How would you keep a Frenzied Beserker from killing the whole party?

[dr_nukem]

On a slight side note, is every member of your party considered to be an enemy or just one of them?

It's pretty much a munchin way out, but what about saying the heavily armed fighter is your new "enemy" while the cleric who heals you isn't? Then the cleric could cast calm emotion and the FB could then simply accept the spell.

Metagaming? Probably...but the rules/prestige class description really doesn't say.

 

[dr_nukem]

I've been looking at this for a while now...and my PC is fully preped to become a FB.

Up till now, I've been planning on simply making sure that he's far away from the party when his Frenzy ends...but it's going to be interesting because he's only a 6th level character with a will save of +2...

On a slight side note, there is a Beserk prestige class in Deities and Demigods...close to the same thing...have a look.

 

[durath]

attack randomly

If a FB runs out of enemies to attack he attacks the nearest creature without regard to friendship, innocence or health. If multiple creatures are all the same distance away he attacks one of them randomly.

So if your party has dtermined that sometimes their battlerager just can't stop maybe it would be a good idea for one of the other fighter types to step up so that everyone else can get away.
Just hit to do subdual damage and knock the FB out. It won't kill him and you sure as heck aren't going to miss him considering he has a -6 to his AC due to the frenzy.

 

[doktorstick]

I think the previous poster was intending something else.

1. The FB goes into a frenzy.
2. Is there a distinction between enemies and allies? The PrC suggests that there is since when all enemies are dead, it attacks the nearest ally.
3. Before all the enemies are dead, and since the party members are allies, the FB will "accept" spells since there are enemies to fight and the allies are currently, well, allies.
4. When all the enemies are dead, the FB will attack the nearest ally. Does this make the nearest ally an enemy? Or does he just attack his ally? Or do all allies become enemies?
5. Since the FB is attacking the fighter (closest, or random, you pick), and at worst he is the only enemy, the cleric can help the FB "defeat the fighter" and as such can heal the FB.
6. Frenzy ends.
   [/list=1]
   
   /ds

 

[Sejs]

What about those magical manicles around his ankles / lower legs instead of his wrists? He could then conceal them under his trousers, and if he started going after party members.. say the magic word and he's not going anywhere. Simply step back until he calms down, then release him.

 

[lord irial]

I used to play a Berserker in 1st Edition from a White Dwarf Magazine class (yeah, they used to be a D&D magazine) and suffered from the same problem. The party's most common solution was to run away, very quickly, when the monsters I berserked at ran out. There was one time that they used a wand to levitate me off the floor so that I couldn't get to them. I just floated and thrashed in place until I stopped foaming at the mouth and then they let me down.

 

[Stalker0]

Personally, here's I see it.

If the FB shows signs of using defensive tactics or nonpurely attack actions, like bull rushing, triping, fighting defensively during his normal enemies, then there should be no reason he can't do it when fighting allies. BUT.... if he's all hack in slash in combat, then all of a sudden goes defensive, then that's metagaming and shouldn't be allowed.

I don't think the guy was selfish in suggesting an idea and asking advice on how to handle it. What would be selfish is finding a way to deal with it that would cost the party their own resources.

I think the levitate idea is the absolute best idea. The FB can provide the gold to buy it, it doesn't take spell slots or special items the rest of the party needs to provide. And its not unreliable like using hold spells and things like that. However, it has 3 flaws.

1) The wanduser dies during combat
2) Combat begins suddenly,and there was no time to cast levitate
3) An area doesn't allow magic (a town, antimagic field, etc)

Therefore, I think the shackles are a great backup plan. They can be used in a pinch when levitate isn't appropriate.

I would say, however, that the party is completely within their rights to warn the FB, that is this countermeasures fail, they will stop him by any means necessary.

 

[IanB]

On sense motive and taking one minute

I believe that is only if you're actively trying to use Sense Motive in a non-opposed check situation. If someone is using a Bluff check against you that should be opposed by a Sense Motive check, by definition that check is essentially a free action that happens on the Bluff-user's turn.

Lying down and pretending to be dead would be a Bluff check opposed by Sense Motive, not an active use of the skill.

At least, I think that's how it works.

 

[Grommilus]

If you have a rather smart guy in the party, how bout this:

Wear goggles, paint a goblin, off center on each lense, so it apppears at about range 15 feet. never rage unless you're closer than 15 feet to your foes. when frenzy ends the other party memebers make sure to get 20 feet away, and you chase the goblin around in circles, making will saves each round.

Other than this and the various magical ideas (running is bad, cause barbarians run FAST), I see no way to keep the frenzied berserker a working class in a party atmosphere. I mean, in real life when people lose the ability to control themselves, like having rabies, they tied themselves to trees and waited to die. So the FB seems to be a poor idea for a character, unless you meta game it or do something silly.

Grom

edit: typo

 

[Aravis]

If you have a rather smart guy in the party, how bout this:

Wear goggles, paint a goblin, off center on each lense, so it apppears at about range 15 feet. never rage unless you're closer than 15 feet to your foes. when frenzy ends the other party memebers make sure to get 20 feet away, and you chase the goblin around in circles, making will saves each round.

Other than this and the various magical ideas (running is bad, cause barbarians run FAST), I see no way to keep the frenzied berserker a working class in a party atmosphere. I mean, in real life when people lose the ability to control themselves, like having rabies, they tied themselves to trees and waited to die. So the FB seems to be a poor idea for a character, unless you meta game it or do something silly.

Grom

edit: typo

I don't think the gogles idea would work. A FB is not stupid and does not lose knowledge from frenzying. He would know the goblin is not there.

This is NOT real life. In real life I would seek help for the guy. This is Heroic Fantasy. Heroic characters are made more interesting by there flaws. In some cases, those flaws are so deadly to those around them that the character wanders most of his life alone (see Elric of Melniboné). Some times the flaws are just something that their friends must learn to deal with.

To those people who said that Corwin should not make the choice and that they would not want the character around, a lot of times characters develop in ways you don't necessarily plan out all that much. They take on a life of their own and travel down paths that while still choices are the only ones that make sense. This is part of role playing the character. D&D is about team work, but it is also about playing a character.

I am about to start taking levels in FB myself. I had been wondering whether or not I could do this and still be a fun person to play with and I realized that it would not be fun for me not to do so. So, I will work with the other players in my run to ensure that it stays fun for them. Some day it may become time for him to leave the party and adventure on his own, but for now that time has not come.

Some of the posts I have seen in this thread really make me glad that I play with the people I play with.

-- Aravis