WatWatsen wrote:I wanna stay as a human and use a greataxe for RP. Thinking stats of 18/10/16/12/8/8 unless those are really dumb and bad.
They are fine, and if you are going for Epic Rage (no reason not to) and as high Strength as possible, you could go for Barbarian 20/Warrior of Darkness 10 and reach 44 strength at level 30. That is base strength modifier of 17!
Combine it with Improved Knockdown and you tend to knockdown everything that is not immune to knockdown. But to get Improved Knockdown you kind of want to have at least 13 Intelligence, you could lower either constitution to 14 or strength to 16 to make it possible.
WatWatsen wrote:What kind of class splits are solid? I hear "20 barb/10 anything else" is good.
This is true. Though you should note that you want to get to Barbarian 20 ASAP, so the best way to go at it usually is to get as many Barbarian levels pre-epic, so that you can have Mighty Rage at level 23 or 24, with Epic Rage at level 25 as it requires 21 Strength and 25 BAB.
WatWatsen wrote:Being a divine champion of Tempus would be pretty cool
I currently made a new character just to play a Half-Orc Barbarian/Divine Champion. The reason why this build combination is one the best is because you can use the Divine Champion bonus feats to get stuff like Epic Prowess, Epic Damage Reduction, and Epic Toughness, while also letting you have that +5 to all your saves. Pre-epic, Divine Champion costs Weapon Focus and it lets you pick up Blindfight so it is all good.
However, Barbarian and Divine Champion do not come with free Heavy Armor proficiency. Therefore you kind of need to get little bit more dexterity to make most out of Light or Medium Armor. My new Half-Orc started with 17 STR, 16 DEX, 17 CON, 10 INT, 8 WIS, and 6 CHA, and should end up with base 24 STR and 22 CON. Thus with just a +2 DEX belt, I can wear Chainshirt and get working Evasion...
You could replace the Divine Champion levels with Figther levels, you will just be short of the +5 to all saves as Fighter bonus feats can be used to get the above mentioned feats. You get Heavy Armor profiency along with Towershield at level 2, if you so want.
WatWatsen wrote:I also hear I want 5 FB for enhanced power attack, and mixing in some fighter levels helps with being starved for feats, so something like 20-21 barb, 5-6 fb, 4 ftr.
It is a possibility, and were the Epic Rage strength requirement not lowered to 21, I would recommend it. However, as discussed before, Barbarians can reach rather high strength and the Enchanced Power Attack is less necessary. The sheer brunt of your strength modifier is enough to cover most of the server, and with just one feat spent on Northlander Hewing you can just cleave through 20/- DR on some mob. (Northlander Hewing cuts down the number of attacks to 2/3 rounded down, so with BAB of 26 you get 4 attacks, but it does let you have your strength modifier as additional blunt damage, and it does maximise your weapon damage roll. Note: it does not really increase critical hit damage though... So don't built for that.)
WatWatsen wrote:I've heard from experienced builders that I'd want between 6 to 12 levels of fighter, but then I wouldn't hit barb 20 which has some nice goodies.
12 levels is a must for the cookie cutter weapon master build, but a barbarian can do with less, 4-10 is fine as it lets you get stuff like proficiencies and some epic feats.
WatWatsen wrote:How well do FB and barb synergize, or is FB done just to get toughness+enhanced power attack? Rage and frenzy are separate and don't stack, right?
Frenzy doesn't stack with items because it grants the same type ability bonus, Rage stacks with items and hence also with Frenzy. However, there is a hard in game ability 'buff' cap of 12, so while a Barbarian 11/Frenzied Berserker 5 could get +12 strength, Barbarian 20/Frenzied Berserker 10 would still just get +12 strength, even though our Barbarian has Epic Rage for +10, and Frenzied Berserker gives another +10...
Frenzy does let you have Deathward effect though, and if you combine it with some regeneration items, Standard Rage for its new regenration perks, and grab a Vampiric Weapon you can pretty much use Frenzy alongside with your normal rage. Alternatively you can build for Fast Healing III to get +6 Regeneration. (23 Constitution) After all, Frenzy gives that +1 attack, and Deathward, so this is actually something to consider. But it does come with that -4 to AC though... Thus the use is situational.
