Hey, I’m going to be doing a guide for Dexterity based barbarians. I’ve seen lots of guides for Strength based barbs, but not too many for their nimbler counterparts. The goal of Dexterity based barbarians is to use their great AC to just avoid being hit, while dishing out damage to their enemies. I think they're really fun to play and I encourage others to play them as well.
From here on out I’ll be using this color scheme:
Light Blue is a great ability, something that works well and doesn’t disappoint
Blue is a solid ability, a good addition to your character, but there might be better ones
Black is average
Purple is overly situational, you probably won’t get to use this much
Red is a trap. Don’t get this, there are better options
Why should you go with Dexterity for a barbarian?
Pros:
Your initiative, your to-hit bonus, your AC, your Dexterity Saves will all be from the same stat
Your initiative and AC will be insanely good
Cons:
You won’t get the bonus damage while you’re raging. (Although honestly, that bonus damage is so small that I don’t think you’ll notice)
Reckless Attack is pretty much useless
You’ll need a 13 in Strength to multiclass. :(
Stats
Strength: You’ll probably want at least a 13 in this, both to multi class and to get the most out of some class features.
Dexterity: Get this as high as possible. Your first priority is getting it as high as you can. Next, figure out ways to get it higher.
Constitution: Next to Dexterity, this is your best stat.
Intelligence: Classic Barbarian dump stat. There is really no need for this stat as a barbarian, unless you know for a fact that your campaign is going to be packed with Intellect Devourers
Wisdom: This isn’t your priority. Perception does key off of it though
Charisma: See comments on Intelligence, except you might put it a bit higher for a good Intimidation. Black if you’re a Berserker.
Races
I’ll only be doing the races from the Player’s Handbook because I don’t have any of the other books.
Dragonborn: Nope. Strength and Charisma aren’t your things.
Hill Dwarf: Pretty cool. +2 Constitution and some extra HP is pretty good, but the Wisdom increase is wasted.
Mountain Dwarf: Strength and some armor proficiencies I already have? BOOOOO! That said, anything that gives me +2 Constitution is good
Wood Elf: See notes on Hill Dwarf, except with Dexterity instead of Constitution and a 5 foot increase to speed and Mask of the Wild replacing some extra HP.
Dark Elf: Charisma is one of your dump stats, but it’s still a +2 Dexterity bonus. Sunlight Sensitivity is what makes this purple. It’s really DM dependent, and might be totally ignored or strictly enforced.
High Elf: See the Dark Elf entry, but with no Sunlight Sensitivity
Forest Gnome: Yay, +1 Dexterity! Boo, +2 Intelligence, and basically nothing that helps barbarians. Actually, though, Gnome Cunning is pretty nice in some campaigns.
Rock Gnome: Yay, +1 Constitution!
Half-Elf: 2 +1s to Dex and Constitution and a +2 to Charisma. Yay. Charisma might not be used, but along with Darkvision and some bonus skills, this is pretty cool.
Lightfoot Halfling: It’s still a halfling, but it’s just not as good as the Stout.
Stout Halfling: Your two main stats just got a tidy buff, as well as halfling goodies like Lucky, Brave, and Halfling Nimbleness.
Half-Orc: We’re Dexterity-based, remember?
Variant Human: This Variant is nuts. It’s way too powerful, and overshadows the other races. See the feats section for what to pick up.
Human: They just don’t have much to offer barbarians.
Tiefling: Ugh. No.
Class Features
Rage
Rage is pretty awesome. There. I said it. Resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing is crazy. Advantage on Strength checks and saves is situational, but nice.
Unarmored Defense
This is the reason you go Dex. At first level, if you have a 16 in both Constitution and Dexterity and if you’re using a shield, you can have an AC of 18! 18! At first level!
Reckless Attack
This is useless.
Danger Sense
This is a great ability. I don’t know how else to say it. Advantage on Dexterity saves against effects you can see can save you from some nasty damage.
Extra Attack
This is a great ability, and it doesn’t matter that every class that swings a sword gets it.
Fast Movement
10 feet of movement is always nice.
Feral Instincts
Honestly, this ability is awesome. No other way to say it. (I know I’ve said this like two or three times, but I mean it.)
Brutal Critical
Criticals are rare, but extra damage is good. That’s my view on this ability. Even if you build for crits, they don’t turn up often enough to make this more than black.
Relentless Rage
Who loves not dying? I love not dying! That’s all I have to say about this ability.
Persistant Rage
It’s nice to know that you won’t be wasting your rages.
Indomitable Might
You’re not Strength based.
Primal Champion
This is one of the best capstones in the entire game. Being Dex-based doesn’t change that.
Subclasses
Path of the Ancestral Guardian
This is the subclass to be if you want to protect your friends. It will make your DM hate you if your AC is high enough, as nothing is more frustrating than being forced to attack the guy with 20-something AC.
Ancestral Protectors
Right off the bat, you’re given an ability that makes the DM hate you and the team love you. Forced attacks are fun. Weirdly enough, this ability triggers on the first monster you hit on a turn, and not the last, meaning that if you hit someone with an attack, kill them, and then hit another monster, this ability is useless.
Spirit Shield
This is pretty straightforward, and also pretty awesome. Your teammates will love you.
Consult the Spirits
At 10th level, Ancestral Guardians and Totem Warriors both get noncombat abilities. This is the better one, in my opinion. Being able to tell the future is never a bad thing, and Clairvoyance is a pretty good surveillance/reconnaissance option. I’m not really sure why it tells you that Wisdom is your spell casting ability, because neither of them require a saving throw.
Vengeful Ancestors
A great ability just got even better.
Path of the Berserker
I really like the idea of this subclass, but it’s just disappointing, what with Intimidating Presence being based off of Charisma and Mindless Rage being to niche to be really useful. That said, Frenzy and Retaliation are both great abilities
Frenzy
I’ve seen this ability get a lot of hate in the barbarian forums, but I think it’s pretty sweet. Being able to make three rapier attacks per turn while still wielding a shield is good. Exhaustion is annoying, but you don’t have to frenzy every time you rage.
Mindless Rage
While it’s nice to know that enemy spellcasters can’t charm you and that dragons can’t frighten you, how often are you going to use this?
Intimidating Presence
This is one of the most disappointing abilities in the Player’s Handbook for two reasons.
1.) IT’S BASED OFF OF CHARISMA! This is, at best, your third best ability, and I severely doubt that you have more than a 14 in it. I mean, seriously! Would it have killed them to make it Constitution based?
2.) IT TAKES AN ACTION TO MAINTAIN! Making it take an action is just ridiculous. I would have made it either a bonus action, (Although that does effectively take away the point of Frenzy) or just made it so that they get a save at the end of every turn, but it doesn’t take anything on your part to maintain the effect.
Retaliation
This ability is wonderful, and there’s no other way to say it. Free attacks as a reaction is always a good thing.
