His form filled the archway more completely than the ancient wooden door ever did. That lay splintered on the floor, not the first to fall victim to his mighty greataxe. He roared, a rough bovine bellow that shook the floor and the Ghurak Orcs watched in awe. Even they, accustomed as they were to brutal expressions of might, were cowed.
Corum’s eyes narrow, singling out the largest Orc. He hefted his axe onto a shoulder and pointed with one scarred hand. “YOU!” he roared, “I challenge YOU!”
The other Orcs fell back and the powerful Barbarian prepared to add one more victim to his tally of souls.
Dirty Little Secret: Corum is a prince of a fallen Empire, the last of a line that began when a noble familty broke away from the Teifling Empire just prior to their pacts with Demons. As such, he’s a prime target for the Demon Lords – the last remnant of a people who escaped their clutches. Thankfully there may still be weapons and artifacts to be found in ancient crypts of his ancestors that await the return of the bloodline. It’s just a matter of finding them.
He’s got a sword. I know. Old render. Feeling lazy.
Note: Anyone who thinks 4e D&D can’t do Barbarians needs slapping, hard. Here’s your Greataxe-wielding hairy chested STR 18 behemoth in all his glory complete with Power Attack and ties to the natural world. Remember that the new Nature skill also covers the 3e Survival in a rural environment so this guy can live off the land huntin’, fishin’ and strangling giant cobras with his bare hands. just like all of the other Conan clones out there. I’m happy with the loss of the Rage class feature – where’s the fun in playing a character who gets angry then gets tired? Conan never said, “By Crom, I gotta nap now.”.
This is far from the only way to create a Barbarian in 4e. Corum is a pure STR Fighter, but if you prefer your Barbarians more wily switch the Power Attack for Skill Training (Stealth), or even Multi-class as a Rogue in you want a deadly Barbarian assassin from the shadows. If you want a Barbarian who talks to his Spirit Ancestors take Ritual Casting and boost with Wisdom. Want a tracker/hunter? Multi-class Ranger. Gotta love 4e for providing so many darned options, even at 1st level!
So here’s your 4e Barbarian to a tee, in all his muscular olive-oil coated glory. Enjoy.
Corum Good (Chaotic) Male Human Fighter-1
Str 18, Con 14, Dex 13, Int 11, Wis 12, Cha 10
HP 29, bloodied 14, surges 7 x 11/day
AC 14 (hide), Fort 17, Ref 12, Will 12, Squares 6, Power Attack, Skill Training (Nature)
Greataxe: +7 vs AC, 1d12+4, High crit
Shortbow: +4 vs AC, 1d8+1, range 15/20 2 lb, Load free, small
Cleave/at-will +7 vs AC, Reaping Strike/at-will +7 vs AC, Tide of Iron/at-will +7 vs AC
Passing Attack/enc +7 vs AC
Brute Strike/day +7 vs AC; reliable
Combat Challenge, Combat Superiority, Two-Handed Style
Athletics +8, Endurance +6, Heal +6, Intimidate +5, Nature +6
