Help me optimize a barbarian\fighter\ranger mix

[Sergio]

I would like something simple for my first 10 level.

I would to take ranger @1 for roleplaying purposes (planning to hunt mages), but you could say this has no sense. Show me your creativity.

I was also said to look for a warrior and barbarian mix, but you will be the one suggesting me if it is has any sense. The issues lies in the fact that I was said that warrior has access to talents that the barbarian needs, and so this mix seems to be needed... But I was curious about your opinion.

Anyway, my purpose is going for a runescarred berserker or a frenzied berserker. Suggest me everything, from a weapon (should I go for a bipenne axe?) to the race. Max ECL\LA +2

Thanks

[lylsyly]

Let me get the first question everyone is going to ask out of the way.

What Edition are you looking for and what books are allowed/banned. Drag Mag okay? Blah, blah, blah.

[Grod_The_Giant]

Complete Mage has the "Arcane Hunter" ACF for Rangers, granting you Favored Enemy bonuses against arcane casters. So there's that. Ranger makes for a generally good starting point, given the high skill points.

Not sure what you mean by "Warrior," though. Are you talking about the Generic Class (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/genericClasses.htm#warrior) (which is basically a Fighter that gives up heavy armor for more open bonus feats and skill list; not bad by any stretch of the imagination), the NPC class (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/npcClasses/warrior.htm) (terrible for obvious reasons), or do you mean the Fighter (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/classes/fighter.htm) itself (good source of bonus feats)?

Frenzied Berserker and Runescarred Berserker will lead you to somewhat different paths, methinks. I mean, in both cases you'll want to take Spirit Lion Totem Barbarian 1 (Complete Champion) for Pounce, and probably Whirling Frenzy (Unearthed Arcana/SRD) for added offensive muscle, because that's the standard Barbarian opening. You'll want Power Attack, and probably Leap Attack (Complete Adventurerer) and probably Improved Bull Rush and Shock Trooper (Complete Warrior) for the standard ubercharger combo.

Now, Frenzied Berserker will just double down on your damage, and make you a danger to your own party, so I'd lean towards Runescarred Berserker. That said... Survivor is a painful feat tax, but the Otyugh Hole (Complete Scoundrel) will let you buy Iron Will for 3000 gold, so that's not that bad. You'll also need a Berserker Lodge feat, but most of them are at least reasonably decent. I'd probably go with Ice Troll Berserker for the NA boost, but if you want to be trip-y Wolf Berserker would be good, especially if paired with Wolf Totem Barbarian 2 ACF from UA/the SRD for free Improved Trip, and Ettercap isn't terrible either. Great Stag is nice if you don't want to go the Shock Trooper route.

[thoroughlyS]

If you want simple, you can't go wrong with straight Barbarian 10. They are combat ready out-of-the-box, and have a lot of support in different books. You won't really have many options out of combat, however. If you want a more ranger-y feel, the Horselord (Dragon 338) trades away Fast movement and Trap Sense for a horse Animal Companion. It also replaces Rage with Battle Ecstasy, which functions similar to the normal rage.

A slightly illegal alternative is to give the Ranger Rage instead. According to one Barbarian ACF (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#barbarian) (Unearthed Arcana), these abilities:

Rage
greater rage
indomitable will
tireless rage
mighty rage

are approximately equal in value to these:

Favored enemy
archery combat style
improved archery combat style
archery combat style mastery

So I would ask your DM if you could make the reverse trade. By giving up Favored Enemy and Combat Style, you gain Rage. There is also a variant for Ranger that gives them a huge boost in versatility, the Mystic Ranger (Dragon 336) trades away Animal Companion, and delays Endurance, Favored Enemy, and Combat Style in exchange for vastly improving your casting. It is considered to bump the Ranger up to Tier 3 by itself. If you combine this with the "ACF" above, you would mostly just get Rage abilities 1 level later, and lose out on 1 use of Rage.

[LordOfCain]

I you want simple, you can't go wrong with straight Barbarian 10. They are combat ready out-of-the-box, and have a lot of support in different books. You won't really have many options out of combat, however. If you want a more ranger-y feel the Horselord (Dragon 338) trades away Fast movement and Trap Sense for a horse Animal Companion. It also replaces Rage with Battle Ecstasy, which functions similar to the normal rage.
The site you linked is a DnDtools mirror and is banned on this site. Other than that, good information.

[Zancloufer]

Straight Barbarian with or without the ACF that grants pounce is quite good. The ONLY reason to take Ranger or Fighter levels is for bonus feats, or some level 1-2 ACFs on the Ranger side.

Weapon Wise? Falcion and Greatsword are probably the best, Heavy Flail is solid if you want a blunt weapon as backup. Lance can be worthwhile if you want a reach weapon and/or have a mount, but if we are maining a Barbarian that probably won't happen.

As for races? Well if you have 2 LA as in the are free, a Half-Orge Goliath (yes it works, IDK how) is +2 LA. Grants +6 Str and Con, -2 Dex/Int/Wis/Cha, Large Size (which grants an extra +8 Str and +4 Con) powerful build (Treated as once size larger when benefiting and can wield +1 size weapons), +3 NA and +10ft movement.

So you would have a +14 Str, +8 Con, -4 Dex, -2 Int/Cha/Wis, Large size, reach, +4 on opposed checks, considered Huge for combat manoeuvres like disarm and trip, 40ft movement, +3 NA and can use a Huge Weapon. I mean it is a big dumb Barbarian, but 10-15ft reach with a weapon that does like 3d8(5d6)+1.5xohgawd Str score is a solid "barbarian smash" character. Improved Critical + Falcion + Rage would make for some terrifying criticals.

[Dagroth]

Straight Barbarian with or without the ACF that grants pounce is quite good. The ONLY reason to take Ranger or Fighter levels is for bonus feats, or some level 1-2 ACFs on the Ranger side.

Weapon Wise? Falcion and Greatsword are probably the best, Heavy Flail is solid if you want a blunt weapon as backup. Lance can be worthwhile if you want a reach weapon and/or have a mount, but if we are maining a Barbarian that probably won't happen.

As for races? Well if you have 2 LA as in the are free, a Half-Orge Goliath (yes it works, IDK how) is +2 LA. Grants +6 Str and Con, -2 Dex/Int/Wis/Cha, Large Size (which grants an extra +8 Str and +4 Con) powerful build (Treated as once size larger when benefiting and can wield +1 size weapons), +3 NA and +10ft movement.

So you would have a +14 Str, +8 Con, -4 Dex, -2 Int/Cha/Wis, Large size, reach, +4 on opposed checks, considered Huge for combat manoeuvres like disarm and trip, 40ft movement, +3 NA and can use a Huge Weapon. I mean it is a big dumb Barbarian, but 10-15ft reach with a weapon that does like 3d8(5d6)+1.5xohgawd Str score is a solid "barbarian smash" character. Improved Critical + Falcion + Rage would make for some terrifying criticals.

The Stat Benefits for Large Size are already included in the Half Ogre's stat block.

The size modifiers in the MM are only there for advancing monsters... not for general use.

[OldTrees1]

The Stat Benefits for Large Size are already included in the Half Ogre's stat block.

The size modifiers in the MM are only there for advancing monsters... not for general use.

The Half Ogre template from Dragon Magazine explicitly says otherwise because the author was drunk when they wrote the template. I would not use it myself.

ECL 7 Dragonborn Goliath Ranger 1/Warrior 2/Barbarian 3
Dragonborn(Wings) Goliath Ranger 1(OP's request) / Warrior 1 / Barbarian(Spirit Lion Totem & Mountain Rage) 1 / Warrior +1 / Barbarian(Wolf Totem) +2
Feats:
1st: Power Attack
2nd: Combat Reflexes as bonus feat
3rd: Extra Rage (We can be Large 3/day now)
4th: Improved Bullrush as bonus feat
5th: Improved Trip as bonus feat without needing Combat Expertise
6th: Knockback

From there you would continue to increase Barbarian

[Particle_Man]

Maybe check with your party first on the Frenzied Berserker thing. Some people are not cool with risk of friendly fire there.

As an alternative, you could look at the Horizon Tripper (core only but you can add stuff from whatever books you are allowed to use):

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?80415-The-Horizon-Tripper-(Core-Melee-Build)

[Dagroth]

The Half Ogre template from Dragon Magazine explicitly says otherwise because the author was drunk when they wrote the template. I would not use it myself.

ECL 7 Dragonborn Goliath Ranger 1/Warrior 2/Barbarian 3
Dragonborn(Wings) Goliath Ranger 1(OP's request) / Warrior 1 / Barbarian(Spirit Lion Totem & Mountain Rage) 1 / Warrior +1 / Barbarian(Wolf Totem) +2
Feats:
1st: Power Attack
2nd: Combat Reflexes as bonus feat
3rd: Extra Rage (We can be Large 3/day now)
4th: Improved Bullrush as bonus feat
5th: Improved Trip as bonus feat without needing Combat Expertise
6th: Knockback

From there you would continue to increase Barbarian

The Half-Ogre in Races of Destiny counts as a newer source, therefore obviates the Dragon Magazine article.

[OldTrees1]

The Half-Ogre in Races of Destiny counts as a newer source, therefore obviates the Dragon Magazine article.

You replied to someone saying "Half Ogre Goliath", clearly they were speaking about the template from Dragon Magazine and not the race from Races of Destiny. Regardless of whether the template is obviated or not, my comment about how the template works and the drunken nature of its author remains accurate.

Although I do agree with the preference to avoid that template and thus I suggested a Dragonborn Goliath instead.

