I've got a duel short sword wielding barbarian whose weak in Strength (13) but high in Dexterity (17). She wants to know if there's a way to add your Dexterity modifier to your Strength modifier for damage dealing purposes?
I've got a duel short sword wielding barbarian whose weak in Strength (13) but high in Dexterity (17). She wants to know if there's a way to add your Dexterity modifier to your Strength modifier for damage dealing purposes?
No.
Give up on the build and try a new character. That one is not going to work. Abandon all hope ye who dual wield with a low strength
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You see that part that says Barbarian? Rage at 1st level pops that 13 up to 17. Add Power Attack for a little more damage.
And the higher Dexterity will keep Armor Class higher than it normally would for a raging barbarian, as well as increase Reflex saves, ranged attacks, and some useful skills.
I say go for it, even if you can't add both modifiers to your damage!
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Yes, you can do it. Book of Nine Swords. Take a level dip in Swordsage and take the Shadowblade feat or take two feats (Shadow Blade and it's preq. (I forget the name at the moment.)
Hi....Redlands here too! You part of a group? I am looking for a game to play in. I have been playing 4e and enjoy it...but looking to get back to a more classic feel of D&D like Pathfinder. I have the Core Rules so far. I am a 42 yr old gamer with a bunch of kids and one wife...hope to hear from you.
Dan (dcfitch@verizon.net)
Yes, you can do it. Book of Nine Swords. Take a level dip in Swordsage and take the Shadowblade feat or take two feats (Shadow Blade and it's preq. (I forget the name at the moment.)
Or take a level in Jedi Knight and acquire the Ataru fighting style ;)
Seriously, though. Barbarians are mediocre at best when it comes to dual wielding, as they have too few feats to achieve maximum efficiency there. And if you want to dual-wield effectively, you only need as much Dex as is necessary to gain all feats, but first and foremost, you need all the strength you can get.
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Also, if you want to get some extra mileage out of your fighting style, check out the "Whirling Frenzy" variant of rage from the PHB2.
Here's my whirling frenzy barb, though as you can see he's only barely a "barbarian."
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Also, if you want to get some extra mileage out of your fighting style, check out the "Whirling Frenzy" variant of rage from the PHB2.
Here's my whirling frenzy barb, though as you can see he's only barely a "barbarian."
I use that variant whenever I play a barbarian. So much fun, unless you get pinned down, but WTH nobody's perfect. :D
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Seriously, though. Barbarians are mediocre at best when it comes to dual wielding, as they have too few feats to achieve maximum efficiency there. And if you want to dual-wield effectively, you only need as much Dex as is necessary to gain all feats, but first and foremost, you need all the strength you can get.
I don't know about that, my wife plays an Viking inspired barbarian in my Rise of the Runelords campaign, and she's been doing just fine with a dual wielding build. She's using the Invulnerable Rager archetype from the APG, and has gone the route of Dual wielding with a longsword and shield bash combination (Lvl 6, currently Str 18, Dex 16). At level 6 she has 2 attacks with her sword, one off hand shield bash, and a relatively high AC of 24(Breastplate +1, Heavy Shield, Dex +3, Dodge +1, Ring of Pro +1). So far she's proven to be a successful damage dealer and a front line tank.
Feats haven' tbeen a problem: Human-Two weapon fighting, 1st shield bash, 3rd, Dodge, 5th 2 weapon rend.
8th level her dex will bump up so she can get Imp. two weapon at 9th.
Is it "optimal" no, is it effective within the context of the campaign? Very much so.
Is it "optimal" no, is it effective within the context of the campaign? Very much so.
Quoted because I like that approach to the game
There is an elf only prestige class in RoTW that adds dex to damage and has some barbarian flavor as well as a battle cry mechanic that might be an option for this player.
Seriously, though. Barbarians are mediocre at best when it comes to dual wielding, as they have too few feats to achieve maximum efficiency there. And if you want to dual-wield effectively, you only need as much Dex as is necessary to gain all feats, but first and foremost, you need all the strength you can get.I don't know about that, my wife plays an Viking inspired barbarian in my Rise of the Runelords campaign, and she's been doing just fine with a dual wielding build. She's using the Invulnerable Rager archetype from the APG, and has gone the route of Dual wielding with a longsword and shield bash combination (Lvl 6, currently Str 18, Dex 16). At level 6 she has 2 attacks with her sword, one off hand shield bash, and a relatively high AC of 24(Breastplate +1, Heavy Shield, Dex +3, Dodge +1, Ring of Pro +1). So far she's proven to be a successful damage dealer and a front line tank.
Feats haven' tbeen a problem: Human-Two weapon fighting, 1st shield bash, 3rd, Dodge, 5th 2 weapon rend.
8th level her dex will bump up so she can get Imp. two weapon at 9th.
Is it "optimal" no, is it effective within the context of the campaign? Very much so.
Is she wearing stat-enhancing items?
18 STR 16 DEX is very very good for any dual-wielding build. Since she's human, maybe +2 in STR from human, so if she's not wearing a +2 Strength belt then she's got a 20 point buy tied up just in her STR and DEX alone.
(I'll also assume you meant Double Slice there, since Two-Weapon Rend requires feats she doesn't have)
Also, if you want to get some extra mileage out of your fighting style, check out the "Whirling Frenzy" variant of rage from the PHB2.
Here's my whirling frenzy barb, though as you can see he's only barely a "barbarian."
Is that the same as whirling frenzy from Unearthed Arcana or did they change it in PHB2?