Best strategy for a barbarian rogue multiclass?

[Rfkannen]

I was thinking about the Barbarian Rogue Multiclass, and how it has a couple ways it can be played

You can just take 2 levels in barbarian and the rest in rogue. Use two short swords, and play as a pretty standard rogue (except strength based) with some extra survival power and at will sneak attack from reckless attack, I would probably go assassin with this route.


You can take at least 5 levels in barbarian and use a shield and the shield master feat. In this playstyle you are a super tank, with advantage on strength checks, expertise in athletics, and shield master, your shoves are not to be underestimated, you become a pretty strong battle field controller. You could take wolf totem in order to be a proper support character, and for subclass.... maybe thief for caltrops?

You could alternatively take 5 levels in barbarian and not use a shield, instead choosing to use a rapier in one had and nothing in the other. This is probably one of the best grappling builds around. You are almost as good at shoving and you have more versatility, at the cost of survivability and action economy. For this route... I would probably go Bear totem to make up for the lack of shield, and rogue subclass would probably have to be eldritch knight to cast enlarge person on yourself.

What do you think is the best way to do a rogue barbarian?

[Specter]

Two weapons is probably not the best way, because your bonus actions as rogue will be packed. You can just use a rapier. You probably want a way to get advantage more easily, like Wolf Totem.

[Lavaeolus]

Barbarian / Rogue is an interesting one: two classes that feel like they should be opposed, but ultimately have some unconventional but fun synergies (without being particularly OP). We'll probably be using a finesse weapon with STR, and going with medium armor.

I would probably go rapier+shield unless you really want to play a grappling build -- which this multiclass will, admittedly, excel at. But while the grapple+prone strategy is an effective one, grappling is generally a situational tactic. It might also depend on party and enemy make-up: being able to permanently-prone someone might be more worthwhile to a melee-heavy party, or a party that isn't in a fight with a lot of individually-weak monsters.

I think this multiclass is pretty flexible, but like with a lot of Rogue multiclasses, there is a Sneak Attack trade-off to keep in mind. We want each Barbarian level to justify our delayed SA progression. Of course, short-change Barbarian and your Rages will be quite limited.

Barb 5 / Rogue X would be my preferred breakdown. You get Extra Attack, a subclass, and while your SA will be behind by 2d6, it should still be pretty good in the long run. Extra Attack is always nice to have for a Rogue, who really wants to guarantee they actually get a hit to apply SA to, and it reduces the appeal of TWF. Very nice to have that bonus action freed up. We only get 3 Rages per long rest, but if we do run out of Rages we've still got a lot going for us.

A Barb 2 / Rogue X is also quite fun if you want to, essentially, play a STR Rogue with some added bonuses, but I think it doesn't take full advantage of what Barbarian might offer.

As to subclass: honestly, I think there are a lot of combinations that can work here. I might avoid Assassin because, while advantage is always nice, our initiative is probably on the lower side by Rogue standards. Its two other features, that we can get access to, are probably not likely to come into play. Hey, gang, mind if I spend 7 days establishing a cover identity? As to Arcane Trickster: Enlarge / Reduce is a bigger deal for a grapple-focused character, although ideally I might see if I can work with an allied Wizard or Sorcerer to benefit from it.

[Blood of Gaea]

I generally go 5 Barbarian/X Rogue and use a short sword and a dagger. The dagger can be dropped or thrown to open up your off hand.

[Man_Over_Game]

What's your primary goal? Protecting your team or ending theirs?

Honestly, both are very valid as long as you're optimizing towards your endgoal.

[Arkhios]

Two weapons is probably not the best way, because your bonus actions as rogue will be packed. You can just use a rapier. You probably want a way to get advantage more easily, like Wolf Totem.

I'm sorry to break it for you, but this is a very common misunderstanding. Wolf Totem doesn't make you any better at gaining advantage yourself. You only make it more appealing for your allies to stack on your target, which in turn does make it easier for you to make sneak attacks. But again, this does not grant you advantage, only to your friends (see below):


Wolf. While you're raging, your friends have advantage on melee attack rolls against any creature within 5 feet of you that is hostile to you. The spirit of the wolf makes you a leader of hunters

[Specter]

I'm sorry to break it for you, but this is a very common misunderstanding. Wolf Totem doesn't make you any better at gaining advantage yourself. You only make it more appealing for your allies to stack on your target, which in turn does make it easier for you to make sneak attacks. But again, this does not grant you advantage, only to your friends (see below):

Oh yeah, got mixed up.