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I'm going to be starting an Eberron game soon, and decided to go with shifter as a race (lycanthropic ancestry, wild heritage, all that jazz). Seeing as how some of the new material from Ultimate Combat is on the PFSRD now, I decided to take a look at the Barbarian stuff.
I gotta tell ya, I REALLY like Urban Barbarian. In fact, I think it may be one of my favorite Barbarian Archetypes, mostly because the Tank-barian seems more feasible to me.
So, here's what I've got:
Level 4 Urban Barbarian/Savage Barbarian
20 Point Buy:
-- Strength 12
-- Dexterity 19 (+2 Racial, +1 Level)
-- Constitution 14
-- Intelligence 10
-- Wisdom 13
-- Charisma 10
*Note: We are using a variation of the racial attributes wherein you choose only a single racial attribute bonus and lose the other bonus and penalty.
With Leather Armor and a +1 Shield, and a nifty amulet of natural armor, I'm looking at a 20 AC, bumped up to 24 while Raging and Shifting thanks to some of the Shifter-centric feats. Over the next few levels I'll be looking at a couple more shifter feats to give me another +4 bonus to AC while shifting, picking up the Beast Totem rage power (which are thematic AND functional), and probably Guarded Stance just for a little extra something.
In addition, I'll be looking at grabbing an Agile Rapier in order to actually put out some decent damage, and with Beast Totem eventually granting the Pounce ability, this seems like a pretty decent build. Any thoughts as to ways to either A) Increase my defenses or B) round out the damage a little more?
Make sure to have an Agile Dagger as backup, so when you lose the rapier, you aren't helpless.
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A couple of points:
1) I mean "Tank" in that I'll be really hard to kill, not necessarily able to "draw aggro," in the MMO sense.
2) I left strength that low because once I get my Agile weapon, I'll be adding my sky-high dexterity modifier to my damage rolls.
Yes, but because there's no way to "draw aggro", you need to be putting out enough damage to be seen as a threat. I'm just worried you'll be unhappy with your character up until you can get an agile weapon. Are you hoping to get one almost immediately?
I'd swap your str and con scores and take power attack.
Or check with your DM if pirahna strike is an option.
Even with a one handed weapon, thats +2 damage every 4 levels. Essentially half your level to damage. It'll do a lot for your damage output. Trust me. This will be necessary. High STR is your priority, no matter the build.
What exactly does an agile weapon do, if you dont mind my asking?
Okay, so where does the Agile property come from? I can't seem to find it, and that would be a great idea for a character I'm working on.
Thanks!
Agile weapon adds Dex to damage and is found in the Pathfinder Society Field Guide, iirc
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@Mergy -- Well, right now I'm sitting on some pretty paltry damage, and I won't be getting my agile weapon until level 6 (8k for the weapon, can't spend more than half WBL on a single item). Still, my point is to be hard to kill. I realize I won't be drawing aggression from enemies, but I don't mind that. If my goal is not dying, I figure I should be able to do it pretty well.
@others: As Cheapy said, the Agile Weapon property adds my dexterity modifier to the damage roll of the weapon, which would be pretty awesome given my propensity for high dexterity.
In addition, thanks to the flexibility of the Urban Barbarian archetype, I can always apply my barbarian bonus to Strength if I feel like I need a little extra OOMPH, maybe even pack a spare 2-hander just in case the need arises.
Thanks for all the advice so far. I know I'm REALLY going against traditional optimization, and I thank everyone for your patience with me.
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@Mergy -- Well, right now I'm sitting on some pretty paltry damage, and I won't be getting my agile weapon until level 6 (8k for the weapon, can't spend more than half WBL on a single item). Still, my point is to be hard to kill. I realize I won't be drawing aggression from enemies, but I don't mind that. If my goal is not dying, I figure I should be able to do it pretty well.
@others: As Cheapy said, the Agile Weapon property adds my dexterity modifier to the damage roll of the weapon, which would be pretty awesome given my propensity for high dexterity.
In addition, thanks to the flexibility of the Urban Barbarian archetype, I can always apply my barbarian bonus to Strength if I feel like I need a little extra OOMPH, maybe even pack a spare 2-hander just in case the need arises.
Thanks for all the advice so far. I know I'm REALLY going against traditional optimization, and I thank everyone for your patience with me.
In that case, my one suggestion is to drop your WIS to 12 and increase your STR to 13. That will let you qualify you for Power Attack, which should make you more useful as a damage dealer until you can get your agile weapon, and even after.
Yea, you need Power Attack.
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Urban barbarian grants Perform as a class skill.
-- This is a not-so-subtle hint that multiclassing a level of fighter at 2nd for Dervish Dance would be groovaliscious.
Trade the rapier for a scimitar; and you're good.
(Word on Power Attack: It's an awesome feat that makes you miss -- so don't take it until you have a +1/Furious weapon and a getting well ahead of the your-att/enemy-AC curve. Unless you want to Cleave, or something.)
20 Point Buy:
-- Strength 12
-- Dexterity 19 (+2 Racial, +1 Level)
-- Constitution 14
-- Intelligence 10
-- Wisdom 13
-- Charisma 10
Move the 13 to Strength so you can take Power Attack without leveling the stat, buying a STR+ item, or "splitting" your Controlled Rage. Drop CHA to 8 to put a 12 in INT. Tag & bag.