Need help building a Barbarian.

[Con_Brio1993]

So I'm playing my first ever DND game and I did some research and decided I want to make a barbarian, and eventually transition into Bear Warrior.

I'm basically looking for massive damage, and that seems a good way to go about it.

I also know there are some feats that make me more resistant to magic, allowing me to use Constitution for my Will save. But I can't seem to find that feat in any of the books I have. Though I'm not sure when I should take that feat, or if it even ends up being useful if I go the Bear Warrior route.

Anyone willing to help me out here?

[sirpercival]

Almost any feat you need can be looked up here: http://dnd.savannahsoft.eu/

[Con_Brio1993]

Almost any feat you need can be looked up here: http://dnd.savannahsoft.eu/

That is a really really long list. I only know like... two feats I want to take. Power Attack, and whichever feat lets me use constitution for my will saves.

I can look through the list, but even then I wouldn't be able to tell which ones are traps and which ones are actually useful for my character.

[Aegis013]

Not sure on the will save thing.
I'd recommend getting Pounce in exchange for Fast Movement via the Lion Spirit Totem variant in Complete Champion.

As far as feats go, it just depends on what all you want to do. I say Improved Bull Rush followed by Shock Trooper. Since Shock Trooper + Power Attack + Pounce is a pretty strong combo (it can be taken to the ridiculous levels).

[Mooncrow]

Steadfast Determination is in the Player's Handbook II - that's the +Con to Will feat.

It's a solid feat for any fighter-type, especially those with low base will saves. Of course, it's pretty much mandatory for Frenzied Berserker builds^^

It also prevents you from automatically failing Fortitude saves on a 1, which is really nice at higher levels of play.

[Diefje]

That is a really really long list. I only know like... two feats I want to take. Power Attack, and whichever feat lets me use constitution for my will saves.

I can look through the list, but even then I wouldn't be able to tell which ones are traps and which ones are actually useful for my character.

There's a search feature with it, it also searches in-text.

And a nice link (http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19867934/Consolidated_Barbarian_Handbook)

Massive damage is probably gonna be a build around charging people, which fits with the classic barbarian image.

[Con_Brio1993]

Ok so Steadfast Determination, and Power Attack for now.

Though does the Bear Warrior even have the massive damage output I'm looking for?

Also if I am going for charging then I will take the Lion Totem with Pounce.

Is this feat any good? Or would I simply not have room for it?

http://dnd.savannahsoft.eu/feat-1608-indomitable-soul.html

Also what level should I take Shock Trooper? I don't want to screw up a multiclass build.

[Mooncrow]

Ok so Steadfast Determination, and Power Attack for now.

Though does the Bear Warrior even have the massive damage output I'm looking for?

Also if I am going for charging then I will take the Lion Totem with Pounce.

Is this feat any good? Or would I simply not have room for it?

http://dnd.savannahsoft.eu/feat-1608-indomitable-soul.html

Also what level should I take Shock Trooper? I don't want to screw up a multiclass build.

Bear Warrior is probably the second highest damage output PrC you can take, and it doesn't have the, potentially, dangerous side-effects of Frenzied Berserker. Runescarred Berserker is less damage, but has some really nice spell-casting abilities (you basically get to carve scrolls on your body)

Those are the big three barbarian classes.

Well, you can't take Shock Trooper before 6th; and that's probably a decent place to take it - and then you can enter Bear Warrior at 8th.

[sirpercival]

Ok so Steadfast Determination, and Power Attack for now.

Though does the Bear Warrior even have the massive damage output I'm looking for?

Also if I am going for charging then I will take the Lion Totem with Pounce.

Is this feat any good? Or would I simply not have room for it?

http://dnd.savannahsoft.eu/feat-1608-indomitable-soul.html

Also what level should I take Shock Trooper? I don't want to screw up a multiclass build.

Indomitable Soul is ok, but it requires two crappy feats as prereqs, so I'd avoid it.

Bear warrior is a great class, definitely go for it.

[Con_Brio1993]

Ok I am thinking

Human
Level 1 Barbarian (Power Attack, Endurance)
Level 2 Fighter (Improved Sunder)
Level 3 Fighter (??? - Steadfast Determination or Improved Bullrush?)
Level 4 Barbarian
Level 5 Barbarian
Level 6 Bear Warrior (Shock Trooper?)

