Reckless Attack isn’t just an offensive ability. It’s also a soft aggro draw in that it incentivizes threats to attack you, a massive pile of HP with Resistance, instead of a softer ally.
I have actually built a echo knights ancestral Guardian. It's a very fun build. You can summon the echo before entering rage on your next turn. On the following turn after entering rage you have to attack through the echo first and the echo and only the echo gains ancestral protectors. The enemy targets the echo, but the echo does not get any of your rage features, the echo was already summoned before you entered a rage and does not get the extra attack damage or damage reductions from your rage. This can still be very powerful, giving the ancestral protectors to your Echo and it flies away Out Of Reach, the enemy does not have to Target your Echo with Ancestral protectors, if it cannot make an attack directly to the echo it will instead Target you but all attacks a creature makes towards you are made with disadvantage. If you are raging before you summon the echo you will not be able to give the echo your ancestral protectors. On the first round when you go into rage and you make your first attack you now have ancestral protectors. On the second round when you summon your Echo it will not have ancestral protectors, but your Echo can now use your rage features for the extra damage and enemies attacks are made with disadvantage towards it, this option is far more powerful because you cannot use your reaction to activate Spirit Shield through your Echo to reduce Ally damage.
@@thomasmatenga5498 I'm very late to reply, but no, it applies to any and all attacks you make. You just have to call that you'll be recklessly attacking before you roll to hit.
Psi-Bear (3 Levels of Barbarian for the Bear Totem+17 Levels of Psi Warrior) is also a really cool combo for the simple reason that it it plugs the one hole in the Bear Totems resistances...psychic damage.
Should mention that as with basically any barbarian build, using medium armor isn't necessarily such a bad idea. Particularly if you can get your hands on half-plate at some point during a campaign. A barbarian with just 14 dexterity wearing half-plate has a greater AC than a barbarian that has invested 16 into both dex and con. Not to say that investing into dex and con isn't a good idea anyway, but putting on half-plate allows you to focus your investments into strength or into feats that allows your build to work better. If you play into the late levels, you might eventually invest enough into dex and con to make the the half-plate defunct, but it's so useful in the earlier levels when you only have few ASI's. This becomes even more important when you consider multiclassing, since you're likely to stagger your ASI's and get fewer of them or only get them later on. Of course half-plate is quite an investment and won't be relevant right away, but consider asking your party to invest in you early, especially if you're the party's only tank. To a whole party 750 gp might not seem that great of an ask depending on what kind of funds your campaign has going for it and you can pay it back later on when you as a barbarian really doesn't have that much to spend their money on anyway.
I played an Ancestral Guardians Barbarian with a 3 level dip into Champion fighter to increase crit chances. I played him all the way to 20th level in a 3 year campaign, and with the right magic items (Big magical hammer, cloak of prot +2, ring of free action) he was an almost unstoppable rage machine charging all over the battlefield. He was a mountain dwarf, with a height complex( he was short, even for a dwarf), a volcanic temper and all the social graces of a rhino in mating season. Tremendous fun to play. At 18th level, he dropped out of the sky from a flying ship that was going down, and survived the drop (30d6), with a three point landing in front of a huge elemental. One of the most epic moments I've ever had as a player :)
Echo knight does get an opportunity attack style feature. If an enemy moves from 5 ft of your echo you can make an opportunity attack from it's position
Shifters, especially beasthide would make a valid racial option! The temp hp and AC are really good on a barbarian. Rage essentially doubling the temp hp gained is huge!
Wildhunt is another good shifter option. The ability score bonuses aren't ideal, but the Shifting Feature means you can use reckless attack without giving enemies advantage on their attacks against you!
@@joshmeyer8172 This is what I came here to say. What absolute madman would choose Shifter and take ANYTHING but Wildhunt? It’s literally Advantage on every single attack with no downside.
I once played a Warforged Pugilist/Barbarian (used to be a Bard) who was looking for his brother in CoS, it was absolutely disgusting. Love you Beatbox.
Im currently using a Fighter(lvl 7 rune knight) Barbarian(lvl3 bear totem) I didn’t initially plan to multi class until I realized I was the only front line fighter in the party so halving all dmg is gonna be a huge benefit plus its suits my character as he is the son of my previous character who was a path of the giant barbarian
8:20 I think Tortles are always worth mentioning when it comes to Barbarian builds. Yeah, the armor proficiency would be wasted but a Tortle’s shell is the only option I can think, of outside of Heavy Armor, that hits 17 AC without a high Dex. A Tortle with 10 Dex is only 1 point below completely maxed out Unarmored Defense. It makes the Barbarian SAD instead of MAD… ironically
With with Half Plate and +2 on Dex (thing that it is totally common, like, it if weren't the most common save on the game). Anyways I understand your point and it would be really funny to see a raging turtle. Also, don't you dare to underestimate the power of the bite of a turtle, that shit it kinda gangsta.
This is true, and it makes the "Fighter First" argument kinda stupid, but when you get right down to it, so what? Half-plate and a 14 DEX gives you an AC exactly *ONE* less than full plate. If you take a 16 DEX and the Medium Armor Master feat, your AC is the same. Not that I'm in love with the idea of a Barbarian using one-handed weapons anyway ... 😉
While Blyss is sorta correct...there is nothing that says that a barbarian can't wear armor, in the PHB the wording is "While raging, you gain the following benefits if you aren’t wearing heavy armor: You have advantage on Strength checks and Strength saving throws. When you make a melee weapon attack using Strength, you gain a bonus to the damage roll that increases as you gain levels as a barbarian, as shown in the Rage Damage column of the Barbarian table. You have resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage. So why lose almost everything that makes a barbarian a barbarian just to up your AC since damage reduction translates into a +5 AC anyway?
Shifter Wildhunt is a useful race to counter the attack advantage enemies get whilst you rage. Along with the nice temp hp and bonuses for shifting, which does also have the same duration as a rage.
I don't really enjoy most straight Fighter/Barbarian multiclasses tbh I did play a Dex based Rapier & Shield Duelist once where his 2nd level was a 1 lvl Barb dip just for Unarmored Defense. He would use Rage in melee just for the damage reduction. He was a Champion Fighter. I did a Custom Lineage and started him with the Piercer feat which was like having Brutal Critical at level 1. Late game he actually did more damage as an Archer because at lvl 9 I took the Sharpshooter feat and at 10 I took the Archery fighting style. He ended up being and extremely well rounded fighter.
