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Invulnerable Rager for the Win. Screw Toughness, go for Cleave. Toughness is a good feat for PFS play, but Barbarians don't need it with an 18 Con. The Con is for RAGE. You need it. Take as much of that as you can. Chose "Favored class=Barbarian" and choose the +1 hit point option. You are at 17 hits at level 1.
Drop the Dex and go Str + Con. Make up for initiative on the trait side with a +2. Ragers live by doing more damage to their opponents to kill em quick. Enlarged? You'll kill them VERY quick. When you hit level 2 your DR will start to kick in.
After your first session, buy an Adventur's Sash and 6 Potions of Enlarge Person. That's your schtick. Get big, fast. They are 50GP potions, always available as a level 1 potion in PFS play and are, far and away, the best value for a cheap magic item in the entire game. Unlike the spell, Potions of Enlarge Person take effect instantly. Enlarged, you have reach, increased strength and your weapon goes to 3d6. You are DA BOMB. With Accelerated Drinker, you can drink them fast, too. Choose where you stop in your round with a move, drink on the other move and choose which squares you expand into as you grow in size. Position it correctly and when the foe moves towards you - he'll provoke from your reach. He'll be dead before he reaches you. Carry on.
You now have 9 rounds of Enlage left. There isn't a monster or boss in a Tiered PFS scenario that will last 9 rounds with you in the room. Not one. Raging and enlarged and power attacking at 1st level? You are +5 to hit, with reach and are doing 3d6+12.
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UNNAMED HERO CR 1/2
Male Human (Ulfen) Barbarian (Invulnerable Rager) 1
CN Medium Humanoid (Human)
Init +2; Senses Perception +4
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DEFENSE
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AC 13, touch 10, flat-footed 13 (+3 armor)
hp 17 (1d12+4)
Fort +6, Ref +0, Will +0
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OFFENSE
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Spd 40 ft.
Melee Greataxe +4 (1d12+4/20/x3) and
Unarmed Strike +4 (1d3+3/20/x2)
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STATISTICS
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Str 16, Dex 10, Con 18, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 10
Base Atk +1; CMB +4; CMD 14
Feats Cleave, Power Attack -1/+2
Traits Accelerated Drinker, Hermean Paragon (Steaming Sea)
Skills Acrobatics +3, Climb +6, Escape Artist -1, Fly -1, Intimidate +4, Perception +4, Ride -1, Stealth -1, Survival +4, Swim +2
Languages Common, Skald
SQ Fast Movement +10 (Ex), Rage (8 rounds/day) (Ex)
Combat Gear Greataxe, Studded Leather;
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SPECIAL ABILITIES
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Accelerated Drinker You may drink a potion as a move action instead of a standard as long as you start your turn with the potion in your hand.
Cleave If you hit your first target, attack an adjacent target at the same attack bonus in exchange for -2 AC.
Fast Movement +10 (Ex) +10 feet to speed, unless heavily loaded.
Hermean Paragon (Steaming Sea) You gain a +2 trait bonus on Initiative checks.
Power Attack -1/+2 You can subtract from your attack roll to add to your damage.
Rage (8 rounds/day) (Ex) +4 Str, +4 Con, +2 to Will saves, -2 to AC when enraged.
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I disagree with Steel_Wind about neglecting Dexterity. Combat Reflexes is a great feat for barbarians, and it relies on dex bonus to give you extra opportunity attacks. Besides, barbarians have lousy armor, so a Dex bonus can help with that. And you will occasionally have to fall back on using a ranged weapon until you can get into melee range, so the dex will help with that, too. So get a 14 dex, then put everything else in str and con. Dump int and cha before wisdom, since wis is needed for will saves.
As for the feats, I actually went the Power Attack and Cleave route that Steel_Wind suggests when I made my barbarian, and now I'm kinda regretting it. Cleave is great at level 1 when you get an opportunity to use it, but it's only usable against enemies standing next to each other, which doesn't happen as often as I'd like. Also, it's unnecessary once you can get extra attacks from other sources, which happens early and often for a barbarian, so Cleave ends up being a wasted feat.
