I wanted to build a Barbarian who can take his lumps with no problems. In this regard, I was hoping to maximize his chances of survival while keeping his AC low. The reason for this is that my GM modifies the enemies to-hit regardless of the AC. He makes sure that all monsters have a minimum of 33% chance of hitting the highest AC character and bosses have a 75% chance. With that being the case, I'm not going to play the AC game and want ways to survive despite low AC.
My group rolls for stats (3 sets of rolling 4d6 rerolling 1's, pick the highest) so my highest will go in Con followed by Strength.
I'm not worried at all about offensive abilities. I'll take Power attack wield an Earthbreaker and call it a day. Reckless abandon will offset power attack.
So far I've got:
- Toughness- more HP
- High Con- More HP
- Raging vitality- Extra Con
- Dragon Totem line- DR
- Invulnerable Archetype- High DR
- DR rage power- extra DR
- Superstitious- better saves
What else can I do to get either higher DR (get hit but not care) or have more HP?
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Maybe look at grabbing the celestial totem, lesser, to better heal back the damage you will definitely be taking.
Maybe look at half Orc feats for greater diehard options to expand your hit points further.
Also, if you go half Orc with celestial totem, and feel a bit cheesy, grab fire gods blessing feat and wield a flaming weapon. Every turn when you hit someone with the flaming weapon, you will heal 1 plus your barbarian level hit points. I thinks that's legal RAW, but cheesy as hell.
I havnet seen your stats. But i think you should still consider Str your primary stat. Con is important and hitpoints is great but Str helps with the most important damage migration. Dead folks dont hit back.
If you are up for it you can take a level dip in unbreakeable figther and martial artist monk. That way you will be ready for crane style and stalwart. With reckless abandon you will still hit alot and you will be converting AC into DR and to hit.
As you level up the crane style will offer deflection and counter attack options but if you plan on using a two handed weapon just ignore them. If you on the other hand can learn to love a longsword you can attack with it in 2 hands in your own turn and deflect and counter attack with it in one hand.
If you take the beast totem and crawl in to a full plate you will still have decent AC on top of the other defenses.
But main advice STR is more important than CON even if you want to run around in only your shorts.
Edit: because i Spell like a barbarian
I wouldn't muck around with half that junk.
Superstitious is fantastic. Take it, be a human, and max that sucker.
Take toughness, no doubts there.
Either save up and get a 2 stat (Str and Con) belt, or settle for an ioun stone for Con.
Invulnerable rager is fantastic, extra DR/- is fantastic.
What I would do is see if your DM will let you commission a custom item that is both a Cloak of Resistance and a Cloak of Displacement. Permanent, always on 20% miss chance is just what the doctor ordered.
I know you didn't ask, but, EWP-Falcata and Come and Get Me rage power, coupled with Combat Reflexes and hopefully a decent (12+) Dex. You will tear stuff UP son.
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You may also consider grabbing a couple other rage powers, renewed and regenerative vigor, that could lend themselves well to this. Renewed vigor will let you pop heals on yourself; regenerative vigor gives you one point of fast healing for every six levels of barbarian (Maximum of 3). Now I know this doesn't SEEM like much, but it's effectively a round about way of giving yourself the equivalent of more DR. After all, regaining 1-3 HP per level is no drop in the bucket if you've already got lots of DR rolling.
But yeah.... magic items. If you don't care about dex, just grab belt of physical might on STR and CON. I'd also suggest picking up a headband to raise your wisdom as well. It's easy to get some ridiculous will saves on a barbarian between rage, magic items and superstition. Ya might even start making clerics look bad in that department after a little bit. I doubt I need to mention cloak of resistance, but uh... I suppose I just did anyway. :P
I know you didn't ask for weapon advice, but I would like to give special mention to the nodachi. It's a martial two-handed weapon with 1d10 damage, 18-20 crit range by default. Drop keen on that bad boy and you can crit spam stuff to death WHILE laughing at their damage. Fact is no matter how tough your character is, your first and best line of defense on a barbarian is making enemies into a greasy smear on the ground before they actually get to hurt you.
Also, if you go half Orc with celestial totem, and feel a bit cheesy, grab fire gods blessing feat and wield a flaming weapon. Every turn when you hit someone with the flaming weapon, you will heal 1 plus your barbarian level hit points. I thinks that's legal RAW, but cheesy as hell.
This needs to be build into a Sacred Servant Paladin with the Rage Subdomain. Damn Class Level extra LoH damage.
In the people of the north book is a feat (don't remember the name) that gives a couple of hp and you get to choose an additional benefit.
For selfheal: celestial totem, lesser + fire god's blessing + some way to deal fire damage (for orcs/half-orcs only)
Edit: Someone was faster on the selfheal part.
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Human lvl 20 Barbarian Invulnarable Ranger
Attributes: (20 point buy)
STR - 20 (+6magic)
DEX - 10
CON - 29 (18 +5 lvs + 6magic)
INT - 14
WIS - 10
CHA - 10
Racial Trait:
Heart of the Wilderness: half their character
level to their Constitution score when determining the
negative hit point total necessary to kill them.
