Barbarian build help/advice

[Unbalanced]

Starting a new campaign very soon again.
Now I will have the occasional extra help (a friend joining or an NPC) but most of the time I will be solo.
DM has requested that I keep my character as something fairly basic such as a fighter or barbarian.

I've made up a barbarian but seeing as I need to make sure I'll be able to fend for myself, I thought I'd consult the forums for build advice/suggestions. I thought the invulnerable rager archetype to boost DR would be a good way to improve my survivability.

Starting at level 2, and to be honest, probably won't go passed level 12 or so.
I like the idea of someone who fights well but then, when he gets angry, goes into a rage, drops his weapons, and goes savage with natural weapons.
This is what I've got so far:


Human
(Heart of the Fields - gain a racial bonus equal to half your character level to any one Craft or Profession skill, and once per day you may ignore an effect that would cause you to become fatigued or exhausted. This racial trait replaces skilled.)

STR 18
DEX 14
CON 16
INT 10
WIS 12
CHA 10

Languages:
Common

Traits:
Armour expert – Armour check penalties for armour you wear are reduced by 1 to a minimum of 0.
Adopted – You may select a race trait from your adoptive parents' race. (Dwarf - Hardy)


Barbarian (Invulnerable Rager) 1-
HP: 15
Initiative: +2 (Dex +2)
Attack: +5 (BAB +1, Str +4)
Damage: 1d10+6 (heavy flail)
AC: 18 (Breastplate +6, Dex +2)
FORT: +6 (Barbarian +2, Con +4)
REF: +2 (Dex +2) (+2 bonus against poisons, spells and spell-like abilities)
WILL: +1 (Wis +1)
Barbarian: Fast movement, rage
Rage: 7 rounds/day
Feat: Power attack
Bonus feat: Raging vitality


Skills:
Craft (armour)- +5 (+1 rank, +3 class skill, +1 racial bonus)
Handle animal- +4 (+1 rank, +3 class skill)
Intimidate- +4 (+1 rank, +3 class skill)
Perception- +5 (+1 rank, +3 class skill, Wis +1)
Survival- +5 (+1 rank, +3 class skill, Wis +1)




Barbarian (Invulnerable Rager) 2-
HP: 30
Initiative: +2 (Dex +2)
Attack: +6 (BAB +2, Str +4)
Damage: 1d10+6 (heavy flail)
AC: 18 (Breastplate +6, Dex +2)
FORT: +7 (Barbarian +3, Con +4)
REF: +2 (Dex +2) (+2 bonus against poisons, spells and spell-like abilities)
WILL: +1 (Wis +1)
Barbarian: Rage power, invulnerability
Rage: 9 rounds/day
Rage power: Lesser beast totem
Invulnerability: DR 1/-

Skills:
Acrobatics- +3 (+1 rank, +3 class skill, -3 armour check penalty, +2 Dex)
Climb- +5 (+1 rank, +3 class skill, -3 armour check penalty, +4 Str)
Craft (armour)- +5 (+1 rank, +3 class skill, +1 racial bonus)
Handle animal- +4 (+1 rank, +3 class skill)
Intimidate- +5 (+2 rank, +3 class skill)
Perception- +6 (+2 rank, +3 class skill, Wis +1)
Survival- +6 (+2 rank, +3 class skill, Wis +1)

[AvatarVecna]

Firstly, if you're playing a mostly-solo game, Fighters and Barbarians are generally not going to be your best options; there's a fair number of classes that can solo well (all full casters, Bards, Rangers, Rogues, maybe Investigators...), but Fighters and Barbarians, being low-Tier, aren't as generally versatile as other classes. That said, if your DM is willing to work around your character's limitations, they won't be as problematic as they are in general play. As for advice actually relating to Barbarians (and also Fighters)...

1) In before N. Jolly (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/member.php?48437-N-Jolly) semi-shamelessly self-promotes (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1plVgdYb5KYxtXiysgd_pzdK-37PCmz2u9VzpuvNPDdo/edit). Their PF Barbarian char-op guide is well-made, comprehensive, and fairly optimal.

