I have thought up an Idea for my (maybe) Human Barbarian, his parents were given the (gift) of Lycanthrope thus him being a Lycanthrope but he can not turn into his beast from at will. He realized this when he raged once and discovered he turned into Werewolf at the time. I have wondered whether he could be something other than your usual tribal Barbarian. Does anybody else have ideas for a Lycanthrope Barbarian?
You might also want to look at the Bloodhunter class, which has a lycanthrope subclass with some mechanical similarities to Barbarian, so it might suit your Character better.
I'll echo the others here. I just recently started playing a character eerily similar to yours and had to decide between Path of the Beast Barbarian and Order of the Lycan Bloodhunter.
The Bloodhunter is capable of some amazing offense, but there is a certain amount of risk to your party. While initially my DM and I thought that risk might make for very dynamic combat tactics and a constant risk to the group we eventually decided that forcing that on the group wasn't the most healthy idea for table dynamics. Around this time the Path of the Barbarian came out and I switched the design to that. Plays like a dream, but I had to give up my idea of coming out of the dark in full werewolf mode only illuminated by the lightning flickering off my teeth and claws.
Aesthetically, you're choosing between a dark and edgy Bloodhunter and a Gruff Barbarian. So the option there is totally where you see the character going in your mind and what you want to play. Mechanically however you've got some other stuff going on.
The Bloodhunter, due to the way stats are being set, works better as a Dexterity based attacker and operates almost like a monk, rushing in for quick strikes but wanting to get away before too many attacks are returned. You have some staying power against non-silvered, non-magic weapons but that will only take you so far in a straight up punch for punch fight. Additionally, you're going to be sacrificing HP for damage, and while it's a good trade, you're going to have to do something like the Toughness feat to offset it. The good news though, is that your forms reset on a short rest, meaning it's incredibly unlikely that you'll have to ration your Transformations. Lastly, there is the problem of friendly fire. Order of the Lycans can turn on their allies if things start to go wrong. Some tables may see this as dynamic and interesting, others may see it as disruptive. Check with your team and DM. Also, the entire Bloodhunter class is an unofficial class, created by a high profile DM (with exquisite hair). It's status on being allowed at a table is dubious at best.
The Path of the Beast is more of a traditional Barbarian class. Offensively you're more than adequate and anything that starts to tangle with you is in for a very bad time. The natural weapons are more powerful than any mundane weapon (which it should be, it's a bloody subclass choice) and you don't have to worry about going off on your teammates just because you took too many hard hits to the noggin. Feel free to ignore the tail, I've yet to even want to use it since the claw and the teeth have been much more situationally useful. The big thing with Barbarians is their requirement of Rage to maintain their combat and this is doubly true fro you since your primary weapons are unavailable when not raged. Use up your rages or end up dropping a rage and you take an even bigger performance hit than others. Additionally you have NO defense to mind control or shut down tactics (see Berserker or Path of the Zealot) so that offensive power may go from a boon to a problem with one bad wisdom save. It should be noted that if your DM is the type that likes to make big crazy powerful Magic Items the Path of the Beast may fall behind, the natural weapons are somewhere between a +2 and +3 greatsword in straight damage but if your DM is making some crazy magic weapons you may find the natural weapons being eclipsed far earlier than intended.
For me, it came down to the Strength of the barbarian. I did not want to have a dex based character at this time, and making a strength based Bloodhunter required me to sacrifice too much in either my saves (to avoid going after my allies) or my hp (to avoid death).
Hope this rambling analysis helps you out. Happy hunting.
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Hello once again fellow D&D Beyond Users,
I have thought up an Idea for my (maybe) Human Barbarian, his parents were given the (gift) of Lycanthrope thus him being a Lycanthrope but he can not turn into his beast from at will. He realized this when he raged once and discovered he turned into Werewolf at the time. I have wondered whether he could be something other than your usual tribal Barbarian. Does anybody else have ideas for a Lycanthrope Barbarian?
EDIT: By the way this is for his Background.
"A Jack Of All Trades is a master of none"
'That's why I hate Bards'
I'm guessing you already are a beast path barb? For background I would say outlander, maybe haunted one. I think that would make sense.
'The Cleverness of mushrooms always surprises me!' - Ivern Bramblefoot.
I'll worldbuild for your DnD games!
Just a D&D enjoyer, check out my fiverr page if you need any worldbuilding done for ya!
You might also want to look at the Bloodhunter class, which has a lycanthrope subclass with some mechanical similarities to Barbarian, so it might suit your Character better.
I'll echo the others here. I just recently started playing a character eerily similar to yours and had to decide between Path of the Beast Barbarian and Order of the Lycan Bloodhunter.
The Bloodhunter is capable of some amazing offense, but there is a certain amount of risk to your party. While initially my DM and I thought that risk might make for very dynamic combat tactics and a constant risk to the group we eventually decided that forcing that on the group wasn't the most healthy idea for table dynamics. Around this time the Path of the Barbarian came out and I switched the design to that. Plays like a dream, but I had to give up my idea of coming out of the dark in full werewolf mode only illuminated by the lightning flickering off my teeth and claws.
Aesthetically, you're choosing between a dark and edgy Bloodhunter and a Gruff Barbarian. So the option there is totally where you see the character going in your mind and what you want to play. Mechanically however you've got some other stuff going on.
The Bloodhunter, due to the way stats are being set, works better as a Dexterity based attacker and operates almost like a monk, rushing in for quick strikes but wanting to get away before too many attacks are returned. You have some staying power against non-silvered, non-magic weapons but that will only take you so far in a straight up punch for punch fight. Additionally, you're going to be sacrificing HP for damage, and while it's a good trade, you're going to have to do something like the Toughness feat to offset it. The good news though, is that your forms reset on a short rest, meaning it's incredibly unlikely that you'll have to ration your Transformations. Lastly, there is the problem of friendly fire. Order of the Lycans can turn on their allies if things start to go wrong. Some tables may see this as dynamic and interesting, others may see it as disruptive. Check with your team and DM. Also, the entire Bloodhunter class is an unofficial class, created by a high profile DM (with exquisite hair). It's status on being allowed at a table is dubious at best.
The Path of the Beast is more of a traditional Barbarian class. Offensively you're more than adequate and anything that starts to tangle with you is in for a very bad time. The natural weapons are more powerful than any mundane weapon (which it should be, it's a bloody subclass choice) and you don't have to worry about going off on your teammates just because you took too many hard hits to the noggin. Feel free to ignore the tail, I've yet to even want to use it since the claw and the teeth have been much more situationally useful. The big thing with Barbarians is their requirement of Rage to maintain their combat and this is doubly true fro you since your primary weapons are unavailable when not raged. Use up your rages or end up dropping a rage and you take an even bigger performance hit than others. Additionally you have NO defense to mind control or shut down tactics (see Berserker or Path of the Zealot) so that offensive power may go from a boon to a problem with one bad wisdom save. It should be noted that if your DM is the type that likes to make big crazy powerful Magic Items the Path of the Beast may fall behind, the natural weapons are somewhere between a +2 and +3 greatsword in straight damage but if your DM is making some crazy magic weapons you may find the natural weapons being eclipsed far earlier than intended.
For me, it came down to the Strength of the barbarian. I did not want to have a dex based character at this time, and making a strength based Bloodhunter required me to sacrifice too much in either my saves (to avoid going after my allies) or my hp (to avoid death).
Hope this rambling analysis helps you out. Happy hunting.