Yeah. At some point you have to draw the line as a DM for powergaming though. I'd have a very hard time if someone tried to sell me that as flavor.
Your Quori spirit is merging with your body, causing you to be thrown into a violent rage as you are inhabited by two intelligences, where the spirit absorbs half the damage you take, explaining the resistance to damage.
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I think that Yuan-ti or Satyr are far, far better than Kalashtar.
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Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
Yeah resistance to psychic really isn't a big deal. It just looks all shiny because having resistance to ALL damage types sounds impressive. But it's the bear totem that is giving access to all of the resistances that will be commonly used.
Agreed that Yuan-ti and Satyr are way more powerful. Especially if Tasha's customize your origin options are open. Then it's just completely gross.
I think that Yuan-ti or Satyr are far, far better than Kalashtar.
Definitely, but it just feels good to have resistance to all damage types. Not having resistance to psychic damage just feels like an annoying Achilles' Heel that will come back to bite you later on, so if you do get it , you are able to look the DM in the eye and tell them to go **** that allip that they threw at you, because you have resistance to ALL DAMAGE TYPES.
It's just too fun not to do. Especially with some cool flavoring, like I mentioned above.
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Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Something about the human brain that loves to say I can resist it all. Feels infinitely more satisfying than having to mention the one type you don't lol.
Yeah resistance to psychic really isn't a big deal. It just looks all shiny because having resistance to ALL damage types sounds impressive. But it's the bear totem that is giving access to all of the resistances that will be commonly used.
Agreed that Yuan-ti and Satyr are way more powerful. Especially if Tasha's customize your origin options are open. Then it's just completely gross.
Exactly. A good way to look at it is for what it is, a choice between two things. Resistance to psychic damage or resistance to magic. That’s not even a choice.
Just because I saw some stuff about stout halfling barbarians, something to note is that they have disadvantage on attacks with heavy weapons because of their size. This is horrible for barbarians.
Same goes for gnomes. If you want to use a longsword with 2 hands, go ahead. But I like being able to wield the biggest, baddest 5e weapons.
Just because I saw some stuff about stout halfling barbarians, something to note is that they have disadvantage on attacks with heavy weapons because of their size. This is horrible for barbarians.
Same goes for gnomes. If you want to use a longsword with 2 hands, go ahead. But I like being able to wield the biggest, baddest 5e weapons.
There is something to be said about getting everything you can out of every attack and GWM is a great fit for barbarians. The versatile weapons don't get the power attack from GWM, but do get the bonus action attack. I would switch between my greataxe and Hew on my barbarian. Average damage was the same thanks to the plus 1, but the difference between the power attack and no power attack is telling.
That said, it's 1 average damage (1.5 to a 2d6 weapon) and other feats can be fun on a barbarian, plus the idea of being a little ball of fury is just so satisfying to play. So you live with the tradeoffs.
Of course, getting a crit on a power attack with a Half-orc while wielding that greataxe was amazing, especially when raging and getting to add my Divine Fury. 3d12+2d6+10+3+3+2 for a minimum of 23 and an average of 44.5 at level 6 with at least one more attack and a crit bonus attack activation possible means a bunch of damage going out.
Barbarian is great for simplified play style, dealing loads of damage and laughing at your enemies when their pitiful attacks barely scratch you.
Just because I saw some stuff about stout halfling barbarians, something to note is that they have disadvantage on attacks with heavy weapons because of their size. This is horrible for barbarians.
Same goes for gnomes. If you want to use a longsword with 2 hands, go ahead. But I like being able to wield the biggest, baddest 5e weapons.
There is something to be said about getting everything you can out of every attack and GWM is a great fit for barbarians. The versatile weapons don't get the power attack from GWM, but do get the bonus action attack. I would switch between my greataxe and Hew on my barbarian. Average damage was the same thanks to the plus 1, but the difference between the power attack and no power attack is telling.
