Nonmagical support and build help

[Shuruke]

So

I am level 5 and have session tomorrow

Dm is allowing me to swap class and feat around due to me not necessarily enjoying the tavern brawler homebrew alchemical rager we have going

(Idea was throw nets, acid, alchemost fire etc. But hasnt felt like I'm doing much)
And I just felt like I really wavered from original intentions of character in being a melee or mid range support (throwong hand axes) while getting as many allies in the storm herald aoe as possible for shielding


My plan
5 barbarian for storm herald 3 point shield and extra attack (id prefer not to start multi classing till 6th cuz extra attack)

However level 6-9 I'm tempted to do cavalier fighter for the mark that causes disadvantage in attacks against someone other than me and with the 4 asi pick up inspiring leader (which picking up at level 9 would be an 11 temp hp shield. Grabbing it now would only be a 7 temp hp shield)


However, at level 6 which is coming at end of this next session
Should what fighting style would be best

I don't use a shield because I want enemies trying to focus me and anytime I wear a shield I almost get ignored.

However 1d8+2 rage+2 dueling +4 str
Could be good and that average damage (4.5+ bonuses=12.5 average) compared to a great axe 1d12+6 (7.5+6=13.5) only looks like a 1 point difference it also allows for shield or open hand

I could take armor to make my a.c. 18 (half plate) but enemies have advantage to hit me so it doesnt change a whole lot

But don't see the great weapon style as something game changing ? From things I've looked at it increases average damage by 1-1.5? Which would be roughly (8.5+6=14.5)

In short how can I make myself a target
I plan on finding ways to grant dis advantage to hit allies while keeping reaction open for cavalier , May be sentinel?

A weapon ismt chosen fpr this build yet
I think I'd like warhammer or great axe/Maul


Another option is working toward thief rogue or mastermind

Grabbing healer for thief

Maxing strength and granting allies advantage when bot needing to give temp hp


Doing rogue idea I could do
Rapier using str
Expertise athletics for shove prones

[Keravath]

Just some comments ...

1) If you want to help out your party as well as tank then perhaps take a look at Ancestral Guardian. The level 3 ability forces your target to attack you or suffer disadvantage attacking anyone else and the level 6 ability lets you mitigate damage done to team mates within 30'. These both seem more useful than the storm aura effects.

If you want to increase tankiness then the standard bear totem barbarian is resistant to all damage except psychic.

2) Many classic barbarian builds use great weapons (a two handed sword is popular) combined with the great weapon master feat. Since barbarians can use reckless attack at will this increases the chances of landing the hit with GWM and doing an additional 10 damage. On top of that whenever you crit or kill something you also earn an extra bonus action attack.

3) Speaking of crits. One of the more common barbarian multiclass is three levels of champion fighter for the expanded critical range. Using reckless attack and critting on 19-20 can also be more effective. This can be combined with half-orc brutal criticals or the higher level barbarian feature to increase damage further. You also pick up action surge and some other useful fighter features.

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So if you are looking to support and protect your party and do good melee damage then I'd suggest an Ancestral Guardian or bear totem barbarian to level 5 with great weapon master followed by 3 levels of champion fighter. After that you could either take more fighter levels or more barbarian levels depending on how you want it to turn out.

Either way, if your dex is 14+ which it should be, then also take a bow for those times when you have to use ranged attacks.

Finally, see if your DM will let you play the character a bit to see if you like it and then modify further if needed.

[Shuruke]

Just some comments ...

1) If you want to help out your party as well as tank then perhaps take a look at Ancestral Guardian. The level 3 ability forces your target to attack you or suffer disadvantage attacking anyone else and the level 6 ability lets you mitigate damage done to team mates within 30'. These both seem more useful than the storm aura effects.

If you want to increase tankiness then the standard bear totem barbarian is resistant to all damage except psychic.