Feats:
1st - Endurance
1st - Diehard
3rd - Combat Expertise (-5 attack + 5dodge)
5th - Stalwart (-5 dodge + 5 RD)
7th - Deathless Initiate (fight at negative hp)
9th - Toughness
11th - Improved Stalwart (-5 dodge + 10 RD)
13th - Power Attack
15th - Raging Brutality
17th - Extra rage power: guard life
19th -
Rage Powers:
2 - anial fury
4 - intimidanting glare
6 - Dragon totem
8 - Dragon totem
10 - Dragon totem
12 - increased damage reduction
14 - increased damage reduction
16 - increased damage reduction
18 - supericious
20 - guard life: greater
Rage Rounds: 51
positive HP:~420 (d12 +1favorite class + 1toughness + 13cons(with rage))
0 HP: convert 40 damage points to nonlethal (guard life)
negative HP: -47 (diehard, deathless initiate, Heart of the Wilderness)
RD: 29/-
Greatsword +5: 2d6 + 8str +18pa + 19cons + 5 = 2d6 + 50
Human lvl 20 Barbarian Invulnarable Ranger
Attributes: (20 point buy)
STR - 20 (+6magic)
DEX - 10
CON - 29 (18 +5 lvs + 6magic)
INT - 14
WIS - 10
CHA - 10Racial Trait:
Heart of the Wilderness: half their character
level to their Constitution score when determining the
negative hit point total necessary to kill them.Feats:
1st - Endurance
1st - Diehard
3rd - Combat Expertise (-5 attack + 5dodge)
5th - Stalwart (-5 dodge + 5 RD)
7th - Deathless Initiate (fight at negative hp)
9th - Toughness
11th - Improved Stalwart (-5 dodge + 10 RD)
13th - Power Attack
15th - Raging Brutality
17th - Extra rage power: guard life
19th -Rage Powers:
2 - anial fury
4 - intimidanting glare
6 - Dragon totem
8 - Dragon totem
10 - Dragon totem
12 - increased damage reduction
14 - increased damage reduction
16 - increased damage reduction
18 - supericious
20 - guard life: greaterRage Rounds: 51
positive HP:~420 (d12 +1favorite class + 1toughness + 13cons(with rage))
0 HP: convert 40 damage points to nonlethal (guard life)
negative HP: -47 (diehard, deathless initiate, Heart of the Wilderness)RD: 29/-
Greatsword +5: 2d6 + 8str +18pa + 19cons + 5 = 2d6 + 50
I love this. I'd probably swap out intimidating glare with raging vitality to up my con even more.
I think even my GM would enjoy this build, because they can beat the snot out of me, and I'll keep on trucking. A bucket of hp, superstitious, and ridiculous DR means that I should be the God of lasting in battle.
The more I look at it, the more I'm loving this idea.
Human lvl 20 Barbarian Invulnarable Ranger
Attributes: (20 point buy)
STR - 20 (+6magic)
DEX - 10
CON - 29 (18 +5 lvs + 6magic)
INT - 14
WIS - 10
CHA - 10Racial Trait:
Heart of the Wilderness: half their character
level to their Constitution score when determining the
negative hit point total necessary to kill them.Feats:
1st - Endurance
1st - Diehard
3rd - Combat Expertise (-5 attack + 5dodge)
5th - Stalwart (-5 dodge + 5 RD)
7th - Deathless Initiate (fight at negative hp)
9th - Toughness
11th - Improved Stalwart (-5 dodge + 10 RD)
13th - Power Attack
15th - Raging Brutality
17th - Extra rage power: guard life
19th -Rage Powers:
2 - anial fury
4 - intimidanting glare
6 - Dragon totem
8 - Dragon totem
10 - Dragon totem
12 - increased damage reduction
14 - increased damage reduction
16 - increased damage reduction
18 - supericious
20 - guard life: greaterRage Rounds: 51
positive HP:~420 (d12 +1favorite class + 1toughness + 13cons(with rage))
0 HP: convert 40 damage points to nonlethal (guard life)
negative HP: -47 (diehard, deathless initiate, Heart of the Wilderness)RD: 29/-
Greatsword +5: 2d6 + 8str +18pa + 19cons + 5 = 2d6 + 50
You need to be an Orc/Half-Orc or pick Racial Heritage to gain Deathless
Initiate. Otherwise this is quite great.
Oh..yes, i forgot the racial heritage feat . That close the blank feat, thks
I have a player playing essentially the Diehard /Deathless Initiate Barbarian. Admittedly, I did make the character pretty much for him, but he's loving it. Everything I throw at him is a flesh wound, and he takes criticals with his scarred and battered face while laughing. It's also fun to watch him get excited when he's about to reach the negatives and get his bonuses there.
Overall, fun character type. Can I also suggest Fortified Armor Training? (I think that's what it's called, correct me if I'm wrong). It lets you ignore a critical by breaking a piece of your armor. Since you aren't as concerned with armor I'd say that's no problem for you, and it does actually help with surviving the big crits. Another of my players, in another campaign, is playing an Unbreakable Fighter and he uses the human luck feats, Fortified Armor Training, etc. do pretty much get himself into stupidly dangerous situations, pop a hero point, and make it out barely alive.
Like jumping off a cliff to land on a dragon and stab it in the brain, then survive by riding his "glider" down to the ground. The player is very imaginative, and he has no issues with getting into trouble. I'd suggest "Hero point cavalier/fighter madman luck-machine" as an alternative to HP barbarian =P
Polearm + Pushing Assault + Enlarge potion.
Problem solved.
wouldn't they still get to finish they're charge if they had additional movement though?
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If they were running right at *you*, yes (unless they needed absolutely all of their move, in which case they're now short). If they were running past you, then you knocked them off their charge-lane, and they'll be unable to take or finish the x2 move.
The primary utility of Pushing Assault is to knock opponent out of their own 5'+attack melee (meaning they not only lose their full-attack, but will have to eat an AoO to re-engage you).