Help me justify this build: High Elf Noble Barbarian

[Oramac]

So stat-wise I have it figured out. Str 15, Dex 14, Con 15, Int/Wis/Cha 10. I'll be using a Greatsword.

What I'm having trouble with is how a Noble High Elf suddenly became a Barbarian.

Thoughts?

[hymer]

There could have been a period of separation, so he grew up early on as a high elf noble, and then was kidnapped or forced to flee or a magical accident and he spent five years with some people that taught him anger. Maybe some wood elves. Possibly a parent is involved here, so he's technically half high; you could pick the 'dark secret' flaw from noble background and hide that you are a bastard or not pure-blood or whatever - if you don't want it to be too outlandish a tale.

[hawklost]

Who is to say that there are not Tribes of High Elves in the world that are considered barbarians to the other societies? And who is to say you didn't come from the 'Noble' rank of those said barbarians (i.e. chiefs son/daughter/brother/sister or something).

The High Elf is a race, not a way of life. Some group of High elves might have decided that they wanted to be closer to nature or something and split off from the group only a few hundred/thousand years ago. As such, they still retain the characteristics of a High Elf but are barbarous by other cultures. (Gasp, maybe they eat more meat than Fruits, that would be terrible by many elf cultures).

As for being a Noble, all that really means is that you are from a high ranking Caste in your system where you have learned more about the world and politics. You didn't come from a hunter or gatherer family but from some high ranking family where you were given more privileges.

[coalmaine]

Maybe all that is barbaric is his fighting style. He was taught to embrace his emotions in battle and commit himself fully to defeating his foes. This way of battle is seen as a “productive” even artful release of negative emotions. They family he came from expected him to be able to defend the society and maybe, ultimately lead it. Thus a time of wandering to purge his wildness and teach self control.

[Oramac]

Thanks guys!! I like all those ideas. I'll try to combine them into something cohesive for the character.



There could have been a period of separation, so he grew up early on as a high elf noble, and then was kidnapped or forced to flee or a magical accident and he spent five years with some people that taught him anger. Maybe some wood elves. Possibly a parent is involved here, so he's technically half high; you could pick the 'dark secret' flaw from noble background and hide that you are a bastard or not pure-blood or whatever - if you don't want it to be too outlandish a tale.

Most likely, I'll use the "bastard child" flaw. Jon Snow, anyone? ;)


(Gasp, maybe they eat more meat than Fruits, that would be terrible by many elf cultures).

One of his Personality Traits: "I never turn down a good steak".


Maybe all that is barbaric is his fighting style. He was taught to embrace his emotions in battle and commit himself fully to defeating his foes. This way of battle is seen as a “productive” even artful release of negative emotions. They family he came from expected him to be able to defend the society and maybe, ultimately lead it. Thus a time of wandering to purge his wildness and teach self control.

I like this a lot. It reminds me of the Vapaad Lightsaber Form.

[Rakoa]

I like the idea of an Elf Noble, firstborn son of a prestigious house, who just did not take to their ways at all. He still has the title and all, but he's got serious anger management problems at times, hates the itchy clothes, and would just rather hang out with his friends and swing an axe around. His father is not keen on letting him take up the mantle of Lord of the House when he dies, and this Elf is more than fine with that. He's got ale to drink.

[kaoskonfety]

I like the idea of an Elf Noble, firstborn son of a prestigious house, who just did not take to their ways at all. He still has the title and all, but he's got serious anger management problems at times, hates the itchy clothes, and would just rather hang out with his friends and swing an axe around. His father is not keen on letting him take up the mantle of Lord of the House when he dies, and this Elf is more than fine with that. He's got ale to drink.

"Give him a few centuries, we all acted up a bit when we were young"...

[brainface]

I'd do someone who, say, survived an assassination attempt where his house was burned down around him and his family. He survived, but lost everything along with a large chunk of his sanity, and someone's going to pay for it. A guy in a good suit with eloquent speech and always just one second from flying into a murderous rage. (Barbarian unarmed defense doesn't mean you have to be shirtless! You can wear a nice suit and hat. ^^)

Honestly, something really like the punisher origin. You don't have to be woodsy at all.

[Corran]

Maybe this will give you some inspiration....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZfyIRnPPrc

[Oramac]

More great ideas!! I'm liking this more and more.

Though I'm currently leaning towards a female High Elf, using Unarmored Defense......

You know, since I'm just making an off-the-wall crazy badass.

