Feat or Ability increase (Barbarian help)

[Ralanr]

I know there's probably a bigger thread about this kind of topic, but I kinda just wanted to ask direct advice.

I just hit level 4, and I had a good idea of what I planned on doing. Originally I was going to put a +1 in both Con and Dex which would increase my AC to 19 with my shield. Though a friend of mine has been pushing for a feat considering how powerful they are. At first I was against it since I knew my plan, but looking at it I'm seeing that the first feat I'd get is at level 12 since I planned on hitting Max in my Con (it's 17 at the moment) and I am kinda impatient on it now. If I don't get a feat now, I'll probably get a feat at 8 instead.

Out of the three feats I'm planning on getting I can't decide whether to grab Shield Master, or Sentinel (My third is Tough, but I'm planning that Later.)

My Stats are as follows:
Str: 18
Con: 17
Dex: 15
Int: 12
Wis: 14
Cha: 16
Totem Warrior: Bear Totem

I'm focusing on being the group tank (Yes Polearm master and Sentinel is a really good combo for tanking and in general. I kinda just wanted to use a shield, though if it does seem impractical to use a shield I'll probably go for the whole polearm combo.)

Advice?

[hecetv]

your stats are so good it doesn't matter what you do.

I'd grab shield master because you seem to like shields. Pole arm master is OP so it's tempting but I think shield master is underrated.

Then I'd do the 1 1 dex con split then I'd max strength. If it was me I'd skip toughness and just put the rest into con and dex. But if you're really going to 20 then get toughness after maxing strength imo.

shield master at 4
+ con/dex to 18 and 16 at 8
+ strength to 20 at 12

Then either get toughness and another dex or if it was me I'd get con and then dex but the other dope idea would be to max dex to maximize your use of shield master. Actually yeah do that.

Or danger sense plus getting resistance (dex) plus shield master and you'd probably never take damage from something with a dex save again.

[CrusaderJoe]

If you boost your con you really really don't need toughness. It is a wasted feat on a barbarian. Resistance to damage plus major hp? Yeah..

Shield master is fantastic.

Magic initiate could be fun. Sorcerer or Bard list? Yes please. Heroism, Shield, Healing Word (mostly yourself), or faerie fire could all be fun first level spells.

[Ralanr]

Thanks guys. I'll definitely take up the Shield Master feat and focus on the stat increase at 8. Not sure how far we are really going (There is no definite level stop) so I'll probably figure out a bit more from there. Thanks!

[Tenmujiin]

Totem Warrior: Bear Totem

Note that you don't have to stick with the one totem, you can take bear at lv3 for resistance and then take eagle or wolf at lv6 for better vision or tracking.

As for ASI or Feat I would go with 1 dex/1 con and grab a feat next level: +2 AC, +1 Init, +1 Dex and Con Saves (the two most used saves), +1 HP/level and +1 to every dex based skill is probably going to serve you better than Shield Master (+2 to dex saves that target only you, pseudo evasion and bonus action to shove)

[Ralanr]

Note that you don't have to stick with the one totem, you can take bear at lv3 for resistance and then take eagle or wolf at lv6 for better vision or tracking.

As for ASI or Feat I would go with 1 dex/1 con and grab a feat next level: +2 AC, +1 Init, +1 Dex and Con Saves (the two most used saves), +1 HP/level and +1 to every dex based skill is probably going to serve you better than Shield Master (+2 to dex saves that target only you, pseudo evasion and bonus action to shove)

I'm probably taking eagle next time actually.