# Barbarian killing machine with TWF and multiclassing?



## maraxion (Apr 26, 2014)

Hello.

First of all I want to say that I know the calculations might be wrong. So feel free to add to this!

Iv been looking into making a hardcore tankbuild, and a post from Stalker0 with "Barbarian vs Fighter vs Monk" was whery helpfull. It show that the Barb is superior as long as it has got rage, and is shown with a Greatsword thats typical for it. But I was wondering if anyone had opted for 2 weapons and maybe a multiclass with fighter?
Im no good with the calculations so I hope someone else fixes that if needed to make it 100% correct and clear 

When you multiclass is totalty up to you. For me its more when its suits the game, and thats why I start with Barbarian the first 1-2 levels until I get to a town and get change in term with the game.

The barbarian at Level 2 has now Achieved Rage, Thick Skin And Reckless Attack.
This means that he with a greatsword would have 1d12+Rage+modifier. But if you chooce to dual wield short sword and schimitar you would get 1d6+modifier+Rage and 1d6+Rage. ANd with the Reckless attack he can with 2 attacks role the D20 4 times, and thus improve the chances to hit greatly on hit attacks!
And as you can see already now fighting with 2 weapons and Rage would grant you a +2 Bonus on damage over the greatsword.

Now if you take 1 level dip in fighter you wil get some good stuff. Some would like to start as fighter level 1 and then multiclass to barb and that good too. Others would maybe take 4-5 leves in barb before taking the fighter.
On level 1 fighter you gain Fighting style and second wind. By picking Two weapon fighting style you can now add your modifier also to the off hand(+3 maybe), and also the second wind in addition to the Rage HP boost your life span enormously! 

But we are not quite finished. Now I would go back to the barb way(complaining that the fighters are sissys that use armour and what not)Then by your 4.(or 5 if you multiclass before 4.)level you Chooce the feat "Dual wielder" instead of ability points. This grants you +1AC which is handy, but more important you can now change the short sword with an warhammer or longsword to get an 1d8 instead of 1d6 on mainhand!
The reason I would take the feat is that if your lucky you might have an odd number strength and Dex like 17, and can then adjust them both to 18 so you get 1 more damage and ac. But normaly you dont have the abilities balances this nicely and maybe end up bumping strength 18-20 that "only" gives you 1 more damage on each hand. With the feat you get 2 more damage with your main hand, and also 1 more AC so its a win-win. Also beeing able to using both light and not light weapons types give you a great advantage when finding magical weapons since you are a lot more flexible within your fighting style.

So for fun we go back to basics and say you now have an strength of 17, thats +3 and are level 5:
Normal Greatsword:
 1d12+ 3 + Rage 2= Totaling on maximum 17 Damage. Minimum(except miss) would be 6. 

The dual Wielder the other hand has another setup:
Main hand:      1d8+3+2 =13 maximum damage.   Minimum(except miss) 6.
Second hand: 1d6+3+2 =11 maximum Damage.    Minimum(except miss) 6.
Thats a maximum of 24 damage, vs greatswords 17. 
And even if you run out of rage you can still score a hefty 20.
And since you can role the dice twice on a miss you wil get an whery good chance to land both hits, and almost "guaranteed" to hit with one weapon.

So short:
1. Two weapon build gives you +2 on off hand in Rage damage vs only the greatsword.
2. Multiclassing 1 level fighter gives you TWF style, that wil give you the ability modifier added(3-5 norm) as ekstra damage. It also gives you the great "second wind" and pumps your hp additional to your Rage HP.
3. Last but not least, Choocing the feat "Dual wielder" instead of ability points. This grants you +1AC which is handy, but more important you can now change the short sword with an warhammer or longsword to get an 1d8 instead of 1d6 on mainhand!
4. It wil be an hard to stop killing machine, that can take the damage still stand and hit with almost every swing!!!

Also goind the feat way gives you the posibility to not overdo the strength. Then you might for a 30 points human build use something easy as this:
STR 16
DEX 16
Con 16
INT 10
CHA 10
WIS 10
AC: 16 With Thick hide.
With the above builds you wil with no armour on level 1 start with a decent AC of 16 with "Thick hide", and when taking the above feat go to 17 at level 5. Keeping in mind its a barbian and not a fighter that is pretty good, and also it has the increadible HP from both Rage and Second wind. Also not having worry about the rust monsters are pretty nice... 

If you are a more smash destoy kind of person you COULD go for half orc at level 1 and dump the DEX a bit and have something like this with an added armour:
STR 18   18
DEX 15   14
Con 16   16
INT 8        8
CHA 8     10
WIS 8       8
AC: Dex 2 + Scale mail 14= 16
Feel free to join in and correct me! 

And P.S if you have  whery nice GM, maybe he even wil give each party member a startup feat. And if so you know what to pick...


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## Stuntman (Aug 7, 2014)

maraxion said:


> And P.S if you have whery nice GM, maybe he even wil give each party member a startup feat. And if so you know what to pick...




Humans can choose to only get +1 to any 2 ability scores plus a feat at level 1 instead of +1 to all ability scores.


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## outsider (Aug 10, 2014)

Two weapon fighting gives you a bonus action that you use for an offhand attack.

The berserker barbarian at level 3 gains a bonus action while raging that you use for an attack.

Note: you can only use one bonus action per round, no matter the source.  You are far better off using that bonus action for the berserker ability, making that extra attack with a greatsword instead of an offhand weapon.


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## Bryk (Aug 11, 2014)

*The better exploit is...*

11 Champion / 9 Totem Barb.

Take the Dual wielding feat, with Great Weapon Fighting and Two Weapon Fighting(level 10 Fighter).

You can cycle between 3 Battleaxes/Longswords ot just 2 depending on your DM ruling.


You(can(draw(or(stow(two(oneBhanded(
weapons(when(you(would(normally(be(able(to(
draw(or(stow(only(one.(

Start and end the turn with both weapons out.  First thing, stow one weapon, to swing the other with both hands. Then when you are done with your attacks, draw the other for the off hand attack.

This way you give up GWM and Frenzy, but can pick up other neat things and don't really lose that much damage. 

If your DM allows you to stow and draw the same weapon in the same turn, you can also cheese the Defensive Duelist.


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