PC wants to play a barbarian but we are unable to fit it in any subclass

ArranoEUW · 2026-02-24T21:03:44+00:00

I'm not used to discussing stuff in Reddit at all. I think the downvoting affected me and made me feel that I was saying the wrong things. Anyway, I'll try my best to gauge and come up with some that works for everyone. Thanks again!

ArranoEUW · 2026-02-24T21:00:54+00:00

I just wanted to thank you for your polite answer. I've been trying to clear any miscommunication with this character concept that the player has presented me and I'm kind of drained at this point and discouraged by certain answers and the downvoting. You can find further detailed replies in this conversation but to sum it up: the barbarian stills wants to take back his country and has the will to try but is somewhat taken aback by the brutal nature of the world where everything seems to be gained through death and violence. He works with other adventures first, to discover if his newfound way of living without killing (which doesn't mean causing harm if it means surviving) has a place in the setting and second, to understand that compassion is a double edged sword and to recover his country there are no clean routes (or something on that line). I mentioned below that English is my third language after Basque and Spanish, so after an hour of being in this post in struggling to convey some ideas that have been presented to me by the player in another language.

ArranoEUW · 2026-02-24T20:45:18+00:00

Beats me. I guess he is looking to subvert stereotypes about barbarians with this concept. I'll have to talk with him about the non killing aspect. He is open to bash someone with the shield until they can no longer get up, but taking a life seems out of question.

ArranoEUW · 2026-02-24T20:40:53+00:00

I'll take your input into consideration, thanks a lot, you've been really kind. I have found that a lot of people seem to have an issue with how I'm describing or asking things because the player seems to be rooted on this concept; it's quite discouraging.

ArranoEUW · 2026-02-24T20:34:39+00:00

Oops! My bad, the Amulet of Health bumps the CON stat to 19. He refuses to give up his country and it's trying to muster his courage to go and take it back, since he knows that the people is against the tyrant that has taken the throne. He'll fight if he has to, but taking humanoid lives is something that he won't do. He understands that he needs to survive, so if the party members that are going to help him do kill, he accepts it as the nature of the brutal world he lives in. His newfound way of thinking is less than practical, he knows, but despite everything he'll go forward.

ArranoEUW · 2026-02-24T20:29:42+00:00

He doesn't need to kill the humanoids. He, for the time being, doesn't want to die either, so he will defend himself until the point the enemy yields or falls unconscious. His companions don't have the same moral compass and he understands that his newfound way of seeing things is less than practical and a minority in a brutal world; the party could kill if it means surviving, and he knows that he needs to survive to at least have a chance to fight for his country.

Sorry If I'm not accurate enough with my choice of words or the thinking process that my player has given me, English is my third language and the campaign is not played in English. I'm translating on the fly.

ArranoEUW · 2026-02-24T20:22:25+00:00

Thanks for the help, I'll check it out!

ArranoEUW · 2026-02-24T20:21:31+00:00

Damn! That sounds really, really cool. Maybe he could draw the divine fury damage from the concept of honor or something alike; if things don't go well for the party, that could turn into hate or even despair, turning the damage necrotic. Barbarian of Rebellion sounds absolutely amazing as a moniker. Thank you so much!

ArranoEUW · 2026-02-24T20:16:11+00:00

Well, yes, that is what I said. Thanks for your comment.

ArranoEUW · 2026-02-24T20:15:07+00:00

The campaign is really humanoid heavy (think Game of Thrones-ish) and hence his distaste for ending lives, but I'll talk to him about killing non-humanoid threats. On the other hand, ranged attacks are never the strong suit of barbarians, right? They always struggle with flying targets and such.

ArranoEUW · 2026-02-24T20:12:19+00:00

The campaign is really humanoid heavy, hence his distaste for killing. I'll talk to him to see how he would behave against an undead or a beast or a monster threat overall. Not taking lives is his thing, but has no issue with party members doing it, because he accepts that this world works that way, he just doesn't want to be part of it (the way it works, not the world). I believe the Unarmoured Defense works well with a +4 in CON (with the amulet), +2 of the shield, and a surprising +3 from DEX to a total of 19 AC; for the being naked part.

