I have to play "someone tanky" for HotDQ

[randomodo]

Howdy, we're starting Horde of the Dragon Queen this weekend. So far the party consists of a bard (no stated specialization just yet), rogue (who intends to go assassin), and an unspecified type of cleric. I've been requested to "play something tanky."

So I've considered:
- Dwarf noble barbarian
- Druid (moon)
- Battlemaster fighter
- Eldritch knight (highly unlikely I'll pick it, since the disadvantages seem to outweigh the advantages)
- Two-weapon melee ranger (probably too squishy?)
- Blade pact warlock (but they don't seem to come into their own before level 12, which is too long to wait)
- Paladin (I hear the goody-goody oath is problematic if you have to infiltrate the cult)

Of those, I'm most leaning toward:
- High Elf dex-based battlemaster
- Halfling moon druid (just because)
- Dwarf barbarian

Thoughts?

[JamesT]

From a RP perspective, the high elf battlemaster intrigues me the most, if only because it seems unusual and I always like unorthodox ideas.

I'd like to see more about that.

[randomodo]

I'm thinking dex-based, longsword (or some weapon for which I can use dex as my attack) and shield. Defensive fighter (so I can hang out near the assassin and provide defense/force disadvantage for those who attack her).

Battlemaster will let me pick the maneuver to give the assassin advantage at the same time I'm using my class feature to impose disadvantage for attacks against her. Other maneuvers would probably be parry (to keep myself alive) and I'm not sure of the third maneuver I'd pick just yet.

I never played 4e, but I'm told this is similar to what a "taclord" would have been.

[Giant2005]

Of those only really the Barbarian and the Eldritch Knight are Tanky. The EK is Tankier but their tenkiness only starts to shine around level 7 and beyond so unless you are expecting to be level 7 sooner rather than later, you are probably better off with the Barbarian.
Or if Multiclassing is an option, you could just take 1 level of Barb after your first Fighter level and get the best of both worlds.

[Ramshack]

The high HP and Resistance while raging is pretty amazing,

My friend went Human Figher 1 Barbarian and for HoTDQ and with a shield and the dueling fighting style he has something like 18-19 ac and does 1d8 +8 while frenzied (18 str) and took the great weapon master so he gets a bonus attack on a crit or when he kills someone.

Been absolute beast so far.

[DrLemniscate]

For a pure meat shield, you probably can't beat Barbarian (specifically Dwarf or Stout Halfling). They can reach 24 AC, with resistance to all non-Psychic damage.

For something a bit more tanky, I would recommend something with the Dueling Fighting Style. As a Fighter, Dueling eventually outpaces Two-Weapon Fighting in damage from enough extra attacks. If you want to go Two-Weapon Fighting Style, Dual Wielder is a must; it increases your damage, as well as making you more "tanky".

Paladins aren't too limited by their Oath if you go with the Oath of Vengeance. They are all about the "Greater Evil", and are usually Lawful Neutral or Neutral. Sometimes Lesser Evils need to be committed to defeat the BBEG.

If you go with a DEX-based Fighter, you could always dip a level in Barbarian for the Unarmored Defense (10 + DEX Mod + CON mod, can use a shield).

Moon Druids can definitely be scary at lower levels. At level 2, you can turn in to a Brown Bear. AC of only ~11, but HP of ~30, and scary damage output.


If you want to surprise them, you could always play a Mountain Dwarf Wizard, specializing in the School of Abjuration. That gives you proficiency with Medium Armor, and lets you focus on protection spells. One of the troubles with trying to build a tank is getting the bad guys to attack you, not your squishies. This way, you can shield everyone else.

[Pandiano]

Cleric 1 (War or Temptest) for Heavy Armor proficency
Human Feat - Heavy Armor Master for Absorb 3
Warlock X (Pact of Blade)
Spell Armor of Agathys for temporary hp and retributive damage.
(Possibly more due to the absorb of the feat -》temp hp are depleted slower)

After that there is an invocation which grants you false life at will for additional temp hp.