I currently play a Barbarian/Fighter in one game, and it is SO GOOD. I’m a Goliath 8 Ancestral Guardian Barbarian/6 Rune Knight Fighter. With Reckless Attack, Rage, Giant’s Might, and Great Weapon Master, I can dish out so much damage. But he REALLY rocks as a tank. Ancestral Protectors gives enemies I attack disadvantage against anything other than me, Spirit Shield lets me mitigate damage an ally takes, the Fire Rune can restrain an enemy and deal continual fire damage while restrained, and the Cloud Rune lets me redirect one attack to another target.
Manifest echo says you get an opportunity attack using your reaction, as if your in the echo's space, if a creature thats in 5ft of your echo that you can see tries to move
I'm playing a Giff zealot/rune knight in the new spelljammer material and LOVING it. No armor, just fancy space uniform. He goes around smashing things with a maul and while he grew up a little well to do, he has rage issues that he has yet to deal with due to being spoiled.
I have a Barbarian Fighter Halfling character, as I found the Lucky feat and the advantage against being frightened really cool for rp reasons. I also think its funny to have a Gladiator that is 3ft tall
I'm surprised that you didn't feature a build which combined Great Weapon Master with Polearm Master. Also, you didn't mention Variant Human or Tasha's Custom Lineage as racial options. Here's a build which uses all of these options for super high damage output. Race: Variant Human. Put your ability score bonuses into STR and CON. For your free feat, pick Polearm Master. Level 1: Barbarian. Wear medium armor with a shield, unless you rolled really well for stats and your AC would be higher with unarmored defense. Wield either a spear or a quarterstaff. Levels 2-4: Fighter. Pick Battlemaster as your subclass, and pick Precision Attack as one of your maneuvers. Levels 5-6: More Fighter. Get the feat Great Weapon Master at character level 5 (Fighter level 4), ditch your shield, and switch to either a glaive or a halberd. Use Precision Attack when you miss by 3 or less. Use the -5 to hit, +10 damage by default. But, turn it off when fighting enemies with high AC (the exact number depends on your STR bonus, but assuming a STR bonus of +3, you want to turn it off vs enemies with AC 17 or higher). Level 7: Barbarian. Now you have reckless attack, so basically never turn off Great Weapon Master.
Ey! I really liked your build! Can you please tell me how should the build end at lvl 20? How many lvls from fighter and barbarian is the optimal number? And why?
One of my favourite races for barbarian is actually goblin. Nimble escape is great when paired with barbarian's high movement speed, and the bonus to dex means you can just invest the rest of your stats into strength and con and not worry about dex as much. Fury of the small is also great for a bit more burst damage when you need it
Warforged would be a excellent choice for the build. Also shifter or lycanthropes would be excellent choices. Tork the were-bear totem of the bear barbarian/rune knight fighter was a absolute beast in combat and a blast to play.
Beast echo: No extra attack: 2 melee strikes from claws can be from echos position, 1 melee strike from echo, dhampir bite is a weapon, you used the attack action, use the "off-hand" to bite can be from position of echo. Now add both extra attack and sentinel, and you can react from the space of the echo. Graple and drain your main target, 0 the movement of a second target I know it's not a power build but it's very thematic🤣
Shifter Wildhunt Shifting Feature. While shifted, you have advantage on Wisdom checks, and no creature within 30 feet of you can make an attack roll with advantage against you, unless you're incapacitated. You get advantage but they don't.
Nitpick at ghost axe, great weapon master is -5 to hit, but your ability only triggers on a hit. Also as someone else pointed out, the echo ability specifically calls out that leaving the square next to it, provokes opportunity attacks. Which means sentinel is more likely the feat for you. Alternatively, the mobile feat could also work well for this concept.
3 levels bear totem combined with 17 levels psi warrior is the best tank in the game imo. Resistance to all damage while raging, reaction shield to reduce damage even further, limited flight for extra mobility, ability to knock flying enemies prone, ability to end charm and frightened, ability to reposition fragile mages, and +2 AC while you rage. On top of all this, it's one of the few fighter subclasses that gives its capstone at 17 instead of 18 making it ideal for Barb multiclass. As for ASI and feats, Sentinel, GWM, and Tough are a must. Sentinel gives you reaction when you run out of psi dice and map control. GWM with reckless attack is busted. You honestly can keep INT at 8 if you wanna max all your physical stats. Your protective shield will still give you +1 but your psy strike will be -1. Not the end of the world because our psy strike will still knock prone even if we roll no extra damage. INT at 12 feels nice but it's not necessary. 20 CON and tough are most important for maximum tankiness but other than that do what you want.
The Barbarian heavy crit fish does more damage per crit, but only about 5hp per crit and one per normal hit at mid levels and 8 per crit/ 2 per normal hit at upper levels (until capstone). Going the other way, 2 levels of Barbarian and the rest Champion Fighter gives a much greater chance of getting a crit. So much so that, by Tier 4, the Fighter heavy version is critting 3 out of every 4 turns. This gives a much higher average damage per turn than the Barbarian focused version.
I play a half-orc bear totem barbarian 6/champion fighter 4 with GWM and Polearm Master and a glaive. Simple build but the crits hit hard and I almost always get another full attack with the bonus action due to GWM. My next feat will be slasher. We did a one shot where I got to play him at level 18 an I killed an ancient frost dragon doing 224 damage in 1 round.
There is one small thing I believe is being overlooked in these builds. Barbarians can't Rage in Heavy Armor! Well, technically they can, but don't gain any of the benefits of raging. That said, there is at least one multi-class builds I'd like to see. That being a Rogue/Barbarian build. As such, it should be noted that Sneak Attacks only require the use of a Finesse or Ranged weapon, not that you use your Dex with them. So... Reckless Rage filled Sneak Attacks? Also, thrown weapons often use Str and considered Ranged weapons when thrown.
Running a Dwarven Echo Knight 4, Chaos Barbarian 7 currently in Princes of the Apocalypse. Primarily using a Halberd w/ Polearm Master. Debating on Feat vs more Strength or Dex at the next level, and I already got CON of 20. I dipped into Echo Knight mainly because the Chaos Barbarian needed some versatility help and having an Echo to help draw fire, increase mobility, and even more attacks via the Unleash Incarnation feature. 4 levels of fighter was enough and will be sticking to Barb for the remainder of the campaign. Thus far working really well as tanky striker or strikey tank. Although elemental damage is incredibly frequent in the module and the whole party is lacking on resistance options, I might start leaning more into a damage output focus. AND THANK YOU for the 11:30, I had misread Reckless Attack. I thought the advantage was just on the first attack roll that turn... Which means between 2 normal attacks, 1 from unleash incarnation (CON mod times a day), bonus attack from polearm master, and a whole other action from action surge. DANG that could make a beefy turn.
