Goliath Barbarian

[Stryyke]

I'm thinking of doing a goliath barbarian for my next game. 2 handed weapon. The premise of the character is that he was about to be exiled from his tribe at age 16, because he was wasn't bringing anything to the table for the tribe. He grabs a tribal weapon, and disappears in the night. He'll be roughly 6' tall, so short, and kinda lanky. The weapon he grabbed, happened to be a tribal relic, that had a personality of its own. The weapon sought glory, and now it's stuck with this scrawny kid, with no clue. Part of the character's story arc would be winning over the sword, and unlocking its potential.

I want to be tanky in battle, and was looking for an AoO specialist. The character's competitive nature would call on him to mark how often a compatriot was touched by an enemy during combat, only feeling that things went well if his comrades ended combat untouched. Any recommendations for a build that would enable this would be very much appreciated.

[TheMango55]

Ancestral guardian is probably the best protector barbarian. You could flavor the ancestor spirits as coming from the sword.

[Kane0]

If you want uncomplicated then Cavalier or Samurai Fighter are also good options. Second wind works wonders in conjunction with your damage reducing reaction

[ProsecutorGodot]

For your interests, Ancestral Guardian is by far the best option.

Do note though that a Barbarian isn't the only way to be tanky, Redemption Paladin offers you the ability to guarantee that your allies aren't taking damage once you unlock the aura at level 7 and offers some fairly useful area of effect spells like Hypnotic Patter and Sleep (for the early levels). That said, again, I think Ancestral Guardian is probably closer to what you're looking for, especially since the theme of this character is pretty far off from the expectations of a Redemption Paladin.

[Stryyke]

For your interests, Ancestral Guardian is by far the best option.

Do note though that a Barbarian isn't the only way to be tanky, Redemption Paladin offers you the ability to guarantee that your allies aren't taking damage once you unlock the aura at level 7 and offers some fairly useful area of effect spells like Hypnotic Patter and Sleep (for the early levels). That said, again, I think Ancestral Guardian is probably closer to what you're looking for, especially since the theme of this character is pretty far off from the expectations of a Redemption Paladin.

Yea. I was kind of batting around the idea of Paladin, as it's a more protection focused class. Plus the healing available to paladins would work well with his battle philosophy. And as Goliaths are naturally Lawful anyway . . .

[Stryyke]

Ancestral guardian is probably the best protector barbarian. You could flavor the ancestor spirits as coming from the sword.

I haven't really seen the Ancestral Guardian template. Any chance you could link me to a description?

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

I haven't really seen the Ancestral Guardian template. Any chance you could link me to a description?

Ancestral Guardian is one of the new primal paths in Xanathar's.

With a focus on opportunity attacks, you'll probably want Polearm Master, but most barbarians would want Greatweapon Fighting asap since it combos so well with reckless attack. Nothing wrong with taking both and using a glaive or halberd, that's actually one of the more optimal routes, but it will delay your actual ASIs considerably.

[TheMango55]

I haven't really seen the Ancestral Guardian template. Any chance you could link me to a description?

I don’t know the rules about linking stuff from sourcebooks but you can very easily find it by googling “ancestral guardian”

It’s focused on giving disadvantage to enemies attacking people other than you and reducing damage to allies with your reaction.

The sentinel feat is probably something you will want to pick up eventually.


Ancestral Guardian is one of the new primal paths in Xanathar's.

With a focus on opportunity attacks, you'll probably want Polearm Master, but most barbarians would want Greatweapon Fighting asap since it combos so well with reckless attack. Nothing wrong with taking both and using a glaive or halberd, that's actually one of the more optimal routes, but it will delay your actual ASIs considerably.

His whole character is focused on a great sword he took. Polearm master is probably off the table.

[Unoriginal]

"Short scrawny kid who wasn't bringing anything to the table until he grabbed a sapient weapon who seeks glory" sounds like an Hexblade Warlock, to me.

[stoutstien]

Yea. I was kind of batting around the idea of Paladin, as it's a more protection focused class. Plus the healing available to paladins would work well with his battle philosophy. And as Goliaths are naturally Lawful anyway . . .
The Paladin is just a better put together class than the barbarian as a whole. Not that the gab would be noticable for most people and the difference is much smaller between classes overall but it is there.