They are hurt when they hit you and you can hit back pretty hard.
Also heavy armor+shield (ac 18-20) and the feat +temp hp means you are a survival beast.

Domain War for more offense.
Domain Temptest for more retributive damage.

[Rilak]

Spell Armor of Agathys for temporary hp and retributive damage.
(Possibly more due to the absorb of the feat -》temp hp are depleted slower)

After that there is an invocation which grants you false life at will for additional temp hp.

Note that False Life and Armor of Agathys do not stack (casting False Life cancels Armor of Agathys). You do not strictly need the AC with Armor of Agathys (you do want to get hit in melee only or it is partially a wasted action+spell slot).

EK7 (or 8) also goes well as a Warlock tank. You can cast Blade Ward+single attack, or Eldritch Blast+single attack.

Suggestion for weapons is arcane focus(quarterstaff)+shield, so you can cast spells and attack. If you are allowed feats you can play with Polearm Master and Sentinel too (for the Reactions).

[Yenek]

Please keep in mind that HotDQ is a low-level adventure, no build that requires lvl 10+ is useful.

[Shadow]

Part 2 takes you to level 16 or so.
edit: will take you to

[MustacheFart]

I also second the barbarian for being a tank.

I am playing one in a party alongside a paladin, a druid, and a fighter (among other non-tanky classes). I have the most HP and AC. The druid has been dropped before. The paladin has been dropped repeatedly. The fighter had to leave early.

[TomPliss]

I have a barb/druid in my party (at level3) that is extremely tanky.

First level barbarian is really tanky, thanks to the highest HP you can have and rage's damage resistance.
Then you get 2 levels of druid (moon specialization). That gives you wild shapes that get increasingly more HP and damage as you level up, especially so in the first 2 levels.

Moreover, you get to transform into a big bear/dire wolf/boar when you want, and can rage while transformed.

Note that wildshape is an ability, not a spell, so you can rage -> wildshape (or the other way) if you want.
Also, you get to use the beast's str/dex/con, so you can build a nice character with balanced stats (her barb/druid has 14 in 4 stats), as long as you have 13 in Str and Wis :)

[randomodo]

I've narrowed it down to either a dwarf barbarian (multi to druid) or the elf. To be honest, I don't have any kind of backstory for the dwarf, but here's the elf

standard point-buy, high dex and con, slightly above average int
background noble (arrogant, but with a sense of noblesse oblige)
high elf cantrip: Prestigitation (because noble; "Surely you don't expect me to clean the mud off my own boots? It's bad enough that I have to cast the spell myself to do so."). Yes, Blade Ward would be much more useful mechanically. If I go Eldritch Knight, I'll pick that up, but I can't pass up on the RP possibilities of Prestigitation.

I'm torn between going rapier and shield for protection ability (gives me greater survivability and allows me to help keep the assassin alive), or duelist (for higher damage output and ability to cast spells in combat should I become an EK).

Specialization, torn between battlemaster and EK. Mechanically, battlemaster seems superior (and it's very in-character for a noble accustomed to command). But I'd be lying if I said that the fluff of the EK isn't appealing (even though I don't think it's as mechanically sound of a choice).

[Malifice]

Moon Druid 2/ Barbarian 1.

Bear form. Bear Totem. Fluff compatable. Youll be spending most of your time in animal form anyways so losing spellcasting while raging isnt an issue.

34 hit points. Twice per short test (68+your actual HP). Half damage while raging. Thats the equivalent of around 160 hp (per short rest). At 3rd level.

2 attacks per round at +5 doing 2d6+6 and 1d8+6. Large size. 40' move.

Nothing tanks better.

Nothing.

[Giant2005]

Moon Druid 2/ Barbarian 1.

Bear form. Bear Totem. Fluff compatable. Youll be spending most of your time in animal form anyways so losing spellcasting while raging isnt an issue.

34 hit points. Twice per short test (68+your actual HP). Half damage while raging. Thats the equivalent of around 160 hp (per short rest). At 3rd level.