That said, it's 1 average damage (1.5 to a 2d6 weapon) and other feats can be fun on a barbarian, plus the idea of being a little ball of fury is just so satisfying to play. So you live with the tradeoffs.
Of course, getting a crit on a power attack with a Half-orc while wielding that greataxe was amazing, especially when raging and getting to add my Divine Fury. 3d12+2d6+10+3+3+2 for a minimum of 23 and an average of 44.5 at level 6 with at least one more attack and a crit bonus attack activation possible means a bunch of damage going out.
Barbarian is great for simplified play style, dealing loads of damage and laughing at your enemies when their pitiful attacks barely scratch you.
This. We have a halfling barbarian|rogue in our party, and she's absolutely brutal. I'd rather get hit by a greataxe that smashed in the face with her rapier+sneak attack which requires an act of Mystra to fumble. Not being able to wield large weapons is the least of the problems a halfling rogue faces; in fact, I would say that the movement penalty of only 25 ft is a bigger problem than being limited to "only" a D10 weapon.
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Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
Just because I saw some stuff about stout halfling barbarians, something to note is that they have disadvantage on attacks with heavy weapons because of their size. This is horrible for barbarians.
Same goes for gnomes. If you want to use a longsword with 2 hands, go ahead. But I like being able to wield the biggest, baddest 5e weapons.
There is something to be said about getting everything you can out of every attack and GWM is a great fit for barbarians. The versatile weapons don't get the power attack from GWM, but do get the bonus action attack. I would switch between my greataxe and Hew on my barbarian. Average damage was the same thanks to the plus 1, but the difference between the power attack and no power attack is telling.
That said, it's 1 average damage (1.5 to a 2d6 weapon) and other feats can be fun on a barbarian, plus the idea of being a little ball of fury is just so satisfying to play. So you live with the tradeoffs.
Of course, getting a crit on a power attack with a Half-orc while wielding that greataxe was amazing, especially when raging and getting to add my Divine Fury. 3d12+2d6+10+3+3+2 for a minimum of 23 and an average of 44.5 at level 6 with at least one more attack and a crit bonus attack activation possible means a bunch of damage going out.
Barbarian is great for simplified play style, dealing loads of damage and laughing at your enemies when their pitiful attacks barely scratch you.
This. We have a halfling barbarian|rogue in our party, and she's absolutely brutal. I'd rather get hit by a greataxe that smashed in the face with her rapier+sneak attack which requires an act of Mystra to fumble. Not being able to wield large weapons is the least of the problems a halfling rogue faces; in fact, I would say that the movement penalty of only 25 ft is a bigger problem than being limited to "only" a D10 weapon.
Yes, the barbarian rogue is brutal and the exception to the rule. But pure barbarian is better with heavy weapons.
Just because I saw some stuff about stout halfling barbarians, something to note is that they have disadvantage on attacks with heavy weapons because of their size. This is horrible for barbarians.
Same goes for gnomes. If you want to use a longsword with 2 hands, go ahead. But I like being able to wield the biggest, baddest 5e weapons.
There is something to be said about getting everything you can out of every attack and GWM is a great fit for barbarians. The versatile weapons don't get the power attack from GWM, but do get the bonus action attack. I would switch between my greataxe and Hew on my barbarian. Average damage was the same thanks to the plus 1, but the difference between the power attack and no power attack is telling.
That said, it's 1 average damage (1.5 to a 2d6 weapon) and other feats can be fun on a barbarian, plus the idea of being a little ball of fury is just so satisfying to play. So you live with the tradeoffs.
Of course, getting a crit on a power attack with a Half-orc while wielding that greataxe was amazing, especially when raging and getting to add my Divine Fury. 3d12+2d6+10+3+3+2 for a minimum of 23 and an average of 44.5 at level 6 with at least one more attack and a crit bonus attack activation possible means a bunch of damage going out.
Barbarian is great for simplified play style, dealing loads of damage and laughing at your enemies when their pitiful attacks barely scratch you.