WatWatsen wrote:What do you guys think about standard rage vs whirlwind rage? I'm reading a lot of conflicting info about which is better.
Are you starting from scratch with no equipment? In that case the Whirlwind Frenzy might be the better choice simply because of the extra attack and how it can get you +13 AC with Icetroll Berserker and its Dodge bonus.
However, a Standard Rage barbarian could just buy +3 Heavy Shield from the in game Consingment Store and have more less the same total AC until levels 23-25~... Whirlwind Frenzy comes with -2 AC penalty if you rage with a shield on, this basically negates the benefit you would get from wielding a heavy shield, with Whirlwind Frenzy.
But if you are going to two-hand some great weapon, Whirlwind Frenzy is good simply for the extra AC it gives.
WatWatsen wrote:As a general philosophy, do I want to build to just max damage, or do I want to build for survivability so that I'm not a glass cannon? E.g. is it dumb to take the damage resistance feats and the fast regen feats? I'm also not sure what feats I really need and want... I think I want luck of heroes, icetroll berserker, improved knockdown, and steadfast determination, not really sure what else. One school of thought seems to be that rage is your everything, and you need all the extra rage/extend rage/rage boosting feats as possible. But that won't leave a lot of room for other extras.
I would not build a Whirlwind Frenzy Barbarian without Extend Rage III, I feel that it gives rage that lasts just long enough and longer duration is always better. For Standard Rage, Extend Rage II is actually enough because it also grants longer duration by default by increasing constitution.
In Baldur's Gate palace District, there is a merchant in 'the Wide' that sells an amulet that grants Extra Rage feat. Go buy that.
As for the other feats:
- Epic Damage Resistance, my epic strength based barbarians have done find without it. It is nice to have though.
- Fast Healing, if you got the feats to spare, you can go for these things. But I would put Epic Damage Resistance as a preferene over Fast Healing, as damage resistance works against every hit. But if you combine the both, add Regeneration Cloak and Vampiric weapon... Dying? What is that?
- Luck of Heroes, you can do without, I would take Able Learner Instead. Take Able Learner as it lets you spend skill points better.
- Icetroll Berserker is a must feat to have.
- I've actually played Barbarians without Steadfast Determination, so you can make do too.
- Blindfight is a very necessary feat, some PRCs grant as a class feature or possible extra feat.
- Improved Knockdown, requires 13 Intelligence. Thus you can have it, and if you go for the max strength barbarian, it is a nice thing to have. But if not, you can actually skip it and not really notice it missing.
Oh, and you need to make a choice between Northlander Hewing and Improved Power Attack, some builds can fit in both too you know. But Northlander Hewing does tend to lean more towards the sword and board type of character, so two-handed +12 damage from IPA migth be the best choice to go for simply because of the number of attacks you get. You can still go for Northlander Hewing on a two-handed character, and I have, I just feel the IPA is better if you got the feats.
WatWatsen wrote:Finally, what skills are must-have? I think I want heal and tumble, I hear I want UMD too. Spellcraft? Survival (is it even useful for anything besides RP?) Spot? Listen?
Heal even a cross class skill is lovely. Tumble, 10 ranks for +1 AC. UMD skill of 10-13 lets you use all items. Spellcraft lets you get +1 against spells for every 5 ranks. Survival lets you see monsters on the area as brown blibs on the minimap, makes grinding less of a chore, but you kind of need to get the feat Track to get most out of it. (Cloak of the Elven Kind comes with the feat.) Spot and Listen, well, if you are not really planning to go against player sneaks, you can do well with none.
As for a good skill you didn't list, Appraise as it gives more gold and makes things cheaper in NPC stores. Other is Open Lock, as it lets you open locks for little extra experience.
I guess that is about all.
) questions. 
I also hear I want 5 FB for enhanced power attack, and mixing in some fighter levels helps with being starved for feats, so something like 20-21 barb, 5-6 fb, 4 ftr. I've heard from experienced builders that I'd want between 6 to 12 levels of fighter, but then I wouldn't hit barb 20 which has some nice goodies. How well do FB and barb synergize, or is FB done just to get toughness+enhanced power attack? Rage and frenzy are separate and don't stack, right?
