Defensive fighter cohort (low level) 3.5

[Turok117]

Hey everyone.

I'm taking leadership as my 6th level feat, since we are sorely lacking in tough CC ability right now (Sorceror, Ranger, Rogue, and Cleric (me)).

So, my DM said I could take a fighter type character as my cohort, but I have literally no idea where to start. DM suggested the fighter could be from the church I worshiped (Pelor), and he said I could look at the complete series for what classes I could take.

So... any advice?

[person29]

LG Dwarven fighter

get him the most expensive AC/armor type stuff you can with a tower shield of awesomness

eventually he goes dwarven defender and just stands in front of people while they cast spells at enemies


or a paladin that worships pelor would make sense too

[Diarmuid]

"Tanking" is probably one of the toughest things to do in D&D as there are so few ways to reliably get the enemies to attack you.

Not only are you likely one of the more mobility lacking characters, but you will also likely be easily identified as a "non-threat" in your heavy armor, shield and 1-handed weapon.

A decent way to be "defensive" as a melee/martial character is to go with one of the various control builds. Focusing on Tripping is probably the easiest and one of the more successfuly styles, but it gets old very fast for the DM.

The other common route is the whole AoO monster route, but I know that's very feat intensive so I dont think it would work very well at the level you're talking about.

[nedz]

But you're already playing a tank ?
RSoP would seem to be your own plan?
But you want another one, OK, several ideas to kick off the debate:

Barb 1/Fighter 1, but may not fit your idea of Pelor ?

Something like a Bardzilla ? Possibly too flashy for a cohort ?

There are plenty of Templar style PrCs around, which would fit your character theame. There are about half a dozen in CDiv (or elsewhere), any take your fancy ? You are going to need BAB of 5 or more for these, so its just something to think about at this stage.

The only way of tanking is to cause problems that have to be solved. People have mentioned Tripping. Grappling can work also, as can using a two handed reach weapon for reasonably DPS and a modicum of control.

There are a number of lockdown builds around, but you are a few levels off being able to realise some of these. Dwarven Defender is not a part of any of these.

[Thurbane]

"Tanking" is probably one of the toughest things to do in D&D as there are so few ways to reliably get the enemies to attack you.
It's very dependant on the terrain - in the typical 5 or 10 foot wide dungeon corridor, it's usually quite easy to tank.

[Telonius]

Is PHB2 available? The Knight class is all about drawing fire and defending others.

[manyslayer]

Is ToB allowed? A crusader has staying power, fits with being from the church, and, with some White Raven maneuvers, can enhance the rest of the party.

[Cartigan]

It's very dependant on the terrain - in the typical 5 or 10 foot wide dungeon corridor, it's usually quite easy to tank.

Assuming your fights only occur in 5' wide corridors instead of the 20-30' wide rooms at the ends of them. Or even 10' corridors as you can only block half of it without being enlarged.


Is PHB2 available? The Knight class is all about drawing fire and defending others.

And is terrible at it because WotC couldn't decide if they wanted a Cavalier or Knight Protector.

[Greenish]

Drow of the Underdark, if my memory serves, has a pair of feats which allow you to swap places with a party member as an immediate action, to keep them safe.

[Seerow]

A Knight wouldn't be a bad fit, given the Knight's Challenge can let him force enemies to focus on him.


Alternatively, as others have said a control build works best. A tripper with lots of reach, high dex/combat reflexes, and the standstill feat (for those that can't be tripped) that prevents enemies from moving past him.


Outside of that I'd consider asking about homebrew. T.G. Oskar put up a pretty good Paladin just recently that would be capable of tanking, which alone puts it head and shoulders above most current melee.

[Gavinfoxx]

You're playing a CLERIC. That's one of the most badass melee characters in the game! Just use your spells to be more awesome at fighting...

How exactly are you engaging enemies and stuff? Maybe we could give some advice for what YOU are doing?

Alternately, I would suggest a Crusader, if you're taking Leadership. Don't get a Knight or Fighter...

[nedz]

Drow of the Underdark, if my memory serves, has a pair of feats which allow you to swap places with a party member as an immediate action, to keep them safe.

Thats quite a neat way of tanking. You could just dip 1 level of Sorc for Benign Transposition. Thats not an immediate action though, so you'd want some feat that can trigger AoOs when you get attacked.

[Akal Saris]

It depends on how complex a character you want him to be. A knight, fighter or barbarian is easy to build and can soak up damage just fine. As others have said, getting trip or using a reach weapon and relying on attacks of opportunity are the standard ways to "tank."

A crusader or warblade (Tome of Battle) would be a "better" tank, but are more difficult to build since you need to learn those rules.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Make him a Dragonfire Adept from Dragon Magic, and give him the feat Entangling Exhalation in Races of the Dragon. Have him wear full plate and use a tower shield, the nonproficiency penalties won't even matter since he'll never have to make an attack roll. His invocations should be all-day buffs that he can cast before he puts his armor on. He can keep every opponent entangled the entire fight, so they'll be less likely to maneuver into a position to attack other characters and they'll suffer penalties to their attacks and AC. Plus he'll be the source of their grief so they would be much more likely to focus attacks on him.