If I were making a new barbarian, I'd probably go Extra Rage and Combat Reflexes for my level 1 feats. Not being limited in how often you can rage could be huge, and combat reflexes with a 14 dex gives you 3 opportunity attacks per round, so nobody will get by you. The one downside with Extra Rage is that it becomes unnecessary at higher levels, though being able to ALWAYS rage in battle without worrying about how many rounds it is could be very good.
I wouldn't bother with the Toughness feat. Barbarians already get the best HP in the game. Go with the Invulnerable Rager archetype from the Advanced Players Guide, and you'll have damage reduction equal to half your barbarian level starting at level 2. That's just huge.
See also:
http://paizo.com/paizo/messageboards/paizoPublishing/pathfinder/pathfinderR PG/advice/barbarianMakingGuide
http://paizo.com/paizo/messageboards/paizoPublishing/pathfinder/pathfinderR PG/advice/barbarianGuide
I'm fond of mixing barb with Martial Artist Monk Archetype. That way you can go:
"I rage! I power attack! I flurry! Rawr!"
Why boost int? That's a dump stat for barbarians. And you definitely need a 15 con minimum, because that's the prerequisite for the Raging Vitality feat.Several reasons. I'm not sold on Raging Vitality as a feat for one. Secondly, I prefer to do things other than just hit things with an axe and barbarian has a decent skill list, especially when you toss in a couple of traits. Finally (and I'm not sure the limits on this with PFS) at some point you're going to get a belt that boosts con as well as strength, that will give you the constitution you need for raging vitality.
Not sold on Raging Vitality? Really? Wow. The ability to rage while unconscious is huge enough, not counting the +2 con while raging.
I too have an Invulnerable rager, this one more focused on HP's than anything else.
S - 16
D - 12
C - 18
I - 10
W - 12
Ch - 7
Traits
Vengeful (Taldan society feat), Berzerker of the Society (extra rage rounds)
Feats
Toughness, Raging Vitality
At first level I had 23 hp's when raging. I didn't bother with power attack because 1d12+7 is more than enough damage at first level.
I'm 4th level now and I'm going the improved overrun route (mostly because it's fun). At fifth I'll actually get improved overrun (it evolved organically based on how the guy ended up playing).
Combat goes, charge in, overrun, receive AoO, deal str in damage (rage power), usually knock opponent over, either take an AoO when they stand or enjoy hitting them even easier.
At 6th level I'll have over 100 hp's when raging. By 12th I'll have over 200. With a DR of 9/- when raging.
RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 8
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My girlfriend has been having fun with her halfling barbarian with the titan mauler archetype.
The +1 to hit and AC from being size small, combined with the Big Game Hunter ability from the titan mauler give her a pretty decent AC and chance to hit at level 1.
Also at level 3 when this 35 pound, 3 foot 2 inch halfling is going to be using a normal sized greatsword. "This immense two-handed sword is about 5 feet in length." Oh physics, you have no place in this world.
Krugaarsh The Mighty
Halfling CN Barbarian, move 30', Init +3, AC 10+3+3+1=17, 15 while raging. HP 14, 16 when raging.
STR: 18-2=16 (17 points), DEX 14+2=16 (5 points), CON 12 (2 points), INT 10, WIS 10, CHA 7+2=9 (-4 points).
Traits:
PFS Barbarian Trait (+3 rounds of Rage)
Highlander (+1 to Stealth, is class skill)
Favored Class Bonus:
Hit Points x1.
Feat:
Power Attack. Consider this always on.
Weapons:
Small 2H Sword (50 GP). When not raging, you hit at +3 for 1d10+7. When raging, you hit at +5 for 1d10+10.