[Dagroth]

You replied to someone saying "Half Ogre Goliath", clearly they were speaking about the template from Dragon Magazine and not the race from Races of Destiny. Regardless of whether the template is obviated or not, my comment about how the template works and the drunken nature of its author remains accurate.

Although I do agree with the preference to avoid that template and thus I suggested a Dragonborn Goliath instead.

Usually when someone is referring to a large template from Dragon Magazine, they use the Half-Minotaur one since that hasn't been officially updated.

[Sergio]

@ ghostshadow: What Edition are you looking for and what books are allowed/banned. Drag Mag okay? Blah, blah, blah.

Everything but tome of battle is allowed.

Newer sources are preferred to old sources. My Dm does not appreciate shenanigans with templates being applied to human, especially when they seem senseless (like half ogre template on a human, and not race half-ogre for a character).

@ Grod_The_Giant.
Complete Mage has the "Arcane Hunter" ACF for Rangers, granting you Favored Enemy bonuses against arcane casters.

Yup, I think this is going to be a must, but I'm going to take only one level sip into ranger, because I do not wish to take any irrelevant stuff for my character (like bow fighting or two combat weapon style).

Would it have any sense to ask my DM for a mix between champion of the wild, and arcane hunter? I'm sort of new to the whole ordeal and I don't even know if ranger has anything that could be relevant to a double handed weapon barbarian, apart from skill points. The champion of the wild would sacrifice the spellcasting part to make me able to take some feats from the warrior feats pool. I guess this could be a good choice?

Not sure what you mean by "Warrior," though. Are you talking about the Generic Class (which is basically a Fighter that gives up heavy armor for more open bonus feats and skill list; not bad by any stretch of the imagination), the NPC class (terrible for obvious reasons), or do you mean the Fighter itself (good source of bonus feats)?



Grod, thanks for your help. I'm really really new to the whole D&D thing, and I didn't even know that 'fighter' was different from 'warrior'. I thought they were the same things called in two different names.
Anyway, I think that the differences from warrior and fighter are not that large to be even worth dissecting? I saw that the only thing that is cute if you pick 'fighter' over warrior is that you can decide where to specialize. That is the only factor relevant to this whole choice, am I wrong?

I'm looking now at your guides inside the signature. I think I've got to read a lot.


Frenzied Berserker and Runescarred Berserker will lead you to somewhat different paths, methinks.
You are not wrong. Let' say I'm going for a runescarred berserker. Would you take the spirit lion totem anyway? Let's be frank, I understand the reasoning behind you taking it, but from a player standpoint the features from the totems annoy me, because they are stuff that actually involve me, the player, non stop-checking if I used the ability on a certain day. For example, take the intimidating roar. According to the class features, it is a thing I can do once per day. So a few questions arise in my mind:

1) how much annoying would it be to continuosly keep the time or thinking to it or asking my DM , how much time passed? This actually removes part of the immersion. If the time passes, I would like the Dm to tell it, not having actually a clash for how much time he made us spend inside a tavern. A few events may happen in a matter of minutes, but the dm could actually say that it took hours for us and that times took a hasty speed.

2) Isn't there a skill tricks that actually makes you able to intimidate your opponents? Wouldn't the whole ability be overkill?

3) Looking here, it seems there is a difference from lion totem (cc) and unearthed aracana variant? But I canm't seem to find anything related to lion in complete champion

http://rpgbot.net/dnd35/characters/classes/barbarian/




Another thing: I need to justify the features of my class to be immersed. That's the story I'm going for:

My Half-Ogre lived with the Ogre side of his family. The clan was attacked by mages, a magical attack that left an "arcane scar" in your soul, making you sensitive to magic. My character was spared in the attack, however, because - being a small Half-Ogre child - he was mistaken for his non-Ogre half. He has since lived with this ability to sense arcane magic users.

The "arcane scar" is sort of a void in his soul, a piece that was carved out in the attack that killed the tribe. As it was formed by arcane magic, it can consume arcane magic, although it can never be filled. Thus, he experiences it as a sort of pull or hunger, a desire to be "satisfied." And it can only consume arcane energies from living creatures, by first killing those creatures. Thus your fluff explanation.

It's sort of like being a Vampire, only magical, and it's under your control instead of a "do this or die" compulsion.


So, I would go for barbarian 1\arcane hunter 1\????

The fact is that I don't know how to justify going from barbarian to ranger -> it also implies that my character was actually taught how to read and write. Could a ranger have taken him right after the attack? And then could have I left him to go for a warrior\barbarian route once again?

Add to that that my character has really great projects for his race. We live in a continent that is actually scarred by huge amount of racism and mages pretty much hate ogres. hence why the runescarred berserker stuff.


I will answer all the other queries after. Sorry if I can't make a huge single post, but I think it will get confusing if I do.

Anyway, I'm planning to go for a mounted fighter that will actually chage first, then right after having charged, dexcend his mount and actually go toe to toe with the enemies. That's why I thought the frenzied berserker path could also be great for him and could actually be better than a runescarred path.

It's the first time I read about the Otyugh hole, thanks for that.

[ChaosStar]

@ ghostshadow:

@ Grod_The_Giant.
Complete Mage has the "Arcane Hunter" ACF for Rangers, granting you Favored Enemy bonuses against arcane casters.

Yup, I think this is going to be a must, but I'm going to take only one level sip into ranger, because I do not wish to take any irrelevant stuff for my character (like bow fighting or two combat weapon style).

Would it have any sense to ask my DM for a mix between champion of the wild, and arcane hunter? I'm sort of new to the whole ordeal and I don't even know if ranger has anything that could be relevant to a double handed weapon barbarian, apart from skill points. The champion of the wild would sacrifice the spellcasting part to make me able to take some feats from the warrior feats pool. I guess this could be a good choice?


There's also Beast Wrestler(Unarmed), Mounted Combat, Piscator(net and one hander), Strong Arm(two Handed), and Throwing for Combat Styles. Those are ACFs though and they're in Dragon Magizine #326 according to the site I use for ACFs.

[Aimeryan]

3) Looking here, it seems there is a difference from lion totem (cc) and unearthed aracana variant? But I canm't seem to find anything related to lion in complete champion

http://rpgbot.net/dnd35/characters/classes/barbarian/

There is an ACF called Spiritual Totem and there is an ACF called Tribe Totem, and yeah those are the source books. Typical picks are Spiritual Lion Totem for Pounce and Tribe Wolf Totem for Improved Trip (which you get without needing the pre-requisites; Combat Expertise and Intelligence 13).

You can get both ACFs as long as they don't interfere with each other. In the two mentioned, Spiritual Lion Totem replaces Fast Movement with Pounce, while Tribe Wolf Totem replaces Uncanny Dodge with Improved Trip - so both can be taken.


By the way, why no Tome of Battle? The ToB classes are some of the best balanced classes there are for martial types.

[Sergio]

There is an ACF called Spiritual Totem and there is an ACF called Tribe Totem, and yeah those are the source books. Typical picks are Spiritual Lion Totem for Pounce and Tribe Wolf Totem for Improved Trip (which you get without needing the pre-requisites; Combat Expertise and Intelligence 13).

You can get both ACFs as long as they don't interfere with each other. In the two mentioned, Spiritual Lion Totem replaces Fast Movement with Pounce, while Tribe Wolf Totem replaces Uncanny Dodge with Improved Trip - so both can be taken.


By the way, why no Tome of Battle? The ToB classes are some of the best balanced classes there are for martial types.

Manuevers are banished. They add a layer of complexity my dm doesn't want to deal with.

[thoroughlyS]

Why do you want to be a Barbarian?
What abilities are you trying to gain from taking levels in Barbarian?
Why do you want to be a Ranger?
What abilities are you trying to gain from taking levels in Ranger?


So far, you only seem interested in the Arcane Hunter ACF (Complete Mage). After reading the backstory you've proposed for your character, I also understand that you would like some way to "sense" arcane casters, and potentially "absorb" arcane magic. Is that right?

[Sergio]

Why do you want to be a Barbarian?
What abilities are you trying to gain from taking levels in Barbarian?
Why do you want to be a Ranger?
What abilities are you trying to gain from taking levels in Ranger?


So far, you only seem interested in the Arcane Hunter ACF (Complete Mage). After reading the backstory you've proposed for your character, I also understand that you would like some way to "sense" arcane casters, and potentially "absorb" arcane magic. Is that right?

1) Honestly I said barbarian because I feel like ogre tribes are composed by barbarians. I see warriors more as logical people. Am I wrong?

2) I care little about abilities per se. What makes me the most excited about barbarian is just the runescarred berserker class. But you can always show me another way, I think, if you feel like warrior ranger could be better. Honestly I'm not that keen into how I should make characters..

I also took a look at the warrior class and I noticed it had almost no flavour on his prestige classes. The only manual that has great prestige class is Tob and it's banned

3-4) Just one level sip to hunt mages via the arcane hunter ACF


Goals I have for my build
> Be proficient in slaying mages\arcane casters\divine casters\whatever
> Have good saves
> Do a great amount of dmg


> Goal in game's campaign
- try to become bane's exarch
- try to reunite the ogre tribes
- slay as many mages as possible (that's why I think antimagic field from runescarred berserker could be very useful)

[thoroughlyS]

After doing some research and tooling with some concepts, I have some recommendations for your build.

