so barbarians are proficient in shields and all martial weapons, including the lance, an weapon normally associated with palladins and fighters. What do you think of the idea of playing an barbarian character wielding an lance and shield into battle, especially since the shield bonus adds on to his or her unarmored defense bonus? (yes, you can add your con to your ac as long as you are not wearing armor, but you can add the ac bonus of your shield as normal). While most horses are kinda expensive, you should be able to afford an cheap horse even with the incredibly small amount of starting gold an barbarian gets, especially halfing and other small barbarians as they are ablee to ride the medium size mules into battle, and this is especially great for them since it allows you to use an weapon with an d12 damage dice that does not have the heavy property.
whatcha think of this concept in general?
also speaking of shields, the new UA beast barbarian can create many different natural weapons, some of whom might leave you with both of your hands free, witch is an great opportunity to start using shields as standard equipment, so i guess thats neat, i mean the whole thing feels a little weird
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i am soup, with too many ideas (all of them very spicy) who has made sufficient homebrew material and character to last an thousand human lifetimes
It's certainly a playstyle, the only problem being trying to keep your horse alive long enough in battle to benefit from the act of being mounted. A regular horse you'd be able to afford as a low level adventurer would only have 11~13HP. A warhorse has ~19HP (unless you for some reason roll the hit dice for the creature). The moment your horse goes down, you're forced to either drop the shield to two-hand the Lance, or drop the lance and go Sword & Board. By relying on a mount for your main source of damage, that also means anytime you go into a cave or somewhere that isnt naturally normal for a horse to go into is going to be really awkward.
I've never been one who has seen the benefit of having a character rely on being mounted to do what they want to do, however if the campaign has room for it why not give it a shot?
IMO you're better off going greataxe and saving up to commission some Bracers of Defense. You dont get reach on your attacks, but you also dont suffer disadvantage on attacks within 5ft when your horse inevitably gets fireballed.
this is why we needed sidekick rules, your companion does not gain hit dice as levels go up. And as for the weakness of your mount it can be partially resolved with the mounted combatant feat and by giving your horsie some proper armor
and of course, getting better and better steeds, once an warhorse will not cut it, tame an war rhino or an pegasus or an griffon or anything else
also why go sword and board when you can go war pick and shield, or battlehammer and shield, or litterally any weapon other than ******* swords they are so damm overdone
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i am soup, with too many ideas (all of them very spicy) who has made sufficient homebrew material and character to last an thousand human lifetimes
also why go sword and board when you can go war pick and shield, or battlehammer and shield, or litterally any weapon other than ******* swords they are so damm overdone
you realize sword and board is a generalized term? Yes it specifically refers to a sword and shield but the implication is a one-handed weapon and a shield.
In role playing games in general, the expression "sword and board" refers to using a weapon in one hand and a shield in the other hand during combat, as opposed to using a weapon that requires both hands to wield and use effectively. Although the expression uses the word "sword" for aesthetic reasons (the rhyming scheme), the weapon in question can be any one handed weapon.
From your post, you asked about the base idea of a barbarian riding into battle on a horse and its validity without mentioning feats, and that was what I commented on. The main threat to wanting to use a Lance is the need to be mounted, and so losing said mount is a problem. Armor can help, yes, and the feat can help as well, however a warhorse as +1 dex, and half of a fireball is still close to 20 hp worth of damage.
As for taming a stronger creature (rhino/griffon/etc.) that relies 100% on the campaign you're playing in and isn't something guaranteed.
Considering the build baseline, it's playable, however it's not something I'd actively pursue for any of my games.
yeah horseplay in dnd is hardly good, i just kinda like the idea of this buff shirtless barbarian going arround on a glorious steed with an lance in one hand and a shield in the other, just such an non-barbarian thing to do yet it makes so much sense, attunement to nature and all that
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i am soup, with too many ideas (all of them very spicy) who has made sufficient homebrew material and character to last an thousand human lifetimes
While most horses are kinda expensive, you should be able to afford an cheap horse
The biggest issue is that a cheap horse is not trained for battle. The first time you get into a fight, it will panic, throw you off, and run away. Warhorses are expensive for a reason.
