Bar-bear-ian attacks

[JoeJ]

Raging barbarians get a bonus to damage for STR based melee weapon attacks while raging. I just noticed in the MM that a brown bear's bite and claw attacks are specifically labeled as melee weapon attacks. That means a Moon Druid 2/Barbarian X can apply their damage bonus if they rage while wildshaped into a brown bear, right? And does the bear's natural armor combine with their unarmored defense?

[DracoKnight]

Raging barbarians get a bonus to damage for STR based melee weapon attacks while raging. I just noticed in the MM that a brown bear's bite and claw attacks are specifically labeled as melee weapon attacks. That means a Moon Druid 2/Barbarian X can apply their damage bonus if they rage while wildshaped into a brown bear, right? And does the bear's natural armor combine with their unarmored defense?

Wildshape allows your class features to function as normal.

[JoeJ]

Wildshape allows your class features to function as normal.

So AC would be base 10 + Bear's CON + Bear's DEX = 13. No benefit from the natural armor though?
(Not that I'm complaining. It's better than a regular brown bear's AC of 11.)

[coredump]

That's the way I read it

[JoeJ]

That's the way I read it

Thanks. That gives me yet another character I want to play. Human or half-orc with the outlander background. Start with two levels in druid, pick Circle of the Moon, then the rest of the way barbarian, going for Path of the Totem Warrior.

Instead of a stereotypical hack-and-slash barbarian, I'd play him as a tribal shaman who talks to the spirits of the wild and can call on them for favors. He doesn't enjoy fighting, but when combat is necessary he's a raging bear (and at Barbarian 14, a flying raging bear).

[hymer]

Wildshape allows your class features to function as normal.

Actually, there's also the requirement that the wild shape is physically capable of using said class feature. Which is basically another way to say 'ask your DM'. I'm thinking most DMs are okay with raging animals, at least bears. But I'd have a decent length conversation with the DM prior to making a multiclass moon druid, just to be sure we were on the same page.

[Spacehamster]

Won't that form be pretty useless once you get to a certain level? :-/ would be cooler to homebrew a barbarian subclass that transforms into half humanoid half animal form when raging. :D

[hymer]

Won't that form be pretty useless once you get to a certain level? :-/

It would. You'd probably want to simply dip barbarian and go moon druid for the rest. You'd be mighty tanky, but deal unimpressive to mediocre damage from level 5 on. A non-obvious downside to barbarian multiclass for druids is the strength requirement. Druids have almost no use for strength after level 1.

[JoeJ]

It would. You'd probably want to simply dip barbarian and go moon druid for the rest. You'd be mighty tanky, but deal unimpressive to mediocre damage from level 5 on. A non-obvious downside to barbarian multiclass for druids is the strength requirement. Druids have almost no use for strength after level 1.

Hunh? What happens to damage at level 5?

[Spacehamster]

It would. You'd probably want to simply dip barbarian and go moon druid for the rest. You'd be mighty tanky, but deal unimpressive to mediocre damage from level 5 on. A non-obvious downside to barbarian multiclass for druids is the strength requirement. Druids have almost no use for strength after level 1.

15 moon Druid / 3 totem bear barbarian / 2 paladin, cr 5 beasts that rage and smite and casting slots as a lvl 16 caster. :D

[Spacehamster]

Hunh? What happens to damage at level 5?

What he means is that the cr 1 beast you turn into wont improve at all and get left behind compared to what other players can do as the game progresses.

[JoeJ]

15 moon Druid / 3 totem bear barbarian / 2 paladin, cr 5 beasts that rage and smite and casting slots as a lvl 16 caster. :D

That's the opposite of what I'm looking for, though. The point is to be a barbarian who can change shape, not a druid who can rage.

[hymer]

That's the opposite of what I'm looking for, though. The point is to be a barbarian who can change shape, not a druid who can rage.

Well, you can do that. You just shouldn't do it specifically for combat for most of your career, I'm afraid.

Edit: Actually, you can probably get away with it for a while. If you go 2 levels of Moon Druid first, you should make a decent combatant in bear form for the next six levels or so. If you're only playing until level 10, it would be useful for most of your career. Though you'd get knocked out of bear form quite a bit towards the end, I guess.

[HoarsHalberd]

You'd probably be better off going to moon druid 6 to get Giant Elk, which would stack really well with extra attack from a gamist perspective. Get them prone, then 2 (4d8+4+2-3) attacks a turn.

[-Jynx-]

That's the opposite of what I'm looking for, though. The point is to be a barbarian who can change shape, not a druid who can rage.

Why not just talk to your DM about contracting Lycanthropy then? If you're doing it for pure fluff reasons I don't see why a DM would have any issue with it, and when you rage you "lose yourself" and your inner bear takes over. Also a pretty interesting reason as to why your character is a bear totem barbarian in the first place.

[weaseldust]

You'd probably be better off going to moon druid 6 to get Giant Elk, which would stack really well with extra attack from a gamist perspective. Get them prone, then 2 (4d8+4+2-3) attacks a turn.

Or a rhino for 8d8+10+4, if you charge and have Extra Attack. As a rhino, you can probably also carry the rest of your party on your back, for what it's worth.

EDIT: Or a sabre-tooth, for 4d6+d10+15+6 if everything comes off, but with better AC and HP than the rhino.

[Thisguy_]

OP: I wanna be a bear.

GitP: Bears aren't very optimized.