Taking 20 Podcast - Ep 83 - Class Series - Barbarian and Bard

Episode Date: July 25, 2021

I received a listener suggestion to talk about some of the classes available in 5e and Pathfinder.  This episode starts that series, beginning with the Barbarian and the Bard.  Jeremy talks about tropes, playing with them and against them, and his wife helps him with a beep button when things get a little...suggestive.

This week on the Taking 20 Podcast. As far as the party role for the Barbarian, you are a tank. You have tons of hit points. Usually you have the highest hit die of any class in the game. Bards are incredibly versatile. They can be the face of the party, serving as negotiator, diplomacizer, downtime moneymaker, and entertaining at taverns for tips. Thank you for tuning in to episode 83 of the Taking20 podcast Starting the class series

This week about playing Barbarians and Bards This week's sponsor is Larry's Music Shop Rated R for Sax and Violins This class series was a suggestion from a user And I'm going to give this a try. I needed more content for players anyway. I've been kind of remiss in providing good player-based content. Now, a disclaimer before we start. I only have 20 minutes, so I'm not going to do a deep dive into the best min-max options you can make when playing the class. I will talk about strong

choices, but we're not going to get into, oh, at fourth level, you need to take this feat. We're going to be talking about the class, a little bit about the history, the tropes of the class, and how to play with them and against them. And then we'll talk about their roles within the party. But let's start off with the Barbarian. For most of this class's life, the Barbarian's been the lightly armored fighter with legendary anger management issues. This class has been around since at least the first edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. It's a berserker, a rage fighter who crutches their enemies and sees them driven before you. If you go to the website 538

with the words spelled out, they did a poll in 2017 that showed the Barbarian was the fourth most popular class to play in 5th edition. Sure, the data there is probably outdated, and it predates a lot of the new 5th edition options in Tasha's, but it shows the class's popularity. As far as the party roll for the Barbarian, you are a tank. You have tons of hit points. Usually you have the highest hit die of any class in the game. You do a lot of damage per round,

so you can swing a sword that does a huge amount of damage. I mean, if sword doesn't solve the problem, use more sword. And if they have to use sword to solve the problem, someone's going to die for it. So they're a tank and a DPR type class. Now, the Barbarian has some flexible role-playing hooks built into the class. What I mean by role-playing hooks are things that you can use to set your character apart from traditional class representatives. I mean, yes, you can play big, burly, angry guy. But what if you're looking for a way to control the rage within yourself? You're trying to purge the world of a specific monster. You're trying to overthrow a corrupt government or bring a rival group to heel.

You're trying to reclaim what was taken from you, like title, honor, family member, or loved one. There's a ton of backgrounds you can be with a barbarian that will follow the traditional trope. You're a tribal warrior. I mean, barbarians are usually painted as primitives who can't control their anger. They're lured to civilization for money or to serve in an army or they were kicked out of their nomadic tribe or family. Maybe they lost faith in society, a religion, a king, or a leader. The barbarian could be a wanderer, the man without a country. Think of the old Incredible Hulk TV series. The Hulk was wandering place to place and not daring to make any

connections lest his rage cause harm to those he loves. Barbarians can be orphans of the young woman who had to learn to get by on her own, and she found that by tapping into a pool of anger, she could take what she needed to survive. You can play with trope, but I always encourage my players to play backgrounds against the traditional trope. Barbarians traditionally live at the edge of civilization, but they don't have to. I want my players to play the type of character they want to play, not necessarily what everyone else thinks is the best way to play it. One of my favorites is what I call the I've-had-enough barbarian, or the nerd-rage barbarian. Someone has had a bad turn of luck or a rough time of it

recently. They've experienced some tragedy and pushed them to the edge. Think of the movie Falling Down with Michael Douglas. They're good members of society and then, well, shit goes down and the person's thin veil of civility goes down with it. Maybe the barbarian worships a deity that encourages losing control, so they feel like that's their way of worshiping. A wilderness-living bounty hunter that has to rage to fight off the monsters that live in the forest or the mountains. A criminal enforcer, a disgruntled member of the aristocracy that just wants to let the anger out. A person with a drinking problem that when they drink, they rage. Maybe

it's a former professional wrestler. So there's all sorts of ways that you can play the barbarian besides the traditional dress in a loincloth, have muscles that have muscles that have muscles, carry a sword the size of a greyhound bus. While there's nothing wrong with that at all, what about a person who's been through the shit and their nerves are just raw? Because of past suffering or abuse, they don't have minor reactions to things. Every reaction cranks up to 11. Laughing, crying, and yes, violence. How about a sweet older woman who has no patience for those who would hurt her friends?

