Oerlaf
2017-12-31, 11:23 AM
There are no pure tanks in 5e, if we understand the game term as follows:
A tank is a character whose primary role is to absorb damage and prevent others from being attacked. Tanks are "meatshields", so to speak, putting themselves between the mobs and the more vulnerable party members.
I tried searching the D&D 4e for tanking mechanics that allowed a character to fulfill this role and redesign it as a 5e subclass. Particularly, the warden class from 4e PHB II is the best candidate I found to be a barbarian subclass in 5e:
Barbarian Primal Path: Path of the Warden
When you take the path of the warden, you are led by the spirits that chose you to defend the natural world and your allies from anyone or anything that corrupts or destroys it. You are the staunch defender of a tribe, and so your sole charge is to protect it against a spreading corruption.
Nature's Wrath. Starting when you take this path at 3rd level, you can mark your enemies as your quarry. As a bonus action, you can mark each hostile creature within 5 feet of you. Until the end of your next turn, the marked creatures have disadvantage on attack rolls for any attack that doesn't target you. The mark also ends when you are knocked unconscious.
In addition, you have two options at your disposal to prevent enemies from harming those you protect.
Warden's Fury. When an enemy within your reach that you have marked makes an attack roll that does not include you as a target, you can use your reaction to lash out with nature's wrath at it. It must make a Constitution saving throw. On a failed saving throw it takes 1d12 + your Strength modifier slashing damage, and attack rolls against it have advantage until the end of your next turn.
Warden's Grasp. When an enemy within 25 feet of you that you have marked hits or misses with an attack that doesn't include you as a target, you can use your reaction to have spectral vines clutch at it, impeding its movement. You move the target up to 5 feet in any direction, and its speed drops to 10 until the end of its next turn. For that time he cannot benefit from any bonuses to speed either.
Nature's Abundance. Beginning at 6th level, you know how to make plants burst into life around you and have them sway back and forth to shield your allies, parting to allow attacks against your enemies.
As an action, you can create a 20-feet radius and a 20-feet high cylinder of plants centered on you that lasts for 1 minute. You and your allies have half-cover while within the cylinder, but your enemies outside the cylinder do not have any form of cover unless they have it from another source.
You must then finish a long rest to create these plants again.
Defiler's Doom. Beginning at 10th level, you can draw an enemy that flees from your first attack back to face a second. As an action, you can make a melee weapon attack against a creature within your reach. On a hit, you deal 3d12 damage of the weapon's type instead of its normal damage. In addition, if you hit a creature and it ends its turn further than 5 feet from you, you teleport it somewhere within 5 feet of you and make a normal melee weapon attack against it (no action required).
You must then finish a short or long rest to use this feature again.
Emerald Fury. When a creature fails a saving throw against your warden's fury, you can move that enemy up to 15 feet further than you, and then one ally within 5 feet of that creature gains 10 temporary hit points.
A tank is a character whose primary role is to absorb damage and prevent others from being attacked. Tanks are "meatshields", so to speak, putting themselves between the mobs and the more vulnerable party members.
I tried searching the D&D 4e for tanking mechanics that allowed a character to fulfill this role and redesign it as a 5e subclass. Particularly, the warden class from 4e PHB II is the best candidate I found to be a barbarian subclass in 5e:
Barbarian Primal Path: Path of the Warden
When you take the path of the warden, you are led by the spirits that chose you to defend the natural world and your allies from anyone or anything that corrupts or destroys it. You are the staunch defender of a tribe, and so your sole charge is to protect it against a spreading corruption.
Nature's Wrath. Starting when you take this path at 3rd level, you can mark your enemies as your quarry. As a bonus action, you can mark each hostile creature within 5 feet of you. Until the end of your next turn, the marked creatures have disadvantage on attack rolls for any attack that doesn't target you. The mark also ends when you are knocked unconscious.
In addition, you have two options at your disposal to prevent enemies from harming those you protect.
Warden's Fury. When an enemy within your reach that you have marked makes an attack roll that does not include you as a target, you can use your reaction to lash out with nature's wrath at it. It must make a Constitution saving throw. On a failed saving throw it takes 1d12 + your Strength modifier slashing damage, and attack rolls against it have advantage until the end of your next turn.
Warden's Grasp. When an enemy within 25 feet of you that you have marked hits or misses with an attack that doesn't include you as a target, you can use your reaction to have spectral vines clutch at it, impeding its movement. You move the target up to 5 feet in any direction, and its speed drops to 10 until the end of its next turn. For that time he cannot benefit from any bonuses to speed either.
Nature's Abundance. Beginning at 6th level, you know how to make plants burst into life around you and have them sway back and forth to shield your allies, parting to allow attacks against your enemies.
As an action, you can create a 20-feet radius and a 20-feet high cylinder of plants centered on you that lasts for 1 minute. You and your allies have half-cover while within the cylinder, but your enemies outside the cylinder do not have any form of cover unless they have it from another source.
You must then finish a long rest to create these plants again.
Defiler's Doom. Beginning at 10th level, you can draw an enemy that flees from your first attack back to face a second. As an action, you can make a melee weapon attack against a creature within your reach. On a hit, you deal 3d12 damage of the weapon's type instead of its normal damage. In addition, if you hit a creature and it ends its turn further than 5 feet from you, you teleport it somewhere within 5 feet of you and make a normal melee weapon attack against it (no action required).
You must then finish a short or long rest to use this feature again.
Emerald Fury. When a creature fails a saving throw against your warden's fury, you can move that enemy up to 15 feet further than you, and then one ally within 5 feet of that creature gains 10 temporary hit points.