I would love to poll the collective knowledge of this group to ask for (a lot) of help.
I will be joining a campaign that will be starting relatively soon and I think I want to try being a barbarian as I've never tried a pure melee class before
Taken from the DMs campaign description
System: "We’ll be using v5.5 because I really want to play with the weapon mastery system." Character Creation: "Any race/class is allowed. Some homebrew will be considered and approved on a case-by-case basis. You’ll need a detailed backstory—I’m happy to help with this (and honestly, I prefer working with players on their characters). No PvP: If you want to play an "evil" character, talk to me first. I won’t tolerate disruptive behavior that ruins the game for others." Starting Level: You’ll begin at Level 10, and there will be no level-ups throughout the campaign.
What I would ideally want is as much advice or even better if anyone knows any great resources I can access to try to build a character. I have really no idea what my options are for 5.5. in terms of subclass / what races would be ideal (not looking for perfect ... more so fun and functional)
If anyone can recommend sites / or guides ... Im happy to take any advice, recommendations , warning , pitfalls etc. I will be grateful for your collective wisdom
this might be a stretch, but you could always go like dwarf or halfling and pick world tree or berserker. one does more damage one, can help your team. this is more fun and role play. not exactly combat, but you would still hit hard with rage and whatever weapon you have. Bonk or a monk barb is always fun as well
Really, if you have access to the Players handbook then you're going to have everything you need; most of the pre-existing materials don't integrate well with 5.5.
That having been said: Barbarian has pretty much two ways to play it (though there will of course be variations and synergy)
Big Bonk: Big Bonk is very much about hitting your opponents *hard*; you're going to be taking some sort of big two handed weapon and synergizing it with as much damage output feats and abilities to just end fights as viciously as possible,
Big Chonk: Big Chonk is about being *obnoxiously* survivable; by putting a greater emphasis on AC and HP then your damage output you can become an absolute dumptruck that will simply refuse to die. During a One shot in 5th I drove my GM up the wall with a hilldwarf barbarian that had the toughness feat and the bear totem and as a 13th level character she had a base HP value of 149... which basically doubled while raging since she was resistant to damn near everything.
At it's core though, you're going to want to get into melee as fast as possible (which is quite fast since you get bonus move speed) and in the thickest place possible so that you can leverage your combination of big health, damage resistance and damage output.
Or You can see what Noted Luminary Jocat had to say about it once upon a time:
System: "We’ll be using v5.5 because I really want to play with the weapon mastery system." Character Creation: "Any race/class is allowed. Some homebrew will be considered and approved on a case-by-case basis. You’ll need a detailed backstory—I’m happy to help with this (and honestly, I prefer working with players on their characters).
It sounds as if you do not have the 2024 PHB, but an older PHB. Build what you want out of an older and/or the PHB (and other books) you do have. Then meet with the DM and work on converting it to the 2024 rules.
Be flexible about changes, but by bringing in a character, you at least have a framework to build on.
What I would ideally want is as much advice or even better if anyone knows any great resources I can access to try to build a character. I have really no idea what my options are for 5.5. in terms of subclass / what races would be ideal (not looking for perfect ... more so fun and functional)
If anyone can recommend sites / or guides ... Im happy to take any advice, recommendations , warning , pitfalls etc. I will be grateful for your collective wisdom
Greetings Oglethorpe1983,
As you asked for 'resources', 'sites / or guides', here are some links to some helpful info.
As your DM has asked you all to use the 2024 5e system, I will assume that he has shared his access to those materials, so you should have access to these links:
Breathe, dragons; sing of the First World, forged out of chaos and painted with beauty. Sing of Bahamut, the Platinum, molding the shape of the mountains and rivers; Sing too of Chromatic Tiamat, painting all over the infinite canvas. Partnered, they woke in the darkness; partnered, they labored in acts of creation.
Thanks for replying, I actually only have physical copies of the PHB and Tasha's I thought of using that as a templete but I wasnt sure how much things had changed
Thank you for the linformation on the subclasses. I took a brief peek at the subclasses, last night, wasnt sure if there was more out there especially if anyone has taken them for a test drive. As for DM shared resources he has not. Our last campaign was actually run through a different site; so there are no shared resources / materials available (here) .
Have you build a Barbarian under the new rules / what races (species) help in a functional .. not even optimal build.
would love to pick your brain on the weapon crafting systems along with a hundred other things... if you have the time to spare... if not.. I vey much appreciate the tme youve given
Thank you for the linformation on the subclasses. I took a brief peek at the subclasses, last night, wasnt sure if there was more out there especially if anyone has taken them for a test drive. As for DM shared resources he has not. Our last campaign was actually run through a different site; so there are no shared resources / materials available (here) .
