Fighter turning barbarian

[kroonermanblack]

So, I had originally spec'ed out my half orc fighter to go into tripping style stuff.

We had some game development that, combined with his back story, I think might be interesting to use to push him to more of a berserker/rager kind of character (from a straight up guard/tactical fighter kind of thing).

We are level 1, just going to level 2 as of right now (so I'm about to take my second level). We are only using the core books, though I might be able to talk the GM into allowing something else if it makes sense and isn't too outlandish/wild/min-max/OP/etc.

Just wondering if there's any 'good' way to do this, or if I'm better off keeping to fighter for a few more levels, or not taking barb at all, or doing something else entirely. We are a low-op game for the most part, and it's a huge game of 6-8 players.

Stats are 18/10/14/12/10/8. I'm concerned about rage + low AC since Dex is only 10, and I expect I'd be swapping to something more leatherish? Feat was exotic weapon spiked chain (like I said, wanted to do a trip build), was going to drop a point in int to pick up improved the combat reflexes and improved trip later.

[Envyus]

So, I had originally spec'ed out my half orc fighter to go into tripping style stuff.

We had some game development that, combined with his back story, I think might be interesting to use to push him to more of a berserker/rager kind of character (from a straight up guard/tactical fighter kind of thing).

We are level 1, just going to level 2 as of right now (so I'm about to take my second level). We are only using the core books, though I might be able to talk the GM into allowing something else if it makes sense and isn't too outlandish/wild/min-max/OP/etc.

Just wondering if there's any 'good' way to do this, or if I'm better off keeping to fighter for a few more levels, or not taking barb at all, or doing something else entirely. We are a low-op game for the most part, and it's a huge game of 6-8 players.

Stats are 18/10/14/12/10/8. I'm concerned about rage + low AC since Dex is only 10, and I expect I'd be swapping to something more leatherish? Feat was exotic weapon spiked chain (like I said, wanted to do a trip build), was going to drop a point in int to pick up improved the combat reflexes and improved trip later.

Take one more level in fighter then go Barb.

[kroonermanblack]

Take one more level in fighter then go Barb.

Ok, but why?

[LTwerewolf]

One more level of fighter gets you a bonus feat and keeps your good BaB. Most people consider fighter 2 (without ACF) to be how many levels fighter REALLY has. The others are just your imagination.

[Gwazi Magnum]

They're pretty similar classes anyways. Fighter is just more armor and feat based, while Barbarian is more speed and bonus strength based.

If you want to keep the heavy armor from Fighter I suggest replacing the fast movement of Barbarian with Pounce (Lion totem variant).
It let's you charge and full attack.

If my memory is a bit off and even this is armor restricted, just find other totems. Like one's that replace trap sense and fast movement with more feats or extra HP.


Ok, but why?

The Bonus Feat.

[LTwerewolf]

If you want to keep the heavy armor from Fighter I suggest replacing the fast movement of Barbarian with Pounce (Lion totem variant).
It let's you charge and full attack.


The Bonus Feat.

Mithral armor solves most problems.

[Gwazi Magnum]

Mithral armor solves most problems.

I forgot about that, good catch.

[Kennisiou]

2 levels fighter rest in barb is definitely not bad, but consider waiting on the second fighter level until you have some more prereqs for a good bonus feat.

For barb, definitely nab the spirit lion totem ACF mentioned (trades out fast movement with pounce and DR with a demoralize effect), but also grab wolf totem (totems and spirit totems can be combined, wolf totem loses uncanny dodge, improved uncanny dodge, and trap sense (all pretty mediocre to awful class features) for improved trip at level two and track at level five, which are both pretty great feats. I bring up wolf totem in particular since it nabs you improved trip without prereqs, which is nice, especially since you only have 12 of the 13 int required for combat expertise and this would mean you don't have to waste an attribute increase on +1 int.

[Darrin]

Take a look at Saph's Horizon Tripper (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?80415-The-Horizon-Tripper-(Core-Melee-Build)) build. It starts off Fighter 1/Barbarian 1/Ranger 3, but if you have access to feats and ACFs outside core, I'd definitely consider starting off with something like Fighter 2/Barbarian 2/Ranger 3. Getting Improved Trip via Wolf Totem (from Unearthed Arcana) without Combat Expertise would probably be my first priority. After that, I'd ask my DM to give his opinion on mixing Improved Trip with Knock-Down (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/divine/divineAbilitiesFeats.htm#knockDown).