[JackPhoenix]

Barbarian doesn't have to be a savage...maybe s/he's just a fighter with huge anger issues. Elves are more emotional then humans (unless they are Spock)

[Segev]

Taking it a bit of a (completely) different direction: maybe he's just that big of a spoiled brat. Take the Frenzy archetype, and have it be that he's cultured and pleasant when things go his way, but if anybody snubs him, insults him, or DARES to engage in violence with him, he launches into an unrestrained fury as he puts that upstart in its place, shows it who's boss, and basically tears everything to pieces until everything is the way it SHOULD be again. That is, working to serve his every whim.

[hewhosaysfish]

Paul Elftreides? (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dune_%28franchise%29)

[WickerNipple]

She's not a barbarian.

She's a swordmaster of an ancient school that teaches of the inner calm within a furious exterior.

[Talamare]

Noble can mean Chief or Khan of Barbarian tribe
High Elf isn't forced to be pristine
Barbarians do not need to be savages, they could just be nomadic
Your civilization or city could have been destroyed
You could have been kidnapped
Game of Thrones Khalessi

[Kane0]

Azula?
10Char

[Addaran]

You could also go the other way around. First you were a barbarian, then got adopted/married into a Noble family. Now you adventure on behalf of this family, while still using your old "fighting style".

[Alerad]

I play a similar character in one campaign (Noble barbarian human). From the beginning I decided I'll play the human noble - that's who the character is. The barbarian part is just a class with a set of abilities.

For RP I explained how his grandfather taught him a style where he imagines a fire in the darkness and throws away all his doubts and fears until there is nothing but the fire left. In this state, his grandfather claimed, he has absolute control of his body and can achieve anything. Totally copied it from the Wheel of Time. I also had him have body tattoos of eagles and tigers and explain how the armor slows him down and interferes with his martial arts.

My point is, don't worry about the mechanical part and just decide on your concept. If you don't want to be associated with barbarian tribes, have the Barbarian part of your character be purely mechanical - martial training, a dread curse, anger management problems, childhood trauma. He could be possessed by an animal spirit-demon.

If you do want to play out the tribal barbarian part, that's a great chance for you to come up with an idea of High elves tribes with their own culture, rituals, etc. and be the leader of this tribe.

[CodeRed]

I literally played this character in my last game, a Dragonborn Noble Barbarian. He was a magnanimous and friendly dragonman until he either got to drinking too much or you pissed him off. Then he went a little feral and just beat the ever living crap of whoever was in his way. Took the Tavern Brawler feat after I got in one too many barroom brawls with no weapons near at hand.

A class can just be mechanics if you want. There is nothing saying that you have to use or embrace the "traditional" fluff behind the barbarian class. It's your character, play him how you want.

[Kane0]

Reminds me of the Tiefling Scholar Barbarian in my current game. You shush when the librarian lady tells you to, or she'll shush you herself.

[Sigreid]

Do you want the flavor, or the mechanics? I ask because there isn't really a reason that your barbarian abilities can't be the result of extremely focused and disciplined martial training.

If you do want the flavor, Raised by wild elves? Fond of the human tribe that your home village has had peaceful trade with for many human generations? List is easy.

[CNagy]

I've had fun playing this character as a non-magic-using (or rather non-spellcaster) Bladesinger. Bladesong was originally a fighting style that any Elven warrior could train in, but it had extra benefits for fighter/mages with the actual Bladesinger kit.

So I basically reflavored the totems as Bladesinger school tattooes and the unarmored bonus as Bladesong defense bonus. Rage is reflavored as an offensive mode of the Bladesong. You end up with a ton of strength and durability packed into a very lithe frame.

[Wilko]

I've seen someone create a noble dwarf barbarian (Link (https://youtu.be/7hhfZHb2WZQ?list=PLTgwt_ewEFeNAXODD1IMU8fwTyFvmqIU k) that might give you some inspiration.

I'd consider making them possibly have some event which separated them from their family and upbringing and introduced them to this way of life / caused their anger, think Oliver Queen from Arrow...

[djreynolds]

This big flying city smashed into your city, and out of it mutants rose up and earthquakes shatter the realm, wait that's THUNDARR THE BARBARIAN, but there you go. Big Netherese city smashed into you home and some adventurers found you in the ruins of Myth Drannor

[Balyano]

Taking it a bit of a (completely) different direction: maybe he's just that big of a spoiled brat. Take the Frenzy archetype, and have it be that he's cultured and pleasant when things go his way, but if anybody snubs him, insults him, or DARES to engage in violence with him, he launches into an unrestrained fury as he puts that upstart in its place, shows it who's boss, and basically tears everything to pieces until everything is the way it SHOULD be again. That is, working to serve his every whim.


This is pretty much exactly what I was going to type.

