25th July I completed Honour mode with Gale and immediately started again as Karlach the Barbarian. She will lead an all-barbarian squad hopefully to the end of the game once again.
The party
Karlach Barbarian Berserker 5
Auto-prone frenzied throw is just amazing, but apparently Giant Barb is the better thrower, may need to re-think the party build later. Have managed to avoid long-resting so far but may do it to gte back rages for the Forge and rest of Underdark; then I long-rest again before/on-way to creche and finish Act 1 with 3 long rests. Then do all of Act 2 with no long rests!
Lae'zel Barbarian Giant 5
I know I always make Lae kickass but then I realised its a facial recognition thing. I see Lae's portait scowling at me and I know she's tough, strong class, while Shadowheart I usually cast in a more supportive role, Astarion sneaky/knifey etc. Helps to just keep them in their lane. It's going OK but migth need to re-jig equipment and roles and stats and everything again later. Also, might need GWM. Much to think about!
Shadowheart Barbarian Wild Magic 5
Seems OK? She is mainly just shooting her crossbow at the moment but have used Wild Magic Rage twice and both times got explosive flumphs which are kind of cool. Apparently all the random effects are beneficial so will have to see.
Astarion Barbarian Wildheart 5
I keep changing the 'Heart' every level since 3 - seems fine so far? Considering a dual-wield build later. Will have to re-spec later maybe.
Draft build plan may not be exact:
Timeline
25th July 2026 - I started and cleared the Nautaloid, then Withers' Temple after getting all 4 people, then the Grove setup, then the Blighted Village, then Ethel meeetup, then Goblin Fort, then various quests inching everything forward so I could get to level 5.
Assessment
It's going OK! Fun and strong, nice to see the two Wild barbarian subclasses haven't tried them yet. Should be fine to crush Act 1 and 2, the plan was to immediately bee-line to Gortash's coronation and crash that but idk. Might need a ton of barrels and bullsh*t to do it that way.
