Adventures of Alandra the Barbarian, with various mods installed
SharGuidesMyHand
Member Posts: 2,586
Greetings fellow Baldurians!
As I was debating with myself as to what character class I would choose for my next BG:EE playthrough, I happened to come across this picture of a barbarian-looking female warrior and instantly fell in love with it. Problem solved!
(I just hope that LadyRhian doesn't visit this thread...)
I've also decided that I've become sufficiently curious about the NPC Project mod (and the mod is reportedly largely compatible with EE) that I've decided to give it a try for the first time ever.
In addition, I'm also very much intrigued by @CaloNord 's cleric/ranger mod NPC, Ellyrian (see thread here: http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/32979/ellyrian-the-cleric-ranger-npc ), and I've decided to give that a try as well. Calo has admitted that the mod is still in a somewhat developmental stage, but I suppose that the opportunity to add a cleric/ranger to my party was just too good to pass up.
Shortly after creating a character and beginning a new game, I came across @Pecca 's mod that installs the BG2:EE interface into BG:EE (see here: http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/31069/bg-ee-gui-mods-grey-gui-and-gui-from-bg2-ee/p1 ), so I added that mod to my game as well.
There's also a handful of other mods that I'm considering possibly installing as well, but I haven't made a final decision on those yet.
I'm also debating whether to install the Mur'Neth mod, but there are currently some EE compatibility issues with it - namely, that the game doesn't recognize Mur'Neth's unique thief kit, although the character still appeared to function properly in the cursory testing that I did. I'll wait until I approach the character's location before making a decision.
In the end, I decided to start this thread not only to chronicle my own adventures, but also to showcase some of the hard work that our fellow forum members have put into either developing and/or improving upon mods. Hope you all enjoy!
***** UPDATE *****
In the months that followed the creation of this thread, I ended up scrapping my initially intended playthrough, then re-rolling the same character and completing the game with her. See my recent posts for more details.
As I was debating with myself as to what character class I would choose for my next BG:EE playthrough, I happened to come across this picture of a barbarian-looking female warrior and instantly fell in love with it. Problem solved!
(I just hope that LadyRhian doesn't visit this thread...)
I've also decided that I've become sufficiently curious about the NPC Project mod (and the mod is reportedly largely compatible with EE) that I've decided to give it a try for the first time ever.
In addition, I'm also very much intrigued by @CaloNord 's cleric/ranger mod NPC, Ellyrian (see thread here: http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/32979/ellyrian-the-cleric-ranger-npc ), and I've decided to give that a try as well. Calo has admitted that the mod is still in a somewhat developmental stage, but I suppose that the opportunity to add a cleric/ranger to my party was just too good to pass up.
Shortly after creating a character and beginning a new game, I came across @Pecca 's mod that installs the BG2:EE interface into BG:EE (see here: http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/31069/bg-ee-gui-mods-grey-gui-and-gui-from-bg2-ee/p1 ), so I added that mod to my game as well.
There's also a handful of other mods that I'm considering possibly installing as well, but I haven't made a final decision on those yet.
I'm also debating whether to install the Mur'Neth mod, but there are currently some EE compatibility issues with it - namely, that the game doesn't recognize Mur'Neth's unique thief kit, although the character still appeared to function properly in the cursory testing that I did. I'll wait until I approach the character's location before making a decision.
In the end, I decided to start this thread not only to chronicle my own adventures, but also to showcase some of the hard work that our fellow forum members have put into either developing and/or improving upon mods. Hope you all enjoy!
***** UPDATE *****
In the months that followed the creation of this thread, I ended up scrapping my initially intended playthrough, then re-rolling the same character and completing the game with her. See my recent posts for more details.
Post edited by SharGuidesMyHand on
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I ended up scrapping my initially intended playthrough, partly because I just "wasn't feeling it," and partly because a couple of the mods that I had installed received updates that required a new game before they would take effect. After attempting another playthrough with an entirely different character class, I ended up scrapping that as well, then re-rolling my barbarian and giving her another try. This time, I followed through with my character all the way through to the end of the game, and although I hadn't initially intended to revisit this thread, I ended up taking enough screenshots for my own use that I felt that I could put together a retrospective of my adventures.