2) Many classic barbarian builds use great weapons (a two handed sword is popular) combined with the great weapon master feat. Since barbarians can use reckless attack at will this increases the chances of landing the hit with GWM and doing an additional 10 damage. On top of that whenever you crit or kill something you also earn an extra bonus action attack.

3) Speaking of crits. One of the more common barbarian multiclass is three levels of champion fighter for the expanded critical range. Using reckless attack and critting on 19-20 can also be more effective. This can be combined with half-orc brutal criticals or the higher level barbarian feature to increase damage further. You also pick up action surge and some other useful fighter features.

---

So if you are looking to support and protect your party and do good melee damage then I'd suggest an Ancestral Guardian or bear totem barbarian to level 5 with great weapon master followed by 3 levels of champion fighter. After that you could either take more fighter levels or more barbarian levels depending on how you want it to turn out.

Either way, if your dex is 14+ which it should be, then also take a bow for those times when you have to use ranged attacks.

Finally, see if your DM will let you play the character a bit to see if you like it and then modify further if needed.

Your points make sense
However I'd rather take cavalier and keep the storm herald because the mark from cavalier can be applied with sentinel and isn't limited to only during rage


Gwm makes sense but I'd feel bad since we have a pam gwm warlock and don't wanna step on his toes

I'm not worried specifically about damage but if I do 0 damage enemies won't b bothered hitting me.

Trying to find a balance If that makes sense

[Crgaston]

I am a big fan of Fighter/Rogue multiclasses for nonmagical support.

The BattleMastermind looks like it would be superior as an archer build since there's less pressure on your Bonus Action. All you need to do SA damage is an adjacent ally, and you can make your ranged attack and use your BA to grant that same ally Advantage. Plus you can take Archery FS to help with your hit rate.


If you're wanting to melee, Sentinel does a good job of drawing aggro since they get punished for ignoring you. And as a Rogue, having a shield won't push your AC into ignoable range either, which allows you to maximize Dueling without unnecessarily gimping yourself. As far as starting at L5, I might do Fighter 3/Rogue 2 so you have Maneuvers and Cunning Action, or F4/R1 for the Feat. But moving forward, here's a build for you...

I apologize if my formatting isn't the easiest to read. Suggestions are welcome.

The Combat Medic/Sidekick
Mountain Dwarf
Mercenary Veteran background
18/14/16/8/10/10

Thief 5/Battlemaster 6
Fight in a breastplate and shield for 18 AC and use a short sword with Dueling FS... +8 to hit/+6 to damage for 2 attacks with +3d6 SA on one hit (circumstances permitting).
Use a whip for reach and throw daggers for range.
You'll really want a melee buddy to grant you SA and to take advantage of your Sentinel feat.

Take Sentinel, Squat Nimbleness, and Healer feats. You can have all 3 by L10. If you can't use Squat Nimbleness then you'll have to use an ASI to get your Str to 18, but you could at least have a 12 Wis that way because you’d start with a 14 instead of 15 Str in Point Buy.

Take Expertise in Athletics (+12!) and Stealth (+10, despite the 14 Dex and Medium armor). Rogue 6 is right around the corner for Perception and another choice, probably Medicine, Persuasion, or Investigation.

For maneuvers on this guy I like Commander's Strike, Menacing and Riposte. Since you can use a Healer's Kit to do pop-up healing as a Bonus Action, while you're hovering over your fallen comrade you can use Menacing on a thrown dagger to keep enemies from approaching and/or Riposte if they try to attack you.

At this level, the Healer feat lets you do 1d6+15 HP of healing as an action to dispense to each party member (or 1d6+5ish for each soldier in your army… it’s per short rest for THEM… the only limitation for you is having enough supplies)

You'll have great Reaction usage. Uncanny Dodge if they hit you, Riposte if they miss, and Sentinel if they attack your buddy instead.

Although this build gets a lot of Short Rest abilities, it'll have the pop up healing until you run out of Healer's Kits, and Uncanny Dodge at will, along with insane grappling and stealth skills, excellent mobility, and solid DPR.