Looking for a fun to play build for a tribal barbarian themed campaign.

[bjoern]

After about 6 months off, our group is starting a new campaign. The DM has said that each of us needs to think up a character that is barbarian themed in nature and have a back story that doesn't raise eyebrows. Explain what each of our origin tribes are like etc.

So, with that in mind, I'm trying to think up something apart from the typical kill stuff with both hands technique that I've built about a dozen times over the years.

We are starting between 4th-6th level somewhere, and probably ending around 12-14 I'm guessing.

Throw me some interesting ideas for an atypical barbarian.

Thanks.

[Waker]

After about 6 months off, our group is starting a new campaign. The DM has said that each of us needs to think up a character that is barbarian themed in nature and have a back story that doesn't raise eyebrows. Explain what each of our origin tribes are like etc.

So, with that in mind, I'm trying to think up something apart from the typical kill stuff with both hands technique that I've built about a dozen times over the years.

We are starting between 4th-6th level somewhere, and probably ending around 12-14 I'm guessing.

Throw me some interesting ideas for an atypical barbarian.

Thanks.

Atypical barbarian and you want to avoid 2h weapon builds?
The stereotype build for Barbarians is along the lines of those of the old Germanic tribes, sometimes borrowing from other areas such as Norse culture. You could take inspiration from other cultures, such as the Huns, Amerind, Aborigene and so on. The world is a big place, sample at your leisure.
As for alternative fighting styles, how about mounted combat? The Huns for instance were remarkable horsemen. Rather than a straight-up slugfest, you could try the hit-and-run methods of a skirmisher.
Dipping into a class like Shaman might give you something else to try. Rather than just hit stuff, you could provide a bit of the supernatural.

[SangoProduction]

This is something I played a while ago. Half Orc Wizard (Force Missile Mage). Was kinda fun. Basically, he found a book of spells...and didn't understand any of it, except a single spell. His Int stat was high, but his roleplay Int was the stereotypical drunken barbarian. Even basically said he was illiterate for the ****s and giggles. "I cast...um..Fog...thing?" And out goes magic missiles. "ah...That work!"

Just stack metamagics.

[A.A.King]

When you say barbarian themed but atypcial, how many barbarian levels are you looking for? I mean, a class like Druid has a very barbaric flavour already but is not the typical D&D Barbarian. Then there is ofcourse the Savage Bard variant from the UA, which is a Bard with added Barbarian flavour (no rage but with illteracy, the barbarian's strongest class feature).

[Labelos]

You could certainly go with a scout/ranger swift hunter. It fits very well thematically as hunter, it's effective and it's a decent skill monkey build. You can find a swift hunter handbook somewhere that can explain the character better than I ever could, but it builds on the feat "swift hunter" from complete scoundrel that lets ranger and scout levels stack for a few abilities.

[Nifft]

Barbarian 2 / Totemist 4 / Totem Rager ++ (or just plain Totemist ++)

You are not a Barbarian who attacks with two hands.

You are a Barbarian who attacks with FOUR hands, two tentacles, and some kind of weird bite thing.


Barbarian 1 / Savage Bard ++ ("Bardbarian")

You are a Bard Archer who can run extra fast, use a Longbow, Rage once per day, and generally be more durable than a Bard would usually be.


Half-Orc Paragon 3 / Cleric 1 / Human Paragon 3 / Prestige Paladin ++ (... is Lawful Good and has Rage)

You know how sometimes people talk about "wrathful smiting" and "the angry fist of god"? That's you.


Warblade ++ (from Tome of Battle)

You're from a tribe that used to be a monastery of martial arts & culture & writing. Those days are long gone. Now you've adapted the teachings of your ancient predecessors to gritty, realistic combat.

All the buff of a Barbarian, but a totally different combat system.

[J-H]

The Tiger Claw school does a good job adding a savage, feral flavor for Warblades.

[Diovid]

Barbarian 1 / Savage Bard ++ ("Bardbarian")
If going that route the Battle Howler of Gruumsh would be a good idea, specifically on a Desert Half-Orc (negating the cha penalty of normal Half-Orcs).