First, here's a run-down of the mods that I had ultimately decided upon using:
BG2:EE GUI in BG1:EE ( http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/31069/bg-ee-gui-mods-grey-gui-and-gui-from-bg2-ee/p1 ) - Alters the BG1 interface to replicate BG2:EE.
The NPC Project for BG:EE ( http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/32379/bg1npc-for-bgee-prerelease-update-v21-pr-20141114/p1 )
I did NOT install the main component that adds additional banters to all of the NPCs, because it felt too overbearing to me. However, here's a list of some of the smaller components that I did install:
-Romances for Ajantis, Coran, and Xan.
-Relocating Alora's starting location to Gullykin, and Tiax's to Beregost.
-Accelerated banter script (increases the frequency at which intra-party banters occur).
-Bardic reputation adjustment (basically the reverse of temple donations, it spawns bards at certain locations in the game who you can pay to malign your rep).
Neera expansion mod - Gives Neera additional banters.
Ellyrian NPC mod ( http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/32979/ellyrian-the-cleric-ranger-npc )- Adds a joinable cleric/ranger NPC named Ellyrian. It was still considered in the developmental stage at the time, but the prospect of adding a cleric/ranger NPC to my party was just too good to pass up.
I was intent on RPing this playthrough more than any prior one that I had done. As I would be playing a neutral good character, I set up some "guidelines" for myself: no stealing from houses or hotel rooms, no breaking and entering (only entering houses where the door was unlocked). Although I was willing to accept evil NPCs into my party, I would only do so if their associated quests weren't flagrantly evil or unscrupulous (which meant Edwin and Eldoth were excluded as potential party members). For the sake of RPing/immersion, I also abandoned my usual "no fog of war left behind" style: I stuck to the roads when traveling through unfamiliar areas (as per Kolssed's advice), and only traveled to new areas when I had a specific purpose for doing so. Consequently, I only ended up exploring about two-thirds of the game map, and never ventured to Durlag's Tower or any of the other TotSC areas.
Although this wasn't a strict "no reload" playthrough, I generally accepted whatever events occurred and only reloaded on a very few rare occasions - namely, the two times that my charname died (both times when fighting Silke, funny enough), a couple of times when bugs disrupted the playthrough, and two times when I felt that my dialogue choices didn't fit in with the persona that I had imagined for my character, and wanted to try the dialogue again.
Although I did encounter a few bugs and other unusual events during my playthrough (likely due to some conflicts between the different mods), for the most part, I was able to RP them into the storyline, and they often made my playthrough seem more spontaneous and interesting.
I chose her race and weapon profs based solely on her portrait, rather than what I thought would be the most efficient - so I chose longbows because she has a quiver full of arrows on her back, and halberds because she appears to be carrying some kind of large 2-handed axe, and a halbered is probably the closest weapon in BG1 that would match that.
On the surface, it may seem difficult to RP as a "barbarian" who grew up in a library fortress, but I feel that the background of a barbarian charname has the potential to fit in well in the context of the story. As a barbarian, you were apparently something of a "problem child" growing up, as if driven by some inner angst (i.e: your child of Bhaal heritage?), until a real barbarian arrived at Candlekeep and taught you how to "connect to spirits of nature," which enabled you to control and channel your inner rages into supernatural powers.
I imagine my character as being strong-willed, principled, and defiant, though perhaps to a fault. She is quick to become confrontational when bullied or threatened. She has respect for the lives and properties of innocent folk, and will intervene when she sees those being threatened by someone else. As someone who grew up as something of a "misfit" in her surroundings, she has a certain empathy for others who are also misfits or outcasts in some way. Conversely, she has a personal dislike for noblemen and elitist snobs, and can be quick to let it be known.
As I was creating the character, I rolled an 88-point total (exceptionally high for a single class fighter/barbarian class), which gave me a lot of room to distribute stats. However, I didn't want to simply min/max the most important stats: I wanted to create an efficient and versatile, but balanced character whose stats wouldn't stand out like a sore thumb in comparison with other NPCs, so I distributed her stats based on how I imagined her character and how I felt she should compare with other NPCs.
Strength 18/11 - I imagine her as being respectably strong like Kivan or Ajantis, but not to the extent of a hulking brute like Shar-Teel or Minsc, so I was aiming for a str of either 17 or at the very low end of 18. Since my current roll just happened to give me a max str of 18/11, it worked out perfectly (it also enabled me to use composite bows right off the bat).