Path of the Storm Herald
This subclass is interesting. There aren’t really any others like it, with the closest comparison being Totem Warriors.
Storm Aura
Desert Storm Aura: I would rate this higher, but the damage doesn’t scale well and it damages your allies as well.
Sea Storm Aura: This is pretty nice. A bonus action for automatic damage that doesn’t effect my allies? Sign me up.
Tundra Storm Aura: Getting more temporary hit points every turn is always nice. This one only works well if your party doesn’t already have a source of temporary hit points, like Celestial Warlocks or the Inspiring Leader feat.
Storm Soul
Desert Storm Soul: Fire resistance is fun! Extreme heat can be a bummer, if your party ever encounters it.
Sea Storm Soul: Lightning resistance is a bit rarer than fire, but it still comes up. A swimming speed and the ability to breathe underwater is probably the best of the secondary abilities.
Tundra Storm Soul: Cold resistance is the rarest of the three resistances, and extreme cold is basically in the same category as extreme heat.
Shielding Storm
Desert Shielding Storm: Great! Fire damage is really common, and this can protect the whole party. Only problem is, they need to be in your Storm Aura for this to work, which means they’re taking damage every single turn from your Storm Aura.
Sea Shielding Storm: Lightning damage is less prevalent, but there’s the upside that no one’s taking damage every turn they stay with you.
Tundra Shielding Storm: Cold damage is the least common of the three, but resistance is still nice.
Raging Storm
Desert Raging Storm: This is okay. It’s basically a weaker version of the Sea Storm Soul ability back at level three
Sea Raging Storm: By the time you get this, monsters’ Strength scores are going to be pretty high, but getting advantage on attacks for you and your teammates is fun if they fail.
Tundra Raging Storm: This has the same issue with the save targeting Strength, and the ability isn’t good enough for it to seriously compete with the other two options.
All in all, I’d say that Sea is the best, Desert is the second best, and Tundra is the worst. This is campaign dependent though. If you’re in an arctic themed campaign against White Dragons and yetis, then by all means go Tundra. Likewise, Desert will shine when your characters are facing actual deserts, and Sea is the clear choice for aquatic campaigns.
Path of the Totem Warrior
And now… the subclass you’ve all been waiting for. This is probably the best barbarian subclass, and it has some very powerful abilities. There’s a reason that there are entire forums about bear totem. This is a powerful subclass. It’s also really fun to see this subclass use their rituals and be a better ranger than the actual ranger of the party.
Spirit Seeker
This is just fluff. That doesn’t mean that it isn’t good, however.
Totem Spirit
Bear Totem Spirit: This is one of the best abilities in the game. It makes you incredibly hard to kill, and will make the DM grind their teeth when they see you still standing after taking down an insane amount of monsters
Eagle Totem Spirit: This or Bear totem is the one that archers should use. It grants some great mobility and can also let you zip past the defense to get to the squishy spell casters behind them.
Wolf Totem Spirit: This is for the team player. Your rogues will thank you. (It’s interesting that in the text, it says ‘your friends have advantage on melee attack rolls…’. (Bolded for emphasis) Does that mean that if you got in a big argument with another party member right before a fight, and they aren’t friends with you, will they not be able to benefit from this?
Aspect of the Beast
I think that the only reason that Aspect of the Beast exists is that Totem Warriors would be broken if they got another combat-focused ability at level 6.
Bear Aspect of the Beast: If you really don’t want to just buy a horse, then this is the aspect for you!
Eagle Aspect of the Beast: This is probably the most useful of the three, as it lets you see normally in total darkness if you have Darkvision, letting you be the most perceptive in the party.
Wolf Aspect of the Beast: This one’s really DM dependent, and can go from great to useless depending on if your DM uses those rules
Spirit Walker
I think this is a hilarious ability, because it makes you better at being a ranger than the actual ranger.
Totemic Attunement
Bear Totemic Attunement: This is just wonderful. You are now an even more outstanding tank than before.
Eagle Totemic Attunement: This is the level three ability, except you can fly. What’s not to love? (I really want to build a character that just grapples, flies, and drops. I would probably go Barbarian 14/Monk 6 so that I could get slow fall and Unarmored Movement. Assuming I used Wood Elf as my race and snatched the Mobile feat, at 20th level I could Grapple, use my Eagle Totem ability to Dash as a bonus action, and then fly 140 feet straight up, and plummet like a stone back down for 14d6 damage to me and the monster. That averages out to 49 damage for the monster and 19 damage for me, due to slow fall. There’s probably more optimization I could do from there, but this isn’t the place.)
Wolf Totem: Being able to knock stuff prone without saves is fun, but this only working on Large or smaller makes this blue.
Path of the Zealot
This one is fun. Because nothing says fun like a crazed warrior who wades into battle slashing and hacking for evil gods.
Divine Smite
Smiting is fun. Radiant damage is not a common resistance, and you can deal a fair amount of it.
Warrior of the Gods
No one likes dying. Everyone, however, likes being brought back to life for free! If you end up dying, this is a nice ability to have. It’s good to know that you can throw yourself against steep odds, and as long as your cleric has the presence of mind to keep a 3rd level spell slot handy, you’ll be able to come back for free!
Fanatical Focus
It’s always nice to be able to reroll important saves. You can only use this ability once per rage though, so choose wisely.
Zealous Presence
This is pretty nice. Giving the entire party advantage on attacks and saves for a round can be devastating to the opponent if used correctly.
Rage Beyond Death
This ability is amazing. Being unkillable for 1 minute is insanely powerful, and you can just keep a Goodberry in your pocket to eat at the very end. There’s only one spell that can this foil this, and that’s Sleep. If they hit you with it and you don’t have any fey ancestry to protect you, you’re dead. Literally.
Well, that’s it so far. Next, I’ll do the feats and multiclassing. Please don’t post anything until I’m done with those. Thanks!
Alert: I love this feat. Being unable to be surprised is somewhat situational, but pretty nice in those situations. Canceling out invisibility's advantage is also situational, but great in those situations.Of course, the real draw of this feat is the +5 bonus to initiative. Who doesn't love going first?
Athlete: Most of the benefits are pretty situational, and nothing has any kind of synergy with barbarian features.
Actor: Literally nothing here has anything to offer barbarians.
Charger: Meh. +5 damage isn't good enough to justify losing out on an attack.
Crossbow Expert: Oh, heck yes. Being a better Dual Wielder than the actual Dual Wielder with shortswords? Being able to use my Extra Attack on a huge crossbow that deals 1d10 damage? Literally everything about this feat is wonderful.
Defensive Duelist: So you know how I said that Dex-based barbarians have great AC? Want to make it even better? Take this.
Dual Wielder: The +1 AC is really only a -1 AC from what you could have if you used a shield. That said, being able to Dual Wield rapiers is nice.