2 attacks per round at +5 doing 2d6+6 and 1d8+6. Large size. 40' move.

Nothing tanks better.

Nothing.

A level 3 Driod of the Desert with a decent Dex and a Shield would. With a decent AC and enemies having disadvantage against you due to Blur, you aren't getting hit. Not getting hit at all is better than being able to handle many hits before succumbing.

[Malifice]

A level 3 Driod of the Desert with a decent Dex and a Shield would. With a decent AC and enemies having disadvantage against you due to Blur, you aren't getting hit. Not getting hit at all is better than being able to handle many hits before succumbing.

Attacks with disadvantage = Resistance to damage. Both negate about 50% of damage overall.

A Moon Druid can Wildshape 2/ short rest. Thats an extra 68HP per short rest over and above his base HP... at 2nd level.

I'd happily back a Moon Druid 2 against a Desert Druid 3 (or barbarian 3... or even a Barbarian 4)

[Giant2005]

Attacks with disadvantage = Resistance to damage. Both negate about 50% of damage overall.

A Moon Druid can Wildshape 2/ short rest. Thats an extra 68HP per short rest over and above his base HP... at 2nd level.

I'd happily back a Moon Druid 2 against a Desert Druid 3 (or barbarian 3... or even a Barbarian 4)

Attacking with Disadvantage only reduces damage by 50% if you need a 10 to hit. If you need higher than a 10, the damage mitigation increases exponentially which is why it couples so well with a decent AC. With an exceptional AC and enemies attacking with Disadvantage, you only have a 0.25% chance of being hit. For all intents and purposes, you are indestructible.

[Malifice]

Attacking with Disadvantage only reduces damage by 50% if you need a 10 to hit. If you need higher than a 10, the damage mitigation increases exponentially which is why it couples so well with a decent AC. With an exceptional AC and enemies attacking with Disadvantage, you only have a 0.25% chance of being hit. For all intents and purposes, you are indestructible.

With an AC of 20 sure.

Blur lasts 1 minute.

Wilshape lasts an hour. Twice per short rest.

Again, I'll happily put a Moon Druid (Brown bear) against a Desert Druid 3, even with blur already cast.

[Giant2005]

With an AC of 20 sure.

Blur lasts 1 minute.

Wilshape lasts an hour. Twice per short rest.

Again, I'll happily put a Moon Druid (Brown bear) against a Desert Druid 3, even with blur already cast.

I have no doubt that the Bear would win in that confrontation - its superior offensive power easily overwhelms the difference in defense and it could even ignore the disadvantage if it needed to via use of Faerie Fire.
But if both were each being attacked by a pack of 10 angry Commoners and neither were fighting back, the bear dies first.

[Malifice]

But if both were each being attacked by a pack of 10 angry Commoners and neither were fighting back, the bear dies first.

Assuming the commoners are armed with clubs, they inflict 3.5 damage a hit and hit the bear 5 times per round (AC 11 +0 to hit). 17.5 damage per round on average (no critical hits). 4 rounds to smash through the Bears (2x34) HP and get to the Druid underneath.

Bearing (lol) in mind the Bear can convert its 3 spells into cure spells as bonus actions (healing an average of 22.5 HP assuming a Wisdom of 16) and has an extra (8+5+4) 17 HP underneath in Druid form it takes the commoners untill the 7th round to bring the bear down.

Add a level of Barbarian, and rage and its taking them 14 rounds to drop the Bear. Not that they would survive that long, as the Bear is likely dropping 2 a round with its 2 attacks per round at +5 to hit doing 13 and 10.5 average damage per hit.

I'm fairly confident the Moon Druid 3 isnt surviving 70 attacks from commoners, even with Blur up, a Shield and Hide armor. He is certainly in some trouble after the 1 minute duration of Blur expires on Round 10.

He certainly isnt surviving 140 attacks.

Im playing in a party with a Mood Druid now, and by God its a fearsome Tank. Has already invalidated my Fighter and will continue to do so until I hit 5th level and catch up.

