I'n trying to build a good tank; advice needed.

[Klorox]

Hey all. My group is going to start a new game, and I've opted to switch gears a bit and play a tank.

The rest of the party is a wizard, a ranged rogue, and a lore bard.

27 point buy, starting level 1, probably going to 7. Official stuff only.

I can't decide what path might be the best one for me. I always play spellcasters, so maybe an EK is a good idea. A barbarian makes a great tank too, and a paladin would give me some spells to play with. Some kind of polearm master could really keep enemies away from my squishy friends.

I'm really not sure where to go here and I look forward to your responses. Thanks!

[Naanomi]

My preferred tank options are Cavalier, Ancestral Guardian, Oath of Conquest, or Oath of Crowns... but there are several options out there. Spore Druid, Forge Cleric... even Battlesmith are reasonable options built the right way.

[CTurbo]

Hill Dwarf Tempest or Forge Cleric 14 Str, 12 Dex, 16 Con, 8 Int, 16 Wis, 8 Cha

Wear Plate and use a shield. Carry a Warhammer/Mace, but you're not going to use it much.

Take Warcaster and max Wis.

Done.

[MaxWilson]

Hey all. My group is going to start a new game, and I've opted to switch gears a bit and play a tank.

The rest of the party is a wizard, a ranged rogue, and a lore bard.

27 point buy, starting level 1, probably going to 7. Official stuff only.

I can't decide what path might be the best one for me. I always play spellcasters, so maybe an EK is a good idea. A barbarian makes a great tank too, and a paladin would give me some spells to play with. Some kind of polearm master could really keep enemies away from my squishy friends.

I'm really not sure where to go here and I look forward to your responses. Thanks!

Hmm, levels 1-7? I'm going to recommend Moon Druid here. Those levels are a pretty sweet spot for Moon Druids, except for level 1.

Level 1: awful. Stay at range and shoot a crossbow. At least you've got 20 HP worth of healing from Goodberry, or you can spend those spell slots on Faerie Fire or something, but this is your weakest level, so you might want to cope with it by playing a variant human and taking a feat (e.g. Mobile) or another race that will give you something fun to do early on (Goblin, Eberron Shifter, etc.).

Level 2: Wildshape! Now you are the best tank in the party with 70-90ish free HP that replenish on a short rest, so potentially hundreds of free HP per day. There are plenty of animals like grizzly bears that you can turn into to do big damage as well as tank. BTW, if you can get a friendly wizard to Mage Armor you that can really help your AC even more.

Level 3: Now you can drop a big pseudo-Fireball like Spike Growth in the same round you shift into bear/hyena form (although it prevents you from attacking until next round). Or you can sneak the party into places they shouldn't be using Pass Without Trace, or use it to scout out the enemy without them realizing you are there (and then you can either set up an ambush or at least know what you're dealing with before starting the fight).

Level 4: Now you can wildshape into a Giant Octopus, assuming you have ever seen one. It's sort of like getting a built-in Sentinel attack that also gives allies advantage on their attacks and imposes disadvantage on the enemy. Spend your ASI on something to help your concentration while you're getting whacked: Warcaster or Resilient (Con). At 8th level you'll take whichever one you didn't take just now, unless you already took it as your first level Human feat instead of taking Mobile.

Level 5: Now you can be a bear or a dire wolf leading a whole pack of smaller bears or wolves, or giant poisonous snakes. This is why you want good concentration, so that your pack can last as long as your HP do.

Level 6: Even better animal forms, like CR 2 Giant Constrictor Snake for more HP, better movement, better damage than the Giant Octopus.

Level 7: Polymorph lets you turn yourself or someone else into a Giant Ape with 157 free HP. If there's a squishy Lore Bard or something in the party, turn them into a tank and then yourself into a snake (or a Giant Elk, or Giant Spitting Lizard, or whatever other good animals you've met and which go well with your feats). See https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?583036-Unleash-Your-Inner-Beast-A-Moon-Druid-Guide-(5e) for more suggestions.

One additional possibility is to mix in some Barbarian to go with your Wildshape, but if you're only going up to level 7 that might not be fun because you'd only get to Ancestor Barb 5/Moon Druid 2, or alternatively Barbarian 2/Moon Druid 5. Still, think it over, see if you like the idea.

