[concept] Utility Tank BrB/Rogue

[Deadandamnation]

Hi there I'd like some feedback on this build for a low level campaign.

Any comments Will be glad.

I was thinking about making a good frontliner with a good asset of tricks and that's what have come to my mind.

1) Start as a VHuman Barbarian. Stats like Str=Con>Dex>Wis>Int and CHA

Barbarian is solid at the first level, just grab your sword and a shield and go to town.
Dex and Str have to be higher than 13.

Grab Shield Mastery as the bonus talent.
As abilities take Athletics and Perception.

2) At the 2nd level we take a dip level of Rogue.

We get to choose another ability: Stealth imho but that's a personal preference.

We get Expertize in Athletic and Perception. Or Stealth if you like It more but Athletic is mandatory.

And last we get 1d6 of Sneak Attack.

Assuming that we started with a 16 into Str we got now a +7 shoving with our shield that as a bonus action is a big deal.

Tactic is simple:
Turn 1) Enter rage and shove someone with your action.
Turn 2) Attack and shove.

Remember that as a main weapon you'll want a precise one like a short sword or a rapier if you can get your hands on One.
That's because you can deliver your Sneak Attack die even if you use Str, the only restrictions are that the Weapon have to be precise and you need advantage (attacking a prone target gives you that).

So on the best case scenario your dmg will be 1d6+3+1d6+2 (that's on par with a 2H user but we don't care about that too much)

3-5) We take than another 3 level as Barbarian.

The good stuffs that se get are mainly:

A talent at level 5 that imho have to be Sentinel

Danger Sense that is a good thing to tank traps if needed.

Reckless Attack is good with Sentinel as It help you deliver that AoO and to deal an automatic Sneak Attack against anyone in any circumstance. Don't abuse It anyway, sometimes it's Just better to stay safe.

And last we get the bonus of being a Wolf Totem Barbarian giving any ally advantage in melee against any foe we are standing near.

6+) From now on the path Is unclear as we got 3 choices: Barbarian, Rogue or Warrior (Even Ranger could work)

If we progress as a Barbarian we get the Extra Attack that is good from a dmg prospective and feral instinct that is great.

If we choose to progress the rogue side we can grab another feat one level early or just increase our str or con, we got a better SA and probably we will gonna bè a thief to climb at max Speed. Cunning Action it's good to disengage and reposition or just to Speed up giving us other options For the bonus action.

If we decide to follow the Warrior path the main selling points are:
Action Surge and Manouvers of the Battlemaster.
Surge Is Simply a boost button the let you act 2 times, and it's great. Manuovers are good as they Widen our choices in combat.

The selling point of the ranger instead are Natural Explorer and the Pet.
The Wolf pet Can trip too giving you another free trip action each turn, and some dmg.

[Biggstick]

So Wolf Totem is a fantastic totem. You know what really sucks though? Getting used to resistance to bludgeoning/slashing/piercing, and then not having it when you're up against something that does other types of damage. All of a sudden, you feel a lot less like a tank and more like a sack of hit points. And even that won't be an incredible amount, as most Barbarian/Rogue multiclasses favor Rogue levels over Barbarian ones. Overall, I tend to try and encourage players going this route to be selfish and go Bear Totem. You're the tank, and you probably don't have anyone backing you up in there. Even if you did have someone in there backing you up, they're going to die faster then you are, because guess what, you're a Barbarian, and taking hits is what you do well.

My next point would be Shield Master. Shield Master gives you a Shove as a bonus action, pseudo Evasion, and +2 (or more) to your single target dex saves. Without any feat or multiclass choices, Totem Barbarians primary use of their bonus actions is Rage. Since you're multiclassing into Rogue, you're getting arguably the best bonus action in the game with Cunning Action. If you're deciding to go Thief, there is another use of your bonus action with Fast Hands (talk with your DM on this one, see if s/he is willing to allow this bonus action "interact with object" the capability of equipping or un-equipping your shield). Even if your DM is a bit stricter and doesn't allow the Fast Hands idea above, you're still going to have great uses for your bonus actions with just Rage and Cunning Action. The Shield Master bonus action on top of Rage and Cunning Action is just overkill imo, and something you don't need.

Continuing on with Shield Master, the other benefit is the pseudo Evasion. If you're going for a Barbarian/Rogue combination that has more Rogue levels, you're going to actually get Evasion, and completely negate 1/3 of the capability coming from Shield Master. Lastly concerning Shield Master, the only single target Dex saves I've seen are from traps and from Sacred Flame. Other then that, I don't think I've actually seen any. Overall, I think Shield Master is adding an extra bonus action that you don't need along with features that you'll have later in the game anyways with Rogue levels.

Now your idea for this character's combat rotations involve shoving the enemy prone. That's great, and your melee buddies will appreciate it. You know who won't appreciate it are the ranged people in your party. Unless they have abilities capable of hitting things on the floor (Clerics would be some of the best here, as Sacred Flame will still hit, and enemies will make that Dex save with disadvantage while prone), then they're going to be making their attacks at disadvantage vs the prone target. Another point in this whole situation is target size. If the target is of a size category bigger then Large, you're not going to be able to shove them prone as you are. You'll need some sort of capability to become a Large creature yourself, or you're straight not going to be able to shove them prone. Some of the nastiest creatures you fight are bigger then Large, thus invalidating that shove strategy altogether.

I like Sentinel as it's a great way to grab opportunity attacks (and thus more sneak attacks) on the enemy and to keep them next to you during combat. I would also heavily encourage you to slip in Resilient: Wisdom somewhere into your build, preferably around the level 8-10 area. This will give you a fighting chance against those mind control effects, and Dragon's fear aura. You'll already have a great Con save, your Dex saves will be made with advantage with the Barbarian level 2 ability, and your Str saves will be high as well. The biggest weakness you'll have is Cha/Int saves, and a lack of a real ranged weapon. You make up for the lack of a ranged weapon by having a pretty high move speed; 40' base with Barbarian level 5, Cunning Action dash for another 40', and then your actual Action to dash if necessary. If you can convince your party's caster to put Fly or Haste on you, even better.

The ideal build I see with this combination starts out as Barbarian and goes for 5-6 levels of it to start. Grab Bear Totem at 3, and then your choice at 6. Some builds don't advocate for level 6, but I do. I feel that extra Rage (going from 3 Rages a day to 4) makes for an easier time of when you can decide to Rage or not. I'm also extremely partial to the Bear 6 totem ability in being able to lift/carry/push/pull twice the amount that I normally do. I also naturally have advantage when doing any of these skill checks. If that doesn't say Barbarian, I don't know what does. After the 6 levels of Barbarian, finish out your career with Thief Rogue. This build should have 14 Dex, use medium armor and a shield, focus on maxing out Strength, grabbing Resilient Wisdom and the Sentinel feat. You can go in any order ASI progression wise, but I'd recommend Sentinel early on, 18 Strength after that, then Resilient Wisdom, and then max out Strength.

Whatever route you decide to go, mixing Barbarian and Rogue is a solid thing to do. You can use any sort of leveling process you'd like and it will work great. If I'm playing something that gains access to two attacks though, I like to get it as fast as possible (hence all the Barbarian levels at the start). Aside from my own views on the matter, your build will definitely be able to act as a Utility Tank for pretty much any group with melee party members who can take advantage of Wolf Totem advantage and Large or smaller targets shoved prone.

[Specter]

You're all set, it seems. Though Sentinel is not vital; I would boost STR before grabbing it.