Which is more important for a barbarian, DEX or CON

[Durand]

I am creating a 1st level Goliath barbarian for a 3.5e group and my goal for him is to smash everything in my way and do as much damage as possible. However, I am a little worried about surviving. I have my highest stat in strength and I can't decide whether to put my next best into dexterity for more AC or constitution for more health. The difference would be 2 AC or 2 health.

(the scores i rolled are 17, 17, 13, 12, 11, 11 with additional +4 STR, -2 DEX, and +2 CON from race if it helps). Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[LrdoftheRngs]

I'd say put it in CON. With your d12 hit die and no ability to wear heavy armor, you're meant to have lots of health and not a lot of AC. Besides, as you level up, AC gets less and less important, and you need a lot of health.

[Ravens_cry]

I believe Captain Kirk can answer that one (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRnSnfiUI54).
Seriously, you are a freaking Barbarian. Think of your HP as ablative armour.

[The Viscount]

The guide for Being Bane (http://www.ruleofcool.com/smf/index.php?topic=653.0) says it better than I ever could. Con is the important one.

[Flickerdart]

Constitution is definitely the way to go. It's a lot easier to raise your AC with items than it is to get more hit points, and your AC is going to be reduced by Rage anyway. Just focus on killing stuff, because if it's dead, it can't hit you!

[Urpriest]

While Con is generally great, the gap between your second and third scores (17 vs 13) coupled with the fact that you get a racial bonus to Con and a racial penalty to Dex, actually says Dex to me. You're starting at low level, so AC is actually relevant, and Initiative is important as well. Dex 15 Con 15 sounds like a better deal than Dex 11 Con 19 in this particular case.

[Juntao112]

Go into Fist of the Forest. Your Con is your AC.

[NOhara24]

AC will be relevant in low-level play. That being said, Barbarians rarely die in low level play just because of the simple fact that they have more HP than the other classes.

If you foresee this campaign going on for awhile, put it in CON and start looking for ways to stack DR and evade chance.

[StreamOfTheSky]

Given racial adjustments, I'd put the higher score in Dex, unless you're actually doing the Bane suggestions to add Con to AC and other stuff. Dex is still important, and 11 would be painful.

What a shame you rolled 5 odd scores....

[Autopsibiofeeder]

While Con is generally great, the gap between your second and third scores (17 vs 13) coupled with the fact that you get a racial bonus to Con and a racial penalty to Dex, actually says Dex to me. You're starting at low level, so AC is actually relevant, and Initiative is important as well. Dex 15 Con 15 sounds like a better deal than Dex 11 Con 19 in this particular case.

I agree with Urpriest. Dex 11 is just very underwhelming to begin with and Con 19 is of course great, but you can do with less. Str 21, Dex 15, Con 15 are great stats for a starting barbarian in my opinion.

[Lortharian Duin]

I'd say CON over DEX anytime but here its risky in the beginning of your campaign. You could wear some sort of medium armor and block attacks with your chest though. Later in game CON is far more useful.
Have you thought about putting 17s in DEX and CON and 13 in STR? That would make your STR 15, DEX 15, CON 19. You'll get more strength via magic items and while raging. It is yet another option.

[Greenish]

One thing to factor in is what you'll do with your Rage. The standard version holds little attraction to you compared to the obvious alternatives: Mountain Rage (Goliath barbarian substitution level) or Whirling Frenzy (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/classFeatureVariants.htm#rageVariantWhirlingFrenzy ) (UA ACF). The former nets you slightly more Strength and, more importantly, reach, while the latter grants an extra attack and boosts (instead of penalizing) your AC, but doesn't give bonus to Con.

[Durand]

Okay so now I'm thinking I'll put the high score into dex so i have 21 STR, 15 DEX, 15 CON and using the spirit lion totem from CC to get pounce and replace rage with whirling frenzy.

[Newoblivion]

Okay so now I'm thinking I'll put the high score into dex so i have 21 STR, 15 DEX, 15 CON and using the spirit lion totem from CC to get pounce and replace rage with whirling frenzy.

Replace your race to half orc. Headlong Rush + Power Attack + Shock Trooper + Whirling Frenzy = a lot of damage :3

You'll need a lot of HP for this build though. For your AC is going to be quite low :D