A personal favorite of mine is Barbarian x / Ranger y / Beastmaster z / Animal Lord 10 with the Natural Bond, Shared Fury and Extra Rage feats. For more of a 'Tarzan' feel you might go with Barbarian 5 / Fist of the Forest 3 / Beastmaster 1 / Animal Lord 10 / Beastmaster +1. Then just use Barbarian and Ranger acfs to taste.

[Kelb_Panthera]

I get the impression you don't strictly mean barbarian the class, so I'm going to suggest a shaman or druid with an animist kind of vibe; spirits of nature and ancestor worship and the like.

To explain why you're not with your own tribe anymore (because you'd be important), maybe you were the only survivor of a war or you accidentally angered the spirits and were banished by your teacher or something like that.

[Metahuman1]

I'll also throw in for Warblade. You can be a bit of a Warlord type Barbarian with White Raven, Tiger claw got mentioned above, Stone Dragon get's to do the whole "Hulk Smash!" bit, and Iron Heart is great for that seasoned practical master of weapons vibe.


Binder is nifty, drawing on spirits or Ancestors for supernatural powers.


A dip into Pact Magic and Psionics could get you two separate ability's to cut the damage form an attack in half. (Can also be achieved with feats.)

combine with a tiny riverine animated object that will follow an order or two that you can have tattoed to yourself or just in your backpack as a tribal totem, a dip for 1 level into Monk or Unarmed Swordsage and a Greater Adamantine Weapon Crystal and a Necklace of Natural Weapons and you could have a Barbarian who's less focused on how strong they are and more on just how insane the amount of abuse they can withstand and still keep coming is. Mix and match the other two suggestions to taste.

Or Totemist, Totemist is also spiffy.

[KillingAScarab]

Or Totemist, Totemist is also spiffy.If you don't have to be from the Material Plane, go for duskling totemist.


Dusklings are savage, extraplanar fey creatures with a strong innate connection to the power of incarnum.
...
Nomadic and tribal in nature, dusklings wander in small bands throughout the planes, roaming far from their original homeland. They resist any authority or dogma that others try to impose on them, preferring a more neutral outlook on life.

[bjoern]

OK, so I think I've settled on a dwarf barbarian. Never made a dwarf barbarian before and I think I'll enjoy the RP of the grumbly dwarf.
We are starting at level 5 and not sure how far were going. Probably not past 12 .

Stats are rolled and are as follows
17, 17, 14, 10, 9, 9

I'm thinking about Earth dwarf for the con and str. Ranger 1/ Barbarian 1/ Fighter 2/ Fist of the Forest 1. Then go into Deep Warden for a level, then after that not too sure.

Kind of like the double Con bonus to AC while unarmored. Trade one of my two fast movements for spirit lion totem to get pounce. Take leap attack and cleave. Other feats and skills would be to meet requirements for all the classes. Smash stuff with a great Axe.

Any way I could refine this build differently or better?
Any other ideas for a dwarf barbican that's functial at mid levels?

[redwizard007]

OK, so I think I've settled on a dwarf barbarian. Never made a dwarf barbarian before and I think I'll enjoy the RP of the grumbly dwarf.
We are starting at level 5 and not sure how far were going. Probably not past 12 .

Stats are rolled and are as follows
17, 17, 14, 10, 9, 9

I'm thinking about Earth dwarf for the con and str. Ranger 1/ Barbarian 1/ Fighter 2/ Fist of the Forest 1. Then go into Deep Warden for a level, then after that not too sure.

Kind of like the double Con bonus to AC while unarmored. Trade one of my two fast movements for spirit lion totem to get pounce. Take leap attack and cleave. Other feats and skills would be to meet requirements for all the classes. Smash stuff with a great Axe.

Any way I could refine this build differently or better?
Any other ideas for a dwarf barbican that's functial at mid levels?

All those awesome ideas and you went total stereotype...

Enjoy the hell out of that.

[bjoern]

All those awesome ideas and you went total stereotype...

Enjoy the hell out of that.

I know, I know. I failed to mention some of the nuances regarding the situation. Our DM had hit a roadblock of sorts and lost interest in DMing for a while. So our group got together regularly still anyway but just played board games and such. Then one day he said that he had a barbarian campaign that he wanted to do. I was ecstatic that we were going to game again. He described the setting , some great calamity occurred at some point in the past and set everything back to the stone ages. Cities were gone for The most part and the "barbarians" were what was left of civilization. After talking with the other players, I began to notice that no one was even making a barbarian. We've got a dragonfire adept, a bard, a druid, and a rogue. It kind of bothered me that our DM had put work into this barbarian campaign for us and no one was even making a barbarianesque guy.
It felt to me like we as a group owed him to buy into the setting that he was wanting to present to us.