[Segev]

A barbarian is a very good tank chassis. Halved damage from weapons is powerful. A half-orc may be a cliche choice, but the ability to not go down to a lethal blow is pretty amazing.

Ancestral guardian archetype gives you an aura that makes attacking anybody but you have disadvantage, which is also good for tanking. Alternatively, totem warrior taking bear at third level is able to resist anything but psychic damage, practically doubling your hit points. Sentinel, as a feat, makes it hard to escape you and makes attacking other than you riskier.

Fighter going eldritch Knight could use mirror image to protect himself, and again, sentinel is a good choice. Pole arm master is easier to get with fighter, too: more feats.

Fighter going Echo Knight, if that archetype is allowed, can tank in two places at a time!

[Frogreaver]

Favorite Tank I ever made was a Barbarian / Rogue.

Expertise Athletics + Advantage Athletics and a free hand lets you grapple most anything that your size allows. You get solid OA's. You can max con as sneak attack is primary damage source and you get reckless attack advantage. Rogue gives you the mobility so enemies can't run from you, or run by you.

[Zhorn]

Lots of solid advice above.
I'll just repeat a core bit of advice I've been given in the past: survivability is only half the build, stickiness is the rest.
You mentioned polearm master, so you've probably got a basic idea already, so this might end up as more for the benefit of other readers than yourself, so feel free to skip over if you're familiar with the song and dance.

Stickiness is to do will making sure the enemies keep their attention stuck on you, by either being a thing that's too punishing to ignore, or they are just unable to escape from you. For most melee builds this tends to revolve around polearm master and sentinel to lock opponents down with opportunity attacks, but any other class feature that imposes disadvantage on attacking your allies or some way to negate (even if just in part) the damage they do to others around you can help draw attention of them and back to you.

[ProsecutorGodot]

Hot take here, especially from me, but I'd avoid Paladin if your campaign will be ending at level 7. Paladins are durable and can heal, but until levels 6/7 don't actually have a lot of developed abilities to tank. You would be ending the campaign right around the time your innate durability starts to be a helpful thing for other people.

Moon Druid, as Max mentioned, is obviously a good choice. You're not just more durable than all the other classes but you're a meaningful threat that they can't ignore.

Totem Barb is always a good option, but for your party composition I think Ancestral Guardian would be a better fit. Ancestral Protectors is a good way for you to protect a backline while staying in the front.

I know I'm not really treading any new ground with these suggestions, but sometimes it helps to have reaffirmation.

[Corran]

A crown paladin could work decently here, that is if you dont mind using the dodge action a lot (especially if you dont end up multiclassing). Their channel divinity offers a decent touch of control, which works well with not having other allies that will want to get caught up in melee. Shield of faith and bless will be you early game go-to options for the most part (though I'd keep both thunderous and wrathful smite prepared), but you wont always want to use them (cause concentration can easily be lost when you are tanking for 4, which is what happens if the plan goes well anyway). You could choose to dip at caster (hexblade and sorcerer being the obvious options; for a 1 lvl dip hexblade is clearly the strongeer option) after you get warcaster. This will help you deal with tanking more easily while also boosting your OA's (though shield and BB OA use your reaction, so you'll need to be careful about how you'll choose to spend them; ideally keep your 1st lvl slots and your reactions for shield for when your CD is doing good work, and fall back to OA's for when it doesn't). GFB is also a good dpr boost for characters who find themselves alone in the frontline. After that you can go with paladin levels so that you'll grab extra attack (nova boost mainly) and the aura (protect your saves), or you could go with more caster levels yet (in which case I think sorc starts looking better than hexblade) for access to metamagic and 2nd level spells (notably blur for a good AC boost; but I'd probably keep something like burning hands available). Best that the caster level gives you however, is access to a ranged cantrip, which means that if you can start encouners at a distance, you get to contribure too at weakening the enemies, so that's more times your allies will be threteaned less at melee range, and less pressure you'll face when you actually start tanking. Weak spot. Your party is still very vulnerable against ranged enemies (as the rogue wont get his sneak attack unless he gets help here from the sibclass). But having a ranged cantrip helps with dealing this unfavorable situation in a better way than if you were just hurling javelins. (You could always choose to go the other way around this, that is by opting for a small race with a medium sized mount; but this will probably take some levels to become a reliable solution, as you need to wait for 6 or maybe even 7 levels before getting the mount and boosting your defenses at the same time.)

