As far as I understand it- no. You either get a lot of fire damage, or a lesser amount of nonelemental damage. This is a conscious decision you have to make when you enter rage.
Which isn't too bad, really. There are less blanket resistance, and you usually just have to watch out for things like giant flaming beasts as a red dragon barbarian- the really obvious ones. You could get an opposite element weapon, and bet on the fact that a weakness will likely come up whenever your element doesn't work.
One thing to consider though is that whenever something resists all damage-- such as incorporeal foes or anything with Hardness-- it will apply to the fire damage and physical damage as separate instances, essentially double dinging you.
This isn't the end of the world, mind you, but it does constrain what many consider to be the strongest instinct compared to the other options a bit.
Certainly. I am pretty sure it is one of the best blasters, even when compared against spell casters.
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Certainly. I am pretty sure it is one of the best blasters, even when compared against spell casters.
I don't understand why people find Dragon's Rage Breath that good. I don't say it's not nice, but calling the Dragon Barbarian "one of the best blasters" seems way out of line to me. The Dragon Barbarian has one blast and not a very efficient one. It's only asset being that you recharge it every hour... It's thin to even be considered a blaster.
It's a big fat blast that recharges. It can't be spammed but it's not a bad way to open a fight - it scales on par with fireball basically iirc.Certainly. I am pretty sure it is one of the best blasters, even when compared against spell casters.I don't understand why people find Dragon's Rage Breath that good. I don't say it's not nice, but calling the Dragon Barbarian "one of the best blasters" seems way out of line to me. The Dragon Barbarian has one blast and not a very efficient one. It's only asset being that you recharge it every hour... It's thin to even be considered a blaster.
As I say, I don't think it's bad. I find it quite nice. But it has many limitations:
- Low Proficiency.- Bad AoE. Bursts are easier to land to affect many enemies than lines and cones. Also, the lines and cones are small.
- Single energy type.
- Average damage. Lightning Bolt and Cone of Cold are both dealing more damage for a similar area of effect.
- Once per hour. You will hardly use it more than three times a day.
So, it's nice as it complements the toolset of the Barbarian. But it doesn't make a blaster out of a Barbarian.
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As I say, I don't think it's bad. I find it quite nice. But it has many limitations:
- Low Proficiency.
- Bad AoE. Bursts are easier to land to affect many enemies than lines and cones. Also, the lines and cones are small.
- Single energy type.
- Average damage. Lightning Bolt and Cone of Cold are both dealing more damage for a similar area of effect.
- Once per hour. You will hardly use it more than three times a day.So, it's nice as it complements the toolset of the Barbarian. But it doesn't make a blaster out of a Barbarian.
A couple of considerations.
-it can be used more than once per hour. Not very well mind you-half power and range. But it can effectively be used in every single fight when you are raiding a castle, even if you fight a dozen small groups of mooks along the way. Whether that is a valid consideration is up to your table.-Cones have a weird position here. I also noticed this with the 1e's alchemist's breath weapon bomb- cones are well suited for melee characters. It works best when you charge in close to get everything in the spread. Typically, you would use this as an opener by charging in (a barbarian specialty). Additionally, unlike spells, this lacks the manipulate action (which is not quite as important as the breath bomb due to less AoOs, but it can still come up).
-Element.... yeah, you got me there with the damage type. There are less blanket resistances, but you are still in a bad spot if your red dragon barbarian tries to take on devils.
A couple of considerations.
-it can be used more than once per hour. Not very well mind you-half power and range. But it can effectively be used in every single fight when you are raiding a castle, even if you fight a dozen small groups of mooks along the way. Whether that is a valid consideration is up to your table.-Cones have a weird position here. I also noticed this with the 1e's alchemist's breath weapon bomb- cones are well suited for melee characters. It works best when you charge in close to get everything in the spread. Typically, you would use this as an opener by charging in (a barbarian specialty). Additionally, unlike spells, this lacks the manipulate action (which is not quite as important as the breath bomb due to less AoOs, but it can still come up).
-Element.... yeah, you got me there with the damage type. There are less blanket resistances, but you are still in a bad spot if your red dragon barbarian tries to take on devils.