Dungeon Delver: Danger Sense and Raging really just completely outclass this feat.
Durable:This feat has 2 interpretations.
a.) You roll your Hit Die, and if the die is lower than twice your Constitution modifier, than your die roll equals twice your Constitution modifier.
b.) You roll your Hit Die, and if the die plus your Constitution modifier is lower than 2 times your Constitution modifier, your total result equals 2 times your Constitution modifier.
Elemental Adept: We don't cast spells.
Grappler: You have advantage on Strength checks, so you might as well use it. I would not advise restraining the target, because it requires an Action AND negates the first bullet point's effects. However, if you have casters who are about to bombard them with Dexterity saves, this could be a nice way to help the team. You do need 13 Strength for this feat.
Great Weapon Master: Nope. We don't use these
Healer: Nah. Leave this to some other member of the party, maybe the thief with the Fast Hands.
Heavily Armored: You can't rage in Heavy Armor
Heavy Armor Master: You still can't rage in Heavy Armor. Also, this is a bad feat. It only gives you -3 damage against nonmagical bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing. That means that if the monster you're fighting deals you bludgeoning, piercing or slashing damage, and if the monster's attacks aren't considered magical, then you will prevent 3 damage. That's just not good enough to seriously compete with raising your ability scores by 2.
Inspiring Leader: Most barbarians won't have enough Charisma to take advantage of this. That said, is you have a great Charisma score, feel free.
Keen Mind: Do I have to explain how bad this is?
Lightly Armored: You already have proficiency.
Linguist: See the entry for Keen Mind
Lucky: This is a good feat for anybody. Being able to reroll important saves and all or nothing attacks is great.
Mage Slayer: If you really hate spellcasters, this is the feat for you.
Magic Initiate: You're not a spellcaster.
Martial Adept: Only getting one superiority die really hurts this feat. If you multiclassed into Battle Master, this feat is suddenly muchbetter.
Medium Armor Master: Nope. Not your thing
Mobile: More speed is always fun. If you combine this with the Wood Elf race and 5 levels of Eagle Totem barbarian, you'll be able to move 110 feet per round AND make the Attack action with your regular action.
Moderately Armored: You already have proficiency.
Mounted Combatant: Do you picture your barbarian riding a mount? If so, go for it.
Observant: Nope. This does give you +5 passive Perception, though.
Polearm Master: Nah.
Resilient: if you have an odd Dexterity score and want proficiency in Dexterity saves, then go for it.
Ritual Caster: This can give you great utility outside of combat, and also gives you Find Familiar, for a little helper that can give you advantage on attacks. However, you need 13s in Wisdom or Intelligence to take this.
Savage Attacker: Worst. Feat. EVER.
Sentinel: If you want to protect your friends, this is the feat for you. The Sentinel/Polearm Master combo is something I've never tried, but want to.
Sharpshooter: It's like Great Weapon Master! But archery! And better! It lets you attack from crazy distances and ignore half and three-quarters cover! Ignore it! That means you could whip out a longbow and sink an arrow into a goblin that's 600 feet away who's peeping out from behind a boulder.
Shield Master:This feat is dependent on your DM. If he/she rules that you can take the bonus action before attacking, then this feat is sky blue. if you must attack first, then this feat becomes blue. The other 2 abilities this feat grants you are both great, and combo exceptionally well with Danger Sense.
Skilled: Repeat after me: "BARBARIANS ARE NOT SKILL MONKEYS"
Skulker:For a darker, more shadowy campaign, a hidden archer sniping from the shadows could be fun.
Spell Sniper: Not a spellcaster.
Tavern Brawler: Just no.
Tough: Who doesn't love extra hit points?
War Caster: You're not a spellcaster.
Weapon Master: You already have proficiency with every weapon in the game
Bard, Cleric, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard and Druids that aren't Circle of the Moon: You can write these off right now. They're all full casters, and spell casting doesn't mix well with raging. That said, Bardbarian is really fun to say.
Circle of the Moon Druid: The only full caster rated above red. And even that's only Circle of the Moon. Extra Attack, raging, and Unarmored Defense all carry over to your animal form. (Although your Dexterity and Constitution scores will not.) Barbearians are even more fun than Bardbarians.
Fighter: Barbarians and fighters are flip sides of the same coin. They work really well together.
Monk: You need to take at least 5 levels for this to work, but it's nice. However, from a roleplaying standpoint, I really don't like this multiclass. You're mixing the untamed wilds with a cloistered monastery. Whatever explanation you come up with is going to sound forced.
Paladin: You'll just be using spell slots to smite, so it works pretty well.
Ranger: They're basically less useful Fighters. You can't use the spell slots, so why not just go Fighter?
Rogue: FUN! Sneak Attack is wonderful, and pairs beautifully with Dex-based barbarians.
I'm going to do the racial feats from Xanathar's Guide, and then I'll be done.
Xanathar's Guide to Everything has some cool racial feats that you can only take if you're a member of a certain race. It is important to note that I will be judging each feat based on the feat's merits, not the race's merits. Just because the racial feat is rated highly does not mean that you should choose that race.
Bountiful Luck: This one will make your party love you. However, it takes a reaction and only triggers when someone rolls a 1.
Dragon Fear: Just breathe fire on them already. Seriously, who would use this? It ends immediately if you even damage them.
Dragon Hide: Your Unarmored Defense completely outclasses this.
Drow High Magic: Nice out of combat utility with Detect Magic, but the other 2 are never going to be used.
Dwarven Fortitude: This combos really well with Durable.
Elven Accuracy: This is the best racial feat, and it makes a strong case for best feat outright. I usually take this feat with my Half-Elf sorcerers, but it works well with anybody.
Fade Away: If you're hurt and you need to get out of there, this feat is really helpful. If you're mad and really want advantage on your first attack, this will work for that, too.
Fey Transportation: This feat buffs either Intelligence or Charisma, neither of which you use. Misty Step is good, but you can't cast it while raging.
Flames of Phlegethos: You don't use Charisma or Intelligence, and you don't cast spells.
Infernal Constitution: This feat is actually pretty good. 2 damage resistances and advantage on saving throws against poison as well as a +1 to Constitution is pretty nice.
Orcish Fury: Meh.
Prodigy: If your team really needs the barbarian to have Expertise in a certain skill, than something is wrong with your party.
Second Chance: Good, but not as good as most other uses of your reaction. (Or, for that matter, Defensive Duelist.)
Squat Nimbleness: I hate this feat. It's just not good.
Wood Elf Magic Wood Elf Magic: JackOfAllTirades changed my mind on this one. Longstrider is a pre-combat buff, so it doesn't interfere with raging. Pass Without Trace is a party wide out of combat buff that also does not interfere with raging.
Well, that's it. I'm done. I hoped you like it. Thoughts and feedback would be appreciated.