[Kane0]

If you’re going from level 1 to 6 you probably want an ancestral barb, cavalier fighter or maybe an artificer if you want to get funky. Make sure to pick a race that bolsters saves that would otherwise debilitate you, like gnome.

You could go for a paladin but they tend to come online a little later comparatively so you probably would get less milage.

[Spiritchaser]

There are lots of valid options, most mentioned above.

Protection from the masses with conquest Paladin or a Heavily armored cleric running spirit guardians will work well. The conquest Paladin offers more powerful control but with more foes who will save or ignore it.

But... you’ve already got a wizard and a lore bard, both of whom are able to select a lot of decent spells to control the masses with save dependent lock down.

If your party members are going to select a reasonable selection of control options, your party will likely have that capacity covered... if not see above.

Now, a Paladin in the ranks is still great, because that save bonus is really hard to turn down, so sentinel/PAM Paladin builds are well worth considering... However I believe the king of locking down one or two hard targets in a way that doesn’t require a failed save is a mix of ancestral guardian barbarian and echo knight.

You need sentinel to make this work, but you end up with a very durable character who can effectively “tank” from range, where possible from behind cover (yes really!) using sentinel to lock down a target from your echo’s position, and inflicting ancestral protectors to functionally make your wizard as robust as a tank... at least against one (probably, though not necessarily the one you locked down).

This build also gives you substantial personal durability that isn’t totally dependent on your own armor. You are often raging, and can maintain rage at a distance from your foe, invalidating a lot of dangerous melee attacks. You will often be able to lurk behind a door, an armchair or a low wall, providing a substantial additional AC bonus. As such, booting around in a breastplate is quite a valid option. The rest of your party could be stealthy, and this is an excellent tank option that doesn’t have to clank. Sometimes the best way to protect the party is to pick your fights or at least control where and when they happen. Stealth can let you do that!

That said these are all good options. Pick one you like and it’ll probably work out.

[Eldariel]

There's nothing like Moon Druid on this level range. It's just not even a competition. It's also a versatile tank that can switch between kiting and melee easily enough, which is important in an otherwise ranged party; this allows negating enemy actions entirely in encounters with immobile melee enemies. And it's also a caster while at it. After level 1, Moon Druid completely takes over in melee and especially if you're the lone tank, it's just a superb class to work with.

I echo Max's suggestion of a Vuman; a couple of interesting feats exist, most notably the mentioned Mobile (immensely powerful on e.g. Deinonychus form) and Magic Initiate: Wizard (for Mage Armor and all sorts of goodies), but also the usual Concentration enhancers in Res: Con/Warcaster (Res: Con generally since you don't care about the other bits of Warcaster while wildshaping) and even Sentinel (good feat and probably works in Wildshape and does a good job if you're the lone tank, though it especially picks up once you get Summons though that delves into the "melee weapon attack" issue territory).

[stoutstien]

If you have a rough idea of what the rest of your party is going to look like it's a lot easier to narrow down your options. The cavalier for example can be an absolute monster and a melee heavy party but is less effective if the fighter is the only good target to start with.

[jaappleton]

The key to a good tank is keeping the attention of the enemies. This means reducing their movement speed, imposing Disadvantage on attack rolls VS anyone but you, things like that.

Ancestral Guardian is pretty good at it, but it only works while raging. You need to make sure you have ways to keep your Rage going. Ask your DM about punching yourself in the face between rounds if need be. I wish that were a joke.

Cavalier Fighter is very, very good at it. The features regarding mounted combat are mostly optional.

Paladins are pretty decent, with IMO Conquest being the best among them since they can reduce an enemies speed so nobody gets by them.