Classes
Taking your backstory (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=21773999&postcount=13) into account, I think a fun route would be the Sworn Slayer prestige class (Dragon 324 p.80). The class is based on the concept of fighting one specific type of foe, and it gets a nice set of bonuses (to damage and saves) when doing so. The hardest requirement to meet is BAB +6, and at 3rd level it gives you Nemesis (see below) as a bonus feat.

I've come up with 4 possible set-ups for your first 6 levels:
LevelBABFortRefWillSpecial 1st2nd3rd4th
Ranger 1+1+2+2+0Favored Enemy (Arcanists), Track, Wild Empathy, Solitary Hunter————
Ranger 2+2+3+3+0Combat Style (Power Attack)————
Ranger 3+3+3+3+1Endurance————
Ranger 4+4+4+4+1-0———
Ranger 5+5+4+4+12nd Favored Enemy0———
Ranger 6+6/+1+5+5+2Improved Combat Style (Improved Sunder)1———
Taking 6 levels of Ranger satisfies the BAB requirement, and allows you to take Favored Enemy(Arcanists), as well as providing 2 good saves. You can take the Strong-Arm Combat Style (Dragon 326 p.97), to gain Power Attack and Improved Sunder as bonus feats. You can also trade away your Animal Companion for the Solitary Hunting ACF (Dragon 347 p.91) which allows you to apply your Favored Enemy bonus to attack rolls. You also get a 1st level spell slot to play around with.
LevelBABFortRefWillSpecial 1st2nd3rd4th
Barbarian 1+1+2+0+0Rage 1/day, Pounce, Illiteracy————
Ranger 1+2+4+2+0Favored Enemy (Arcanists), Track, Wild Empathy, Solitary Hunter————
Ranger 2+3+5+3+0Combat Style (Power Attack)————
Ranger 3+4+5+3+1Endurance————
Ranger 4+5+6+4+1-0———
Ranger 5+6/+1+6+4+12nd Favored Enemy0———
The 6th level of Ranger doesn't necessarily do much for your build. It increases all of your saves, but the only other things you get are Improved Sunder and a 1st level spell slot (maybe). If you opt to take a level of Barbarian instead, it still increases your Fortitude save and gives you Rage and Fast Movement. You can trade away Fast Movement for the Lion Spiritual Totem (Complete Champion p.46) which gives you Pounce (this is probably the most highly recommended ACF in the game). It doesn't really matter when you take this level, so I would recommend taking it first to fit more in line with your backstory.
LevelBABFortRefWillSpecial
Barbarian 1+1+2+0+0Rage 1/day, Pounce, Illiteracy
Barbarian 2+2+3+0+0Uncanny Dodge
Barbarian 3+3+3+1+1Spell Sense +1
Barbarian 4+4+4+1+1Rage 2/day
Ranger 1+5+6+3+1Favored Enemy (Arcanists), Track, Wild Empathy, Solitary Hunter
Ranger 2+6/+1+7+4+1Combat Style (Power Attack)

At this point, you're essentially trading a bonus to Favored Enemy for an additional use of rage. You can trade away the standard Trap Sense for Spell Sense (Complete Mage p.35) which gives you a dodge bonus against spells and spell-like effects. Alternatively, you can trade away both Uncanny Dodge and Trap Sense in exchange for the Wolf Totem (Unearthed Arcana p.49) which gives Improved Trip as a bonus feat.
LevelBABFortRefWillSpecial
Barbarian 1+1+2+0+0Rage 1/day, Pounce, Illiteracy
Barbarian 2+2+3+0+0Uncanny Dodge
Barbarian 3+3+3+1+1Spell Sense +1
Barbarian 4+4+4+1+1Rage 2/day
Barbarian 5+5+4+1+1Awesome Charge/View the Spirit World
Ranger 1+6/+1+6+3+1Favored Enemy (Arcanists), Track, Wild Empathy, Solitary Hunter

Giving up Power Attack allows you to gain Awesome Charge (Champions of Valor p.40) which allows you to use Awesome Blow (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsterFeats.htm#awesomeBlow) at the end of a charge, OR View the Spirit World (Complete Champion p.46) which allows you to see invisible creatures once per day. If you instead take the Wolf Totem, you get Track as a bonus feat, which means you can trade the ranger Track for Trap Expert (Dungeonscape p.12) which gives you trapfinding.
Finishing out Sworn Slayer isn't really necessary, as the last two levels are mostly small numbers and a really underwhelming capstone. This leaves you with 11 levels to fill. If you really want Runescarred Berserker (Unapproachable East p.31), it is still a viable option, it just costs at least 2 feats to enter, as well as some skill points that could've been spent elsewhere.


Sworn Foe (Ex): At 1st level, the sworn slayer dedicates his life to the destruction of creatures of a specific type, gaining a specialized bonus against those creatures. The sworn slayer chooses a monster type (such as aberration, humanoid, or undead). Against creatures of his chosen type, he gains a +1 bonus on Bluff, Listen, Move Silently, Sense Motive, Spot, and Survival checks, as well as weapon damage rolls. This bonus stacks with those from a ranger's favored enemy ability. This bonus increases to +2 at 3rd level and to +3 at 5th level.
Beg your DM to let you pick arcanists, even though it is not a legal choice (if worst comes to worst, pick humanoids). This is essential, because at 3rd level you gain Nemesis (Book of Exalted Deeds p.44) without needing to be good (a requirement for Exalted feats). Nemesis is an AMAZING feat, which gives you the ability to sense your sworn foe within 60 ft. (among other bonuses).

Alternate Class Features

Dashing Step (Dragon Magazine 349 p.93): Replaces Trap Sense, and removes the AC penalty for charging. 3rd level
Devil's Luck (Dragon Magazine 349 p.93): Replaces Damage Reduction with a bonus to all saves. 7th level
Streetfighter (Cityscape Web Enhancement) (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070228a): Replaces Damage Reduction with mechanical bonuses to charging. 7th level


Champion of the Wild (Complete Champion p.50): Replaces Ranger Spellcasting (including all wands) with bonus feats. Only worth it if you don't plan to advance in Ranger. 4th level
Spell Reflection (Complete Mage p.35): Replaces Evasion with the ability to reflect targeted spells at the caster. 7th level
Spiritual Connection (Complete Champion p.50): Replaces Wild Empathy with the ability to talk to animals and plants. 1st level
Wild Shape (Unearthed Arcana p.58): Replaces Combat Style with Fast Movement and Wild Shape (small and medium animals only). 1st level


Feats

Spellfire Wielder (Magic of Faerûn p.23): Another fun ability that fits your backstory (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=21773999&postcount=13) is the Spellfire Wielder feat, which lets you absorb spells that target you and convert them into some minor magical effects. The max amount you can store is based off of your CON score, which is good for your build.
Mage Slayer (Complete Arcane p.81): You entire character concept, right in the name of the feat! It is the prerequisite for two very powerful feats, described below.
Pierce Magical Concealment (Complete Arcane p.81): Let's you ignore concealment caused by magical effects. In addition, if you hit someone, you remove buffs that give them concealment. Requires Blind-Fight (PHB), which you can get as a bonus feat in one of two ways.
If you don't really care about spellcasting, and you're going to take at least 4 levels of Ranger, you can take the Champion of the Wild ACF (Complete Champion p.50), which gives you a bonus feat at 4th level. This is normally considered a bad trade, because you also have to give up wands with ranger spells.
If you don't really care about Pounce, you can take the Dragon Totem ACF (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#dragonTotemClassFeatur es) (Unearthed Arcana p.48), which replaces Fast Movement with Blind-Fight. Note: If you take this option, you miss out on other features that trade away fast movement, uncanny dodge, trap sense, or improved uncanny dodge.
Pierce Magical Protection (Complete Arcane p.81): Just like PMC but with armor bonuses instead. It only requires Mage Slayer, which makes it a little easier to pick up.
Vow of Vengeance (Drow of the Underdark p.56): A flavorful Vile feat that gives you +2 profane damage against a type of creature. Ask your DM if you can choose Arcanists again. Requires Unspeakable Vow (Drow of the Underdark p.55).
Improved Favored Enemy (Complete Warrior p.101)
Extra Rage (Complete Warrior p.98)

[noce]

Ciao Sergio, take a look at the Occult Slayer prestige class.
A single level would grant you +1d6 damage against anyone that uses magic and +1 saves against magic.

[ATHATH]

If you dip Ranger, take the Solitary Hunting ACF, which, for some inexplicable reason, is taken at Ranger 1 instead of Ranger 4. It trades your Animal Companion (which you won't get in a single level dip) for an attack bonus against your FEs.

[ATHATH]

Take the Predator Variant as well, because it's also "free" (I don't know if the Predator Fast Movement will stack with any Barbarian Fast Movement that you have; check with your DM).

[thoroughlyS]

Ciao Sergio, take a look at the Occult Slayer prestige class.
A single level would grant you +1d6 damage against anyone that uses magic and +1 saves against magic.
Occult Slayer is kind of a weak class, and it requires two more feats on a feat starved build.

[Sergio]

cut
[/LIST]

This is one of the most insightful post I have ever read directed to me inside this forum. I wish to genuinely thank you for this post. It is so helpful you made me blush..



Ciao Sergio, take a look at the Occult Slayer prestige class.
A single level would grant you +1d6 damage against anyone that uses magic and +1 saves against magic.
I doubt I will take it, but I appreciate the imput.

If you dip Ranger, take the Solitary Hunting ACF, which, for some inexplicable reason, is taken at Ranger 1 instead of Ranger 4. It trades your Animal Companion (which you won't get in a single level dip) for an attack bonus against your FEs.
Jsketchy wrote about it already. Thank you though for telling me :P

Take the Predator Variant as well, because it's also "free" (I don't know if the Predator Fast Movement will stack with any Barbarian Fast Movement that you have; check with your DM).
Thanks.