This. We have a halfling barbarian|rogue in our party, and she's absolutely brutal. I'd rather get hit by a greataxe that smashed in the face with her rapier+sneak attack which requires an act of Mystra to fumble. Not being able to wield large weapons is the least of the problems a halfling rogue faces; in fact, I would say that the movement penalty of only 25 ft is a bigger problem than being limited to "only" a D10 weapon.
Yes, the barbarian rogue is brutal and the exception to the rule. But pure barbarian is better with heavy weapons.
And all reach weapons (save whips) have the heavy property which also limits the small races
If I was building a small race barbarian I'd probably take the opportunity to make a dual-wielder with a fighter dip. Obviously not the best style in general, but without access to heavy weapons, its biggest competition is out of contention.
Plus, let's not forget the sheer brilliance of walking around as an angry as shite gnome or what have you, hacking and slashing at people's knees. I'd wager the imagery of the small barbarian is what draws people to the idea, not anything mechanical.
If I was building a small race barbarian I'd probably take the opportunity to make a dual-wielder with a fighter dip. Obviously not the best style in general, but without access to heavy weapons, its biggest competition is out of contention.
Plus, let's not forget the sheer brilliance of walking around as an angry as shite gnome or what have you, hacking and slashing at people's knees. I'd wager the imagery of the small barbarian is what draws people to the idea, not anything mechanical.
Just because I saw some stuff about stout halfling barbarians, something to note is that they have disadvantage on attacks with heavy weapons because of their size. This is horrible for barbarians.
Same goes for gnomes. If you want to use a longsword with 2 hands, go ahead. But I like being able to wield the biggest, baddest 5e weapons.
There is something to be said about getting everything you can out of every attack and GWM is a great fit for barbarians. The versatile weapons don't get the power attack from GWM, but do get the bonus action attack. I would switch between my greataxe and Hew on my barbarian. Average damage was the same thanks to the plus 1, but the difference between the power attack and no power attack is telling.
That said, it's 1 average damage (1.5 to a 2d6 weapon) and other feats can be fun on a barbarian, plus the idea of being a little ball of fury is just so satisfying to play. So you live with the tradeoffs.
Of course, getting a crit on a power attack with a Half-orc while wielding that greataxe was amazing, especially when raging and getting to add my Divine Fury. 3d12+2d6+10+3+3+2 for a minimum of 23 and an average of 44.5 at level 6 with at least one more attack and a crit bonus attack activation possible means a bunch of damage going out.
Barbarian is great for simplified play style, dealing loads of damage and laughing at your enemies when their pitiful attacks barely scratch you.
This. We have a halfling barbarian|rogue in our party, and she's absolutely brutal. I'd rather get hit by a greataxe that smashed in the face with her rapier+sneak attack which requires an act of Mystra to fumble. Not being able to wield large weapons is the least of the problems a halfling rogue faces; in fact, I would say that the movement penalty of only 25 ft is a bigger problem than being limited to "only" a D10 weapon.
Yes, the barbarian rogue is brutal and the exception to the rule. But pure barbarian is better with heavy weapons.
not really, I'd rather go with a DW barb or a beast barb with claws over a great weapon. I completely disagree that a slightly larger damage die is significantly better than what a small race can get access to. An insignificant difference is...insignificant.
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Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
If I was building a small race barbarian I'd probably take the opportunity to make a dual-wielder with a fighter dip. Obviously not the best style in general, but without access to heavy weapons, its biggest competition is out of contention.
Plus, let's not forget the sheer brilliance of walking around as an angry as shite gnome or what have you, hacking and slashing at people's knees. I'd wager the imagery of the small barbarian is what draws people to the idea, not anything mechanical.
A halfling/gnome can have a longsword (d10). Your bog standard barb is rocking a (d12) weapon. That's not really a significant difference imo. You have to go down the feat tree if you're really going to try and make heavy weapons look significantly better. Gnome in particular with those magic saves is pretty snazzy.