Dexterity 17 - I imagine her as being exceptionally athletic, like other well-rounded warriors like Kivan and Shar-Teel, but perhaps just a notch less than an exceptional thief like Imoen, so I stopped a point shy of maxing this stat.
Constitution 15 - I imagine her as being respectably healthy, but at the same time, I felt that I should diminish this stat somewhat to give her better balance in comparison with some of the other NPCs. So I settled on 15 con, which is as low as a con can be while still giving some bonus.
Intelligence 13, Wisdom 12 - I imagine that she isn't an outstanding genius in the manner of most spellcasters, but she is at least respectably sensible. Her int and wisd are middle-of-the-road in comparison with other NPCs.
Charisma 13 - As a barbarian, she may not have the perky, likable demeanor of an Imoen or the suave/seductive mannerisms of a Coran or Safana that gives each of them such high char, but I imagine that her fighting spirit and presence command a certain degree of respect in the same way as Branwen. Oh, and she's fairly easy on the eyes. ;-) So I chose 13 char, the same as Branwen, which gives a slight bonus.
Alandra's odyssey began when Gorion uncharacteristically interrupted her chores in the middle of the day, handed her 170 gold coins, and imparted hurried instructions for her to equip herself for travel. She had just enough coinage to buy a halberd, a composite bow, a helmet, and a bundle of arrows from her old pal Winthrop.
Perhaps still a bit flustered and confused by Gorion's behavior, Alandra mistakenly wandered into one of the hotel rooms occupied by a particularly uptight nobleman named Quincy. When Quncy rudely demanded an explanation for Alandra's "intrusion," she provided him with one - along with a stern tongue-lashing.
Obe the Illusionist invited Alandra to a "mass combat practice" session to give her experience at fighting at the head of a party, but Alandra quickly proved herself to be a one-(wo)man army as she disposed of more illusionary monsters than practically the entire rest of the party combined.
Incidentally, I could never stand the fact that a half-elven cleric multi like Osprey uses a sword-wielding human for her portrait, so I replaced it with something slightly more appropriate IMO.
Also, Osprey has probably the most weirdly distributed stats in the game.
I also replaced Deder's usual portrait with the one that I would normally use for Khalid, because I think Deder's portrait suits Khalid's sniveling personality much better.
Shortly after finishing with Obe's training, Alandra encountered the second of two assassination attempts on her life. This fellow actually succeeded in plunging his dagger into her soft flesh, giving her her first ever battle wound, but he paid for it with his life just moments later.
Alandra also received her first introduction to the iron crisis that she had been hearing so much about, as her halberd shattered on Carbos' skull. Fortunately for her, Carbos' skull had also shattered along with it.
After being joined by her longtime companion Imoen, Alandra encountered an ominous-looking pair named Montaron and Xzar. Although wary of their (ulterior) motives, Alandra understood that she was in dire straits and required any assistance that she could obtain.
After arriving at the Friendly Arm Inn, Alandra overcame another assassination attempt from a shadowy figure who initially introduced himself as a friend, but then quickly turned hostile. A well-placed arrow by Imoen dealt the finishing blow.
Inside the Friendly Arm, Alandra and her party were joined by Gorion's friends, Khalid and Jaheria. For Khalid, I used the portrait that's normally used for Deder, as I feel that it suits his persona much better (Khalid's usual portrait just seems too heroic/fierce to suit him IMO).
Also in the Friendly Arm, Alandra encountered another rather bossy nobleman who apparently had a warped perception of the term "warrior MAIDen." Alandra was quick to alert him to the error of his ways.
After leaving the Friendly Arm, the party encountered quite possibly the worst royal messenger in all of Faerun. After declaring that he needed to make haste to Beregost, he proceeded to head in the complete opposite direction. If only there had been some kind of sign nearby to give him directions...
The party arrived safely at Beregost, but tensions appeared to be rising between its members. To prevent intra-party conflicts, Alandra decided that she would change her party's lineup as soon as the opportunity presented itself.
That opportunity came after Alandra rescued a half-elf mage named Neera from a gang of Red Wizards. Although aware of the obvious danger posed by having a wild mage in the party, Alandra simply could not bear to leave her to be hunted and persecuted by the vile Thayans.
I chose this alt portrait for Neera because I feel that the haircut gives her a "spunky" look that suits her personality much better, and she bears the scars of some of her prior magical "mishaps" that she often warns your party about.
