Bottlerager (a.k.a. Drunken Dwarf Battlerager) + Spiked Armor question

[Arkhios]

So, we're planning a backup-game for those rainy days when we can't get the whole group together for the primary campaign.

We're going to run Adventurer's League modules without actually reporting them and lifting restrictions regarding the Elemental Evil and Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide - we'll have access to both, not either or), otherwise we're going to play by the AL rules.

I'm going to port in my ever-inebriated dwarf "spike-ball" from Pathfinder Society (who in turn was inspired by Thibbledorf Pwent, so the circle is closed!); A Shield Dwarf brewer who has a venerable collection of tavern entry bans throughout the region due to his drinking habits, and their byproducts - Brawls that often end badly for the establishments.
Staying true to the inspiration, he's obviously going to become a battlerager once we reach 3rd level.

My question regards the spiked armor itself. Can I make regular attacks with the armor spikes or are they only usable with the bonus action on my turn, and am I proficient with attacks made with the spikes?



Shield Dwarf Barbarian 2
AC. 18 (Spiked Armor, Shield)
HP. 25 (2d12+6)
Speed. 25 ft.
Str 17, Dex 14, Con 17, Int 8, Wis 8, Cha 10

Saving Throws. Str +5, Dex +2, Con +5, Int -1, Wis -1, Cha +0
Attacks.
Battleaxe +5 to Hit, 1d8/1d10+3 (+5 in rage) slashing.

Background - Mercenary Veteran

Tool proficiency: Brewer's supplies +2
Skill Proficiencies: Athletics +5, Nature +1, Intimidation +2, Perception, +1
Languages: Common, Dwarvish

Future plans:
1st level - Barbarian1: Rage (+2), Unarmored Defense
2nd level - Barbarian2: Reckless Attack, Danger Sense
3rd level - Barbarian3: Primal Path (Battlerager Armor)
4th level - Barbarian4: Tavern Brawler (+1 Strength)
5th level - Barbarian5: Extra Attack, Fast Movement (+10 feet)
6th level - Barbarian6: Reckless Abandon
7th level - Barbarian7: Feral Instinct
8th level - Barbarian8: Grappler
9th level - Barbarian9: Brutal Critical (1 die)
10th level - Barbarian10: Battlerager Charge
11th level - Barbarian11: Relentless Rage
12th level - Barbarian12: Durable (+1 Constitution)
13th level - Barbarian13: Brutal Critical (2 dice)
14th level - Barbarian14: Spiked Retribution
15th level - Barbarian15: Persistent Rage
16th level - Barbarian16: +2 Strength
17th level - Barbarian17: Brutal Critical (3 dice)
18th level - Barbarian18: Indomitable Might
19th level - Barbarian19: +2 Constitution
20th level - Barbarian20: Primal Champion

[Giant2005]

Yes you can make regular attacks with them and you are proficient.
Also, you should check out the Drunkard class in my sig - it is perfect for your needs.

[Arkhios]

Also, you should check out the Drunkard class in my sig - it is perfect for your needs.

Seems great indeed, though as far as I know DMsG materials are not allowed in Adventurer's League (correct me if I'm wrong, I've never played official AL because it's not very active in our region and the organized play seems awful compared to, for example, Pathfinder Society), and our DM prefers to follow those rules by the book except for the official book restriction as mentioned before.

Edit: although your Drunkard looks fun, the original character is a barbarian and a grappler first, a drunkard second. Not the other way around. A few level's dip into Drunkard might be fun if possible.

[Giant2005]

Seems great indeed, though as far as I know DMsG materials are not allowed in Adventurer's League (correct me if I'm wrong, I've never played official AL because it's not very active in our region and the organized play seems awful compared to, for example, Pathfinder Society), and our DM prefers to follow those rules by the book except for the official book restriction as mentioned before.

Edit: although your Drunkard looks fun, the original character is a barbarian and a grappler first, a drunkard second. Not the other way around. A few level's dip into Drunkard might be fun if possible.

No DMsG materials can't be used on AL. I just thought you were running the DDAL modules, not using the actual AL rules.

[djreynolds]

Bottlerager, the name is too cool.

Can I use it, steal it?

[Arkhios]

Bottlerager, the name is too cool.

Can I use it, steal it?

Be my guest :D

[GlenSmash!]

I don't think you can us the battlerager spiked armor bonus action attack for the regular action. Action and Bonus action are not interchangeable. You could certainly make a regular unarmed strike and ask the DM to apply the Spiked armors 1d4 damage die, but this is different the than the bonus action attack granted at level three.

The good news is it's a problem for only one level since tavern brawler gives you a 1d4 damage die for unarmed strikes at level 4.

If I were optimizing a Battlerager I would take GWM. Battleragers are incentivised to always be raging and reckless attacking. Even more than other barbarians, so trading the -5 to hit for the +10 to damage is really tempting.

That being said, Tavern Brawler fits so well with your concept. I love the idea. You'll be doing less damage, but you'll be having so much fun! I also like that you are maxing CON which will give you the max possible temp HP when raging and reckless attacking. At level 20 you'd be pulling 7 THP per round on top of 285hp if you take the standard 7 each level (potentially more if you roll for HP) plus resistance to the most common types of damage. That is one tough bag of spiky dwarven-ale-fueled fury.

My axe wielding Uthgardt Bear Totem barbarian would be happy to drink and brawl by your side. :smallsmile:

[Arkhios]

I don't think you can us the battlerager spiked armor bonus action attack for the regular action. Action and Bonus action are not interchangeable. You could certainly make a regular unarmed strike and ask the DM to apply the Spiked armors 1d4 damage die, but this is different the than the bonus action attack granted at level three.