I thought about a dwarf for this build too with polearm master, but as a heavy weapon used by a small race they're supposed to have disadvantage on all attack throws :/
For races I have played and really enjoyed a tiefling barbarian, I used a flying variant which may not be allowed at all tables but the resistance to fire damage which is reasonably common came up a lot and made him tankier, additionally if not flying using armour of agathys before raging can be decent and several other subraces can give utility spells that may be useful for out of combat roleplay, Note: have always played with any +2,+1 regardless of race, so if you don't play that way wouldn't recommend tiefling
Levistus bloodline tiefling, armor of agathys isn't concentration and if you cast it as a totem of the bear barbarian you will likely deal 20-40 cold damage against most creatures at 3rd level.
If you also want to pump those damage die up and rolled well enough to not need many ASI's, the Dual Wielder feat lets you use two weapon fighting with weapons that don't have the "light" description. This means dual wielding long swords or battle axes for that sickass d8 damage die. It's not a huge jump from d6, but when you're adding damage die to every roll for your crits and such, it ends up making a difference
Medium armor on this build is nuts. If you go 4 levels of Barb (for the ASI) then your Fighter ASIs will give you plenty of chances to take Medium Armor Master. Take your Dex to 16 and your AC will be 18 AND you won't be 'that guy' who ruins the party's Stealth options. If you eventually wind up with 7 Barb levels you gain an additional 10' of Movement which can get you into the fight faster. 13 Fighter levels give us the bonus ASI from lvl 6 as well as a second use of Indomitable. You'll have 4 Rages, more than enough for most adventuring days, as well as a whopping 3 attacks. You'll also have Feral Instincts for Advantage on Initiative with your +3 Dex modifier. Best part of all of this: If you take the Half-Orc race, you start out with Savage Attacks which is identical to Brutal Critical but comes online at lvl 1
I'm running a bug bear barbarian (bear totem) /battle master fighter with gwm and pole arm master. I have 15 ft range do Hella damage and never miss cuz when I do miss I just use precision attack to make it hit. Oh and action surge
Vedalken barbarian well you wouldn't get any benefits to strength or con you would gain advantage on your intelligence wisdom and Charisma saving throws which would make it less likely for someone to take control of your character and turn you on your allies.
In a level 20 1 shot I had a lot of fun with my Kobold Rune Knight 14/ Bear Totem Barbarian 6. I truly enjoyed the rp of my Kobold approaching some npc's who were insulting him and as I got within range I grew and raged and played baseball with my polearm.
Bugbears get sneak attack damage with advantage... Reckless attack is super powerful. Plus bugbear reach and polearm. I like 3 levels in barbarian and the rest in fighter.
My personal build is Ancestral Barbarian/Battle Master with the Shield Master feat. Opens up using all types of Action, and with Manoeuvres I have many ways to control a battle field. That being said I was also thinking Champion to boost my sadly lacking damage compared to other Barb/Fighter builds (1d8+Str+2 from Dueling Fighting Style+Rage isn't bad, but can be better).
I went with Wildhunt Shifter race, 4 levels of Bear Totem Barbarian, 6 levels of Rune Knight Fighter. With Wildhunt, no enemy within 30 ft during the shift duration are able to make attacks against me with advantage, meaning I can Reckless and gain all of the benefits with none of the drawbacks. I rage first turn as a bonus, and depending on the fight, I will either use my Rune Knight ability to grow and do more damage, or Wildhunt shift for the aforementioned bonus. I can do whatever I did not do with the third turn bonus action. And with Great Weapon Master, I can attack again with my bonus action whenever I crit or kill an enemy. So no matter what turn I'm in, I always have something to do with my Bonus Action. I take half damage from everything except psychic when raging, and I can redirect a crit against me to another enemy with my rune ability reaction.
Dueling is very good combined with rage. With just a +2 rage boost to damage, your weapon is upgraded two die sizes, statistically speaking, Your d8 warhammer is a d12 weapon.
My upcoming character concept that uses this is gonna be really fun. I've been planning up a Crystal Dragonborn rune knight / path of the beast. So large size, claw/bite/tail attack, radiant (radiation?) breath weapon. I've made godzilla the player character.
Is there something I'm missing on why not take shield + spear for the crit Fisher? More ac, same number of attacks, dueling fighting style available, more reach and you get an attack when enemies enter your reach. I haven't crunched numbers but 2d6 + 1d4 doesn't sound much worse considering the dueling FS and piercer letting you add an extra dice to damage.
Technically they can rage, they just don't gain the standard benefits while wearing heavy armor. But, if you're trying to maximize survivability, you can get around it by taking the bear totem subclass. Those subclass features have no restriction against heavy armor. Also, the resistance you gain from bear totem includes the normal piercing, slashing, and bludgeoning. You still won't gain get the damage bonus though. You also won't have advantage on STR checks and saving throws. So if you wanted to grapple this isn't a good build. Finally, you won't want to use reckless attack. You technically still can, but it makes wearing heavy armor kinda pointless. So your damage output will suffer, too. But if your party just needs a damage sponge, this is a very strong build.
I'm currently playing a fighter in curse of strahd and was wondering if going barbarian would be a good match. Good to know I wasn't far off the mark. Thanks Patrick for letting me know about the Battle Bear I think that is the way I'm going to go on this character.
As Minty pointed out below, as a Barbarian you cannot gain the benefits of Rage while wearing heavy armor, so the Battle Bear would need medium armor to function properly.
The "slasher" build is suboptimal at best. If you want a GOOD damage dealing build, play a race with a bonus feat and take Polearm Master. Then as soon as you reach level 4, take Great Weapon Master. Seriously, you'll do more damage with those two feats than a 20 STR and Two Weapon Fighting. Then play a Battle Master and take Precision Attack as your first maneuver ... for those times Advantage doesn't quite undo the -5 attack modifier from GWM. And frankly, I would avoid Great Weapon Fighting like the PLAGUE. Its effect on damage is so minimal as not to be believed. Instead, take either Defense or Blind Fighting, even for damage builds.
@@SkullSplitter Panertacus Foxboro, he got lost as a very child and was found by my current party and there leader , they took me in and taught me how to speak, he didn't know who his parents were until recently my dm informed me that his mother was a Goliath
I multiclassed as a barbarian/bard in my first (and current) campaign. I chose Dragonborn as my race and rolled really well for my stats, so I got a 15 on charisma and 18 on constitution. I took one level in bard so I could inspire my teammates and cast spells like healing word or longstrider (no concentration required) on myself or my allies. Not an optimal build, but it gives me some options for roleplay and I still get almost all the benefits of being a pure barbarian. How would you make a bard-barian if given the chance?
Longstrider is a surprisingly useful spell for all sorts of characters. I made a Halfling Beast Master Ranger whose whole thing is basically supporting and buffing her Primal Companion. Longstrider (since it's a Touch spell) increases my Beast of the Land's movement speed from 40 to 50, and it's non-concentration so I don't have to worry about losing it.