Have you build a Barbarian under the new rules / what races (species) help in a functional .. not even optimal build.
would love to pick your brain on the weapon crafting systems along with a hundred other things... if you have the time to spare... if not.. I vey much appreciate the tme youve given
Greetings Oglethorpe1983,
Glad the info helped a little, even though you couldn't look at most of those links without the info shared from your DM.
As far as Barbarians in the 2024 system, I have not built one yet, but have researched it a little.
As for Races that would help in a 'functional' way, I guess it depends on what you are looking for... The point of the game is to have fun, so what would be fun to you...
Would you want your Barb to have Magic? If so, there are some fun Races that have Magic.
Would you want your Barb to be descended from Giants? The Goliath races all have some fun abilities.
Do you want your Barb to be tiny because you like the thought of a small creature running around and killing monsters? Some of the 'small' races have really fun abilities.
If you did not check it out earlier the LinkI posted for the DnD Shorts' video covers the 2024 Races that have been updated so far and is a good place to start.
Feel free to PM me if you want to discuss more...
Cheers!
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Breathe, dragons; sing of the First World, forged out of chaos and painted with beauty. Sing of Bahamut, the Platinum, molding the shape of the mountains and rivers; Sing too of Chromatic Tiamat, painting all over the infinite canvas. Partnered, they woke in the darkness; partnered, they labored in acts of creation.
So, I know you weren't replying to me directly, but having a little bit of context outside of the rough mechanical aspects of your campaign (start and finish at level 10) and that you want to try playing as a barbarian so If you could answering a few questions might help us out a little bit more:
What kind of campaign are you doing? Is it a Heist? A dungeon crawl? A murder mystery? Courtly intrigue? Full scale war? Shenanigans?
What exactly do you want to do as a barbarian?
If you can tell us those then we can probably help you a bit more :)
Ashla_Mason. Thank you for offering more help. This was from a recent post by the DM "Clarifying point: If you want to use v5.0 content, that's fine, too. I personally just wanna tinker on and try the v5.5 stuff. However, there's very LITTLE content for 2024 in regards to race and class options......."
"Some homebrew and unearthed arcana may be approved on a case-by-case basis. Keep in mind, combat is maybe every few sessions, not a constant thing. Think of this more like an elaborate, narrative escape room, so your roleplaying, creativity, and problem solving will be key. That being said, I do love throwing insane fights at people with bizarre mechanics (Remember 'ol Handsy trying to shove you off into the abyss? ;D)"
That might give a better idea of what to expect from the campaign.... It wont be super combat heavy ...
As for what Im looking for in a barbarian. Im my (somewhat limited play history) Ive been a Bard, a WIzard, and a Rouge. Ive never played a more strength / con focused class. What I was thinking of; and this is not concrete by any means a "brawler" type character.. maybe using bludgeoning weapons: Hammers, maces etc.. maybe throw in some battlefield control... grappling pushing etc... I dont know much how what Id pick for 5.0 and nothing about it in 5.5. and my resources are basicaly non existant.
Good Evening all
I would love to poll the collective knowledge of this group to ask for (a lot) of help.
I will be joining a campaign that will be starting relatively soon and I think I want to try being a barbarian as I've never tried a pure melee class before
Taken from the DMs campaign description
System: "We’ll be using v5.5 because I really want to play with the weapon mastery system."
Character Creation: "Any race/class is allowed. Some homebrew will be considered and approved on a case-by-case basis. You’ll need a detailed backstory—I’m happy to help with this (and honestly, I prefer working with players on their characters). No PvP: If you want to play an "evil" character, talk to me first. I won’t tolerate disruptive behavior that ruins the game for others."
Starting Level: You’ll begin at Level 10, and there will be no level-ups throughout the campaign.
What I would ideally want is as much advice or even better if anyone knows any great resources I can access to try to build a character. I have really no idea what my options are for 5.5. in terms of subclass / what races would be ideal (not looking for perfect ... more so fun and functional)
If anyone can recommend sites / or guides ...
Im happy to take any advice, recommendations , warning , pitfalls etc. I will be grateful for your collective wisdom
Thank you in advance
this might be a stretch, but you could always go like dwarf or halfling and pick world tree or berserker. one does more damage one, can help your team. this is more fun and role play. not exactly combat, but you would still hit hard with rage and whatever weapon you have. Bonk or a monk barb is always fun as well
Really, if you have access to the Players handbook then you're going to have everything you need; most of the pre-existing materials don't integrate well with 5.5.
