Feats / Rage power for a My Barbarian 1-5

[Nosta1300]

I have a level 3 Barbarian I'll be playing and I am unsure of what feats and rage powers I should take for the first 5 levels (planning too levels Ahead)

I am only starting with 12 STR so i sadly Don't quallfy for power Attack, My normal go to for Barbarians

Any Advice on my first 3 feats

Also Iam torn between Reckless Abandon and Superstitious what would be better

I have 19 Ac and 1 DR with resistance 5 Fire cold and electric

But not sure if I'll need more to hit, I can boost my STR to 18.

Planning on a Great Axe for a weapon .

[Phoebus Alexandros]

What is your theme or concept for this Barbarian? I ask because you clearly had something in mind when you gave what is usually a melee-centric character a Strength of 12–while also planning to use a great axe.

[ThecrimeForceDragon]

@Phoebus Alexandros

Na 12 STR is what I got suck with my roll. I wish it was higher

I'm playing a 3RD party Class that has a Lot of Barbarian stuff.

So it's easier to just call it a Barbarian when asking for advice

[Phoebus Alexandros]

Gotcha.

[VoodistMonk]

Combat Reflexes if you don't have Uncanny Dodge... this will allow you to make AoO whilst flat-footed. 'Tis huge, I tell you, HUGE! Not being able to make AoO in the surprise round can straight kill you at lower levels.

Extra Rage, if your Constitution sucks as bad as your Strength... probably isn't a bad idea to grab Extra Rage simply because you need Rage to hit literally anything.

Reckless Abandon would probably help you hit stuff... not sure how important your saves are going to be at these levels, but you will definitely want Superstitious relatively soon. Barbarians need to stay ahead of the curve with $#!+ like Iron Will... it only takes failing one save, and the big dummy kills all her friends.

[MrCharisma]

VoodistMonk wrote:

Combat Reflexes if you don't have Uncanny Dodge... this will allow you to make AoO whilst flat-footed.

This is excellent advice. Being able to make AoOs while flat-footed can be a life-saver, and being able to make multiple AoOs per round can save your bacon as well.

On the flip side, if you DO have Uncanny Dodge then you don't need the first part of Combat Reflexes (you can already make AoOs before you act in combat), so I've made do with Quick Reflexes on my Bloodrager and been a very happy chappy. Just FYI the number of times I've needed more than 2 AoOs in a round is like 4 times in 14 levels. Having 2 AoOs per round is amazing, getting that up to 3 is usually not adding much. I'm not saying you shouldn't take Combat Reflexes if you have the feats, but if you can't fit the feat in but have room for the Rage power then I think the Rage power will suffice.

If you don't have Uncanny Dodge though then those surprise-round AoOs do make a big difference, Quick Reflexes doesn't make up for that.

OFFENSIVE RAGE POWERS wrote:

Quick Reflexes (Ex) (PRPG Core Rulebook pg. 33): While raging, the barbarian can make one additional attack of opportunity per round.

I'm also a big fan of the Strength Surge rage power. It lets you really feel like the strongest guy in the room.

OFFENSIVE RAGE POWERS wrote:

Strength Surge (Ex) (PRPG Core Rulebook pg. 33): The barbarian adds her barbarian level on one Strength check or combat maneuver check, or to her Combat Maneuver Defense when an opponent attempts a maneuver against her. This power is used as an immediate action. This power can only be used once per rage.