Infernal Tiefling "Beast Barbarian" he changes to a more demonic form. I am thinking about adding 3 levels of fighter, Rune Knight, to up his size and reach. Being able to call the demonic shackles to hold their prey. Or force attacks to hit others. How demonic would that look? And then being able to grow large and rage. Ouch he is never without something to intimidate.
With three levels in one class and five levels in another you would still only have one ASI. You have to have four levels in a single class to gain an ASI. Yes I know and understand that certain races and fighting classes get extra ASI's, this maneuver makes you very powerful in early game, but makes a character far weaker when building late game stats. ASI's are not based off your character level overall. If you take a level one dip for multi-classing you are cutting yourself off from getting an your last ASI. If you were too multi-class into four different class types and they were all level three, your character level would be 12 and you would not have have gained a single ASI, hence no feats. I understand hold heartily that most DMs for go these rules. As we progress into the future where the DM's have digital tools to control their games, these leniencies will not have as much Merit, so players will have to really do their due diligence in understanding RAW game mechanics when building a character.
Giant-Dwarf Rune-Bear - Over 2 turns in battle get your dwarf so angry that he Hulk's out and grows from 5 feet,150 lbs to 10 feet tall weighing in at 1200 lbs. Outfitted with a Maul ("Great Hammer"), he deals out massive bludgeoning damage while being resistant to all but psychic damage. Give him a breastplate for protection and a kilt for flavor. Alternatively arm him with a War Hammer and a shield for better AC or two War Hammers because you can. His profession is a Blacksmith, with 2-3 tool proficiencies, and he carries a maul he built himself which is basically an anvil with a handle coming out the opposite side from the "horn". 6+ Levels of Rune Knight Fighter and 5+ Levels of Bear Totem Barbarian. This build would allow for great RP, but you might need a generous DM to allow Weapon/Armor mods that don't take weeks and cost more than you could buy them for. Also limited by lack of a forge, but that's why we stop in towns, or carry bellows and keep the campfire blazing.
Aren't these builds REALLY lacking behind level 5 to 8 considering you're missing out on extra attack? And the same problem happens later on since you don't get your third attack on level 11 no?
🤔...if you use average hp calculation: if you start with barb - you'll have 44 hp if you start with fighter - you'll have 43 hp assuming +0 con, just add con * 6, for Hp at level 6. So enjoy for hp calculation.
I was thinking of going to fighter lvl 5 for extra attack and then was wondering if it would be worth dipping into barb for rage instead of just leveling to 6
Half Orc, Zealot Barbarian, Dip in shadow sorcerer and you pretty much can’t die. You drop no I’m at 1hp, ok now you drop , no I’m at 1 Hp !!! …. High levels I rage beyond death and have endless rage. I will never die.
Crit fisher build is not all that impressive. With crit range 19-20, you average around 22.3 damage against an AC 16 target at level 8. But if you had picked a different subclass, using the same weapons, you would get around 21.3 damage against an AC 16 target. Yes, the crit fishing build also gets to impose disadvantage, but since you are a low AC barbarian that just granted them advantage, that is not that big a deal. I say low AC because even with medium armor, you are still not having the defensive fighting style or a shield. Compare this to a battle master, that instead of slahser picked up polearm master, same number of attacks. But you also get superiority dice. Now you can do things like, hit the enemy when they come close thanks to polearm master, hit them with a pushing attack on your turn, hit them again on their next turn when they try to come close. This is going to do so much more damage, and you are well set up for heavy weapon master or sentinel at higher levels.
Not offering much in terms of "role-playing options" isn't necessarily a con, even for a role-play focused player. Barbarians and fighters give you a rather blank slate to build any "skilled combatant" concept you want. Honorful samurai with battle trance, exiled barbarian tribe leader seeking to regain power, reserved well-mannered knight with suppressed aggression issues, arabian personal guard of a wealthy sultan trained to neuter threats swiftly and recklessly, totemic warrior grown up in a druidic circle. There's a lot of freedom to go wherever you want. I personally much more dislike classes that force a character concept onto me.
Yeah, and these are just obvious options. For my next (potential) campaign I'm preparing a circus performer wild magic barbarian, a thin flamboyant twink with a flamberge greatsword, whose strength comes from wild magic coursing through him. I might multiclass into fighter just for more combat fleur
Reckless Attack isn’t just an offensive ability. It’s also a soft aggro draw in that it incentivizes threats to attack you, a massive pile of HP with Resistance, instead of a softer ally.
I have actually built a echo knights ancestral Guardian. It's a very fun build. You can summon the echo before entering rage on your next turn. On the following turn after entering rage you have to attack through the echo first and the echo and only the echo gains ancestral protectors. The enemy targets the echo, but the echo does not get any of your rage features, the echo was already summoned before you entered a rage and does not get the extra attack damage or damage reductions from your rage. This can still be very powerful, giving the ancestral protectors to your Echo and it flies away Out Of Reach, the enemy does not have to Target your Echo with Ancestral protectors, if it cannot make an attack directly to the echo it will instead Target you but all attacks a creature makes towards you are made with disadvantage. If you are raging before you summon the echo you will not be able to give the echo your ancestral protectors. On the first round when you go into rage and you make your first attack you now have ancestral protectors. On the second round when you summon your Echo it will not have ancestral protectors, but your Echo can now use your rage features for the extra damage and enemies attacks are made with disadvantage towards it, this option is far more powerful because you cannot use your reaction to activate Spirit Shield through your Echo to reduce Ally damage.
Does reckless attack only apply to the first attack on your turn? Please correct me if I'm wrong. I would love to roll with this if it's not the case
@@thomasmatenga5498 I'm very late to reply, but no, it applies to any and all attacks you make. You just have to call that you'll be recklessly attacking before you roll to hit.
Psi-Bear (3 Levels of Barbarian for the Bear Totem+17 Levels of Psi Warrior) is also a really cool combo for the simple reason that it it plugs the one hole in the Bear Totems resistances...psychic damage.
Now we're talking. Not being stuck with the Kalashtar or whatever to fill that weakness.
Heck, even two levels of Barbarian add a nice Dark Side flavour to a mystic Psi-Warrior build. Give in to your anger.....
Totem barbarian with Chavalier fighter. Would that be a valid defense combo?
