I've often wondered why people choose to interpret things by RAW instead of RAI.
We all know the purpose of the game is to allow us to enjoy the process of playing a character in a fantasy world where magic, monsters, and treasure are common place, so why they would anyone argue for an application of rules that takes away from that.
In short to answer your question, I prefer when players role play out the rage as being somewhat beserker and not just a switch that is thrown on or off as needed. HOWEVER - I do not advocate for the blind rage that leads a character to attacking fellow party members or other such silliness.
ya...I definately don't buy that interpretation of rage...that is just some silly DM cruelty.
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Let's take a look at it more closely.
A barbarian can call upon inner reserves of strength and ferocity, granting her additional combat prowess. Starting at 1st level, a barbarian can rage for a number of rounds per day equal to 4 + her Constitution modifier. At each level after 1st, she can rage for 2 additional rounds. Temporary increases to Constitution, such as those gained from rage and spells like bear's endurance, do not increase the total number of rounds that a barbarian can rage per day. A barbarian can enter rage as a free action. The total number of rounds of rage per day is renewed after resting for 8 hours, although these hours do not need to be consecutive.
While in rage, a barbarian gains a +4 morale bonus to her Strength and Constitution, as well as a +2 morale bonus on Will saves. In addition, she takes a –2 penalty to Armor Class. The increase to Constitution grants the barbarian 2 hit points per Hit Dice, but these disappear when the rage ends and are not lost first like temporary hit points. While in rage, a barbarian cannot use any Charisma-, Dexterity-, or Intelligence-based skills (except Acrobatics, Fly, Intimidate, and Ride) or any ability that requires patience or concentration.
A barbarian can end her rage as a free action and is fatigued after rage for a number of rounds equal to 2 times the number of rounds spent in the rage. A barbarian cannot enter a new rage while fatigued or exhausted but can otherwise enter rage multiple times during a single encounter or combat. If a barbarian falls unconscious, her rage immediately ends, placing her in peril of death.
The parts I'd like to talk about are the parts I bolded.
The way I see rage is somewhere in-between the Hulk-smash everything and having perfectly coherent thoughts and being able to do what you want while in the rage.
There are specific skills that you absolutely can't do while in a rage, it's just not possible (unless you have specific feats or archetypes which change your rage). The rage clouds your mind, you see red and you want to kill what is before you. That adrenaline is flowing so fast and your heart is pumping so hard that you are shaking. You aren't frothing at the mouth and uncontrollable (unless you are a wild rager who failed his saves!), but you are really really mad.
So you can do tactical things as far as battlefield movements go, such as flanking, acrobatics, intimidation of your foes, etc, but you aren't concerned with stopping to concentrate on anything because of how mad you are.
The nice thing about barbarians is that if you want to have that hulk-smash everything and everyone around you can be done by using the Wild Rager archetype.
If you want to be able to think more and control your rage as someone more civilized go with an Urban Barbarian archetype.
If you want to be able to cast spells while raging, become a Rage Prophet.
There is no one way to play a barbarian as we can see, and the mechanics are there in the game to give us all the flavor we want to go along with the crunchy bits of the rage ability.
It's not really arguing details of semantics to note that the rules go out of their way to say you can choose to end Rage at any time as a Free Action. If it was meant to be out of your control, you would not be given that choice, by any phrasing or mechanics.
There are reams of Rage Powers whose sole usage is NOT trying to "smash your enemy". Rage mostly focuses on enhancing combat (offense or defense) but also other activities (swimming, jumping, STR checks, scent/tracking, Will Save, Re-Roll, etc). So I see it as enhancing certain aspects (physical and mental) while giving up others (physical and mental), a different mode of being triggered by an emotional state, but no more than what it says, and not requiring of a specific object of that emotional state (i.e. "must smash enemy").
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Hi everyone just something i'm curious about how do you view rage
As far as i can tell most people seem to view it as just another ability which can be turned on and off at will
Or do you see it as a true berserk rage where the character only want to smash there enemy with little regard for consequences or the use of tactics (which is how i view it )
Your thoughts please
Ps can we please not let this become a argument over how the rules are writen
When playing a Barbarian, I almost always opt for the Urban Barbarian archetype and play Rage as something akin to a combat trance or supernatural focus, something like 'Seeking the Void' as described in the Wheel of Time books...
...but that's just me.
I've also played an insane Dwarf, a Theologian (Madness Domain) who took a two level dip in Wild Rager, and in that case whenever he engaged in melee it was role-played more as if he simply lost it and was literally foaming at the mouth enraged.
In both cases, I played appropriate to the character, not the class feature.
The description of the class should explain to you what rage is meant to be.
When I rage I turn off my brain and can't do anything but hit the floor with my fists until I run out of rage rounds and fall over exhausted.</sarcasm>
I sometimes wish they would have called it "Super Awesome Focus Boost" so that people don't automatically assume that rage makes you unable to think while its on.
You're Angry. You can channel that anger to do impressive things, but it requires all your focus to do so. That's basically what rage does for you.
For my Dhampir Barbarian, it's him "vamping out", eyes getting milk-white, fangs growing longer, etc.
See, that's great.
I like the concept of rage in the movie equilibrium...
"No,not without incident".....begin calm fury and awesome beatdown
In regards to your question OP, no the Barbarian is not some super tard that can't use tactics or logic. He can't cast spells while in a rage (or do anything else that requires concentration or lots of focus) and he can't use certain skills while raging. By and large though the barbarian is capable of doing most anything a barbarian would want to do in combat while raging. Otherwise, whats the point?
