warsawwombats
2017-11-10, 04:56 PM
Jumped into an all-dwarf Roll20 campaign this week with a level 5 mountain dwarf Battlerager with the Mobile feat.
The mechanics were so beautifully simple and effective that I could really concentrate on roleplaying. I don't know why people don't play this subclass more often. So much flavor!
The crunch isn't bad either. Assuming all my attacks hit, my base damage while raging is 15 (attack, attack, bonus action spiky armor chest bump). With a battleaxe, that's 2d8+10 and the spiky armor for 1d4+5. It's on par with a polearm master duelist fighter or paladin.
Like any barbarian, I'm a grappling beast, but I can inflict a flat 3 damage for each grapple. I also took the Mobile feat because I thought it fit his personality better. I was highly tempted to do the same old GWM/Greataxe trope, but I think this will be a lot more fun.
I had a lot of fun writing his background story. Meet Balor "Rocks for Brains" Bluebeard:
Balor "Rocks for Brains" is a young upstart member of Clan Bluebeard. A battlerager in the classic mold, clan leaders give him an "A" for effort, but an "Incomplete" for intelligence. Balor is frequently at the front of the vanguard, whether his leaders put him there or not.
Despite his impetuous nature, there is no other dwarf they'd rather have at the head of the charge, and sometimes, he IS the charge. His battle frenzy is a growing legend in the dwarven holds of the north. Headstrong in every sense of the word, he once convinced his platoon leader to launch him from a trebuchet at the main gate of an orc stronghold that just wouldn't fall to their siege.
The Bluebeard army threw wave after wave of warriors at the main gate, unable to break through to enter the stronghold. One poorly-aimed flying dwarf later, Rocks for Brains smashed through the weakened stone wall next to the gate they were trying to break down, entirely missing the gate he was aiming for. Nonetheless, the breach provided the opening they needed to swarm and overwhelm the orc stronghold, earning Balor the nickname Rocks for Brains--hardheaded, headstrong, and now something inside rattles when you shake him.
The mechanics were so beautifully simple and effective that I could really concentrate on roleplaying. I don't know why people don't play this subclass more often. So much flavor!
The crunch isn't bad either. Assuming all my attacks hit, my base damage while raging is 15 (attack, attack, bonus action spiky armor chest bump). With a battleaxe, that's 2d8+10 and the spiky armor for 1d4+5. It's on par with a polearm master duelist fighter or paladin.
Like any barbarian, I'm a grappling beast, but I can inflict a flat 3 damage for each grapple. I also took the Mobile feat because I thought it fit his personality better. I was highly tempted to do the same old GWM/Greataxe trope, but I think this will be a lot more fun.
I had a lot of fun writing his background story. Meet Balor "Rocks for Brains" Bluebeard:
Balor "Rocks for Brains" is a young upstart member of Clan Bluebeard. A battlerager in the classic mold, clan leaders give him an "A" for effort, but an "Incomplete" for intelligence. Balor is frequently at the front of the vanguard, whether his leaders put him there or not.
Despite his impetuous nature, there is no other dwarf they'd rather have at the head of the charge, and sometimes, he IS the charge. His battle frenzy is a growing legend in the dwarven holds of the north. Headstrong in every sense of the word, he once convinced his platoon leader to launch him from a trebuchet at the main gate of an orc stronghold that just wouldn't fall to their siege.
The Bluebeard army threw wave after wave of warriors at the main gate, unable to break through to enter the stronghold. One poorly-aimed flying dwarf later, Rocks for Brains smashed through the weakened stone wall next to the gate they were trying to break down, entirely missing the gate he was aiming for. Nonetheless, the breach provided the opening they needed to swarm and overwhelm the orc stronghold, earning Balor the nickname Rocks for Brains--hardheaded, headstrong, and now something inside rattles when you shake him.