5E Sword and Board Barbarian Advice

[blackbloodtroll]

First time playing 5E, and hoping to go with a fun concept for me.

Basically: Human, Barbarian, Sword and Shield.

I really don't know how to effectively build a PC yet, so I was wondering if anyone can give me any advice.

[Kalshane]

Take Shield Master for your human bonus feat. When you're raging, you get advantage on Strength checks, which includes the Strength (Athletics) check to shove with your shield. Use the Bonus Action shove to knock opponents down and then attack them with advantage while they're prone. (I played such a character in a short game and he was a lot of fun.)

The damage reduction while raging combined with the extra AC from a shield will make you very tanky. If you want to really play up the tankiness, go Bear Totem at 3rd level to extend your damage reduction to everything except psychic.

ETA: Also, I would say prioritize Con over Dex (though don't neglect the latter.) Con gives you both AC and HP. If you've got a 14 or better Dex, Strength followed by Con should be your focus for your ASIs. A Con of 20 and Dex of 14 will give you the same AC as Halfplate, which is the best non-magical armor you can wear and still rage.

[Jiggy]

blackbloodtroll wrote:

First time playing 5E...

I really don't know how to effectively build a PC yet, so I was wondering if anyone can give me any advice.

Fortunately, the "floor" for 5E characters is pretty high, so I'd relax and just explore the system. You won't accidentally make a bad character like you can in Pathfinder, unless you try to pull something convoluted right off the bat.

[Kalshane]

Jiggy wrote:

blackbloodtroll wrote:

First time playing 5E...

I really don't know how to effectively build a PC yet, so I was wondering if anyone can give me any advice.

Fortunately, the "floor" for 5E characters is pretty high, so I'd relax and just explore the system. You won't accidentally make a bad character like you can in Pathfinder, unless you try to pull something convoluted right off the bat.

There is that. There's a lot less "trap" options in 5E. The only way to really screw up is by careless multi-classing (since ASIs are tied to class level rather than character level, you need to be sure taking a side trip into another class is worth delaying those), taking a feat you can't use or dumping the prime stat of the class.

[Irontruth]

Your ability priorities are Con -> Dex -> Str

I've actually thought about this build and I would have made it if my previous character hadn't already been a barbarian. It's incredibly resilient. Con adds to your AC just as fast as Dex, but raging doubles your HP effectively, meaning Con is your #1. You want to maximize the effectiveness of your Resistance to damage, focus on defenses to avoid hits, so that the few that get through, barely do anything.

If you have a bard or paladin in the group, a Heroism spell on you will be amazing if you're in a position to take the brunt of all damage.

The 3rd level Bear totem ability extends your Resistance to all damage types except Psychic.

[Kalshane]

Irontruth wrote:

Your ability priorities are Con -> Dex -> Str

I've actually thought about this build and I would have made it if my previous character hadn't already been a barbarian. It's incredibly resilient. Con adds to your AC just as fast as Dex, but raging doubles your HP effectively, meaning Con is your #1. You want to maximize the effectiveness of your Resistance to damage, focus on defenses to avoid hits, so that the few that get through, barely do anything.

Why would you take Dex over Strength? You don't get your Rage damage bonus with finesse weapons. So you'll be attacking with your third-best stat, meaning less hits and less damage. I suppose if your entire goal is to stand out front and just draw enemy fire it makes sense, but if you're not dishing out any damage, at some point the baddies are just going to ignore you.

[SmiloDan]

I would probably go Con -> Str -> Dex, but even if you go the other way, you have advantage on Strength (Athletics) checks with your shield slam, and then you (and your allies in melee with your opponent) have advantage on attack rolls against your prone opponent.

[Irontruth]

Kalshane wrote:

Irontruth wrote:

Your ability priorities are Con -> Dex -> Str

I've actually thought about this build and I would have made it if my previous character hadn't already been a barbarian. It's incredibly resilient. Con adds to your AC just as fast as Dex, but raging doubles your HP effectively, meaning Con is your #1. You want to maximize the effectiveness of your Resistance to damage, focus on defenses to avoid hits, so that the few that get through, barely do anything.

Why would you take Dex over Strength? You don't get your Rage damage bonus with finesse weapons. So you'll be attacking with your third-best stat, meaning less hits and less damage. I suppose if your entire goal is to stand out front and just draw enemy fire it makes sense, but if you're not dishing out any damage, at some point the baddies are just going to ignore you.

If you want to make a primary damage dealer, you shouldn't go sword+board. You'd want to use a 2-handed weapon so you get a bigger damage die.

You can always wear Gauntlets of Ogre Power.

The damage bonus really isn't that big. It's useful, but it's not huge. If you're rolling a d12 for damage dice, the variation on the die is going to be the strongest determinant of whether you drop an enemy or not.

I can't find a single option in the game that lets you sacrifice 2 damage per hit to get +3 AC. It's actually a pretty powerful option in this regard.

[Petty Alchemy]

I'd go Str > Con > Dex, you'll still be very tanky. If you do go full turtle, you should probably take the Wolf Totem so you'll be more useful to your allies.