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Fenix_of_Doom
2009-04-03, 05:51 AM
So the barbarian has an awesome class feature known as rage, this alone makes the barbarian the best core meleer because of the bonus to strength.
However when your rage ends, you become fatigued, a nasty condition which gives you -2 str and dex and prevents you from charging and running, if you rage while fatigued you'll become exhausted afterwards, which is even worse.

Now let's say you have multiple fights per day, how do you handle the fatigue, do you never rage before the last encounter, rest 8 hours after every encounter, or is there a cheap trick I'm missing?

Dhavaer
2009-04-03, 05:54 AM
Fatigue from Rage only lasts until the end of the encounter. You have nothing to worry about.

Salt_Crow
2009-04-03, 05:55 AM
You could always be a Warforged and be immune to fatigue :smallwink:

Other than that, I'm afraid I can't be of much help there


Edit: It appears to be that I'm not familiar with the class either XD

Narthon the Bold
2009-04-03, 07:13 AM
Like Dhavaer said, the fatigue only lasts until the encounter is over.

When playing a barbarian: rage early, rage often.

Biffoniacus_Furiou
2009-04-03, 07:25 AM
At the end of the rage, the barbarian loses the rage modifiers and restrictions and becomes fatigued (-2 penalty to Strength, -2 penalty to Dexterity, can’t charge or run) for the duration of the current encounter (unless he is a 17th-level barbarian, at which point this limitation no longer applies).
If your fights tend to outlast your rage, take the feat Extend Rage (CW) to get +5 rounds. Otherwise, don't worry about it because you'll catch your breath as soon as the fight is over.


There are many ways of becoming immune to fatigue, for example:
Warforged racial quality (MM3, ECS)
Tireless feat (PGtF)
Horizon Walker's Desert terrain mastery (DMG)

AngelOmnipotent
2009-04-03, 07:49 AM
Either that or carry around a bucket of Lesser Restoration potions :smallbiggrin:

Shpadoinkle
2009-04-03, 08:20 AM
Either that or carry around a bucket of Lesser Restoration potions :smallbiggrin:

Or an eternal wand of Lesser Restoration.

Darrin
2009-04-03, 08:37 AM
However when your rage ends, you become fatigued, a nasty condition which gives you -2 str and dex and prevents you from charging and running, if you rage while fatigued you'll become exhausted afterwards, which is even worse.


The easiest way to get rid of fatigue is to have your friendly neighborhood cleric or paladin cast lesser restoration on you. If your healbot is being obstinate or unavailable, then potions of lesser restoration can come in handy. See if you can buy them off a paladin, they should be cheaper (50 GP for 1st level, 300 Gp for 2nd). Some other spells that get rid of fatigue:

Healing lorecall (SC, Ranger 1), if combined with another cure spell
Panacea (SC, Cleric 4)
Second wind (SC, Paladin 1)
Sheltered vitality (SC, Paladin 1)
Ray of resurgence (Lost Empires of Faerun, Cleric 1 or Sor/Wiz 2)

Someone else already mentioned being Warforged. Constructs are immune to fatigue. And yes, they exist outside of Eberron, due to their appearance in MM3.

I know a one-level dip into the Horizon Walker PrC offers immunity to fatigue (Desert terrain), but I'm not sure where a barbarian would get Knowledge (geography) without a dip into ranger. There may be other PrCs out there that offer something similar.

There are several magic items that remove fatigue:

Boots of the Unending Jourey (MIC, 4000 GP). Cheap but the immunity to fatigue is part of it's relic power, so you have to blow a feat on True Believer or sacrifice a spell slot to Fharlanghn.

Sphere of Awakening (MIC, 1800 GP). Once per day, wake everybody, eliminate all fatigue/exhaustion, and gain immunity to fatigue, exhaustion and sleep effects for 10 minutes. You don't have to be asleep to use it.

Talisman of Undying Fortitude (MIC, 8000 GP). Twice per day, gain immunity to a bunch of stuff, including fatigue, for 3 rounds.