This is an in depth and fairly comprehensive guide if you wish to travel the path of a dexy barbarian. I am uncertain why you would want to throw away the core idea of the barbarian being the strong person in the group. But hey I am not everyone. I looked through this twice and the advice given seems spot on. I almost feel like it should have been guide to Halfling barbarian, but it does get me thinking about what you can do with a high dexterity barbarian build. Thoughts of 20+AC while running around naked has a certain charm to it, doubly so if it is a naked halfling barbarian that just stabbed you with a rapier or shot you with a bow. The visuals make me like this concept more than I would have imagined. Good luck to you dexy ass heck barbarians. Just remember to DODGE DUCK DIP DIVE AND DODGE!
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"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."
You've really thrown me for a loop with this. I've just been creating a new character and the story ended up with her being a Barbarian. Of course I started to aim toward maul wielding mountain Dwarf but then I see this. Now I don't know what to do. Great guide though.
Wood Elf Magic is under-rated in this guide. Barbarians can't cast or concentrate on spells when they're raging, but that's not an issue for the spells provided by this feat.
Longstrider doesn't require concentration and lasts for an hour, so if cast prior to raging, it'll continue providing +10 movement until its duration ends, even if you rage.
Pass Without Trace makes the whole party awesome at Stealth. When everyone's sneaking around, you shouldn't be using Rage anyway.
My Wood Elf Barbarian/Rogue (scout) is gonna take this feat at the earliest opportunity.
Why no tavern brawler? Sure, it depends on your DM to let you use dex for specific imrpovised attacks, but if they do, it's easily one of the best feats, even if it's a little situational. Also, Tough deserves blue
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I'm the idiot that decides to make Phil Swift in DnD.
Why no tavern brawler? Sure, it depends on your DM to let you use dex for specific imrpovised attacks, but if they do, it's easily one of the best feats, even if it's a little situational. Also, Tough deserves blue
Tavern Brawler is pretty DM dependent, and still not as good as Shield Master, which is better even if your DM only lets you knock prone after the Attack. If your DM lets you improvise a rapier, then Tavern Brawler might be black. Tough isn't blue because +2 Constitution gives you Armor Class and hit points
Have you noticed that your rage damage buff is not being commonly used here, I'd rather be a dex based fighter, but the idea of a dextrous barbarian sounds fun, an idea even my close friends have shot down.
Fair. No, this is a great guide. Even though they're not in the PHB, my personal favourite dex barbarians are shadar-kai, because +dex +con and a daily teleport is amazing (especially with mobile and/or shadow monk levels)
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I'm the idiot that decides to make Phil Swift in DnD.
Our current campaign is nearly over and one of the handful of characters I've been considering for the next campaign is a barbarian. But I didn't want to play a standard cliche strongman. I wanted something different.
So the way I figure it, barbarians come from tribes in the slightly-less-than-civilized areas. Like vikings. So... not everybody in a viking tribe is a big burly strongman barbarian. My first thought was of Antonio Banderas in "The 13th Warrior". But then I found an image in a google image search (cuz i have time to do that stuff), and I just instantly knew... that's her! I don't know how to put the image here, but it's basically a female barbarian type with a wooden shield and a battle axe. Looks wicked cool. So I figure everybody in the barbarian tribe has a role - a job to do. Some are the front line fighters - they're the big burly strongman barbarians. But some of them must be responsible for protecting the leaders. Right? So I decided that it's a tribe with a matriarchal rulership. The oldest and wisest woman makes the big decisions, because the men never usually survive long enough to get that old or that wise. So maybe that matriarch must have a handful of barbarians around her to protect her. Like shield-maidens. So a dex-based barbarian with the "Path of the Ancestral Spirits" would be perfect for that! So I figure she's been training to be a shield-maiden, but before she can actually take that job she has to prove herself by going out into the world to face all the myriad dangers that the world can throw at her to prove that she's up to snuff.
And your post will really help develop that character. Nice job!
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Tayn of Darkwood. Lvl 10 human Life Cleric of Lathander. Retired.
Ikram Sahir ibn Malik al-Sayyid Ra'ad, Second Son of the House of Ra'ad, Defender of the Burning Sands. Lvl 9 Brass Dragonborn Sorcerer + Greater Fire Elemental Devil.
Viktor Gavriil. Lvl 20 White Dragonborn Grave Cleric, of Kurgan the God of Death.
I decided to just make both Barbarians and see which one is more relevant to the campaign if I ever use them.
The Dexterity one is a Shadar-kai Elf with Sword and Shield and Path of the Ancestral Guardian. Uses the Raven Queen's influence to shield her allies in the form of shadowy raven spirits.
Honestly I think she'd work out perfectly fine as a Zealot too but I think I prefer the Ancestral Guardian protector-style of play. Not sure how to get her a Bonus Action though without sacrificing CON/DEX ASI's for a feat.
Edit: I've been looking into weapons too and is there really no other finesse 1d8 weapon than Rapier? I really don't want to use a Rapier it has all the wrong aesthetics. A spear would fit best but it's not finesse and simple so only 1d6. This is horrible.
The downside of dexterity is that the damage potential for finesse weapons is lower than with strength weapons. But talk to your DM, I see no reason why you can't reflavor a rapier as something similar, just make it something stabby or perhaps pokey.
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"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."
I decided to just make both Barbarians and see which one is more relevant to the campaign if I ever use them.
The Dexterity one is a Shadar-kai Elf with Sword and Shield and Path of the Ancestral Guardian. Uses the Raven Queen's influence to shield her allies in the form of shadowy raven spirits.
Honestly I think she'd work out perfectly fine as a Zealot too but I think I prefer the Ancestral Guardian protector-style of play. Not sure how to get her a Bonus Action though without sacrificing CON/DEX ASI's for a feat.
Edit: I've been looking into weapons too and is there really no other finesse 1d8 weapon than Rapier? I really don't want to use a Rapier it has all the wrong aesthetics. A spear would fit best but it's not finesse and simple so only 1d6. This is horrible.
Agree with your DM to have a weapon that uses the stats of a rapier but looks visually more pleasing. Nothing game breaking about it and no one likes the party full of rapiers :D.
I’m now imagining an unusually pointy spear with a shorter shaft and odd balance so it can’t be thrown. ; ) Basically I’m thinking my Dex Barbarian is a goth hoplite.
You’ll Never Hit Me!
Hey, I’m going to be doing a guide for Dexterity based barbarians. I’ve seen lots of guides for Strength based barbs, but not too many for their nimbler counterparts. The goal of Dexterity based barbarians is to use their great AC to just avoid being hit, while dishing out damage to their enemies. I think they're really fun to play and I encourage others to play them as well.