Occult Slayer is kind of a weak class, and it requires two more feats on a feat starved build.

Agree 101%

So my two next path are going mage slayer path, or runescarred berserker path.

> If I go mage slayer, how would I keep going? What would, according to you, be the next logical step?
> And the same queries do get asked for runescarred berserker,

[provided that I survive enough in the campaign to think about the path I should be taking..]


Last two questions: these are really important from a roleplaying standpoint.

1) Which evil god would my character follow, I wonder? Consider all the three different evil alignments (although I'm unsure if my character would be a brutish ogre, a cunning ogre, or a mix of two)
2) Is there an evil divinity who treats his minions well? I saw that Vecna was one of these, but after Kas's betrayal she is no more. Could it be Bane?

[ATHATH]

This is one of the most insightful post I have ever read directed to me inside this forum. I wish to genuinely thank you for this post. It is so helpful you made me blush..



I doubt I will take it, but I appreciate the imput.

Jsketchy wrote about it already. Thank you though for telling me :P

Thanks.


Agree 101%

So my two next path are going mage slayer path, or runescarred berserker path.

> If I go mage slayer, how would I keep going? What would, according to you, be the next logical step?
> And the same queries do get asked for runescarred berserker,

[provided that I survive enough in the campaign to think about the path I should be taking..]


Last two questions: these are really important from a roleplaying standpoint.

1) Which evil god would my character follow, I wonder? Consider all the three different evil alignments (although I'm unsure if my character would be a brutish ogre, a cunning ogre, or a mix of two)
2) Is there an evil divinity who treats his minions well? I saw that Vecna was one of these, but after Kas's betrayal she is no more. Could it be Bane?
Wee Jas is LN with LE leanings and is pretty much the sanest god of necromancy around, if that counts.

[thoroughlyS]

> If I go mage slayer, how would I keep going? What would, according to you, be the next logical step?
Mage Slayer, Pierce Magical Concealment, and Pierce Magical Protection are all just feats. You can take them regardless of the other parts of your build.

> And the same queries do get asked for runescarred berserker,
One important question that got overlooked was exactly how your DM is handling Level Adjustment.

Are you using the standard rules (meaning you will always have +2 LA)?
Are you allowed to use LA buyoff (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/races/reducingLevelAdjustments.htm) (meaning you can eventually get rid of your LA altogether)?
Is your group being given a "free" +2 LA (you are treated as if you were using a normal race)?

If you are playing with just the standard rules, I recommend Barbarian-Ranger 6/Sworn Slayer 3/Runescarred Berserker 9. Maybe use the Goliath racial stats to get an extra level. You could simply say that you are a Half-Ogre Goliath (with dominant Goliath heritage), who was raised by his Ogre parent as a trophy.

Otherwise go Barbarian-Ranger 6/ Sworn Slayer 4/Runescarred Berserker 10.

1) Which evil god would my character follow, I wonder? Consider all the three different evil alignments (although I'm unsure if my character would be a brutish ogre, a cunning ogre, or a mix of two)
If you stick with the Half-Ogre backstory, you should probably worship Vaprak, patron diety of Ogres and Trolls. He's described in Defenders of Faith (p.96). He's Chaotic Evil, which fits pretty well with Barbarian.

Equipment
Weapon Properties

Dispelling (Magic Item Compendium p.33): CL 5 targeted dispel magic 3/day. +1 weapon
Greater Dispeling (Magic Item Compendium p.33): CL 15 targeted greater dispel magic 3/day. +1 (requires Dispeling, effectively +2) weapon
Magebane (Magic Item Compendium p.38): Bane, but for mages (duh). +1 weapon
Valorous (Champions of Valor p.54): Doubles damage on charge. +1 weapon

Antimagic Torc (Underdark p.73): antimagic field 1/day. 25,000 gp
Cloak of Predatory Vigor (Magic Item Compendium p.87): Heal yourself by HD 2/day while raging. 1,400 gp
Scout's Headband (Magic Item Compendium p.132): true seeing 1/day. 3,400 gp

[Sergio]

--> Mage slayer feats: Taking all the feats means caster level reduced by 16. Check special. Woiuldn't that destroy runescarred berserker path?

--> Allowed to use La buyoff? Yep.

--> If you are playing with just the standard rules [...]. What do you mean? It's D&D 3.5. I doubt I can say I'm a goliath mix if it's not within the rules, my Dm won't appreciate it.

---> I recommend Barbarian-Ranger 6/Sworn Slayer 3/Runescarred Berserker 9.
or
Barbarian-Ranger 6/ Sworn Slayer 4/Runescarred Berserker 10.

Can you tell me what would justify this difference?

--> I wonder if such an ogre could also be good. What deity would he pray? it would all come from who adopted him, I think, if he was adopted

[Dagroth]

--> Mage slayer feats: Taking all the feats means caster level reduced by 16. Check special. Woiuldn't that destroy runescarred berserker path?

--> Allowed to use La buyoff? Yep.

--> If you are playing with just the standard rules [...]. What do you mean? It's D&D 3.5. I doubt I can say I'm a goliath mix if it's not within the rules, my Dm won't appreciate it.

---> I recommend Barbarian-Ranger 6/Sworn Slayer 3/Runescarred Berserker 9.
or
Barbarian-Ranger 6/ Sworn Slayer 4/Runescarred Berserker 10.

Can you tell me what would justify this difference?

--> I wonder if such an ogre could also be good. What deity would he pray? it would all come from who adopted him, I think, if he was adopted

1) Yup, Mage Slayer feats hurt casting classes bad... unless you're casting spells that you don't care about effective caster level... like True Strike or any other spell that doesn't have variable effects. And, if you have any feats left over, you can always get Practiced Spellcaster.

Plus, you could throw 2 levels of Fighter in there and get the first of the Mage Slayer feats as a Fighter Bonus Feat & Blind-fight (needed for Pierce Magical Concealment) as your second Fighter Bonus Feat.

2) The difference in the two builds is based on LA buy-off. The first build assumes no LA buy-off. That's what he means by "standard rules". Standard rules do not allow LA buy-off.

3) Any character can be good... unless the class says you can't be. :smallbiggrin:

[thoroughlyS]

--> Mage slayer feats: Taking all the feats means caster level reduced by 16. Check special. Woiuldn't that destroy runescarred berserker path?
After reviewing how reducing your caster level works, I have to say that I didn't quite think that through. I thought that a reduced caster level would only impact things like duration, damage, and save DC; that could be avoided through careful spell selection. Now I realize that lowering your caster level also means losing access to your higher level spells known. The feat Practiced Spellcaster (Complete Divine/Arcane p.82) can help offset the penalty of Mage Slayer, but that's about it. Side Note: There are only 3 feats, so the CL reduction would be 12.

However, it's worth mentioning that even without the runescars (which are admittedly the main reason to take levels in the class), you can progress your standard Barbarian abilities faster than if you took more levels of Barbarian (ignoring Trap Sense and Uncanny Dodge). So spells or not, Runescarred Berserker is a general improvement.

EDIT: You can still use wands if you want.

--> If you are playing with just the standard rules [...]. What do you mean? It's D&D 3.5. I doubt I can say I'm a goliath mix if it's not within the rules, my Dm won't appreciate it.
Like Dagroth said, by "standard rules" I meant "no LA buyoff". If you did not have that option, I was suggesting that you play a Goliath instead of a Half-Ogre. I also suggested that you could keep your backstory by saying that your character was born to an Ogre and a Goliath (which could still reasonably have the stats of a Goliath). Not that it matters anymore, considering that you have buyoff.

---> I recommend Barbarian-Ranger 6/Sworn Slayer 3/Runescarred Berserker 9.
or
Barbarian-Ranger 6/ Sworn Slayer 4/Runescarred Berserker 10.

Can you tell me what would justify this difference?
The first was if you were playing without LA buyoff. Use the second one.

--> I wonder if such an ogre could also be good. What deity would he pray? it would all come from who adopted him, I think, if he was adopted
You can definitely be good. In fact, that opens up a very strong option for you. If you are good, you can take Nemesis as one of your normal feats, in addition to the bonus feat granted by Sworn Slayer. If you take Nemesis (Arcanists) it can even stack with Nemesis (Sworn Foe), if you fight something that is both.

For Example: Let's say you pick Sworn Foe (Humanoids), you take Nemesis (Arcanists) as a normal feat, and you gain Nemesis (Humanoids) as a bonus feat. If you fight a human/elf/goblin/etc., you get +1d6 damage. If you fight a wizard/warlock/pixie/etc., you get +1d6 damage. If you fight a elf wizard, you get +2d6. If your DM is really nice, and let's you pick Sworn Foe (Arcanists) - which is technically not a legal option - you can deal +2d6 to all wizards/warlocks/pixies/etc.

[schreier]

Here's what I would do -- obviously, taking swift hunter as a mainstay of the build. Would probably also consider dragontouched / draconic heritage / dragonfire strike (would add 1d6 to both the sneak attack and skirmish)

level 10 would have 1/3/6/9 - so that would eat up all of your feats unless you could take flaws


Barbarian 1 with ACFs -
Dragon 349 - City Brawler - give up martial weapons, medium armor, shields - gain improved unarmed strike, TWF while unarmed (basically give up nothing since you're taking fighter)

Complete Champaion - Spirit Totem - Lion - give up fast move, gain pounce (HUGE)

Unearthed - Craft Hunting - gain favored enemy, give up rage

Fighter 1 with ACFs
Drow of the Underdark - gain +2 initiative, add dex bonus to damage against flat footed

Unearthed Arcana - Sneak Attack - gain 1d6 sneak attack, give up bonus feat


Ranger 5 with ACFs
Unearthed Arcana - Wild Shape - gain wild shape as druid, give up combat forms - might be useful when wanting to not be an obvious ogre (hide as a dog?)