She's seen it before, and she goes apeshit on anyone who tries it now. her friends. She's seen it before, and she goes apeshit on anyone who tries it now. Something to consider with a barbarian, by the way, is to work with a DM and maybe call it focus or resolve or tenacity instead of rage. That opens the door to any kind of character who become more combat effective by executing this ability. The scholarly assassin, the nimble brawler, the noble samurai, the battle trance acrobat. Instead of shrugging off damage, the same crunchy mechanical effects of a barbarian happen, but it's flavored to be avoiding or deflecting those attacks rather than just being angry through the pain. Consider unusual combinations of histories for your barbarian and reasons they

have the barbarian's abilities that they do. If you'd like to re-flavor Rage into something else, talk to your DM or GM. They'll probably be amenable. I'd recommend barbarians for players who want relatively simple characters to play. They have abilities that don't really track a lot of resources or need a lot of preparation time. The only thing you have to keep track of is how long you've Raged and how many times you've Raged since your last rest.

Now, let's get into some game system specifics and talk about the 5th edition Barbarian, specifically starting with Race. With all classes, humans are usually a good all-around choice, so let's just put that out there first. But Goliath, Earth Genasi, Githyanki, Dwarf, Orc, Warforged, and Ravenite in the Wildemount campaigns are all good min-max choices. Stout Halfling and Variant Human would be interesting choices for a Barbarian though, especially if you want for a Dexterity Barbarian build with the Path of the Totem Warrior with Bear or Wolf Totem. Speaking of which, Barbarians in 5e have to select a path. Most are very good and you can have a great Barbarian selecting almost any of them. The Ancestral Guardian, the Totem Warrior, the Zealot, and Beast are my favorites.

Wild Magic has always piqued my interest, but there's a lot of randomness there. But I might play that in a one-shot one day. As a barbarian, you live and die with your rage ability. You can play your barbarian as an offensive juggernaut. Path of the Berserker or Zealot are great here. Weighed in, do damage, kill everything, hope you get healed. You can go full Rage Beast and disregard your character's safety. It's hard for the opposing spellcaster to cast spells when she's missing her head. I love going Totem Warrior though for a little more defense. A little less

damage but increased survivability. I want to try this with the Shieldmaster feat one day to really ruin some spellcaster's day. Jumping over to Pathfinder. The recommendations for the Pathfinder Barbarian will be very similar for those for 5e, so this section will be shorter. Just like 5th edition, they get high hit points, fast movements, and are masters of dealing damage and taking damage. They live and die just like 5e barbarians with their rounds of rage. When it comes to ancestries, humans, orcs, half-orcs, and oreads, which is the Pathfinder version of Earth Genasi, are excellent min-max choices in 1st edition Pathfinder.

In 2e, you have a ton of fun choices. Humans, orcs, gourd-leshy, play a pumpkin who fucking hates Halloween. My name's Jack, and I'm gonna put a candle in your skull. Other things you have to select as part of being a Pathfinder Barbarian are Rage Powers in 1st Edition and Instincts in 2nd Edition. In 1st Edition with Rage Powers, there's a lot of material out there and a ton of choices to play exactly the kind of Barbarian you want. out there and a ton of choices to play exactly the kind of Barbarian you want. You can imbue Lenorm death curses, trample an overrun while raging, give a second chance at saving throws, and a ton of other options. Totems are included in first edition rage powers and can be taken