After replacing both Xzar and Montaron with Neera, the party encountered another would-be assassin named Karlat. Despite his hardy constitution, one mighty swing from Alandra's halberd sent dwarven chunks flying throughout the Red Sheaf Inn.
I just hope that the customers had time to cover their drinks before any shrapnel landed in them!
After recruiting Garrick, the party entered a shop owned and operated by a dwarven warrior named Kagain, who asked whether Alandra would be interested in accepting a "job." Although Alandra initially expressed interest in the offer, her enthusiasm quickly turned to anger when Kagain tried to rip her off by agreeing to pay only "15 gold per head" (meaning, less than 100 gold coins total), and she told him just where he could stick his offer.
Upon entering Feldepost's Inn, the party was confronted by a burly ruffian named Marl, who hurled repeated insults and even threats at them. Alandra warned Marl to "back off" or else she would "run him through," but instead of complying, Marl countered by challenging her to "drop her armory" and fight him on even terms. Alandra, nobly but perhaps foolishly, accepted the challenge, and the two engaged in a hand-to-hand bareknuckle brawl.
Marl put up a stubborn fight, but after Alandra had unleashed her "rage" ability, she was eventually able to knock him unconscious, after which an arrow from Khalid put him to sleep permanently.
It was also in Feldepost's Inn that Alandra encountered a gnomish cleric/thief named Tiax. Although Tiax presented as an absolute lunatic and openly professed his worship of Cyric (Alandra had already been warned by other citizens of Beregost that Cyric worshipers are "not right in the head"), Alandra felt that, at heart, he was basically harmless and potentially quite useful, so she swapped Garrick out of the party in exchange for him.
Alandra's decision to accept Tiax into the party very quickly paid off. During the battle to rid Landrin's house of its spider infestation, Tiax was able summon a ghast to "tank" the spiders, absorbing their bites without being poisoned and even paralyzing the spiders with its own claw swipes.
Even so, the battle had still been a difficult one, as the venom from the spiders' gruesome fangs very nearly brought Alandra to the brink of death.
Tiax's first tenure with the party would prove to be very short-lived, however. In the Jovial Juggler, Alandra encountered an elven cleric/ranger named Ellyrian, who quite surprisingly recognized her. Ellyrian explained that she had met Gorion during a visit to Candlekeep several years earlier, and had returned to the region seeking to speak with him again. After Alandra broke the tragic news of Gorion's death to her, Ellyrian requested to join the party, and Alandra swapped out Tiax for her.
** I should point out that the portrait used here for Ellyrian is not actually the "official" one - it was used as a placeholder until the official one had been decided upon. Last time that I read, Isandir had offered to create a custom portrait for this mod.
The party departed from Beregost and eventually made its way to Nashkel, where it foiled yet another assassination attempt on Alandra's life.
(I always get a kick out of reading that "Neera did damage to Neira.")
In Nashkel, Alandra met a musclebound ranger named Minsc and agreed to join him on his personal quest to rescue a kidnapped magic user named Dynaheir from her gnoll captors. Minsc's mental state appeared to be a couple arrows shy of a bundle, but as in the case with Neera, Alandra was not one to turn her back on a proverbial damsel in distress.
Shortly after teaming up with Minsc, the party encountered a sinister-looking mage named Edwin, who requested Alandra's assistance in "killing the witch Dynaheir" for an unspecified reason. Alandra declined to take part in Edwin's murderous plans.
Also in Nashkel, Alandra joined forces with a sun soul monk named Rasaad.
Soon after departing from Nashkel, the party was ambushed by a band of outlaws led by one Senjak. As the two sides prepared to wage battle, Alandra formed a surprising alliance with Dorn Il-Khan, a brooding, vengeance-driven half-orc whom she had previously rebuked at the Friendly Arm Inn.
Although it has often been said that lightning never strikes the same place twice, it came very close to doing so in the course of this battle.
Dorn was accepted into the party (replacing Rasaad), and together they proceeded on to the Nashkal mines.
While exploring the mines, the party succeeded in rescuing a frantic miner named Beldin from the deadly arrows of "yipping demons."
Dorn quickly distinguished himself as an impressive damage dealer, often shattering enemies like glass with just a single swipe of his magical blade.
