Ideas for enjoyable encounters for Barbarians

[RealMarkP]

Having a big, dumb brute in the party that lacks skill and social grace means that he is only good at one of the many facets of D&D. However, I'm having a hard time figuring out how to integrate him in encounters that use skills, traps, diplomacy, and so on. So, I'm looking for advice on how to make encounters, that are of the standard smash-and-grab variety, seem much more than smash-and-grab?

How do you make a barbarian happy?

The other members of this party are both arcane casters with a slew of very interesting spells and skills. I can easily slot them into a scenario and have many hours of laughs and ingenious role playing.

[Laserlight]

Having a big, dumb brute in the party that lacks skill and social grace means that he is only good at one of the many facets of D&D.

That low CHA score is something the player should be prepared to deal with, just as the casters need to deal with having a low STR. I wouldn't cut any slack.

And you don't have to be good at something to have fun doing it:

King: Brave adventurers, thank you for saving my precious daughter from the foul monster, I shall reward you richly.
Barbarian: Good, cuz dat wench wudn't good enough in da hay to be worf saving...hey, why he turn colors like dat?

[Juntao112]

How do you make a barbarian happy?


Well, to do that, you have to answer one simple question: "What is best in life?" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PQ6335puOc)

Barbarians are not well suited to social encounters, but that does not mean they cannot have interesting roleplaying opportunities in them. For example, if invited to a royal ball, the Barbarian does not have to sit quietly or go about offending people. You could have an opportunity to explore what a barbarian believes in philosophically and have the PC gain some respect that way if he defends his lifestyle in front of more "civilized" people.

[ManInOrange]

I'm 99% with laserlight on this one.

The only reason it's not 100 is that it might not be the player's fault. If you're dealing with a newer player, they might have only been thinking of smashing and destroying things when they made the character.
Sometimes, more experience players are prepared to take the social penalties and take homework to sessions.
Other times, they will have some aspect of the character that will allow them to participate in social situations in a fun way. It may be intimidation, or it may be that half-orc stench... there are always ways to participate.

If the player is new, I would give them the option to re-train. You might work with them on the character concept itself, or you might provide a small side-quest for them to have the opportunity to earn prestige. I find that tribal folk are frequently willing to provide hospitality to those who can prove their strength.

If the player is well-seasoned, then something probably went wrong. Maybe they tried to make accommodations and they've just proven useless. Did they put ranks into intimidate? Is their backstory rich? Did they try to work with you in the realm of customizing at all?

No matter what happened, you shouldn't fine-tune encounters just to accommodation him. The player might not have the RP skills necessary to function in your encounters. More likely, they don't know the options available.

[WinWin]

a challenge for the thinking mans barbarian.

Inside a stone cavern there is a tree stump and a small boulder. There is also an inscription on the wall.

The tree stump has an axe embedded in it.

The boulder has a sword sticking out of it.

If the barbarian approaches, a magic mouth appears and intones the inscription in a sinister voice.

"Take your pick"

[Kane0]

A piñata that remakes itself within a few rounds.

You may have to destroy it permanently, or somehow find a way to make more of them. The barbarian will have a lot of fun in the meantime.

To answer the question "How do you make a Barbarian happy": Barbarians are 90% of the time simple people with simple desires. Good meals and comfortable beds are often prized the most, with other fun things like sex and fighting coming in a close second.
But you are looking to how to engage the barbarian, are you not? Try making an encounter something relating to their tribe/place of origin, or relating to things he may have knowledge of (being a wilderness kind of class). That should grab his attention, the rest is up to him to deal with, like Laser said.

[Valdor]

It also just depends on how the person plays the barbarian in the first place. Not all barbarians are stupid or only into smashing thing. Depending on scores, I have found roleplaying barbarians to be super fun, even in social situations. Say the party has to seek out another barbarian tribe to gain the trust/tribal knowledge/totem item or whatever the party needs but the head honcho refuses to deal with these "outsiders". In comes barbarian man to prove to him (by either shows of strength to prove their worth or by an odd social encounter since the tribe leader feels kinship toward the fellow barbarian. Now the character feel that that they are contributing without only being good for smashing. Just a thought.