From here on out I’ll be using this color scheme:
Light Blue is a great ability, something that works well and doesn’t disappoint
Blue is a solid ability, a good addition to your character, but there might be better ones
Black is average
Purple is overly situational, you probably won’t get to use this much
Red is a trap. Don’t get this, there are better options
Why should you go with Dexterity for a barbarian?
Pros:
Your initiative, your to-hit bonus, your AC, your Dexterity Saves will all be from the same stat
Your initiative and AC will be insanely good
Cons:
You won’t get the bonus damage while you’re raging. (Although honestly, that bonus damage is so small that I don’t think you’ll notice)
Reckless Attack is pretty much useless
You’ll need a 13 in Strength to multiclass. :(
Stats
Strength: You’ll probably want at least a 13 in this, both to multi class and to get the most out of some class features.
Dexterity: Get this as high as possible. Your first priority is getting it as high as you can. Next, figure out ways to get it higher.
Constitution: Next to Dexterity, this is your best stat.
Intelligence: Classic Barbarian dump stat. There is really no need for this stat as a barbarian, unless you know for a fact that your campaign is going to be packed with Intellect Devourers
Wisdom: This isn’t your priority. Perception does key off of it though
Charisma: See comments on Intelligence, except you might put it a bit higher for a good Intimidation. Black if you’re a Berserker.
Races
I’ll only be doing the races from the Player’s Handbook because I don’t have any of the other books.
Dragonborn: Nope. Strength and Charisma aren’t your things.
Hill Dwarf: Pretty cool. +2 Constitution and some extra HP is pretty good, but the Wisdom increase is wasted.
Mountain Dwarf: Strength and some armor proficiencies I already have? BOOOOO! That said, anything that gives me +2 Constitution is good
Wood Elf: See notes on Hill Dwarf, except with Dexterity instead of Constitution and a 5 foot increase to speed and Mask of the Wild replacing some extra HP.
Dark Elf: Charisma is one of your dump stats, but it’s still a +2 Dexterity bonus. Sunlight Sensitivity is what makes this purple. It’s really DM dependent, and might be totally ignored or strictly enforced.
High Elf: See the Dark Elf entry, but with no Sunlight Sensitivity
Forest Gnome: Yay, +1 Dexterity! Boo, +2 Intelligence, and basically nothing that helps barbarians. Actually, though, Gnome Cunning is pretty nice in some campaigns.
Rock Gnome: Yay, +1 Constitution!
Half-Elf: 2 +1s to Dex and Constitution and a +2 to Charisma. Yay. Charisma might not be used, but along with Darkvision and some bonus skills, this is pretty cool.
Lightfoot Halfling: It’s still a halfling, but it’s just not as good as the Stout.
Stout Halfling: Your two main stats just got a tidy buff, as well as halfling goodies like Lucky, Brave, and Halfling Nimbleness.
Half-Orc: We’re Dexterity-based, remember?
Variant Human: This Variant is nuts. It’s way too powerful, and overshadows the other races. See the feats section for what to pick up.
Human: They just don’t have much to offer barbarians.
Tiefling: Ugh. No.
Class Features
Rage
Rage is pretty awesome. There. I said it. Resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing is crazy. Advantage on Strength checks and saves is situational, but nice.
Unarmored Defense
This is the reason you go Dex. At first level, if you have a 16 in both Constitution and Dexterity and if you’re using a shield, you can have an AC of 18! 18! At first level!
Reckless Attack
This is useless.
Danger Sense
This is a great ability. I don’t know how else to say it. Advantage on Dexterity saves against effects you can see can save you from some nasty damage.
Extra Attack
This is a great ability, and it doesn’t matter that every class that swings a sword gets it.
Fast Movement
10 feet of movement is always nice.
Feral Instincts
Honestly, this ability is awesome. No other way to say it. (I know I’ve said this like two or three times, but I mean it.)
Brutal Critical
Criticals are rare, but extra damage is good. That’s my view on this ability. Even if you build for crits, they don’t turn up often enough to make this more than black.
Relentless Rage
Who loves not dying? I love not dying! That’s all I have to say about this ability.
Persistant Rage
It’s nice to know that you won’t be wasting your rages.
Indomitable Might
You’re not Strength based.
Primal Champion
This is one of the best capstones in the entire game. Being Dex-based doesn’t change that.
Subclasses
Path of the Ancestral Guardian
This is the subclass to be if you want to protect your friends. It will make your DM hate you if your AC is high enough, as nothing is more frustrating than being forced to attack the guy with 20-something AC.
Ancestral Protectors
Right off the bat, you’re given an ability that makes the DM hate you and the team love you. Forced attacks are fun. Weirdly enough, this ability triggers on the first monster you hit on a turn, and not the last, meaning that if you hit someone with an attack, kill them, and then hit another monster, this ability is useless.
Spirit Shield
This is pretty straightforward, and also pretty awesome. Your teammates will love you.
Consult the Spirits
At 10th level, Ancestral Guardians and Totem Warriors both get noncombat abilities. This is the better one, in my opinion. Being able to tell the future is never a bad thing, and Clairvoyance is a pretty good surveillance/reconnaissance option. I’m not really sure why it tells you that Wisdom is your spell casting ability, because neither of them require a saving throw.
Vengeful Ancestors
A great ability just got even better.
Path of the Berserker
I really like the idea of this subclass, but it’s just disappointing, what with Intimidating Presence being based off of Charisma and Mindless Rage being to niche to be really useful. That said, Frenzy and Retaliation are both great abilities
Frenzy
I’ve seen this ability get a lot of hate in the barbarian forums, but I think it’s pretty sweet. Being able to make three rapier attacks per turn while still wielding a shield is good. Exhaustion is annoying, but you don’t have to frenzy every time you rage.
Mindless Rage
While it’s nice to know that enemy spellcasters can’t charm you and that dragons can’t frighten you, how often are you going to use this?
Intimidating Presence
This is one of the most disappointing abilities in the Player’s Handbook for two reasons.
1.) IT’S BASED OFF OF CHARISMA! This is, at best, your third best ability, and I severely doubt that you have more than a 14 in it. I mean, seriously! Would it have killed them to make it Constitution based?
2.) IT TAKES AN ACTION TO MAINTAIN! Making it take an action is just ridiculous. I would have made it either a bonus action, (Although that does effectively take away the point of Frenzy) or just made it so that they get a save at the end of every turn, but it doesn’t take anything on your part to maintain the effect.
Retaliation
This ability is wonderful, and there’s no other way to say it. Free attacks as a reaction is always a good thing.
Path of the Storm Herald
This subclass is interesting. There aren’t really any others like it, with the closest comparison being Totem Warriors.
Storm Aura
Desert Storm Aura: I would rate this higher, but the damage doesn’t scale well and it damages your allies as well.
Sea Storm Aura: This is pretty nice. A bonus action for automatic damage that doesn’t effect my allies? Sign me up.
