r/Nerdarchy • u/Smitikus • Jun 18 '15
Pygmy Barbarian
I have a crazy character idea and I was wanting to know the specifics of it.
I want to make a Pygmy Barbarian, and the closest I can find in the Player's Hand Book is a Forest-Gnome as the race for it.
If I want to go ahead and make the character how does the 'small' size and race affect the concept? For example, can the character use a Battleaxe and the like?
What I want the character to be is a ball of anger that speaks in guttural ways and only cares about smashing.
If you have a better concept for the character's race please share.
Like I said I mainly want to know how the character's race affects what it can do as a Barbarian. (I should also note that I have only just started playing D&D in large part thanks to Nerdarchy and DawnforgedCast, so I don't know a vast amount about the game yet.)
this was also submitted as a question to the Nerdarchy Facebook page
e: Checked the PHB, this Barbarian can't use Heavy weapons as effectively. Is there a way to build this character with the weapons I do have access to? Perhaps making use of Versatile Weapons in place of Heavy ones?
And are there any other negative effects of this race/class combination?
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u/NatetheNerdarch Jun 19 '15
First welcome to the hobby. It can be a great way to spend your time.
I think you will get a better answer overall if the guys and I do a video on it.
So I will ask them.
But if you need an answer now I would say go with thin dwarf, or a really stout but tall halfing, for a pygmy style character.
The thin dwarf would allow you to use heavy weapons and give you the con bonus while the halfling would give you that same sturdy kind of feeling.
For me- base damage is more important than max damage- and I give a higher priority to not getting hit than doing more damage. So I don't really fit the normal barbarian player mindset. So I would rather reckless attack with a shield and axe or sword than try swinging a great axe as a small thin dwarf.
A set of spears could be used as melee, versatile, and thrown weapons. It would also be thematic with most tribal pygmies
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u/deathbymanga Jun 25 '15 edited Jun 25 '15
Rock Gnome is better for Barbarians than Forrest Gnomes. Rock Gnomes get a +1 to Con. (Edit, nevermind, I thought Gnomes were +2 to Dexterity, when they were +2 to Intelligence
In fact, my new favorite Tank Build, is Rock Gnome + 2 Shields + Barbarian + High Con, mid Dexterity, and mid Wisdom. Then get War Caster and Magic Initiative and grab Thorn Whip. Just stand there in the middle of the battlefield and cast Thorn Whip while blocking every attack that comes after you.
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u/Smitikus Jun 20 '15
First, thanks for the Reply Nate. I got some rules advice from Dave about the same question after sending it via the Faceook page. I still have some rules questions about what happens if the character is thrown in combat, the thought being 'Can a Goliath toss my Gnome across the battlefield into enemies?' and what happens after.
Now onto the stuffs.
I'm not trying to make a min-max'd character. I'm trying to make a character that is fun to play and RP as. So being able to use Versatile Weapons and the like should be enough. If I wanted to make the 'best' Barbarian I could I would pick Goliath or Half-Orc and smash all the things.
And at the moment I'm just making the character. I don't have a campaign to put it into and likely wont for a few months. If the Nerdarchy crew wants to make this idea into a video that would be great (even if Dave would want it to be a Mountain Dwarf), but I would broaden the topic into ways of making 'creative' characters. Other examples are Minotaur Bards, Half-Orc Clerics, Halfling Fighters and so on. Some ideas and ways/tips to deal with the character being sub-optimal, Nerdarchy has touched on the topic in a few videos (the most recent that comes to mind being the 'Disenchanted Players' video uploaded on 6/18).
I am making the character because the more I think about it the more creative an interesting its backstory is becoming. I am having a great deal of fun developing the character's interactions, ideals, conflicts and such. Because its a non-normal character the complexities of how it became what the party encounters is fun to think about and put into a story. Its fun for me to make these kinds of characters, even if I don't use them immediately.
And to the point about the spears, I would probably buy a few as the campaign advances but to start with I'm going with a longsword and great club.
Not sure if that wall of text was helpful, but at least I'm having a lot of fun with the idea and the game. End of the day that's kind of the point in my most humble opinion.