Also before people come in with "a mage can do all that with spell x" hopefully the players understand what is going on or even by DM fiat we can say that the tribe is under the protection of the "ancestor spirits" or whatever god they worship so they are immune to mind effecting spells as long as they stay with the tribe so the mage just can magic the info out of them.

Just random thought. Hope it helps P.S. sorry if there is a huge number of grammar errors. Typing from my phone.

[Gandariel]

If fighting is the only thing he's good at, make him feel invaluable at that.

Examples?

a) They are escaping a cave filled with low-level enemies. They get to the end, the exit is only large enough for a man to stand.
The barbarian stands there and fights wave after wave of monsters, while casters in the back buff and heal him.

b) (This is just an example, it can be adjusted)
Party is leaving a small town.
For some reason the barbarian is asked to come back in the town for a few minutes (someone wants to talk to him or give him something)
While that happens, the party (which is like 200 feet out of the village) gets ambushed.

The enemies should be relatively strong, and the party should be really endangered because of the ambush.

After a few rounds of fighting (and the party losing) have the Barbarian return.
The barbarian gets back, joins the fight and makes the team win:
One way to do this would be if the enemies consisted in a strong caster in the back and mobile melee warriors (and/or Entangle) that kept the party there, unable to reach the caster.
The Barbarian joins the encounter and is in position to charge and kill the caster with a charge.
The rest of the mooks are eliminated easily, finish.
From the Barbarian's point of view, the party was getting thrashed until he came and saved them.

[PersonMan]

Also before people come in with "a mage can do all that with spell x" hopefully the players understand what is going on or even by DM fiat we can say that the tribe is under the protection of the "ancestor spirits" or whatever god they worship so they are immune to mind effecting spells as long as they stay with the tribe so the mage just can magic the info out of them.

It's really only necessary to have a large number of them present, which should be threatening enough to make anyone with common sense think "hey, maybe obviously enchanting their leader is not a good idea".


And you don't have to be good at something to have fun doing it:

King: Brave adventurers, thank you for saving my precious daughter from the foul monster, I shall reward you richly.
Barbarian: Good, cuz dat wench wudn't good enough in da hay to be worf saving...hey, why he turn colors like dat?

The funny thing is, low Cha means he'll probably be the one least likely to get that kind of "hero's reward".

[DonDuckie]

The funny thing is, low Cha means he'll probably be the one least likely to get that kind of "hero's reward".

Oh, right... because big, muscular jerks never get the ladies... :smallconfused:

[PersonMan]

Oh, right... because big, muscular jerks never get the ladies... :smallconfused:

Purely based on stats, "big, muscular jerks" who get tons of ladies have high Cha. Sure, they might be jerks, but they have the force of personality to be attractive jerks. As opposed to sweaty, stinking piles of muscle that nobody wants to be around.

EDIT: Oh, and I've never actually seen 'big, muscular jerks' get ladies outside of films and similar, which I don't really trust as an authoritative source on social dynamics.

[DonDuckie]

Purely based on stats, "big, muscular jerks" who get tons of ladies have high Cha. Sure, they might be jerks, but they have the force of personality to be attractive jerks. As opposed to sweaty, stinking piles of muscle that nobody wants to be around.

EDIT: Oh, and I've never actually seen 'big, muscular jerks' get ladies outside of films and similar, which I don't really trust as an authoritative source on social dynamics.

So there's no individual, racial or cultural taste?
no potential "modifiers" to alter a level of attraction?
no account for a sense of obligation to put out towards the savior?
all the girls and boys are more attracted to the higher age catagories?
and if you have tons of money and status, still nobody wants you, unless you have high Cha?

perhaps there are no concerns of gender when deciding level of attraction?

