Character Template Critique/Scrutiny

[TheTalespinner]

Hello all!

I have been cultivating a character idea for a little bit, and I would like any feedback (positive or negative) that you all might have on it. I'm still relatively inexperienced when it comes to the finer, most precise nuances of DnD so I genuinely appreciate the time and consideration.

I will say however that I have a particular PC concept in mind in terms of a character lore perspective, and at the end of the day that is going to trump the pure number crunching potential out there (IE he is a sword and board character even though two-handed might/will be more effective, ect).

So, to make it succinct, what I'm thinking of is a melee-tank oriented character that can still dish out respectable damage. He is going to be primarily a Fighter, but it would not be out of character to incorporate a few levels of Barbarian into the early part of his development. What I'm thinking of is a Half Hill-Dwarf/Half-Human Barbarian (Totem of the Bear) LVL 4, and Fighter (Brute) LVL 16. The character would use a Longsword/Shield, the Dueling fighting style, and I would take advantage of the Fighter's prolific Feat options to obtain, in this order:

-Lucky
-Shield Master
-Sentinal
-Dwarven Fortitude* (definitely an optional choice)
-Martial Adept
-Mobile
-Tough

This should, albeit slightly, expend upon the options available to your standard Brute or Champion archetype (Sentinal reactions, Shield Master reactions, BM maneuvers, ect) and should still provide an exceptional level of survivability with the Bear Totem's damage resistance combined with a Breastplate + Shield's AC. The weapon damage should be, unless I'm mistaken, 1d8 + 2 (dueling) + 2 (rage) + 1d8 (lvl 16 brute) + modifiers, with 3 attacks per round, which is more than enough in my opinion considering the tankiness of the build.

Again, I'm trying to make the most effective version of a character concept without stepping outside the framework of the character itself, but I think it sounds like a pretty effective character. I'm happy to hear anyone's thoughts or opinions though.

Thanks!

[Quoxis]

In case you‘re not rolling stats and/or you don’t get to start with 18 str: good luck hitting stuff on higher levels without high str to get a decent chance to hit. You plan to spend every single ASI you get on feats, which is admittedly neat, but the reliability of your damage output is questionable if you’re playing with low attack stats, even if you get 3 attacks per turn.
Reckless attacks might help, but that pretty much wrecks your limited tanking capabilities - even full barbarians would in most cases choose not to eat 20 attacks with advantage per round, rage resistance or none.

[TheTalespinner]

Thats a great point Quoxis, and one I'll definitely take into consideration. I will say that, in terms of my stat priority (we roll for stats), I will be going Str/Con/Wis (in that order) for my first, second and third highest numbers. Wis is there because many of the proficient skills I'll be taking (Insight, Perception, ect) will be Wis based, and there are enough Wis threats to warrant a solid modifier. But yes, I agree entirely that Str will be the dominant Stat in order to try and have as much attack modifier as possible.

Out of curiosity, what alternatives would you recommend? Dropping a feat or two in order to allocate the points into Strength instead?

[Quoxis]

Don’t forget to get at least +2 dex for a decent AC - your con mod and rage can’t save you if every attack targeting you hits, so you’re probably best off with medium armor (as heavy armor prevents most of your rage‘s benefits); depending on your weapon choice a shield can lower the need for dex here, but really, don’t dump that.
Wis is good, don’t get me wrong, but almost every opponent you‘ll encounter will target your AC, while (depending on the setting) only a fraction of them will target your wis - it sucks if you fail a save under those circumstances, but better that than getting dominated by low level mooks.

I‘d definitely drop some of the feats, with priority on maximizing Str or getting a decent Con - what do you even plan to do with your character? Mobile suggests hit and run tactics while shield master and especially sentinel are best for the „we both stay here and only one of us can leave alive“ playstyle, so maybe think about dropping one of those three first.

Not to sound mean, but the overabundance of generic feats in your build makes it look like you read a fighter/barbarian guide and picked all sky blue feats out of it. Think about what you plan to do with your character first, then get feats and class features to build around that idea.

[TheTalespinner]

Well, yes, +2 Dex modifier will/would be optimal, but with a Breastplate + Shield (which I mentioned above) the maximum advantage I could obtain from Dex toward my AC would be +2, so even if it ended up being +1, it's only a single point of AC sacrifice. In terms of directly taking an enemy's attack, I don't believe that is an end-all-be-all considering the character, while raging, would have resistance to all damage types beside Psychic and already enjoys a version of the Tough feat by virtue of his Hill Dwarf heritage. Really, I see the (potential) low Dex modifier as a weakness more so in the Out Of Combat capacities such as weakened Stealth rolls, Sleight of Hand, Acrobatics and so forth. Of course, we can't have everything.

The idea behind something like Mobile, for example, is to be able to maneuver around the board without being hindered by the innate Dwarven 25ft of movement and be able to place myself advantageously to execute the Martial Adept maneuvers such as Trip or Goading Strike for example and either draw attacks away from a softer target in my team or open an enemy up for Advantage attacks. Mobile also allows me to Dash over rough terrain without penalty in order to better close a gap, and it allows me to avoid Attacks of Opportunity from an opponent that I've already attacked regardless of the attack's success or failure. Not a bad Feat, even for a Tank. The purpose of the character is to try and be as supportive and versatile an addition to a group as possible, but only from within the framework of a tough, hearty vanguard melee character. Like I said before though, we can't have everything haha.

No offense taken from your criticism friend, and I do appreciate your input. I'm not going by any guides however, merely reading the Feat descriptions carefully and making a calculated decision that certain options and opportunities might be more effective with a clever or creative application than a simple +1 to whatever stat or AC it might apply to. Again though, being self-admittedly inexperienced to the finer nuances of DnD, that potential +1 wherever might be significantly more vital than I'm giving it credit for so thats why I'm asking for opinions.