On the other hand, your description sounds so much like a Frazetta painting - a shirtless muscled warrior on a huge, equally-muscled horse, holding a impossibly sharp spiky lance and a massive chunky shield. Of course, there would be a scantily dressed damsel somewhere in the image… :-)
so barbarians are proficient in shields and all martial weapons, including the lance, an weapon normally associated with palladins and fighters. What do you think of the idea of playing an barbarian character wielding an lance and shield into battle, especially since the shield bonus adds on to his or her unarmored defense bonus? (yes, you can add your con to your ac as long as you are not wearing armor, but you can add the ac bonus of your shield as normal). While most horses are kinda expensive, you should be able to afford an cheap horse even with the incredibly small amount of starting gold an barbarian gets, especially halfing and other small barbarians as they are ablee to ride the medium size mules into battle, and this is especially great for them since it allows you to use an weapon with an d12 damage dice that does not have the heavy property.
whatcha think of this concept in general?
also speaking of shields, the new UA beast barbarian can create many different natural weapons, some of whom might leave you with both of your hands free, witch is an great opportunity to start using shields as standard equipment, so i guess thats neat, i mean the whole thing feels a little weird
i am soup, with too many ideas (all of them very spicy) who has made sufficient homebrew material and character to last an thousand human lifetimes
It's certainly a playstyle, the only problem being trying to keep your horse alive long enough in battle to benefit from the act of being mounted. A regular horse you'd be able to afford as a low level adventurer would only have 11~13HP. A warhorse has ~19HP (unless you for some reason roll the hit dice for the creature). The moment your horse goes down, you're forced to either drop the shield to two-hand the Lance, or drop the lance and go Sword & Board. By relying on a mount for your main source of damage, that also means anytime you go into a cave or somewhere that isnt naturally normal for a horse to go into is going to be really awkward.
I've never been one who has seen the benefit of having a character rely on being mounted to do what they want to do, however if the campaign has room for it why not give it a shot?
IMO you're better off going greataxe and saving up to commission some Bracers of Defense. You dont get reach on your attacks, but you also dont suffer disadvantage on attacks within 5ft when your horse inevitably gets fireballed.
this is why we needed sidekick rules, your companion does not gain hit dice as levels go up. And as for the weakness of your mount it can be partially resolved with the mounted combatant feat and by giving your horsie some proper armor
and of course, getting better and better steeds, once an warhorse will not cut it, tame an war rhino or an pegasus or an griffon or anything else
i am soup, with too many ideas (all of them very spicy) who has made sufficient homebrew material and character to last an thousand human lifetimes
also why go sword and board when you can go war pick and shield, or battlehammer and shield, or litterally any weapon other than ******* swords they are so damm overdone
i am soup, with too many ideas (all of them very spicy) who has made sufficient homebrew material and character to last an thousand human lifetimes
you realize sword and board is a generalized term? Yes it specifically refers to a sword and shield but the implication is a one-handed weapon and a shield.
From your post, you asked about the base idea of a barbarian riding into battle on a horse and its validity without mentioning feats, and that was what I commented on. The main threat to wanting to use a Lance is the need to be mounted, and so losing said mount is a problem. Armor can help, yes, and the feat can help as well, however a warhorse as +1 dex, and half of a fireball is still close to 20 hp worth of damage.
As for taming a stronger creature (rhino/griffon/etc.) that relies 100% on the campaign you're playing in and isn't something guaranteed.
Considering the build baseline, it's playable, however it's not something I'd actively pursue for any of my games.
yeah i know its an general term,
yeah horseplay in dnd is hardly good, i just kinda like the idea of this buff shirtless barbarian going arround on a glorious steed with an lance in one hand and a shield in the other, just such an non-barbarian thing to do yet it makes so much sense, attunement to nature and all that
i am soup, with too many ideas (all of them very spicy) who has made sufficient homebrew material and character to last an thousand human lifetimes
The biggest issue is that a cheap horse is not trained for battle. The first time you get into a fight, it will panic, throw you off, and run away. Warhorses are expensive for a reason.
On the other hand, your description sounds so much like a Frazetta painting - a shirtless muscled warrior on a huge, equally-muscled horse, holding a impossibly sharp spiky lance and a massive chunky shield. Of course, there would be a scantily dressed damsel somewhere in the image… :-)