Demonic beast barbarian build? Fiend warlock multiclass?

[Rfkannen]

I really like the idea of a demon-flavored beast warlock who twists their body into demonic shapes when they rage. Tiefling is probably my pick for a race (with customized ancestry giving you +2 str and +1 dex). Still, I am not sure if one of the tiefling variants is better than the base for a barbarian. (Since the spellcasting would mostly be used for out of combat utility since you can't cast spells while raging).

What feats do you think would work?

Also, do you think a multiclass into fiend warlock would be appropriate? You get some more hellish power that way. If you go pact of the chain, you get a consistent use of your bonus action, which beast barbarians typically lack. However, the tomb pact feels like a safer bet, as you get a utility that barbarians usually lack. Barbarian warlock isn't a terrible multiclass, but fiend seems like the worst subclasses for it (vs celestial or genie, which work amazingly). What level split would you do? Would you go chain or tomb?

If you don't multiclass or go pact of the tomb, what would you do with your bonus action? I know the trick with the dual wielder feat, but I do not like it. One of the draws of beast barbarians is that they can change their natural weapon; dual wielder locks you into a single option almost always being your best. I am thinking both chef and telekinetic could be could, which would you pick?

[samcifer]

I'm curious on this as well. Would a fiend-pact warlock/barbarian be able to get temp hp from killing foes while raging? As for the OP-er's idea, Path of the Beast (from Tasha's Cauldron) would be the best fit thematically.

[JNAProductions]

I'm curious on this as well. Would a fiend-pact warlock/barbarian be able to get temp hp from killing foes while raging? As for the OP-er's idea, Path of the Beast (from Tasha's Cauldron) would be the best fit thematically.

It would-Rage only prevents spellcasting and Concentration. Same way you can combo Armor Of Agathys with Rage-since it's a Concentrationless buff, you can halve damage while keeping your THP and dealing cold damage.

[Seekergeek]

Playing this right now with a Zariel tiefling - spells have not been an issue at all, to be honest. I don't want to rage every combat and this way I have other interesting things to do when I don't fly off the handle. When I do, my AoA or Fiend pact THP last longer. The fiend's pact benefits all work just fine when raging. Fiendish resiliance in particular is pretty welcome.

I'm having a blast with my experience - chose mostly non-combat spells to accompany the great fiend list, and utility invocations.

[Rfkannen]

Playing this right now with a Zariel tiefling - spells have not been an issue at all, to be honest. I don't want to rage every combat and this way I have other interesting things to do when I don't fly off the handle. When I do, my AoA or Fiend pact THP last longer. The fiend's pact benefits all work just fine when raging. Fiendish resiliance in particular is pretty welcome.

I'm having a blast with my experience - chose mostly non-combat spells to accompany the great fiend list, and utility invocations.

Oh awesome!! What feats did you take? did you go chain or tomb? Any recommendations for this type of character? Do you grapple?

[Seekergeek]

I found I didn’t have the room for feats so far - I’m level 13 with the character. I’ve got five levels in barbarian (thirsting blade doesn’t play well with the natural attacks beast grants) and the rest in warlock so far. I took the pact of the chain and have, predictably, an imp as a literal devil on my shoulder.

For spells my list is made up mostly of the fiend spells for flavour reasons with AoA and hex in the mix, too. I know neither play well compared to other options but hex and eldritch blast/scorching ray is nice for non-rage encounters or times when I can’t close the gap. AoA may conflict too much with the warlock temp HP considering the few spell slots a warlock gets but it’s a real juicy chunk of temp hp when raging.

For invocations I have 4 and took cloak of flies, mask of many faces, grasp of hadar and investment of the chain master.

I like having the smite spells from zariel for a damage boost when I’m not raging, and I know none of this is optimized but it sure is fun.

[Mad Puppy]

I've built something very similar I'm using Dhampir as the base for a Venom build!
Dhampir gets spider climb and the toothy maw bite (I've reflavored from vampire being to being infected with a symbiote that used to be a mimic until close proximity to a demon lord forever changed it to require a host.)

