Shattered Kingdoms

I read it more like he's astounded at the idiotic comment.

this

Sorry. Take 2: Alertness is a barbarian class feature!

Although it was really the other way around. We gave barbarians the alertness skill after the fact to explain why they are so good at counter-striking. Review the description for counterstrike:

[Skills help] counterstrike

Automatic

Counterstrike is a measure of how alert a barbarian always is to any sort
of physical attack. When an opponent strikes the first blow, a barbarian is
nearly always able to turn most of the damage back onto the attacker, doing a
great deal of damage in some cases.

See also: alertness, blind fighting

Counterstrike is one of the most awesome skills in the game. Ever. I have never played a barbarian, but I have always loved seeing rogues/hellions/hammer members get their [REDACTED] wrecked by trying to use a high damage opening attack on a barbarian.