Tundra Storm Aura: Getting more temporary hit points every turn is always nice. This one only works well if your party doesn’t already have a source of temporary hit points, like Celestial Warlocks or the Inspiring Leader feat.
Storm Soul
Desert Storm Soul: Fire resistance is fun! Extreme heat can be a bummer, if your party ever encounters it.
Sea Storm Soul: Lightning resistance is a bit rarer than fire, but it still comes up. A swimming speed and the ability to breathe underwater is probably the best of the secondary abilities.
Tundra Storm Soul: Cold resistance is the rarest of the three resistances, and extreme cold is basically in the same category as extreme heat.
Shielding Storm
Desert Shielding Storm: Great! Fire damage is really common, and this can protect the whole party. Only problem is, they need to be in your Storm Aura for this to work, which means they’re taking damage every single turn from your Storm Aura.
Sea Shielding Storm: Lightning damage is less prevalent, but there’s the upside that no one’s taking damage every turn they stay with you.
Tundra Shielding Storm: Cold damage is the least common of the three, but resistance is still nice.
Raging Storm
Desert Raging Storm: This is okay. It’s basically a weaker version of the Sea Storm Soul ability back at level three
Sea Raging Storm: By the time you get this, monsters’ Strength scores are going to be pretty high, but getting advantage on attacks for you and your teammates is fun if they fail.
Tundra Raging Storm: This has the same issue with the save targeting Strength, and the ability isn’t good enough for it to seriously compete with the other two options.
All in all, I’d say that Sea is the best, Desert is the second best, and Tundra is the worst. This is campaign dependent though. If you’re in an arctic themed campaign against White Dragons and yetis, then by all means go Tundra. Likewise, Desert will shine when your characters are facing actual deserts, and Sea is the clear choice for aquatic campaigns.
Path of the Totem Warrior
And now… the subclass you’ve all been waiting for. This is probably the best barbarian subclass, and it has some very powerful abilities. There’s a reason that there are entire forums about bear totem. This is a powerful subclass. It’s also really fun to see this subclass use their rituals and be a better ranger than the actual ranger of the party.
Spirit Seeker
This is just fluff. That doesn’t mean that it isn’t good, however.
Totem Spirit
Bear Totem Spirit: This is one of the best abilities in the game. It makes you incredibly hard to kill, and will make the DM grind their teeth when they see you still standing after taking down an insane amount of monsters
Eagle Totem Spirit: This or Bear totem is the one that archers should use. It grants some great mobility and can also let you zip past the defense to get to the squishy spell casters behind them.
Wolf Totem Spirit: This is for the team player. Your rogues will thank you. (It’s interesting that in the text, it says ‘your friends have advantage on melee attack rolls…’. (Bolded for emphasis) Does that mean that if you got in a big argument with another party member right before a fight, and they aren’t friends with you, will they not be able to benefit from this?
Aspect of the Beast
I think that the only reason that Aspect of the Beast exists is that Totem Warriors would be broken if they got another combat-focused ability at level 6.
Bear Aspect of the Beast: If you really don’t want to just buy a horse, then this is the aspect for you!
Eagle Aspect of the Beast: This is probably the most useful of the three, as it lets you see normally in total darkness if you have Darkvision, letting you be the most perceptive in the party.
Wolf Aspect of the Beast: This one’s really DM dependent, and can go from great to useless depending on if your DM uses those rules
Spirit Walker
I think this is a hilarious ability, because it makes you better at being a ranger than the actual ranger.
Totemic Attunement
Bear Totemic Attunement: This is just wonderful. You are now an even more outstanding tank than before.
Eagle Totemic Attunement: This is the level three ability, except you can fly. What’s not to love? (I really want to build a character that just grapples, flies, and drops. I would probably go Barbarian 14/Monk 6 so that I could get slow fall and Unarmored Movement. Assuming I used Wood Elf as my race and snatched the Mobile feat, at 20th level I could Grapple, use my Eagle Totem ability to Dash as a bonus action, and then fly 140 feet straight up, and plummet like a stone back down for 14d6 damage to me and the monster. That averages out to 49 damage for the monster and 19 damage for me, due to slow fall. There’s probably more optimization I could do from there, but this isn’t the place.)
Wolf Totem: Being able to knock stuff prone without saves is fun, but this only working on Large or smaller makes this blue.
Path of the Zealot
This one is fun. Because nothing says fun like a crazed warrior who wades into battle slashing and hacking for evil gods.
Divine Smite
Smiting is fun. Radiant damage is not a common resistance, and you can deal a fair amount of it.
Warrior of the Gods
No one likes dying. Everyone, however, likes being brought back to life for free! If you end up dying, this is a nice ability to have. It’s good to know that you can throw yourself against steep odds, and as long as your cleric has the presence of mind to keep a 3rd level spell slot handy, you’ll be able to come back for free!
Fanatical Focus
It’s always nice to be able to reroll important saves. You can only use this ability once per rage though, so choose wisely.
Zealous Presence
This is pretty nice. Giving the entire party advantage on attacks and saves for a round can be devastating to the opponent if used correctly.
Rage Beyond Death
This ability is amazing. Being unkillable for 1 minute is insanely powerful, and you can just keep a Goodberry in your pocket to eat at the very end. There’s only one spell that can this foil this, and that’s Sleep. If they hit you with it and you don’t have any fey ancestry to protect you, you’re dead. Literally.
Well, that’s it so far. Next, I’ll do the feats and multiclassing. Please don’t post anything until I’m done with those. Thanks!
"Halt your wagging and wag your halters, for I am mastercryomancer!"
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Alert: I love this feat. Being unable to be surprised is somewhat situational, but pretty nice in those situations. Canceling out invisibility's advantage is also situational, but great in those situations.Of course, the real draw of this feat is the +5 bonus to initiative. Who doesn't love going first?
Athlete: Most of the benefits are pretty situational, and nothing has any kind of synergy with barbarian features.
Actor: Literally nothing here has anything to offer barbarians.
Charger: Meh. +5 damage isn't good enough to justify losing out on an attack.
Crossbow Expert: Oh, heck yes. Being a better Dual Wielder than the actual Dual Wielder with shortswords? Being able to use my Extra Attack on a huge crossbow that deals 1d10 damage? Literally everything about this feat is wonderful.
Defensive Duelist: So you know how I said that Dex-based barbarians have great AC? Want to make it even better? Take this.
Dual Wielder: The +1 AC is really only a -1 AC from what you could have if you used a shield. That said, being able to Dual Wield rapiers is nice.
Dungeon Delver: Danger Sense and Raging really just completely outclass this feat.
Durable:This feat has 2 interpretations.
a.) You roll your Hit Die, and if the die is lower than twice your Constitution modifier, than your die roll equals twice your Constitution modifier.
b.) You roll your Hit Die, and if the die plus your Constitution modifier is lower than 2 times your Constitution modifier, your total result equals 2 times your Constitution modifier.