I'm reflavoring my Eldritch blast as pseudopod attacks, I'm a fiend pact of blade Barb1/Lock7) with tough feat and 14 Con he has 79HP at level8!
I intend to use AoA and Fire shield as baseline before raging, and Pact weapon is ok with Rage since it isn't a spell (it just seems to form with tendrils coming out of his flesh to make a weapon).
I intend to play up the intimidation factor, Devil's sight, Thirsting blade, Grasp of Hadar(to make Pseudopod attacks stick and pull), when I rave I transform fully into Ravenous(my name for the venom like symbiote)

backstory:

Malus Grogan was born into an orc tribe that lived deep in the Underdark, where they were ruled by a powerful warlord who showed no mercy to those who did not obey him. Malus was constantly abused and belittled by the other members of his tribe for being a half-orc, thus he grew up feeling like an outsider, angry and full of rage.

Despite his rough upbringing, Malus was determined to prove himself as a skilled warrior and hunter. He often ventured deeper into the underdark to hone his skills and to escape the taunts of his peers. It was during one of these expeditions that he stumbled upon an strange black goo, which he touched out of curiosity.

The moment he touched the goo, he felt a sharp pain in his chest and collapsed to the ground. When he woke up, he found that he had been merged with a black symbiote that was attached to his body. It spoke to him of a deep hunger for flesh, urged him to feed…Malus was now Ravenous with hunger. Spleens, brains, all the juicy bits….He attached the first thing he encountered, the symbiote took over transforming Malus into a nightmare to behold. The poor goblins didn't know what hit them. When Malus came to there was gore all around him, goblins tore apart, heads missing, body parts all about. The Symbiote was satiated for now. He named the symbiote Ravenous, for
the insatiable hunger it seemed to possess.

Ravenous granted him incredible strength, agility, and an almost preternatural sense of danger. Malus soon realized that he could use Ravenous to his advantage, and he began to explore the Underdark with renewed vigor. He hunted the creatures that lurked in the depths, becoming a formidable opponent to even the most dangerous of beasts.

However, Ravenous had a mind of its own, and it often took control of Malus's body, causing him to do things that he would never have done on his own. It was during one of these episodes that he killed the warlord of his tribe, Malus was forced to flee for his life.

Now, Malus travels the world as Ravenous, a feared warrior who struggles to control the symbiote within him. He seeks to find a way to control its hunger and the urges it creates in him, but he knows that it will be a long and difficult journey. Still, he refuses to give up, determined to make the most of the power that Ravenous has given him and to forge his own destiny.


Ravenous is a Monstrosity/Shapechanger (mimic), created by being in proximity to a Demon lord. An amorphous creature, it merged with me and took over for a time, killing my tormentor(s), a small band of Orcs in the underdark. It gave me my freedom, but is constantly there urging me forward, an insatiable appetite to consume, and in desperate times takes over, when I come around there is death and gore all around me....

[Quietus]

This would definitely work, your big consideration is what level split you'll go with. More early Warlock, or more early Barbarian?


More Barbarian - I'd be going primarily Barb until 5 or 6, you want that extra attack, and 6 gets your weapons counting as magical, plus gets you super leap/spider climb/swim. From there you'd go full Warlock, at low levels it's mostly just to get a little out of combat functionality and a few temp HP here and there, but it'll scale up nicely as you get toward tier3. You can dip a level of Warlock early here, if you like, to get 1+cha temp HP when you kill a target; this is most valuable if your DM likes to use a lot of mooks in combat so that you'll get the opportunity to obtain and refresh your temp HP frequently.

More Warlock - Pretty much starts out as your classic barblock setup. Take Barbarian as level 1 (better HP, medium armor, shield), then get 5 Warlock at least. Pact of the blade, thirsting blade, ask your DM to allow thirsting blade to work with your beast claws when you get them. From Warlock5 onward, you have decisions to make - keep going Warlock for access to Fire Shield? Or get up to Barb3 for more rages and the beast powers?

The More Warlock route is the route that will be stronger in the long run, if the DM is on board - you get higher level spells and more temp HP, earlier. But the "if" there is important. If they won't let you Thirsting Blade with your beast powers, and if they won't provide items to make your beast attacks magical, it drops in power in a major way. If that's the case, you'll want to do the More Barb option.