Complete Mage - Arcane Hunter - select arcane casters

Dragon 347 - Solitary Hunter - favored enemy bonuses apply to damage as well, give up animal companion


Complete Champion - Champion of the Wild - not great, but get bonus feats at level 4, etc .... if you want to avoid spellcasting for character concept, it's an ok choice. I wouldn't recommend it, except for concept reasons


Scout 3
You didn't mention scout - but this will allow you to add ranger levels for skirmish damage, and add scout levels for favored enemies

[Dagroth]

Here's what I would do -- obviously, taking swift hunter as a mainstay of the build. Would probably also consider dragontouched / draconic heritage / dragonfire strike (would add 1d6 to both the sneak attack and skirmish)

level 10 would have 1/3/6/9 - so that would eat up all of your feats unless you could take flaws


Barbarian 1 with ACFs -
Dragon 349 - City Brawler - give up martial weapons, medium armor, shields - gain improved unarmed strike, TWF while unarmed (basically give up nothing since you're taking fighter)

Complete Champaion - Spirit Totem - Lion - give up fast move, gain pounce (HUGE)

Unearthed - Craft Hunting - gain favored enemy, give up rage

Fighter 1 with ACFs
Drow of the Underdark - gain +2 initiative, add dex bonus to damage against flat footed

Unearthed Arcana - Sneak Attack - gain 1d6 sneak attack, give up bonus feat


Ranger 5 with ACFs
Unearthed Arcana - Wild Shape - gain wild shape as druid, give up combat forms - might be useful when wanting to not be an obvious ogre (hide as a dog?)

Complete Mage - Arcane Hunter - select arcane casters

Dragon 347 - Solitary Hunter - favored enemy bonuses apply to damage as well, give up animal companion


Complete Champion - Champion of the Wild - not great, but get bonus feats at level 4, etc .... if you want to avoid spellcasting for character concept, it's an ok choice. I wouldn't recommend it, except for concept reasons


Scout 3
You didn't mention scout - but this will allow you to add ranger levels for skirmish damage, and add scout levels for favored enemies

Congratulations, your build has a 60% XP penalty!

Barb-2/Ftr-2/Ranger-3/Scout-3 is safe. Even Barb-1 is safe, since Barbarian is the favored class for Half-Ogre.

Edit: 5 levels of Abjurant Champion would solve the problem with Caster Level for Runescarred Berserker.

[Sergio]

@jsketchy
@dragoth

Thank you both for help.

I've got a few questions:

1) Why do people get the lion totem? Is pounce so important? Or is it a good sacrifice to lose fast movement for a feat? By levelling I could take that feat anyway.

2)I don't understand the difference between
> totem barbarian
and
> spiritual totem


3)I'm going to be good. When would you suggest me to take Nemesis feat?
3.1) Is there a website where I could make a scheme and start to experiment with for easy accessibility? Like see the saves and feats, and so on.

4) By taking a certain totem or spiritual totem, what would the DM expect from me? I'm referring to how I should approach the creatures from that totem.

@schreier

thanks for your try, but the xp penalty is a huge toll.

[schreier]

The post above mentioned 2 fighter 2 barbarian instead which would avoid all penalties actually.

Barbarian 2 with wolf totem gives you trip which is huge, and fighter 2 gives you a bonus feat.

Add wild template from dragon 306 to change favored class to ranger so you can focus on ranger going forward. Will also add 2 str and 1 skill pt per level with-2 int and -2 cha

AND pounce is that good. There is only one regional feat that I know of to get it, so it is hard to find. Full attack on charge really matters for battlefield mobility

[OldTrees1]

@jsketchy
@dragoth

Thank you both for help.

I've got a few questions:

1) Why do people get the lion totem? Is pounce so important? Or is it a good sacrifice to lose fast movement for a feat? By levelling I could take that feat anyway.

2)I don't understand the difference between
> totem barbarian
and
> spiritual totem


3)I'm going to be good. When would you suggest me to take Nemesis feat?
3.1) Is there a website where I could make a scheme and start to experiment with for easy accessibility? Like see the saves and feats, and so on.

4) By taking a certain totem or spiritual totem, what would the DM expect from me? I'm referring to how I should approach the creatures from that totem.

@schreier

thanks for your try, but the xp penalty is a huge toll.

1) Pounce(which is not the Run feat) allows you to move & get your iterative attacks. At 6+ level you will frequently want to get 2 attacks per turn.

2) Totem Barbarian is from Unearthed Arcana, Spirit Totems are from Complete Champion. Each option lists which class features it trades away. Some combinations of Totems and Spirit Totems have no overlapping trades(so you can take both).

4) I recommend 2 approaches:
A: Your totem is an unlisted animal that is similar to both listed animals.
B: Your barbarian is reverent to many totems. Sure you only get class features representing 2 of them, but you can roleplay a broader reverence.

[Aimeryan]

I built a Barbarian for one campaign that took the Spiritual Lion Totem (Pounce) and the Tribe Wolf Totem (Improved Trip without pre-reqs). I roleplayed it as they pretty much sound:


The Laeodu Wolf Clan is a tribe of barbarians, dedicating itself to the wolf, adopting it as their tribe totem - although, it is not so much that the Clan favours the wolf as much as it respects it. While the wolf is respected by the tribe it is not necessarily that animal which guides each Clan member; each Clan member holds to their own personal spirit animal, from which they seek guidance. Common spiritual animals include the wolf, but also the lion, the bear, the fox, the eagle, and so on. Indeed, it is typical for a coming of age Clan member to demonstrate what they have learned from their spirit animal.

That was the back-story I wrote for those particular features.

In the campaign it came about that he had the totems as little carved figurines that he kept on a string around his neck, which he would rub a little oil into each night. During his sleep he would dream of seeing the Tribe Wolf in the distance, hunting, while his Spiritual Lion would appear alongside him guiding his way, showing him signs, or sometimes just radiating approval or disapproval. It was left ambiguous as to whether this was just his subconscious mind throwing these things up or whether they were actual spirits or perhaps dream-related creatures or something else.

[thoroughlyS]

Would probably also consider dragontouched / draconic heritage / dragonfire strike (would add 1d6 to both the sneak attack and skirmish)

level 10 would have 1/3/6/9 - so that would eat up all of your feats unless you could take flaws
I recommend against taking these for the exact reason you touched on. Two of those feats functionally add nothing to the build, while the third can be replicated by a 3,000 gp item (Lesser Crystal of Fire Assault, Magic Item Compendium p.64)


Barbarian 1 with ACFs -
Dragon 349 - City Brawler - give up martial weapons, medium armor, shields - gain improved unarmed strike, TWF while unarmed (basically give up nothing since you're taking fighter)

Complete Champaion - Spirit Totem - Lion - give up fast move, gain pounce (HUGE)

Unearthed - Craft Hunting - gain favored enemy, give up rage
As you said, City Brawler is only worth it if you take fighter levels, which delay the benefits that can be gained from other classes. Crafty Hunter (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#barbarian) would be a good trade if Sergio decides against going into Runescarred Berserker, especially if they only ever take Barbarian 1. However, I don't think picking (Arcanists) would stack, and it doesn't improve any other favored enemies that the character gains later.

Fighter 1 with ACFs
Drow of the Underdark - gain +2 initiative, add dex bonus to damage against flat footed

Unearthed Arcana - Sneak Attack - gain 1d6 sneak attack, give up bonus feat
The first ACF you mention is called Drow Fighter (Drow of the Underdark p.58), which is a racial ACF. And as mentioned above taking any levels in fighter delays all other classes.

Ranger 5 with ACFs
Unearthed Arcana - Wild Shape - gain wild shape as druid, give up combat forms - might be useful when wanting to not be an obvious ogre (hide as a dog?)

Complete Mage - Arcane Hunter - select arcane casters

Dragon 347 - Solitary Hunter - favored enemy bonuses apply to damage as well, give up animal companion


Complete Champion - Champion of the Wild - not great, but get bonus feats at level 4, etc .... if you want to avoid spellcasting for character concept, it's an ok choice. I wouldn't recommend it, except for concept reasons
Wild Shape Ranger doesn't really fit the concept of the character, which Sergio said is important; it would also remove Power Attack as a bonus feat, which means less feat slots to fill with "fun" feats. I agree that Champion of the Wild would be sort of a bad choice for a Swift Hunter, but it is definitely the better choice if Sergio takes the Mage Slayer feats, as discussed above.

Scout 3
You didn't mention scout - but this will allow you to add ranger levels for skirmish damage, and add scout levels for favored enemies
I didn't really think about Scout while researching, because I was focused on getting into Runescarred Berserker, but I agree that a Swift Hunter build would be a strong alternative.

I could see Barbarian 1/Ranger 2/Scout 3/Sworn Slayer 4/Ranger +10 as a decent progression.

Edit: 5 levels of Abjurant Champion would solve the problem with Caster Level for Runescarred Berserker.
Abjurant Champion doesn't really fit the theme of the build, and only progresses Arcane classes. Besides, there would only be 1 level in it anyway.


Congratulations, your build has a 60% XP penalty!