I've had a barbarian exactly like that.
I've also had a high elf barbarian in 3.5 who was not quite like that.

[Oramac]

Thank you everyone! Seriously, thank you. When I made this thread I figured I might get 3-4 replies.

You've all given me a lot to think about and quite a lot of options I'd never have come up with.

[Vogonjeltz]

So stat-wise I have it figured out. Str 15, Dex 14, Con 15, Int/Wis/Cha 10. I'll be using a Greatsword.

What I'm having trouble with is how a Noble High Elf suddenly became a Barbarian.

Thoughts?

His table manners are atrocious, his Elven is sub-par, and he doesn't know how to Waltz.

[DracoKnight]

You don't have to think of being a barbarian as being brainless.

If I were to stat out Yang from RWBY I would say she's a Totem Warrior (Bear) 3/Sun Soul 7. She's great at taking and avoiding damage, and it takes a lot to screw with her head. (but don't mess with her hair).

Barbarians don't have to be the stereotypical "RAWWWRRRRRRR!!! FEEL MY RAGE!!" character.

[mephnick]

Like others have mentioned, the actual class you pick doesn't have to mean anything unless you want it to.

No one in my setting goes around saying "look at that guy, he's a rogue class". He's a thief, or a merchant, or a thug or whatever the player wants.

There's no reason your "barbarian" can't just be a veteran campaigner in an army. He's strong and knows the value of letting loose in combat when death is on the line, what's weird about that?

[JBPuffin]

I'd totally get on the "traumatized later in life and now is a crazy axe murderer from a good family". The RP and PR conflicts would be beautiful...:smallbiggrin:

[pwykersotz]

One of my players created a High Elf female barbarian. She was in her 20's when she started questioning why humans were considered all grown up at her age, but she was still just a kid. She ran away from her family and lived off the wilderness for a time until she met a wandering barbarian tribe. She reveled in her freedom and being treated like an adult, and eventually grew in skill, married into the tribe, and had a family.

An unfortunate encounter with a Necromancer devastated the tribe and killed many of them, including her family. Now she roams in search of vengeance.

[quinron]

Being a noble and being an elf both involve weapons training; presumably, you're taught how to properly handle a sword and bow. Maybe she got to the "handling a sword and bow" part, but never got to the "properly." Her siblings took levels in fighter; she never bothered with armor or technique training, preferring to hit hard and move fast so she could finish her training early.

Since a) "rage" has a meaning in English beyond the barbarian's pump-up mechanic and b) the barbarian class tends to be based on Viking berserker types, we tend to assume it means (and the book complicates matters by fluffing it as) getting into a superhuman state of anger. But 4e used animal spirit channeling, and there's a whole 5e archetype built around nature spirits. It also adds more supernatural flair to the barbarian class; instead of hulking out in anger, she gets possessed by an animal (if she's a totem warrior) or an ultraviolent ancestor (if she's a berserker).

[Occasional Sage]

If your elves are particularly naturey, the totems will work fine. If they're more urban, rename the totems after ancestors.

EDIT:
Barbarians also refluff easily as dispassionate, dead-eyed combatants.

[Mith]

There is also Sir Samuel Vimes to look for inspiration.

[EternalPrime]

I'm currently playing a half-elf noble barbarian in a campaign based in Mulmaster. He's the black sheep of the family with a "screw you, Dad" attitude. He wears several hundred gold pieces of jewelry and buys a new outfit every tenday just to keep up with fashion. I play him as a rakish swashbuckler who frequently challenges others (and is challenged) to duels. He's also part of a "fight club" among the young nobility with too much free time. His vanity requires that he always get magical healing after every battle so he never has scars.
I refer to his Rages as "Salon Rouge dueling stance," Reckless Attack is "Daring strike," Frenzy is his "Dervish Dance style," and Mindless Rage is "Combat focus."
The most difficult part was making a swashbuckling duelist as a Strength-based fighter instead of the expected Dexterity-based in order to use the bonus to damage from raging.

[Alerad]

She gets possessed by an ultraviolent ancestor (if she's a berserker).

That actually sounds really cool.

Noble elf, bearer of her family's heirloom blade, is capable of commanding the spirits of her ancestors. By entering rage she can connect to the spirits and use their combined wisdom and battle prowess. The spirits are angry. Of course, they were all slain in battle, and this causes the rage/frenzy. By gaining levels she can connect to more ancient ancestral spirits. Can she carry out her family's destiny or is she going be die in battle and join the restless spirits of the blade.