It's true that cones are better if you can handle the front line.
You use it with half damage and area?
I understand better why you consider the dragon barbarian a blaster. I thought you were using it every hour only. It opens some strategies, especially if you can make 2 attacks with the remaining action(s) (if you are hasted, or have Twin Takedown from Ranger Dedication). Thanks for insight.
No, I think it's under Barbarian class DC, so you get to Master at level 19.
No, I think it's under Barbarian class DC, so you get to Master at level 19.
And thus scales with your Strength.
It'll only be 2 points behind the casters for DC, and on par with them at 6 and 9-14.
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I'm honestly not sure because it has the arcane trait, and arcane in the appendix says,No, I think it's under Barbarian class DC, so you get to Master at level 19.And thus scales with your Strength.
It'll only be 2 points behind the casters for DC, and on par with them at 6 and 9-14.
arcane (trait) This magic comes from the arcane tradition, which is built on logic and rationality. Anything with this trait is magical. 299And that would make it an innate spell, which says,
You’re always trained in spell attack rolls and spell DCs for your innate spells, even if you aren’t otherwise trained in spell attack rolls or spell DCs. If your proficiency in spell attack rolls or spell DCs is expert or better, apply that proficiency to your innate spells, too. You use your Charisma modifier as your spellcasting ability modifier for innate spells unless otherwise specified.
If you have an innate spell, you can cast it, even if it’s not of a spell level you can normally cast. This is especially common for monsters, which might be able to cast innate spells far beyond what a character of the same level could use.
Of course, with how I'm reading it, the power is not very powerful, but good against very low level (comparatively) enemies. I also think the charisma makes sense with how dragons in all their majesty and might are awe-inspiring, and, therefore charismatic. I just haven't found anywhere that says it uses Class DC. I thought it might be treated similarly to monks' ki powers, though I think it would be better if that were the case from a build perspective.
Edit: But Dragon Rage Breath can also only be used at most twice per combat, as its requirement is that you haven't used it since your last rage.
And that would make it an innate spell
It's clearly not a spell. No components, no tradition (despite the arcane trait), no "cast" line.
I think our reading is the good one.|
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I believe you're right. I had to look up the answer myself though:And that would make it an innate spellIt's clearly not a spell. No components, no tradition (despite the arcane trait), no "cast" line.
I think our reading is the good one.
This is the ability score that a member of your class cares about the most. Many of your most useful and powerful abilities are tied to this ability in some way.
For instance, this is the ability score you’ll use to determine the Difficulty Class (DC) associated with your character’s class features and feats. This is called your class DC. If your character is a member of a spellcasting class, this key ability is used to calculate spell DCs and similar values.
Of course, with how I'm reading it, the power is not very powerful, but good against very low level (comparatively) enemies. I also think the charisma makes sense with how dragons in all their majesty and might are awe-inspiring, and, therefore charismatic. I just haven't found anywhere that says it uses Class DC. I thought it might be treated similarly to monks' ki powers, though I think it would be better if that were the case from a build perspective.
Edit: But Dragon Rage Breath can also only be used at most twice per combat, as its requirement is that you haven't used it since your last rage.
I tend to view the clearing of cannon fodder as an important role for a blaster. A melee character (...such as a barbarian) or archer can already single target powerful enemies fairly quickly. So getting rid of the weaker enemies quickly puts the balance of action economy more in the party's favor.
The breath attack is a nice, consistent chunk of damage you can throw in at the start of every fight.
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Just choose Acid or Electricity, hardly anything resists those.
Just choose Acid or Electricity, hardly anything resists those.
Yeah, but it feels like the resistances are less obvious.
With fire, you can generally think "is it red, made of fire/lava, spewing fire, or generally smoking?" to guess if they are likely to resist. That touches on metagaming a bit... but fire creatures are usually not very subtle, so I feel that it is fair game. No need to wait for someone to roll a knowledge check.
But, pff of the top of your head, outside of dragons or elementals, what resists electricity? I am not even sure if angels do anymore due to the lower number of resists in 2e.
And acid seems worse. It is harder to use in game visual cues for that, since it overlaps with poison so much.