Guts from Berserk

[RaizielDragon]

How is +8 Str causing +6 att/dmg?

You can't use haste as an example as to why Barbarians get an extra attack if they can't innately haste themselves. Whatever method a Barbarian would use to get Haste, a Fighter could also use, so they would be equal in that respect. In fact, if you tried to use it, the extra damage a Fighter has over a Barbarian would mean that extra attack puts a Fighter even MORE ahead of the Barbarian.

As I said, while Barbarians have some tricks to get extra attacks, it's normally at the cost of what little defensive advantage they had over a Fighter. And Fighters have lots of extra feats to build around AoO if they wanted to.

How does a Barbarian have a better attack bonus than a Fighter? And what "similar feat" is "not as good"?

[Lune]

RaizielDragon: When wielding a two-handed weapon how much Str do you add?

Barbarian gets greater advantage out of haste because he gets more damage out of each hit (and typically at a higher to hit bonus).

To be clear no one is saying that Barbarians are superior in all ways to a fighter (though generally speaking they are a more powerful option) or that for such a character you should only take Barbarian levels. For my part I would build it with 2-5 levels of Fighter (depending on how important extra feats, Weapon Specialization and Weapon Training are to you) and the rest Barbarian. I would put the first two levels into Fighter then get to Barbarian 10 ASAP, then back to Fighter for however many levels you think is important.

But, mostly I do not think Guts can be done correctly without Barbarian levels.

[RaizielDragon]

Ah. I was forgetting the extra 50% damage from a 2-handed weapon; my bad :) That still doesn't get them the extra att though, so it would be more like +4att/+6dmg.

That does catch the Barbarian up a bit though. Fighters can still be at +2 damage over that, assuming they took both Specialization Feats, and +1 attack if they took Greater Weapon Focus, but that's only with one kind of weapon, while the Barbarian is only getting it while raging, so I suppose it's a bit of a toss-up there.

I'm still not seeing where you are getting that Barbarians are more accurate than Fighters though. Is there an assumed rage power I'm missing?

EDIT: Nevermind. I assume it's Reckless Abandon. Which goes back to my point about Barbarians giving up survivability to help catch up in the DPR department. Plus, the two-handed fighter has Backswing and Greater Power Attack to increase his DPR even more.

[Kazaan]

If you can find a way to fit it in, Improved Eldritch Heritage(Abyssal) for the Str bonus would be very fitting for Gatsu. But I've always felt that the Pathfinder system just couldn't do him justice, unless you came up with a custom archetype. That having been said, the major difference between Fighters and Barbs is staying power. Barbs are stronger so long as they have Rage available, but once that runs out, they are sub-par compared to a Fighter. So, the longer the fight drags out, the more the Fighter shines. But, of course, if you combine the two...

I'd say Gatsu is best represented by a Gestalt of Titan Fighter and Invulnerable Rager. Titan fighter gives him the staying power of a Fighter combined with the oversized weapon capability, effectively allowing him a Large Greatsword, since his weapon was supposed to be so big that no normal man could wield it (a normal man can use a Large BS with a penalty). Invulnerable Rager gives him the trademark damage resistance. If you can, try to get IEH(Abyssal) as a bonus feat, sans prereqs on the basis that it is more like a curse than a boon (ie. no prereqs, but it attracts evil spirits).

[Charon's Little Helper]

In terms of pure DPR - Fighter beats Barbarian due to Weapon Training - especially once they grab Gloves of Dueling.

It's the Barbarian Rage Powers which give them the edge over Fighters as a class. Pounce doesn't affect official DPR - but it sure jacks up damage in an actual game. Spell Sunder & Superstition keep them from being enemy caster hand-puppets. etc.

However - in terms of raw DPR - Fighter > Barbarian. (not that Fighter is king of DPR even among pure martials - that would probably go to a TWF Samurai - Order of the Green)

[Heretek]

Charon's Little Helper wrote:

TWF Samurai - Order of the Green)

I'd be curious to see this.

[Laiho Vanallo]

Darksol the Painbringer wrote:

@ Laiho Vanallo: Courageous no longer works the way you think it does. Relevant FAQ that shows errata.

Secondly, Whirlwind Attack requires 2 feats outside of what the character should otherwise go for. Combat Expertise can fit Guts, but Spring Attack? No way.

Lastly, Whirlwind Attack isn't particularly effective for this character, even with Lunge. Although I understand that Guts has incredible Reach with his weapon, that cannot be properly emulated with a Sword, because most all Reach weapons are Polearms.

Cleave also isn't particularly effective, primarily because you would need Dwarf-specific feats to be able to properly clear enemies all around you.

Yeah I was really going for the theme less than the usefulness.

Thank you for the FAQ on courageous.

I wonder how to make the arm cannon and arm mounted repeating crossbow a reality?