Other routes to go include Polearm Master (typically a Glaive) paired with Sentinel; Extended reach and the ability to reduce enemy speed to zero means you've got a 10' radius around you to prevent enemies from getting by. There's also spells like Compelled Duel to really get a foes attention.

[jojosskul]

I'm a huge fan of Cavalier, especially with mounted combatant. At this level range that, to me, means you should probably take variant human so you have Mounted Combatant from the beginning. Since the Cavalier abilities depend on things being within 5 ft of you, being on a large mount (depending somewhat on DM interpretation) gives you more squares to make folks be within 5 ft. of you, and the auto advantage on medium and smaller creatures is really nice.

Progression wise I'd take PAM at 4 (or swap it around with Mounted Combatant, both are valid) but I'd use a quarterstaff/spear with a shield since all of your abilities trigger off of being within 5 ft of an enemy. You're here for the bonus action attack and the increased opportunity attack options.

Take a STR boost at 6 and you make a very good tank, and Warding Manuever at 7 makes a great tanking "capstone" for this campaign.

If you're going to be in a place where a large sized mount seems really non-viable (it's fewer places than you think, even squeezing through medium spaces horses have really good movement speed) you can drop Mounted Combatant. This opens up taking another feat like Sentinel. NORMALLY I'd never tell a Cavalier to take Sentinel since they basically get it for free at 10, but you're never getting there so it can work here. And it makes it more likely you'll get in that AOO and get to use Unwavering Mark which is your tanking bread and butter. OR you could go Mountain Dwarf and get yourself an 18 in Str and Con at 4 or 6 (with the other ASI being PAM.)

[pr4wn]

Hey all. My group is going to start a new game, and I've opted to switch gears a bit and play a tank.

The rest of the party is a wizard, a ranged rogue, and a lore bard.

27 point buy, starting level 1, probably going to 7. Official stuff only.
...


Here are a couple more ideas. They may not be the optimal tank, but should work well with the above group.

Option 1: Goliath Fighter

Between Stone's Endurance and Second Wind, you have great survivability at lower levels that resets on a short rest. You can go down the Cavalier route, or pretty much any other fighter subclass. Your goal is to be an imposing figure on the battlefield and attract attention that way.

Option 2: Variant Human Ranger - Spear and Shield

1st Level: Ranger

Str: 16
Dex: 14
Con: 14
Int: 10
Wis: 12
Cha: 8

Variant Human Feat: Polearm Master

2nd Level: Take Dueling Fighting Style

3rd Level: Take Hunter Archetype
If your DM usually sends fewer, tougher monsters, take Colossus Slayer, if he swarms enemies, take Horde Breaker. Colossus Slayer can also trigger off of your opportunity attack if they are below max HP.

4th Level: ASI/Feat, take Mobility
You can now close, attack, retreat 5 feat (without provoking an attack), provoking an attack from PAM if they close. You also can effectively rush in to the enemies back ranks without taking opportunity attacks (you just need to swing at the opponents you go by). Being in the back ranks increases your threat level and will draw more attention to you.

5th Level: Extra Attack

6th Level: You can either continue as Ranger, or Multiclass out. If you are planning on multiclassing out, you will need to drop your INT to 9 and raise WIS to 13 at character creation. Life Cleric is something to consider, you get heavy armor and become a very efficient healer (you get 40HP of healing from a single casting of Goodberry, this is the probably the most efficient healing for a 1st level spell).

7th Level: Bump something, Ranger or another class, if you went straight Ranger, take Multi-attack Defense


These are not the most optimized tanks, but can be fun to play and still fulfill the role.

-pr4wn

[Samayu]

The rest of the party is a wizard, a ranged rogue, and a lore bard.

I can't decide what path might be the best one for me. I always play spellcasters, so maybe an EK is a good idea.

I found that EK is not a fighter/spellcaster mix, in that it doesn't give good utility casting. It mostly uses magic to boost its fighting abilities. I'm not saying that's good or bad, just be aware that it may or may not work as you expect.

Your ranged rogue will be good at staying out of of harm's way, but that increases the number of attacks coming a the rest of the party. So you'll need to spend extra effort to keep the wizard and bard alive. For a martial, this will generally be a mix of stickiness and damage dealing.

