Originally Posted by Valmy77
Originally Posted by Halycon Styxland
Again, in what regard does the barbarian class ever refer to tribes and such ? It just doesnt. D&D Barbarians can origin from cities, or civilization as a whole, just fine.

Which I think just sums up the baffling incoherent confusion of this class. What even are you talking about? Warriors who have supernatural rage coming from animalistic shamanism can come from civilization just fine? What? How does growing up on streets give you the ability to channel the spirits of bears and elks? Shouldn't you maybe know what an elk is first? Doesn't the very word barbarian mean they are not from a city?

Why not just have an option where fighters can have rage? That is all this should be. A fighter subclass called berserkers who learn how to channel raw anger.

Barbarians can come from cities. Amazing. Next you will tell me vampires are big blood donors and elves mine for gems underground to.

Now granted anything can happen just fine in D&D so long as that is what the DM wants to do. You want all the barbarians to only come from cities? Fine. But we are talking about a character invented by Larian to represent this class. If we are going to have Barbarians mean street wise muscle then explain that in the background and make the mechanics make sense.

The barbarian could service in a "civilized" army as mercenary and pick up a lot of knowledge. Even raise to a high rank there, and then return to his homeland. There are plenty of historical cases. For instance :

Quote
One of the members of the Varangian Guard was the future king Harald Sigurdsson III of Norway, known as Harald Hardrĺde ("Hard-ruler").[49] Having fled his homeland, Harald went first to Gardariki and then on to Constantinople, where he arrived in 1035. He participated in eighteen battles and during his service fought against Arabs in Anatolia and Sicily under General George Maniakes, as well as in southern Italy and Bulgaria. An extensive account of Harald Sigurdsson's journeys is found in Harald Sigurdsson's Saga.

During his time in the Varangian Guard Harald earned the titles of manglavites and spatharokandidatos. But his service ended with his imprisonment for misappropriation of imperial plunder taken during his command. He was released upon the dethronement of the Emperor Michael V, and saga sources suggest he was the one sent to blind the Emperor when he and his uncle fled to the church of Studion Monastery and clung to the altar.

Harald then sought to leave his post, but was denied this. He eventually escaped and returned home in 1043, becoming King of Norway before eventually dying at the Battle of Stamford Bridge while invading England in 1066.

Arminius, who defeated the Roman legions in the Teutoburger forest could be another example. Alaric of the Wisigoths perhaps, Julius Civilis of the Batavii etc....

Last edited by ldo58; 05/10/23 09:47 PM.