And then just continuing with Bear Warrior. The Fighter levels get me some extra feats if I need them, though do I need any extra feats?

Also should I take some levels in any other class before staying in Bear Warrior? Is there any level I should leave Bear Warrior at?

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Use Whirling Frenzy (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/classFeatureVariants.htm#rageVariantWhirlingFrenzy ) instead of standard Rage.

Take Wolf Totem Barbarian (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#wolfTotemClassFeatures ) and get Knock-Down (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/divine/divineAbilitiesFeats.htm#knockDown) at 3rd level, you don't need Combat Expertise to get Improved Trip so there's no minimum Int score prerequisite.

Use the Lion spiritual totem alternate class feature in Complete Champion to trade Fast Movement for Pounce (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm#pounce). Lions and wolves and bears, oh my!

Bear Warrior has a prerequisite of +7 Base Attack Bonus, so you can't start taking it until your 8th character level. I'd recommend a few Wild Shape Ranger (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#ranger) levels, which gets you Fast Movement and Endurance plus you can use wands of Ranger spells. I'd go with the following:

Human
1. Wolf Totem Barbarian 1, Lion spiritual totem, Whirling Frenzy; Power Attack, Extra Rage
2. Wolf Totem Barbarian 2, Improved Trip
3. Fighter 1, Improved Bull Rush; Knock-Down
4. Wild Shape Ranger 1, Fast Movement, Track
5. Wild Shape Ranger 2
6. Fighter 2, Shock Trooper; Leap Attack
7. Wild Shape Ranger 3, Endurance
8. Bear Warrior 1
9. Bear Warrior 2; Steadfast Determination
etc.

[Con_Brio1993]

Use Whirling Frenzy (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/classFeatureVariants.htm#rageVariantWhirlingFrenzy ) instead of standard Rage.

Take Wolf Totem Barbarian (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#wolfTotemClassFeatures ) and get Knock-Down (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/divine/divineAbilitiesFeats.htm#knockDown) at 3rd level, you don't need Combat Expertise to get Improved Trip so there's no minimum Int score prerequisite.

Use the Lion spiritual totem alternate class feature in Complete Champion to trade Fast Movement for Pounce (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm#pounce). Lions and wolves and bears, oh my!

Bear Warrior has a prerequisite of +7 Base Attack Bonus, so you can't start taking it until your 8th character level. I'd recommend a few Wild Shape Ranger (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#ranger) levels, which gets you Fast Movement and Endurance plus you can use wands of Ranger spells. I'd go with the following:

Human
1. Wolf Totem Barbarian 1, Lion spiritual totem, Whirling Frenzy; Power Attack, Extra Rage
2. Wolf Totem Barbarian 2, Improved Trip
3. Fighter 1, Improved Bull Rush; Knock-Down
4. Wild Shape Ranger 1, Fast Movement, Track
5. Wild Shape Ranger 2
6. Fighter 2, Shock Trooper; Leap Attack
7. Wild Shape Ranger 3, Endurance
8. Bear Warrior 1
9. Bear Warrior 2; Steadfast Determination
etc.

Eh I don't really like the idea of Whirling Frenzy. An AC bonus just strikes me as less useful than a Constitution bonus at first glance. I'll wait for other input, but thank you for the suggestion.

And right, I forgot about the 7 BAB thing.

[Mooncrow]

Ok I am thinking

Human
Level 1 Barbarian (Power Attack, Endurance)
Level 2 Fighter (Improved Sunder)
Level 3 Fighter (??? - Steadfast Determination or Improved Bullrush?)
Level 4 Barbarian
Level 5 Barbarian
Level 6 Bear Warrior (Shock Trooper?)

And then just continuing with Bear Warrior. The Fighter levels get me some extra feats if I need them, though do I need any extra feats?

Also should I take some levels in any other class before staying in Bear Warrior? Is there any level I should leave Bear Warrior at?