Should mention that as with basically any barbarian build, using medium armor isn't necessarily such a bad idea. Particularly if you can get your hands on half-plate at some point during a campaign. A barbarian with just 14 dexterity wearing half-plate has a greater AC than a barbarian that has invested 16 into both dex and con. Not to say that investing into dex and con isn't a good idea anyway, but putting on half-plate allows you to focus your investments into strength or into feats that allows your build to work better. If you play into the late levels, you might eventually invest enough into dex and con to make the the half-plate defunct, but it's so useful in the earlier levels when you only have few ASI's. This becomes even more important when you consider multiclassing, since you're likely to stagger your ASI's and get fewer of them or only get them later on. Of course half-plate is quite an investment and won't be relevant right away, but consider asking your party to invest in you early, especially if you're the party's only tank. To a whole party 750 gp might not seem that great of an ask depending on what kind of funds your campaign has going for it and you can pay it back later on when you as a barbarian really doesn't have that much to spend their money on anyway.
I played an Ancestral Guardians Barbarian with a 3 level dip into Champion fighter to increase crit chances. I played him all the way to 20th level in a 3 year campaign, and with the right magic items (Big magical hammer, cloak of prot +2, ring of free action) he was an almost unstoppable rage machine charging all over the battlefield. He was a mountain dwarf, with a height complex( he was short, even for a dwarf), a volcanic temper and all the social graces of a rhino in mating season. Tremendous fun to play.
At 18th level, he dropped out of the sky from a flying ship that was going down, and survived the drop (30d6), with a three point landing in front of a huge elemental. One of the most epic moments I've ever had as a player :)
Echo knight does get an opportunity attack style feature. If an enemy moves from 5 ft of your echo you can make an opportunity attack from it's position
Shifters, especially beasthide would make a valid racial option!
The temp hp and AC are really good on a barbarian. Rage essentially doubling the temp hp gained is huge!
Wildhunt is another good shifter option. The ability score bonuses aren't ideal, but the Shifting Feature means you can use reckless attack without giving enemies advantage on their attacks against you!
@@joshmeyer8172 gotta remember the Tasha's custom Ability Score placements as well.
@@joshmeyer8172 This is what I came here to say. What absolute madman would choose Shifter and take ANYTHING but Wildhunt? It’s literally Advantage on every single attack with no downside.
Path of the beast barbarian with shifter maybe?
I once played a Warforged Pugilist/Barbarian (used to be a Bard) who was looking for his brother in CoS, it was absolutely disgusting. Love you Beatbox.
Im currently using a Fighter(lvl 7 rune knight) Barbarian(lvl3 bear totem) I didn’t initially plan to multi class until I realized I was the only front line fighter in the party so halving all dmg is gonna be a huge benefit plus its suits my character as he is the son of my previous character who was a path of the giant barbarian
8:20 I think Tortles are always worth mentioning when it comes to Barbarian builds. Yeah, the armor proficiency would be wasted but a Tortle’s shell is the only option I can think, of outside of Heavy Armor, that hits 17 AC without a high Dex. A Tortle with 10 Dex is only 1 point below completely maxed out Unarmored Defense. It makes the Barbarian SAD instead of MAD… ironically
Why make the barb sad 😭
With with Half Plate and +2 on Dex (thing that it is totally common, like, it if weren't the most common save on the game). Anyways I understand your point and it would be really funny to see a raging turtle. Also, don't you dare to underestimate the power of the bite of a turtle, that shit it kinda gangsta.
Correct me if I am wrong, but you cannot benefit from the benefits of rage if you equip heavy armor. Doesn't this kind of curtail the battle bear?
This is true, but I feel like if you put the investment into getting heavy armor proficiency you should be capable of using it.
This is true, and it makes the "Fighter First" argument kinda stupid, but when you get right down to it, so what? Half-plate and a 14 DEX gives you an AC exactly *ONE* less than full plate. If you take a 16 DEX and the Medium Armor Master feat, your AC is the same.
Not that I'm in love with the idea of a Barbarian using one-handed weapons anyway ... 😉
Bear Barbarian Damage resistance effects all damage types except Psychic. Bear has no special armor restrictions.
While Blyss is sorta correct...there is nothing that says that a barbarian can't wear armor, in the PHB the wording is "While raging, you gain the following benefits if you aren’t wearing heavy armor:
You have advantage on Strength checks and Strength saving throws.
When you make a melee weapon attack using Strength, you gain a bonus to the damage roll that increases as you gain levels as a barbarian, as shown in the Rage Damage column of the Barbarian table.
You have resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage.
So why lose almost everything that makes a barbarian a barbarian just to up your AC since damage reduction translates into a +5 AC anyway?
there is the battlerager subclass that requires you to wear spiked heavy armor, but in general yes this is not how I build my fighter/barb multis
im a battle master, totem warrior. its very fun to be able to stay in the thick of it and also be able to use maneuvers with your attacks
Shifter Wildhunt is a useful race to counter the attack advantage enemies get whilst you rage. Along with the nice temp hp and bonuses for shifting, which does also have the same duration as a rage.
I don't really enjoy most straight Fighter/Barbarian multiclasses tbh I did play a Dex based Rapier & Shield Duelist once where his 2nd level was a 1 lvl Barb dip just for Unarmored Defense. He would use Rage in melee just for the damage reduction. He was a Champion Fighter. I did a Custom Lineage and started him with the Piercer feat which was like having Brutal Critical at level 1. Late game he actually did more damage as an Archer because at lvl 9 I took the Sharpshooter feat and at 10 I took the Archery fighting style. He ended up being and extremely well rounded fighter.
I currently play a Barbarian/Fighter in one game, and it is SO GOOD. I’m a Goliath 8 Ancestral Guardian Barbarian/6 Rune Knight Fighter. With Reckless Attack, Rage, Giant’s Might, and Great Weapon Master, I can dish out so much damage. But he REALLY rocks as a tank. Ancestral Protectors gives enemies I attack disadvantage against anything other than me, Spirit Shield lets me mitigate damage an ally takes, the Fire Rune can restrain an enemy and deal continual fire damage while restrained, and the Cloud Rune lets me redirect one attack to another target.
bet you can't wait for 7th level rune knight 😁
Manifest echo says you get an opportunity attack using your reaction, as if your in the echo's space, if a creature thats in 5ft of your echo that you can see tries to move
Sadly this precludes using reach weapons for this reaction attack
I'm playing a Giff zealot/rune knight in the new spelljammer material and LOVING it. No armor, just fancy space uniform. He goes around smashing things with a maul and while he grew up a little well to do, he has rage issues that he has yet to deal with due to being spoiled.
I have a Barbarian Fighter Halfling character, as I found the Lucky feat and the advantage against being frightened really cool for rp reasons. I also think its funny to have a Gladiator that is 3ft tall
I'm surprised that you didn't feature a build which combined Great Weapon Master with Polearm Master. Also, you didn't mention Variant Human or Tasha's Custom Lineage as racial options. Here's a build which uses all of these options for super high damage output.
Race: Variant Human. Put your ability score bonuses into STR and CON. For your free feat, pick Polearm Master.