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Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
Just because I saw some stuff about stout halfling barbarians, something to note is that they have disadvantage on attacks with heavy weapons because of their size. This is horrible for barbarians.
Same goes for gnomes. If you want to use a longsword with 2 hands, go ahead. But I like being able to wield the biggest, baddest 5e weapons.
There is something to be said about getting everything you can out of every attack and GWM is a great fit for barbarians. The versatile weapons don't get the power attack from GWM, but do get the bonus action attack. I would switch between my greataxe and Hew on my barbarian. Average damage was the same thanks to the plus 1, but the difference between the power attack and no power attack is telling.
That said, it's 1 average damage (1.5 to a 2d6 weapon) and other feats can be fun on a barbarian, plus the idea of being a little ball of fury is just so satisfying to play. So you live with the tradeoffs.
Of course, getting a crit on a power attack with a Half-orc while wielding that greataxe was amazing, especially when raging and getting to add my Divine Fury. 3d12+2d6+10+3+3+2 for a minimum of 23 and an average of 44.5 at level 6 with at least one more attack and a crit bonus attack activation possible means a bunch of damage going out.
Barbarian is great for simplified play style, dealing loads of damage and laughing at your enemies when their pitiful attacks barely scratch you.
This. We have a halfling barbarian|rogue in our party, and she's absolutely brutal. I'd rather get hit by a greataxe that smashed in the face with her rapier+sneak attack which requires an act of Mystra to fumble. Not being able to wield large weapons is the least of the problems a halfling rogue faces; in fact, I would say that the movement penalty of only 25 ft is a bigger problem than being limited to "only" a D10 weapon.
Yes, the barbarian rogue is brutal and the exception to the rule. But pure barbarian is better with heavy weapons.
not really, I'd rather go with a DW barb or a beast barb with claws over a great weapon. I completely disagree that a slightly larger damage die is significantly better than what a small race can get access to. An insignificant difference is...insignificant.
All I'm saying is that certain races that don't give disadvantage on such a staple of the barbarian concept (such as the yuan-ti and the half-orc) give equally good, if not better, features. And at that point the insignificant disadvantage becomes a potential deciding factor.
Just because I saw some stuff about stout halfling barbarians, something to note is that they have disadvantage on attacks with heavy weapons because of their size. This is horrible for barbarians.
Same goes for gnomes. If you want to use a longsword with 2 hands, go ahead. But I like being able to wield the biggest, baddest 5e weapons.
There is something to be said about getting everything you can out of every attack and GWM is a great fit for barbarians. The versatile weapons don't get the power attack from GWM, but do get the bonus action attack. I would switch between my greataxe and Hew on my barbarian. Average damage was the same thanks to the plus 1, but the difference between the power attack and no power attack is telling.
That said, it's 1 average damage (1.5 to a 2d6 weapon) and other feats can be fun on a barbarian, plus the idea of being a little ball of fury is just so satisfying to play. So you live with the tradeoffs.
Of course, getting a crit on a power attack with a Half-orc while wielding that greataxe was amazing, especially when raging and getting to add my Divine Fury. 3d12+2d6+10+3+3+2 for a minimum of 23 and an average of 44.5 at level 6 with at least one more attack and a crit bonus attack activation possible means a bunch of damage going out.
Barbarian is great for simplified play style, dealing loads of damage and laughing at your enemies when their pitiful attacks barely scratch you.
This. We have a halfling barbarian|rogue in our party, and she's absolutely brutal. I'd rather get hit by a greataxe that smashed in the face with her rapier+sneak attack which requires an act of Mystra to fumble. Not being able to wield large weapons is the least of the problems a halfling rogue faces; in fact, I would say that the movement penalty of only 25 ft is a bigger problem than being limited to "only" a D10 weapon.
Yes, the barbarian rogue is brutal and the exception to the rule. But pure barbarian is better with heavy weapons.
not really, I'd rather go with a DW barb or a beast barb with claws over a great weapon. I completely disagree that a slightly larger damage die is significantly better than what a small race can get access to. An insignificant difference is...insignificant.
