Potato_Priest
2017-11-29, 06:23 PM
I know there's another thread about a mounted tribal warrior, but I didn't want to disrupt that one with my desire to make this build.
I've wanted for quite a while to make a mounted barbarian character, just because it seems cool and I've played most of the other barbarian builds already.
But in thinking about this, I came to a sorrowing conclusion: there's just nothing special about a mounted barbarian besides being a barb on a horse. Then, just as I was writing this thread to ask if there was anything I missed, I was struck by a sudden inspiration.
A mounted ancestral guardian barbarian with a bow can really shut down enemy melee DPS. Note the wording on Ancestral Protectors.
Starting when you choose this path at 3rd level, spectral warriors appear when you enter your rage. While you're raging, the first creature you hit with an attack on your turn becomes the target of the warriors, which hinder its attacks. Until the start of your next turn, that target has disadvantage on any attack roll that isn't against you, and when the target hits a creature other than you with an attack, that creature has resistance to the damage dealt by the attack.
A mounted ancestral guardians barb with a lance or bow can have the mount take the dash action, move in, attack, and move so far away that a melee enemy has no chance of being able to attack them, guaranteeing that the enemy has to attack a different ally, eating the disadvantage and resistance.
Is it a niche build that relies on a small number of melee foes and wide open space to have real tangible benefits?
Most certainly. It's most powerful against enemies that have big damage riders of a non-p/b/s type that wouldn't normally be resisted, but disadvantage on attacks isn't exactly weak by itself either.
Does building for this negate using other combat tactics when the circumstances aren't quite right?
No. It just makes you slightly worse in those situations due to opportunity costs.
I can foresee this working well in a party full of paladins and fighters, or when a fire giant manages to close in on the wizard. The teammates all get superior defensive benefits to a bearbarian rage against whichever creature it is that you chose to mark, and you are on the edge of the map sitting well out of range.
Well, feel free to tell me what y'all think. Although I'd respectfully ask you to please avoid "threadcrapping" just because this is about optimization and a (most likely) unforeseen interaction that could be perceived as cheesy.
I've wanted for quite a while to make a mounted barbarian character, just because it seems cool and I've played most of the other barbarian builds already.
But in thinking about this, I came to a sorrowing conclusion: there's just nothing special about a mounted barbarian besides being a barb on a horse. Then, just as I was writing this thread to ask if there was anything I missed, I was struck by a sudden inspiration.
A mounted ancestral guardian barbarian with a bow can really shut down enemy melee DPS. Note the wording on Ancestral Protectors.
Starting when you choose this path at 3rd level, spectral warriors appear when you enter your rage. While you're raging, the first creature you hit with an attack on your turn becomes the target of the warriors, which hinder its attacks. Until the start of your next turn, that target has disadvantage on any attack roll that isn't against you, and when the target hits a creature other than you with an attack, that creature has resistance to the damage dealt by the attack.
A mounted ancestral guardians barb with a lance or bow can have the mount take the dash action, move in, attack, and move so far away that a melee enemy has no chance of being able to attack them, guaranteeing that the enemy has to attack a different ally, eating the disadvantage and resistance.
Is it a niche build that relies on a small number of melee foes and wide open space to have real tangible benefits?
Most certainly. It's most powerful against enemies that have big damage riders of a non-p/b/s type that wouldn't normally be resisted, but disadvantage on attacks isn't exactly weak by itself either.
Does building for this negate using other combat tactics when the circumstances aren't quite right?
No. It just makes you slightly worse in those situations due to opportunity costs.
I can foresee this working well in a party full of paladins and fighters, or when a fire giant manages to close in on the wizard. The teammates all get superior defensive benefits to a bearbarian rage against whichever creature it is that you chose to mark, and you are on the edge of the map sitting well out of range.
Well, feel free to tell me what y'all think. Although I'd respectfully ask you to please avoid "threadcrapping" just because this is about optimization and a (most likely) unforeseen interaction that could be perceived as cheesy.