[quinron]

Noble elf, bearer of her family's heirloom blade, is capable of commanding the spirits of her ancestors. By entering rage she can connect to the spirits and use their combined wisdom and battle prowess. The spirits are angry. Of course, they were all slain in battle, and this causes the rage/frenzy. By gaining levels she can connect to more ancient ancestral spirits. Can she carry out her family's destiny or is she going be die in battle and join the restless spirits of the blade.

That is amazing. Possessed/possessing swords are always awesome - there's a reason the Elric saga gets so many modern fantasy homages.

I'm totally stealing this for a new magic item in my campaign, but with a twist: the sword is the heirloom of another royal family that was wiped out, Reyne/Tarbeck-style, and the sealed ancestor spirits are furious. The intelligent weapon will occasionally try to possess the wielder just to ruin their life; it's currently in the hands of the black sheep of the nobles that destroyed their family, and it's driving her slowly insane.

[Oramac]

That actually sounds really cool.

Noble elf, bearer of her family's heirloom blade, is capable of commanding the spirits of her ancestors. By entering rage she can connect to the spirits and use their combined wisdom and battle prowess. The spirits are angry. Of course, they were all slain in battle, and this causes the rage/frenzy. By gaining levels she can connect to more ancient ancestral spirits. Can she carry out her family's destiny or is she going be die in battle and join the restless spirits of the blade.

I'm totally using that!! With one minor addendum: it's not the blade that's the heirloom, but the wrappings of the hilt. That way I can take half a long rest (since I'm an elf with trance) to move the wrappings to a magic sword if I ever get one.

[Suteinu]

A high elf of noble blood and station, great physical ability, and an all-in, passionate way of living and fighting. Translation: SWASHBUCKLER! Not the class, nor the Rogue path, but the attitude and the delivery would fit perfectly.

Even if you add the primitive culture angle, no prob. Pleanty of young people get into rebellious sub-cultures. Think of an elf who gets into carrousing with his best friends, a hard-drinking band of dwarvish mercs! Or he takes up with a group of Cimmerians who teach him what is best in life! It's like a young Mozart who, to his father's dismay, starts hanging out and (gasp!) performing with the Rev. Horton Heat!

In short, I'd make his barbaric tendencies part of his natural personality rather than some personal tragedy. Magnify his need to break out and be his elf- er, himself.

[Temperjoke]

Concept:

You may have started life as another High Elf, but you stood out for your sheer thrill in battle, living fight to fight, willing to take on anyone who would cross blades with you. This lead you to wandering farther and farther from the comforts of elvish civilization (with much relief on their part) until you encountered a "primitive" barbarian tribe. You impressed their childless chief, so much so that he adopted you as his heir, in hopes that your strength would flow to the rest of the tribe in their wars. You found a sense of happiness in leading these people, reveling in a place that your lust for battle was understood and accepted.

[quinron]

A high elf of noble blood and station, great physical ability, and an all-in, passionate way of living and fighting. Translation: SWASHBUCKLER! Not the class, nor the Rogue path, but the attitude and the delivery would fit perfectly.

Even if you add the primitive culture angle, no prob. Pleanty of young people get into rebellious sub-cultures. Think of an elf who gets into carrousing with his best friends, a hard-drinking band of dwarvish mercs! Or he takes up with a group of Cimmerians who teach him what is best in life! It's like a young Mozart who, to his father's dismay, starts hanging out and (gasp!) performing with the Rev. Horton Heat!

In short, I'd make his barbaric tendencies part of his natural personality rather than some personal tragedy. Magnify his need to break out and be his elf- er, himself.

I can't believe I've never realized this before, but the ideal class for an actual pirate isn't rogue; it's barbarian. A pirate doesn't sneak through the shadows and stab at your vitals, he gets hopped up on booze and machismo and runs full-tilt at you to chop you in half; that's a rage if I ever heard one!

[Ardantis]

So stat-wise I have it figured out. Str 15, Dex 14, Con 15, Int/Wis/Cha 10. I'll be using a Greatsword.

What I'm having trouble with is how a Noble High Elf suddenly became a Barbarian.

Thoughts?

With Str like that, you were probably a guard in high elf tribal society. I'd go three directions- 1. Got Lost 2. Disillusioned 3. Urban Barbarian, Urchin background, lives in empty spires in High Elf city, assumes high elf society is falling apart. Basically a homeless city slicker. With Elf tribal tattoos. Works for crime syndicates, fights in underground fighting leagues.

Also for a cantrip totally take Booming Blade, as it outpaces damage of a weapon at many levels and has a built-in sticking mechanic (and relies only on Str).

Sometimes you wanna hit things, sometimes you wanna grapple them, and sometimes you wanna Booming Blade them.

[CTurbo]

Nobody in the playground likes a 8yr old thread necro