discussion about unchained barbarian

[dead raven]

ok i have few things to say.

the first one is the Necessity to create a separate section in the unchained barbarian's rage powers for the "stance rage powers" because its pretty difficult to find them (someone need to reed All the powers) and some of them do not have the "stance" in their name, they got it just in the description, in other cases it is not clear if we are talking of a simple rage power or of a stance (this is a problem because the stance needs a muvement action to be activated, usually simple rage powers not, and the stance grants a costant bonus, rage powers not always)
Frankly this is particularly annoying and discourages using the unchained barbarian.

After this i want to put in evidence the new rage mechanism:
with the new rage comes a new type of modifier for the barbarian that i'll call "standard" from this moment on.
ok this is the point...

with the old modifier (x bonus to strenght/const.) the barbarian gained a bonus to attack rolls and damages, the "standard" modifier would be equivalent to it, but it's not.
an old barbarian with a rage modifier +4 strenght would gain +2 on attacks and damages exactly as the new "standard" modifier +2, But the old one gains more benefits, in fact if he used a two handed weapon he would gain +2 on attack rols and +3 on damages, the new "standard" gain always a +2.
More levels gain the barbarian, more powerfull become its rage, and the difference between the two styles,in the case of two handed weapons, become more obvious.
the old barbarian gained also the benefits of a true increase of strenght, like the bonus on combat manuvres, the bonus on skills, the bonus on weight carried / dragged / raised and all the stuff based on strenght, the new "standard" one not.
the old barbarian's rage gained also a benefit to constitution, the new "standard" only +2 hit points per level...
exactly as for the strenght, true increment to constitution give benefits not only to hit points, but also on every checks based on constitution and (let me say considerable) a bonus on Fortitude Saves.

now... the barbarian is not an outstanding class, its has some problems as everyones has, the unchained solved some of that problems and i really like it... but the new rage "standard" bonuses are really crap.
for what i've read i understood that the new "standard" bonuses are born to be easier to use but they are greatly penalized in concrete.
So why make them officially effective?
we could create an optional and fast rule for the rage for anyone willing to use it, but we could leave the old rule with its old increments to characteristics for players and DMs who want to use it.

[dead raven]

oh... i'm sorry about my english guys, i know it's not perfect
but I tried to do my best, i hope you'll understand the point.

[Pseudos]

Not going to lie, I made a hybrid of the two using the features I thought a true barbarian deserved, with none of the dumbing down that they tried to do. I can post if if you want.

Basically, use the new stances and powers(some old powers are okay, don't stack) with the old barbarian, and use the new one minute cooldown before rage powers reset. It stops the old rage cheese at 17th level, and the stances are now actually worth taking. I'm still a fan of the old Hp that you lose when you pass out, but feel free to use the new temp hp.

[Ciaran Barnes]

I'm a big fan of the new rage (partially cause its only a bit different from a rage rewrite I did last year). A bonus to attack, etc. instead of bonuses to strength and constitution does a few things. It allows for a barbarian dexterity-based build. It encourages a player to actually do something other that wield a giant two-handed weapon. It ends the "rage ends, I'm dead" curse that has plagued the class for too long. You loose out on a point of damage at low levels, and two points of damage at high levels. Not worth crying over.

[Cyrad]

I use the unchained barbarian for my barbarian/alchemist drunken raging fat guy character who throws bottles of explosive grog at people. The blanket bonus to thrown weapons applies to splash weapons, so I can't wait until I start getting levels in alchemist.

[Ciaran Barnes]

Explosions get furious too, apparently.

[dead raven]

Thanks for the answers guys, i must admit that "Ciaran Barnes" is right... new rage allows dexterity based builds.

I'm here now to report a little bug i found tooday in the barbarian's unchained rage powers...
Explain this plese:

1) Accurate Stance (Ex): The barbarian can focus her strikes. She gains a +1 competence bonus on melee attack rolls and thrown weapon attack rolls. This bonus increases by 1 for every 4 levels the barbarian has. This is a stance rage power.

2)Reckless Stance (Ex): The barbarian can attack with abandon at the expense of her defense. She gains a +1 bonus on attack rolls, but takes a –1 penalty to AC. This bonus and penalty increase by 1 at 4th level and every 4 levels thereafter. This is a stance rage power.

Those rage powers give the same bonuses for melee attack rolls... the first one also Boost the trown weapon attack roll and the second one give a Malus to AC.
Why someone must choose the second one?