2) Since I've plugged N. Jolly's guide, I may as well plug Trinam's guide (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Ump_KFzNoD7x6aJ9ywGank5G9DzSVlef28bBbjuIq2U/edit?pli=1), Elewan's guide (https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1im9-alhmNPAIQknkclrrhLupSFb6vmMNnQmW8BuORBA), and Novawurmson's guide (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?233032-PF-Anger-Management-A-Pathfinder-Guide-to-the-Barbarian). These guides are pretty good, but I tend to prefer N. Jolly's:

2A) Trinam's guide is a hilarious read, but it doesn't delve as deeply into the various aspects of character creation as N. Jolly's guide does; that said, it's the only other guide that, at the time of this post, actually discusses feats and items, so there's that.

2B) Elewan's guide is laid out in a way that makes the differences between standard and archetype barbarians easier to see and compare, but most of the guide consists of very summarized analyses of the various options, rarely delving into the mechanics of any particular option, and that's if the option is even discussed; the sections set aside for feats and items are empty, despite those being some of the more powerful options available to any character.

2C) Novawurmson's guide is roughly on par with N. Jolly's, but it's still missing the feat and item sections. That said, I'd say this guide is superior to Elewan's guide, at least IMO. Not only does Nova's guide go into more detail on the same things Elewan's guide covers, not to mention the bonus stuff about Bloodragers, but it shows signs of being updated in the future: Nova's guide was posted in February 2012, and was last updated September 2014; furthermore, Novawurmson was last active about 2 weeks ago. When you compare that to Elewan's guide, and a basic search yields no original post date, post update, or user activity information, the evidence suggests that Nova is more likely to update their guide with feats and items than Elewan is.

3) I've been attempting to make my own char-op guide for the PF Barbarian; it's still very much a WIP, and I don't feel like posting an incomplete analysis, but I'm willing to share any insights you might find helpful, and I'm sure N. Jolly and Novawurmson will be as well, should they find this thread before it disappears into the archives. I'll post some actual personal advice here later, but for now, plugging the guides is what I have time for.

[Unbalanced]

Firstly, if you're playing a mostly-solo game, Fighters and Barbarians are generally not going to be your best options; there's a fair number of classes that can solo well (all full casters, Bards, Rangers, Rogues, maybe Investigators...), but Fighters and Barbarians, being low-Tier, aren't as generally versatile as other classes. That said, if your DM is willing to work around your character's limitations, they won't be as problematic as they are in general play. As for advice actually relating to Barbarians (and also Fighters)...

I'm well aware that a barbarian or fighter isn't the best but that's what the DM has requested and since I've never played a straight agro-melee character, I don't mind the idea.
I assume and I hope that he will allow for this within the campaign.
Either that, or he may create his own character as an NPC (he has a habit of doing that) to assist me in the more social aspects.


N. Jolly's guide (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1plVgdYb5KYxtXiysgd_pzdK-37PCmz2u9VzpuvNPDdo/edit). Their PF Barbarian char-op guide is well-made, comprehensive, and fairly optimal.

Cheers.
I have read this and it's definitely helped, but I'm more looking for specific advice on my particular character.

[Unbalanced]

Bump.

Any help on feat selection, weapon choice, rage powers etc would be much appreciated.

Ideally I'd like to fight unarmed or with spiked gauntlets (or similar), and then when in rage form, grow claws/bite/horns and continue the same style of fighting but a more violent and savage. If I could enlarge when I rage, that'd be super awesome as well. But of course, I being primarily a solo character, I need to also make him as kick-ass as possible.

I've currently selected a heavy flail as its a pretty good damaging weapon and something a bit different from the usual greatsword (being the supreme two handed weapon) but I'd definitely like to do what I've mentioned if its possible.



****Edit - Heavy flail, not dire flail

[Arbane]

Any help on feat selection, weapon choice, rage powers etc would be much appreciated.

Ideally I'd like to fight unarmed or with spiked gauntlets (or similar), and then when in rage form, grow claws/bite/horns and continue the same style of fighting but a more violent and savage. If I could enlarge when I rage, that'd be super awesome as well. But of course, I being primarily a solo character, I need to also make him as kick-ass as possible.


If you want to fight unarmed while raging, the Beast Totem line is the way to go with Rage Powers. (Greater Beast Totem is one of the few sources of Pounce available to PCs.)
I don't think there's currently any size-changing rage powers, but potions of Enlarge Person are relatively cheap.