All I'm saying is that certain races that don't give disadvantage on such a staple of the barbarian concept (such as the yuan-ti and the half-orc) give equally good, if not better, features. And at that point the insignificant disadvantage becomes a potential deciding factor.
Which is fine but it plays into character concept more than anything else. Even the almighty GWM doesn't provide enough of an increase to make it so that the concept of a small furious barbarian is devastated. With few options for bonus action in general, going with dual wielder feat can get your damage up enough to be competitive, if still inferior, to GWM allowing for 2-3 attacks of 1d8+rage bonus+attack mod bonus. At fifth level, 3d8+9+9 vs 2d12+6+6+20 is 31.5 average damage versus 45, but factoring in hit rates gives an expected 6.3 damage per hit against an AC 15 creature for dual wielder and 7.875 per hit for GWM. Assuming no crit or kill, that's 18.9 for dual wielder and 15.75 for GWM and the dual wielder has a 5% better chance of avoiding damage. The break even point is between AC 10 and 11. Advantage does increase the likelihood for both and crits play a role as well, but assuming that each character is getting the same rolls it likely only raises the break even point by an AC or two if at all. Throwing in PAM does lower the damage of the main hits but does give a consistent use of the bonus action to increase damage for noncrits and non kills. Of course, subclass choice and other factors that might bring a bonus action into play can also affect the conversation. Additionally, brutal criticals and the half-orc Savage attacks skew those numbers in favor of the GWM build if the barbarian is wielding a d10 or d12 weapon (perhaps with a 2d6, but only getting an extra d6 will result in slower growth)
Thus, a small character is precluded from heavy weapons without incurring disadvantage on their attacks, but options like sword and board or dual wielder can give valid options for small characters who can deal competitive damage (particularly against higher AC creatures). Its close enough that personal taste should win out and having fun should direct your choices.
If I was building a small race barbarian I'd probably take the opportunity to make a dual-wielder with a fighter dip. Obviously not the best style in general, but without access to heavy weapons, its biggest competition is out of contention.
Plus, let's not forget the sheer brilliance of walking around as an angry as shite gnome or what have you, hacking and slashing at people's knees. I'd wager the imagery of the small barbarian is what draws people to the idea, not anything mechanical.
A halfling/gnome can have a longsword (d10). Your bog standard barb is rocking a (d12) weapon. That's not really a significant difference imo. You have to go down the feat tree if you're really going to try and make heavy weapons look significantly better. Gnome in particular with those magic saves is pretty snazzy.
A longsword barb can't get a bonus action attack (berserker doesn't count). Dual Wield can. The context is so much more than just "this is one damage die less". You even mention the feats. I mean, what heavy weapon barb isn't taking at least one of those feats? I'd wager a very small amount. GWM and PAM go hand in hand with heavy weapon barbs. The longsword is a terrible replacement because it can't qualify for those feats and to brush it off like those feats aren't damn near mandatory on heavy weapons barbs is a bit silly. You wanna drop down to a d8 and grab a shield? Fine. But two handing a longsword on a small barb is just actively trying to make a worse version of a medium sized barbarian.
But besides all that, I would go dual wielding because I want to. The fighting style fits the image of a small barbarian to me, and going sword and board (or spear and board if I'm trying to get the bonus action attack back) just doesn't feel the same.
If I was building a small race barbarian I'd probably take the opportunity to make a dual-wielder with a fighter dip. Obviously not the best style in general, but without access to heavy weapons, its biggest competition is out of contention.
Plus, let's not forget the sheer brilliance of walking around as an angry as shite gnome or what have you, hacking and slashing at people's knees. I'd wager the imagery of the small barbarian is what draws people to the idea, not anything mechanical.
A halfling/gnome can have a longsword (d10). Your bog standard barb is rocking a (d12) weapon. That's not really a significant difference imo. You have to go down the feat tree if you're really going to try and make heavy weapons look significantly better. Gnome in particular with those magic saves is pretty snazzy.