Barb-2/Ftr-2/Ranger-3/Scout-3 is safe. Even Barb-1 is safe, since Barbarian is the favored class for Half-Ogre.
The post above mentioned 2 fighter 2 barbarian instead which would avoid all penalties actually.

Barbarian 2 with wolf totem gives you trip which is huge, and fighter 2 gives you a bonus feat.

Add wild template from dragon 306 to change favored class to ranger so you can focus on ranger going forward. Will also add 2 str and 1 skill pt per level with-2 int and -2 cha
Half-Ogres are already taking a hit to Intelligence and Charisma, so the Wild template would really suck. Desert-Dweller would also give Favored Class: Ranger, and the other racial changes are barely noticeable.

1) Why do people get the lion totem? Is pounce so important? Or is it a good sacrifice to lose fast movement for a feat? By levelling I could take that feat anyway.
Pounce is a VERY strong ability for most melee characters. It allows them to full attack in many situations where thy couldn't otherwise. When each attack can add ~40 damage (on the low end), that really starts to matter.

2)I don't understand the difference between
> totem barbarian
and
> spiritual totem
From a game standpoint they are two completely separate options that your character has access to. Spiritual Totem (Complete Champion p.46) allows you to trade Fast Movement for abilities that might fit your character better. Totem Barbarian (Unearthed Arcana p.48) allows you to trade away a few low-level barbarian abilities for others.

From a roleplay standpoint, Spiritual Totems represent a single barbarian's connection to nature, represented by an animal spirit. The Totem Barbarian variant, however, are actually representative of the different customs that separate barbarian tribes have. Aimeryan is exactly right in his character's backstory:

I built a Barbarian for one campaign that took the Spiritual Lion Totem (Pounce) and the Tribe Wolf Totem (Improved Trip without pre-reqs). I roleplayed it as they pretty much sound:


The Laeodu Wolf Clan is a tribe of barbarians, dedicating itself to the wolf, adopting it as their tribe totem - although, it is not so much that the Clan favours the wolf as much as it respects it. While the wolf is respected by the tribe it is not necessarily that animal which guides each Clan member; each Clan member holds to their own personal spirit animal, from which they seek guidance. Common spiritual animals include the wolf, but also the lion, the bear, the fox, the eagle, and so on. Indeed, it is typical for a coming of age Clan member to demonstrate what they have learned from their spirit animal.


3)I'm going to be good. When would you suggest me to take Nemesis feat?
3.1) Is there a website where I could make a scheme and start to experiment with for easy accessibility? Like see the saves and feats, and so on.
Take Nemesis as early as you can, because it is a very powerful ability. I may post feat recommendations later. Side question: How are you justifying you character being good? They were raised by Ogres (and therefore raised to understand evil motivations) and have dedicated their life to killing mages (no mention has been made of specifically evil mages, so I assumed you were just going to kill any mages you came across).

Sadly, I don't know of any websites that allow you to quickly calculate things like BAB, saves, feats, or abilities. I've seen a handful of Excel character generators that seem pretty comprehensive, but nothing too user friendly.

4) By taking a certain totem or spiritual totem, what would the DM expect from me? I'm referring to how I should approach the creatures from that totem.
I would think that your tribe would've taught you to respect the tribal totem, so you would probably think of them that way. However, you would probably also be aware that the animal can be dangerous, and protect yourself if you were attacked by one. You wouldn't really know much factual information about the animal, probably more just fables or metaphors based on them. "The wolf teaches us that there is strength in numbers."

You probably would have similar education about your spiritual totem, mostly just your tribe's shaman explaining what it means for you specifically. "The lion reflects your predatory nature. You won't rest until the hunt is finished."

[schreier]

I recommend against taking these for the exact reason you touched on. Two of those feats functionally add nothing to the build, while the third can be replicated by a 3,000 gp item (Lesser Crystal of Fire Assault, Magic Item Compendium p.64)

Not true - it adds 1d6 damage to each (so 2d6 if sneak attack and skirmish apply), and converts all oft he skirmish/sneak attack to elemental which can overcome DR potentially




As you said, City Brawler is only worth it if you take fighter levels, which delay the benefits that can be gained from other classes. Crafty Hunter (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#barbarian) would be a good trade if Sergio decides against going into Runescarred Berserker, especially if they only ever take Barbarian 1. However, I don't think picking (Arcanists) would stack, and it doesn't improve any other favored enemies that the character gains later.

The first ACF you mention is called Drow Fighter (Drow of the Underdark p.58), which is a racial ACF. And as mentioned above taking any levels in fighter delays all other classes.


Well, ranger gives the weapons as well, so you don't need fighter necessarily.
And Drow fighter is not a racial ACF, it's just mentioned under the Drow section. There is no mention in the rule about it only being a Drow ACF. And while it can delay other classes - I threw it in since he mentioned including Warrior. You could definitely ditch it for more ranger.



Wild Shape Ranger doesn't really fit the concept of the character, which Sergio said is important; it would also remove Power Attack as a bonus feat, which means less feat slots to fill with "fun" feats. I agree that Champion of the Wild would be sort of a bad choice for a Swift Hunter, but it is definitely the better choice if Sergio takes the Mage Slayer feats, as discussed above.

Agreed on the wild shaping ... just a useful ability if he wanted. Could go Dragon 326 has Strong Arm I believe as a fighting style if that sounded better? Power attack for free at level 2


I didn't really think about Scout while researching, because I was focused on getting into Runescarred Berserker, but I agree that a Swift Hunter build would be a strong alternative.

I could see Barbarian 1/Ranger 2/Scout 3/Sworn Slayer 4/Ranger +10 as a decent progression.

That sounds like a great option - with the desert template from Dragon to get ranger as a preferred class - I think you actually would need Barbarian 2 there to keep it working, so that you avoid the penalty


Abjurant Champion doesn't really fit the theme of the build, and only progresses Arcane classes. Besides, there would only be 1 level in it anyway.

Half-Ogres are already taking a hit to Intelligence and Charisma, so the Wild template would really suck. Desert-Dweller would also give Favored Class: Ranger, and the other racial changes are barely noticeable.

Pounce is a VERY strong ability for most melee characters. It allows them to full attack in many situations where thy couldn't otherwise. When each attack can add ~40 damage (on the low end), that really starts to matter.

From a game standpoint they are two completely separate options that your character has access to. Spiritual Totem (Complete Champion p.46) allows you to trade Fast Movement for abilities that might fit your character better. Totem Barbarian (Unearthed Arcana p.48) allows you to trade away a few low-level barbarian abilities for others.

From a roleplay standpoint, Spiritual Totems represent a single barbarian's connection to nature, represented by an animal spirit. The Totem Barbarian variant, however, are actually representative of the different customs that separate barbarian tribes have. Aimeryan is exactly right in his character's backstory:



Take Nemesis as early as you can, because it is a very powerful ability. I may post feat recommendations later. Side question: How are you justifying you character being good? They were raised by Ogres (and therefore raised to understand evil motivations) and have dedicated their life to killing mages (no mention has been made of specifically evil mages, so I assumed you were just going to kill any mages you came across).

Sadly, I don't know of any websites that allow you to quickly calculate things like BAB, saves, feats, or abilities. I've seen a handful of Excel character generators that seem pretty comprehensive, but nothing too user friendly.

I would think that your tribe would've taught you to respect the tribal totem, so you would probably think of them that way. However, you would probably also be aware that the animal can be dangerous, and protect yourself if you were attacked by one. You wouldn't really know much factual information about the animal, probably more just fables or metaphors based on them. "The wolf teaches us that there is strength in numbers."

You probably would have similar education about your spiritual totem, mostly just your tribe's shaman explaining what it means for you specifically. "The lion reflects your predatory nature. You won't rest until the hunt is finished."

If you wanted to stay good, you could always go stalker of kharash or harper paragon for 2 levels to get preferred enemy evil - nemesis with that is awesome :)

[ATHATH]

Yeah, as far as I know, the Drow-themed ACFs aren't limited to Drow.

Do note that Favored Enemy (Arcanists) is, IIRC, actually a 1st level Ranger ACF, so non-Rangers can't take Arcanists as a Favored Enemy.

[thoroughlyS]

Not true - it adds 1d6 damage to each (so 2d6 if sneak attack and skirmish apply), and converts all oft he skirmish/sneak attack to elemental which can overcome DR potentially
Okay, after reviewing Dragonfire Strike (Dragon Magic p.18), there are a few clarifications that need to be made. Firstly, it requires CHA 11 and the dragonblood subtype. Getting 11 Charisma, especially as a Half-Ogre, is a waste of an ability score on this build. Secondly, it would actually only take Dragontouched to get the subtype, but that is still 2 feats on a feat starved build. Finally, in order to get +2d6 you need to take 1 level in two different classes. So you're already delaying/reducing the class abilities of your other classes.

Well, ranger gives the weapons as well, so you don't need fighter necessarily.
And Drow fighter is not a racial ACF, it's just mentioned under the Drow section. There is no mention in the rule about it only being a Drow ACF. And while it can delay other classes - I threw it in since he mentioned including Warrior. You could definitely ditch it for more ranger.
Honestly, City Brawler isn't too bad, it's just that the bonuses don't really help out this build.

The Underdark is home to alien creatures, depraved cultures, and hazards that can snuff out the lives of any creatures unfortunate enough to stumble across them. The drow have developed techniques to respond to these many threats. This chapter explores the options available to drow characters, presenting new uses for skills, new feats, alternative class features, and new spells and invocations.
Drow Fighter is explicitly for drow only. I mean, it's in a chapter called Drow Options...