I don't think your views are based in the rules.

Fun for barbarians:(so it's not just derailing)
- infiltrating illegal fighting rings
- tournaments
- obtaining tribal followers by demonstrating strength/battle prowess

[PersonMan]

So there's no individual, racial or cultural taste?

Never said there weren't.


no potential "modifiers" to alter a level of attraction?

Sure there are.


no account for a sense of obligation to put out towards the savior?

As sleazy as this sounds to me, well, I never said there wasn't. Besides, if this was the case, why isn't the princess giving everyone a ride? (To put it bluntly.)


all the girls and boys are more attracted to the higher age categories?
(Common mistake.)

Did I argue this?


and if you have tons of money and status, still nobody wants you, unless you have high Cha?

No, if you're a terrible person to be around, they probably don't want you, but your money/fame.


perhaps there are no concerns of gender when deciding level of attraction?

I didn't say this.


I don't think your views are based in the rules.

"My views"?

Allow me to quote what I've said on this matter:


The funny thing is, low Cha means he'll probably be the one least likely to get that kind of "hero's reward".

Emphasized the important bits. If I said "nobody will ever do it with the low-Cha barbarian" you would be spot on, but I didn't. Essentially, my statement is "if the princess is going to be having sex with anyone in the party, it's probably going to be one of the people with good Charisma".

Without party specifics, this is true. Now, maybe nobody in the party but the low-Charisma guy is interested. Maybe the princess has a thing for the big, muscled type. But without any information like this, it's safe to assume that she will prefer the attractive, well-spoken people to the abrasive/shy ones who may or may not look well-groomed or similar.


Fun for barbarians:

I'd say it depends heavily on the character. A lot of good ideas have been mentioned, but the type of character and player is quite important. If he isn't really into non-combat challenges, or if his concept is just "quiet during talking, puzzle solving, etc. but loud in fights", then the answer will be different, as will the need to include him more or less.

[RealMarkP]

Thanks for all the replies so far, the discussion is enlightening. As some mentioned, this is a new player and has rolled a textbook Barbarian. His backstory is a bit shallow and doesn't got into details. The only thing I have to work with is his Flaw - Clumsiness. So, I will be working with him to get a better sense of where his character wants to go and what he wants to do.

Another part of the issue is that the player is a quiet person by nature. A raging, shouting Barbarian is counter to his personality. Any tips on how to make him come out of his shell and start yelling and flipping tables (hopefully, not literally)???



Fun for barbarians:(so it's not just derailing)
- infiltrating illegal fighting rings
- tournaments
- obtaining tribal followers by demonstrating strength/battle prowess
The first two points are already being rolled into an adventure for the party. The casters will be out sneaking about and schmoozing the patrons while the Barbarian takes on very unique foes in a closed ring. I still need to find something other than breaking bones for the Barbarian to do, which might end up being the third point you mentioned. Maybe an NPC admires his prowess and asks for tutelage?

[Valdor]

Another part of the issue is that the player is a quiet person by nature. A raging, shouting Barbarian is counter to his personality. Any tips on how to make him come out of his shell and start yelling and flipping tables (hopefully, not literally)???

I kinda think you should maybe just let him play the character how he wants. Until he comes and ask for help on expressing the rage more then I would just let it be. If he is having fun and not hurting others fun then I see no problem.

Also maybe refluff Rage. Have the Rage be more of a seething under the skin kind of rage. It is a fast, silent attack that is brutal in nature for those that see it. Just my opinion

[DonDuckie]

Another part of the issue is that the player is a quiet person by nature. A raging, shouting Barbarian is counter to his personality. Any tips on how to make him come out of his shell and start yelling and flipping tables (hopefully, not literally)???

I have to agree with Valdor.

As he plays more sessions, he will become more comfortable with being outspoken and hogging the spotlight... I was the same(quiet) when I started with my 3rd edition half-orc great axe wielding barbarian... now I argue/make demands just as unreasonably as the next guy or gal.

