Good afternoon, fellow players!

I'm here because I have a question about the Barbarian. I've been doing quite a bit of research on the class, and I've come across several different builds: two-handed weapons for high damage, sword and shield, unarmed (specifically Animal Instinct), and dual-wielding. However, I haven't really found much about a build that uses one weapon in one hand and keeps the other hand free.

I'm planning to play in a game with some friends, and I picked Barbarian to help round out the party with a Strength-based character. I really like the idea of keeping one hand free so I can use consumables or perform actions such as Shove, Disarm, Trip, and Grapple. Since I don't really see much discussion about this kind of build, I decided to ask people who know the system better.

My character and what I've picked

The campaign starts at level 2.(we have the gradual Ability Boost Variant Rules).

Ability Scores:

• Strength: +4
• Dexterity: +1
• Constitution: +4
• Intelligence: +0
• Wisdom: +1
• Charisma: +0

I'm playing an Anadi (Spindly Anadi) with the Energy-Scarred (Fire) background.

For my Barbarian instinct, I'm going with Ligneous Instinct. I think it's probably the Barbarian instinct that fits the Anadi vibe the best, especially since my character is going to be very connected to nature in general.

Another thing I like about it is that its damage output is basically comparable to Giant Instinct, but without the Clumsy drawback. Yes, it does reduce your Speed, but I think that's much easier to deal with than Giant Instinct's drawback, and there are ways to increase your Speed anyway, so I don't think it will be a huge problem.

At level 9, the resistances also look pretty good. The main drawback is having a fire weakness of 3 + Constitution modifier, but since I have fire resistance from my background, I should only end up taking around 1–2 points of fire damage at levels 9–10 in most cases. So, in my opinion, that's something I can deal with.

Also, since the instinct doesn't have any unique feats, it makes it easier to pick up some of the really good Barbarian feats as I level up, such as Reactive Strike.

But here's where I got stuck.

At level 2, we're using the Free Archetype rule, and I was thinking about taking either the Duelist Dedication or the Wrestler Dedication, but I don't really know how to properly build for the late game.

So I came here to ask for your opinions and advice on what direction I should take with this character.

(Also, Ligneous Instinct should be discussed more. It actually seems to be really good!).

Hey everyone, with the release of *Howl of the Wild*, we got a ton of new Animal Instinct options for the Barbarian. I'm curious about the community's take on these compared to the classic core ones (like Deer, Bear, Ape, Shark, etc.).

Do you think these new choices outclass the old guard, or are they just interesting side-grades?

I'll be honest, my eyes immediately went to the Tyrannosaurus. A d8 Jaws with Deadly d12 is insane for crit-fishing builds. That seems incredibly strong right out of the gate. But I want to see if I'm missing some hidden gems or if the utility traits make others better in practice.

Here is the full list of new options for reference:

| Animal | Attack | Damage | Traits |

| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |

| Ankylosaurus | Tail | 1d10 B | Razing, unarmed |

| Ant | Mandibles | 1d10 P | Grapple, unarmed |

| Bat | Fangs | 1d10 P | Unarmed |

| | Wings | 1d4 P | Parry, unarmed |

| Bird | Beak | 1d10 P | Unarmed |

| | Talon | 1d6 S | Agile, unarmed |

| Brontosaurus | Tail | 1d10 B | Trip, unarmed |

| Crab | Big Claw | 1d10 B | Razing, unarmed |

| | Claw | 1d4 S | Parry, unarmed |

| Crocodile | Jaws | 1d10 P | Unarmed |

| | Tail | 1d6 B | Agile, unarmed |

| Orca | Jaws | 1d8 P | Forceful, unarmed |

| Scorpion | Stinger | 1d6 P | Reach, unarmed, venomous |

| | Pincer | 1d4 S | Parry, unarmed |

| Seal | Jaws | 1d10 P | Grapple, unarmed |

| Spider | Fangs | 1d8 P | Grapple, unarmed, venomous |

| | Web | Special* | Range increment 15 feet |

| Tyrannosaurus | Jaws | 1d8 P | Deadly d12, unarmed |

| | Tail | 1d6 B | Agile, unarmed |

| Wasp | Stinger | 1d4 P | Backstabber, deadly d8, unarmed, venomous |

Looking at the rest, we have some neat trait combos:

- Crab & Ankylosaurus get Razing (great for destroying objects/structures).

- Brontosaurus gets a d10 Trip.

- Scorpion gets Reach on a d6 with Venom, which is great action economy.

- Wasp gets Backstabber + Deadly d8, which could rival the T-Rex if you have a flanking buddy.

What do you all think? Is the T-Rex the undisputed king for raw damage, or do the utility traits of others (like the auto-Grapple on Ant/Seal, the Parry on Bat/Crab, or the Reach on Scorpion) make them more valuable in actual play?

Let me know your thoughts!

Good Afternoon everyone, especially the PF2e veterans! I'm looking for some help with a character I plan to play in an upcoming campaign. I'm still fairly new to Pathfinder 2e, so I'm not really sure how to build a character properly, which is why I'm here asking for advice.

There will only be two players in the campaign: me and a friend. We decided that our characters already knew each other before the campaign started, and because of the ancestry my friend picked (Goblin), we came up with a funny idea. We decided to make a little group made entirely of green/goblinoid ancestries. So our party consists of me as an Orc, my friend as a Goblin, and an NPC that we decided is our sister, who is a Hobgoblin. I have a feeling this campaign is going to be hilarious... and probably full of problems too lol.