6-7th is a good place to pick up a couple fighter levels if you want a few more feats. You can grab Shock Trooper as the 6th level bonus feat even. Grab Leap AttackCAd, and you have the basic barb charge build set up. You can dip Bear Warrior and then go Runescarred if you want, or stay in it all the way. (be sure to include the errata for CW; you go bear every time you rage, not the 1/day at 1st, 2/day at 5th, 3/day at 10th nonsense) Really whiel there aren't a ton of class options for a rager, there are quite a few permutations on how many levels of each class, etc that you can do and still be quite effective. It really depends on what you want.

Warshaper is another good PrC to grab up to 3 levels in for Bear Warrior as well.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Eh I don't really like the idea of Whirling Frenzy. An AC bonus just strikes me as less useful than a Constitution bonus at first glance. I'll wait for other input, but thank you for the suggestion.

And right, I forgot about the 7 BAB thing.

The main draw of Whirling Frenzy is the extra attack you get to make, so from 1st level you can make two attacks every round. With Pounce you can even do that on a charge. The AC bonus is indeed better than a temporarily higher Con, not getting hit at all is far better than being able to take maybe one more hit and then dying when your rage ends. Also keep in mind that normal Rage gives you a -2 AC, so Whirling Frenzy is a net gain of +4 AC, definitely a better choice.

[Gavinfoxx]

If you are Shock Troopering your AC away, you might need that con, though...

[marcielle]

Races. Aside from human, there are some funky races that make good barbarians.

Mongrelfolk if you want long rages and hp up the wazoo.
Dragon born are the win. Lesser Earth Genasi and Mongrelfolk make good dragonization candidates. Also, you breathe fire.
Warforged. No huge stat bonuses but a TON of immunities which include, IIRC, FATIGUE. MWAHAHAHA. You're a robot barbarian. Your fists are made of STEEL.
Water Orcs. Nice bonuses and a swim speed. Only orc that's worth it, IMO.

Dragonborn Mongrelfolk get you +6 Con right off the bat and you're choice between gliding(and later, full flight) and firebreath.

I'll assume Dragon Magazine isn't allowed. But if it is, insane 1st level Con is laughably easy to get.

Depending on your party, Frenzied Berserker is also a good candidate. Just make sure you think hard about your Rage trigger.

Finally, and this is important(especially if you are not Warforged with their ton of immunities). Grab a Crown of white ravens/ Martial Study for Iron Heart Surge. BY CROM!

[Flickerdart]

I recommend a three-level dip into Ranger, which will give you Endurance (a prerequisite for Steadfast Determination) and Power Attack (an ACF from some Dragon Mag replacing TWF) as well as some juicy skill points and Track. Survival is going to be a key skill for you anyway, since Trapkiller Barbarian ACF (Dungeonscape) lets you find and break traps with it, so now you have the added bonus of being able to track down people to kill once you run out.

[Andion Isurand]

If 3.0 Dragon Magazine is allowed, take a look at the +0 LA arctic template in issue 306 for +2 Con and -2 Cha among other things.

How about Troll Blooded as your first level only feat (Dragon 319 61) for Regeneration 1 (fire/acid) combined with the Heavy Legs construct graft (FoE 158) to ignore the fatigue Troll Blooded causes you when you are in sunlight?

[Runestar]

If I were to play a barbarian, my 1st lv feat would almost invariably go to extra rage. Being able to rage 3/day is quite useful, meaning I can afford to rage almost every encounter.

Steadfast determination is also quite useful, especially since rage improves your con as well. But feats are tight, so that may have to wait until later.

[Con_Brio1993]

I think I want to stick with core races for now. Most of the players are sticking with core and I don't want to play some "out-there" race.



The main draw of Whirling Frenzy is the extra attack you get to make, so from 1st level you can make two attacks every round. With Pounce you can even do that on a charge. The AC bonus is indeed better than a temporarily higher Con, not getting hit at all is far better than being able to take maybe one more hit and then dying when your rage ends. Also keep in mind that normal Rage gives you a -2 AC, so Whirling Frenzy is a net gain of +4 AC, definitely a better choice.

Magic doesn't care about my AC. The Constitution bonus allows me to survive, and if I take the feat that lets me use my Con mod for my Will save then a rage will seriously help me against a ton of spells.



