Relentless Smash vs Mighty Rage

[SirNibbles]

Dragon Magazine #349, pages 92-93 have a number of alternative class features for the Barbarian and Paladin, including one which replaces the Barbarian capstone Mighty Rage (+8 STR/CON instead of +6, and +1 extra to will saves).

Relentless Smash instead causes any enemy you successfully crit, or hit normally three times in a round, to become stunned for 1d3 rounds (no save). Additionally, a target of your size or smaller must make a Fortitude Save (DC 10+ total damage you dealt to him in the entire round) or be knocked prone.

To me, it seems like Relentless Smash is far and away the more powerful of the two abilities thanks to the no-save stun and the high-DC knockdown effect.

[ExLibrisMortis]

Yeah, I'd probably take the stun, but much, much rather than that, I would avoid the last ~18 levels of barbarian. Incidentally, there is the lower-levelled Three Mountains Style, sharing some requirements with Shock Trooper and Combat Brute, which causes any target you hit twice (with a heavy blunt weapon) to be nauseated. Nauseated isn't quite stunned, but it limits your target to one move action per turn, and no attacking or spellcasting, so it's pretty damn good.

[Goaty14]

Yeah, I'd probably take the stun, but much, much rather than that, I would avoid the last ~18 levels of barbarian. Incidentally, there is the lower-levelled Three Mountains Style, sharing some requirements with Shock Trooper and Combat Brute, which causes any target you hit twice (with a heavy blunt weapon) to be nauseated. Nauseated isn't quite stunned, but it limits your target to one move action per turn, and no attacking or spellcasting, so it's pretty damn good.

Where do I find this?

[SirNibbles]

Where do I find this?

Complete Warrior, page 114