[D&DPrinceTandem]

tribal.... Barbaric(ish), so like a Druid but not really. Okay easy enough.

Well here goes nothing

This Character is like everything you love of Monk (ac bonus, Speed bonus), Ranger (favored enemey), Barbarian (rage but for this one we have whiriling frenzy), and Druid (spells)
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/52/a0/70/52a070dfe250b91b17671a6546d40e3c.jpg
Name: Durotan (he he he)
Orog
Druid (see variants) 5
Str 14 +6 (race) = 20 +4 (rage) = 24
Dex 10 -2 (race) 8
Con 17= 17
Int 9= 9
Wis 17+1(lvling) -2 (race)= 16
Cha 9+2 (race) = 11

Variants:
Druid, avenger:
Gain:
Add Intimidate to the avenger’s list of class skills.
An avenger can enter a furious rage, identical to that of a barbarian. An avenger can use this ability once per day at 1st level, and one additional time per day for
every five levels above 1st. (not going to make it to 17)Fast movement (+10 speed)
Lose:
Eliminate Diplomacy from the avenger’s list of class skills
No animal companion (i ate mine was the exuse)
takes a –4 penalty on wild empathy checks
No spontaneous spells

Druid, Swift:
Gain: Bonus to Armor Class when unarmored (as monk), fast movement (as monk), favored enemy (as ranger), swift tracker (as ranger), Track feat (as ranger).

Lose: Armor and shield proficiency, wild shape (all versions).(since i ate my pet i couldn't become one)

whirling frenzy, Rage:
Instead, when a barbarian with whirling frenzy enters a rage, he temporarily gains a +4 bonus to Strength and a +2 dodge bonus to Armor Class and on Reflex saves. While in a whirling frenzy, the barbarian may make one extra attack in a round at his highest base attack bonus, but this attack takes a –2 penalty, as does each other attack made that round. This penalty applies for 1 round, so it also affects attacks of opportunity the barbarian might make before his next action

Favored enemies:
1: (Arcane) +4
2: (Aberration) +2


Level
Class
Base Attack Bonus
Fort Save
Ref Save
Will Save
AC bonus
//
Monk fast movement

Feats
Class Features


1st
Druid 1

+0

+2

+0

+2

0/0

Nemisis (arcane)

nature sense
wild empathy
Whirling Frenzy 1/day
Track
Fast movement (Barbarian +10 speed)
Favored enemy (arcane)



2nd
Druid 2

+1

+3

+0

+3

0/0


Woodland stride



3rd
Druid 3

+2

+3

+1

+3

0/0

Cali****e Elementalist (tradition of Air)

Trackless step



4th
Druid 4

+2

+4

+1

+4

0/+10


Resist nature’s lure



5th
Druid 5

+3

+4

+1

+4

1/+10


Whirling Frenzy 2/day
Favored Enemy (Aberration)



6th
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11th

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12th

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Recomened items:
Monk belt
Beads of Karma
+1 thundering, Throwing, Returning, Shucking burst Warhammer [expensive!!]
robe of diguise (hat of disguise)

Recommended Spells:
0 lvl: Create water, Detect magic
1lvl: Shocking Grasp, Magic stones, Cure light wounds, Shillelagh
2lvl: Master air, Embrace the wild, Frost breath, Blood frenzy, Cloud wings
3lvl: Lightning Bolt, Call lightning, Primal form, Spirit Jaws

[bjoern]

tribal.... Barbaric(ish), so like a Druid but not really. Okay easy enough.