Depending on your party, Frenzied Berserker is also a good candidate. Just make sure you think hard about your Rage trigger

Actually my character idea for now is basically a barbarian yandere. I was planning on activating rage whenever one specific party member was injured.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Yandere

If FB works better with my concept I'll go for it. Any good builds if I go that route? I assume I take different feats.

And our party for now is:

Cleric
Barbarian (me!)
Druid
Sorcerer
Rogue

[Mooncrow]

Frenzied Berserker is the big boy on the melee playground, the build difference isn't major, but it practically requires a couple levels of fighter to pick up the extra feats you need to get in, along with the usual feats to be effective.

(as an interesting note, bear warrior does work with the FB frenzy, so you can dip a level of bear and still have that shtick if you really want to^^)

Just make sure that a caster or two has calm emotion memorized, or another way of shutting you down if you fail your will save to end frenzy after everything is dead.

[Con_Brio1993]

Frenzied Berserker is the big boy on the melee playground, the build difference isn't major, but it practically requires a couple levels of fighter to pick up the extra feats you need to get in, along with the usual feats to be effective.

(as an interesting note, bear warrior does work with the FB frenzy, so you can dip a level of bear and still have that shtick if you really want to^^)

Just make sure that a caster or two has calm emotion memorized, or another way of shutting you down if you fail your will save to end frenzy after everything is dead.

What feats do I need for the Frenzied Barbarian build to work?

Also as for class features, I'm thinking of replacing the damage reduction stuff with streetfighter, which allows me to charge through allies, do 90 degree turns while charging, and all sorts of other stuff.

Also what is the Will save DC? I'd be taking that feat that lets me use my Con mod so I don't think I'd fail it often. Unless I can't take that feat somehow because FB requires too many others.

[Mooncrow]

What feats do I need for the Frenzied Barbarian build to work?

Also as for class features, I'm thinking of replacing the damage reduction stuff with streetfighter, which allows me to charge through allies, do 90 degree turns while charging, and all sorts of other stuff.

Also what is the Will save DC? I'd be taking that feat that lets me use my Con mod so I don't think I'd fail it often. Unless I can't take that feat somehow because FB requires too many others.

For entry into FB, you need Cleave, Destructive Rage, Intimidating Rage, and Power Attack. And you'll still want the same feats that you had with the Bear Warrior build. Steadfast Determination is pretty much required as well; the will DC is 20, and it's not a save you want to fail - turning that charge back on your party can be real painful, real fast.

[Con_Brio1993]

For entry into FB, you need Cleave, Destructive Rage, Intimidating Rage, and Power Attack. And you'll still want the same feats that you had with the Bear Warrior build. Steadfast Determination is pretty much required as well; the will DC is 20, and it's not a save you want to fail - turning that charge back on your party can be real painful, real fast.

So how does this sound?

Human
Level 1 Barbarian(lv1) (Power Attack, Cleave, Spirit Lion Totem for Pounce)
Level 2 Fighter(lv1) (Improved Sunder)
Level 3 Fighter(lv2) (Improved Bullrush, Intimidating Rage)
Level 4 Barbarian (lv2)
Level 5 Barbarian (lv3) (Trap Sense replaced with Spell Sense, or some better class feature if you have suggestions)
Level 6 Barbarian (lv4) (Destructive Rage)
Level 7 Frenzied Berserker(lv1)

and then just stick with Frenzied Berserker from then on, and take Steadfast Determination, Shock Trooper, and Combat Brute?

edit: Damn I need Endurance as well somewhere.... this is tough

[Gullintanni]

So you want to be the bear?
So you want to be angry?
So you want to block things with your chest!

You're not alone:

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=105525

[Con_Brio1993]

So you want to be the bear?
So you want to be angry?
So you want to block things with your chest!

You're not alone:

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=105525

I read that, but the thread is locked and I still need help with builds.

Oh jeez the DC for not going into a Frenzy is 10+damage? Damn that sounds like there are very very very very very good chances I'll murder the party unless we metagame and bring some calm emotions.

[Gullintanni]

Hm...yeah I thought he had some recommended builds there. I don't like Frenzied Berserker though. You need all the entry feats and because your will is so bad, you'll either need to take Steadfast Determination, or settle with probably killing party members at some point.