Elemental Adept: We don't cast spells.
Grappler: You have advantage on Strength checks, so you might as well use it. I would not advise restraining the target, because it requires an Action AND negates the first bullet point's effects. However, if you have casters who are about to bombard them with Dexterity saves, this could be a nice way to help the team. You do need 13 Strength for this feat.
Great Weapon Master: Nope. We don't use these
Healer: Nah. Leave this to some other member of the party, maybe the thief with the Fast Hands.
Heavily Armored: You can't rage in Heavy Armor
Heavy Armor Master: You still can't rage in Heavy Armor. Also, this is a bad feat. It only gives you -3 damage against nonmagical bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing. That means that if the monster you're fighting deals you bludgeoning, piercing or slashing damage, and if the monster's attacks aren't considered magical, then you will prevent 3 damage. That's just not good enough to seriously compete with raising your ability scores by 2.
Inspiring Leader: Most barbarians won't have enough Charisma to take advantage of this. That said, is you have a great Charisma score, feel free.
Keen Mind: Do I have to explain how bad this is?
Lightly Armored: You already have proficiency.
Linguist: See the entry for Keen Mind
Lucky: This is a good feat for anybody. Being able to reroll important saves and all or nothing attacks is great.
Mage Slayer: If you really hate spellcasters, this is the feat for you.
Magic Initiate: You're not a spellcaster.
Martial Adept: Only getting one superiority die really hurts this feat. If you multiclassed into Battle Master, this feat is suddenly much better.
Medium Armor Master: Nope. Not your thing
Mobile: More speed is always fun. If you combine this with the Wood Elf race and 5 levels of Eagle Totem barbarian, you'll be able to move 110 feet per round AND make the Attack action with your regular action.
Moderately Armored: You already have proficiency.
Mounted Combatant: Do you picture your barbarian riding a mount? If so, go for it.
Observant: Nope. This does give you +5 passive Perception, though.
Polearm Master: Nah.
Resilient: if you have an odd Dexterity score and want proficiency in Dexterity saves, then go for it.
Ritual Caster: This can give you great utility outside of combat, and also gives you Find Familiar, for a little helper that can give you advantage on attacks. However, you need 13s in Wisdom or Intelligence to take this.
Savage Attacker: Worst. Feat. EVER.
Sentinel: If you want to protect your friends, this is the feat for you. The Sentinel/Polearm Master combo is something I've never tried, but want to.
Sharpshooter: It's like Great Weapon Master! But archery! And better! It lets you attack from crazy distances and ignore half and three-quarters cover! Ignore it! That means you could whip out a longbow and sink an arrow into a goblin that's 600 feet away who's peeping out from behind a boulder.
Shield Master: This feat is dependent on your DM. If he/she rules that you can take the bonus action before attacking, then this feat is sky blue. if you must attack first, then this feat becomes blue. The other 2 abilities this feat grants you are both great, and combo exceptionally well with Danger Sense.
Skilled: Repeat after me: "BARBARIANS ARE NOT SKILL MONKEYS"
Skulker:For a darker, more shadowy campaign, a hidden archer sniping from the shadows could be fun.
Spell Sniper: Not a spellcaster.
Tavern Brawler: Just no.
Tough: Who doesn't love extra hit points?
War Caster: You're not a spellcaster.
Weapon Master: You already have proficiency with every weapon in the game
"Halt your wagging and wag your halters, for I am mastercryomancer!"
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Multiclassing
If you're DM allows you, multi classing is fun!
Bard, Cleric, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard and Druids that aren't Circle of the Moon: You can write these off right now. They're all full casters, and spell casting doesn't mix well with raging. That said, Bardbarian is really fun to say.
Circle of the Moon Druid: The only full caster rated above red. And even that's only Circle of the Moon. Extra Attack, raging, and Unarmored Defense all carry over to your animal form. (Although your Dexterity and Constitution scores will not.) Barbearians are even more fun than Bardbarians.
Fighter: Barbarians and fighters are flip sides of the same coin. They work really well together.
Monk: You need to take at least 5 levels for this to work, but it's nice. However, from a roleplaying standpoint, I really don't like this multiclass. You're mixing the untamed wilds with a cloistered monastery. Whatever explanation you come up with is going to sound forced.
Paladin: You'll just be using spell slots to smite, so it works pretty well.
Ranger: They're basically less useful Fighters. You can't use the spell slots, so why not just go Fighter?
Rogue: FUN! Sneak Attack is wonderful, and pairs beautifully with Dex-based barbarians.
I'm going to do the racial feats from Xanathar's Guide, and then I'll be done.
"Halt your wagging and wag your halters, for I am mastercryomancer!"
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Xanathar's Guide to Everything has some cool racial feats that you can only take if you're a member of a certain race. It is important to note that I will be judging each feat based on the feat's merits, not the race's merits. Just because the racial feat is rated highly does not mean that you should choose that race.
Bountiful Luck: This one will make your party love you. However, it takes a reaction and only triggers when someone rolls a 1.
Dragon Fear: Just breathe fire on them already. Seriously, who would use this? It ends immediately if you even damage them.
Dragon Hide: Your Unarmored Defense completely outclasses this.
Drow High Magic: Nice out of combat utility with Detect Magic, but the other 2 are never going to be used.
Dwarven Fortitude: This combos really well with Durable.
Elven Accuracy: This is the best racial feat, and it makes a strong case for best feat outright. I usually take this feat with my Half-Elf sorcerers, but it works well with anybody.
Fade Away: If you're hurt and you need to get out of there, this feat is really helpful. If you're mad and really want advantage on your first attack, this will work for that, too.
Fey Transportation: This feat buffs either Intelligence or Charisma, neither of which you use. Misty Step is good, but you can't cast it while raging.
Flames of Phlegethos: You don't use Charisma or Intelligence, and you don't cast spells.
Infernal Constitution: This feat is actually pretty good. 2 damage resistances and advantage on saving throws against poison as well as a +1 to Constitution is pretty nice.
Orcish Fury: Meh.
Prodigy: If your team really needs the barbarian to have Expertise in a certain skill, than something is wrong with your party.
Second Chance: Good, but not as good as most other uses of your reaction. (Or, for that matter, Defensive Duelist.)
Squat Nimbleness: I hate this feat. It's just not good.
Wood Elf MagicWood Elf Magic: JackOfAllTirades changed my mind on this one. Longstrider is a pre-combat buff, so it doesn't interfere with raging. Pass Without Trace is a party wide out of combat buff that also does not interfere with raging.Well, that's it. I'm done. I hoped you like it. Thoughts and feedback would be appreciated.
"Halt your wagging and wag your halters, for I am mastercryomancer!"
