Barbarians, Random Thoughts.

[Butterfingers]

Been thinking about the next project, a Big Beefy Barbarian.

After a lot of thought, I started thinking about which race makes for the best Barbarian.

Mind you, I am playing a good Barbarian.

Humans? No save bonuses. Only 18 dex, will be 17 later, which means loss of AC. Plus, I can't stand how humans look in chain mail type armors. They looked cool in BG1. They look um, rather dorky in SoA. Nope. I um, really don't like humans.

Dwarves. Great con, poor dex. Loss of dex point hurts even worse. Barbarians are rather low AC to begin with. Potentially huge hit points make up for this however. No romance options. But they look good in chain mail. Awesome Dwarven resistances. Also, could do sword and shield set up and use the awe inspiring Dwarven Thrower. (I just wished it worked as advertised and actually threw the Dwarf... T'would be brutally effective)

Gnomes. Pretty much a Dwarf. Slighty better dex. Can romance Aerie. Once again, great resists.

Half Orc. Good for strength, which is a moot point, and for con. Nullified by lousy saving throws. (No bonuses) No romance options, but, you do get some interesting dialog from Nalia when you talk about a marriage of convienance. All things considered, a strong stocky fighter, a mean green fighting machine. Strength enhancing items could be used for other party members, leaving many options open.

Halflings. Low strength. Moot point. Strength enhancing items abound. All romance options open. Great saves. With 19 dex, the loss of one point wont lower AC values. They look scary with two handed weapons like swords or halbreds. With out 19 con though, hit points will be slightly lower then they could be. Slightly higher AC value might offset this. Plus, Halflings look fabu in chain mail type armors. Halflings are generally known for being docile, kind, and mild mannered. Would be entertaining to see one go into a rage and suffer from a very unhalfling like bout of temper.

Elves. Also 19 dex, lower con, but, exceptional strength. Looks decent in chain mail. Resist to charm and sleep is a moot point with Barbarian Rage. Gains racial bonus of +1 with long swords and bows. However, Elves are creatures of great emotional control (Hence the resistance to mind altering spells) and in a role playing sense, not likely to go berserk really. Well, a Wilder Elf might.

So, what makes a good Barbarian?

[dulouz]

conventionally, i would consider a human or a half-orc. However, if roleplaying is your thing I bet you could come up with a good excuse... er reason why your elf is a barbarian [img]smile.gif[/img]

I can see some outcast elves living in the brutal wilderness and adopting a barbarian lifestyle. For some reason, wild mage and barbarian have a common ground. One harnessing the raw powers of magic, one harnessing the raw powers of strength.

I havn't played a barbarian, so i can't really say which is better. An elven barbarian son of Bhaal is starting to sound fun though. Just make him chaotic-something

dulouz.

[Leslie]

Heh, I was thinking of a Small Sturdy EVIL Barbarian. Probably Dwarf and going for the highest STR without enhancing items. Evil test in hell, LUM the MAD, The Deck. Even considering that nasty Silver Dragon Armor. Those extra saves help and I could even consider Half-orc.

But what what party did you have in mind ? I still can't decide - maybe to make a friendly Swashbuckler and take some mage with us ?

[Dace De'Briago]

Play your character through the original BG to get +1 dexterity. You can also grab another +1 to dexterity (as already mentioned) through the machine of Lum the MAd (ToB).

Thus negates the 'crap dexterity which gets worse' arguements

[Dace De'Briago]

Leslie: The good news is, that if you play your character correctly, you will be able to get your strength to a natural 24... +6 to hit and a massive +12 to damage

[Morgeruat]

Originally posted by Dace De'Briago: Play your character through the original BG to get +1 dexterity. You can also grab another +1 to dexterity (as already mentioned) through the machine of Lum the MAd (ToB). Thus negates the 'crap dexterity which gets worse' arguements

no barbarians in bg1 although IIRC you can CLUA them in (arguing that you would have played them through bg1 if you could have)

[ 04-04-2003, 03:20 PM: Message edited by: Morgeruat ]

[Indemaijinj]

Weirldy enough the halfling is among the best of barbarians.

Firstly they look good in chain mail (females look good in ANYTHING).

Next there is the DEX point.

Then there is the saving throws which goes well with the general barbarian focus of being resistant to things.

[Butterfingers]

Well, I won't cheat and use the console. No playing through BG1 with a Barbarian.

I am thinking Halfling as well, although I am sorely tempted by a Gnome.

But, how does one role play a Barbarian raised in Candlekeep, a library?

Easy. Gorion raises you, has you trained as a mighty warrior, and teaches you to focus the fires of rage within, to harness them for good purposes. Much like a Paladin or a Ranger, your weapon skills suffer, but, you become the thinking Barbarian, well versed in lore, tactics, a Barbarian that spends more time meditating and focusing his inner fury then practicing with weapons. A kinder, gentler Barbarian, one who does good things, but, has a NASTY murderous temper when provoked. Instead of learning about armor, you spent more time studying ancient battles and strategy. So while figuring out the complicated straps and buckles of plate mail, you would rather wear a simple chain mail vest. In simple terms, you become like Attilla the Hun or Ghengis Khan, seemingly wild savages who held a brilliant mind under their helmet. Men who chose to be barbaric, but would have been at home in any metropolitan library.

You know, a Halfling named Stennulf Toe-Lopper sounds cool...

[Angelousss]

I like the idea of a halfling barbarian, halflings are kinda of the land anyway. Plus they can hide during the hunt. I think they'd be a huge benefit to the tribe

[Bahamut]

Everyone needs an escape... yeah, elves are emotionally stable... but once i a while they go wild... so being a barbarian puts that rage to use