The Birdbarian


Advice


Okay, so this concept is just in it's earliest inception, but I figured I'd see what ideas could get thrown at me.

A human Barbarian, with the House of Green Mothers Pupil trait, can start play at first level with an Animal Companion and a Familiar at full levels equal to their level (character level for Familiar, Barb class level for the Animal Companion).

Animal Companion - Trumpeter Swan
Familiar - Chicken

I don't know how optimal the Swan is, and I know the Chicken is sub-optimal, but dammit, have you seen either of them get mad? I can hardly think of more fitting war beasts for a barbarian.
Is there any 4 level or less dip that would be worth it, as long as it was combined with Boon Companion to keep the Swan up to speed?

The Chicken would have the the Mauler familiar archetype, and I'm considering the Wrecker or Bully animal companion archetypes.

Thanks for any advice.

Dark Archive

I recommend huntmaster cavalier. It would also let you have multiple companions

Silver Crusade

Why not Tengu?

If the point is just to have "birds", I would suggest Roc as animal companion and Hawk as familiar.

A very similar concept can be achieved with a Sacred Huntsmaster Inquisitor with Eagle domain, or a Cleric with Eagle and Animal domains. Tengu would particularly synergize in these cases given the +2 racial bonus to Wisdom.


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Backlash3906 wrote:

I don't know how optimal the Swan is, and I know the Chicken is sub-optimal, but dammit, have you seen either of them get mad? I can hardly think of more fitting war beasts for a barbarian.

You've obviously never run afoul of a peacock

Quote:


Is there any 4 level or less dip that would be worth it, as long as it was combined with Boon Companion to keep the Swan up to speed?

Level 4 in Mad Dog Barbarian will allow your Swan to rage.

Primal Companion Hunter will add Evolutions for 1min/lvl. 3 levels of Divine Hunter will add the Celestial/Fiendish template.

2 levels of Eldritch Guardian Fighter will let your Chicken use your combat feats.


LOL Kitty....pure gold, pure raging feathered, hissing gold!


Gray Warden wrote:

Why not Tengu?

If the point is just to have "birds", I would suggest Roc as animal companion and Hawk as familiar.

A very similar concept can be achieved with a Sacred Huntsmaster Inquisitor with Eagle domain, or a Cleric with Eagle and Animal domains. Tengu would particularly synergize in these cases given the +2 racial bonus to Wisdom.

Human is necessary for bonus feat at level 1 to bring Improved Familiar Bond online without delay.

Roc definitely looks more powerful than the Swan.

Kitty Catoblepas wrote:

You've obviously never run afoul of a peacock

Level 4 in Mad Dog Barbarian will allow your Swan to rage.

Primal Companion Hunter will add Evolutions for 1min/lvl. 3 levels of Divine Hunter will add the Celestial/Fiendish template.

2 levels of Eldritch Guardian Fighter will let your Chicken use your combat feats.

Peacock preserves comedy value, and Intimidate is as nice as extra HP, so I'll put that equal to the chicken. Hawk isn't as funny, but arguably has a more useful Familiar benefit for ranged builds.

Dangit, I meant to include Mad Dog in the opening lines of this thread. Yes, that's core to this build, as I don't know of another archetype that starts the Barbarian with an Animal Companion.

Dark Archive

Human and half orc both have racial abilities that give stat boosts to companions and familiars


Halflings can get a boost to companions & familiars too via the caretaker alternate racial trait.

Peacocks don't just give a bonus to intimidate, they have the charisma to make use of it themselves as a familiar. Especially with the mauler archetype to gain medium size. If you can spare a couple of levels to eldritch guardian fighter, there are combat feats which use intimidate.

Silver Crusade

Before the ring of seven lovely colors errata, you could do somethings scary with a savage technologist half-orc barbarian with two levels of eldritch fighter and the amplified rage and sympathetic rage feats.

Essentially, when you rage, your familiar (possibly mauler) rages, then you rage even more. Savage technologist puts the added bonus into dex instead of strength, so you end up with +4 str, +8 dex, and +4 con and your familiar +6 str and +6 con. That would make some very angry birds.

Adding in another level of fighter you can take mutation warrior, and add an alchemist mutagen on top of that for +4 dex.

Oh the shenanigans you could once pull off. Now you need to become a Kitsune fox shape shifter to do the same, so a little less helpful for the bird build.


Check out the Mighty Battle Cock as your familiar.

/cevah


Eldritch Guardian dip seems solid, but what combat feats are good to share with a chicken or peacock? Amplified Rage is only a Teamwork feat, so EG won't extend it to the Familiar.

Silver Crusade

Backlash3906 wrote:
Eldritch Guardian dip seems solid, but what combat feats are good to share with a chicken or peacock? Amplified Rage is only a Teamwork feat, so EG won't extend it to the Familiar.

Give it a Ring of Tactical Precision. Other feats are clearly Power Attack, but also Cornugon Smash and Hurtful if you invest in Intimidate.

A level in Beast Bonded Witch lets you use any of your feat slots to give your familiar any one feat it qualifies for. A level into Spirit Binder Wizard will give your familiar any one feat it qualifies for in place of Scribe Scroll.


Why not a Strix urban barbarian with unchained rogue for dex to damage?


Darklone wrote:
Why not a Strix urban barbarian with unchained rogue for dex to damage?

Does Urban stack with Mad Dog?

As stated earlier, the reason for going Human is to get Animal Companion and Familiar (Imp. Familiar Bond) at full power from Level 1.

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