I'm trying to create an undead barbarian/sorcerer as an NPC. Don't ask why. Are there any feats or character options that make this work? My chief worry is that undead don't have Con scores, so an undead barbarian is only getting some of the normal benefits of raging. Can a sorcerer cast spells while raging (i.e., does it require 'patience and concentration'?). If not, is there something that would allow such spellcasting? Thanks.
I'm trying to create an undead barbarian/sorcerer as an NPC. Don't ask why. Are there any feats or character options that make this work? My chief worry is that undead don't have Con scores, so an undead barbarian is only getting some of the normal benefits of raging.
Undead Barbarian is VERY BAD idea. By RAW Undeads are immune to all morale effects and Rage grants morale bonus to Strength, Constitution and Will saves. AC penalty is not morale effect and thus still apply. Which means that Undead Barbarian gets -2 to AC and ability to use Rage powers but don't get any bonuses and still can't make any actions that require patience and concentration.
I think that actual intention was that the Rage ability as a whole should be be morale effect and thus Undeads could neither benefit from it nor suffer any penalties.Can a sorcerer cast spells while raging (i.e., does it require 'patience and concentration'?). If not, is there something that would allow such spellcasting? Thanks.
Spellcasting is primary example of things that you can't do while raging. There was some sort of prestige class that allowed casting spells while raging back in 3.0 or 3.5.
There is rage power Moment Of Clarity that can be used once per rage as a swift action that negates benefits and drawbacks of rage for single round.You should also check Rage Prophet class. It is Barbarian/Oracle hybrd but tweaking it to work with Barbarian/Sorcerer should be doable.
Spellcasting absolutely requires concentration (Recall that there is an entire spellcasting mechanic that revolves around exactly that. If a caster's concentration is disrupted, he will ruin his casting attempt.) There are a few patches that may help, however.
The first and most obvious is simply playstyle. Cast the most important spells, such as combat buffs, before combat starts. While he probably doesn't always know when combat is coming, he can certainly try to be an active character. He attempts to ambush foes and fight on his own terms. If he gets attacked when he's not prepared, his goal is to withdraw rather than fight at a disadvantage.
As far as actual game mechanics go, you'll want the "moment of clarity" rage power. It allows you to have a single round mid-rage in which you can take actions that require concentration, but the round still counts against your rage time limit. Essentially, this means that your NPC can use this power to cast a single spell during his rage (or two if he also has quicken spell). If it seems limited, that's because it is. Make that one spell count.
If you're willing to be flexible with your character concept, check out the Rage Prophet prestige class. It is designed to multiclass Barbarian and Oracle. Oracles cast divine spells, but they are spontaneous casters like the sorcerer, so it preserves part of your concept. The class is an interesting hybrid and the simplest way to create a spellcasting barbarian.
Edit: Drejk beat me to the punch and also noted the lack of synergy between undead and the benefits of rage. I hadn't thought about that, but it looks to be true by RAW. I don't think it's unreasonable to house rule that an intelligent undead could benefit from morale bonuses, however.
Good to know. Looks like I'm going with fighter/sorcerer then.