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This is an in depth and fairly comprehensive guide if you wish to travel the path of a dexy barbarian. I am uncertain why you would want to throw away the core idea of the barbarian being the strong person in the group. But hey I am not everyone. I looked through this twice and the advice given seems spot on. I almost feel like it should have been guide to Halfling barbarian, but it does get me thinking about what you can do with a high dexterity barbarian build. Thoughts of 20+AC while running around naked has a certain charm to it, doubly so if it is a naked halfling barbarian that just stabbed you with a rapier or shot you with a bow. The visuals make me like this concept more than I would have imagined. Good luck to you dexy ass heck barbarians. Just remember to DODGE DUCK DIP DIVE AND DODGE!
"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."
Thanks for your compliments. I agree that halflings are probably the optimal Dex-based barbarians. I'm glad you liked this guide.
"Halt your wagging and wag your halters, for I am mastercryomancer!"
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You've really thrown me for a loop with this. I've just been creating a new character and the story ended up with her being a Barbarian. Of course I started to aim toward maul wielding mountain Dwarf but then I see this. Now I don't know what to do. Great guide though.
Mega Yahtzee Thread:
Highest 41: brocker2001 (#11,285).
Yahtzee of 2's: Emmber (#36,161).
Lowest 9: JoeltheWalrus (#312), Emmber (#12,505) and Dertinus (#20,953).
Wood Elf Magic is under-rated in this guide. Barbarians can't cast or concentrate on spells when they're raging, but that's not an issue for the spells provided by this feat.
Longstrider doesn't require concentration and lasts for an hour, so if cast prior to raging, it'll continue providing +10 movement until its duration ends, even if you rage.
Pass Without Trace makes the whole party awesome at Stealth. When everyone's sneaking around, you shouldn't be using Rage anyway.
My Wood Elf Barbarian/Rogue (scout) is gonna take this feat at the earliest opportunity.
DICE FALL, EVERYONE ROCKS!
I didn't really consider that. I'll definitely change Wood Elf magic's rating. Thanks for the input.
"Halt your wagging and wag your halters, for I am mastercryomancer!"
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Glad to be of help!
DICE FALL, EVERYONE ROCKS!
Why no tavern brawler? Sure, it depends on your DM to let you use dex for specific imrpovised attacks, but if they do, it's easily one of the best feats, even if it's a little situational. Also, Tough deserves blue
I'm the idiot that decides to make Phil Swift in DnD.
Tavern Brawler is pretty DM dependent, and still not as good as Shield Master, which is better even if your DM only lets you knock prone after the Attack. If your DM lets you improvise a rapier, then Tavern Brawler might be black. Tough isn't blue because +2 Constitution gives you Armor Class and hit points
"Halt your wagging and wag your halters, for I am mastercryomancer!"
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Have you noticed that your rage damage buff is not being commonly used here, I'd rather be a dex based fighter, but the idea of a dextrous barbarian sounds fun, an idea even my close friends have shot down.
Fair. No, this is a great guide. Even though they're not in the PHB, my personal favourite dex barbarians are shadar-kai, because +dex +con and a daily teleport is amazing (especially with mobile and/or shadow monk levels)
I'm the idiot that decides to make Phil Swift in DnD.
This is awesome! Thank you!
Our current campaign is nearly over and one of the handful of characters I've been considering for the next campaign is a barbarian. But I didn't want to play a standard cliche strongman. I wanted something different.
So the way I figure it, barbarians come from tribes in the slightly-less-than-civilized areas. Like vikings. So... not everybody in a viking tribe is a big burly strongman barbarian. My first thought was of Antonio Banderas in "The 13th Warrior". But then I found an image in a google image search (cuz i have time to do that stuff), and I just instantly knew... that's her! I don't know how to put the image here, but it's basically a female barbarian type with a wooden shield and a battle axe. Looks wicked cool. So I figure everybody in the barbarian tribe has a role - a job to do. Some are the front line fighters - they're the big burly strongman barbarians. But some of them must be responsible for protecting the leaders. Right? So I decided that it's a tribe with a matriarchal rulership. The oldest and wisest woman makes the big decisions, because the men never usually survive long enough to get that old or that wise. So maybe that matriarch must have a handful of barbarians around her to protect her. Like shield-maidens. So a dex-based barbarian with the "Path of the Ancestral Spirits" would be perfect for that! So I figure she's been training to be a shield-maiden, but before she can actually take that job she has to prove herself by going out into the world to face all the myriad dangers that the world can throw at her to prove that she's up to snuff.
And your post will really help develop that character. Nice job!
Tayn of Darkwood. Lvl 10 human Life Cleric of Lathander. Retired.
Ikram Sahir ibn Malik al-Sayyid Ra'ad, Second Son of the House of Ra'ad, Defender of the Burning Sands. Lvl 9 Brass Dragonborn Sorcerer + Greater Fire Elemental Devil.
Viktor Gavriil. Lvl 20 White Dragonborn Grave Cleric, of Kurgan the God of Death.
Anzio Faro. Lvl 5 Prot. Aasimar Light Cleric.
I decided to just make both Barbarians and see which one is more relevant to the campaign if I ever use them.
The Dexterity one is a Shadar-kai Elf with Sword and Shield and Path of the Ancestral Guardian. Uses the Raven Queen's influence to shield her allies in the form of shadowy raven spirits.
Honestly I think she'd work out perfectly fine as a Zealot too but I think I prefer the Ancestral Guardian protector-style of play. Not sure how to get her a Bonus Action though without sacrificing CON/DEX ASI's for a feat.
Edit:
I've been looking into weapons too and is there really no other finesse 1d8 weapon than Rapier? I really don't want to use a Rapier it has all the wrong aesthetics. A spear would fit best but it's not finesse and simple so only 1d6. This is horrible.
Mega Yahtzee Thread:
Highest 41: brocker2001 (#11,285).
Yahtzee of 2's: Emmber (#36,161).
Lowest 9: JoeltheWalrus (#312), Emmber (#12,505) and Dertinus (#20,953).
The downside of dexterity is that the damage potential for finesse weapons is lower than with strength weapons. But talk to your DM, I see no reason why you can't reflavor a rapier as something similar, just make it something stabby or perhaps pokey.
"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."
Agree with your DM to have a weapon that uses the stats of a rapier but looks visually more pleasing. Nothing game breaking about it and no one likes the party full of rapiers :D.
I’m now imagining an unusually pointy spear with a shorter shaft and odd balance so it can’t be thrown. ; ) Basically I’m thinking my Dex Barbarian is a goth hoplite.
Mega Yahtzee Thread:
Highest 41: brocker2001 (#11,285).
Yahtzee of 2's: Emmber (#36,161).
Lowest 9: JoeltheWalrus (#312), Emmber (#12,505) and Dertinus (#20,953).
There ye go, pointy stabby thing that doesn't make your barbarian fight like the 4 musketeers. Perfect.