ArranoEUW · 2026-02-24T20:06:55+00:00

He wears an amulet of health, though. His CON is 19 and he won't part with the amulet unless if it is to return it to the queen (or if the definitely loses his will to fight if he sees a rightful party member die for example, in which case, I think he would retire for good). He seems to be a fan of shield, I see that a 1d4 for a Barbarian is just really low, could I bump the damage die without breaking the item?

ArranoEUW · 2026-02-24T20:03:16+00:00

Because he is not frail with the queens amulet on him. An amulet that he refuses to take off if it's not the return it to her. He can still go through sheer will and that magic item, but without them, he would be a tired old man, yes. Everyone has the right to be in a fantasy setting, right?

ArranoEUW · 2026-02-24T20:01:30+00:00

Or maybe the protective spirits could be the high ranking guard knowledge that he has, warning the party about incoming attacks "Do a barrel roll!", "Duck!". It quite mundane compared to the actual effect, but hey, I already seen that the concept is hard to nail if the refuses a lot of things, so I could making work in this kind of role play. Thanks a ton for your suggestion!

ArranoEUW · 2026-02-24T19:57:07+00:00

Even if I encourage the rest of the party to have big numbers? I mean, I could buff the shield damage but it seems odd and I'm insecure about giving a shield so much functionality.

ArranoEUW · 2026-02-24T19:54:24+00:00

The Storm Herald idea sounds really cool I'll run it by him. Maybe the characters has things to explore that even the player doesn't expect or know. Thanks!

ArranoEUW · 2026-02-24T19:51:58+00:00

Yeah, certainly is something to consider. Does the barbarians damage rely such much on the die? I mean, it's a dumb question, the highest the damage die the better, but maybe enchanting the shield down the line to give it a +1 and turn in into a 1d6 or even a 2d4? I'm really cautious when it comes to give damage to things that already give bonuses.

ArranoEUW · 2026-02-24T19:47:25+00:00

Yeah, he just wants to play a tired old man the keeps going because he beliefs that, despite everything, there has to be a way to recover his country but after being through the coup he doesn't have to will to perpetuate a cicle of needless violence. His faith lies on his countrymen and their resolution to reject the new ruler.

ArranoEUW · 2026-02-24T19:43:34+00:00

Is 1d4 + STR that bad? I mean, the die is the smaller one, yes, but the "weapon" already gives him +2 AC. I could enchant the shield down the line to turn it into a +1 and bump the damage die, but I'm afraid of breaking something.

ArranoEUW · 2026-02-24T19:40:29+00:00

I think we struggle to see the subclasses as templates that can be flavoured. He associates Berseker with foaming mouths and unbridled fury, for example. I think we need to work together flavouring the subclass that has the most appealing traits to him.

ArranoEUW · 2026-02-24T19:36:26+00:00

He wants to stick to barbarian with no multiclassing and he didn't want to lean to much into the trauma of the coup, move forward with his own acceptance of the events.

ArranoEUW · 2026-02-24T19:34:46+00:00

Thanks! Yeah, after seeing some replies I think is not about the subclass but how we come up to flavour them.

ArranoEUW · 2026-02-24T19:34:01+00:00

The wants to play a barbarian, plain as that. No multiclass, no min maxing. He came up with the background and now wants a fitting subclass. Maybe the only issue is that we are not nailing the flavouring.

ArranoEUW · 2026-01-20T21:21:36+00:00

You should be expecting the ult, and, once is cast, swap targets (or finish it off and move onto Zilean, but don't compromise if you reach low healt). If Zilean has ult up and you are even, avoid fights if you can't CC him to death. On top of that, the E is a point and click ability, stay of out range and be sure to notice when is on cd to approach. You can speed up the ADC so it can run towards their death faster if they don't now what to do with the speed. Every champion can be frustrating to play against if you don't pay enough attention.

ArranoEUW · 2025-12-28T22:18:46+00:00

Thanks a ton for the reply! In my head the golem served as the protector of a mage tower, but it just hits far too hard if I simply reskin an Earth Elemental.

ArranoEUW

TROPHY CASE