[RPG] do to help a pretty weak Halfling Barbarian

barbariangm-techniqueshalflingpathfinder-1e

So, in the Pathfinder Campaign I am running, we decided not to max out everything with "optimal builds". The players had a concept for their character in mind, which led to the group consisting of the following people (we are now at lv 3)

  • Half-Elf Cleric of Desna (Mainly focusing on healing and support spells)
  • Dwarf Necromancer (Focusing on summoning and necromancy spells)
  • Gnome Rogue/Fighter (2 levels Rogue, 1 Level Fighter atm, focussing on ranged combat with crossbows and uses the "Crossbowman" Rules for his fighter levels, which come from the expert rules 1)
  • Halfling Barbarian (focusing on two handed weapons)

The problem is: Our Halfling Barbarian rolled pretty poorly for her stats, and now has a pretty low strength of 13 or 14, with Con + Dex at the same, and all other stats at 10 I think (something around that, Con could be higher, I am not quite sure, don't have her stats in front of me)

This might not seem like such a big problem, but when I compare the damage values, the dwarven mage not only has pretty much the same chance to hit (her stats are all between 14 and 18 I think, with tendencies towards the 18), but would do pretty much the same damage if she had access to a two handed axe (which is the weapon our barbarian is using) Sure, the base attack bonus (+ bonus from Rage) might differentiate that on later levels, but atm it's quite a problem.

Long story short: Any tips/ideas on what I could do to make her feel a bit more powerful? I don't want to tell her "well, you'll have to make a new character I guess", and I don't really think that is necessary.

My ideas so far:

  • give her something like an armband of strength that basically just increases her strength, but that is not my favourite option…
  • encourage the spellcasters in the party to use buff spells (like Bears Strength or however the spell that increases strength is called, I only know the german names)

Note that neither I nor my players are experts in pathfinder, I have more experience with Shadowrun, Savage Worlds, The Dark Eye (Das Schwarze Auge), Dungeon Slayers and a bit of knowledge about DnD from playing Games like Icewind Dale, Neverwinter Nights.

Best Answer

Let them die or be a hero despite their flaws. Those who live by the [dice] die by the [dice].

By rolling characters, and choosing not to build for combat prowess, you clearly have a very specific and challenging game in mind. While I would recommend investigation into other systems that may better fit your needs; the situation you've set up here has a very traditional solution: the character attempts to do the quite difficult, as built into his/her narrative arc. The character will either succeed or fail on their own merits, making the story that much sweeter or bittersweet, as appropriate.

In the gaming tradition, characters were played as long as they lasted. Let the arc play out for this character, as his/her choices dictate. Any changes to the character would by definition be optimising, as you're now trying to accomplish a specific mechanical goal (likely combat prowess.)

To avoid optimising, tone down the monsters you throw at the party, to suit their skill and the narrative requirements. Alternatively, the player can look at Anger Management, the pathfinder handbook for barbarians, and on their next level up (assuming they survive so long) make a more informed (nay... optimised) choice as suggested by the options presented in the handbook. I choose to build to requirements because random chance has not been merciful to my prior characters (to avoid a rather more vulgar hardware related phrase.) A quick review of the document suggests that the addition of a mount can do quite a lot to compensate for the halfling's ... diminished capabilities. Provide an opportunity to quest1 for a Giant Gecko mount and a quiet retcon to the mounted fury archetype.


1 Bonus points if it alludes to the QFG2 Saurus mount