[Giant2005]

I'm fairly confident the Moon Druid 3 isnt surviving 70 attacks from commoners, even with Blur up, a Shield and Hide armor. He is certainly in some trouble after the 1 minute duration of Blur expires on Round 10.

He certainly isnt surviving 140 attacks.

Actually if they have +0 to hit and inflict an average of 3.5 damage, they have a 1% chance of hitting him for an average of 0.035 damage per attack. If the Druid has the standard 18 HP for being level 3 without a Con bonus, it would take an average of 515 attacks to bring him to 0 HP.
Of course as you said, Blur isn't going to hold out long enough for that to happen - he could only cast it twice for 20 total rounds and with 10 Commoners, that is only 200 attacks before Blur expires.

[Malifice]

Actually if they have +0 to hit and inflict an average of 3.5 damage, they have a 1% chance of hitting him for an average of 0.035 damage per attack. If the Druid has the standard 18 HP for being level 3 without a Con bonus, it would take an average of 515 attacks to bring him to 0 HP.

Where are you getting 1 percent from?

[Demonic Spoon]

The OP was asking about various somewhat-tanky things he could play. He wasn't asking for the single most optimized-for-tank thing that exists in 5e.

[Giant2005]

Where are you getting 1 percent from?

AC of 19 (12 Armor +5 Dex +2 Shield) with +0 to hit that requires a natural roll of 19 or 20 to hit which is a base 10% chance and with disadvantage they need to meet that 10% chance on two consecutive rolls which reduces that 10% chance to 1%.

[Demonic Spoon]

AC of 19 (12 Armor +5 Dex +2 Shield) with +0 to hit that requires a natural roll of 19 or 20 to hit which is a base 10% chance and with disadvantage they need to meet that 10% chance on two consecutive rolls which reduces that 10% chance to 1%.

...How are you planning on starting with 20 dex?

[Malifice]

AC of 19 (12 Armor +5 Dex +2 Shield) with +0 to hit that requires a natural roll of 19 or 20 to hit which is a base 10% chance and with disadvantage they need to meet that 10% chance on two consecutive rolls which reduces that 10% chance to 1%.

A Dex of 20 at 3rd level? Point buy please.

Not that it matters because his Max Dex in Medium armor is +2 anyways.

So AC 16 (including sheild).

Not sure on the odds, but its a lot better than 1 percent.

Also, half the commoners could 'aid another' negating the disadvanatage. Meaning 1.25 hitS per round (25 percent chance of hitting AC 16 with a BAB OF +0). Around 5 damage a round.

He'd be dead within 4 rounds.

[Demonic Spoon]

You can get 12 AC from light armor (Studded leather), but druids can't wear it as they can't wear metal.

[Malifice]

The OP was asking about various somewhat-tanky things he could play. He wasn't asking for the single most optimized-for-tank thing that exists in 5e.

Moon Druid was one of his options yeah?

Im just commenting having seen one in play recently.

A better Tank one cannot find.

[Giant2005]

A Dex of 20 at 3rd level? Point buy please.

Not that it matters because his Max Dex in Medium armor is +2 anyways.

So AC 16 (including sheild).

Not sure on the odds, but its a lot better than 1 percent.

Also, half the commoners could 'aid another' negating the disadvanatage. Meaning 1.25 hitS per round (25 percent chance of hitting AC 16 with a BAB OF +0). Around 5 damage a round.

He'd be dead within 4 rounds.

Light armor max is 17 and I don't do point buy - it is an optional rule that my DM doesn't option, although rolling a perfect 18 isn't highly likely in itself and yes, the enemies having Advantage obviously hurts the high theta they are less likely to hit more than the guy that they could reliably hit anyway.

[Malifice]

Light armor max is 17 and I don't do point buy - it is an optional rule that my DM doesn't option, although rolling a perfect 18 isn't highly likely in itself and yes, the enemies having Advantage obviously hurts the high theta they are less likely to hit more than the guy that they could reliably hit anyway.

Easy to gain advanatage every round if you have friends helping you out.

