Master: Obviously, only for those with Great Weapons. It's a great choice, though, as long as your Attack bonus is high enough. You'll probably want to hold off on getting this feat until you're higher leveled. Great for damage, and great for clearing hordes of weak enemies.
Healer: This is not your job. If you're also a paladin, this might be your job.
Heavily Armored: Useless, useless, and more useless. Proficiency in armor that you're never going to wear is just not good.
Heavy Armor Master: More benefits for armor you're never going to wear is useless.
Inspiring Leader: If you've gone partially into Bard, not a bad choice. Otherwise, this isn't your job.
Keen Mind: You don't have one, and you don't need to have one.
Lightly Armored: You already have this.
Linguist: This is someone else's job.
Lucky: Good for any class. Having more luck is always nice.
Mage Slayer: Pretty decent. You're going to be irritated enough by mages, might as well irritate them as well.
Magic Initiate: This is someone else's job. Could be useful if you wanted the SCAG cantrips, however (this would be for a niche build, not necessarily recommended).
Medium Armor Master: If you have a +3 Dex, definitely worth it. If you don't, don't bother.
Mobile: Not bad, especially for panic situations.
Moderately Armored: You have this already.
Mounted Combatant: If you have a mount, go for it. Obviously useless if you don't.
Observant: This is someone else's job.
Polearm Master: This is actually very good, as long as you use Polearms. Probably better than GWM if you're using a two-handed polearm.
Resilient (Dex or Wis): Common saving throws that hurt to fail. At the same time, might not be worth an ASI (unless you're encountering a lot of spellcasters).
Resilient (Str, Con, Int, Cha): Either you already have this, or it's just not worth it.
Savage Attacker: Not bad. Might not be worth an ASI, but it is useful (especially when paired with Great Weapon Fighting).
Sentinel: Very good, especially as a Bear Totem Warrior, or Ancestral Protector barbarian. This is one of the best tanking feats in the game, along with Shield Master and Tough.
Sharpshooter: This is someone else's job.
Shield Master: This is good, but you probably aren't using a shield.
Skilled: This is someone else's job, unless you're a bard (or maybe even rogue). Still probably not worth it.
Skulker: This is someone else's job.
Spell Sniper: This is someone else's job.
Tavern Brawler: If you're using an unarmed strike build, probably necessary. Not terribly useful otherwise.
Tough: This gives you an even more ridiculous hit point pool. Definitely worth it.
War Caster: This is someone else's job.
Weapon Master: You already have this.
Racial Feats:
Bountiful Luck: Why are you playing a halfling? I guess if you are, it's worth it.
Dragon Fear: Not bad. Probably not worth it.
Dragon Hide: Worse unarmored defense and claws. Meh.
Drow High Magic: Why are you a drow and why are you casting spells?
Dwarven Fortitude: This is one of my favorite feats in the entire game. It's amazing. It's pretty much a necessity if you're a dwarf.
Elven Accuracy: Why are you an elf and why are you using Dex weapons?
Fade Away: Why are you a gnome?
Fey Teleportation: Why are you a high elf?
Flames of Phlegethos: Why are you a tiefling and why are you casting spells?
Infernal Constitution: If you're a tiefling, this is good. If you're a Bear Totem Barb, useless.
Orcish Fury: Somewhat situational, but very good.
Prodigy: This is not your job.
Second Chance: Decent, but why are you a halfling?
Squat Nimbleness: Not bad, if you're a Dwarf. Dwarven Fortitude is much better, though.
Svirfneblin Magic: Why are you a deep gnome?
Wood Elf Magic: Why are you a wood elf and why are you casting spells?
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Class Guides: Barbarian, Rogue, Sorcerer, Bard General Guides: PvP
Currently playing in: Quest for the Shunned City, Coliseum of Conquest, DragonDenn's Dragonlords, Shipwrecked on Fugue, Tomb of Annihilation, Razor's Lost Mine of Phandelver, The Lost Kenku & One Grung Above
Currently DMing: Princes of the Apocalypse, Out of the Abyss, Coliseum of Conquest—The Arena (Sometimes)
Well, that's it for this guide. I hope you find it helpful!
If you have any suggestions, comments, or things I missed, feel free to post here. I'll try to respond as often as possible, and fix any errors I might have missed.
I'll start another soon, based on the poll I posted.
I'll be starting a Rogue guide, so the poll is now closed. Kind of wish there was a way to do that, unless I'm missing something.
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Class Guides: Barbarian, Rogue, Sorcerer, Bard General Guides: PvP
Currently playing in: Quest for the Shunned City, Coliseum of Conquest, DragonDenn's Dragonlords, Shipwrecked on Fugue, Tomb of Annihilation, Razor's Lost Mine of Phandelver, The Lost Kenku & One Grung Above
Currently DMing: Princes of the Apocalypse, Out of the Abyss, Coliseum of Conquest—The Arena (Sometimes)
Why is Heavy Armor Master bad? Why won’t you wear Heavy Armor? Lots of Barbarians I make wear Heavy Armor, I see no downsides to it.
Extended Signature! Yay! https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/off-topic/adohands-kitchen/3153-extended-signature-thread?page=2#c21
Haven’t used this account in forever. Still a big fan of crawling claws.
