Old Barbarian as a Berserker?

Kaiser_Kris · Post by **Kaiser_Kris** » Tue Mar 02, 2010 12:34 am

I'm just curious if anyone has tried to beef up the old Barbarian a little bit and use them again, now that we have the new Barbarian as of the fourth printing. The old one seems to be mostly serviceable, except for the Primal Fury not really granting much of a benefit in the end.

I'm in the process of going through Castles and Crusades and looking at things I'd like to modify for future games, and this was one of the first things I thought of.

Lord Dynel · Post by **Lord Dynel** » Tue Mar 02, 2010 1:52 am

Since it'a rooted in 3.5, there's probably a lot of revision you could make using some barbarian references from that edition. A lot of feats-turned-class abilities might work, as wekll as some stuff from some of the prestige classes (I think Ravager comes to mind, if I'm thinking correctly, from Complete Warrior).
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anglefish · Post by **anglefish** » Tue Mar 02, 2010 2:15 am

My players, when they are frustrated with CnC zigging when they think it zagged point to the barbarian, magic item costs and spell durations to say "Just take the hard core parts of every edition and then nerf them more to make CnC.

To tease me, they ask if the Chenauts are control freak GMs or just have jerks for players. LOL!

Kaiser_Kris · Post by **Kaiser_Kris** » Tue Mar 02, 2010 2:37 am

Lord Dynel wrote:
Since it'a rooted in 3.5, there's probably a lot of revision you could make using some barbarian references from that edition. A lot of feats-turned-class abilities might work, as wekll as some stuff from some of the prestige classes (I think Ravager comes to mind, if I'm thinking correctly, from Complete Warrior).

I'll have to check that out. I'm thinking that the CnC old Barbarian is mostly serviceable as written, except for the Primal Fury ability, which frankly, blows. I'm considering making it a straight strength and constitution bonus, with a penalty to intelligence checks and some fatigue afterwards, but no AC penalty.

A +4 to Strength and Constitution (say) gives immediate and huge bonuses in terms of hit, damage and hit points, as well as saving throws. The intelligence penalty is something to consider, though- and of course, the exhaustion afterwards. Basically, the Primal Fury should be a pretty formidable power, but with some downsides. I think that's a pretty good balance.

Lord Dynel · Post by **Lord Dynel** » Tue Mar 02, 2010 2:52 am

Well, the AC penalty does reflect their "reckless abandon" in my humble opinion. But if you don't like it, feel free to do away with it.

I didn't mind Primal Fury, as-is, but I think I would lessen the penalty for the "after effects" of it. Maybe an hour. Or ten minutes/level of the barbarian. That way, they wouldn't be feeling multiple hours for quite some time.
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LD's C&C creations - the witch, a half-ogre, skill and 0-level rules

Troll Lord wrote:
Lord D: you understand where I"m coming from.

Kaiser_Kris · Post by **Kaiser_Kris** » Tue Mar 02, 2010 3:00 am

That is a good point about the AC penalty. Come to think of it, it might not be so bad, anyway. Since the Con bonus would give them extra temporary hit points. A pretty worthwhile tradeoff.

An hour sounds good, actually. Feels realistic for a pretty tough guy.

Lord Dynel wrote:
Well, the AC penalty does reflect their "reckless abandon" in my humble opinion. But if you don't like it, feel free to do away with it.

I didn't mind Primal Fury, as-is, but I think I would lessen the penalty for the "after effects" of it. Maybe an hour. Or ten minutes/level of the barbarian. That way, they wouldn't be feeling multiple hours for quite some time.

Piperdog · Post by **Piperdog** » Wed Mar 03, 2010 3:50 pm

For craziness sake, I am thinking about throwing the old primal fury ability in with the new barbarian write up. It will make it a pretty potent class.
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moriarty777 · Post by **moriarty777** » Wed Mar 03, 2010 6:47 pm

For those seeking tweaking the Barbarian to better suit their campaign needs, I highly recommend Misler's "Barbarians of the Wilderlands" designed for C&C:
http://adventuregamespublishing.blogspo ... nds-1.html

There's a lot of stuff to mine from in there and well worth the price IMO.

M
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