Just for giggles, my group sometimes does "theme" groups running through an adventure, typically with the build of: Full-caster Offense, Half-Caster, Pseudo-caster (4/9), Ranged Martial, Melee Martial, Supporter
We've done:
Holy League of America - Cleric, Warpriest, Paladin, Inquisitor, Divine Hunter Warrior of Holy Light, Holy Guide Holy Tactician Warrior of Holy Light Paladin
Captain Planet and the Asskickers: Druid, Hunter, Ranger, Skirmisher Ranger, Wild Child Brawler, Beast Rider Cavalier
Arcane Avengers: Arcanist, Magus, Bloodrager, Myrmidarch Magus, Synthesist Summoner, Bard
League Of Ordinary Gentlemen: Alchemist, Investigator, Counterfeit Mage Rogue, Guide Skirmisher Ranger, Slayer, Standard-Bearer Cavalier/Sensei Monk/Battle Herald
Crouching Tigers: Qinggong Monk, Master of Many Styles/Sacred Fist, Qinggong Monk, Zen Archer, Brawler, Sensei Wanderer Monk
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Now we're thinking of running:
The Rage Brigade: Barbarian/Sorcerer/Dragon Disciple, Barbarian/Warsighted Oracle/Rage Prophet, Bloodrager, Archer Fighter/Stalwart Defender, Invulnerable Rager Barbarian, and then, to round things out, a Skald.
Buuut, the problem is that a Skald typically makes OTHER party members rage along with himself, which is... kinda useless when everyone else has Rage or a Rage-equivalent ability.
So the player who's going to be the Skald wants to be a Spell-Warrior Skald.
I'm not gonna say "no" to him, but do I need to worry about him being less effective than a typical Skald, or is he going to be okay with that?
Nah, the Spell Warrior is good. It's not as good as the regular Skald in party comps that are good for the regular Skald, but the regular Skald would be garbage for this team.
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Well the normal Skald would let them rage without using their rage rounds. So if they only had a lv or 2 of barbarian then it's tons of rage for everyone.
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Keep in mind this one particular point.
(Unlike the barbarian's rage ability, those affected are not fatigued after the song ends.)
So your allies can drop in and out of the Raging Song to cast spells as they like at no penalty. Add to that...
If an ally has her own rage class ability (such as barbarian's rage, bloodrager's bloodrage, or skald's inspired rage), she may use the Strength, Constitution, and Will saving throw bonuses, as well as AC penalties, based on her own ability and level instead of those from the skald (still suffering no fatigue afterward).
So you are now spending your own rounds of performance to give every member of your team the ability to use their own rage ability. That's effectively 5 or 6 rounds of rage (does Stalwart Defender count?) for the party for every round you use.
Im, sorry but I'd like to hear more about the Holy League of America! As a paladin player through and through I would love to be in a group like that!
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On top of having an obscene amount of rage with no negative after effects when using the Skald, you can also get fast healing. It won't do a whole lot with some of the party members, but with your invulnerable rager, he'll have his DR as well as the Skald's fast healing when he's under raging song, which means he'll be able to sponge a ton of damage.
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But yeah, a plain jane Skald would actually be awesome for this party. I almost did this once and heavily regretted not doing it when I realized what I could have had.
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I was of the opinion that Skalds were bad for Rage-heavy parties once as well. Then I realized, much as others have noted...
(Unlike the barbarian's rage ability, those affected are not fatigued after the song ends.)
If an ally has her own rage class ability (such as barbarian's rage, bloodrager's bloodrage, or skald's inspired rage), she may use the Strength, Constitution, and Will saving throw bonuses, as well as AC penalties, based on her own ability and level instead of those from the skald (still suffering no fatigue afterward).
So you are now spending your own rounds of performance to give every member of your team the ability to use their own rage ability. That's effectively 5 or 6 rounds of rage (does Stalwart Defender count?) for the party for every round you use.
On top of having an obscene amount of rage with no negative after effects when using the Skald, you can also get fast healing. It won't do a whole lot with some of the party members, but with your invulnerable rager, he'll have his DR as well as the Skald's fast healing when he's under raging song, which means he'll be able to sponge a ton of damage.
Which is just great. Seriously. All of this.
The only way to make it better is to have everyone be half-orc and have someone dip into Cavalier so you can all share Amplified Rage.
Only the cavalier need to meet the prereqs. Also the other players can't use their rage powers is all.
One problem with the standard Skald's song and Barbarians is that while Barbarians can use the Skald's song rounds instead of their own, they cannot use their rage powers while doing so.
One problem with the standard Skald's song and Barbarians is that while Barbarians can use the Skald's song rounds instead of their own, they cannot use their rage powers while doing so.
They get to use his rage powers though. As long as he takes the big ones like reckless abandon and the beast totem stuff, they should be fine. If they REALLY need to use their own powers, they can just choose not to accept his song and rage on their own. Plus, since raging song doesn't fatigue you, he won't have to worry about taking roused anger early on and can get straight into the good stuff.
Yeah... this is all really bad advice. Barbarians get such a surplus of rage it barely even counts as an expendable resource by about fifth level, having more rounds is a net zero gain.
Yeah... this is all really bad advice. Barbarians get such a surplus of rage it barely even counts as an expendable resource by about fifth level, having more rounds is a net zero gain.
It's not about more rounds, really, it's about not getting fatigued. Before you get tireless rage, you've got two separate bursts of rage with roused anger unless you build around a reliable way to rage cycle. That means you've only got two fights in you before you're exhausted, which means you might have to pick and choose when you're going to rage, depending on how many fights you usually get in per day. You may have a ton of rounds of rage, but it won't matter if you wear yourself out before you use them. The Skald won't have to worry about that though, so you can literally rage all day without worrying.
For example, in a past home brew campaign, we've had to go do our main storyline stuff, go kill some dudes on some boats to prove our loyalty to these people we were trying to sabotage, and then had to resist arrest when we got back to land. For two of those, my lvl 5 barbarian could be a hulked out maniac who could power attack with no consequences. For one of those, he was just a guy who was also tired. If we'd have had a skald he could've been a hulked out, heavy hitting freak for all of them.