A longsword barb can't get a bonus action attack (berserker doesn't count). Dual Wield can. The context is so much more than just "this is one damage die less". You even mention the feats. I mean, what heavy weapon barb isn't taking at least one of those feats? I'd wager a very small amount. GWM and PAM go hand in hand with heavy weapon barbs. The longsword is a terrible replacement because it can't qualify for those feats and to brush it off like those feats aren't damn near mandatory on heavy weapons barbs is a bit silly. You wanna drop down to a d8 and grab a shield? Fine. But two handing a longsword on a small barb is just actively trying to make a worse version of a medium sized barbarian.
But besides all that, I would go dual wielding because I want to. The fighting style fits the image of a small barbarian to me, and going sword and board (or spear and board if I'm trying to get the bonus action attack back) just doesn't feel the same.
Take your angry as shite gnome, give it slasher feat and shield Master. Now your angry as shite gnome is literally slashing people's knees, gimping there speed for a turn and then bonus action shoving them to the ground so they can spit in their face. Now a creature can only move 5 feet if they have 30 ft movement as it would take 15 to get up and they've already lost 10. If they are in difficult terrain, they can't even do that and that angry as shite gnome will continue to spit in their face, attack with advantage while attacks against them from the creature are at disadvantage. The creature can only crawl 5 ft as it costs them 1 ft per every foot for crawling and another for every foot for difficult terrain. Crawling 5 ft in difficult terrain uses 15 ft of moment with only 20 ft to use. Meanwhile, your gnome still has full movement of 25 (35 after level 5) and can make up the difficult terrain easily enough. The mental saves at advantage coupled with proficiency in strength and constitution and danger sense, plus shield Master adding 2 to dex saves targeting only you and being able to save for no damage instead of half damage means saves will almost be on par with the satyr or the yuan-ti. It also opens up squat Nimbleness and Fade Away as racial feat options, which could be interesting for the right character, especially since both are half feats and can target strength and/or dexterity. If you are going to sink 4 feats into a barbarian, having 3 of them be half feats will at least bump your stats up as well. They aren't awesome for concept and arguably would just be bringing the gnome up to another race's level in respect to movement or other aspects, but that's also bringing the bonuses that the gnome has that are harder for another race to match. The option to not use the racial feats is also on the table. Should we call this the Napolean build? Incidentally, halflings, kobolds, or goblins are also in the same boat and bring a slightly different flavor. Pack Tactics and Grovel, Cower, and Beg (followed by Napoleon Kobold!); Fury of the Small and Nimble Escape; or Lucky, Brave, Halfling Nimbleness, and your choice of subrace perks work well with the barbarian chassis.
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Yeah. At some point you have to draw the line as a DM for powergaming though. I'd have a very hard time if someone tried to sell me that as flavor.
https://www.dndbeyond.com/subraces/137390-weretouched-beasthide
https://www.dndbeyond.com/subraces/137424-weretouched-longtooth
https://www.dndbeyond.com/subraces/137431-weretouched-razorclaw
https://www.dndbeyond.com/subraces/137461-weretouched-swiftstride
https://www.dndbeyond.com/subraces/137646-weretouched-wildhunt
Your Quori spirit is merging with your body, causing you to be thrown into a violent rage as you are inhabited by two intelligences, where the spirit absorbs half the damage you take, explaining the resistance to damage.
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
I think that Yuan-ti or Satyr are far, far better than Kalashtar.
Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
Tasha
Yeah resistance to psychic really isn't a big deal. It just looks all shiny because having resistance to ALL damage types sounds impressive. But it's the bear totem that is giving access to all of the resistances that will be commonly used.
Agreed that Yuan-ti and Satyr are way more powerful. Especially if Tasha's customize your origin options are open. Then it's just completely gross.
Definitely, but it just feels good to have resistance to all damage types. Not having resistance to psychic damage just feels like an annoying Achilles' Heel that will come back to bite you later on, so if you do get it , you are able to look the DM in the eye and tell them to go **** that allip that they threw at you, because you have resistance to ALL DAMAGE TYPES.