[Dagroth]

I could see Barbarian 1/Ranger 2/Scout 3/Sworn Slayer 4/Ranger +10 as a decent progression.

Congratulations! If Barbarian is still your Favored Class, you don't get a 20% XP penalty until level 11! If Ranger is your Favored Class, you get a 20% XP penalty starting at level 6!

This is the second time I've had to call someone on this in a thread for character building assistance on a fairly new player. I realize many tables house-rule away the multiclassing XP penalty, but you can't assume that, since most do not.

[thoroughlyS]

Congratulations! If Barbarian is still your Favored Class, you don't get a 20% XP penalty until level 11! If Ranger is your Favored Class, you get a 20% XP penalty starting at level 6!

This is the second time I've had to call someone on this in a thread for character building assistance on a fairly new player. I realize many tables house-rule away the multiclassing XP penalty, but you can't assume that, since most do not.
Honestly, I'm still in favor of Barbarian 1/Ranger 5/Sworn Slayer 4/Runescarred Berserker 10. No multiclass penalties there.

I fervently disagree that most tables actually honor the multiclassing XP penalty rules. Whenever it gets brought up online, people immediately start pointing out the problems with it, and denouncing it readily. I personally do not know a single player who uses them. Or, if they do care about Favored Class, they go the Pathfinder route. Heck, the fact that Pathfinder (a game made by people who designed for 3.5) changed it should be a good indicator of general feelings towards those rules.

EDIT: Just realized that Barbarian 1/Ranger2/Scout 3 doesn't even have +6 BAB, and can't get in to Sworn Slayer. Barbarian 2/Ranger 2/Scout 3/Sworn Slayer 3/Ranger +10 fits, and still gets a 4th favored enemy.

[Sergio]

@ OldTrees1
Understood, thanks.

@ Aimeryan
Thanks for sharing with me your background. It made me understand things better.


One thing that I should have said is that I should not go for dragon stuff, because inside the campaign, as a player, it would really counterproductive for me, because I've got the thought that dragons= problems



@ Jsketchy

but it is definitely the better choice if Sergio takes the Mage Slayer feats, as discussed above.
If I don't take Runescarred berserker, wouldn't just be better to go for ranger prc, like the Harper agent or stalker of karrash, instead of mage slayer feats?

Pounce. Thanks for the explanation


Side question: How are you justifying you character being good? They were raised by Ogres (and therefore raised to understand evil motivations) and have dedicated their life to killing mages (no mention has been made of specifically evil mages, so I assumed you were just going to kill any mages you came across).

I think that my character could be also justified being good. Inside the continent I currently live in there is a lingering racism fueled also by mages, who hunt some tribes of ogres mercilessly and nearly bringed us to near-extinction. The truth is that it all depends on the personal evolution of my character, which can be really problematic:

> he would also start to realize that the world is even worse than what was showed by ogre and their ways (so it could be really chaotic evil, and only respects the true power and what it brings)

or

> while he was adopted by a human family, he could realize that things are not as straightforward as he was inclined to believe, because even humans showed him a compassion he didn't expect. So he would start hunting mages, but he wouldn't act as a mindless killer, each time going to murder all the mages or the arcane users he meets - maybe, he will understand that the ending justify the means, he would be a zealot, but for his cause. Acting within ogre's traditions inside his clans, acting within humans tradition, and actually mixing himself, but showing true acceptance that his nature will be always conflicted, and that sometimes there is a side to be taken: not the easy one, with the mages, exterminating who is left, but with the ogre, by uniting them and doing what matters the most - saving them.





Tribal golem. Thanks for the tribal golem hint

[thoroughlyS]

@ Aimeryan
One thing that I should have said is that I should not go for dragon stuff, because inside the campaign, as a player, it would really counterproductive for me, because I've got the thought that dragons= problems
I suggested Dragon Totem Barbarian purely as a source of the Blind-Fight feat, to take Pierce Magical Concealment. It's entirely within reason to skip it. Especially if you're not taking the Mage Slayer feats anyway.

@ Jsketchy

but it is definitely the better choice if Sergio takes the Mage Slayer feats, as discussed above.
If I don't take Runescarred berserker, wouldn't just be better to go for ranger prc, like the Harper agent or stalker of karrash, instead of mage slayer feats?
Taking either Harper Paragon (Player's Guide to Faerun p.181) or Stalker of Kharesh (Book of Exalted Deeds p. 75) requires you to take two less than worthwhile feats and invest in some skills you don't need. To be fair, Runescarred Berserker also required 2 feats, but one of them would be decent. Also, it's not my place to judge, but both Harper Paragon and Stalker of Kharesh seem kind of like you're just taking them for the Favored Enemy (Evil). When compared to your earlier goals, they don't really fit with your initial concept.

2) I care little about abilities per se. What makes me the most excited about barbarian is just the runescarred berserker class. But you can always show me another way, I think, if you feel like warrior ranger could be better. Honestly I'm not that keen into how I should make characters..

Goals I have for my build
> Be proficient in slaying mages\arcane casters\divine casters\whatever
> Have good saves
> Do a great amount of dmg


> Goal in game's campaign
- try to become bane's exarch
- try to reunite the ogre tribes
- slay as many mages as possible (that's why I think antimagic field from runescarred berserker could be very useful)
Then again, things change, so if you want your character to start hunting evil, who am I to judge.


Side question: How are you justifying you character being good? They were raised by Ogres (and therefore raised to understand evil motivations) and have dedicated their life to killing mages (no mention has been made of specifically evil mages, so I assumed you were just going to kill any mages you came across).
I think that my character could be also justified being good. Inside the continent I currently live in there is a lingering racism fueled also by mages, who hunt some tribes of ogres mercilessly and nearly bringed us to near-extinction. The truth is that it all depends on the personal evolution of my character, which can be really problematic:

> he would also start to realize that the world is even worse than what was showed by ogre and their ways (so it could be really chaotic evil, and only respects the true power and what it brings)

or

> while he was adopted by a human family, he could realize that things are not as straightforward as he was inclined to believe, because even humans showed him a compassion he didn't expect. So he would start hunting mages, but he wouldn't act as a mindless killer, each time going to murder all the mages or the arcane users he meets - maybe, he will understand that the ending justify the means, he would be a zealot, but for his cause. Acting within ogre's traditions inside his clans, acting within humans tradition, and actually mixing himself, but showing true acceptance that his nature will be always conflicted, and that sometimes there is a side to be taken: not the easy one, with the mages, exterminating who is left, but with the ogre, by uniting them and doing what matters the most - saving them.
Personally, I feel that saying you were adopted by humans is kind of lazy and has a bunch of holes in it. If you want to be good, here is my recommendation for a rough backstory timeline:
Before Adventuring:

Ogre mother is part of a nomadic ogre tribe.
Tribe settles down near human settlement for a few months, during a time of peace and prosperity (plenty of food, so no fights).
Human father (an adventurer) wanders into settlement.
Father decides to travel with ogres when they decide to leave.
Father and mother meet, and have you.
Tribe says that you belong with them. Father doesn't mind and eventually separates from the group.
You are raised to adulthood in the tribe (~14 years). (Barbarian 1)
Eventually, your tribe stops near a different human settlement, which they raid during the winter (ogres are evil).
Humans are sick of you raiding every year, so they send some mages after your tribe.
Mages try to wipe out your tribe.
Mages almost succeed, but awaken your inherent connection to an ancient form of magic. (Spellfire Wielder)
You escape, but the experience deeply scars you. You think people are the real monsters.

Early Adventuring Career

You start wandering, raiding different towns to survive. You think it's okay because people are evil anyway.
Plenty of random encounters when you wander the wilderness.
Sometimes you encounter other adventurers, who try to stop you. You're stronger and always beat them.
Some of them use magic, and you learn their tricks. (Ranger 1, Favored Enemy (Arcanists))
You miss your mother and ogre brothers.
One day while raiding a farm, the farmer's son tries to stop you. He's got his pitchfork and everything.
You're about to turn him into paste when you hear something. His mother is crying in fear.
She runs in between you two, begging you to stop.
You see the pain and fear in her eyes.
The same fear your mother had.
You decide to leave.
You go back into the woods and start rethinking life.
You decide, no more raiding. From now on, you only eat what you hunt. (Turn Chaotic Neutral)
You're a hungry guy, you start hunting bigger things. (Ranger 4)
One day, you find some people fighting a monster. They're losing, so you decide to help. You beat it, of course.
After the fight, you all rest for a little while. They take out some rations, and offer some to you.
They thank you, say that if it wasn't for you they'd probably be dead.
Mention that they could use some extra muscle, ask you to join them.

Sworn Slayer

After travelling with your group, you realize that not all people are bad.
Heck, not all mages are bad. The ones in your party seem alright.
You still don't like magic though. Creeps you out.
You still hate mages, but now it's only evil mages.
Whenever you get into a fight that involves mages, you go after them first. (Sworn Slayer 1)
Get really good at resisting their magic and taking them out. (Sworn Slayer 2)

[ATHATH]

Drow Fighter is explicitly for drow only. I mean, it's in a chapter called Drow Options...
I will admit that this is needless pedantry, but one could interpret your bolded section to mean that the ACFs happen to be available to Drow characters, and are not exclusive to them.

[thoroughlyS]

I will admit that this is needless pedantry, but one could interpret your bolded section to mean that the ACFs happen to be available to Drow characters, and are not exclusive to them.
I am no stranger to pedantry myself, and would argue that the other books support my view.