The good news is it's a problem for only one level since tavern brawler gives you a 1d4 damage die for unarmed strikes at level 4.

If I were optimizing a Battlerager I would take GWM. Battleragers are incentivised to always be raging and reckless attacking. Even more than other barbarians, so trading the -5 to hit for the +10 to damage is really tempting.

That being said, Tavern Brawler fits so well with your concept. I love the idea. You'll be doing less damage, but you'll be having so much fun! I also like that you are maxing CON which will give you the max possible temp HP when raging and reckless attacking. At level 20 you'd be pulling 7 THP per round on top of 285hp if you take the standard 7 each level (potentially more if you roll for HP) plus resistance to the most common types of damage. That is one tough bag of spiky dwarven-ale-fueled fury.

My axe wielding Uthgardt Bear Totem barbarian would be happy to drink and brawl by your side. :smallsmile:

Thanks for the words of encouragement. I might be taking a battleaxe or greataxe as a backup weapon though. The dwarvish word for a battlerager - Kuldjargh - means literally an Axe Idiot, after all :)
Plus grappling only needs one hand free, so I could technically attack with an axe while holding my target in my firm grip.

[Arkhios]

First of all, I'm sorry if this counts as thread-necromancy (though if I remember the rules correctly, it's quite alright for the original poster to revive a thread?)

...anyway, I thought I might recap some thoughts about the character in question.
I ended up going with the build as seen in the OP (Shield Dwarf with Str 17, Dex 14, Con 17, Int 8, Wis 8, Cha 10), and while it might not have been optimal due to already having medium armor proficiency via barbarian, it's been quite fun to play as it is.

Recently we got to second level (after mucking up one introductionary scenario we ended up having just 25 XP short from level up, just before we had to call it a day for that session) and I came to realize how great Reckless Attack actually is with Rage. Sure, you're much easier target, but then again, with your rage you're also very tolerant of physical damage, making you much more tougher opponent, assuming you get to start rage before you're knocked down. With Reckless Attack you're also very big threat to your enemies, so you're drawing attention two-times over the normal. I found out that I prefer to use it most of the time while raging, since I believe the resistance to damage is a good trade with granting advantage to the attackers. While we're not yet at the point where I'll get to add my constitution modifier as temporary hit points when I'm using Reckless Attack, I can see it becoming immensely powerful when combined with Rage's resistance to damage.

[BurgTurdler]

I found this in a search for battlerager. I was wondering if anyone had found a use for it yet. At first glance it seemed really weak and a sadly, a poorly thought out piece of fluff. But this build discussion seems to put it in a different light.

Having fun so far? The spikes are only a d4 right? how does that not mean that you're just a barbarian after all?

[Arkhios]

I found this in a search for battlerager. I was wondering if anyone had found a use for it yet. At first glance it seemed really weak and a sadly, a poorly thought out piece of fluff. But this build discussion seems to put it in a different light.

Having fun so far? The spikes are only a d4 right? how does that not mean that you're just a barbarian after all?

Unfortunately we're still at 2nd level, so the Primal Path hasn't kicked in yet, and thus I can't use the spikes as a weapon at the moment.
But yes, I've had fun so far.

Yes, they are only a d4, but I don't think that's a big problem. You use your Strength to attack with them so you'll deal quite a bit of extra damage with rage, so it's still very effective option. And since you make the attack as a bonus action, you can use your Action to grapple, or attack with a bigger one-handed weapon once or twice. No, the weapon damage die doesn't make you any more or less barbarian. Honestly, I think it's a fallacy that a small die would be much worse than a big die. You can roll a 1 with a d12 after all, in which case a d4 is just as effective.

You'll still be able to kill them orcs. Just not overkill like with GWM, but a kill is a kill, right?


As hilarious as it may sound, size doesn't matter. :smallbiggrin:

[BurgTurdler]

As hilarious as it may sound, size doesn't matter. :smallbiggrin:

I have to say... This may be my next character. I made a template sort of thing just to see how he would build and I really liked it. He sounds like fun. I named my test guy "Angar Deepaxe". lmao

[Arkhios]

I have to say... This may be my next character. I made a template sort of thing just to see how he would build and I really liked it. He sounds like fun. I named my test guy "Angar Deepaxe". lmao

Glad to hear I've inspired more Kuldjarghs to emerge!

[BurgTurdler]

Glad to hear I've inspired more Kuldjarghs to emerge!

YEHHHAAAAARRGGG!!! *falls flat on his back and starts snoring... then farts*

[Arkhios]

YEHHHAAAAARRGGG!!! *falls flat on his back and starts snoring... then farts*

*Sniff* "Hmm, someone ate garlic and honey stew. And barley ale!" -Lagerr Moonshyne.

[Aett_Thorn]

I know that this isn't AL-legal, most likely, but my most recent character is a Svirfneblin Battlerrager, who witnesses the Gutbuster Brigade in action when the dwarves helped to reclaim Bligdenstone. She saw how effective they were, and tries to emulate their armor and actions to somewhat...interesting results. Rolled for stats and got a 5, which I put into wisdom, which seemed appropriate.

Hoping that I can convince my DM to let me fiddle with the armor a bit. You know, things like a one-button removal (does 1d4 damage to everyone in a 5-ft radius), spikes made out of rubies, or more rounded blades instead of spikes (switches damage to slashing instead of piercing). Just flavor things that would allow me to gnomify the class a bit.