When you wear heavy armor, you don’t gain the benefits of Rage. I thought I mentioned that somewhere.
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Class Guides: Barbarian, Rogue, Sorcerer, Bard General Guides: PvP
Currently playing in: Quest for the Shunned City, Coliseum of Conquest, DragonDenn's Dragonlords, Shipwrecked on Fugue, Tomb of Annihilation, Razor's Lost Mine of Phandelver, The Lost Kenku & One Grung Above
Currently DMing: Princes of the Apocalypse, Out of the Abyss, Coliseum of Conquest—The Arena (Sometimes)
HM... just checked. That’s correct. Strange. Why are they proficient in it then?
Extended Signature! Yay! https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/off-topic/adohands-kitchen/3153-extended-signature-thread?page=2#c21
Haven’t used this account in forever. Still a big fan of crawling claws.
They aren’t. They’re proficient in medium armor, light armor, and shields.
Check out my Extended signature here
Class Guides: Barbarian, Rogue, Sorcerer, Bard General Guides: PvP
Currently playing in: Quest for the Shunned City, Coliseum of Conquest, DragonDenn's Dragonlords, Shipwrecked on Fugue, Tomb of Annihilation, Razor's Lost Mine of Phandelver, The Lost Kenku & One Grung Above
Currently DMing: Princes of the Apocalypse, Out of the Abyss, Coliseum of Conquest—The Arena (Sometimes)
That’s funny. I have a Warlock Barbarian that has proficiency with heavy armor... same with a ranger... huh. In that case, I see your reasoning for rating it this. Funny, funny. I honestly skipped through the rage section and proficiency section because I thought I knew what they had. Jokes on me :)
Extended Signature! Yay! https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/off-topic/adohands-kitchen/3153-extended-signature-thread?page=2#c21
Haven’t used this account in forever. Still a big fan of crawling claws.
Just fixed the fact that some of the races were in the wrong place. I forgot that Sea Elves, Eladrin and Shadar-Kai are actually from MToF, since they're just filed under elf on here. Also fixed Deep Gnome, since it should have been in the EEPC section.
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Class Guides: Barbarian, Rogue, Sorcerer, Bard General Guides: PvP
Currently playing in: Quest for the Shunned City, Coliseum of Conquest, DragonDenn's Dragonlords, Shipwrecked on Fugue, Tomb of Annihilation, Razor's Lost Mine of Phandelver, The Lost Kenku & One Grung Above
Currently DMing: Princes of the Apocalypse, Out of the Abyss, Coliseum of Conquest—The Arena (Sometimes)
Also realized I forgot the SCAG Half-Elf variants, which are now added.
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Class Guides: Barbarian, Rogue, Sorcerer, Bard General Guides: PvP
Currently playing in: Quest for the Shunned City, Coliseum of Conquest, DragonDenn's Dragonlords, Shipwrecked on Fugue, Tomb of Annihilation, Razor's Lost Mine of Phandelver, The Lost Kenku & One Grung Above
Currently DMing: Princes of the Apocalypse, Out of the Abyss, Coliseum of Conquest—The Arena (Sometimes)
So i'm new to DnD this is only my second adventure. in my first one i went full fighter/champion but was told i played him like a barbarian, so this time i went barb and i kind of hated him was thinking of multiclassing into druid and was wonder why you to more lvls in druid than barb. please enlighten this poor noob.
This wouldn't matter too much unless you were going all the way to level 20. I put it that way because (imo) the abilities a level 12 druid would have were more important than the abilities a level 12 barbarian would have. If you want help trying to figure out what class to do when, I could try and help you out (probably better to do it in a PM).
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Class Guides: Barbarian, Rogue, Sorcerer, Bard General Guides: PvP
Currently playing in: Quest for the Shunned City, Coliseum of Conquest, DragonDenn's Dragonlords, Shipwrecked on Fugue, Tomb of Annihilation, Razor's Lost Mine of Phandelver, The Lost Kenku & One Grung Above
Currently DMing: Princes of the Apocalypse, Out of the Abyss, Coliseum of Conquest—The Arena (Sometimes)
Thanks for the guide! Barbarian is one of the classes with the fewest up to date guides, so this really helps diversify the perspectives. Good work!
Horatio Hirschfeld - Squire imbued with fae powers, in the Coliseum of Conquest (W2/L1)
DM for Reavers of Harkenwold, and sometimes The Fighting Grounds of the Coliseum
Thanks! I hope it's helpful!
Check out my Extended signature here
Class Guides: Barbarian, Rogue, Sorcerer, Bard General Guides: PvP
Currently playing in: Quest for the Shunned City, Coliseum of Conquest, DragonDenn's Dragonlords, Shipwrecked on Fugue, Tomb of Annihilation, Razor's Lost Mine of Phandelver, The Lost Kenku & One Grung Above
Currently DMing: Princes of the Apocalypse, Out of the Abyss, Coliseum of Conquest—The Arena (Sometimes)
Excellent guide LordShadowthorn! I've been waiting for something like this on these forums, I'm usually looking at older barbarian guides on other sites.
Can't wait to see what you put together for your rogue guide.
Also:
You can just tell everyone you love Dwarves, it's okay no one will judge you ;)