As the party prepared to descend upon the heart of the mines (and perhaps, the root of the iron crisis), Ellyrian apparently decided that this would be an appropriate time to strike up a conversation with Imoen.
Unfortunately, almost as soon as Xan had been accepted into the party, it became clear that the months of imprisonment had taken a toll on his mental state. When Mulahey expressed his anguish at the prospect of being forcibly relieved of his duties, Xan actually expressed resentment at being rebuffed by him (Stockholm Syndrome, anyone?).
Moments later, Xan began speaking to Alandra about a supposed "friendship" that existed between them.
Given their current surroundings, Alandra tried to placate Xan as quickly as possible, to enable the party to focus on matters at hand. However, Xan continued with his disjointed ramblings.
Ellyrian also interjected and tried to placate Xan as well. It was at this point that Xan professed his everlasting love for Alandra.
For Alandra, the situation had become almost intolerably uncomfortable: although she was aware that her appearance was generally considered attractive by members of the opposite sex (and by some of her own as well), she had never encountered such forwardness from a would-be suitor before. At this point, Ellyrian dropped all pretense of appeasement and told Xan bluntly that he was "tired and speaking nonsense." Xan then responded by asking for forgiveness and departing for good - taking with him all the equipment that he had just been given.
As it turned out, Mulahey's mental state was almost as fractured as Xan's (which begs the question of whose insanity had rubbed off on whom first). With the party now reduced to a fivesome, Mulahey apparently perceived an opportunity to call upon his "minions" to "come forth and kill the intruders." However, it appears that these so-called "minions" only existed in his mind, as no one materialized to come to his defense. Ellyrian then "commanded" Mulahey to sleep, and the party proceeded to use his immobilized body for target practice.
During the trek back to the surface, Imoen's kleptomaniacal tendencies triggered another conversation with Ellyrian.
Upon returning to Nashkel, the party encountered its most sinister-looking (and -sounding) adversary yet: the hooded assassin known as NIMBUL.
Unfortunately for him, Nimbul wasn't quite "nimbul" enough to dodge a command spell from Ellyrian, and the party made short work of him thereafter.
From Nashkel, the party then made its way back to Beregost to seek out Tranzig. Since the party now had the proverbial "room for one more," Tiax was invited to rejoin - although Alandra was quick to remind him of who really "ruled all" in this party.
Upon encountering Tranzig, the party was greeted with some harsh words, but after some combined might and magic was imposed on him, he folded like a lawn chair.
At Tranzig's pleading, Alandra allowed him to live - although he continued to run around the floor in a panicked state for seemingly hours afterward.
I remember your posting a while back about your appreciation for the Barbarian class (an appreciation that I share btw), and I think it's great that your run with Alandra has inspired you to tell us her tale. I like her assertive personality! Hopefully you'll continue this.
PS Ellyrian looks like an interesting NPC. Hadn't heard of her.
I do indeed enjoy playing as a barbarian, both from an efficiency and RP perspective. They're such a unique and offbeat class that they make other warrior classes seem boring or bland by comparison IMO.
I especially enjoyed this particular playthrough, and playing as a more assertive character as you noted (typically, I RP my characters as being timid or naive, so this was a welcome change of pace for me).
I'll look to continue with updates as I find the time.
At the carnival, Alandra's party just happened to stumble upon some sort of confrontation between a pair of wizards. One of them shouted at Alandra to "stay back," claiming that he was just about to utter the final word of a spell that would insta-kill the other mage. Alandra responded with her usual confrontational manner, telling the "bozo" to step aside or else he would "get hurt." Unfortunately, Alandra's tactless approach backfired as the mage wasn't intimidated, and tragic consequences followed for his hapless victim.
However, the murderous mage paid a similar price for his actions just moments later.
Whatever this feud had been about, Alandra's one consolation was that perhaps the two combatants could find some sort of resolution in the afterlife (after all, they now had quite literally an eternity to work out their differences...).
Shortly thereafter, Alandra's party was greeted by "pickpocket extraordinaire" Vitiare, who effortlessly snatched 100 gold coins right out of Alandra's coin purse! The party tried to stop Vitiare as he made his escape, but he managed to withstand a "command" spell and survive some ranged fire before disappearing into the shadows.