Also he wants to play this thing in HoTDQ which features a lot of enemies that gain advantage simply by having a mate standing next to them (and they have lots of mates).

I've played the adventure next to a Moon Druid and I can personally vouch for their tankiness.

Im a S16 Fighter at +5 to hit, 2d6+3, Chainmail and defence (AC17) and 18HP.

The Moon Druid would eat me and my two twin brothers for breakfast.

[Giant2005]

Easy to gain advanatage every round if you have friends helping you out.

Also he wants to play this thing in HoTDQ which features a lot of enemies that gain advantage simply by having a mate standing next to them (and they have lots of mates).

I've played the adventure next to a Moon Druid and I can personally vouch for their tankiness.

Im a S16 Fighter at +5 to hit, 2d6+3, Chainmail and defence (AC17) and 18HP.

The Moon Druid would eat me and my two twin brothers for breakfast.

The Moon Druid would also be noticeably more powerful against single, powerful targets that could hit the Land Druid with a bit more reliability. Druids aren't really optimized for making use of defensive advantage due to their armor restrictions preventing their AC from really getting as high as it needs to be although they are the only class that is able to get both Blur and a Shield as low as level 3.

[Malifice]

they are the only class that is able to get both Blur and a Shield as low as level 3.

I dont think thats as broken a combo as you think it is.

[Demonic Spoon]

Also, "tanking" implies some mechanism to stop your target from ignoring you and punching someone squishier. Usually this comes in the form of hitting them really, really hard if they try to go by you. There's not a lot that a land druid gets towards that end.

I will say that moon druids have this problem too past level 5 or so. They dominate in levels 2-4 with their (IMO massively broken) CR1 bear forms but past that you're better off with a fighter.

[Malifice]

Also, "tanking" implies some mechanism to stop your target from ignoring you and punching someone squishier. Usually this comes in the form of hitting them really, really hard if they try to go by you. There's not a lot that a land druid gets towards that end.

I will say that moon druids have this problem too past level 5 or so. They dominate in levels 2-4 with their (IMO massively broken) CR1 bear forms but past that you're better off with a fighter.

For mine Fighter only catches up at 5th level. Maybe edges slightly in front.

Then it all goes pearshaped at 10th when Elementals enter the fray.

And dont get me started on capstones.

[Giant2005]

I dont think thats as broken a combo as you think it is.

No but high AC + attackers having disadvantage is. Blur and Shield bonuses are just means to an end (and regarding the Shield, much more than it alone would be required).

[Malifice]

No but high AC + attackers having disadvantage is. Blur and Shield bonuses are just means to an end (and regarding the Shield, much more than it alone would be required).

Ive always been persuaded that unhittable AC isnt good for a Tank, You just encourage the GM to attack other PC's who can be hit.

Good attacks and the ability to soak damage (and control the battlefield via reach etc) are far better methods.

[Demonic Spoon]

Ive always been persuaded that unhittable AC isnt good for a Tank, You just encourage the GM to attack other PC's who can be hit.

Good attacks and the ability to soak damage (and control the battlefield via reach etc) are far better methods.


Good HP and good AC are functionally the same from an "eating damage" perspective.

[Malifice]

Good HP and good AC are functionally the same from an "eating damage" perspective.

Agree mathmatically.

Practicaly speaking though I find high AC targets tend to get ignored more than high HP ones.

Thats just anecdotally though.

[Giant2005]

Agree mathmatically.

Practicaly speaking though I find high AC targets tend to get ignored more than high HP ones.

Thats just anecdotally though.

Makes sense to me. It feels a whole lot more productive hitting something for relatively little damage than hitting nothing at all.

[TomPliss]

Good HP and good AC are functionally the same from an "eating damage" perspective.Except they're not, when a player is behind the character.
Being at half you HP when you have 19 AC because you took a hit means you're likely to hide behind your friends.
Being at half your HP because you took 5 hits in the last 4 turns means you can stay for 2 other turns without problems.