The oath of crown sounds about right for what you are shooting for.

If you want to stay on the barbarian route then AG is probably the safe bet. Works best as a hit n run unit than a traditional Frontline fighter.

[Xihirli]

What level are you playing at? One? Seven?

[Gignere]

Just play a bear totem barbarian with GWM, you are a tank because if the enemy ignores you they will be torn to shreds.

Being resistant to all damage except for psychic really combos well with stone’s endurance.

[Stryyke]

What level are you playing at? One? Seven?

Session 0 is today. I'm guessing 1.


"Just play a bear totem barbarian with GWM, you are a tank because if the enemy ignores you they will be torn to shreds.

Being resistant to all damage except for psychic really combos well with stone’s endurance."

That was my first inclination. What's GWM?

"Short scrawny kid who wasn't bringing anything to the table until he grabbed a sapient weapon who seeks glory" sounds like an Hexblade Warlock, to me.


I definitely considered it, but most of their good stuff is for one-handed weapons. It specifically forbids 2 handed weapons.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

That was my first inclination. What's GWM?

GWM is Great Weapon Master, a feat in the PHB.

Consider swapping that greatsword to a glaive or halberd instead, and also take the feat Polearm Master in the PHB.

[Stryyke]

GWM is Great Weapon Master, a feat in the PHB.

Consider swapping that greatsword to a glaive or halberd instead, and also take the feat Polearm Master in the PHB.

I've honestly never been a fan of polearms. Not being able to hit someone standing right next to you was huge turnoff, for me. But isn't there a way to gain extended reach for melee weapons?

[Gignere]

GWM is Great Weapon Master, a feat in the PHB.

Consider swapping that greatsword to a glaive or halberd instead, and also take the feat Polearm Master in the PHB.

Polearm master isn’t so much better that you need it especially for a barbarian since you need a bonus action to rage, with GWM everytime you crit or kill something you get another bonus action attack that’s better than PAM.

Don’t get me wrong PAM + GWM is the absolute if you want every point of DPR optimization but if you aren’t trying to squeeze the last decimal of damage out you can go with your preferred aesthetics of a great sword and you’ll be killing things fast enough anyway.

[Gignere]

I've honestly never been a fan of polearms. Not being able to hit someone standing right next to you was huge turnoff, for me. But isn't there a way to gain extended reach for melee weapons?

5e reach weapons has no penalty hitting stuff next to them.

Not for barbarian easily.

[Stryyke]

5e reach weapons has no penalty hitting stuff next to them.

Not for barbarian easily.

Oh! I guess I'm still thinking of 3.5. That actually does change the calculus a bit. I'll consider it.

[TheMango55]

Another possibility for someone wanting to protect your party is Rune Knight.

You've got a rune that restrains, a rune that stuns (technichally charms but mechanically more like stun), a rune that can cause an enemy's attack to hit another enemy instead of a friend, a rune that can provide disadvantage or advantage to saves and attacks with your reaction, etc.

Plus when you grow to large size and if you are using a reach weapon you can threaten a 6x6 area, which provides a lot of cover for your back line.

Although I still think Ancestral Guardian is your best bet thematically.

[Stryyke]

Another possibility for someone wanting to protect your party is Rune Knight.

You've got a rune that restrains, a rune that stuns (technichally charms but mechanically more like stun), a rune that can cause an enemy's attack to hit another enemy instead of a friend, a rune that can provide disadvantage or advantage to saves and attacks with your reaction, etc.

Plus when you grow to large size and if you are using a reach weapon you can threaten a 6x6 area, which provides a lot of cover for your back line.

Although I still think Ancestral Guardian is your best bet thematically.

Interesting. I'll take a look at that. But yea, unless we only have 3 party members, I'll probably end up going Ancestrial Guardian; unless something else really speaks to me. I'll have the ancestrial guardians bound to the sword, and they are released on contacting an enemy. Even though that prevents me from triggering them with a ranged attack, it feels right for the character.


[edit] Now that I read rune knight, I see a really cool way to use it. Goliath have those lithoderm. Rather than putting a rune on a piece of equipment, a goliath can rune a lithoderm! That would be a pretty cool way to use that.

[Chugger]

I agree w/ an above poser that Runic Knight is very tanky.

OP, a 2hnd wielding barb by itself is typically going to be more of a "striker" than a "tank". A tank typically needs 3 things: high armor class, lots of hit points, and a way to shut down opponents or stop them from moving, or penalize them for attacking others.

As a 2hnder barb, you are not going to have a great AC. A barb tank can make up for this by having massive health and relying on rage to halve damage, at least somewhat. But if you start w/ a point buy like 16 str 16 con and `14 dex, your ac is 15. A paladin tank will likely have ac 18 (chain and shield), and can do a b.a. spell (shield of faith) to make that ac20 on a tough fight. There is a world of difference between ac 15 and ac 20. The pal or fighter can easily move up into plate. You as a barb might get magic medium armor and get a fairly good ac, but can you count on that?

Look at bear (totem) barb. He resists _all_ damage (except psychic, stay away from mind flayers!). He has trouble controlling enemy movement - making them focus on him - but he's darn hard to kill. When dragons attack, when things do necrotic damage, when traps zap with lightning and so on - the bear barb tends to shine - while other barbs are sweating.

If you want to be a striker and not a tank - i.e you wanna do stellar melee damage - consider playing a "Half-Goliath" who is 6 feet tall and kind of looks goliathy but is really a Human Variant, mechanically. Most DMs will allow this (but check). As a variant human, he can start w/ the feat Great Weapon Master.

If you're willing to take a -5 to hit on an attack, you get +10 to damage on top of your rage bonus, str bonus, and magic weapon bonus if u got one. If you reckless attack, that largely mitigates the -5 penalty - you'll hit often enough for this to shine. Against something w/ an ac of somewhere between 16 and 18 and up, don't use GWM - attack normally - you don't get the penalty and u do normal damage. But on zombies, most beasts, ogres, - heck all sorts of low level monsters have horrible ac. You can shred them. Anyway, it's something to think about. (2d6 +3 strength +2 rage = 12 average damage ---- 2d6 +3 +2 +10 (gwm) = 22 average damage. That's what you get from gwm: 22 damage at lvl 1 vs 12 damage, if you can land a hit).

[DwarfFighter]

If you want uncomplicated then Cavalier or Samurai Fighter are also good options. Second wind works wonders in conjunction with your damage reducing reaction

I don't think those are Barbarian sub-classes though.

-DF

[ProsecutorGodot]

I don't think those are Barbarian sub-classes though.

-DF

Nothing wrong with offering alternatives, especially good ones.

[DwarfFighter]

Nothing wrong with offering alternatives, especially good ones.

You are of course correct. The OP was simply mistaken in his basic premise of wanting to play a barbarian.

-DF

[Stryyke]

Ugh. My rolls were abysmal. 17-16-10-9-8-7. The Ancestrial Guardian is almost certainly what I'm going to use.

STR-10+2 = 12
DEX-16
CON-17+1 = 18
INT-8
WIS-9
CHA-7

He was exiled from his tribe because he was useless. So before exiling him, the Chief named him Useless.

So my question now is this: To use medium armor, or no armor?

Obviously if I put the 16 in STR, I have 18 STR and 18 CON. and nothing else above 10. Then I would have to use armor to get my AC to manageable levels.

If I put the 16 in DEX, my STR would be a very unbarbarian 12, but the AC unarmored would be 17. Probably better than I could get with armor, and no dex bonus.

Thoughts?

[Kane0]

You are of course correct. The OP was simply mistaken in his basic premise of wanting to play a barbarian.

-DF

I dont recall it being worded such that Barbarian was the only option


Ugh. My rolls were abysmal. 17-16-10-9-8-7. The Ancestrial Guardian is almost certainly what I'm going to use.

So my question now is this: To use medium armor, or no armor?

Obviously if I put the 16 in STR, I have 18 STR and 18 CON. and nothing else above 10. Then I would have to use armor to get my AC to manageable levels.

Thoughts?

I would put the good rolls in str and con then put on some armor.

[Stryyke]

I dont recall it being worded such that Barbarian was the only option

It's not. But it's the class that fits my backstory the best.

[Emongnome777]

A Con of 18 gives an AC of 14 without a Dex bonus. Only half-plate is better AC for medium armor. Strap on a shield for a respectable AC of 16 (don’t recall if shields were on the table for this build). You can use ASIs to bump Dex if you want.

[Gignere]

You have to go with 18 str and 18 con and don’t worry about AC. It’s a heal heavy strategy so make sure your party understands that they should be liberally healing you.

A barbarian particularly bear totem is one of a few builds where in combat healing is generally worth it to do without waiting to yo-yo. Because every point of healing is actually 2 points for your character. Combined with Stone’s endurance and you’ll be tanky enough.

Since your AC is worse than the squishies no reason for enemies not to be targeting you.

[TheMango55]

Just wear the best medium armor you can get and perhaps increase dex to 14 with ASI later.

[stoutstien]

You have to go with 18 str and 18 con and don’t worry about AC. It’s a heal heavy strategy so make sure your party understands that they should be liberally healing you.

A barbarian particularly bear totem is one of a few builds where in combat healing is generally worth it to do without waiting to yo-yo. Because every point of healing is actually 2 points for your character. Combined with Stone’s endurance and you’ll be tanky enough.

Since your AC is worse than the squishies no reason for enemies not to be targeting you.

That's a common misconception when it comes to barbarians and damage mitigation. The way barbarians function means they want more AC not less. Reckless attack becomes more useful, HP and resistance values increase in regards to EHP, it reduces the action cost of keeping you upright, and it makes you a larger threat. The difference between one or two points of AC can turn that 1HP recovery into ~5 or more. Even barbarians have a hard time leveraging enough HP to make up the ground on AC in the normal range of decent values (maxing medium armor and/or shield).

[Stryyke]

That's a common misconception when it comes to barbarians and damage mitigation. The way barbarians function means they want more AC not less. Reckless attack becomes more useful, HP and resistance values increase in regards to EHP, it reduces the action cost of keeping you upright, and it makes you a larger threat. The difference between one or two points of AC can turn that 1HP recovery into ~5 or more. Even barbarians have a hard time leveraging enough HP to make up the ground on AC in the normal range of decent values (maxing medium armor and/or shield).

So you recommend I go with the 16 Dex, 12 STR?

[Gignere]

That's a common misconception when it comes to barbarians and damage mitigation. The way barbarians function means they want more AC not less. Reckless attack becomes more useful, HP and resistance values increase in regards to EHP, it reduces the action cost of keeping you upright, and it makes you a larger threat. The difference between one or two points of AC can turn that 1HP recovery into ~5 or more. Even barbarians have a hard time leveraging enough HP to make up the ground on AC in the normal range of decent values (maxing medium armor and/or shield).

Yes I agree with you but you optimize with what’s in front of you, not what’s theoretically best.

What OP has will not work well with a max AC set up. He should lean into what he has. Because to max AC he has to give up +3 to hit and damage and that’s IMO not worth it.

[stoutstien]

So you recommend I go with the 16 Dex, 12 STR?

Given the stats you rolled it's a pick your poison scenario. If your DM is adamant on you sticking with those numbers I wouldn't play a barbarian they are just too stat dependent.

Few option for SaD classes that can come close to your concept

[Stryyke]

Something else to consider, I'm in a group with 3 other squishies. I'm the only one who can actually take a hit. Artificer, Sorcerer, Wizard, and me as the Barb.

[Gignere]

Something else to consider, I'm in a group with 3 other squishies. I'm the only one who can actually take a hit. Artificer, Sorcerer, Wizard, and me as the Barb.

What kind of artificer is he planning to play? It can work well if he plays an artillerist and just park his cannon behind you and spam temp hps every round on you.

[Stryyke]

What kind of artificer is he planning to play? It can work well if he plays an artillerist and just park his cannon behind you and spam temp hps every round on you.

I don't know much about artificers. It's a class I've never been interested in. But I think he saw "war" or "battle" artificer?

[Gignere]

I don't know much about artificers. It's a class I've never been interested in. But I think he saw "war" or "battle" artificer?

He’s playing the melee artificer, so you have another off tank at a minimum. Yeah without much healing it can be tough for you to face tank. Is the sorcerer a divine soul?

[stoutstien]

I don't know much about artificers. It's a class I've never been interested in. But I think he saw "war" or "battle" artificer?

Really doesn't matter. All but a single subclass the artificer has will have a better chance of protecting you as a barbarian with those stats.

[Stryyke]

Given the stats you rolled it's a pick your poison scenario. If your DM is adamant on you sticking with those numbers I wouldn't play a barbarian they are just too stat dependent.

Few option for SaD classes that can come close to your concept

I'd be interested in hearing alternatives, if you care to share. I have until Sunday to finalize my character. The only things set in stone are the attributes, unfortunately. The DM said "Those rolls can make for really cool roleplay." He's not gonna let me reroll.

[stoutstien]

I'd be interested in hearing alternatives, if you care to share. I have until Sunday to finalize my character. The only things set in stone are the attributes, unfortunately. The DM said "Those rolls can make for really cool roleplay." He's not gonna let me reroll.

Fighter would work. Cavalier,RK, or battle master can get a lot of milage out of decent Con scores and can actively protect the party. I would vote Rune knight because it gets a lot of the same tools the barbarian has along side some really solid debuff and CC options.

[Kane0]

As previously stated, Cavalier or Samurai Fighter. Both can heal as a bonus action and wear heavy armor so you can safely drop Dex, the former comes with built in tanking features to protect teammates and the latter has an on demand mini-rage with temp HP and advantage to hit.

Edit: Considering the guy stole the tribes relic sword I would have named him 'Audacity' rather than 'Useless'

[KorvinStarmast]

STR-10+2 = 12
DEX-16
CON-17+1 = 18
INT-8
WIS-9
CHA-7
A. I'd go with the Rune Knight subclass of Fighter. Thematically an excellent fit for a goliath.
This allows you to make that STR build, get Resilient Wisdom at level 4, and then decide what to do at level 6.
STR 18 DX 10 CON 18 INT 8 WIS1 9 CHA2 7
1 10 at level 4 with Proficiency in WIS saves, which are very common.
2Perfect for a Goliath whom the Chief has exiled as being useless: significant self confidence problems

B. Do whatever you can to convince your artificer ally to go Artillerist. We have found, in play, that TPH every round from that canon is insanely good. (To the point of being one of the few OP things I have seen in the game). Even more important with a small party. "You don't have to heal damage that you don't take".

[Stryyke]

A. I'd go with the Rune Knight subclass of Fighter. Thematically an excellent fit for a goliath.
This allows you to make that STR build, get Resilient Wisdom at level 4, and then decide what to do at level 6.
STR 18 DX 10 CON 18 INT 8 WIS1 9 CHA2 7
1 10 at level 4 with Proficiency in WIS saves, which are very common.
2Perfect for a Goliath whom the Chief has exiled as being useless: significant self confidence problems

B. Do whatever you can to convince your artificer ally to go Artillerist. We have found, in play, that TPH every round from that canon is insanely good. (To the point of being one of the few OP things I have seen in the game). Even more important with a small party. "You don't have to heal damage that you don't take".

The big issue I have with Rune Knight is that each rune can only be activated once per short rest, and uses the reaction for the round.

[stoutstien]

The big issue I have with Rune Knight is that each rune can only be activated once per short rest, and uses the reaction for the round.

Only one rune has a repeating reaction and frankly it's one of the better reactions available for anyone. How many encounters do you think you will face a day and/or between each short rest that the barbarian would have more resources than the runes? Let alone giants might, rune shield, and the basic fighter tools?

[Stryyke]

Only one rune has a repeating reaction and frankly it's one of the better reactions available for anyone. How many encounters do you think you will face a day and/or between each short rest that the barbarian would have more resources than the runes? Let alone giants might, rune shield, and the basic fighter tools?

Actually Cloud and Stone both use the reaction, and fire is useless against multiple enemies. I'm not saying they aren't good, and the stone passive is great. But the DM could essentially take my character out of the picture by having more than 1 encounter per short rest. I just don't feel I can afford to be taken out so easily.

I imagine I'll take a 1 or 2 level fighter dip, when it's thematically appropriate in game.

I honestly don't know. I'm not familiar with the DM, so I don't know how many encounters he's going to do.

[stoutstien]

Actually Cloud and Stone both use the reaction, and fire is useless against multiple enemies. I'm not saying they aren't good, and the stone passive is great. But the DM could essentially take my character out of the picture by having more than 1 encounter per short rest. I just don't feel I can afford to be taken out so easily.

I imagine I'll take a 1 or 2 level fighter dip, when it's thematically appropriate in game.

I honestly don't know. I'm not familiar with the DM, so I don't know how many encounters he's going to do.

Eh. The rune knight has such a big pile of features that each have their own independent pool it's hard to envision them running dry compared to the shallow and narrow applicability of rage. If I had to pick I would rather do the opposite and have a dip into barbarian because the best features are in the first couple levels.

[Stryyke]

Eh. The rune knight has such a big pile of features that each have their own independent pool it's hard to envision them running dry compared to the shallow and narrow applicability of rage. If I had to pick I would rather do the opposite and have a dip into barbarian because the best features are in the first couple levels.

That's fair. Since rages are counted daily, not after short rest, technically the Rune Knight has the potential to have more resources available to it. Good point. Hmmm

[TheMango55]

I just think you wouldn’t have much fun playing a barbarian with 12 strength. You have to actually hit your enemies to use your abilities to protect your allies. And with a 12 str you won’t be hitting as much as you like.

[stoutstien]

I just think you wouldn’t have much fun playing a barbarian with 12 strength. You have to actually hit your enemies to use your abilities to protect your allies. And with a 12 str you won’t be hitting as much as you like.

Note the AG barbarian isn't reliant on str based or even melee attacks to work. Ironically that is the reason why it is one of the better barbarians because you don't need to stand up close and trade blows until you or the enemy dies. This doesn't help the with the OP's concept but it is there.

[Stryyke]

I just think you wouldn’t have much fun playing a barbarian with 12 strength. You have to actually hit your enemies to use your abilities to protect your allies. And with a 12 str you won’t be hitting as much as you like.

Thematically, starting Barb makes more sense. Maybe 2 levels of barb, then switch to fighter, when he's in civilization. Any downside to that?

[stoutstien]

Thematically, starting Barb makes more sense. Maybe 2 levels of barb, then switch to fighter, when he's in civilization. Any downside to that?

Delayed extra attack, ASI, and still would have AC issues due to rage limits on armor. not unmanageable but some stiff opportunity costs.

[TheMango55]

Thematically, starting Barb makes more sense. Maybe 2 levels of barb, then switch to fighter, when he's in civilization. Any downside to that?

You delay extra attack 2 turns.

Also you don’t get heavy armor proficiency by multiclassing into fighter so it won’t help your a/c. And you can’t rage in heavy armor anyway.

I think you will be fine playing a full barb with 10 dex as long as you put some asi into dex at level 4 and possibly 8, although you may want sentinel or great weapon master there.

[stoutstien]

You delay extra attack 2 turns.

Also you don’t get heavy armor proficiency by multiclassing into fighter so it won’t help your a/c. And you can’t rage in heavy armor anyway.

I think you will be fine playing a full barb with 10 dex as long as you put some asi into dex at level 4 and possibly 8, although you may want sentinel or great weapon master there.

Aye. Grab a shield and some half-plate and stay alive until you can safely lean on your HP pool and resistance.

[Stryyke]

Aye. Grab a shield and some half-plate and stay alive until you can safely lean on your HP pool and resistance.

Shield is, unfortunately, out of the question. I'm going Greatsword.

Also, at 750g, half-plate is a long way off. I'd be rocking a 13 AC for the first few levels.

Is there any way for a Lvl 1 Goliath Barbarian to get extra rages? I remember in 3.5 there were ways.

[ProsecutorGodot]

Shield is, unfortunately, out of the question. I'm going Greatsword.

Also, at 750g, half-plate is a long way off. I'd be rocking a 13 AC for the first few levels.

Is there any way for a Lvl 1 Goliath Barbarian to get extra rages? I remember in 3.5 there were ways.

This is just a suggestion: You want the "worthlessness" (from the lens of a hulking "be big" Goliath society) to shine with this character. How about you go with having the tribe weapon being repurposed into a longsword. Not only did you run off into the night with a tribal relic, but you damaged it to the point of no return to make it into a weapon you're actually comfortable wielding.

Of course, this doesn't make a whole lot of sense from a rules/mechanics standpoint, you've got the muscle for a greatsword maybe just not a goliath greatsword. Maybe somewhere down the line when you aren't in danger of dying due to a lack of AC you can have the weapon reforged, perhaps even better than previously.

To answer your question as well, no. 5E doesn't have much, if anything, where any race has a specific benefit to being a part of any class. No extra rages for being a Goliath, no extr rages for being any specific type of Barbarian. The only way to rage more is to survive and gain levels.

[Gignere]

Shield is, unfortunately, out of the question. I'm going Greatsword.

Also, at 750g, half-plate is a long way off. I'd be rocking a 13 AC for the first few levels.

Is there any way for a Lvl 1 Goliath Barbarian to get extra rages? I remember in 3.5 there were ways.

I think it’s great, sometimes finding ways to work around a major weakness as a party is way more fun than squeezing every last decimal of optimization.

I think you’ll do fine was in a campaign where the tank was a bearbarian and rocking a 14 AC for nearly the whole campaign and we still did just fine.

If you start with 18 Con just go bare chest, you have 14 AC without any gear.

Hell fully step into the barbarian and fight in your birthday suit.

[MrStabby]

Thematically, starting Barb makes more sense. Maybe 2 levels of barb, then switch to fighter, when he's in civilization. Any downside to that?

Well maybe the reason you are running away is that you are not barbarian enough. Where the yardstick in the tribe is simply "how barbarian are you", being a fighter will mean lacking some of the skills they look for and you fail to measure up. Your heroes journey is you demonstrating that you can be a skilled and effective warrior without the rage, the reckless attacks etc. thay your tribe thinks you need.

[stoutstien]

I think it’s great, sometimes finding ways to work around a major weakness as a party is way more fun than squeezing every last decimal of optimization.

I think you’ll do fine was in a campaign where the tank was a bearbarian and rocking a 14 AC for nearly the whole campaign and we still did just fine.

If you start with 18 Con just go bare chest, you have 14 AC without any gear.

Hell fully step into the barbarian and fight in your birthday suit.

Big difference between working around a weak point than being a liability. He isn't use GWM so the damage gained by using the greatsword over a one handed weapon isn't worth the resource cost of covering the damage taken from the low AC.
Since he doesn't have a good idea on how many encounters he can expect to see each day a safe bet would be ~4 after level 1. That's a hopeful guess and still means only having enough rages to cover half or fewer of the day's encounters. If he wants to go this route then the people who he needs to talk to are the other players. Last thing you want is multiple players thinking the same thing and you end up with more weak points than strong ones.

[Stryyke]

Big difference between working around a weak point than being a liability. He isn't use GWM so the damage gained by using the greatsword over a one handed weapon isn't worth the resource cost of covering the damage taken from the low AC.
Since he doesn't have a good idea on how many encounters he can expect to see each day a safe bet would be ~4 after level 1. That's a hopeful guess and still means only having enough rages to cover half or fewer of the day's encounters. If he wants to go this route then the people who he needs to talk to are the other players. Last thing you want is multiple players thinking the same thing and you end up with more weak points than strong ones.

Indeed. I actually posed this question to the party. They have spoken their piece too. For what it's worth, they also feel like the 18 STR and 10 DEX is the way to go. I just hope they know what all that entails.

At the end of the day, the thing that decided it for me, aside from virtually everyone saying to go with the high strength, is what someone above pointed out. The Ancestrial guardians, and their protection, only work if I hit.