NWN: Character - Barbarian

Barbarians, despite the image as loners who fly into out-of-control frenzies, are really very good tanks (up front damage takers) and I expect they will really shine within NWN. They have the best HPs (which is improved noticeably when they rage), good defense (uncanny dodge and damage reduction help), move swiftly, and attack with ferocity. While they won't match a fighter's ability to customize, pursue different avenues of development, for what they do, Barbarians are the best.

Now, in NWNs, I think it will be even more noticeable - their advantages. First, with limited sight, distance won't be as impacting in the game. Because of this and the barbarian's increased speed, they will be able to close the gap on foes with terrible rapidity (at least, if you're the foe).

Some class specifics:

• Alignment Restrictions: Any non-lawful

• Hit Die per Level: d12 (1-12)

• Armor Proficiencies: Light or Medium plus Shields

• Weapon Proficiencies: All Simple and Martial Weapons

• Saving Throws: Fortitude (primary), Reflex & Will (secondary)

• Skill Points Per Level: 4+Int Modifier (x4 at 1st character level)

• Class Skills: Discipline, Heal, Listen, Lore, Parry, Taunt

• Class Features: Increased Movement (10%), Rage, Uncanny Dodge (at 2nd, 5th, 10th, 13th,     16th, 19th), Damage Reduction (starting at 11th)

• Class Packages: Default, Brute, Slayer, Savage, Orc Blood

With the d12 HPs, pretty good range of armor proficiencies, and the very impressive Rage ability, the Barbarian will be a melee character to take note of.

Class Packages: The packages are interesting and offer a good compliment of playing styles for the player who either likes the sound of them or is inexperienced at developing characters. The Default Barbarian concentrates on combat and destroying with his Great Axe. Brute Barbarians use axe and unsurpassed Strength as they seek bloody battle. As the name suggests, the Orc Blood Barbarian is usually of Half-Orc racial selection as they seek to prove worthy of the combative title. Slayer Barbarian are especially mistrustful of spellcasters, going out of their way to find and destroy them by using sling at distance and sword up close to finishing them off. A Savage Barbarian uses his bare hands in melee instead of resorting to a weakling's weapons as they delight in the feel of pure, brutish killing.

Skills: With 4+Int, the Barbarian gets a solid number to develop. If the Barbarian leaves their intelligence at 8, that still leaves them with three skills they can max out. Discipline appears to be a must. Listen is a good skill to have against those trying to use stealth against the Barbarian. Finally, Taunt, although Charisma based, should provide some fun, role-play, and effectiveness if developed to max. Heal might be a very effective skill if it cures as many HPs as it sound like from the description (stay tuned for more on that, because this might prove to be better than taking Taunt as one of the first three and even Listen as a 2nd choice for the 6 Int Half-Orc). Parry if an effective defensive skill, but as the Barbarian is all about offense, I leave these as only a possible skill for those who don’t want to go the way of Taunt or has the Intelligence to add it. Lore is probably the least attractive for the combat oriented class.

Feats: Feat selection for the Barbarian (for those not taking a class package) should probably play to the class’s strengths. They will only receive the normal character level bonus feats (at 1st, 3rd, 6th, 9th, 12th, 15th and 18th) unless the multi-class to one that has bonus feats. Because of that fact, the Barbarian will have to be prudent with feat selection. There are a lot of good ones being offered in NWN, offering a diversity of ways to go, but here are some suggestions. Armor Proficiency Heavy is a decent selection for those Barbarians with low Dexterity and seeking a little more defense. Weapon Focus (weapon of choice) gives +1 to attack rolls. Power Attack, while not an outstanding feat on its own (+5 damage –5 attack roll), opens up future feats, most notably Cleave (which allows a free attack after a killing blow). Improved Critical (once base attack bonus reaches 8+) is a very nice feat and recommended later on. Knockdown (and Improved Knockdown) offer interesting possibilities that will only be clear once they are actually tested for effectiveness. Weapon Proficiency Exotic gives access to some cool weapons for the Barbarian who wants to be unusual. Called Shot (chance to weaken attack of a foe by -2 or slow foe by 20%) can further the Barbarian’s advantage in combat. There are others for a Barbarian interested in a different sort of character or role-play, but those are some to consider when first learning the game.

Special Features: Increased movement of 10% might not seem like much, but with the limited vision and real time aspect of game play, it is better than it sounds. Rage starts out by given an once per day boost of +4 to Con and Str along with a +2 to Will Saves at the price of –2 to Armor Class. The bonuses to Con and Str confer +2 HPs per level and +2 to attack rolls & damage. Uses per day increase by one at levels 4, 8, 12, 16, and 20. Beyond that, at level 15, the bonus to Con and Str rises to +6 with Will Saves going to +3 bonus. That means that a 15th level Barbarian will get +45 HPs when in a rage! More if they are multi-classed (and thus at a higher character level). Impressive. Damage Reduction is a very nice feature that starts out by reducing damage received by 1 point (at 11th level) and goes up to 4 at level 20. Uncanny Dodge offers a number of boosts to defensive situations that arise in game play (more on this as I see them in actual action). Certainly, a nice mix of special features to the class.

Race: Choosing a race is as much about role-play or style as it is about features. Half-Orcs offer the only boost to Strength (+2), opening up the possibility of having as high as a 20 Strength from level 1 (but at the loss of Intelligence and Charisma). Humans give bonuses to skills and a free feat to start. Dwarves boost Constitution making them even better at taking abuse. Half-Elves offer some racial benefits (like darkvision and skill bonuses) along with their Any designation for preferred race (important for the multi-classer). And while Elves (-2 con), Gnomes (-2 str), and Halflings (-2 str) have key stat weaknesses, they also have some benefits that don’t make them impossible in the roles of Barbarian.

Multi-class: Barbarians offer a lot as a multi-class character. As the primary class, they build up to damage reduction, improvements to uncanny dodge, and better rage so you want to get them to level 11 at least. Fighter offers some possibilities, especially if you want to take 4 levels to get to Weapon Specialization as a feat option. A level (to three) of Rogue opens up some interesting skill improvements as another possibility. As a second or third class, the Barbarian offers some front loaded benefits that make them attractive. With just one level of Barbarian, you get Rage and Improved Movement. A second level of Barbarian offers Uncanny Dodge (can’t be caught flat-footed).

Conclusion: My opinion is that the Barbarian is going to be a popular class amongst those players who enjoy the taste of fury and the sight of blood as this class should be the kings of pure melee combat. In multi-player settings, they offer both the ability to take abuse and draw fire while contributing to offensive output with some significance. I expect them to be popular and fun to play.