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I wanted to make a Barbarian who could really tank as well as dish out damage, and I wanted one with a touch of versatility beyond 'SMASH'... I know, I know, sacrilege - but consider this:
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Human Fighter 1 (Unbreakable Fighter) / Barbarian (Invulnerable Rager & Urban Barbarian)
(Human Barbarian favored class option, Heart of the Fields alternative racial trait)
Attributes: (20 point buy)
STR 15 (+2 racial bonus, +1 at 4th, 8th, 12th, 16th and 20th)
INT 14
WIS 12
DEX 14
CON 14
CHA 7
Traits:
Defender of the Society (+1 AC when wearing medium or heavy armor)
Birthmark (+1 Will saves)
Feats:
1st - Power Attack, Furious Focus, Endurance, Diehard
3rd - Deadly Aim
5th - Combat Reflexes
7th - Combat Expertise
9th - Stalwart
11th - Improved Stalwart
13th - Extra Rage Power: Come and Get Me
15th - Extra Rage Power: Increased Damage Resistance
17th - Extra Rage Power: Increased Damage Resistance
19th - Extra Rage Power: Increased Damage Resistance
Rage Powers:
3rd - Superstition
5th - Lesser Beast Totem
7th - Beast Totem
9th - Reckless Abandon
11th - Greater Beast Totem
13th - Guarded Life
15th - Eater of Magic or Greater Guarded Life
17th - Renewed Vigor
19th - Regenerative Vigor
Its really cunning the way this all comes together:
- Combat Expertise, Stalwart and Improved Stalwart combine to grant you a -1 attack penalty and a +2 DR bonus/+4 BAB.
- Reckless Abandon negates the attack penalty, converting it into an AC penalty instead.
- Beast Totem negates that AC penalty.
- Additionally, the Fighter level allows you to wear medium or heavy armor (at a +1 bonus due to trait) and Urban Barbarian removes the -2 AC penalty you normally suffer from raging.
The character wields a reach weapon (a bardiche) and has Combat Reflexes and Come and Get Me to maximize that benefit, but also manifests claws when raging so I can attack adjacent foes without penalty. Pounce is nice too.
The ability to boost Dex instead of Strength combined with Deadly Aim makes the character at least somewhat effective at range.
The Human favored class option really makes Superstition shine when it comes to making saves vs. spells.
The high Intelligence modifier allows for some nice skills.
Damage Resistance by level as built:
1st & 2nd None.
3rd & 4th DR 1/-
5th & 6th DR 2/-
7th & 8th DR 3/-
9th & 10th DR 7/-
11th DR 11/-
12th DR 13/-
13th & 14th DR 14/-
15th DR 16/-
16th DR 18/-
17th & 18th DR 20/-
19th DR 22/-
20th DR 24/-
Damage Resistance is of course doubled against non-lethal damage which Guarded Life and Greater Guarded Life allows you to convert normal damage into if you're reduced below 0 hit points. At the highest levels I'm negating up to 38 points of damage per attack, fast healing 3 hit points/round and automatically stabilizing when I go below 0.
Thoughts?
isn't "flesh wound" rage power or whatever its called also useful with the doubled nonlethal DR?
doesnt diehard from unbreakable fighter already do that? though the extra +2 con while raging is nice.
i can see how that'd be useful.
perhaps consider swapping an increased DR rage power feat for it?
Hmm I guess it does to a certain extent. You have to keep raging just like with raging vitality or else you will lose your raging hit points, but if you fall unconscious you would lose those hit points as per normal rage rules. I'm just suggesting taking it for the extra 2 Con (+1 HP/level) and the ability to use rage even while unconscious to keep from dying to the lose of those hit points.
I'm not 100% sure you get the Constitution bonus as an Urban Barbarian RAW, and since you don't lose hit points when you stop raging, I'm dubious about what the greater benefit would be from Raging Vitality...
I recommend that you swap power attack with the combat reflexes feat, and also swap furious focus with desperate battler.
At low levels you are probably slightly better off with using a guisarme over a bardiche.
So your build assuming guisarme at level 1 your attack routine will be +3 for 2d4 + 3 (PA 2d4 + 6).
If you swap the feats out to Combat Reflexes and Desperate Battler your attack will be +4 for 2d4 + 4 but now you can have up to 4 attacks per round.
Most level 1 enemies will have between 6 or 7 hps so either build you will be just about one shotting everything, however the second build you will have a better hit and potential for up to 4 attacks per round.
Furious focus sucks for a full BAB build because with or without FF you are practically only missing on a 1 even while using PA on your first iterative.
I think that's good advice on Desperate Battler, especially considering its potential synergy with Crowd Control. Your point about full BAB and Furious Focus is well taken - I think I originally took FF because I planned on taking Dreadful Carnage as part of the build but obviously that got cut along the way.
A downside of it is that in my particular case he's going to be playing with an Elven Paladin and the intent was to stand behind her when possible and essentially fight over her head. Not an issue per se with regards to the build itself, just the feat's usefulness to me.
I'm seriously considering moving Combat Reflexes into FF's spot and then at 3rd level taking Extra Rage Power: Auspicious Mark... with the ability to boost any of your physical attributes, I've found it can be an incredibly useful ability in a wide variety of situations. As an aside, I really, really wish I didn't have to switch Crowd Control for Fast Movement... Controlled Rage is a no-brainer as far as I'm concerned but losing Fast Movement hurts, especially if you're planning on wearing medium armor.
How are you getting DR 14/- at 13th-14th i must be missing something here cause im only getting DR 12/-?
I commend you on an interesting and original build!
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With the help of gigner this has become a pretty amazing build. I think i may use this. I'll need to modify slightly because i play pathfinder society so some of the feats are not allowed but the concept is amazing. Huge DR, reach, lunge, and combat reflexes plus having natural weapons just makes this build sound incredibly hard to take down. Awesome build and awesome advice to make this build even better.
I'd try to find a place to put Raging Vitality i.e. the feat tax for barbarians. At least it gives you some more HPs and keeps you alive if you hit the 0HP threshold.
He doesn't need it with Urban barbarian because he doesn't get a con bonus anymore while raging (unless that's the specific stat he wants to raise).
Looking over the build, I like it a lot, and it brings back memories..
* I'd probably pay to retrain out Furious Focus at mid-level (the point at which you'd routinely plow anything on a "2" even while Power Attacking without it); the things you can't nail are so vanishingly rare that it's easier just to not PA in those situations.
* Superstitious I might take a little later to move Lesser Totem up, also aren't really invulnerable yet at low level and will occasionally need in-combat healing; also buffers not always going first yet.
* I'm guessing that archery probably doesn't happen enough for Deadly Aim to be pulling its weight in a general feat slot (if it did, Quick Draw would be better to cycle javelins and the polearm without dropping anything).
* Heart of the Fields is not PFS-legal (I note the character is 20pt-buy and taking Society traits, so I suspect PFS is its intended campaign).