Level 1: Barbarian. Wear medium armor with a shield, unless you rolled really well for stats and your AC would be higher with unarmored defense. Wield either a spear or a quarterstaff.
Levels 2-4: Fighter. Pick Battlemaster as your subclass, and pick Precision Attack as one of your maneuvers.
Levels 5-6: More Fighter. Get the feat Great Weapon Master at character level 5 (Fighter level 4), ditch your shield, and switch to either a glaive or a halberd. Use Precision Attack when you miss by 3 or less. Use the -5 to hit, +10 damage by default. But, turn it off when fighting enemies with high AC (the exact number depends on your STR bonus, but assuming a STR bonus of +3, you want to turn it off vs enemies with AC 17 or higher).
Level 7: Barbarian. Now you have reckless attack, so basically never turn off Great Weapon Master.
Ey! I really liked your build! Can you please tell me how should the build end at lvl 20? How many lvls from fighter and barbarian is the optimal number? And why?
Doing this build with my Cave Goat, took the Lucky feat
One of my favourite races for barbarian is actually goblin. Nimble escape is great when paired with barbarian's high movement speed, and the bonus to dex means you can just invest the rest of your stats into strength and con and not worry about dex as much. Fury of the small is also great for a bit more burst damage when you need it
Wow goblin must look into this one
Warforged would be a excellent choice for the build. Also shifter or lycanthropes would be excellent choices. Tork the were-bear totem of the bear barbarian/rune knight fighter was a absolute beast in combat and a blast to play.
Beast echo:
No extra attack: 2 melee strikes from claws can be from echos position, 1 melee strike from echo, dhampir bite is a weapon, you used the attack action, use the "off-hand" to bite can be from position of echo.
Now add both extra attack and sentinel, and you can react from the space of the echo. Graple and drain your main target, 0 the movement of a second target
I know it's not a power build but it's very thematic🤣
Shifter Wildhunt Shifting Feature. While shifted, you have advantage on Wisdom checks, and no creature within 30 feet of you can make an attack roll with advantage against you, unless you're incapacitated. You get advantage but they don't.
Go wildhunter shifter to avoid advantage attacks against you while using reckless attack.
Nitpick at ghost axe, great weapon master is -5 to hit, but your ability only triggers on a hit. Also as someone else pointed out, the echo ability specifically calls out that leaving the square next to it, provokes opportunity attacks. Which means sentinel is more likely the feat for you. Alternatively, the mobile feat could also work well for this concept.
Winged Variant Tiefling, fire resistance and a fly speed (the #1 issue that melee warriors deal with after 5th level.
Fair point. What are you going to call them?
3 levels bear totem combined with 17 levels psi warrior is the best tank in the game imo. Resistance to all damage while raging, reaction shield to reduce damage even further, limited flight for extra mobility, ability to knock flying enemies prone, ability to end charm and frightened, ability to reposition fragile mages, and +2 AC while you rage. On top of all this, it's one of the few fighter subclasses that gives its capstone at 17 instead of 18 making it ideal for Barb multiclass.
As for ASI and feats, Sentinel, GWM, and Tough are a must. Sentinel gives you reaction when you run out of psi dice and map control. GWM with reckless attack is busted. You honestly can keep INT at 8 if you wanna max all your physical stats. Your protective shield will still give you +1 but your psy strike will be -1. Not the end of the world because our psy strike will still knock prone even if we roll no extra damage. INT at 12 feels nice but it's not necessary. 20 CON and tough are most important for maximum tankiness but other than that do what you want.
The Barbarian heavy crit fish does more damage per crit, but only about 5hp per crit and one per normal hit at mid levels and 8 per crit/ 2 per normal hit at upper levels (until capstone). Going the other way, 2 levels of Barbarian and the rest Champion Fighter gives a much greater chance of getting a crit. So much so that, by Tier 4, the Fighter heavy version is critting 3 out of every 4 turns. This gives a much higher average damage per turn than the Barbarian focused version.
I play a half-orc bear totem barbarian 6/champion fighter 4 with GWM and Polearm Master and a glaive. Simple build but the crits hit hard and I almost always get another full attack with the bonus action due to GWM. My next feat will be slasher. We did a one shot where I got to play him at level 18 an I killed an ancient frost dragon doing 224 damage in 1 round.
There is one small thing I believe is being overlooked in these builds. Barbarians can't Rage in Heavy Armor! Well, technically they can, but don't gain any of the benefits of raging.
That said, there is at least one multi-class builds I'd like to see. That being a Rogue/Barbarian build. As such, it should be noted that Sneak Attacks only require the use of a Finesse or Ranged weapon, not that you use your Dex with them. So... Reckless Rage filled Sneak Attacks? Also, thrown weapons often use Str and considered Ranged weapons when thrown.
Running a Dwarven Echo Knight 4, Chaos Barbarian 7 currently in Princes of the Apocalypse. Primarily using a Halberd w/ Polearm Master. Debating on Feat vs more Strength or Dex at the next level, and I already got CON of 20.
I dipped into Echo Knight mainly because the Chaos Barbarian needed some versatility help and having an Echo to help draw fire, increase mobility, and even more attacks via the Unleash Incarnation feature. 4 levels of fighter was enough and will be sticking to Barb for the remainder of the campaign.
Thus far working really well as tanky striker or strikey tank. Although elemental damage is incredibly frequent in the module and the whole party is lacking on resistance options, I might start leaning more into a damage output focus.
AND THANK YOU for the 11:30, I had misread Reckless Attack. I thought the advantage was just on the first attack roll that turn... Which means between 2 normal attacks, 1 from unleash incarnation (CON mod times a day), bonus attack from polearm master, and a whole other action from action surge. DANG that could make a beefy turn.
I thought about a dwarf for this build too with polearm master, but as a heavy weapon used by a small race they're supposed to have disadvantage on all attack throws :/
Dwarfs are a medium race
For races I have played and really enjoyed a tiefling barbarian, I used a flying variant which may not be allowed at all tables but the resistance to fire damage which is reasonably common came up a lot and made him tankier, additionally if not flying using armour of agathys before raging can be decent and several other subraces can give utility spells that may be useful for out of combat roleplay, Note: have always played with any +2,+1 regardless of race, so if you don't play that way wouldn't recommend tiefling
Levistus bloodline tiefling, armor of agathys isn't concentration and if you cast it as a totem of the bear barbarian you will likely deal 20-40 cold damage against most creatures at 3rd level.
