Tasha's Path of the Beast + Polearm Master

[BobZan]

I tried to find a discussion about this topic and couldn't so far. If it was already discussed, I'd love to get a referral link, if possible.

I've been thinking about this for a while and would like to hear from you.

Point of analysis:

Polearm Master gives u a situational reaction attack and a bonus action attack when u attack with ur polearm.
Path of the Beast gives, among other things, Claw when enraged. When u attack with ur claw, u can do an extra claw attack as part of the attack action.

So, I considered getting Polearm Master because it will give consistent 1 extra attack from 1-4.

From 5-6, u'll receive a consistent 1 extra attack with the 4th attack possibility when enraged and after first round.

Level 1-2 -> Attack + Bonus
Level 3-4 -> Attack + Bonus or Rage + 2 Claws
Level 5+ -> 2 Attacks + Bonus or Rage + 3 Claws or (after rage) Polearm + Bonus + 2 Claws

Is this legal? Am I missing something? Dunno if it's optimal, but seems ok.

[nickl_2000]

Nope, not legal. See this post :)

https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?626062-Beast-barbarian-and-BA-attacks

I tried something similar a few weeks ago, so I had the link handy :smallbiggrin:

[BobZan]

Wow.. thx!

Missed the only on PAM.

[nickl_2000]

Wow.. thx!

Missed the only on PAM.

Yup, a shame for the optimizer but good from a balance perspective

[BobZan]

Yup, a shame for the optimizer but good from a balance perspective

Yeah, it was indeed to good to be true. That's why I came to the hivemind!

Wondering if the reaction attack and reliably having 1 extra attack is still worth the feat at 1st level.

[nickl_2000]

Yeah, it was indeed to good to be true. That's why I came to the hivemind!

Wondering if the reaction attack and reliably having 1 extra attack is still worth the feat at 1st level.

Personally I would say no. If you want PAM go a different barbarian path (one where you actually get something worthwhile at level 3). I see Barbarian Path of the Beast as a Barbarian player who wants to go Sword and Board style, you would be much better off going Shield Master at level 1 (or something else that gives you a bonus action).

[Zhorn]

Path of the Beast is more of a jack-of-all-trades type of Barbarian, it's good in that it can switch up abilities to suit the environment, but if going down the route of specializing your build then there are other subclasses that will serve you better.

examples;
PAM for example is very effective when paired with Zealot (that additional attack increases the likelihood of landing Divine Fury each round).
Defensive damage sponge builds are where Bear Totem's shine.
Defending allies is the space for Ancestral Guardians
AoE damage is the part Storm Herald excels at

Path of the Beast can be very competitive in many areas, but the best in each usually still goes to the others.

[Quietus]

One option is that you could take Great Weapon Master. Once you have Extra Attack, you can attack with your greatsword once, claw once, free claw once, and if any of those crit or drop a target, you get a bonus action attack that can be made with your greatsword.

[xyianth]

Path of the Beast is more of a jack-of-all-trades type of Barbarian, it's good in that it can switch up abilities to suit the environment, but if going down the route of specializing your build then there are other subclasses that will serve you better.

examples;
PAM for example is very effective when paired with Zealot (that additional attack increases the likelihood of landing Divine Fury each round).
Defensive damage sponge builds are where Bear Totem's shine.
Defending allies is the space for Ancestral Guardians
AoE damage is the part Storm Herald excels at

Path of the Beast can be very competitive in many areas, but the best in each usually still goes to the others.

While I was reading this, I was mentally agreeing with each point until the "AoE damage is the part Storm Herald excels at" bit. We have very different understandings of the word "excels" my friend. If you meant 'for a barbarian' then I'll grant you that. But 2-6 points of fire damage per round in a 20ft circle IF you chose the desert path is not excelling at AoE damage. That is barely functioning at AoE damage at best. Honestly, even the path of wild magic can potentially keep up/exceed those numbers though not as reliably.

[JackalTornMoons]

You can use a Double Bladed Scimitar to do this.

Level 5 Beast Barb:
1) Attack with DBS
2) BA: DBS special attack

Special. If you attack with a double-bladed scimitar as part of the Attack action on your turn, you can use a bonus action immediately after to make a melee attack with it. This attack deals 1d4 slashing damage on a hit, instead of 2d4.

3) Take a hand off DBS (with object interaction if your DM makes you)
4) Extra Attack with claw
5) Additional claw attack

Claws. Each of your hands transforms into a claw, which you can use as a weapon if it's empty. It deals 1d6 slashing damage on a hit. Once on each of your turns when you attack with a claw using the Attack action, you can make one additional claw attack as part of the same action.

[Zhorn]

While I was reading this, I was mentally agreeing with each point until the "AoE damage is the part Storm Herald excels at" bit. We have very different understandings of the word "excels" my friend. If you meant 'for a barbarian' then I'll grant you that. But 2-6 points of fire damage per round in a 20ft circle IF you chose the desert path is not excelling at AoE damage. That is barely functioning at AoE damage at best. Honestly, even the path of wild magic can potentially keep up/exceed those numbers though not as reliably.
Yes it was 'for a barbarian', but still it's a scaling factor though. 2-6 points on a single target does not sound like much, and yes a 1d12 from Wild Magic would be more impressive (but as you noted is not reliable), but as a guaranteed no-save required it's pretty solid.

Get two targets and the collective damage is up to 4-12 extra per round
Three targets and you're up to 6-18 extra damage per round
Four targets and that's 8-24 extra damage per round
etc

Yes on each of those targets it's a small amount, but as a whole it is still adding up.
Single target damage sounds more impressive for those big hits, but point-for-point the collective amount of damage doesn't need to be high for that total per round damage to count for a large contribution on DPR when multiple targets are in play.

[xyianth]

Yes, but how often is that likely to happen? If you have 3-4 enemies in that close of proximity, they will be severely out-damaging you round for round. If we are talking about a bunch of creatures vastly below your level, the extra damage is irrelevant as they aren't a credible threat anyway. If they are high enough to be threatening, they don't care about your extra damage because they will kill you long before you kill them. (or your party will kill them long before your extra damage makes any difference)

It is vastly better to just leave AoE damage to other party members. It is okay for some classes to just not be good at some things.

Storm Herald is just a bad subclass. It doesn't allow anywhere near enough flexibility and on the effects it does produce they are just not good enough on their own. If you could select which effects to manifest each time you rage, or mix and match effects at different tiers, it might be about as effective as other barbarian options. But as written, it is on the same level as the berserker without a way to mitigate exhaustion levels. (i.e. practically never worth taking unless you are trying to accomplish something RP specific)

[Contrast]

Just to add, the damage from Desert isn't party safe as well which means at least some of that damage is probably going to be directed towards your own party.

In my opinion Desert is actually the worst of the options available to a Storm Herald.