Barbarian fluff?

[Tanuki Tales]

So, I'm personally drawing a creative blank on this subject:

Since classes can be used as descriptions of what a character mechanically can do and need not be prescriptive of who they are, other than being a primitive savage, how would you go about fluffing someone with barbarian levels?

[Waker]

Descendant of being of rage, bloodline cursed with anger, someone who can turn off parts of the brain that don't have a use in combat, downtrodden commoner who held onto his hate too long.

[Strigon]

Alternate personalities taking over, akin to The Hulk is always fun.

[Extra Anchovies]

primitive savage

See, this is why I don't like "barbarian" as a class name. The implicit cultural background, i.e. one that doesn't follow Greco-Roman societal conventions, tends to put a damper on creativity. Let's call them Berserkers instead.

What's a Berserker? Well, they're someone who goes berserk. Spend those 2 skill points on literacy and play a finely-attired gentleman infamous for his terrible fits of anger.

[Goodkill]

bipolar 2. have known people with this who could work themselves up to hypomania and needed to be sedated because of "hulk-like strength"

i actually knew someone with this who looked a lot like the PH half-orc

[curious-puzzle]

I'm a fan of the outside influence theme - the character is possessed by a spirit of some sort that drives them to a frothing rage (Orson from Record of Lodoss is a good example). Either an unwilling participant or a willing supplicant works.

[Amphetryon]

You can fluff it as a form of PTSD from a particularly harsh upbringing.

[Psyren]

For me, Barbarian = instinctive fighter, as compared to the Fighter's more trained model. Similar to how Wizards are trained arcane casters and Sorcerers are instinctive.

For a Fighter, mastery of combat comes from having a variety of techniques and knowing the right one to apply to a given situation. This is represented by their large number of feats (including some specific to them that require Fighter levels) and Advanced Training options. This is hamstrung somewhat by the sheer number of feat taxes out there in PF and 3.5 and their weak chassis (e.g. lack of skills and saves), but conceptually the concept is sound and can be improved.

For a Barbarian, mastery of combat comes from the much narrower method of simply becoming stronger and tougher. A Barbarian may lack the more subtle points of training with a greataxe vs. a flail, but if he just plain hits you harder then it won't really matter which one he picks up. Like a sorcerer, most of the time this will work, but like a sorcerer, there will also be a few niche situations where sheer force won't be as effective.

[LooseCannoneer]

Spend those 2 skill points on literacy and play a finely-attired gentleman infamous for his terrible fits of anger.

I'm now envisioning that character with a sword-cane. Using the sword normally, then just beating people with the cane when raging.

[DrStubbsberg]

Character claims that it is a noble martial tradition of his people - what others call Rage is a trance-state where they become acutely in-tune with the flow of battle. Then leave it to the GM's discretion whether this is true or just the way the character's brain edits/censors memories as a way of coping with it's loss of control during Rage (particularly appropriate for, say, an Elven Barbarian)

[Extra Anchovies]

I'm now envisioning that character with a sword-cane. Using the sword normally, then just beating people with the cane when raging.

Something along those lines, yeah. This incident (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caning_of_Charles_Sumner) comes to mind as an example.

Edit: see also Robertson's Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; if I remember it right, the change brought on by the potion is just as much psychological as it is physical, if not more so.

[Gildedragon]

I would advocate the renaming of barbarian to rager or the like...
A battle trance; a (bio)chemically induced strength boost; spiritual possession; a dissolution of the ego into combat; a tapping into instinct; an ebullition of uncontrolled anger or fear

While for the Players the rage is a controllable ability, for the character the rage might not be under their control.
Or that while the Players can't use mental skills or spells in the rage; maybe the character could; they are fully in control of themselves, but thinking too much or using a spell would knock them out of the "zone"

A sort of backwards example: I want to play this bard snowflake wardance character and fluff, from the character's pov the wardance to be a total loss of self to the battle; they essentially would go, from their and other characters' perspective, berserk and into a "rage"

[Telonius]

See, this is why I don't like "barbarian" as a class name. The implicit cultural background, i.e. one that doesn't follow Greco-Roman societal conventions, tends to put a damper on creativity. Let's call them Berserkers instead.

What's a Berserker? Well, they're someone who goes berserk. Spend those 2 skill points on literacy and play a finely-attired gentleman infamous for his terrible fits of anger.

Relevant to your interests (http://www.nuklearpower.com/2004/07/10/episode-440-berserkers-want-what-we-all-want-civilization/).

[Honest Tiefling]

Perhaps this particular barbarian is a mere thug, whose learned to simply fight with brute strength and by shrugging off blows rather then skillful and precise attacks. The skills don't quite match up, but Power Attack is themetic for this built and is a must-have feat anyway.

Also works for your non-human barbarians quite well, as they could have been circus freaks, or scary thugs used for their inhuman blood to intimidate criminal rivals...I thinK I might have just written the backstory of Fezzik. Well, there you go.

[bloated glutton]

give them strange mannerism based on where they come from.
where it is they had to survive and what kind of culture they grew up in.
the races of series offer a lot of habits you could tap into.

A tribal barbarian could be a revered warrior of the ancestors.
Channeling their spirits in battle with the naga encrouching upon his people.
This is a sacred duty, for wich the barbarian is dressed in relic armour and blessed smoke.
At the campfire he tells tales of warriors of old to keep their deeds alive.
He preceives the natural world simultatiously with the spirit world, expressed in omens and signs wich are everywhere he looks.
He lives in the glory moments of his kills, growing to become a living legend himself.

[Tanuki Tales]

What's a Berserker? Well, they're someone who goes berserk. Spend those 2 skill points on literacy and play a finely-attired gentleman infamous for his terrible fits of anger.

So, Khan Noonien Singh from the reboots?

[Honest Tiefling]

So, Khan Noonien Singh from the reboots?

I would say the original works for the concept as well...Especially since I'm pretty sure watching the original series if you have any sort of streaming media service is pretty dang easy.

[Tanuki Tales]

I would say the original works for the concept as well...Especially since I'm pretty sure watching the original series if you have any sort of streaming media service is pretty dang easy.

I only have seen Wrath, to be perfectly honest. I haven't watched all of Enterprise because it wasn't on DVD box set when I still worked at my local library; I haven't watched all, or most, of The Original Series out of choice.

[Honest Tiefling]

Well then. Time to think of a different character that'll fit the bill and not bore you with a series you dislike. (Through I think that episode was one of the better ones, but...Uh...Very much of its times. Kinda awkward, so uh, can't blame you there.)

I haven't ever seen the Godfather series, but I think mobsters in general is a good place to start. Traditions, values, and living an urban lifestyle...And very terrifying when angry.

[Feint's End]

I actually played a character like this once. While it basically was just a human barbarian, the flavour and the way I played it was quite difficult. I flavoured rage as a semi magical ability wherein my character was possessed by a spirit which would grant him temporary strength and toughness but would cloud his mind.

It turned out to be a very fun character to play and in no way similar flavour wise to the standard barbarian. I think he called himself spiritwarrior and his attire was a light armored warrior with some decently expensive clothes on top of them.

[Extra Anchovies]

I haven't ever seen the Godfather series, but I think mobsters in general is a good place to start. Traditions, values, and living an urban lifestyle...And very terrifying when angry.

This would work pretty well - I'm reminded of the character Tommy DeVito in Goodfellas, particularly these scenes (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8wJt59Q6So).