Is there a good way to make an educated Barbarian?


Advice


Okay, so perhaps the title sounds like a bit of an oxymoron, but I have the imagine in my mind of a well educated person who goes into a rage when their life or the lives of those they care about are threatened. Something like Prince Jalan from the Red Queen's War series by Mark Lawrence, who is a complete coward and as well educated as a Prince who only cares about money and women can be, but blacks out and goes full Barbarian rage when his life is threatened.


I simply say don't dump intelligence and charisma, and maybe take some traits (or even the cosmopolitan feat) to give you more skill options.
Really, rage allows you to get away with lower strength and con scores and still be effective, so I can see this working. It's mostly just about roleplay, and it'll certainly be more interesting than a barbarian that just speaks in all caps.


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Human

Problem solved


Rogar and Jerden have the right of it.

A human barbarian with 12 int has 6 skill points per level. 7 if you put your FCB in skills or take Cunning at some point. 8 if you do both.

That plus traits for some more class skills and you've got a pretty solid package.


A lore warden fighter or a slayer with a barb level or 2? Daring champ cavalier or swashbuckler with a dip into bloodrager? There's more than one way to go here.


Urban barbarian might fit the theme.


Investigator with Variant Multiclass Barbarian.


Bloodrager can also work as a dip to get Rage (actually Bloodrage) onto spellcasters -- get the Mad Magic feat. (Technically you can also do this with Barbarian or even VMC Barbarian, but the Rage Power tax is hurtful for the former and a killer for the latter. I would mention the Rage Prophet prestige class, but it is rather bad, among other things requiring the same Rage Power tax.)


Urban Barbarian gets less wild skills, more civilization skills. I've used the archetype to make a princess with anger issues character.

RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32

I played an elven barbarian in a PbP once. He was a proper "British" gentleman, he just wielded an elven curveblade and raged in combat. It was a weird campaign where we all randomly played "British" elves.

He has a 12 Int, I think, and was a weird version of elf that got Stealth as a class skill, and played pretty much like a wilderness scout-type, but fought like a barbarian. But he easily could have dropped a few skill ranks in Knowledges. But I really like highly mobile combatants, so I put ranks in Acrobatics, Climb, Perception, Stealth, and Survival, I think. I took the rage powers Raging Leaper and Greater Raging Leaper, and the feat Vital Strike, and the alternate racial Favored Class Bonus to speed, so I could "Spring Attack" and Vital Strike for 2d10+6 or more...

Grand Lodge

Professor Barbarian from the University of Hard Knocks. He has tenure.

"The lack of peer reviewed literature in this thesis is unacceptable!" [Rage]


Balancer wrote:

Professor Barbarian from the University of Hard Knocks. He has tenure.

"The lack of peer reviewed literature in this thesis is unacceptable!" [Rage]

Gods help you if you quote Wikipedia as a source.


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ANY GOOD BARBARIAN HAVE PHD IN ENGINEERING.

KNOWING WHICH COLUMNS HOLD UP ENTIRE TOWER AM MAKING FOR MIGHTYFINE SUNDER CHECKS.


Welcome back to A.M. Barbarian, the only NPR-affiliate with all barbarian talk all the time.


As mentioned, between how you play the character and the skills to back things up, your barbarian can be the brains of the party. Even wilderness skills can be fluffed as mostly book learning.

Speaking of which, one nice way to flavour it is to go book-heavy. Be the party scribe! Profession skills aren't really considered max, but why not?


AM NOT "AM BARBARIAN," BUT AM DIFFERENT BARBARIAN, AND BARBARIAN AM ALREADY "EH-JOO-KAY-TEHD" ON ONE THING: HOW TO SMASH.

IF BARBARIAN AM KNOW HOW TO SMASH, THEN BARBARIAN AM ALREADY "EH-JOO-KAY-TEHD" ENOUGH. OTHER THINGS AM JUST ICING ON BARBARIAN PANCAKES THAT BARBARIAN AM MAKE HIMSELF FROM ART OF SMASHING.


AM DIFFERENT BARBARIAN wrote:

AM NOT "AM BARBARIAN," BUT AM DIFFERENT BARBARIAN, AND BARBARIAN AM ALREADY "EH-JOO-KAY-TEHD" ON ONE THING: HOW TO SMASH.

IF BARBARIAN AM KNOW HOW TO SMASH, THEN BARBARIAN AM ALREADY "EH-JOO-KAY-TEHD" ENOUGH. OTHER THINGS AM JUST ICING ON BARBARIAN PANCAKES THAT BARBARIAN AM MAKE HIMSELF FROM ART OF SMASHING.

Yep, that's Profession (cook) there. Barbarian pastry chef, anyone?

RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32

Qaianna wrote:
AM DIFFERENT BARBARIAN wrote:

AM NOT "AM BARBARIAN," BUT AM DIFFERENT BARBARIAN, AND BARBARIAN AM ALREADY "EH-JOO-KAY-TEHD" ON ONE THING: HOW TO SMASH.

IF BARBARIAN AM KNOW HOW TO SMASH, THEN BARBARIAN AM ALREADY "EH-JOO-KAY-TEHD" ENOUGH. OTHER THINGS AM JUST ICING ON BARBARIAN PANCAKES THAT BARBARIAN AM MAKE HIMSELF FROM ART OF SMASHING.

Yep, that's Profession (cook) there. Barbarian pastry chef, anyone?

In 2nd Edition, I DMed for a ranger with 3 Non-Weapon Proficiency Slots spent on Cooking.

That's equivalent to having 4 or 5 Stacking Skill Focuses!!!!

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