Warforged (Not a core race I know) Barbarian + Bear Warrior + Fist of the Forest can be pretty potent. Con to AC plus you're a Transformer. And you have a natural slam attack in your base form. And you're immune to fatigue. Warshaper 3 is pretty decent later on down the road too. I'll try and scrape a more complete build together in a bit.

[Con_Brio1993]

Hm...yeah I thought he had some recommended builds there. I don't like Frenzied Berserker though. You need all the entry feats and because your will is so bad, you'll either need to take Steadfast Determination, or settle with probably killing party members at some point.

Warforged (Not a core race I know) Barbarian + Bear Warrior + Fist of the Forest can be pretty potent. Con to AC plus you're a Transformer. And you have a natural slam attack in your base form. And you're immune to fatigue. Warshaper 3 is pretty decent later on down the road too.

Not too fond of Warforged in terms of flavor.

And I was planning on taking Steadfast anyway because my Will is pretty bad all the time.

[Gullintanni]

Not too fond of Warforged in terms of flavor.

And I was planning on taking Steadfast anyway because my Will is pretty bad all the time.

That's okay, Warforged is probably the least mandatory part of the build. It has some nice perks, but it's still potent the rest of the time.

[Con_Brio1993]

That's okay, Warforged is probably the least mandatory part of the build. It has some nice perks, but it's still potent the rest of the time.

Also when I said I was new at the game I meant it.

I can google the classes you listed, but I have no idea how many levels in each class to take, what level to take what feats, and all of that junk. Any help with that part would be very much appreciated.

[Gullintanni]

Human Spirit Lion Totem Barbarian 2/Thug Fighter 2/Fist of the Forest 3/Bear Warrior 7 for the Extra Rage/Barbarian+6

Level 1 - Power Attack
Human - Extra Rage
(L3) Fighter 1 - Improved Unarmed Strike
Level 3 - Great Fortitude
(L4) Fighter 2 - Improved Bull Rush
Level 6 - Shock Trooper
Level 9 - Leap Attack
Level 12 - Endurance
Level 15 - Steadfast Determination
Level 18 - Multiattack

This nets you Con to AC when unarmored, Con to Will (though this comes online late. If you want it earlier, drop Extra Rage and take Endurance at level 1, then Determination at 12), Rage four times per day plus Extra Rage, 3 natural attacks, plus iterative unarmed strikes at 1d10 base, plus size increases when in bear form. Taking Warshaper up to level 3 allows you to increase your size categories further, but keep in mind that you'll lose out on rages per day.

You can also attach a Monk's belt for Wis to AC. This will also step up your unarmed attack size category another step. If you plan to go this way, prioritize Wis over Dex...this should help shore up your Will save while you wait for Steadfast Determination to come online.

[Con_Brio1993]

Thank you very much.

Also would this be any decent as an alternative?

1 barbarian1 power attack, endurance
2 fighter1 improved sunder
3 fighter2 improved bullrush, steadfast determination
4 barbarian2
5 barbarian3
6 barbarian4 combat brute
7 barbarian5
8 bear warrior1
9 warshaper1 shock trooper
10 warshaper2
11 warshaper3
12 bear warrior2 extra rage
13 bear warrior3
14 bear warrior4
15 bear warrior5 intimidating rage
16 bear warrior6
17 bear warrior7
18 bear warrior8 improved toughness
19 bear warrior9
20 bear warrior10

edit:

I feel I should mention we rolled for stats and I got

17/17/16/14/13/13

[Mooncrow]

Here's one of my favorite FB builds:

(some small cheese ahead)
Race: Human
1. Barbarian - Endurance, Steadfast Determination
2. Fighter - Power Attack
3. Psychic Warrior - Intimidating Rage, Cleave
4. Psychic Warrior - Improved Bullrush
5. Psychic Warrior
6. Psychic Warrior - Destructive Rage
7. Fighter - Shock Trooper
8. Frenzied Berseker
9. Frenzied Berserker - Leap Attack
etc

It puts off entering FB by one level, but you pick up some extra feats, and some potentially useful powers. Alternately, you can grab two levels of PW, and then dip Warblade for some maneuvers, etc.