across multiple feats, but in second edition you gain instincts. You choose an instinct which customizes the powers that you have as your barbarian rages. The animal instinct to grow fangs and claws, the dragon instinct to get a breath weapon, giant instinct that lets you wield those greyhound bus swords, spirit instinct, superstition instinct, the generic fury instinct, they're all great choices. Barbarians are great for players who don't want to do a lot of prep immediately before game time. They do great damage, have a ton of hit points, resistance to most weapons while raging, advantage on all kinds of checks and saves, extra attacks on bonus actions, reaction attacks, and other abilities that just make you feel like

a gigantic badass on the battlefield. Now let's switch over to bards. Ah, bards. The tramps of the gaming table. I mean, the characters are tramps, not the players. I mean, the player could be sex forward, but I'm not talking about them. You do you, players, just not on my gaming table, please. I mean, the stains that would be left and the smell. I've asked my wife, by the way, to call me out when my sex jokes go too far, because let's face it, bards have a rep. They have sex with everyone and everything, including that. Yes, that too. I genuinely have no idea where the reputation comes from. I mean, yes, they have charisma as their primary stat, but so do sorcerers. So did paladins at one

point. Paladins at one point. Paladins had disease immunity. I mean, they're the ones that would be safer putting everything out there for everybody. Is it because bards get bonuses to persuasion? Wait, it has to be because they're musicians. I mean, musicians get around, right? A girl I knew in high school, Tina, man, she blew a mean French horn. I'm sorry, what? Oh, band members, like guitars and shit. Okay. Bards generally grant bonuses to the rest of their party through their melodic voice, skill with the trumpet, or their eloquent speeches. In other words, they have talented tongues. Oh, that wasn't that bad. I was talking about embouchure, not kind of. Look, all I'm saying is that if they play a wind instrument, they have to put their mouth on it.

And we all enjoy someone who's good with their mouth, right? You know what? Let's reset. As far as party roll goes, bards are incredibly versatile. They can be the face of the party, serving as negotiator, diplomacizer, downtime moneymaker, and entertaining at taverns for tips. They can craft magic items for the party. They're amazing buffers. They can use their song, music, or speech to make the most of the other classes, make them better at everything they do. They can help control the battlefield.

They're decent range combatants. Oh, they're good debuffers, too. They can confuse opponents. They take combatants out of combat. They make them distracted, blind them, and're good debuffers too. They can confuse opponents. They take combatants out of combat. They make them distracted, blind them, and a dozen other powerful negative effects. Bards are jacks and jills of all trades. They can fill in a number of roles. They can be sorcerer-like, roguelike, and even fighter-like if needed. If you're looking for role-playing hooks for a bard, what can you choose to set your bard apart from the most common bard trope of traveling,

minstrel, slutty McSlutface? Someone who has a patron that's paying them to market or proselytize them or their products, and they get to adventure on the side. Every time they're in a city, they have to sing jingles for an organization, leader, or product. Anal's horns, anal's horns, you can't beat anal's sacks. Ha, I said sacks. Win on a technicality. Maybe the bard is searching for some bard from their history to prove that they are

better than that old bard now. You know, I am Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die, but with drums instead of swords. They could yearn for knowledge, whether general knowledge or specific about a place, a monster, or a person. Maybe they come from a place where music or free speech is banned and free expression is persecuted. This is the only way that they can express their emotions and use their magic. Kind of like the movie Footloose, but with more cantrips and less Kevin Bacon.

As far as backgrounds that follow the traditional bard trope, you could be a courtesan, so a prostitute who can also entertain. You could be a minstrel or entertainer, so you travel from place to place as a singer or musician. You could be a bounty hunter, someone who plays music as an excuse to travel, but really is there to fulfill a hunting contract. A gesture, a clown, part of some entertainment troupe. But you can also go against trope. Come from an acolyte background and be a musician that specializes in beings, payans, the music devoted to a god or goddess. Be a head of household and you're trying to provide for your family and traveling and singing is the best way to make that happen. Be a noble person, someone of royal blood who just wants to see the world. Or maybe even a military leader or stand-up comedian who can inspire and cut with words.

