Originally Posted by
Curmudgeon
A 731
The question is pretty much moot, because you cannot "prepare" for level advancement. You go up a level immediately when your XP total is adequate (see Player's Handbook on page 58), meaning level advancement happens on the DM's schedule, not the player's. As such you would only qualify for War Hulk (step 1. Choose Class) if your DM specifically awarded the XP necessary to advance to the next level while your Goliath Barbarian was using Mountain Rage. If your DM did this, all questions about qualification at that point should be addressed to that individual DM. Normally, your level advancement would happen outside of combat and the entry to War Hulk would not be possible.