[Con_Brio1993]

Here's one of my favorite FB builds:

(some small cheese ahead)
Race: Human
1. Barbarian - Endurance, Steadfast Determination
2. Fighter - Power Attack
3. Psychic Warrior - Intimidating Rage, Cleave
4. Psychic Warrior - Improved Bullrush
5. Psychic Warrior
6. Psychic Warrior - Destructive Rage
7. Fighter - Shock Trooper
8. Frenzied Berseker
9. Frenzied Berserker - Leap Attack
etc

It puts off entering FB by one level, but you pick up some extra feats, and some potentially useful powers. Alternately, you can grab two levels of PW, and then dip Warblade for some maneuvers, etc.

Which book is Psychic Warrior in?

and after etc does that mean what feats I choose no longer really matters?

[Mooncrow]

Which book is Psychic Warrior in?

and after etc does that mean what feats I choose no longer really matters?

It's in the Expanded Psionics Handbook. And yeah, the feats after that don't matter nearly as much.

[Gullintanni]

Fist of the Forest really helps. Again Con to AC is the big one here, and the size increases are nice. With a Monk's belt you're treated as a level 5 monk. Fist of the Forest increases your unarmed damage dice by two, bring you to a base damage of 2d6. When your size increases from bear form, your damage increases to 3d6. Warshaper lets you up this to 4d6. If you can get someone to cast Animal Growth on you, your damage dice increase to 6d6 per attack, but lets assume you stop at 3d6...with leap attack, pounce and shock trooper your attack routine is:

+20/+15/+10/+5 3d6 + Strength Modifier + 2*Power Attack and Claw +18 1d8 +1/2 strength + 2*Power Attack and Bite +18 2d6 + 1/2 Strength + 2*Power Attack

Either way you're probably alright, but the Con to AC is nice, especially since you probably won't be wearing armor in Bear form.

[Con_Brio1993]

Yeah reading a bit more, while Frenzied looks nice I don't think it meshes as well with my character concept. Frenzy is just a bit too dangerous, and my character isn't that bloodthirsty.

Gulli, you mentioned Thug Fighter. Is that just a nickname for the fighter class, or is that some variant version of the fighter? If so why that variant, and which book?

Also why is Great Fortitude there? Is the +1xp and +3 Fsave really that good? Damage reduction of 5 seems pathetic. Dying at -20 is nice I guess, but how necessary?

As for alternate class features, what should I replace trap sense with, and what should I replace damage reduction with?

[Flickerdart]

Gulli, you mentioned Thug Fighter. Is that just a nickname for the fighter class, or is that some variant version of the fighter? If so why that variant, and which book?

As for alternate class features, what should I replace trap sense with, and what should I replace damage reduction with?
Thug is a Fighter variant in Unearthed Arcana, also available in the SRD (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#fighterVariantThug).
If your party has no Rogue, replace Trap Sense with Trapkiller. If it does, Spell Sense (CMage) is decent. DR can be traded in for one of the Spirit Totems in CChamp (I forget if you're required to take the same one as you did at 1st level, though). Lion is pretty sweet (enemies must save VS shaken, comboes great with Intimidate stuff).

[Gullintanni]

Thug is a Fighter variant in Unearthed Arcana, also available in the SRD (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#fighterVariantThug).
If your party has no Rogue, replace Trap Sense with Trapkiller. If it does, Spell Sense (CMage) is decent. DR can be traded in for one of the Spirit Totems in CChamp (I forget if you're required to take the same one as you did at 1st level, though). Lion is pretty sweet (enemies must save VS shaken, comboes great with Intimidate stuff).

Don't take Thug unless you have no skillmonkey. I didn't notice that Thug variant Fighter doesn't get a bonus feat at first level. Blech ><

Great Fortitude improves Fort Saves, and is a prerequisite for Fist of the Forest...much like Improved Unarmed Strike.

[Con_Brio1993]

Thug is a Fighter variant in Unearthed Arcana, also available in the SRD (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#fighterVariantThug).
If your party has no Rogue, replace Trap Sense with Trapkiller. If it does, Spell Sense (CMage) is decent. DR can be traded in for one of the Spirit Totems in CChamp (I forget if you're required to take the same one as you did at 1st level, though). Lion is pretty sweet (enemies must save VS shaken, comboes great with Intimidate stuff).