Complete Champion Chapter Two: Divine Character Options states "This chapter presents new benefits and options that allow players of any class to embrace the divine, as well as roleplaying suggestions and guidelines for new divine prestige classes."
Complete Mage Chapter Two: Character Options is a little more specific "This section provides alternative class feature options for the eleven classes from the Player's Handbook, as well as some classes from supplements."
Dragon Magic Chapter One: Dragonbound Heroes, perhaps the closest in theme to DotU, is equally clear "This section provides alternative class features for standard classes from the Player's Handbook and other sources."
Even Exemplars of Evil Chapter One: Great Villains uses this same language. "This section provides alternative class features for some of the classes in the Player’s Handbook and other sources."


Only Drow of the Underdark Chapter Two: Drow Options makes any mention of a specific type of character using the options within. Dragon Magic doesn't mention draconic characters getting to use the ACFs, Exemplars of Evil doesn't mention evil characters getting them, only Drow of the Underdark finds it necessary to make that distinction. It also bears mentioning that most books with ACFs simply list them by name. Complete Champion does divide them by class that they apply to, but simply refers to them as Barbarian, Rogue, Wizard, etc. By comparison, DotU lists them as Drow Druid, Drow Fighter, Drow Swashbuckler, etc.

In the end, it really doesn't matter, because the only drow ACF brought up was for Fighter, a class that probably won't be incorporated into this build.

[Sergio]

@Jsketchy

1) Sworn Slayer, special note:

Must swear a vow to destroy all creatures of a chosen kind. This vow must be in response to the character suffering a great loss at the claws of the chosen creature kind. A great loss might include the death of a loved one, the loss of all material wealth, the destruction of a prized family heirloom, or something similar.
The Knowledge skill requirement of a character who wishes to become a sworn slayer depends upon the creature type that he wishes to slay. For example, a character who wishes to slay beholders must have at least 4 ranks in Knowledge (dungeoneering), which covers knowledge pertaining to aberrations.


This is what made me a bit scared and something I had to share a bit before with you. Anyway, I think that by talking with my dm I can work it out in some way.


2) I don't know if you edited the post, but I remember I saw a reference to the fact that I should take Spellfire wielder. I don't understand how I'm supposed to use such a feat, and also, it seems to be considered not that good x.x open all the topics I've read inside this very same forum. Did you suggest it to me just for roleplaying reasons? Wouldn't it be there greater feats?

3) So in the end, which build should I go for?

[thoroughlyS]

1) Sworn Slayer, special note:

Must swear a vow to destroy all creatures of a chosen kind. This vow must be in response to the character suffering a great loss at the claws of the chosen creature kind. A great loss might include the death of a loved one, the loss of all material wealth, the destruction of a prized family heirloom, or something similar.
The Knowledge skill requirement of a character who wishes to become a sworn slayer depends upon the creature type that he wishes to slay. For example, a character who wishes to slay beholders must have at least 4 ranks in Knowledge (dungeoneering), which covers knowledge pertaining to aberrations.


This is what made me a bit scared and something I had to share a bit before with you. Anyway, I think that by talking with my dm I can work it out in some way.
Yeah, I still figure you should just be evil/neutral. I think it fits what you originally wanted more than anything else. I don't normally like when a player chooses to be Chaotic Neutral (usually because they use it to justify doing whatever they feel like), but on your build it can be played in a pretty interesting manner. Raised by ogres, you eventually learned to trust humans/etc. by travelling with some of them. But the tragic loss of your family prevents you from trusting any mages, no matter how far you've come.

Note: There are no rules for becoming a "fallen" Sworn Slayer. If you decide that you finally trust mages, you can keep all of the benefits of the class even if your viewpoint changes. Technically there is no mechanical penalty for breaking your oath to kill every "whatever". If you renounce it, you just can't take more levels in the class, and you weren't going to do that anyway!

2) I don't know if you edited the post, but I remember I saw a reference to the fact that I should take Spellfire wielder. I don't understand how I'm supposed to use such a feat, and also, it seems to be considered not that good x.x open all the topics I've read inside this very same forum. Did you suggest it to me just for roleplaying reasons? Wouldn't it be there greater feats?
The first major post (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=21817687&postcount=19) I made does mention Spellfire Wielder. I based it off of the backstory blurb you originally posted.

My Half-Ogre lived with the Ogre side of his family. The clan was attacked by mages, a magical attack that left an "arcane scar" in your soul, making you sensitive to magic. My character was spared in the attack, however, because - being a small Half-Ogre child - he was mistaken for his non-Ogre half. He has since lived with this ability to sense arcane magic users.

The "arcane scar" is sort of a void in his soul, a piece that was carved out in the attack that killed the tribe. As it was formed by arcane magic, it can consume arcane magic, although it can never be filled. Thus, he experiences it as a sort of pull or hunger, a desire to be "satisfied." And it can only consume arcane energies from living creatures, by first killing those creatures. Thus your fluff explanation.

It's sort of like being a Vampire, only magical, and it's under your control instead of a "do this or die" compulsion.
This is also the part that gave me the idea for Nemesis. And since you were thinking of being evil to begin with, Sworn Slayer was the only way to get it.

In answer to your question, Spellfire Wielder is not a strong feat, but it can definitely be useful. The trick is to have any spellcasters in your group charge you up like a battery at the end of the day. For example, let's say there's a cleric in your group. At the end of one adventuring day, he has 3 cure light wounds left. He casts them onto you, letting you absorb the energy, which has no limit on how long it lasts. You now have 3 spell levels ready for if you ever want to snipe someone with arcane wrath. If he does this every in-game day, you'll wind up with up to your Con score in levels to spend. And you can also convert that energy into healing in a pinch. That cure light wounds from 3 days ago? Well, normally it would be gone, but you managed to save some healing in reserve.

[Sergio]

okay, thanks for the heads up. I think we are (almost) done here? :P

If I go full evil\neutral, do you recommend vile feats?

And for a more powerplayish route, is there any other level 1 feat you would recommend, instead of spellfire wielder?

[thoroughlyS]

If I go full evil\neutral, do you recommend vile feats?
Most Vile feats are pretty worthless. The real gem for most people is Deformity(Tall), which adds 5 ft of reach. It has a sucky feat tax. I also recommended Vow of Vengeance beore, but that also has a sucky feat tax. It also isn't that strong, it just fit with your character concept perfectly.

And for a more powerplayish route, is there any other level 1 feat you would recommend, instead of spellfire wielder?
As a 10th level Half-Ogre you begin with 8 character levels. Thanks to LA buyoff, you also only have +1 LA, but start with 36,000 xp. If you go the evil route, then I suggest that you take the following feats:
LevelFeatBonus Feat
Barbarian 1Extra Rage—
Ranger 1—Track
Ranger 2Mage SlayerPower Attack
Ranger 3—Endurance
Ranger 4——
Ranger 5Pierce Magical Protection—
Sworn Slayer 1——
Sworn Slayer 2——

Are you allowed to use Flaws (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/buildingCharacters/characterFlaws.htm) (Unearthed Arcana p.91)? Because that would really help you.

If you are, then I also recommend taking Survivor (Player's Guide to Faerûn, p. 45), and a Berserker Lodge feat of your choice (Unapproachable East p.40). This is still assuming you want to go Runescarred Berserker. You could also take Unspeakable Vow and Vow of Vengeance (Drow of the Underdark p.55), for flavor reasons. Or Spellfire Wielder.

If you're going to be good, then replace Pierce Magical Protection with Nemesis.

[Sergio]

Most Vile feats are pretty worthless. The real gem for most people is Deformity(Tall), which adds 5 ft of reach. It has a sucky feat tax. I also recommended Vow of Vengeance beore, but that also has a sucky feat tax. It also isn't that strong, it just fit with you character concept perfectly.

As a 10th level Half-Ogre you begin with 8 character levels. Thanks to LA buyoff, you also only have +1 LA, but start with 36,000 xp. If you go the evil route, then I suggest that you take the following feats:
LevelFeatBonus Feat
Barbarian 1Extra Rage—
Ranger 1—Track
Ranger 2Mage SlayerPower Attack
Ranger 3—Endurance
Ranger 4——
Ranger 5Pierce Magical Protection—
Sworn Slayer 1——
Sworn Slayer 2——

Are you allowed to use Flaws (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/buildingCharacters/characterFlaws.htm) (Unearthed Arcana p.91)? Because that would really help you.

If you are, then I also recommend taking Survivor (Player's Guide to Faerûn, p. 45), and a Berserker Lodge feat of your choice (Unapproachable East p.40). This is still assuming you want to go Runescarred Berserker. You could also take Unspeakable Vow and Vow of Vengeance (Drow of the Underdark p.55), for flavor reasons. Or Spellfire Wielder.

If you're going to be good, then replace Pierce Magical Protection with Nemesis.

1) Allowed to use 2 flaws.
2) Recommend me which berserker lodge seems to you better (ettercap)?
3) Going mage slayer nets me -4 level casting magic. Would you still go runescarred berserker even with this?
4) I'll be thinking about the two vows.

[thoroughlyS]

Ettercap Berserker
Ice Troll Berserker
Wolf Berserker (especially if you want Improved Trip)


However, it's worth mentioning that even without the runescars (which are admittedly the main reason to take levels in the class), you can progress your standard Barbarian abilities faster than if you took more levels of Barbarian (ignoring Trap Sense and Uncanny Dodge). So spells or not, Runescarred Berserker is a general improvement.

You can still uses wands if you want.
The Vow feats are more for flavor than anything. You get a better return by taking Improved Favored Enemy.