As for my character, I've only planned things up to level 2 (the campaign starts at level 1).

I chose:

• Background: Warrior
• Class: Fighter
• Heritage: Hold-Scarred Orc

My ability scores (using Pathbuilder 2e) are:

• Strength +4
• Dexterity +1
• Constitution +2
• Wisdom +0
• Intelligence +0
• Charisma +2

For skills, I took all the Charisma-based skills, plus Athletics, Survival, and Stealth.

Some of you might be wondering why I invested so much into Charisma. Well, my friend's Goblin is going to be an Animist (basically a shaman), so he'll cover Wisdom. Our NPC sister is going to be a Witch, so she'll handle Intelligence. That left our group without anyone investing in Charisma, so I decided to fill that role. Plus, I really like the idea of roleplaying the classic "big, dumb, but incredibly charismatic" strong guy.

For ancestry feats, I took Orc Lore and Orc Ferocity, and for my level 1 class feat I chose Reactive Shield.

I also mentioned that I had something planned for level 2. Since we're using Free Archetype, I decided to take Bastion Dedication as the starting point for my build. Beyond that, though, I honestly have no idea where to take the character.

I think that's about everything. My GM likes running long campaigns (his last D&D campaign went all the way to level 17), so I figured it would be smart to plan ahead instead of just picking things as I level up.

So... what do you all think? I'd really appreciate any impressions, build suggestions, or general advice. Thanks in advance!

Good morning everyone, I’m getting ready to play the Curse of Strahd campaign, and we’ll be using D&D 5.5. I’m excited because I’ve been interested in playing this version for a while, but I couldn’t find a group before.

So, I decided to make a human sorcerer with the Charlatan background. The only thing I did differently is that my DM allowed me to use the Divine Soul Sorcerer, and he was also kind enough to give me a spell list (replacing that 1st-level spell we normally get from our associated deity I was going to be tied to a good-aligned god anyway).

(My Spell List:

3-Bless, Healing Word, Aid, Lesser Restoration

5-Revivify, Mass Healing Word

7-Death Ward, Freedom of Movement

9-Mass Cure Wounds, Summon Celestial.)

As a Human with the Charlatan background, I get the Skilled feat, which gives me 3 additional skill/tool proficiencies. In total, I end up with 6 extra proficiencies, not counting my class ones.

The skills I chose are:

Persuasion, Deception, Intimidation, Performance, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, Perception, and Acrobatics.

For my extra feat, I decided to take Magic Initiate (Cleric) to already establish the foundation of what the character will be at level 3 (though I’m still not a fan of this change).

But I haven’t decided yet what to pick with the feat.

I’m not really sure what to expect, so I came here to ask the veterans for some guidance (I’ve never played a pre-written campaign before).

Good evening, fellow dice rollers. I’m here looking for some help with a character of mine in a Princes of the Apocalypse campaign.

My Dungeon Master listed the available books, so I started looking through the races and got the idea to make a Genie Patron warlock specifically a Dao. I was checking out races that would make sense, and I initially considered the Mountain Dwarf for two reasons: the first (less important) was weapon proficiency, and the second (more important) was medium armor proficiency.

That said, while it’s solid especially since we’re starting at level 1 (campaign goes from level 1 to 15) I kept looking at my options. That’s when I came across my beloved Githyanki, and it basically had everything I wanted: 30 ft movement, martial weapon proficiency, medium armor proficiency, and really good innate spells (I love the free Misty Step).

So I decided to go with it for the campaign. I finished the lore and picked the important stuff, but I’m not the best at building characters (also I’m not a big fan of multiclassing, and this is my first time playing a warlock). So I came here to see if I could get some help from you all.

I’ll share what I have so far and would love your opinions. Just a heads-up: the DM said we’ll roll stats in session zero, but if we don’t like them we can use point buy instead. We can also move racial bonuses around, so the version below uses point buy.

Race: Gith (Githyanki)
Background: Custom
Class: Warlock (Genie Patron The Dao)
Level: 1

Stats:
Strength: 16 (+3)
Dexterity: 14 (+2)
Constitution: 12 (+1)
Intelligence: 8 (-1)
Wisdom: 10 (+0)
Charisma: 16 (+3)

Skills: Intimidation, Persuasion, Deception, Athletics

Proficiencies:

• Tools: Disguise Kit (background)
• Weapons: Simple weapons, longswords, greatswords (Githyanki)
• Armor: Light and medium armor (Githyanki)
• Languages: Common, Undercommon, Primordial (Earth)

Background Feature: All Eyes on You (Outlander variant)

Your accent, mannerisms, figures of speech, and perhaps even your appearance mark you as a foreigner. Curious eyes turn toward you wherever you go. This can be a nuisance, but it also draws friendly interest from scholars and others fascinated by distant lands—not to mention common folk eager to hear stories about your homeland.

You can use this attention to gain access to people and places you otherwise might not—for you and your traveling companions. Nobles, scholars, and wealthy merchants, for example, may be interested in hearing about your distant homeland and your people.

Background Equipment:
A rank insignia, a trophy taken from a fallen enemy (a dagger, broken blade, or piece of a banner), a set of bone dice or a deck of cards, a set of common clothes, and a belt pouch containing 10 gp.

Cantrips & Spells:

Cantrips: Eldritch Blast, Prestidigitation, Mage Hand (Githyanki)

Spells: Hex, Armor of Agathys, Jump (Githyanki)