[MaxWilson]

I found that EK is not a fighter/spellcaster mix, in that it doesn't give good utility casting. It mostly uses magic to boost its fighting abilities. I'm not saying that's good or bad, just be aware that it may or may not work as you expect.

Yeah, EKs use magic for

(1) tanking/durability (Shield, Absorb Elements, Darkness + Alert feat),
(2) harming enemies that need magical weapons and/or boosting DPR (Magic Weapon, Shadow Blade),
(3) mobility (Misty Step, Expeditious Retreat, and/or the 15th level Arcane Charge ability to teleport before or after you Action Surge),
(4) enhancing grappling (Enlarge),
(5) summoning meatshields (Animate Dead),
(6) control or crowd control (Tasha's Hideous Laughter, Fireball, Fear).

#1 and some #6 can be done via abjuration/evocation spells, but options #2-5 mostly require your free-school picks, of which you only have 4 at 20th level, so you have to choose what to specialize in.

Fundamentally EKs are fantastic tanks who are never left without a good magic weapon. It's a very Fightery role, just one that uses magic. If you want to be more like a classic Fighter/Mage you should play a Bladesinger or a multiclassed Fighter/Wizard (e.g. Battlemaster 11/Diviner 9).

[RogueJK]

The key to a good tank is keeping the attention of the enemies. This means reducing their movement speed, imposing Disadvantage on attack rolls VS anyone but you, things like that.
...
Paladins are pretty decent, with IMO Conquest being the best among them since they can reduce an enemies speed so nobody gets by them.


Normally, yes. But that's at higher levels (7+). Considering this is a Level 1-7 campaign, I'd actually recommend Ancients over Conquest for keeping enemies locked down. They have two options starting at Level 3 to impose the Restrained condition: Channel Divinity Nature's Wrath and the Ensnaring Strike spell. Restrained creatures have a speed of zero so they can't get away to attack your allies, their attacks have Disadvantage, and attacks against them have Advantage. Pairs nicely with the ranged Rogue for Sneak Attacks from afar.

Crown would be a similarly useful (but not quite as good) choice at lower levels, with both a Channel Divinity and a 1st Level spell (Compelled Duel) option from Level 3 to make enemies focus on you instead of your allies. But Compelled Duel ends if anyone but you damages the enemy, and neither one of Crown's options impose any debuff on the enemies that are now focusing on you, like the Ancients' Restrain methods do.

[Klorox]

I found that EK is not a fighter/spellcaster mix, in that it doesn't give good utility casting. It mostly uses magic to boost its fighting abilities. I'm not saying that's good or bad, just be aware that it may or may not work as you expect.

Your ranged rogue will be good at staying out of of harm's way, but that increases the number of attacks coming a the rest of the party. So you'll need to spend extra effort to keep the wizard and bard alive. For a martial, this will generally be a mix of stickiness and damage dealing.

So, what’s the best way to do that?

[RogueJK]

So, what’s the best way to do that?

A Fighter with Polearm Master + Sentinel, or an Ancients Paladin.

For PAM + Sentinel in a Level 1-7 campaign, your best bet would be a Variant Human Battlemaster. 16 STR/CON. Polearm Master at 1, then +2 STR at 4 and Sentinel at 6 (or vice versa). Don't pick Maneuvers that use your Reaction, since you'll already be using most of those for your PAM+S Opportunity Attacks. Pick Maneuvers that will hinder bad guys who are trying to get away from you to attack your allies, like Trip or Goading. Commander's Strike would be especially good for allowing your Rogue to occasionally get 2x Sneak Attacks per round.

A Variant Human Ancients Paladin with just Polearm Master would also be a good choice. 16 STR/CHA and 14 CON, then +2 STR at Level 4. Stickiness from Ancients' Restrained options instead of Sentinel (and available earlier than Sentinel), plus extra damage from the bonus PAM attacks and smites, and the ability to buff the party with spells like Bless that the other casters don't get. Consider going Dueling Fighting Style with a Spear and Shield, if you want to further boost your damage and AC at the expense of controlling a smaller area since you won't have reach. (But that's less important than on a PAM+S build.)