If you also want to pump those damage die up and rolled well enough to not need many ASI's, the Dual Wielder feat lets you use two weapon fighting with weapons that don't have the "light" description. This means dual wielding long swords or battle axes for that sickass d8 damage die. It's not a huge jump from d6, but when you're adding damage die to every roll for your crits and such, it ends up making a difference
Medium armor on this build is nuts. If you go 4 levels of Barb (for the ASI) then your Fighter ASIs will give you plenty of chances to take Medium Armor Master. Take your Dex to 16 and your AC will be 18 AND you won't be 'that guy' who ruins the party's Stealth options. If you eventually wind up with 7 Barb levels you gain an additional 10' of Movement which can get you into the fight faster. 13 Fighter levels give us the bonus ASI from lvl 6 as well as a second use of Indomitable. You'll have 4 Rages, more than enough for most adventuring days, as well as a whopping 3 attacks. You'll also have Feral Instincts for Advantage on Initiative with your +3 Dex modifier.
Best part of all of this: If you take the Half-Orc race, you start out with Savage Attacks which is identical to Brutal Critical but comes online at lvl 1
I'm running a bug bear barbarian (bear totem) /battle master fighter with gwm and pole arm master. I have 15 ft range do Hella damage and never miss cuz when I do miss I just use precision attack to make it hit. Oh and action surge
Please cover armor artificer/ cleric of the forge. Had a warforged named Reverence was a surprising powerhouse.
Vedalken barbarian well you wouldn't get any benefits to strength or con you would gain advantage on your intelligence wisdom and Charisma saving throws which would make it less likely for someone to take control of your character and turn you on your allies.
In a level 20 1 shot I had a lot of fun with my Kobold Rune Knight 14/ Bear Totem Barbarian 6. I truly enjoyed the rp of my Kobold approaching some npc's who were insulting him and as I got within range I grew and raged and played baseball with my polearm.
Ive been playing a rune knoight bear totem minotaur for a few years now. Its so fun
Bugbears get sneak attack damage with advantage...
Reckless attack is super powerful. Plus bugbear reach and polearm.
I like 3 levels in barbarian and the rest in fighter.
I went with Beasthide (Bear) Shifter, lvl 7 Totem Warrior (Bear) Barbarian and lvl 3 Battle Master Fighter.
My personal build is Ancestral Barbarian/Battle Master with the Shield Master feat.
Opens up using all types of Action, and with Manoeuvres I have many ways to control a battle field. That being said I was also thinking Champion to boost my sadly lacking damage compared to other Barb/Fighter builds (1d8+Str+2 from Dueling Fighting Style+Rage isn't bad, but can be better).
I went with Wildhunt Shifter race, 4 levels of Bear Totem Barbarian, 6 levels of Rune Knight Fighter. With Wildhunt, no enemy within 30 ft during the shift duration are able to make attacks against me with advantage, meaning I can Reckless and gain all of the benefits with none of the drawbacks. I rage first turn as a bonus, and depending on the fight, I will either use my Rune Knight ability to grow and do more damage, or Wildhunt shift for the aforementioned bonus. I can do whatever I did not do with the third turn bonus action. And with Great Weapon Master, I can attack again with my bonus action whenever I crit or kill an enemy. So no matter what turn I'm in, I always have something to do with my Bonus Action. I take half damage from everything except psychic when raging, and I can redirect a crit against me to another enemy with my rune ability reaction.
I am curious why you don't take Barbarian to 4 to pick up the extra asi/feat
Dueling is very good combined with rage. With just a +2 rage boost to damage, your weapon is upgraded two die sizes, statistically speaking, Your d8 warhammer is a d12 weapon.
My upcoming character concept that uses this is gonna be really fun. I've been planning up a Crystal Dragonborn rune knight / path of the beast. So large size, claw/bite/tail attack, radiant (radiation?) breath weapon. I've made godzilla the player character.
What are you going to name them?
Path of the Beast Barbarian with its Claws is a perfect supplement for the Crit Slasher cause you can get another claw attack every round
Thanks for this, I have a barbarian character coming up in our next campaign...going to use some of this info!
Is there something I'm missing on why not take shield + spear for the crit Fisher? More ac, same number of attacks, dueling fighting style available, more reach and you get an attack when enemies enter your reach. I haven't crunched numbers but 2d6 + 1d4 doesn't sound much worse considering the dueling FS and piercer letting you add an extra dice to damage.
Great problem, only problem tho unfortunately is barbarians can’t rage in heavy armor
Great video*****
Technically they can rage, they just don't gain the standard benefits while wearing heavy armor. But, if you're trying to maximize survivability, you can get around it by taking the bear totem subclass. Those subclass features have no restriction against heavy armor. Also, the resistance you gain from bear totem includes the normal piercing, slashing, and bludgeoning.
You still won't gain get the damage bonus though. You also won't have advantage on STR checks and saving throws. So if you wanted to grapple this isn't a good build. Finally, you won't want to use reckless attack. You technically still can, but it makes wearing heavy armor kinda pointless. So your damage output will suffer, too. But if your party just needs a damage sponge, this is a very strong build.
your bear totem bait and switch section- one cannot rage in heavy armor.
Im running a drow juggernaut14 battlemaster6 build. Its a dex con build with a lot of options that work.
Bear totem + cavalier = perfect tank.
I'm currently playing a fighter in curse of strahd and was wondering if going barbarian would be a good match. Good to know I wasn't far off the mark. Thanks Patrick for letting me know about the Battle Bear I think that is the way I'm going to go on this character.
It could certainly work!
As Minty pointed out below, as a Barbarian you cannot gain the benefits of Rage while wearing heavy armor, so the Battle Bear would need medium armor to function properly.
Nope.
The "slasher" build is suboptimal at best. If you want a GOOD damage dealing build, play a race with a bonus feat and take Polearm Master. Then as soon as you reach level 4, take Great Weapon Master. Seriously, you'll do more damage with those two feats than a 20 STR and Two Weapon Fighting. Then play a Battle Master and take Precision Attack as your first maneuver ... for those times Advantage doesn't quite undo the -5 attack modifier from GWM. And frankly, I would avoid Great Weapon Fighting like the PLAGUE. Its effect on damage is so minimal as not to be believed. Instead, take either Defense or Blind Fighting, even for damage builds.
Currently I'm a hafling 6 level fighter battle master , 3 level barbarian reckless , and it's my favorite charecter I've ever fucking played
Whats their name?
@@SkullSplitter Panertacus Foxboro, he got lost as a very child and was found by my current party and there leader , they took me in and taught me how to speak, he didn't know who his parents were until recently my dm informed me that his mother was a Goliath
Currently playing rhyme of the frost bit btw great ass story
I multiclassed as a barbarian/bard in my first (and current) campaign. I chose Dragonborn as my race and rolled really well for my stats, so I got a 15 on charisma and 18 on constitution. I took one level in bard so I could inspire my teammates and cast spells like healing word or longstrider (no concentration required) on myself or my allies. Not an optimal build, but it gives me some options for roleplay and I still get almost all the benefits of being a pure barbarian. How would you make a bard-barian if given the chance?