[DonDuckie]

...some...

As sleazy as this sounds to me, well, I never said there wasn't. Besides, if this was the case, why isn't the princess giving everyone a ride? (To put it bluntly.)

.. a lot more...

she most likely did... but as Laserlight pointed out, she was a bad lay. (That one made me laugh.)

I didn't mean to offend and I don't believe I did. I was just (originally) making an observation on real life as well as fiction. And later responding to what I considered an excellent setup.

Making an intro like "Purely based on stats" will not save you from my comments. There is more than stats, and I like to point that out.

[PersonMan]

I didn't mean to offend and I don't believe I did. I was just (originally) making an observation on real life as well as fiction. And later responding to what I considered an excellent setup.

Eh, in my experience that only happens in fiction, I've yet to see it happen in real life and all the fiction I see it in isn't of the best quality. I was just making an observation that, since DnD has stats to model things like 'force of personality' and similar, it makes sense to use those for situations where it'd be relevant.


Making an intro like "Purely based on stats" will not save you from my comments. There is more than stats, and I like to point that out.

We all know there's more to DnD than stats and responding to statements entirely based on those with things unrelated to stats makes little sense.

If I say "Well, McFighter has a Charisma of 8, so he probably won't be able to bluff this very perceptive 18 Wis guard", a statement based on the respective stats, responding with "Well, maybe the guard is drunk and wants to believe everything McFighter says, it's not all stats!" doesn't add much. It can always be true that weird things line up to make things like this work, but it doesn't really matter if you're making a general statement.

Stats and fluff are meant to fit together. If I have a character who is really good at attracting people and making them listen to him, then a low Charisma doesn't make work (unless I have a ton of ranks in the necessary skills), just like I can't have a master swordsman with a BAB of 0 and nothing to help me hit things.

Stats alone make for a skeleton of a character, but fluff without anything to back it up doesn't work either.

[DonDuckie]

Eh, in my experience that only happens in fiction, I've yet to see it happen in real life and all the fiction I see it in isn't of the best quality. I was just making an observation that, since DnD has stats to model things like 'force of personality' and similar, it makes sense to use those for situations where it'd be relevant.

I noticed this before but chose not to comment. Until now.
Doesn't happen in real life? Many women claim to have fallen in love with guys purely based on looks(muscles in particular) later to realize he had no personality(or intelligence).

Not to mention what real life women have regretted sleeping with(the subject at hand). With or without alcohol.

It most certainly does happen in real life. Or women have been lying about it for decades.

And more importantly:
Real life isn't what we are debating, our roleplying is fiction. And in your own words: not all of it is "of the best quality".

For me: in DnD attrraction and love is determined more by chance than Charisma.

It's not just fluff - it's also circumstance modifiers...

I think we're debating different things...

Back on track(because I really feel rude with all this derailing):
- Drinking contest - which of course is fun for everyone...
- Carnival games - throw stuff, hit with hammer to ring a bell... with prizes
- An overland race - the barbarian's fast movement and survival aren't too shabby for these... trap sense to avoid opponents' traps, perhaps(hehe - traps perhaps)

[Waker]

Another part of the issue is that the player is a quiet person by nature. A raging, shouting Barbarian is counter to his personality. Any tips on how to make him come out of his shell and start yelling and flipping tables (hopefully, not literally)???
Playing to his strengths and giving him some time in the spotlight will certainly help. Often enough I see people half-heatedly playing the game only focusing on rolling the die and comparing number without really seeing their character as anything more than a statblock. Talk to him about potential NPCs, maybe some are from his past, maybe others are newer and have taken a shine to his rough-and-tumble approach to life. Perhaps you can give him a short side-story to attend to one session.
-A rival is out to discredit him and is interfering with his mission in some fashion.
-The local priest has been possessed by a demon who is intimidated by manliness. So rip off your shirt and perform a flexorcism.
-During downtime between missions, the Barbarian finds himself in a neighborhood where an orphanage is burning down. Will he rush in and be a savior to all those little tykes or will he search his bag of holding for marshmallows?