I'm thinking of trading damage reduction for Streetfighter, as it seems to benefit charging.



Don't take Thug unless you have no skillmonkey. I didn't notice that Thug variant Fighter doesn't get a bonus feat at first level. Blech ><

Great Fortitude improves Fort Saves, and is a prerequisite for Fist of the Forest...much like Improved Unarmed Strike.

Alright. We have a rogue so I'll take regular fighter.

By the way did you look at that alternate build I posted? Is it any decent? It requires less supplemental books that the DM has to potentially approve.

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12158821&postcount=32

[Andion Isurand]

In Champions of Valor (pg 40) there are the Fangshields Barbarian substitution levels.

Starting at 3rd level, the barbarian trades trap sense out for an enhancement bonus to speed when charging, equal to 10 ft for each level where the barbarian would normally get a boost to trap sense.

At 5th level, they trade their Imp Uncanny Dodge to make an attack at the end of a charge as though they had the Awesome Blow feat.

At 7th level, a barbarian can trade their first point of DR for the ability to heal HP equal to twice their Hit Dice by expending a use of rage as a standard action, even while already raging.

Might prove useful.

[Con_Brio1993]

I ended up going with the suboptimal build I mentioned in post #32.

The rest of the group isn't really optimizing, and I don't think the build is totally useless.

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12158821&postcount=32

[Flickerdart]

In Champions of Valor (pg 40) there are the Fangshields Barbarian substitution levels.

Starting at 3rd level, the barbarian trades trap sense out for an enhancement bonus to speed when charging, equal to 10 ft for each level where the barbarian would normally get a boost to trap sense.

At 5th level, they trade their Imp Uncanny Dodge to make an attack at the end of a charge as though they had the Awesome Blow feat.

At 7th level, a barbarian can trade their first point of DR for the ability to heal HP equal to twice their Hit Dice by expending a use of rage as a standard action, even while already raging.

Might prove useful.
You can only take Fangshield levels if you're non-Humanoid, though - and most of the best races are.

[Midnight_v]

If you want to be a Friendly Berserker...
It is bes to take the feat: Cumberous Will.
That way you NEVER kill the party. Might fit the yandere concept too..."Must not kill my beloved!! *shiver* "shut down".

Also if I may... Intimidating rage + Neveroutnumbered + Imperious Command?
You have some pretty decent stats. You could spare an item of + charisma in there somewhere to qual for command.

Warshaper bear warrior is pretty hardcore too though, the ability to grow: Tentacle, Claw, Slam, Tailslap, gore... every other natural attack... is pretty mean.

[Con_Brio1993]

Warshaper bear warrior is pretty hardcore too though, the ability to grow: Tentacle, Claw, Slam, Tailslap, gore... every other natural attack... is pretty mean.

I had forgotten about Cumberous Will. Too late though I think.

Also if I go the Bear Warrior/Warshaper route should I take Cleave/Improved Cleave?

edit:

Actually it isn't too late.

Race: Human
1. Barbarian - Endurance, Steadfast Determination
2. Fighter - Power Attack
3. Psychic Warrior - Intimidating Rage, Cleave
4. Psychic Warrior - Improved Bullrush
5. Psychic Warrior
6. Psychic Warrior - Destructive Rage
7. Fighter - Shock Trooper
8. Frenzied Berseker
9. Frenzied Berserker - Leap Attack
etc

but... I would want Cumberous Will BEFORE I took Frenzied Berserker. I'm not sure if there is a way to finagle that though. I could just push Leap Attack back and take it at 9, but that means a whole level where I could accidentally kill the whole party.

edit2:

Actually does Cumberous Will really help with the Frenzy? It says +6 to Will Saves, and then the shaken effect. But shaken doesn't thrust me out of Frenzy does it? So I could still end up failing the save.

Shaken also seems to be -2 to saves, so doesn't that mean +4 to Will overall for the save?

[Essence_of_War]

Eladriel's Guide, should be very useful to making barbarians (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=105525)