Javelins
Studded Leather Armor (25 GP)
Skills: Stealth (1+3+3+1+4=+12), Acrobatics (1+3+3+2=+9), Intimidate (1+3-1-1=+2), Ride (1+3+3=+7).
Level 4 and level 8 stat bumps go to STR. You prioritize a CON belt over a STR belt because around level 6, you can drop out of rage and die from it, but you're going to be grabbing a CON/STR combo belt ASAP.
Halfling luck makes up for a 12 WIS, but you'll want a circlet for that eventually.
Correction to a post up above: Potions of Enlarge Person cost 250 GP at book prices, but everything else he says is correct.
This assumes you're going standard Barbarian, which gives you Uncanny Dodge and Improved Uncanny Dodge. Combat Reflexes is recommended for level 3.
It also works well for Invulnerable Rager.
Plus, who expects a Halfling to go berserk and get a STR of 20?
Enlarge Person is a first level spell, so 50 GP and available to all characters - even at very low fame levels.
Correction to a post up above: Potions of Enlarge Person cost 250 GP at book prices, but everything else he says is correct.
You appear to be correct - I've always bought them as 250 GP, because they're effectively quickened spells at a caster level of 5...
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Enlarge Person is a first level spell, so 50 GP and available to all characters - even at very low fame levels.
Correction to a post up above: Potions of Enlarge Person cost 250 GP at book prices, but everything else he says is correct.
Correct. I am guessing that the book price you are referring to is not a "book" price at all, but is an error you are seeing in Hero Lab for the cost of that potion. (I've noticed it myself in Hero Lab too, but I thought that was due to my incorrectly specifying the # of them to buy in a stack and instead setting the CL wrong. Might be it's just an error in Hero Lab by default?).
The correct cost for the potion of Enlarge Person is 50 gold pieces. This price for a CL1 Sorc/Wizard potion for a 1st level spell is 50 gp in the Core Rulebook and this applies to the Potion of Enlarge Person, too. For verification, see the GameMastery Guide at page 124 where the table specifically notes the cost of a potion of Enlarge Person is 50 GP.
Is that too low a cost given what it does? Yeah, it probably is. I think Enlarge Person (Other) should be a third level spell when cast on a target other than self (I'm fine with a self targeting Enlarge Person being a 1st level spell).
Whatever the case, those are the Rules As Written.
You certainly don't need a Potion of Enlarge Person to last five minutes. One minute is more than enough and no combat in which a raging enlarged Barbarian with a great axe is involved in PFS play is going to last longer that a minute. Never.
End Result: A CL1 Enlarge Person is a 50 gp potion and is always available in Society play to any player to purchase at that price.
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Your primary stat is strength, con adds rounds to rage and hit points, which is nice, but really, after a couple levels you're going to have plenty of both. Damage meanwhile is always important. Con is however your second most important stat. Wis and Dex are both somewhat important.
While this is true for home games where hit points are rolled, in PFS play, hit points are always the average of the hit point die.
Moreover, most PFS scenarios tend not to let players rest. You need the extra Rage, imo.
I would never seriously consider taking Toughness as a feat in a home game. But in PFS play? It's not a bad choice at all for some characters. Hit points in PFS are harder to come by (albeit, damage itself tends to be easier to heal in PFS due to the ubiquitous presence of Wands of Cure Light Wounds).
In the end, Con plays a much bigger role in PFS because hit points in PFS are generally lower across the board by a full order of magnitude and you don't often get to refresh your Rage ability on a per day basis.
Note: I conclude from this obsevation that players typically cheat -- A LOT -- when it comes to rolling their hit points in home games. They may say they don't, but in fact, they do. A LOT *shrug*
Similarly, to the poster how notes that Cleave is somehow a "wasted" feat and that you get extra attacks "early and often". No dude, you don't. Not in PFS. You might have Haste at 5th level, sure, but that's only if the party has a Wizard at the table that night and frequently it just doesn't. Yes, iterative attacks start at 6th, but...
