The Battlerager subclass seems pretty cool, both in terms of visual art and for gaming purposes. One of my friends wants to play one in Forgotten Realms.
For what it's worth, here's a homebrew feat, Honorary Gutbuster, which lets non-Battleragers use spiked armor to cause damage (damage scales with level but doesn't get all the other perks of being a Battlerager).
If you can find Adamantine Spiked armor you can completely dump-stat Dex completely. All you need is Str, Con, and reckless attack. Your resistance and temp HP will absorb almost everything anyways.
Adamantine Spiked armor doesn’t technically exist without homebrew though - it’s kinda silly.
Cause it makes you pretty much invulnerable to all but the most powerful physical attacks, which means you wouldn’t need Dex to dodge with?
Mithral (the stuff they use for elven chain) would probably work too, if that’s a thing in your campaign and dwarves have access to it. It’s almost as tough as adamant and lighter too.
Okay. Thanks. That isn’t that tough then. And you defo couldn’t start with a suit of adamantine armor at first level.
So here’s the issue:
1) You don’t get Unarmored Defense anymore, so Dex and Con bonus to AC is limited. Dex bonus is limited to 2, and can only get 3 if you have Med Armor Master Feat.
2) If you get MAM, and wield a shield, and max out Dex at 16 (probably another Feat to accomplish), that leaves you 3 Feats for Strength and Constitution - both of which are your primary Feats. So you’re likely sacrificing one of them to the sub-20 score by doing so.
3) Even with a shield, MAM, and Dex at 16, your AC will be 20. With advantage, hitting a 20 with a +6 Attack Bonus is just as easy as hitting someone with 16 AC without advantage. So your two Feats spending effort to increase AC is a small return.
So let’s say instead you spent 4 Feats getting Str and Con maxxed. Now you’re getting 7 Temp HP per turn with Resistance, and 20-40 more HP at level 20 as well. And quite likely, you could also have Resilient Wisdom for those nasty charm/fear effects that so often ruin Barbs. And because Str is maxxed, you hit even more like a truck.
Without crits, an Ancient Red Dragon does 59 physical and 14 fire damage on average. That comes out to 22 physical and 14 fire damage each round = 36 damage. And whether you have 8 AC or 20 AC, that Dragon is hitting you every single round with every attack so all of that effort to get maxxed AC is wasted anyways.
Okay. Thanks. That isn’t that tough then. And you defo couldn’t start with a suit of adamantine armor at first level.
So here’s the issue:
1) You don’t get Unarmored Defense anymore, so Dex and Con bonus to AC is limited. Dex bonus is limited to 2, and can only get 3 if you have Med Armor Master Feat.
2) If you get MAM, and wield a shield, and max out Dex at 16 (probably another Feat to accomplish), that leaves you 3 Feats for Strength and Constitution - both of which are your primary Feats. So you’re likely sacrificing one of them to the sub-20 score by doing so.
3) Even with a shield, MAM, and Dex at 16, your AC will be 20. With advantage, hitting a 20 with a +6 Attack Bonus is just as easy as hitting someone with 16 AC without advantage. So your two Feats spending effort to increase AC is a small return.
So let’s say instead you spent 4 Feats getting Str and Con maxxed. Now you’re getting 7 Temp HP per turn with Resistance, and 20-40 more HP at level 20 as well. And quite likely, you could also have Resilient Wisdom for those nasty charm/fear effects that so often ruin Barbs. And because Str is maxxed, you hit even more like a truck.
Without crits, an Ancient Red Dragon does 59 physical and 14 fire damage on average. That comes out to 22 physical and 14 fire damage each round = 36 damage. And whether you have 8 AC or 20 AC, that Dragon is hitting you every single round with every attack so all of that effort to get maxxed AC is wasted anyways.
Battleragers can also use a 2h weapon like a great axe...and still get their bonus action attack with their spiked armor.
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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.
The Battlerager subclass seems pretty cool, both in terms of visual art and for gaming purposes. One of my friends wants to play one in Forgotten Realms.
Cool. I like the subclass. It's not completely optimized but it is pretty fun.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
it becomes much more interesting if you read some of the novels that include THE Battlerager, Thibbledorf Pwent.
https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Thibbledorf_Pwent
Guide to the Five Factions (PWYW)
Deck of Decks
Awesome 😊😊😊
I had so much fun playing a battlerager in a Storm King's Thunder game. So much damage.
Hombrew: Way of Wresting, Circle of Sacrifice
For what it's worth, here's a homebrew feat, Honorary Gutbuster, which lets non-Battleragers use spiked armor to cause damage (damage scales with level but doesn't get all the other perks of being a Battlerager).
Guide to the Five Factions (PWYW)
Deck of Decks
If you can find Adamantine Spiked armor you can completely dump-stat Dex completely. All you need is Str, Con, and reckless attack. Your resistance and temp HP will absorb almost everything anyways.
Adamantine Spiked armor doesn’t technically exist without homebrew though - it’s kinda silly.
Why would Adamantine Spiked Armor let you dump-stat Dex?
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
Cause it makes you pretty much invulnerable to all but the most powerful physical attacks, which means you wouldn’t need Dex to dodge with?
Mithral (the stuff they use for elven chain) would probably work too, if that’s a thing in your campaign and dwarves have access to it. It’s almost as tough as adamant and lighter too.
All adamantine armor does is make crits turn into regular hits. Not seeing how that lets you dump-stat dex.
And besides, it's not like you can actually start with a suit of it.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
what the guard said...adamantine gives you additional protection to only the most powerful attack (crits).
Guide to the Five Factions (PWYW)
Deck of Decks
Okay. Thanks. That isn’t that tough then. And you defo couldn’t start with a suit of adamantine armor at first level.
So here’s the issue:
1) You don’t get Unarmored Defense anymore, so Dex and Con bonus to AC is limited. Dex bonus is limited to 2, and can only get 3 if you have Med Armor Master Feat.
2) If you get MAM, and wield a shield, and max out Dex at 16 (probably another Feat to accomplish), that leaves you 3 Feats for Strength and Constitution - both of which are your primary Feats. So you’re likely sacrificing one of them to the sub-20 score by doing so.
3) Even with a shield, MAM, and Dex at 16, your AC will be 20. With advantage, hitting a 20 with a +6 Attack Bonus is just as easy as hitting someone with 16 AC without advantage. So your two Feats spending effort to increase AC is a small return.
So let’s say instead you spent 4 Feats getting Str and Con maxxed. Now you’re getting 7 Temp HP per turn with Resistance, and 20-40 more HP at level 20 as well. And quite likely, you could also have Resilient Wisdom for those nasty charm/fear effects that so often ruin Barbs. And because Str is maxxed, you hit even more like a truck.
Without crits, an Ancient Red Dragon does 59 physical and 14 fire damage on average. That comes out to 22 physical and 14 fire damage each round = 36 damage. And whether you have 8 AC or 20 AC, that Dragon is hitting you every single round with every attack so all of that effort to get maxxed AC is wasted anyways.
Thanks. That makes sense.
Battleragers can also use a 2h weapon like a great axe...and still get their bonus action attack with their spiked armor.
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
That’s pretty cool.
Yup, except that you get to add your strength modifier to the damage roll by default, no fighting style needed.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.