It's just too fun not to do. Especially with some cool flavoring, like I mentioned above.
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
Something about the human brain that loves to say I can resist it all. Feels infinitely more satisfying than having to mention the one type you don't lol.
Also Third, I love that character concept.
Exactly. A good way to look at it is for what it is, a choice between two things. Resistance to psychic damage or resistance to magic. That’s not even a choice.
Just because I saw some stuff about stout halfling barbarians, something to note is that they have disadvantage on attacks with heavy weapons because of their size. This is horrible for barbarians.
Same goes for gnomes. If you want to use a longsword with 2 hands, go ahead. But I like being able to wield the biggest, baddest 5e weapons.
Beardy druid.
Very beardy druid. With a cap.
There is something to be said about getting everything you can out of every attack and GWM is a great fit for barbarians. The versatile weapons don't get the power attack from GWM, but do get the bonus action attack. I would switch between my greataxe and Hew on my barbarian. Average damage was the same thanks to the plus 1, but the difference between the power attack and no power attack is telling.
That said, it's 1 average damage (1.5 to a 2d6 weapon) and other feats can be fun on a barbarian, plus the idea of being a little ball of fury is just so satisfying to play. So you live with the tradeoffs.
Of course, getting a crit on a power attack with a Half-orc while wielding that greataxe was amazing, especially when raging and getting to add my Divine Fury. 3d12+2d6+10+3+3+2 for a minimum of 23 and an average of 44.5 at level 6 with at least one more attack and a crit bonus attack activation possible means a bunch of damage going out.
Barbarian is great for simplified play style, dealing loads of damage and laughing at your enemies when their pitiful attacks barely scratch you.
This. We have a halfling barbarian|rogue in our party, and she's absolutely brutal. I'd rather get hit by a greataxe that smashed in the face with her rapier+sneak attack which requires an act of Mystra to fumble. Not being able to wield large weapons is the least of the problems a halfling rogue faces; in fact, I would say that the movement penalty of only 25 ft is a bigger problem than being limited to "only" a D10 weapon.
Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
Tasha
Yes, the barbarian rogue is brutal and the exception to the rule. But pure barbarian is better with heavy weapons.
Beardy druid.
Very beardy druid. With a cap.
And all reach weapons (save whips) have the heavy property which also limits the small races
If I was building a small race barbarian I'd probably take the opportunity to make a dual-wielder with a fighter dip. Obviously not the best style in general, but without access to heavy weapons, its biggest competition is out of contention.
Plus, let's not forget the sheer brilliance of walking around as an angry as shite gnome or what have you, hacking and slashing at people's knees. I'd wager the imagery of the small barbarian is what draws people to the idea, not anything mechanical.
Also pick up the duel wielder feat. And...
Beyblade, beyblade, let it rip.
not really, I'd rather go with a DW barb or a beast barb with claws over a great weapon. I completely disagree that a slightly larger damage die is significantly better than what a small race can get access to. An insignificant difference is...insignificant.
Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
Tasha
A halfling/gnome can have a longsword (d10). Your bog standard barb is rocking a (d12) weapon. That's not really a significant difference imo. You have to go down the feat tree if you're really going to try and make heavy weapons look significantly better. Gnome in particular with those magic saves is pretty snazzy.
Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
Tasha
All I'm saying is that certain races that don't give disadvantage on such a staple of the barbarian concept (such as the yuan-ti and the half-orc) give equally good, if not better, features. And at that point the insignificant disadvantage becomes a potential deciding factor.
Beardy druid.
Very beardy druid. With a cap.