Anyway, as far as fluff is concerned, the (female) Dwarf barb/druid at my table turns into a bear simply by growing. I mean, she already has enough fur, anyway :D
And dwarves being usually close to mountains (or forest-y hills), you can easily have them being close to mountain bears or forest wolves.
The first level being Barbarian could be about letting their natural(/primal) state taking over, and the druids levels meaning getting in control his this state.

[MustacheFart]

Except they're not, when a player is behind the character.
Being at half you HP when you have 19 AC because you took a hit means you're likely to hide behind your friends.
Being at half your HP because you took 5 hits in the last 4 turns means you can stay for 2 other turns without problems.


Anyway, as far as fluff is concerned, the (female) Dwarf barb/druid at my table turns into a bear simply by growing. I mean, she already has enough fur, anyway :D
And dwarves being usually close to mountains (or forest-y hills), you can easily have them being close to mountain bears or forest wolves.
The first level being Barbarian could be about letting their natural(/primal) state taking over, and the druids levels meaning getting in control his this state.

I agree. Since damage dealing seems to be a concern for keeping enemies on "the tank", barbarian would help out a lot with this. I guess it depends on stats for me though. Good enough stats and I see no reason to go fighter.

[Demonic Spoon]

Except they're not, when a player is behind the character.
Being at half you HP when you have 19 AC because you took a hit means you're likely to hide behind your friends.
Being at half your HP because you took 5 hits in the last 4 turns means you can stay for 2 other turns without problems.


That's only true if the player doesn't understand the probability of him being hit again.

[DrLemniscate]

That's only true if the player doesn't understand the probability of him being hit again.

As someone with a Masters in Statistics, the higher HP is better in this case.

[Demonic Spoon]

As someone with a Masters in Statistics, the higher HP is better in this case.

Is this not determined by exactly how much HP we're talking about vs how much AC we're talking about?

[Rilak]

With bounded accuracy, the difference in AC cannot be terribly high.

Let's take it to the extreme though. One guy with 100 HP taking 1 in 2 hits, and one guy with 50 HP taking 1 in 4 hits. Each hit is for 25 damage. The enemy hits two times per turn and your healer heals 50 damage each turn.

Both builds have the same effective max HP (200 HP worth of swings). But the first guy can never die. The second guy dies once every 16 turns.

More AC, better saves, etc will help you avoid taking so much damage. This is good for your healing resources. But a higher maximum HP allows you to survive heavy hits more easily. Since your DM will not allow you to save and load your game all the time, you are often better off going for a high HP and resting more often if your team has trouble healing you.

If you take the middle road with a high HP, but maybe not the maximum. And just enough AC to not be a burden on the Cleric. Also, consider that this was for builds with the same effective maximum health. You are sometimes able to get a higher effective maximum health by dropping HP a little for more AC.

[DrLemniscate]

Is this not determined by exactly how much HP we're talking about vs how much AC we're talking about?

Yes, but if Mr. AC took half his HP in one hit, he needs more HP.

And believe me, I am a guy who loves stacking armor, block, dodge, parry, deflect, and whatever else as much as I can in every game I play. Usually base HP will be enough for most people.

[Chen]

That's only true if the player doesn't understand the probability of him being hit again.

Well except like in most games with a dodge chance (here the to hit roll), overall mitigation will generally be preferable because of random bad luck which can occur.

Imagine a character that can take only 1 hit but dodges 95% of the hits. Then imagine someone who can never dodge at all but can survive 20 hits. The second character KNOWS when they need to flee. The first character might be able to run some crazy streaks and survive much longer. Or they can die on the first shot if they are unlucky. Luck of the dice is already a fairly big part of the game, so why not do what you can to reduce that?

[Giant2005]

High AC is better than High HP mathematically. Although if you have so few HP that you die in a single attack, that is no longer true.
Assuming you aren't malnourished enough to be that vulnerable, having high AC doesn't just make you more resilient, it also multiplies the effectiveness of healing and renders you less prone to attrition.
Getting healed for 10 points is more effective on the guy that takes an average of 1 damage per round than the guy that takes an average of 10 points of damage per round and if you don't have heals at all, that guy that is taking 10 points per round is absolutely doomed where-as the AC guy could survive with luck.

