A mountless lancer?

[Corran93]

So, my group is thinking about doing an all barbarian party, for kicks. So I got thinking as to how we could build characters so that our combat is at least a little varied.

Looking at the barbarian, I thought of basically a on-foot lancer who stabs someone, then runs away.

The build:
Woodelf barb (45' movement)
Eagle totem (when raged, can dash as a bonus action)
Mobile feat (additional 10' movement)
Lance (D12 and reach)

So in essence, a level 5 character like this, who has a 55' base speed (nearly the same as a horse) and who is raged, can use the dash bonus action, sprint 55' to 10' away from something, stab it twice with the lance, then sprint 55' away from the opponent, without taking any attacks of opportunity, or effectively mitigating them with the eagle/mobile combo. in this case, the barb is now 65' away from the enemy it hit. Realistically, if attacking something already 10' away from the barb, it could just stab, then dash 110' away, outdistancing all but the longbow.

Additionally, it can use reckless attack to gain advantage on the attack, more or less with impunity. while ranged weapons or mages could still hit the barb, it would have decently high hp and AC, and such high mobility would make targeting such back-row fighters a cake-walk.

Thoughts? Am I missing something? I know it sounds a bit munchkiny, but it's all in good fun, and with a DM who is known for doing similar things as a player.

[Chronos]

Don't forget the coconut shells.

[Easy_Lee]

One thing of note: since you have the mobile feat, you probably wouldn't need to use a lance. Targets are not getting attacks of opportunity anyway.

[Slipperychicken]

Try it with an Aarakora, from the elemental evil book. They've got a 50ft racial fly speed. Now you're zipping through the air with a 70ft base speed. Get about 25-30ft off the ground when running back, and very little will be able to hit you. Still, an enemy could start using readied actions to try to hit you when you get close.

For extra fun, start your round next to someone, grapple him (with advantage on the athletics check because barbarians rule), dash 140ft straight upward, then release the grapple to inflict 14d6 falling damage. Bonus points if you can drop him onto an environmental hazard or another enemy.


Also, you'll need to be level 7 (Barbarian 5/Rogue2). You only get a bonus action dash with a 2-level Rogue dip.

[ChubbyRain]

Now that flying is officially ok to be balanced at level 1, we could totally make a Dragoon from the final fnatady series that has insane jump attacks.

Actually, that's not a bad idea... I might work on this.

[Chronos]

Also, you'll need to be level 7 (Barbarian 5/Rogue2). You only get a bonus action dash with a 2-level Rogue dip.
Or with three levels of barbarian, like he said. Or, for that matter, two levels of monk.

[Easy_Lee]

Now that flying is officially ok to be balanced at level 1, we could totally make a Dragoon from the final fnatady series that has insane jump attacks.

Actually, that's not a bad idea... I might work on this.

That sounds awesome. I'd think a scaling bonus to jumps and jump-attack damage bonus scaling similar to rogue sneak attack bonus would be a good start. Not to get too far off topic.

[goto124]

I read the thread title and thought 'centaur'.

[Chronos]

Oh, and on a more serious note: This might be a powerful character concept for a solo character, but how would he fit into a party?

[Corran93]

One thing of note: since you have the mobile feat, you probably wouldn't need to use a lance. Targets are not getting attacks of opportunity anyway.

I was thinking about that, but I think I'd be tempted to keep it just for character fluff, since in this case I don't see the 5' penalty being a major issue.

[Corran93]

Oh, and on a more serious note: This might be a powerful character concept for a solo character, but how would he fit into a party?

The party concept so far would be that each of our three players would tend towards a different totem choice. So we would have the tanky bear and the wolf tag-teaming whatever was up front, and then have the eagle/lancer focusing on whatever was in the back row, otherwise the lancer would be focusing on whatever the wolf is giving advantage on.

The bear player may end up going for beserker though, we haven't heard for sure from him. I recognize it's hardly an ideal team composition, and I fully expect the DM to kill us off, either through more encounters than we have rages, or just swarming us with a bunch of smaller units.

[Easy_Lee]

I was thinking about that, but I think I'd be tempted to keep it just for character fluff, since in this case I don't see the 5' penalty being a major issue.

Gotcha. It's not like having a d12 weapon with reach is a bad thing. If I were to play the character, I would keep a sidearm just in case, so that I could pull it out and smack someone who got too close. That way you don't have to take opportunity attacks from foes who manage to get in range. The sidearm could be a short sword re-fluffed as a "little lance." Of course, you could use unarmed strikes for that too.

Notably, you don't have to drop a two-handed weapon just to draw out a one-handed weapon. You can just hold it in your free hand and specify that you are just holding it, not wielding it, until you doff the one-hander.

[Gritmonger]

Gotcha. It's not like having a d12 weapon with reach is a bad thing. If I were to play the character, I would keep a sidearm just in case, so that I could pull it out and smack someone who got too close. That way you don't have to take opportunity attacks from foes who manage to get in range. The sidearm could be a short sword re-fluffed as a "little lance." Of course, you could use unarmed strikes for that too.

Notably, you don't have to drop a two-handed weapon just to draw out a one-handed weapon. You can just hold it in your free hand and specify that you are just holding it, not wielding it, until you doff the one-hander.

...and for doffing the one-hander, can I suggest throwing axes? That way your attack /is/ a doff - and you're ready to go with your lance... while if you get them too close, you can always just whack them with the axe - if they run too far for your lance to hit after that, you can axe 'em why...