This GURPS Dungeon Fantasy supplement expands the Barbarian archetype
with new options and powers.
So yeah, it's a splatbook. It combines material from other
Dungeon Fantasy volumes, and Pyramid, into a single book, and adds
some new material too.
It starts with templates: the standard Barbarian, the Rage Barbarian
who's focused on berserk-like actions but with a number of options for
ways to channel that (spellcasting, animal transformation, etc.), the
Savage Warrior who's more of a war-leader, and the Survivor who's
entirely focused on the wilderness, acting as a scout. Lenses such as
Berserker, Refined Savage, Sea Raider, Shirtless Savage and Short
Barbarian allow further customisation, with side notes explaining how
to achieve particular styles of barbarian (like an armoured fighter, a
flail specialist, or an unarmed combat type). Next comes
Cross-Training, which lets barbarians take on some abilities from
other classes (barbarian-bard, barbarian-druid, etc.)
Power-Ups make up chapter two, with things to add on to an existing
character: perks like Mountain of Meat and Battle Cry, and new
abilities such as Bear Hug and Bone Breaker. Rage Power is a new power
modifier with special abilities, both spellcasting and shouts of
power. As a GURPS author I find the technical aspects of these power
builds fascinating.
The final chapter is Gear: new things for barbarians to drink, paint
on themselves, and fight with.
I've said before that I think the basic dungeon bash is better catered
for now by computer games than by actual live RPGs. I still feel that
way, but if I wanted a dungeon-bashing RPG then GURPS Dungeon Fantasy
is definitely the approach I'd take. Since I'm not, though, what I'll
get out of this is some interesting power builds, and lists of skills
to use as suggestions if I run a less-over-the-top fantasy campaign.
I probably wouldn't have bought this if I weren't a GURPS completist,
but there's still interesting stuff here for the non-Dungeon-Fantasy
player. Dungeon Fantasy Denizens 1: Barbarians is available from
Warehouse 23.
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