Sidebar : Level Equivalent

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"Time flows like a river. All our sufferings, these are just pebbles in the riverbed ."

-Vadania

This chapter examines the roles of the barbarian, the ranger, and the druid in the campaign . Such characters might appear to be loners, cut off from civilization and stuck in the cycle of nature . Fundamentally, though, the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game isn't about solo play ; it's about team dynamics in an unpredictable world . Thus, barbarians, druids, and rangers must somehow find ways to work harmoniously with other classes, using, their particular talents to advance the group's goals . This section discusses how to integrate these "outsiders" into a campaign so that they can use their strengths to the fullest .

THE BARBARIAN IN PERSPECTIVE

"There's a logic to chaos. Hit'em with everything you've got. Hit 'em fast, hit'em hard, hit'em till they Stop moving . That's logic ." -Krusk

The barbarian's road is the path to power. Without the combat tricks of the fighter, the holy energy of the paladin, or the lithe grace of the ranger, the barbarian still more than holds his own in combat . How? He's tougher and stronger than everyone else, and that makes all the difference.

Many melee-oriented characters profit from an obvious versatility. The ranger and the paladin balance their combat prowess with spellcasting and other special abilities . The rogue has a wide range of skills, the fighter a selection of bonus feats, and the monk a palette of special abilities . The bard is the very definition of flexibility . So why does the barbarian fare so well in comparison with them? Because he has focus . He won't try to trick or deceive you . He won't try to do anything hut overcome you by force . That devotion to a single methodology makes the barbarian an unusually effective war machine . After all, during any given round of combat, the two actions that most characters perform are attacking and avoiding the attacks of others . So why not be good at it?

Of course, a barbarian must be able to take hits at least as well as he can dish them out . Survivability is of paramount importance to a character who relies primarily on combat . While it's good to have the might to strike down foes, it's also important to live long enough to see the next fight. The barbarian has more hit points, on average, than a character of any other class, and his damage reduction ability effectively increases that total . Even rage, his signature offensive ability, gives him extra hit points that may allow him to survive an extra round or two of combat . In addition, the barbarians uncanny dodge ability minimizes his exposure to surprise, flanking, and CHAPTER traps . Finally, many high-level barbarians don suits of mithral full plate (medium armor) to preserve their fast movement while gaining the best Armor Class possible . This same reasoning also explains the popularity of rings of evasion and cloaks of displacement among barbarian characters . In addition, the barbarian's rage, damage reduction, and uncanny dodge abilities improve as he rises in level, making him even more formidable .

All that obvious power and toughness can make a barbarian forget about some of his other advantages . His class skills are diverse enough to allow for considerable variation, and it is the choice of skills more than anything else that differentiates one barbarian from another . One may concentrate his skill ranks in Intimidate to become a swaggering warrior ; another may choose to know the outdoors through Intuit Direction, Swim, and Wilderness Lore .

Other adventurers tend to view the barbarian as an unsophisticated, ignorant, and unintelligent thug . In fact, more than a few barbarians do fit that stereotype, but plenty of others are clever-if not brilliant-warriors . They may not be worldly, hut neither are they gullible . Nor are they necessarily violent, except when the situation calls for judicious use of might .

Race and the Barbarian

Human and humanoid societies exist at all levels of cultural development, from primitive to advanced, so the barbarian class is open to all races . Social restrictions make some races more likely than others to embrace the barbarian way of life, but concrete disadvantages to adopting the class are few .

Humans : Lacking the fighter's bonus feats, a barbarian can profit greatly from the bonus feat and the bonus skills that the human race offers . Humans are also the most likely humanoids to descend into-or fail to rise above-a primitive culture . While that may be a regrettable trait for humanity in general, it makes human barbarians the most common and the most accepted members of that class .

Dwarves : Barbarians generally don't flourish in highly regimented societies, so it's no surprise that dwarves training for warcraft tend to become soldiers (fighters) rather than barbarians . Where the normally orderly dwarven society is absent for some reason, dwarven barbarians can arise . For example, a dwarf who grew up among primitive humans would be a perfect candidate for the class, as would one whose keep was overrun and left in chaos . Dwarves make good barbarians for many reasons . Not only does the dwarf's +2 bonus to Constitution enhance the barbarian's already high average hit points, it also extends his rages . In addition, the barbarian's fast movement ability offsets the dwarf's normally slow movement rate . Finally, the dwarven racial bonus on saving throws to resist spells fits in nicely with the distrust of wizardry that some barbarians exhibit.

Elves : Most elven societies do not accept barbarians, perhaps because elves do not make especially good ones . The elf's penalty to Constitution devalues the barbarian's natural strengths, and although he is known for his carefree nature, the typical elf finds the primitive and sometimes savage ways of the barbarian repellent. A note-