[Squawks]

Assuming the Explorer's Guide to Wildemount is allowed by your DM (should be), I heartily recommend the Echo Knight Fighter subclass for this situation. Like others have said you need both the ability to take a hit and the ability to control your opponents to prevent them from hitting your squishies.

Echo Knight does a number of interesting things for your party in particular, firstly it adds a two bodies to a currently averagly sized party of 4. The extra body to move around and keep enemies locked down by Sentinel aided opportunity attacks will be useful for controlling the battlefield. Not as much benefit as if you were a 2 or 3 player party, but certainly more useful than in a party of 5+.

A second benefit to adding another body is turning on Sneak Attack for your ranged Rogue against more targets. This is going to depend on rules interpretation from your DM as Mathew Mercer has ruled on twitter that it does not work with the optional flanking rules, which mean it might not work with Sneak Attack either but I feel like this is an area that is going to vary by DM.

Lastly the Echo Knight is incredibly well rounded, it has all the defensive package of a Fighter (d10 hit die, heavy armor, Second Wind, potential for a defensive Fighting Style). It has great offensive output with your choice of melee weapon, including additional attacks from Unleash Incarnation. Finally it has inbuilt mobility through it's position swap with the echo allowing you to be all over the place in combat, and anywhere you need out of combat.

[Eldariel]

So, what’s the best way to do that?

Plenty of beasts have ways to tie down enemies (restraint, grapple, knockdown, etc.) so a Moon Druid natively works here very well - many of the best forms on low levels do this like Dire Wolf, Deinonychus, Giant Spider, Giant Octopus, Giant Rocktopus, Giant Constrictor Snake, Giant Elk, etc. Then when you hit level 5 you can summon a horde of things that can tie enemies down to turbocharge this (like Constrictor Snakes and such) or one Giant Constrictor Snake that can even try to grapple Tarrasque if it so desires.

[Unoriginal]

I'm a huge fan of Cavalier, especially with mounted combatant. At this level range that, to me, means you should probably take variant human so you have Mounted Combatant from the beginning. Since the Cavalier abilities depend on things being within 5 ft of you, being on a large mount (depending somewhat on DM interpretation) gives you more squares to make folks be within 5 ft. of you, and the auto advantage on medium and smaller creatures is really nice.

Cavalier is awesome, but I wouldn't focus on the mounted combat part. And there are several feats that are far more impressive for a Cavalier.

That being said if it's for a campaign with lots of outdoor/mounted combat, then it could be pretty cool.

Now I'm thinking about how a knightly campaign could be great...

[MaxWilson]

Plenty of beasts have ways to tie down enemies (restraint, grapple, knockdown, etc.) so a Moon Druid natively works here very well - many of the best forms on low levels do this like Dire Wolf, Deinonychus, Giant Spider, Giant Octopus, Giant Rocktopus, Giant Constrictor Snake, Giant Elk, etc. Then when you hit level 5 you can summon a horde of things that can tie enemies down to turbocharge this (like Constrictor Snakes and such) or one Giant Constrictor Snake that can even try to grapple Tarrasque if it so desires.

Technically even a regular old Constrictor Snake or Alligator can grapple the Tarrasque. E.g.

Bite: Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 7 (1d10 + 2) piercing damage, and the target is Grappled (escape DC 12). Until this grapple ends, the target is Restrained, and the crocodile can't bite another target.

However, the mental image of an alligator restraining a Gargantuan monster in its jaws is pretty stupid so don't try to use that technicality in real serious gaming, only use the idea to amuse your friends. :)

[Klorox]

Thanks guys. I'll check all these out.

Question: if I were to go moon druid, it's best to make sure I have proficiency in athletics, because that'll transfer over to beast-form, correct?

EDIT: It looks like Cavalier would be a very good option as well, it's 3rd level ability basically forces enemies to target me.

[Gtdead]

The party is ranged. Which means kiting and a lot of ground to cover. This is going to be a problem for you and for the rogue probably. If he misses his hide actions, his dpr will suffer without a melee to help him land the SA.

Normally I'd say Paladin with a lot of Javelins, but rogue isn't very autonomous, plus you don't have good targets for bless. Both wizard and bard aren't the best archers. They aren't terrible at the very few first levels, but I think a bless is a waste on them.