"Hey guys, during combat I get super angry and wail on things!"
"That's cool, so how hard can you hit the enemy? Hard enough to force them through a wall?"
"Enemey? This was supposed to be a warning. I just hit whatevers closest to me and forget basic combat tactics and can't hear anyone or think once combat starts."
Hi everyone just something i'm curious about how do you view rage
As far as i can tell most people seem to view it as just another ability which can be turned on and off at will
Or do you see it as a true berserk rage where the character only want to smash there enemy with little regard for consequences or the use of tactics (which is how i view it )
Your thoughts please
Ps can we please not let this become a argument over how the rules are writenWhen playing a Barbarian, I almost always opt for the Urban Barbarian archetype and play Rage as something akin to a combat trance or supernatural focus, something like 'Seeking the Void' as described in the Wheel of Time books...
...but that's just me.
I've also played an insane Dwarf, a Theologian (Madness Domain) who took a two level dip in Wild Rager, and in that case whenever he engaged in melee it was role-played more as if he simply lost it and was literally foaming at the mouth enraged.
In both cases, I played appropriate to the character, not the class feature.
The Void is exactly what I was gonna mention when I saw this thread.
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I am supposed to wear pants when playing PF?
I am supposed to wear pants when playing PF?
Depends on the group you play with!
It's usually appreciated if you are playing PFS at a con.
But if I do that no one can see my Rod of Lordly Might
It's usually appreciated if you are playing PFS at a con.But if I do that no one can see my Rod of Lordly Might
Keep it sheathed.
Pants; the one item of equipment that's meant to benefit the rest of your party, not yourself.
Wait, weren't we talking about rage? How has it come to this?!
The thread had an official derailment!
It's been a while since I've played the Barbarian, but I'd play him with the flavour that Rage is not simply great fury and anger, but rather the Barbarians way of channelling emotions into strength. A way of controlling his human impulses and using it to his own benefit. The man who stands on a battlefield, shouting at his troops, excited at the prospect of the coming battle, happiness at being where he belongs. The woman who's son was just murdered before her eyes, and her pain and anguish bottles up into something that she's learned to control and use(though some may equate to anger just as well). The lone individual who stands, completely surrounded by his enemy, fear and adrenaline pumping through his veins, giving him the strength that just may be enough to let him survive another day...That's how I see the barbarian Rage.
As long as you are within the limits of RAW, then you should feel free to flavor it as you please.
This, this, SO MUCH THIS.
I have a houserule that characters cannot optionally take the penalty to attack rolls to deal non-lethal damage while raging, they must always strike to kill. Beyond that, I don't care how people rage, so long as they are consistent.
Channeled emotion. Super Saiyan.
Well for my half-shoanti barbarian, I sort of present it like a blacking out and letting rage/instinct/some kind of abstract spirit of battle and violence take over and at the end of it all the guy feels physically and emotionally drained. Like the Avatar state or the hulk or something.
Rage is a sadly inappropriately named ability that grants +4 Str/Con, +2 Will saves, -2 AC, and a number of special powers while it is active.
Whether that is fluffed as an Adrenaline Rush, an actual mouth frothing Rage, Zen Focus, or whatever is up to the player, as it should be.
Yes, Barbarians can flank, open doors, Climb/Swim/Jump, and all around not be retarded while Raging.
Barbarians...not be retarded
Never happened ;)
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Channeled emotion. Super Saiyan.
Okay, if I ever play a barbarian, his hair is going to turn blonde and spiky when he rages.
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Channeled emotion. Super Saiyan.Okay, if I ever play a barbarian, his hair is going to turn blonde and spiky when he rages.
Except that it takes you 12 full round actions to activate the rage.
You could choose to require a rage trigger, but by the rules, none is needed. You can even activate the rage out of combat, if you desire, if you need to boost your Strength check or gain access to a rage power for some reason.
They can follow complex battle plans as well as they ever could.
They can use nonlethal damage.
If you wish to houserule these things, you obviously can. But none of it is the way the ability works by the RAW.
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My badger animal companion rages! I've trained him with a 'trick' so he will go into a rage when he has the chance at a full attack, or on command. Aside from that, he will rage anytime he or I take damage. He always likes a fight, but when raging, he hurls himself at enemies with intense, ravenous ferocity. Last week Mitch charged off a ledge onto a flying dragon. Good idea? No. But it's the kind of thing he does, and I had just gone unconscious.
I've decided that he'll flank or switch to a more dangerous or accessible targets while raging, no problem. But trying to make him stop raging during combat, or telling him to withdraw from an enemy while raging, is a Push. (A 25 DC Handle Animal command that requires a move action on my part.) I remember one fight in particular where Mitch was down to two hit points and on fire - and I could NOT make the DC to get him to disengage from the alchemist he was fighting and run back to get healed.
It's amazing he's made it to level 8, but everyone loves him.
I've had a character once whose rage was more of a meditative trance. He would go so deeply into his meditation that he would be unable to concentrate on anything else but him and his opponents. another (back in 3.5) would provoke attack of opportunities, attack whoever struck him last and always power attack to the full length of his ability. Different character can have different rages, as long as you follow the rules. How your character comes to that state is up to the player and no one else
Except that it takes you 12 full round actions to activate the rage.Channeled emotion. Super Saiyan.Okay, if I ever play a barbarian, his hair is going to turn blonde and spiky when he rages.
HA!
Does Rage get better the less clothes you wear?
Actually I would say as your rage gets better your clothes fall off? Ever watch anime? Powering up is very detrimental to clothing.