Well here goes nothing

This Character is like everything you love of Monk (ac bonus, Speed bonus), Ranger (favored enemey), Barbarian (rage but for this one we have whiriling frenzy), and Druid (spells)
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/52/a0/70/52a070dfe250b91b17671a6546d40e3c.jpg
Name: Durotan (he he he)
Orog
Druid (see variants) 5
Str 14 +6 (race) = 20 +4 (rage) = 24
Dex 10 -2 (race) 8
Con 17= 17
Int 9= 9
Wis 17+1(lvling) -2 (race)= 16
Cha 9+2 (race) = 11

Variants:
Druid, avenger:
Gain:
Add Intimidate to the avenger’s list of class skills.
An avenger can enter a furious rage, identical to that of a barbarian. An avenger can use this ability once per day at 1st level, and one additional time per day for
every five levels above 1st. (not going to make it to 17)Fast movement (+10 speed)
Lose:
Eliminate Diplomacy from the avenger’s list of class skills
No animal companion (i ate mine was the exuse)
takes a –4 penalty on wild empathy checks
No spontaneous spells

Druid, Swift:
Gain: Bonus to Armor Class when unarmored (as monk), fast movement (as monk), favored enemy (as ranger), swift tracker (as ranger), Track feat (as ranger).

Lose: Armor and shield proficiency, wild shape (all versions).(since i ate my pet i couldn't become one)

whirling frenzy, Rage:
Instead, when a barbarian with whirling frenzy enters a rage, he temporarily gains a +4 bonus to Strength and a +2 dodge bonus to Armor Class and on Reflex saves. While in a whirling frenzy, the barbarian may make one extra attack in a round at his highest base attack bonus, but this attack takes a –2 penalty, as does each other attack made that round. This penalty applies for 1 round, so it also affects attacks of opportunity the barbarian might make before his next action

Favored enemies:
1: (Arcane) +4
2: (Aberration) +2


Level
Class
Base Attack Bonus
Fort Save
Ref Save
Will Save
AC bonus
//
Monk fast movement

Feats
Class Features


1st
Druid 1

+0

+2

+0

+2

0/0

Nemisis (arcane)

nature sense
wild empathy
Whirling Frenzy 1/day
Track
Fast movement (Barbarian +10 speed)
Favored enemy (arcane)



2nd
Druid 2

+1

+3

+0

+3

0/0


Woodland stride



3rd
Druid 3

+2

+3

+1

+3

0/0

Cali****e Elementalist (tradition of Air)

Trackless step



4th
Druid 4

+2

+4

+1

+4

0/+10


Resist nature’s lure



5th
Druid 5

+3

+4

+1

+4

1/+10


Whirling Frenzy 2/day
Favored Enemy (Aberration)



6th
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7th

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8th

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9th

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10th

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11th

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12th

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Recomened items:
Monk belt
Beads of Karma
+1 thundering, Throwing, Returning, Shucking burst Warhammer [expensive!!]
robe of diguise (hat of disguise)

Recommended Spells:
0 lvl: Create water, Detect magic
1lvl: Shocking Grasp, Magic stones, Cure light wounds, Shillelagh
2lvl: Master air, Embrace the wild, Frost breath, Blood frenzy, Cloud wings
3lvl: Lightning Bolt, Call lightning, Primal form, Spirit Jaws

This is cool. Which books are the variants in?

[D&DPrinceTandem]

This is cool. Which books are the variants in?
Unearthed arcana- all variants
Calichite elementalist and race-races of faerun
Nemesis- book of exalted deeds
Spells are a mix of spell compendium and players hand book

[SirNibbles]

Ape Totem Barbarian (Unearthed Arcana page 48)
Lose: Fast Movement, Uncanny/Improved Uncanny Dodge, Trap Sense
Level 1: Gain a climb speed equal to half your base land speed (round down to nearest 5 foot interval).
Level 2: +2 to Intimidate checks.
Level 3: Get free Power Attack feat.
Level 5: Climb speed is now full base land speed.

Add in the Brachiation feat (Complete Adventurer page 106) to be able to move through the treetops at your full movement speed (you can take this at level 1 since you only need 4 Climb and 4 Jump).

Hunter Barbarian (Unearthed Arcana page 58)
Lose: Rage, Greater Rage, Indomitable Will, Tireless Rage, Mighty Rage
Gain: Favored Enemy (as Ranger), Combat Style (Archery), Improved Combat Style (Archery), Combat Style Mastery (Archery)

Swing through the treetops and shoot down enemies below with a Composite Longbow or hurl Throwing Axes at them.

_

I wouldn't take more than 6 Barbarian if you choose to go this route.

Edit: If your DM is allowing you to choose traits, I would take the Quick trait (+10 feet base land speed; -1 HP per level).