As for feats, POWER ATTACK. I like Furious Focus to go with it, but some folks don't think it's worth it.

Looks like you've got a pretty good start so far.

[BWR]

I'd avoid the dire flail. It's an effing stupid weapon and the feat tax will really put a crimp in your style: it's an exotic weapon (1 feat) and double (ton of feats for TWF).
If you want unarmed, you have the Brutal Pugilist archetpye from APG, but I'd stick with invulnerable.
The Lesser/[..]/Greater Beast Totem rage powers from APG give you claw attacks and eventually pounce, so that sounds like something you want.
Apart from that it looks like you're on the right track.

[Unbalanced]

I'd avoid the dire flail. It's an effing stupid weapon and the feat tax will really put a crimp in your style: it's an exotic weapon (1 feat) and double (ton of feats for TWF).
If you want unarmed, you have the Brutal Pugilist archetpye from APG, but I'd stick with invulnerable.
The Lesser/[..]/Greater Beast Totem rage powers from APG give you claw attacks and eventually pounce, so that sounds like something you want.
Apart from that it looks like you're on the right track.

Thanks.
I meant heavy flail (I've now edited the original post).

And yeah, definitely going for the claw attacks. I like the gore and bite attacks, but claw attacks seem to have a lot more damage output potential.

Cheers.

[Ashes]

You're going to want the Superstitious rage power ASAP. Especially with the humans' alternate favored class bonus.

Your saves will be amazing. Superstitious is even better here, than it usually is, on account of it forcing you to resist even friendly spells cast on you. You can see why this will not be the issue it ordinarily is.

[Unbalanced]

You're going to want the Superstitious rage power ASAP. Especially with the humans' alternate favored class bonus.

Your saves will be amazing. Superstitious is even better here, than it usually is, on account of it forcing you to resist even friendly spells cast on you. You can see why this will not be the issue it ordinarily is.

From my experience with this DM, resisting spells won't be an issue at low levels. Though higher up, it'll definitely become an issue (probably) so I'll grab it as my next rage power I think.

[Kurald Galain]

Note that the Adopted trait lets you select a racial trait from the traits section, not something from a race page. It's one of those confusing things where two separate things are both called "trait", but they're not interchangeable. So you could take Glory of Old, but not Hardy.

[Unbalanced]

Note that the Adopted trait lets you select a racial trait from the traits section, not something from a race page. It's one of those confusing things where two separate things are both called "trait", but they're not interchangeable. So you could take Glory of Old, but not Hardy.

Oh. Misinterpreted that.
And, I actually think I read it one of the guides, so I must not be the only one who's misinterpreted it.

All good. I'll switch that trait out for something else.
Now the question is to what...?

Axe to Grind (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/traits/combat-traits/axe-to-grind) or Second Chance (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/traits/religion-traits/lessons-of-chaldira-chaldira-zuzaristan)? Both look pretty good and would have no problem syncing to my character.

[Unbalanced]

Another question...
Is there any way for me to obtain a bite/claw(s)/horn attack permanently by 3rd level without changing race??

[BWR]

Not that I know of. Maybe the DM would allow you some custom magic item.

[Unbalanced]

Just spoken with the DM and seeing as we haven't done our first session yet, he's happy for me to change to basically whatever I want! Still keen for me to keep Barbarian or Fighter (any benefit in cross-classing?) but I can change my race, feats, traits to my hearts content.
Which, I must admit, was quite unexpected because usually he hates things out of the norm, which encompasses anything outside of core races.

So I'm thinking of going Lizardfolk or Tiefling maybe, but Lizardfolk would make taking "lesser beast totem" a complete waste (until it improves down the track) however I'd still want to work up to "greater beast totem".

If I did go for Lizardfolk or Tiefling what's an alternative way of gaining fatigue immunity and how do I best buff my natural attacks?

Otherwise, any other race recommendations are welcome.

[Ashes]

I'd still recommend going for Superstitious early on account of the human favored class bonus ticking in from the beginning. Which also means I recommend staying a human. I have yet to see a race give me anything I'd rather have than a bonus feat.