[Malifice]

High AC is better than High HP mathematically. Although if you have so few HP that you die in a single attack, that is no longer true.
Assuming you aren't malnourished enough to be that vulnerable, having high AC doesn't just make you more resilient, it also multiplies the effectiveness of healing and renders you less prone to attrition.
Getting healed for 10 points is more effective on the guy that takes an average of 1 damage per round than the guy that takes an average of 10 points of damage per round and if you don't have heals at all, that guy that is taking 10 points per round is absolutely doomed where-as the AC guy could survive with luck.

The Bear doesnt need to heal. (although he can as a bonus action).

He gets 68 free hp. Per short rest.

[The New Bruceski]

Also, "tanking" implies some mechanism to stop your target from ignoring you and punching someone squishier. Usually this comes in the form of hitting them really, really hard if they try to go by you. There's not a lot that a land druid gets towards that end.

I will say that moon druids have this problem too past level 5 or so. They dominate in levels 2-4 with their (IMO massively broken) CR1 bear forms but past that you're better off with a fighter.

D&D has had this problem ever since the game got more complex than 5' hallways, though 4E did some things to counteract that (most defenders got ways to stop enemy movement or punish marked targets who attacked other people). I haven't read the 5E PHB yet, do any classes get stuff to make them stickier?

As for the dodge versus HP sponge thing, compare the extremes: someone who always gets hit but can take 20 blows before falling versus someone who only gets hit on a nat 20. On average the dodger will fall at the same time as the sponge but the sponge *consistently* lasts that long while the dodger could die in the first round. HP and AC complement each other much better than purely focusing on one or the other, nd which one you prefer depends how much you value that consistency (and how much such a thing is possible within build variation).

[Shadow]

D&D has had this problem ever since the game got more complex than 5' hallways, though 4E did some things to counteract that (most defenders got ways to stop enemy movement or punish marked targets who attacked other people). I haven't read the 5E PHB yet, do any classes get stuff to make them stickier?

There are feats to help with that (one in particular), and the DMG is rumored to include Marks (as a variant/optional).
edit: Oh yeah, and Pally spells as well

[Lokiare]

I'd go with a dwarf wizard that has plate armor and the shield spell. Throw in a level or two of fighter so they can use any weapon and gain multiple casts of spells. Keep Mirror Image up at all times and use shield when the DM declares you are hit and you will be the tankiest character alive.

[Lokiare]

Is this not determined by exactly how much HP we're talking about vs how much AC we're talking about?

Yes. The equation is roughly 20 hp to 1 AC point. Since the difference in hp among the classes is a lot less than that AC wins out all the time.

[Malifice]

I'd go with a dwarf wizard that has plate armor and the shield spell. Throw in a level or two of fighter so they can use any weapon and gain multiple casts of spells. Keep Mirror Image up at all times and use shield when the DM declares you are hit and you will be the tankiest character alive.

This doesnt come online till level 5. And he only gets 1 mirror image so hard to keep up at all times.

HoTDQ will be over before this comes into its own.

[Shadow]

This doesnt come online till level 5. And he only gets 1 mirror image so hard to keep up at all times.

HoTDQ will be over before this comes into its own.

This is just part 1. The second part will take players to level 16 or so.

[Malifice]

This is just part 1. The second part will take players to level 16 or so.

HotDQ goes to 8th level. The full Tyranny line goes to 16th.

That build seems like a much weaker version of anything already suggested.

The Moon Druid comes online at 2nd (3rd level with a Barbarian dip at 1st to grant extra tankiness at 1st level), and outdoes the Fighter 2/ Wizard X in Tankiness for pretty much all levels till 7th when 3rd level spells come online (in limited number). Then at 10th (11th with Barbarian dip) the Moon Druid leapfrogs the Wizard/ Fighter again.

Feel free to run the numbers, but for a 'Tank' I'd back in the Druid.