Getting serious about Tarzan from the books mostly

[ZorroGames]

Okay, I knew this would happen. I need to get this out of my head like a song,

Tarzan, the Variant Human.

Monk has attraction but while HtH combat was a strong element of book Tarzan the whole duplication of unarmored defense is unattractive even for a one level dip. Martial Arts is a mixed bag and 1D4 is the same as a dagger, The Grappler feat at level 1 and a dagger would very much represent Tarzan after he found his Father’s knife in Book 1.

Ranger
gives some great flavor with a one level dip. There are several things in Natural Explorer (Using Forest as equivalent to Jungle) and there is potential to favored enemy Beasts for story and RP purposes.
With Athletics and Survival from Outlander and Nature, Perception, and Stealth from Ranger there is much Tarzan flavoring.

Start Barbarian 1 with Short Sword (big knife) and dagger plus Explorer’s pack snd 4 javelins and Rage and Unarmored Defense you have much of Burroughs Tarzan.

Clarity edit: If I do not MC I would use this build. MC would require adjusting Wisdom to 13 at another attribute cost!

ST 16, CO 16, DE 14, IN 8, WI 10, and CH 8 gives AC 15 and 15 hps.

The big question for me is do I dip one level of Ranger now, after 5th level, or not at all.

Totem path:

3rd level re-skin Bear as Mangani aka “Great Ape.”

6th level re-skin wolf as Leopard aka Sheeta.

14th level re-skin wolf as Hyena aka Dango or Lion aka Numa.

Reckless Attack Might need to wait until my AC is better than at Level 1?

With 4-5 ASIs depending if I dip Ranger I would want to boost CO (for Defense) and Strength (for Offense) so Feats would be hard to acquire. Alert, possibly Charger, Keen Mind, Linguist, Lucky, Mobile, Resilient Wisdom, and Tough all tempt me. But I must be strong.

[MaxWilson]

Such a good book! The ending is so romantic.

As Tarzan finished reading, Clayton entered and came toward him with extended hand.

Here was the man who had Tarzan's title, and Tarzan's estates, and was going to marry the woman whom Tarzan loved—the woman who loved Tarzan. A single word from Tarzan would make a great difference in this man's life.

It would take away his title and his lands and his castles, and—it would take them away from Jane Porter also. "I say, old man," cried Clayton, "I haven't had a chance to thank you for all you've done for us. It seems as though you had your hands full saving our lives in Africa and here.

"I'm awfully glad you came on here. We must get better acquainted. I often thought about you, you know, and the remarkable circumstances of your environment.

"If it's any of my business, how the ----- did you ever get into that ---- jungle?"

"I was born there," said Tarzan, quietly. "My mother was an Ape, and of course she couldn't tell me much about it. I never knew who my father was."

[ZorroGames]

Such a good book! The ending is so romantic.

As Tarzan finished reading, Clayton entered and came toward him with extended hand.

Here was the man who had Tarzan's title, and Tarzan's estates, and was going to marry the woman whom Tarzan loved—the woman who loved Tarzan. A single word from Tarzan would make a great difference in this man's life.

It would take away his title and his lands and his castles, and—it would take them away from Jane Porter also. "I say, old man," cried Clayton, "I haven't had a chance to thank you for all you've done for us. It seems as though you had your hands full saving our lives in Africa and here.

"I'm awfully glad you came on here. We must get better acquainted. I often thought about you, you know, and the remarkable circumstances of your environment.

"If it's any of my business, how the ----- did you ever get into that ---- jungle?"

"I was born there," said Tarzan, quietly. "My mother was an Ape, and of course she couldn't tell me much about it. I never knew who my father was."

Of course Book two brings the ending into parallel with the animated/movie/TV story we all know. Poor Clayton does lose it all in the jungles of Africa due to a dastardly villain. But Clayton redeems himself nobly.

[MaxWilson]

Of course Book two brings the ending into parallel with the animated/movie/TV story we all know. Poor Clayton does lose it all in the jungles of Africa due to a dastardly villain. But Clayton redeems himself nobly.

Yes, and it's probably better for Jane this way too. But just the fact that Tarzan's first impulse was to think of her and not himself endears him to me.

[Misterwhisper]

Okay, I knew this would happen. I need to get this out of my head like a song,

Tarzan, the Variant Human.

Monk has attraction but while HtH combat was a strong element of book Tarzan the whole duplication of unarmored defense is unattractive even for a one level dip. Martial Arts is a mixed bag and 1D4 is the same as a dagger, The Grappler feat at level 1 and a dagger would very much represent Tarzan after he found his Father’s knife in Book 1.

Ranger
gives some great flavor with a one level dip. There are several things in Natural Explorer (Using Forest as equivalent to Jungle) and there is potential to favored enemy Beasts for story and RP purposes.
With Athletics and Survival from Outlander and Nature, Perception, and Stealth from Ranger there is much Tarzan flavoring.

Start Barbarian 1 with Short Sword (big knife) and dagger plus Explorer’s pack snd 4 javelins and Rage and Unarmored Defense you have much of Burroughs Tarzan.

Clarity edit: If I do not MC I would use this build. MC would require adjusting Wisdom to 13 at another attribute cost!

ST 16, CO 16, DE 14, IN 8, WI 10, and CH 8 gives AC 15 and 15 hps.

The big question for me is do I dip one level of Ranger now, after 5th level, or not at all.

Totem path:

3rd level re-skin Bear as Mangani aka “Great Ape.”

6th level re-skin wolf as Leopard aka Sheeta.

14th level re-skin wolf as Hyena aka Dango or Lion aka Numa.

Reckless Attack Might need to wait until my AC is better than at Level 1?

With 4-5 ASIs depending if I dip Ranger I would want to boost CO (for Defense) and Strength (for Offense) so Feats would be hard to acquire. Alert, possibly Charger, Keen Mind, Linguist, Lucky, Mobile, Resilient Wisdom, and Tough all tempt me. But I must be strong.

With the ua for alternate class features, barbarian ranger makes perfect sense.

[ZorroGames]

With the ua for alternate class features, barbarian ranger makes perfect sense.

Do not pay attention to UA as a general practice. When shops open up and games resume I will speak to my non-AL campaign DM about this.