[sambouchah]

When one of my players is a Barbarian I usually add a LOT of kobolds, Goblins, skeletons, etc.(at least at low levels) It gives a raging brute something to play with at not too big a risk of dying. Hope I could help

[falloutimperial]

Barbarians are not well suited to social encounters, but that does not mean they cannot have interesting roleplaying opportunities in them. For example, if invited to a royal ball, the Barbarian does not have to sit quietly or go about offending people. You could have an opportunity to explore what a barbarian believes in philosophically and have the PC gain some respect that way if he defends his lifestyle in front of more "civilized" people.

This is a very good idea. Additionally, a brief, fun room that could easily be a bit of fun for a barbarian would be a room full of explosive runes covering the walls and a lever at the other end. It seems as though this is a job for the friendly illiterate.

[Kazyan]

Any tips on how to make him come out of his shell and start yelling and flipping tables (hopefully, not literally)???

Narrative distance.

Contemporary books sometimes explain what characters say in brief, because the exact contents are unimportant and they want to get to the next scene where they start using dialogue again. Ease your character in by letting him do that: instead of giving a loud impromptu speech, tell your player he can just say he does that. (Socially, this puts the narrative distance between the player and the awkwardness.) Once he gets into going that, you can begin to ask him for details.

"I get loud and angry when he says that." -> "I give him an angry speech, uh, and compare him to a table. I'm kinda on the table's side." -> "I start stomping around and growl, then I point a finger at him and demand beer." -> Dialogue should start happening of its own accord eventually.

[RealMarkP]

This is a very good idea. Additionally, a brief, fun room that could easily be a bit of fun for a barbarian would be a room full of explosive runes covering the walls and a lever at the other end. It seems as though this is a job for the friendly illiterate.
I tried the room-o-explosive-runes a few sessions ago. My party now has a fear of doors and anything that glows. Barbarian especially so.

I have planned a social encounter later in the campaign where the party will be at an Ebmassy as (fake) dignitaries. I might have the Barbarian dressed up as the King of the Marsh or some BS like that. It would be the best place to have him explain his heritage to other dignitaries while the other PCs do whatever task is needed of them. It screams "DM is a **** disturber", but it's the only social encounter I could think that might be relevant to the Barbarian. Comments/Suggestions for this event also welcome.

[Storm Bringer]

-The local priest has been possessed by a demon who is intimidated by manliness. So rip off your shirt and perform a flexorcism.

I'm sorry, but that made me sit here gigglimg like a little girl for about 5 mins. go out and buy yourself a drink of your choice, you deserve it for that one.


I would also say throw a few things in to specifically intrest/enguage the barb.

suggestions:

have a look at his sheet, and see what skills he has (sorry if i'm teaching you to suck eggs here). then, at some point, start inserting things that specifcally use those skills. he;s the only guy in the party with Handle Animal? then have him spot a man try to train a horse ("he's not got a clue what he's doing....no way can he make a living doing that. maybe his ranch is the base for teh cult we are looking for?")

another option is to just feed him plot clues or things that advance the story, on the basis that "hes a barbarian, he knows this things as a matter of course". for example, spotting that the "knight" they are talking to is a really bad rider, or that the orcs they are fighting are form the Northern tribes, or something.

also, it may be his character, but it's your world. don't be afraid to invent details that relate to his tribe or his homeland. As other have said, he may not have reached the stage of thinking about his character as a character, but still thinks of him as "a 3rd level half orc barbarian". if having a adventure that fleshes out his backstory a little helps him make the transition, all the better. Have his adoreing little brother turn up, having run away form home looking to "Be just like my big brother!", or his childhood friend come to him, begging that he help him get revenge on those that murdered his mother.