I would go for Eldritch Knight. Grab a ranged cantrip like chill touch or ray of frost, but really the only reason for EK is expeditious retreat.

Anyway, your main job is to either hold chokepoints or threaten the ranged characters. You can't really tank a horde of melee enemies in open space as a single melee no matter what class your choose (maybe spirit guardian classes can). Dash and dodge are going to be your friends in the first turns of combat.

At lvl 3 you get expeditious retreat and things start to change. Now you can dash as a bonus action so you can play as offensively as you like and still be able to intercept anyone that's coming for you squishies even in a kiting scenario.

You can go for a warcaster+BB build but I don't think it's necessary. I think GWM is better, not for the +10/-5, but the ability to attack a second enemy after you kill the first, will help with the melee swarms if your DM uses this tactic.

[Unoriginal]

Have to point out that while the Moon Druid is a damage sponge, the subclass by itseld doesn't really have any feature to protect teammates or to draw the fire.

Moon Druid+Sentinel can work, though.

[stoutstien]

Have to point out that while the Moon Druid is a damage sponge, the subclass by itseld doesn't really have any feature to protect teammates or to draw the fire.

Moon Druid+Sentinel can work, though.

The do have some good forms that are either just big and in the way and/or good at grappling.
Combine that with the good spell the druid haves for general CC they do ok.

[Eldariel]

Thanks guys. I'll check all these out.

Question: if I were to go moon druid, it's best to make sure I have proficiency in athletics, because that'll transfer over to beast-form, correct?

EDIT: It looks like Cavalier would be a very good option as well, it's 3rd level ability basically forces enemies to target me.

Athletics isn't bad but it's not necessary either as most of the forms come with built-in CC that doesn't require any skill checks. So totally up to you.


Have to point out that while the Moon Druid is a damage sponge, the subclass by itseld doesn't really have any feature to protect teammates or to draw the fire.

Moon Druid+Sentinel can work, though.

Most forms can prone, restrain or similar. Prone means allies can't be reached if they keep just a bit of distance, restrain is super-grapple+prone, etc. Overall, they are already inherently very strong CC machines though of course you can augment it with feats.

[MaxWilson]

Have to point out that while the Moon Druid is a damage sponge, the subclass by itseld doesn't really have any feature to protect teammates or to draw the fire.

Moon Druid+Sentinel can work, though.

Sentinel is virtually redundant to a Giant Octopus, Giant Constrictor Snake, etc. You get to grapple-and-restrain-on-opportunity-attack already. Save your feats for Resilient (Con) and Warcaster so you can flood the battlefield with meatshields while still tanking in person. (Skulker is also good for goblin Druids.)

[Klorox]

I was pretty set on playing a paladin or fighter with polearm master (sentinel at 4). Then I realized I won’t be 5’ from foes, which nerfs my teams rogue, because he won’t easily get reliable sneak attacks.

Should I stick with the same idea but go spear/shield, or go to a more traditional paladin, fighter or barbarian?

[CTurbo]

I was pretty set on playing a paladin or fighter with polearm master (sentinel at 4). Then I realized I won’t be 5’ from foes, which nerfs my teams rogue, because he won’t easily get reliable sneak attacks.

Should I stick with the same idea but go spear/shield, or go to a more traditional paladin, fighter or barbarian?

Wolf Totem Barb! GWM and Sentinel

[x3n0n]

Wolf Totem Barb! GWM and Sentinel

Agreed on Wolf Totem Barb + Sentinel! Your Rogue (and the rest of your party) will love it when you have neighbors.

I'd lean more towards staying upright at that point: shield & one-handed weapon.

[Klorox]

Wolf Totem Barb! GWM and Sentinel

Can you tell me what this does?

I almost always play full spellcasters. This is new to me.

[CTurbo]

Can you tell me what this does?

I almost always play full spellcasters. This is new to me.

Wolf Totem at level 3 grants all of your buddies advantage on all attacks when they are standing next to you. Sentinel allows you to attack the enemy when/if an ally next to you is attacked. GWM just means that you hit really hard. When everything is working right, you'll be able to attack 4 times each round. If your Rogue buddy is an Elf or Half-Elf, they can take Elven Accuracy for triple advantage on all attacks when they're beside you.

