Lance Berg
2005-12-20 12:36:31 UTC
Barbarian is a class I've not done much with, it wasn't really an option
back when I was playing tabletop AD&D, and I've pretty much ignored it
in NwN. Recently though I've been playing a lot of NwN, which makes me
want to try different classes or combinations of classes, so I'm finally
getting around to some of the things I've neglected.
I tried a couple of half barbarian half something else builds, and just
got thru playing a module where I kept it pure barbarian.
I still don't have a firm idea of what a barbarian is and how it differs
from a Fighter.
I mean, it looks to me like a barbarian is a fighter with slightly fewer
feats, but a couple class abilities to make up for that; you run faster
and get rage a few times per day.
You don't automatically get Heavy Armor as a feat, but you can still buy
it and there doesn't seem to be any penalty for wearing it (well, no
penalty that wouldn't be the same for a Fighter).
And then there's the uncanny dodge thing. Dodge is available as a feat,
and relies on a high dex to be worth mentioning, bonuses to reflex saves
don't strike me as particularly important...
And the damage reduction, but that doesn't start till 11, builds from 1
point to a max of 4 points at level 20. Now I know DR is a wonderful
thing, but this seems like pretty small fry by these levels, where I'm
worried about bad guys hitting me in 20 or 40 damage per shot. And it
seems like DR is something you can find fairly easily on items by this
level range (because it -is- good to be able to shrug off hordes of
light hitting minions while concentrating on the major baddies)
My point here isn't "you should never play a barbarian" nor "you should
always play a barbarian" but rather, "aren't they pretty much
interchangable?" I mean, the differences between a dex based fighter
and a str based fighter seem larger to me than the difference between a
str based fighter and a str based barbarian!
From a role playing standpoint, barbarians tend to have a different
cultural shtick going on... but in a multiclassing environment, exactly
how primitive does the barb/wizard or barb/bard end up? Isn't he really
doing the "shuck and jive" hamming up the "primative fish out of water"
angle that isn't really true?
I seem to recall looking at barbarians in earlier editions of AD&D and
seeing them as both unfamiliar with magic and superstiously opposed to
it. I don't see anything like that in NwN; unless you made a module
where every magic item had a potential user list that left barbarian out.
Lance
back when I was playing tabletop AD&D, and I've pretty much ignored it
in NwN. Recently though I've been playing a lot of NwN, which makes me
want to try different classes or combinations of classes, so I'm finally
getting around to some of the things I've neglected.
I tried a couple of half barbarian half something else builds, and just
got thru playing a module where I kept it pure barbarian.
I still don't have a firm idea of what a barbarian is and how it differs
from a Fighter.
I mean, it looks to me like a barbarian is a fighter with slightly fewer
feats, but a couple class abilities to make up for that; you run faster
and get rage a few times per day.
You don't automatically get Heavy Armor as a feat, but you can still buy
it and there doesn't seem to be any penalty for wearing it (well, no
penalty that wouldn't be the same for a Fighter).
And then there's the uncanny dodge thing. Dodge is available as a feat,
and relies on a high dex to be worth mentioning, bonuses to reflex saves
don't strike me as particularly important...
And the damage reduction, but that doesn't start till 11, builds from 1
point to a max of 4 points at level 20. Now I know DR is a wonderful
thing, but this seems like pretty small fry by these levels, where I'm
worried about bad guys hitting me in 20 or 40 damage per shot. And it
seems like DR is something you can find fairly easily on items by this
level range (because it -is- good to be able to shrug off hordes of
light hitting minions while concentrating on the major baddies)
My point here isn't "you should never play a barbarian" nor "you should
always play a barbarian" but rather, "aren't they pretty much
interchangable?" I mean, the differences between a dex based fighter
and a str based fighter seem larger to me than the difference between a
str based fighter and a str based barbarian!
From a role playing standpoint, barbarians tend to have a different
cultural shtick going on... but in a multiclassing environment, exactly
how primitive does the barb/wizard or barb/bard end up? Isn't he really
doing the "shuck and jive" hamming up the "primative fish out of water"
angle that isn't really true?
I seem to recall looking at barbarians in earlier editions of AD&D and
seeing them as both unfamiliar with magic and superstiously opposed to
it. I don't see anything like that in NwN; unless you made a module
where every magic item had a potential user list that left barbarian out.
Lance