Which is fine but it plays into character concept more than anything else. Even the almighty GWM doesn't provide enough of an increase to make it so that the concept of a small furious barbarian is devastated. With few options for bonus action in general, going with dual wielder feat can get your damage up enough to be competitive, if still inferior, to GWM allowing for 2-3 attacks of 1d8+rage bonus+attack mod bonus. At fifth level, 3d8+9+9 vs 2d12+6+6+20 is 31.5 average damage versus 45, but factoring in hit rates gives an expected 6.3 damage per hit against an AC 15 creature for dual wielder and 7.875 per hit for GWM. Assuming no crit or kill, that's 18.9 for dual wielder and 15.75 for GWM and the dual wielder has a 5% better chance of avoiding damage. The break even point is between AC 10 and 11. Advantage does increase the likelihood for both and crits play a role as well, but assuming that each character is getting the same rolls it likely only raises the break even point by an AC or two if at all. Throwing in PAM does lower the damage of the main hits but does give a consistent use of the bonus action to increase damage for noncrits and non kills. Of course, subclass choice and other factors that might bring a bonus action into play can also affect the conversation. Additionally, brutal criticals and the half-orc Savage attacks skew those numbers in favor of the GWM build if the barbarian is wielding a d10 or d12 weapon (perhaps with a 2d6, but only getting an extra d6 will result in slower growth)
Thus, a small character is precluded from heavy weapons without incurring disadvantage on their attacks, but options like sword and board or dual wielder can give valid options for small characters who can deal competitive damage (particularly against higher AC creatures). Its close enough that personal taste should win out and having fun should direct your choices.
A longsword barb can't get a bonus action attack (berserker doesn't count). Dual Wield can. The context is so much more than just "this is one damage die less". You even mention the feats. I mean, what heavy weapon barb isn't taking at least one of those feats? I'd wager a very small amount. GWM and PAM go hand in hand with heavy weapon barbs. The longsword is a terrible replacement because it can't qualify for those feats and to brush it off like those feats aren't damn near mandatory on heavy weapons barbs is a bit silly. You wanna drop down to a d8 and grab a shield? Fine. But two handing a longsword on a small barb is just actively trying to make a worse version of a medium sized barbarian.
But besides all that, I would go dual wielding because I want to. The fighting style fits the image of a small barbarian to me, and going sword and board (or spear and board if I'm trying to get the bonus action attack back) just doesn't feel the same.
Take your angry as shite gnome, give it slasher feat and shield Master. Now your angry as shite gnome is literally slashing people's knees, gimping there speed for a turn and then bonus action shoving them to the ground so they can spit in their face. Now a creature can only move 5 feet if they have 30 ft movement as it would take 15 to get up and they've already lost 10. If they are in difficult terrain, they can't even do that and that angry as shite gnome will continue to spit in their face, attack with advantage while attacks against them from the creature are at disadvantage. The creature can only crawl 5 ft as it costs them 1 ft per every foot for crawling and another for every foot for difficult terrain. Crawling 5 ft in difficult terrain uses 15 ft of moment with only 20 ft to use. Meanwhile, your gnome still has full movement of 25 (35 after level 5) and can make up the difficult terrain easily enough. The mental saves at advantage coupled with proficiency in strength and constitution and danger sense, plus shield Master adding 2 to dex saves targeting only you and being able to save for no damage instead of half damage means saves will almost be on par with the satyr or the yuan-ti. It also opens up squat Nimbleness and Fade Away as racial feat options, which could be interesting for the right character, especially since both are half feats and can target strength and/or dexterity. If you are going to sink 4 feats into a barbarian, having 3 of them be half feats will at least bump your stats up as well. They aren't awesome for concept and arguably would just be bringing the gnome up to another race's level in respect to movement or other aspects, but that's also bringing the bonuses that the gnome has that are harder for another race to match. The option to not use the racial feats is also on the table. Should we call this the Napolean build? Incidentally, halflings, kobolds, or goblins are also in the same boat and bring a slightly different flavor. Pack Tactics and Grovel, Cower, and Beg (followed by Napoleon Kobold!); Fury of the Small and Nimble Escape; or Lucky, Brave, Halfling Nimbleness, and your choice of subrace perks work well with the barbarian chassis.