That having been said: Barbarian has pretty much two ways to play it (though there will of course be variations and synergy)
At it's core though, you're going to want to get into melee as fast as possible (which is quite fast since you get bonus move speed) and in the thickest place possible so that you can leverage your combination of big health, damage resistance and damage output.
Or You can see what Noted Luminary Jocat had to say about it once upon a time:
It sounds as if you do not have the 2024 PHB, but an older PHB. Build what you want out of an older and/or the PHB (and other books) you do have. Then meet with the DM and work on converting it to the 2024 rules.
Be flexible about changes, but by bringing in a character, you at least have a framework to build on.
Greetings Oglethorpe1983,
As you asked for 'resources', 'sites / or guides', here are some links to some helpful info.
As your DM has asked you all to use the 2024 5e system, I will assume that he has shared his access to those materials, so you should have access to these links:
Hope these links help your character creation :)
Cheers!
Breathe, dragons; sing of the First World, forged out of chaos and painted with beauty.
Sing of Bahamut, the Platinum, molding the shape of the mountains and rivers;
Sing too of Chromatic Tiamat, painting all over the infinite canvas.
Partnered, they woke in the darkness; partnered, they labored in acts of creation.
Character77006
Thanks for replying, I actually only have physical copies of the PHB and Tasha's I thought of using that as a templete but I wasnt sure how much things had changed
Laird Demon
Thank you for the linformation on the subclasses. I took a brief peek at the subclasses, last night, wasnt sure if there was more out there especially if anyone has taken them for a test drive. As for DM shared resources he has not. Our last campaign was actually run through a different site; so there are no shared resources / materials available (here) .
Have you build a Barbarian under the new rules / what races (species) help in a functional .. not even optimal build.
would love to pick your brain on the weapon crafting systems along with a hundred other things... if you have the time to spare... if not.. I vey much appreciate the tme youve given
Greetings Oglethorpe1983,
Glad the info helped a little, even though you couldn't look at most of those links without the info shared from your DM.
As far as Barbarians in the 2024 system, I have not built one yet, but have researched it a little.
As for Races that would help in a 'functional' way, I guess it depends on what you are looking for...
The point of the game is to have fun, so what would be fun to you...
If you did not check it out earlier the Link I posted for the DnD Shorts' video covers the 2024 Races that have been updated so far and is a good place to start.
Feel free to PM me if you want to discuss more...
Cheers!
Breathe, dragons; sing of the First World, forged out of chaos and painted with beauty.
Sing of Bahamut, the Platinum, molding the shape of the mountains and rivers;
Sing too of Chromatic Tiamat, painting all over the infinite canvas.
Partnered, they woke in the darkness; partnered, they labored in acts of creation.
So, I know you weren't replying to me directly, but having a little bit of context outside of the rough mechanical aspects of your campaign (start and finish at level 10) and that you want to try playing as a barbarian so If you could answering a few questions might help us out a little bit more:
If you can tell us those then we can probably help you a bit more :)
Ashla_Mason.
Thank you for offering more help.
This was from a recent post by the DM
"Clarifying point: If you want to use v5.0 content, that's fine, too. I personally just wanna tinker on and try the v5.5 stuff. However, there's very LITTLE content for 2024 in regards to race and class options......."
"Some homebrew and unearthed arcana may be approved on a case-by-case basis. Keep in mind, combat is maybe every few sessions, not a constant thing. Think of this more like an elaborate, narrative escape room, so your roleplaying, creativity, and problem solving will be key. That being said, I do love throwing insane fights at people with bizarre mechanics (Remember 'ol Handsy trying to shove you off into the abyss? ;D)"
That might give a better idea of what to expect from the campaign.... It wont be super combat heavy ...
As for what Im looking for in a barbarian. Im my (somewhat limited play history) Ive been a Bard, a WIzard, and a Rouge. Ive never played a more strength / con focused class. What I was thinking of; and this is not concrete by any means a "brawler" type character.. maybe using bludgeoning weapons: Hammers, maces etc.. maybe throw in some battlefield control... grappling pushing etc... I dont know much how what Id pick for 5.0 and nothing about it in 5.5. and my resources are basicaly non existant.
So anything offered would be greatly appreciated,
Thanks
You have a DnDBeyond account so just fire up the Character builder and pick stuff?
Its like the most fun part of preparing a character.
Here is a level 10 barbarian soloing a frost giant
You could import your own dndbeyond character and test different builds, see which you like the most.