Longstrider is a surprisingly useful spell for all sorts of characters. I made a Halfling Beast Master Ranger whose whole thing is basically supporting and buffing her Primal Companion. Longstrider (since it's a Touch spell) increases my Beast of the Land's movement speed from 40 to 50, and it's non-concentration so I don't have to worry about losing it.
I’m new to D&D and began w a Barbarian. I’m at 3rd level - is it still worth multi-classing fighter from this point?
as soon as you said the attacks dont stack i lost interrest :( the whole reason i wanted this is to hit more times
Thinking Fighter Samurai and Barbarian Zealot. Would that be a good pair?
Halfling is the best Barb cause you can reroll 1’s and with Tashsas you can change the star bonus
Ngl the orc out of Volos is bomb ash
Infernal Tiefling "Beast Barbarian" he changes to a more demonic form. I am thinking about adding 3 levels of fighter, Rune Knight, to up his size and reach. Being able to call the demonic shackles to hold their prey. Or force attacks to hit others. How demonic would that look? And then being able to grow large and rage. Ouch he is never without something to intimidate.
You mentioned the combination of a plate armor fighter and barbarian tank but it's not possible as you can't wear heavy armor while raging
great overview!
With three levels in one class and five levels in another you would still only have one ASI. You have to have four levels in a single class to gain an ASI. Yes I know and understand that certain races and fighting classes get extra ASI's, this maneuver makes you very powerful in early game, but makes a character far weaker when building late game stats. ASI's are not based off your character level overall. If you take a level one dip for multi-classing you are cutting yourself off from getting an your last ASI. If you were too multi-class into four different class types and they were all level three, your character level would be 12 and you would not have have gained a single ASI, hence no feats. I understand hold heartily that most DMs for go these rules. As we progress into the future where the DM's have digital tools to control their games, these leniencies will not have as much Merit, so players will have to really do their due diligence in understanding RAW game mechanics when building a character.
Giant-Dwarf Rune-Bear - Over 2 turns in battle get your dwarf so angry that he Hulk's out and grows from 5 feet,150 lbs to 10 feet tall weighing in at 1200 lbs. Outfitted with a Maul ("Great Hammer"), he deals out massive bludgeoning damage while being resistant to all but psychic damage. Give him a breastplate for protection and a kilt for flavor. Alternatively arm him with a War Hammer and a shield for better AC or two War Hammers because you can. His profession is a Blacksmith, with 2-3 tool proficiencies, and he carries a maul he built himself which is basically an anvil with a handle coming out the opposite side from the "horn". 6+ Levels of Rune Knight Fighter and 5+ Levels of Bear Totem Barbarian. This build would allow for great RP, but you might need a generous DM to allow Weapon/Armor mods that don't take weeks and cost more than you could buy them for. Also limited by lack of a forge, but that's why we stop in towns, or carry bellows and keep the campfire blazing.
For the crit fisher. Is viable to take Dual Wielder feat instead of Slasher at level 4? If not, should it be considered at higher levels?
Duel weirder is a weak feat but sure
I chose Bugbear.
Goliath 17 Barb Giant class, 3 fighter champion w great weapon master, great weapon feature, storm giant belt and Gurts axe. Critical role often
Aren't these builds REALLY lacking behind level 5 to 8 considering you're missing out on extra attack?
And the same problem happens later on since you don't get your third attack on level 11 no?
🤔...if you use average hp calculation:
if you start with barb - you'll have 44 hp
if you start with fighter - you'll have 43 hp
assuming +0 con, just add con * 6, for Hp at level 6.
So enjoy for hp calculation.
Heavy armor cancels effects of rage, so if you plan of using that skip heavy armor
Thank you!!
How does rage interact with heavy armor and totem spirit?
You can't wear heavy armor while raging so badly.
I was thinking of going to fighter lvl 5 for extra attack and then was wondering if it would be worth dipping into barb for rage instead of just leveling to 6
Half Orc, Zealot Barbarian, Dip in shadow sorcerer and you pretty much can’t die. You drop no I’m at 1hp, ok now you drop , no I’m at 1 Hp !!! …. High levels I rage beyond death and have endless rage. I will never die.
Or Half Orc (savage attack)
Barb (brutal crits / 3 Champion Fighter (Crit on 19/20)
Lizard folk is a great pic +3 natural armor then add the barbarian dex and con and You’ve got a very tanky barbarian
unarmored defense doesn't stack with that ac tho
Minotaur Barbarian
Get multi attack 1st then multi class.
Damn, you take a short rest after every combat? Must be nice...
Fighter, barbarian, monk multiclass?
Lizardfolk is what I’m doing
Crit fisher build is not all that impressive. With crit range 19-20, you average around 22.3 damage against an AC 16 target at level 8. But if you had picked a different subclass, using the same weapons, you would get around 21.3 damage against an AC 16 target.
Yes, the crit fishing build also gets to impose disadvantage, but since you are a low AC barbarian that just granted them advantage, that is not that big a deal. I say low AC because even with medium armor, you are still not having the defensive fighting style or a shield.
Compare this to a battle master, that instead of slahser picked up polearm master, same number of attacks. But you also get superiority dice. Now you can do things like, hit the enemy when they come close thanks to polearm master, hit them with a pushing attack on your turn, hit them again on their next turn when they try to come close. This is going to do so much more damage, and you are well set up for heavy weapon master or sentinel at higher levels.
barb monk
The downside to barbarians in heavy armor is that you can't rage.
You don't benefit from rage when in heavy armor
you cant rage in heavy armor
👍🏻
Goblin barbarian? I mean, rage, then hide or disengage...and, fury of the small just in case...just sayin' multi classing that...oof
you cannot gain the benifits of a rage in heavy armor
Not offering much in terms of "role-playing options" isn't necessarily a con, even for a role-play focused player. Barbarians and fighters give you a rather blank slate to build any "skilled combatant" concept you want. Honorful samurai with battle trance, exiled barbarian tribe leader seeking to regain power, reserved well-mannered knight with suppressed aggression issues, arabian personal guard of a wealthy sultan trained to neuter threats swiftly and recklessly, totemic warrior grown up in a druidic circle. There's a lot of freedom to go wherever you want. I personally much more dislike classes that force a character concept onto me.
Yeah, and these are just obvious options. For my next (potential) campaign I'm preparing a circus performer wild magic barbarian, a thin flamboyant twink with a flamberge greatsword, whose strength comes from wild magic coursing through him. I might multiclass into fighter just for more combat fleur
Brutal critical is really bad