So, I am considering a Barbarian and would like to take advantage of Horizon Walker (probably just a 3 level jaunt) for the Terrain Dominance that gets you immunity to Fatigue and Exhaustion.
I'm pretty sure this will let me abuse some once per Rage powers while also getting me some decent extra Class Skills and allowing for more precise use of Rage in general. If I'm wrong here, please point it out to me. :)
So, I have a few questions:
I have considered a 3 level dip to Ranger to pick up the Endurance req for free and get a bonus feat, which could be either Rapid Shot (to have a little ranged game) or just grabbing PA or Cleave a little later than usual. I don't see the latter being much an issue, as I will still be a pretty good striker at low level just having a huge STR and whipping around a greatsword. Is this worth the loss/delay of some of the best Rage Powers?
And, also, what are some of the best Rage Powers to abuse, considering the possibility of activating Rage multiple times per encounter at both lower level and high?
It will be in a game allowing pretty much all Paizo material, including APG and Cheliax books for sure. No 3.5. We are likely going w/ 25 PB.
Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!
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I wouldn't recommend a dip into Ranger just for endurance, as you can pick that up at 5th level with your regular feat just fine, and get more rage powers, especially the higher level ones which require levels of barbarian (Mighty Swing comes to mind). Besides, Horizon Walker has some neat tricks, so you may want more than three levels of it.
Awesome once-per-rage powers I can come up with:
Mighty Swing
Clear Mind
No Escape (No one could ever get away from you)
Unexpected Strike
Awesome ones from the APG:
Knockdown
Flesh Wound
One to avoid: Moment of Clarity. If you can't figure out why, I'm not telling you.
I'm getting bad flashbacks to the WotC boards. Just hope that Paizo won't bring back the Ur-Priest in their next books…
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I wouldn't consider 3 level "dip" into a non-raging class just to get an immunity to two stati that "op". Yes, you are able to spam lots of rage powers, mighty swing comes to mind, but you still e.g get only one free action per round, so only one crit confirm per turn. Furthermore, by taking Endurance and delaying your rage power progression, you effectively oust yourself from the last few barbarian abilities and weaken existing ones that are tied to level progression, like Witch Hunter and Rolling Dodge. No getting Come and Get Me in an AP!
Whatever floats one's boat. I think getting greater rage as early as possible far outweighs meandering around in prestige classes.
Unless you are an Oracle of Lore. Because raging librarians rock.
I wouldn't consider 3 level "dip" into a non-raging class just to get an immunity to two stati that "op". Yes, you are able to spam lots of rage powers, mighty swing comes to mind, but you still e.g get only one free action per round, so only one crit confirm per turn. Furthermore, by taking Endurance and delaying your rage power progression, you effectively oust yourself from the last few barbarian abilities and weaken existing ones that are tied to level progression, like Witch Hunter and Rolling Dodge. No getting Come and Get Me in an AP!
Whatever floats one's boat. I think getting greater rage as early as possible far outweighs meandering around in prestige classes.
Unless you are an Oracle of Lore. Because raging librarians rock.
I don't see anything in the rules that limits the number of Free Actions per turn, that is kinda the point of Free Actions. If that were true, a character couldn't speak and drop a weapon in the same turn or such. Indeed, there are clear places in the rules that show that Free Actions are not limited to a per round, such as Quick Draw allowing you to take iterative attacks with non-ammo thrown weapons like daggers or throwing axes.
There is the limit of only one Swift/Immediate Action per turn, but not all of the once per rage powers are Swift/Immediate, some are special attacks or one time bonuses.
Waiting 3 more levels for Come and Get Me is really my only serious concern with the notion. I'm weighing that against the fact that the 3 level dip essentially gets me Tireless Rage at L9, but better because it gives true immunity to those conditions.
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I wouldn't consider 3 level "dip" into a non-raging class just to get an immunity to two stati that "op". Yes, you are able to spam lots of rage powers, mighty swing comes to mind, but you still e.g get only one free action per round, so only one crit confirm per turn. Furthermore, by taking Endurance and delaying your rage power progression, you effectively oust yourself from the last few barbarian abilities and weaken existing ones that are tied to level progression, like Witch Hunter and Rolling Dodge. No getting Come and Get Me in an AP!
Whatever floats one's boat. I think getting greater rage as early as possible far outweighs meandering around in prestige classes.
Unless you are an Oracle of Lore. Because raging librarians rock.
I don't see anything in the rules that limits the number of Free Actions per turn, that is kinda the point of Free Actions. If that were true, a character couldn't speak and drop a weapon in the same turn or such. Indeed, there are clear places in the rules that show that Free Actions are not limited to a per round, such as Quick Draw allowing you to take iterative attacks with non-ammo thrown weapons like daggers or throwing axes.
There is the limit of only one Swift/Immediate Action per turn, but not all of the once per rage powers are Swift/Immediate, some are special attacks or one time bonuses.
Waiting 3 more levels for Come and Get Me is really my only serious concern with the notion. I'm weighing that against the fact that the 3 level dip essentially gets me Tireless Rage at L9, but better because it gives true immunity to those conditions.
More importantly, swift actions wouldn't exist since the only difference between a swift action and a free action is that you can only do one swift action per turn.
Ugh, I admit error, there was some confusion since I've been restricting myself to one free action for a whole campaign now. You can only do a Quickened Turning as a free action once every turn and that's the only free action which I've needed.
Whoo, hypercorrection.
Just to be clear, I wasn't trying to jump on ya for that. The clarification just seemed somewhat pertinent to the discussion as, if Free Actions were limited it would be pretty crappy to pick up the immunity in the first place. :)