So I was thinking, since Favored Foe, from the UA Ranger Variants, lets you cast Hunter's Mark without concentration a few times, and you get it at 1st level ranger, a barbarian could grab one level in ranger for a low investment, as far as total levels go, damage boost. Since you don't have to concentrate on HM when casting it through Favored Foe, a barbarian could cast it, then Rage next turn for some high damage and out-of-combat help.
With a 1 level dip, the only thing you would miss out on is the capstone for Barbarian. The only time that would be important is if you knew the campaign was going to hit 20. Most never do so it is largely pointless to worry about not getting it.
The only thing to consider is when you pick up the level in Ranger. Unless you go right to the multi when you hit level 2 I would wait till after 5 to dip the level in ranger.
With a 1 level dip, the only thing you would miss out on is the capstone for Barbarian. The only time that would be important is if you knew the campaign was going to hit 20. Most never do so it is largely pointless to worry about not getting it.
The only thing to consider is when you pick up the level in Ranger. Unless you go right to the multi when you hit level 2 I would wait till after 5 to dip the level in ranger.
Well, no. No matter the maximum level of the campaign you will always lose out on best thing the Barbarian class has to offer. If the campaign only runs to level 5, do you really want to lose out on the Extra Attack? If it goes to level 15 you miss Persistant rage (a fantastic ability, especially for Zealots) and so on. Not to mention that the Barbarian capstone is one of the best in the game.
A lvl 5 frenzy barbarian with three attacks adds 3d6 HM damage each round on top of everything else. A lvl 5 hasted dual wielding zealot barbarian adds +4d6 HM damage a round with another d6 for radiant or necrotic. What if they also take levels in rogue to capitalize on sneak attack with reckless attacking for massive damage? A 5th level phantom rogue has 3d6 sneak attack +2d6 necrotic sneak attack with other great features at that level. A 3rd level ranger can choose hunter conclave which gives you an extra attack when 2 enemies are near you or deep stalker conclave that gives you 1 extra attack at the start of combat plus utility spellcasting for when your barb isn't fighting. Or maybe even take fighter for action surge and champion subclass for even higher crit chance for the 3+ reckless advantage attacks each round. My point is that this is what multiclassing is all about and it would be foolish to not even consider this viable form of play. At the end of the day a player chooses what direction they want to take and weighs their options with potential sacrifices for an experience they can customize to suit their preferences which is what dnd is all about. I'll end with this; If a player decides to multiclass into every class I stated above, they'll deal an average of around 100 damage a round before crit with crits doubling ALL damage, including hunter's mark, zealot, and sneak attack with crits on 19 with advantage. grab the piercer feat and combine with brutal critical for even more and you're a whirlwind of blades that chose raw damage over class capstones, so to each their own.
There is a huge debate about this in the Rules section. Favoured Foe requires concentration as though it were a spell. Barbarians cannot concentrate while raging so could only use it when not raging.
The OP was speaking of the UA Ranger Variant version, which didn't require concentration.
Yes, and the thread was started months before the official version of the feature came out. Now there's an updated version.
If the DM wishes to allow overturned UA, that's their prerogative. Then again, the thread shouldn't have been necro'd by someone citing the Revised Ranger, either.
Unless I am missing something, the poster who necro'd it didn't mention the updated rules, just a bunch of stuff about multiclassing (although I am finding it a little difficult to follow that post: it's been a long day at work lol).
I can see the confusion, which is why I tried to be helpful and pointed out that this thread was not about the TCoE version, but the old UA version.
So I was thinking, since Favored Foe, from the UA Ranger Variants, lets you cast Hunter's Mark without concentration a few times, and you get it at 1st level ranger, a barbarian could grab one level in ranger for a low investment, as far as total levels go, damage boost. Since you don't have to concentrate on HM when casting it through Favored Foe, a barbarian could cast it, then Rage next turn for some high damage and out-of-combat help.
They could but it's a pretty expensive investment and you lose out on some really valuable abilities.
With a 1 level dip, the only thing you would miss out on is the capstone for Barbarian. The only time that would be important is if you knew the campaign was going to hit 20. Most never do so it is largely pointless to worry about not getting it.
The only thing to consider is when you pick up the level in Ranger. Unless you go right to the multi when you hit level 2 I would wait till after 5 to dip the level in ranger.
Well, no. No matter the maximum level of the campaign you will always lose out on best thing the Barbarian class has to offer. If the campaign only runs to level 5, do you really want to lose out on the Extra Attack? If it goes to level 15 you miss Persistant rage (a fantastic ability, especially for Zealots) and so on. Not to mention that the Barbarian capstone is one of the best in the game.
A lvl 5 frenzy barbarian with three attacks adds 3d6 HM damage each round on top of everything else. A lvl 5 hasted dual wielding zealot barbarian adds +4d6 HM damage a round with another d6 for radiant or necrotic. What if they also take levels in rogue to capitalize on sneak attack with reckless attacking for massive damage? A 5th level phantom rogue has 3d6 sneak attack +2d6 necrotic sneak attack with other great features at that level. A 3rd level ranger can choose hunter conclave which gives you an extra attack when 2 enemies are near you or deep stalker conclave that gives you 1 extra attack at the start of combat plus utility spellcasting for when your barb isn't fighting. Or maybe even take fighter for action surge and champion subclass for even higher crit chance for the 3+ reckless advantage attacks each round. My point is that this is what multiclassing is all about and it would be foolish to not even consider this viable form of play. At the end of the day a player chooses what direction they want to take and weighs their options with potential sacrifices for an experience they can customize to suit their preferences which is what dnd is all about. I'll end with this; If a player decides to multiclass into every class I stated above, they'll deal an average of around 100 damage a round before crit with crits doubling ALL damage, including hunter's mark, zealot, and sneak attack with crits on 19 with advantage. grab the piercer feat and combine with brutal critical for even more and you're a whirlwind of blades that chose raw damage over class capstones, so to each their own.
There is a huge debate about this in the Rules section. Favoured Foe requires concentration as though it were a spell. Barbarians cannot concentrate while raging so could only use it when not raging.
https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/dungeons-dragons-discussion/rules-game-mechanics/93485-can-a-barbarain-concentrate-on-the-new-favoured
Be warned that it denigrates into a highly ludicrous argument.
The OP was speaking of the UA Ranger Variant version, which didn't require concentration.
Yes, and the thread was started months before the official version of the feature came out. Now there's an updated version.
If the DM wishes to allow overturned UA, that's their prerogative. Then again, the thread shouldn't have been necro'd by someone citing the Revised Ranger, either.
Unless I am missing something, the poster who necro'd it didn't mention the updated rules, just a bunch of stuff about multiclassing (although I am finding it a little difficult to follow that post: it's been a long day at work lol).
I can see the confusion, which is why I tried to be helpful and pointed out that this thread was not about the TCoE version, but the old UA version.
A lot of people were unhappy with the addition of concentration to FF when it went live, but this kind of stuff is probably why.
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm