Thursday, May 17, 2012

My Barbarian, Obiri style

My original character for our current campaign was a barbarian. Unfortunately he met an unfortunate end after being paralysed by an evil hag who then ripped his throat out. He had a vague back story: found by the Aspis Consortium deep in the jungle, he seemed to be part man part beast. A hulking brute of a man, he lacked both intellect and charm but had a sort of ruthless cunning. They nicknamed him "Beast" after the strange animal fetishes he wore. Using a variety of rewards and punishments they managed to turn him into a useful resource doubling as a jungle guide and caravan guard. After several years of their "civilizing" influence he managed to escape the consortium. The ship he was taking to start a new life was shipwrecked beginning the campaign...

Beast BARBARIAN 2    CR 11
Male Human (Mwangi) Barbarian (Invulnerable Rager) 12
CN Medium Humanoid (Human)
Init +5; Senses Perception +16

DEFENSE

AC 24, touch 9, flat-footed 21   (+9 armor, +3 Dex, +6 natural, +2 deflection)
hp 197 (12d12+108)
Fort +21, Ref +11, Will +15
DR 12/lethal, 6/—; Resist fire 3, Extreme Endurance (Fire)

OFFENSE

Spd 40 ft.
Melee +2 Keen Falchion +23/+18/+13 (2d4+27/15-20/x2) and
   Claw x2 (Beast Totem, Lesser) +16 x2 (1d8+8/20/x3) and
   Gauntlet (from Armor) +21/+16/+11 (1d3+17/20/x2) and
   Unarmed Strike +21/+16/+11 (1d3+17/20/x2)
Special Attacks Beast Totem, Lesser, Pounce, Witch Hunter (+4)

STATISTICS

Str 20/28, Dex 14/16, Con 18/28, Int 7, Wis 9/13, Cha 7
Base Atk +12; CMB +21; CMD 30
Feats Combat Reflexes (4 AoO/round), Dazing Assault (DC 22), Extra Rage Power, Extra Rage Power, Iron Will, Power Attack -4/+8, Raging Vitality
Traits Boarded in the Shackles: Will Save, Reactionary
Skills Acrobatics +13, Climb +11, Escape Artist +1, Fly +1, Perception +16, Ride +5, Stealth +1, Swim +11
Languages Common, Polyglot
SQ Beast Totem +4 AC (Su), Beast Totem, Greater (Su), Come and Get Me (Ex), Fast Movement +10 (Ex), Heart of the Fields +6: Profession (Trapper) (1/day), Rage (30 rounds/day) (Ex), Reckless Abandon (+/-4) (Ex), Strength Surge +12 (1/rage) (Ex), Superstition +9 (Ex)
Combat Gear +2 Keen Falchion, Celestial Armor; Other Gear Amulet of Natural Armor +2, Belt of Physical Perfection, +2, Cloak of Resistance, +4, Headband of Inspired Wisdom, +4, Ring of Protection, +2

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Beast Totem +4 AC (Su) +4 Natural Armor while raging.
Beast Totem, Greater (Su) Pounce ability and 1d8 claw damage while raging
Beast Totem, Lesser (Su) Gain 2 d6 claw attacks while raging
Combat Reflexes (4 AoO/round) You may make up to 4 attacks of opportunity per round, and may make them while flat-footed.
Come and Get Me (Ex) Enemies get +4 to hit and damage you, but attacks provoke AoO from you
Damage Reduction (12/lethal) You have Damage Reduction against non-lethal damage
Damage Reduction (6/-) You have Damage Reduction against all attacks.
Damage Resistance, Fire (3) You have the specified Damage Resistance against Fire attacks.
Dazing Assault (DC 22) Take -5 to all attacks and maneuvers until your next turn to daze opponents hit in melee for 1r.
Extreme Endurance: Fire (Ex) At 3rd level, the invulnerable rager is inured to either hot or cold climate effects (choose one) as if using endure elements. In addition, the barbarian gains 1 point of fire or cold resistance for every three levels beyond 3rd. This ability replace
Fast Movement +10 (Ex) +10 feet to speed, unless heavily loaded.
Heart of the Fields +6: Profession (Trapper) (1/day) 1/day, ignore an effect that would make you fatigued or exhausted. +1/2 character level to the selected Craft or Profession skill.
Pounce (Ex) You can make a full attack as part of a charge.
Power Attack -4/+8 You can subtract from your attack roll to add to your damage.
Rage (30 rounds/day) (Ex) +6 Str, +6 Con, +3 to Will saves, -2 to AC when enraged.
Raging Vitality +2 CON while raging, Rage does not end if you become unconscious.
Reckless Abandon (+/-4) (Ex) Trade AC penalty for to hit bonus while raging.
Strength Surge +12 (1/rage) (Ex) Once per rage, add +12 to a STR check, CMB or CMD.
Superstition +9 (Ex) +9 save vs. magic while raging.
Witch Hunter (+4) (Ex) Bonus to damage spellcasters while raging.
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The heart of this build is the "Come and Get Me" rage power. Combat starts, Beast rages, charges (pounces) an opponent making a full attack and switches to the Come and Get Me stance. Any time he gets attacked Beast replies with an attack of opportunity until either the foe is dead or he runs out (four). The DR helps mitigate the extra damage but this character really needs lots of healing since his AC is pretty bad and he is basically inviting others to hit him and hit him hard.

While his AC may not be great his other defences are pretty good. His will saves are pretty good and even better when you consider that against attacks that are spells, SLAs or supernatural abilities he gets his Superstitious bonus to saving throws (+9). The downside of course is that he also tries to resist beneficial effects. Anything with spells or SLAs (most high level critters) also take an extra 4 points of damage from Witch Hunter.

Six points of DR is not a lot but it adds up and makes almost 200 hit points go that much further. Most of my character builds at level 12 have about half this many hit points.

Next level he can trade a feat for a rage power and can select Raging Brutality which allows him to trade 3 extra rounds of rage and a swift action to be able to add his constitution bonus to damage (an extra 13 points). That will burn through his 30 rounds of rage very quickly but few could stand against him for long. A great power for the 5 minute adventuring days.

My big problem with Beast is that he's a bit of a one trick pony. Sure, it is a really good trick but I wonder if I would not get bored when we were not engaged in combat. If something happens to my current rogue perhaps I will resurrect Beast and see how he plays.

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