Also at the carnival, Alandra's party released a beautiful warrior maiden named Branwen from her petrified state. Branwen was so grateful that she swore her allegiance to Alandra's cause, and she was accepted into the party, replacing Ellyrian.
From the carnival, Alandra's party began its trek southwest toward the gnoll fortress. On the way, they explored the Nashkel mines region in search of a famously eccentric artist named Prism, who had reportedly absconded with payments that he had received from his investors, and upon whose head a hefty bounty had been placed. Upon finding Prism, however, Alandra's party agreed to an arrangement in which they would spare him from an even more zealous and ruthless bounty hunter named Greywolf. When Greywolf appeared on the scene moments later, an intense battle got underway. As Alandra and Greywolf stood toe-to-toe with each other, each took turns dealing heavy blows to the other. Eventually, the numerical superiority of Alandra's party proved to be too much for even Greywolf's surprising durability, and a well-thrown dart by Imoen finally delivered the coup de grace.
It has always bothered me when Perdue describes the kind of creatures that had stolen his sword and my character is able to successfully identify them as gnolls - after all, how would my character know what a gnoll is if she hadn't happened to encounter one already? On top of that, my character then tells Perdue that she "never liked them myself." I suppose that I could RP that my character had read about, and maybe seen illustrations of gnolls in one of Candlekeep's many books, but in this case, my character's default barbarian bio says that "books held no interest for" her.
However, in this interaction with Neera, it is revealed that Alandra had once tried to slip out of Candlekeep as a child and get a taste of the outside world (which is consistent with her default bio that describes her as a "wild spirit" who finds "the walls of Candlekeep to be intolerably stifling"). Her journey apparently came to a quick and sudden end when she encountered a gnoll shortly after leaving Candlekeep. Showing surprising strength for someone so young (alluding to her undiscovered Bhaal powers), she was apparently able to fight off the gnoll and then get escape back to Candlekeep. Still, Alandra's experiences here had not only given her familiarity with gnolls, but also an everlasting enmity toward them.
Standing at the head of the party, Dorn bore the brunt of many of Zal's darts, but his health absorbing and weapon poisoning abilities brought a decisive end to the robbery attempt.
Eventually arriving at the gnoll fortress, Alandra's party foiled another robbery attempt.
The party then proceeded to obliterate the fortress' "defenders" before finding Dynaheir and accepting her into the party (sending Dorn back to the Friendly Arm for the time being).
The party dropped off Minsc and Dynaheir at the Nashkel carnival, where they accepted Ellyrian back into the party. They then journeyed to the Friendly Arm to re-recruit Dorn. Shortly after Dorn was accepted back into the party, Tiax apparently made an attempt to "steal" his powers, and an interesting interaction ensued.
Re: your Barbarian stats ~ of course Alandra is your own imagined character, but for me Barbarian is a class calling for high Strength and Constitution. 18/11 for Strength is fine but I would definitely have imagined 16 Con at least, with perhaps a point less in Wisdom--even if I were placing value on avoiding Min/Max concessions.
I like the idea of fighting Marl bare knuckles style. The enormous XP value available in that encounter compared to the pittance awarded for the Candlekeep would-be assasins, Carbo and Shank, has always seemed ridiculous. Your treatment makes more sense of that XP windfall.
Fleshing out weirdness is always an interesting imaginative challenge. Much like, well.... the RL world. LOL
If you're looking for some great original portraits, then I'd suggest that you check out the original (now closed) alt portrait thread in the General forum: http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/5339/alternate-npc-and-pc-portraits-just-because-p/p1
If you want a place to upload your stories, you may want to consider our own Fan Creations forum.
As far as barbarians go, the way that they are described and implemented in BG appears to be different from how they are (stereo)typically imagined elsewhere. They're not just musclebound brutes, it seems - they move quickly, can't wear heavy armor, and can avoid backstab damage, which suggests a certain emphasis on dexterity in place of just pure muscle IMO. Besides, true barbarian tribesmen would have been forced to hunt for food, which suggests some common traits with rangers - i.e: tracking prey, using ranged weaponry, etc. They also have a certain "connection to spirits of nature" according to their default bios, so there is a certain spiritual aspect to being a barbarian as well. I tend to imagine BG barbarians as being somewhat similar to rangers or a kind of "warrior druid."
The way that barbarians are typically imagined outside of BG is basically how I envision berserkers in BG - just pure musclebound tanks.