[solidork]

If you start with a feat (or go custom lineage), I'd be tempted to take Eldritch Adept for Fiendish Vigor. You'd be incredibly durable, and you've got the leeway to describe what it looks like when you give yourself those temp HP - you could start with the "I'm turning into a monster" thing right away. Eventually you'd switch it out to a different invocation once the bonus HP gets outclassed.

If you're going Beast Barbarian, your options on spending that feat to increase your damage are limited since you can't take Great Weapon Master or Polearm Master.

[Psyren]

I'm not sure what Warlock is adding here that you can't simply pick up via flavor. Tiefling Beast Barbarian gets you more than enough "fiend" in your build for this concept, and most importantly doesn't delay Extra Attack at 5th or the all-important 6th-level ability where your beast weapons become magical. Even if you land on a muliticlass that synergizes well I wouldn't go for it until then.

As for Fiend itself, the level 1 ability doesn't do much. 6th and 10th are nice, but that much Warlock is going to give you a lot of things that clash with barbarian.


I've built something very similar I'm using Dhampir as the base for a Venom build!

For a "Venom" Beast Barbarian I'd actually go with Plasmoid :smallsmile:

[Mad Puppy]

This would definitely work, your big consideration is what level split you'll go with. More early Warlock, or more early Barbarian?


More Barbarian - I'd be going primarily Barb until 5 or 6, you want that extra attack, and 6 gets your weapons counting as magical, plus gets you super leap/spider climb/swim. From there you'd go full Warlock, at low levels it's mostly just to get a little out of combat functionality and a few temp HP here and there, but it'll scale up nicely as you get toward tier3. You can dip a level of Warlock early here, if you like, to get 1+cha temp HP when you kill a target; this is most valuable if your DM likes to use a lot of mooks in combat so that you'll get the opportunity to obtain and refresh your temp HP frequently.

More Warlock - Pretty much starts out as your classic barblock setup. Take Barbarian as level 1 (better HP, medium armor, shield), then get 5 Warlock at least. Pact of the blade, thirsting blade, ask your DM to allow thirsting blade to work with your beast claws when you get them. From Warlock5 onward, you have decisions to make - keep going Warlock for access to Fire Shield? Or get up to Barb3 for more rages and the beast powers?

The More Warlock route is the route that will be stronger in the long run, if the DM is on board - you get higher level spells and more temp HP, earlier. But the "if" there is important. If they won't let you Thirsting Blade with your beast powers, and if they won't provide items to make your beast attacks magical, it drops in power in a major way. If that's the case, you'll want to do the More Barb option.


I went Barbarian level 1, then Warlock the rest of way.......Just use barbarian rage when I've used up spells....there is the AoA pre-rage and I can use Pact weapon with rage also so that is kinda fun.
It is a MAD build so the INT/WIS saves are very poor but I'm not really optimizing just playing a character I wanted to with a dual personality some weaknesses, and scratching the itch for a Venom build using mostly warlock. I've taken tough Feat at 4 Warlock so I have a tanky character as well. using Medium armor so no need or the Mage Armor invocation. when I rage I "transform" into a venom type of fear/intimidating character.

[Mad Puppy]

I'm not sure what Warlock is adding here that you can't simply pick up via flavor. Tiefling Beast Barbarian gets you more than enough "fiend" in your build for this concept, and most importantly doesn't delay Extra Attack at 5th or the all-important 6th-level ability where your beast weapons become magical. Even if you land on a muliticlass that synergizes well I wouldn't go for it until then.

As for Fiend itself, the level 1 ability doesn't do much. 6th and 10th are nice, but that much Warlock is going to give you a lot of things that clash with barbarian.



For a "Venom" Beast Barbarian I'd actually go with Plasmoid :smallsmile:

I'm flavoring Eldritch blast and my pact weapon as pseudopod strikes, Evards tentacles or hunger of hadar enhances the feel and I flavored sword burst as pseudopod strikes from his body to all within 5'

again not really optimizing at all.

and I'm just not a fan of plasmoid race, no big wup really.

[Peelee]

The Mod on the Silver Mountain: Even demonic barbarians can't do necromancy.