Min/maxing a human barbarian

[Doug McCrae]

I've got a 1st level human barbarian with good stats - Str 17, Dex 17, Con 15, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 13.

What's the best way to min/max in terms of feats, skills and weapons/armour? And was my stat allocation correct? (Used the 4d6, keep best 3, assign method.)

 

[Korak]

I've got a 1st level human barbarian with good stats - Str 17, Dex 17, Con 15, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 13.

What's the best way to min/max in terms of feats, skills and weapons/armour? And was my stat allocation correct? (Used the 4d6, keep best 3, assign method.)

Well, firstly, you can't min/max something until you know what you are trying to achieve. Yout going to play a tank, a close range damage dealer, a grappler, a tripper, or some combination of all. You have to set the concept before you can start the optimization.

As for stats, that depends on the answer to the first question. In most builds, I would swap the dex and the con. If you go for trip or disarm, you'll want to switch the int and cha.

Chew on that, clarify, and then folks can help you out.

 

[noeuphoria]

I'd switch his con and dex scores; barbs need a lot of hps to survive. And when he rages, he'll be takin -2 to ac anyway. Also, switch int and cha; extra skill points are useful, being a charasmatic barbarian isn't (unless you want to do some kind of leader, or a lot of rp, but you said min/max).

 

[drunkmoogle]

Wow... nice stats. I would swap Int for Cha, unless you plan on picking up Intimidating Rage. Dex or Con is a tough choice; Dex is better early on when AC still matters. Once you hit the higher levels, you're going to want the higher CON. Personally, I'd go with Dex.

Weapon: Greatsword is the best choice, by average.

Multiclassing? Extra Rage gives you 2 more rages a day.

My 4 level build-

1: Barbarian- WF:Greatsword, Extra Rage[CW].
2: Fighter- Power Attack
3: Fgt- Cleave, Improved Toughness[CW]
4: Bbn- [Uncanny dodge]

This leaves you pretty open in terms of where you want your character to go. All of those feats are highly useful, no matter what the situation.

From there, you could go Bear Warrior into Warshaper, whose 2nd level ability gives you +4STR and CON. This also allows you to be a threat even when unarmed and naked (a situation that happens about once in a campaign, but when you need it you NEED it).

I highly suggest you NOT go Frenzied Berserker: your party will thank you for it.

More information can be found on the Wizard's Boards: http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=207643#post2947050

 

[Doug McCrae]

Trip/disarm sounds like fancy shmancy fighting. The sort of thing a man with a rapier, a floppy hat and a frilly shirt would do. I think I'd go more for the tank/hth damage specialist route. Feels more barbaric.

 

[UltimaGabe]

I've got a 1st level human barbarian with good stats - Str 17, Dex 17, Con 15, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 13.

What's the best way to min/max in terms of feats, skills and weapons/armour? And was my stat allocation correct? (Used the 4d6, keep best 3, assign method.)

I'd say get Power Attack and Cleave at 1st level. Max out Intimidate and Listen, then things like Climb, Jump, and Swim. Use either a Greataxe, Greatsword, or a Scythe- a Greataxe has a great damage die with a x3 crit, a Greatsword has the same average damage as a Greataxe but a 19-20/x2 crit, and a Scythe deals less base damage than the other two, but has a x4 crit. All three are two-handed, which means you'll be doing extra damage with each attack, and you'll gain +2 to damage for every -1 to attack you take from Power Attack. Add that all onto amazing criticals, and you're nasty.

As for armor, when you can, get a Chain Shirt. When you've got a lot of money, get a Mithral Breastplate. Pick up some feats like Weapon Focus and Improved Critical (when you get to a high enough level, of course). If your DM allows non-core books, try and see if he allows the Unapproachable East FR book- there's a +1 weapon ability (Valorous) that allows you to deal double damage on a charge. Your charges will be devastating, and enemies will fear you. Rarr.

 

[Doug McCrae]

Thanks for the advice. Think I'll go for Power Attack/Cleave with a 2-handed weapon at 1st level. I didn't know about the change in 3.5 which powers up PA + 2-handed weapon

 

[Knoxgamer]

Great Axe will do, on average, .5 less damage than the Greatsword. The average value on 2d6 is a 7, while the average on a 1d12 is 6.5.

 

[Particle_Man]

You might want to look at the Holy Liberator prestige class to get rid of that pesky fatigue problem. Or you could take Extend Rage. Nothing more pathetic than a fatigued barbarian.

 

[Darklone]

Thanks for the advice. Think I'll go for Power Attack/Cleave with a 2-handed weapon at 1st level. I didn't know about the change in 3.5 which powers up PA + 2-handed weapon

Power Attack& Cleave at level 1 is usually the best thing for a human barbarian, you're right.

Greataxe may be worse than Greatsword, but it has more style

Falchion is another good possibility, as soon as you get a +17 to damage and have Imp Crit, your average damage against crittable creatures will be higher than with a greatsword IIRC.