[Gtdead]

The rogue is ranged, won't work with wolf totem. If he was melee it would be a good idea.

As for PAM, nothing is really stopping you from just getting closer. The only complication is going to be the PAM AoO in combination with sentinel, immobilizing an enemy away from you. Depending on the initiative order, it may get annoying but I don't see it as a problem. A ranged rogue should be able to combat hide easily but it's DM dependent.

[CTurbo]

After rereading the 1st post, I agree Wolf Totem Barb is a poor choice.

I'd go Paladin or Cleric.

[x3n0n]

The rogue is ranged, won't work with wolf totem. If he was melee it would be a good idea.

As for PAM, nothing is really stopping you from just getting closer. The only complication is going to be the PAM AoO in combination with sentinel, immobilizing an enemy away from you. Depending on the initiative order, it may get annoying but I don't see it as a problem. A ranged rogue should be able to combat hide easily but it's DM dependent.

I had missed that the Rogue is ranged (and had forgotten that the Wolf totem only gives advantage on melee attacks).

That said, ensuring that you always have an adjacent enemy is helpful for Sneak Attack anyway. Sentinel and Moon Druid with control-capable Wild Shapes seem like the best options in this level range, IMO.

[LordCdrMilitant]

Hey all. My group is going to start a new game, and I've opted to switch gears a bit and play a tank.

The rest of the party is a wizard, a ranged rogue, and a lore bard.

27 point buy, starting level 1, probably going to 7. Official stuff only.

I can't decide what path might be the best one for me. I always play spellcasters, so maybe an EK is a good idea. A barbarian makes a great tank too, and a paladin would give me some spells to play with. Some kind of polearm master could really keep enemies away from my squishy friends.

I'm really not sure where to go here and I look forward to your responses. Thanks!

It is important to foremost consider how your tank will fit within your envisioned future doctrine, how it will interact with both your own complementary systems and those of expected opposition forces, and your logisitcal ability to field and operate it in the numbers you require in the theaters you expect to be engaging in ...... oh. Not that kind of tank.

That said, consider the real tank: it is not simply a large meaty object that absorbs fire and not much else that the enemy shoots at like idiots while fragile but lethal units shoot past its head. It is also the commanding threat in the field: better armed than anything else and faster too so that it can use it. It is armored because it is more threatening and the enemy will try to destroy it before it can decide the engagement with its firepower and maneuverability.


TL:DR shut up about tanks: to be an effective tank that can support and protect other characters, you need to be able to present decisive threat that requires servicing and do so in such a way that it is effective against the enemy and coordinated with your party.

[Angelalex242]

I prefer Oath of Ancients vuman paladins who are born with Heavy Armor Master, sentinel, and beeline for charisma 20.

The idea is that you're not just a physical tank, you're a magic/saves tank, and magic can kill the party much faster.

[sithlordnergal]

Have to point out that while the Moon Druid is a damage sponge, the subclass by itseld doesn't really have any feature to protect teammates or to draw the fire.

Moon Druid+Sentinel can work, though.

Well, that's actually where your spells and forms come into play. Things like Entangle, Flaming Sphere, Moon Beam, Spike Growth, ect. can provide damage and battlefield control by simple area denial. Fog Cloud helps to stop most spell casters, since they can't see their target area, and Warding Wind helps defend against Ranged attacks. Meanwhile most Beast forms are either a large enough threat on their own to draw some fire, or they have ways to auto-grapple on a hit, or knock people prone. Not only that but they also tend to have a high movement, so you can grapple then drag an enemy away from your allies.

[Klorox]

I prefer Oath of Ancients vuman paladins who are born with Heavy Armor Master, sentinel, and beeline for charisma 20.

The idea is that you're not just a physical tank, you're a magic/saves tank, and magic can kill the party much faster.

I like this idea. Unfortunately, it won't happen a game that will likely be ending at level 8. But what could happen is a decent paladin with a 20 CHA at the end who will still be good in combat and who will help keep him friends alive.