But what people tend to forget when looking at a PFS character is that by the time you hit 6th level? Half your game sessions with that character are OVER. Getting multiple attacks for half the campaign time with a character class that you otherwise wouldn't get it NOT a waste -- it ROCKS. Seeing as 12th level is retirement age for a PFS character, you need to assess the viability of the character build using a different set of glasses.
Great Cleave ain't a bad feat to take either, especially if you have no reliable access to Haste. Again, unlike in a home game, in PFS, quite frequently you will not have a wizard in the party. The dynamics in character class selection which tend to yield a "balanced party" in a home game simply don't manifest during PFS play the same way. The Wizard is the one class that people tend to shy away from FAR more often in PFS than they will in a home game (no item creation feats and the cost of learning new spells has a HUGE detrimental impact on the Wizard class in PFS play and most people avoid it).
Accordingly, your assumptions needs to be altered to take that effect into account, in my view.
I would recommend taking the eye for talent racial alternate feature. The 1/d rage cicle for refreshing rage powers can save you and that skill bonus comes handy for the money wich is always a plus. Pick a Nodachi (the 1d10, 18-20/*2 one not sure about the name). And you are set.
Humbly,
Yawar
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When I said barbarians get extra attacks early and often, I was thinking of rage powers you can take that give natural attacks (claw/bite/gore) starting at level 2, well before BAB giving extra attacks at level 6. I wasn't counting on anything from wizards or other players, though I won't complain if that happens, too.
As for HP being higher in home games, I'm not sure why that would be. As you say, it may mean people are cheating. Or I've seen house rules that allow rerolling a 1 for HP or stuff like that.
But barbarians get the best HP to begin with, and most are invulnerable ragers which provides plenty of damage reduction. I think most of us agree that 15 con is the min for a barbarian (for Raging Vitality, if nothing else), so I think barbarians should have enough HP without having to go all the way to 18 con.
As for getting extra rage from a high con, that's only one or two rounds, and it doesn't increase with level. I'd rather have the strength higher than constitution, to make every round of battle count. As I said, if I was starting over, I'd probably go with the Extra Rage feat - those 6 extra rounds are worth a lot more than 1 or 2 extra from boosting your Con. Like Cleave, though, it's a feat that will be less useful at higher levels. But as you say, with a level cap of 12, those lower levels are a greater percentage of your character's active life span, so things that are only useful at low level might be more worthwhile than in a home game.
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Why boost int? That's a dump stat for barbarians.Because you needs skills to solve faction missions and accumulate "prestige" in PFS; fail to, and you'll be waiting a long time to be able to upgrade any of your equipment to +2.
I'm not sold on Raging Vitality as a feat for one.Take it, or you're going to die. Go neg without it while raging, and you are screwed, screwed, screwed unless you're a half-orc collecting racial feats.
But what people tend to forget when looking at a PFS character is that by the time you hit 6th level? Half your game sessions with that character are OVER.
Not true; you can start playing "slow-track" (half xp/half money) once you plateau your build where you enjoy it; this means it takes six mods to level instead of three.
= = =
Weapons: polarms & Combat Reflexes are your friends; you have fewer feats than a fighter and worse armor-class -- so get in some free shots. If you're a human barbarian, Combat Reflexes and EWP:Fauchard can result in just as much, if not more damage output than Power Attack and Cleave at 1st level.
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I am working on a Armored Hulk/Martial artist with the Crane style feat chain. He will be monk heavy barbarian light and nothing like a typical barbarian or monk. He will be decent damage multi attack tank at level 2. Slow... not much need to good cha, dex, wis, or int, all str and con. I think I would only tank 1 stat. and start with an 18 str and a 16 con. (human or half ork). I think he may be loosing to much to run well. But our group needs a low level tank. Any other interesting martial artist/barbarian combinations? I do like the Gnome titan mauler/Martial artist silly but could be fun.
Don't the alignment restrictions make a monk/barbarian hybrid impossible?