So, for 5th edition, charisma is absolutely critical for a 5th edition bard. Dexterity is almost important because you're kind of squishy. If you're min-maxing, choose any race that gives you up to like a plus two to your charisma score. Azamar, Changeling, Half-Elves, Satyrs, Tabaxi, Tieflings all make great bards. But again, check with your DM to see if you need to min-max to be successful in the campaign. You might not. If so, shit, play what you want. Go against type. Play an, I can never say this right,

Aarakocra. Kobold Bard, a Warsinger, a Shanty Woman, something like that. 5th edition bards have to choose a college at 3rd level. It kind of makes your bard better at being one type of bard, but you can still be nearly anything that you want. You could be the Glamour College to be a charm-focused bard with good buffs like the Consummate Diva. Lore college to gain proficiency and a ton of skills. Spirit bard makes you potentially a pretty decent healer. If you want to be a battle bard, you could go to the Swords or Valor college. You can go to the Whispers college to get some rogue abilities and throw a little psionic on the top of it.

You can be a great buffer with the Inspire Leader feat. You're a full spellcaster, meaning you get 9th level spells, but only a limited selection, so plan your spells very carefully. Sleep, hold person, calm emotions, all excellent choices here. I love Phantasmal Killer. I mean, the opponent fails their save, and they're scared and taking damage every round. Hey, Bar barbarian! You want to see something really scary?

As their worst fears come to life and harass them constantly every round. If you want to be combat-focused, get this College of Swords or Valor. Get an armor feed or two to increase your survivability. I mean, you'll never be as tanky as a fighter or barbarian, but you can still be pretty effective. You gain magical secrets at 10th level. I mean, grab Counterspell to be a great debuffer. Banishment for battlefield control. Holy Weapon if you're going to be a combat bard. Cone of Cold if you want to be a blaster and do magical damage. So versatile. Love it. 5e bards, though, really shine in non-combat situations. I mean, they have a ton of skill checks that they're good at. It can give you insight into the quest. Bards are a DM's best

friend. They are jack-of-all-trades. They have invisibility and knock. They are great utility party members in 5e. Jumping over to Pathfinder, I mean, their party roles are very, very similar to 5e. You get bardic performance, spellcasting, not all the way to 9th level spells, so not as strong as a traditional caster, but great skills and they're based on charisma. In combat, Pathfinder 1st edition and 2nd edition bards are better at range than melee. When it comes to ancestries, human's a good choice, half-elf, gnome, all of them you could have a ton of fun with. In 2nd edition, add Goblin, Catfolk, and Kobold to the list of great min-max choices. Other selections you'll have to make is a Pathfinder

Bard. For 1st edition, at that point, most of your tough selections from then on have to do with the spells that you take. But for 2nd edition, you're a touch more focused than 1st edition, but it doesn't preclude you from filling multiple roles. You have to select a muse at first level. Enigma giving you bardic lore, which lets you recall knowledge on any topic. Maestro to make your spells last longer. Polymath that lets you sing, speak, or play instruments in place of diplomacy and intimidate. Warrior, which gives you access to more weapons and lets you cause fear in your enemies. You can still be a dynamic member of the party, your muse just narrows down what you're best at. I'd recommend bards for players who want to fill manifold roles in a party, sometimes within the same battle. You can wield magic and

steel, help your party members do what they do best and make them better at it, make opponents miss, heal yourself and your friends, and yes, charm townspeople out of their pantaloons and frocks if you so choose. Bards are so much fun, but consider going against trope and type and play a bard that's a retired general, a motivational speaker, the maestro musician, or the persecuted piper. Focus on some greater purpose than getting your instrument played with all the time. Oh, come on, that was fine. You can suck my pianist. Oh, okay. Yeah, that was probably over the line. Tune in next week when I'll help DMs with three-dimensional and underwater combat. If you like this podcast, by the way, please give us a like, rating, or subscribe to it wherever you found it. Before we go, I want to thank our sponsor, Larry's Music Shop, who reminds you, the easiest way to get two piccoloists to play in tune is to shoot one of

them. This has been episode 83 of the Taking 20 podcast, beginning a class series about bards and barbarians. My name is Jeremy Shelley, and I hope that your next game is your best game. Is it too late to make a joke about fingering technique? How about drummers banging a lot? The bard who wears a G-string? A bass player's having a lot of wood in their hands? The Taking 20 Podcast is a Publishing Cube Media Production. Copyright 2021. References to game system content are copyright of their respective publishers.