Breath of Waves (Magic of Eberron, 9000 GP). This is an elemental graft, so it's not quite the same as a magic item. You have to give up 4 HP, but it doesn't radiate magic, can't be dispelled, and works inside an AMF. Breathe on another creature (or yourself) to instantly negate fatigue, exhaustion, nausea, paralysis, sickness, or stun. It's not clear to me if this requires an action (most breath effects require a standard action) or if it happens automatically to yourself... which would be extremely handy if it did.

Another option to get rid of fatigue would be Iron Heart Surge. A dip into Warblade at ECL 9 would allow you to pick this up, or if done earlier give you the prereq for it. You can pick it up with a couple of Martial Study feats, or one Martial Study feat plus an Ironheart Vest (magic item grants 1 known Iron Heart maneuver, 3000 GP). A few Martial Scripts, which last for one encounter, could also work.

Faleldir
2009-04-03, 08:43 AM
If you really need immunity to fatigue and don't care about anything else, take two levels of Scout. You get Knowledge(geography) as a class skill and a third Uncanny Dodge. Replace your Uncanny Dodge at Barbarian level 5 with Endurance. It's in Sandstorm. Now you qualify for Horizon Walker.That's only three levels, two if you don't mind losing IUD, and you still have all your feats.

Person_Man
2009-04-03, 10:39 AM
So the barbarian has an awesome class feature known as rage, this alone makes the barbarian the best core meleer because of the bonus to strength.

I disagree. At low levels, the Fighter gets better armor, Tower Shield proficiency, and bonus feats. I'd much rather have a Human Fighter with Knock-Down or Spirited Charge at 1st level instead of a Human Barbarian with just Improved Trip or Ride by Attack plus Rage once per day. Fast Movement is nice, but you can get extra movement with a wide variety of Feats, spells, or items. At mid levels, Rage scales very poorly. So if you want a Barbarian build, you almost always end up with something like Barbarian 2/Fighter 4/PrC X with the Extra Rage feat (to fuel whatever Rage dependent PrC ability you have).

Fenix_of_Doom
2009-04-03, 10:53 AM
I LOLed , I pretty much missed the "for the duration of the current encounter" line, that makes the problem a whole lot less serious.
But thanks for all the replies anyway.

@ person man, it wasn't as much that I was stating my opinion, it was more that the barbarian is often presented as the most powerful class in melee optimization.

Myrmex
2009-04-03, 12:41 PM
I disagree. At low levels, the Fighter gets better armor, Tower Shield proficiency, and bonus feats. I'd much rather have a Human Fighter with Knock-Down or Spirited Charge at 1st level instead of a Human Barbarian with just Improved Trip or Ride by Attack plus Rage once per day. Fast Movement is nice, but you can get extra movement with a wide variety of Feats, spells, or items. At mid levels, Rage scales very poorly. So if you want a Barbarian build, you almost always end up with something like Barbarian 2/Fighter 4/PrC X with the Extra Rage feat (to fuel whatever Rage dependent PrC ability you have).

Improved Trip isn't that good at low levels. A raging orc barbarian will open anything he hits like a shook up can of blood soda. A human with spirited charge is only good on an open field. He can't do it in dungeons, and he can't do it where the ground is obstructed.

Barbarians are definitely the best at low levels, thanks to high HP and decent armor. You're welcome to that tower shield if you don't like to hit stuff or do damage. I'd rather rush in in a battle frenzy and turn everything to pulpy bits with my big axe.

[edit]
I should add "in core", as the forumite whose post you quoted did. Extra rage is not available in core, nor is knockdown, nor are most X for PrC X.

A dip or two of fighter can be worth it, for accelerated feat gaining.

ericgrau
2009-04-03, 03:56 PM
It seems like the OP got his question answered, but I'll add one more trick. You can take a dip into horizon walker for fatigue immunity. All you need is 8 ranks in knowledge (geography) and endurance.

I've done fighter vs barbarian vs fighter/barbarian duels before and basically found them to be very close. Depending on circumstances either would come out ahead. Just play what you want and let others do the same. Exaggerated claims from the internet only serve to pigeonhole people into one way of making characters without getting bashed, which is a relatively boring way to play.

Berserk Monk
2009-04-03, 06:07 PM
Complete Warrior, page 134, Armor of the Unending Hunt. Wearer can not become fatigued or exhausted, also it's +2 mythril chainmail so that's not bad.:smallbiggrin: