Ways to Get Enemies to Want to Hit You?

[jojosskul]

So, the campaign I've been running for the last year is going to wrap up right around the time Witchlight comes out, and one of my players who also DMs is going to run it to give me a break for a few months. Hooray!

After going back and forth through MULTIPLE different character concepts I'm fairly certain I've settled on building a Clockwork Soul Sorcerer (I love sorcerers and haven't had a chance to play either of the new ones yet) that really leans into armor of agathys and making it last as long as possible.

I've decided to go all in and (with the DMs agreement) am playing a Rogue Modron using Custom Race from Tasha's, so a starting feat is on the table. My DM has requested that I do not start with an 18.

What I would like some help on is figuring out ways to make it so that melee enemies WANT to hit me. Best solution I've come up with so far is Booming Blade combined with Quicken and Twin, so they are at least punished for trying to walk away from me. That does mean I'm essentially building a Gish if I go that route, and would likely take my second level as a hexblade of the Raven Queen, saying the character got seperated from a Great Modron March in the Shadowfell.

What are some other ways I could get enemies to stick to me as a Gish? Also, is there any way to make them more likely to want to hit me if I went full on control caster instead and was able to avoid the hexblade dip? Also, by doing this am I just trying to build something using a sorcerer that a warlock/hexblade literally just does better?

Looking forward to feedback/advice! Thanks!

[PhantomSoul]

There are the classic "meta/RP" was (be so annoying the enemy just wants you dead, be so hard-hitting that the enemy has to deal with you, make other targets dangerously far [difficult terrain, opportunity attacks, terrain damage...] so the enemy can't really benefit from leaving you or can't actually get rid of you, don't be nearly impossible to hit).

Compelled Duel (L1 Enchantment Spell for Paladins, so also from the Fey Touched Feat) to give disadvantage to attack others.
I think there's a Paladin Channel Divinity that does something similar?
Armorer Artificer's Thunder Gauntlets does the same.
If you can wall off or hide other party members without negating their ability to participate, that might help too.
Buff allies to make them harder to hit (e.g. Greater Invisibility) or have allies be unpleasant to hit (e.g. Armor of Agathys and Fire Shield throwing damage back at the attacker).

[CheddarChampion]

Sorcerers are one of the lowest HP and AC classes, why do you want to be attacked?
(The Hexblade dip would help a lot with the AC part.)

Tanking, in practice, depends on your DM's style.
Method 1: Stand next to your enemy. Best for DMs that try to keep combat moving.
Method 2: Annoy your enemies, whether by taunting them via RP or by hampering them mechanically. Best for DMs that like to RP enemy actions (i.e. "The Orc wants revenge for his brother so he'll attack his brother's killer" or "The Werewolf is angry you tried to charm it so it'll attack you.").
Methods 3 and 4: Make it hard to ignore you and make yourself a high value target. I group these together because they're effective in the same situation: they work best with a DM that likes to run challenging combat. Hard to ignore you means something like Sentinel or Warcaster + BB. A high value target means something like concentrating on a spell that has several enemies CC'd (Web, Hypnotic Pattern) or by having/threatening a high damage output (Eldritch Blast + addons, knowing Fireball).

[jojosskul]

There are the classic "meta/RP" was (be so annoying the enemy just wants you dead, be so hard-hitting that the enemy has to deal with you, make other targets dangerously far [difficult terrain, opportunity attacks, terrain damage...] so the enemy can't really benefit from leaving you or can't actually get rid of you, don't be nearly impossible to hit).

Compelled Duel (L1 Enchantment Spell for Paladins, so also from the Fey Touched Feat) to give disadvantage to attack others.
I think there's a Paladin Channel Divinity that does something similar?
Armorer Artificer's Thunder Gauntlets does the same.
If you can wall off or hide other party members without negating their ability to participate, that might help too.
Buff allies to make them harder to hit (e.g. Greater Invisibility) or have allies be unpleasant to hit (e.g. Armor of Agathys and Fire Shield throwing damage back at the attacker).

Compelled Duel is super interesting! And grabbing that from Fey Touched would be pretty simple, I was considering taking it as a half feat anyway.

I got super excited thinking I might be able to twin it, and I CAN, but I then can't attack either target without ending the spell, and have to maintain myself within 30 ft of BOTH targets. However, my armor of agathys/fire shield (eventually) should hurt both without breaking anything. But then I'm limited to non-hostile actions/buffing on my turn. So, twinnable, and absolutely not worth twinning. But still amazing for keeping at least one person fighting my character. I like it and am going to find a way to put it in the build.

Making allies unpleasant to hit is likely off the table because I'll be using my resources to make MYSELF super unpleasant to hit.

Late in the build I'm hoping things like twinning haste will make me a target. If I focused on that route, concentrating on something powerful enough that odds are the enemies will want to try and make me drop it, is Warcaster worth it? Yes I have Con saves, but the idea of the build is to get hit a LOT, and it lets me booming blade as an op attack, and reasonably be able to carry a shield if I feel I need it.

[Bobthewizard]

You can go straight sorcerer for this. Mage armor + dex is good enough for this build, since you want to get hit some, but a level or 2 of hexblade is always good on any sorcerer. Bastion of Law works like the Abjuration Wizard's Arcane Ward to make your Armor of Agathys last longer, allowing you to do more damage from being hit. Cast Armor of Agathys at its highest level, then wade in and get hit, reducing the damage with your Bastion of Law.

If you start combat with a crowd control spell, they should want to hit you. Warcaster is essential for this build to help you keep concentration. It also allows you to make Booming Blade AOO if they try to leave.

This comes on later than it does for a Mark of Warding abjurer, but it should be fun from levels 6 and up.

[jojosskul]

Sorcerers are one of the lowest HP and AC classes, why do you want to be attacked?
(The Hexblade dip would help a lot with the AC part.)

Tanking, in practice, depends on your DM's style.
Method 1: Stand next to your enemy. Best for DMs that try to keep combat moving.
Method 2: Annoy your enemies, whether by taunting them via RP or by hampering them mechanically. Best for DMs that like to RP enemy actions (i.e. "The Orc wants revenge for his brother so he'll attack his brother's killer" or "The Werewolf is angry you tried to charm it so it'll attack you.").
Methods 3 and 4: Make it hard to ignore you and make yourself a high value target. I group these together because they're effective in the same situation: they work best with a DM that likes to run challenging combat. Hard to ignore you means something like Sentinel or Warcaster + BB. A high value target means something like concentrating on a spell that has several enemies CC'd (Web, Hypnotic Pattern) or by having/threatening a high damage output (Eldritch Blast + addons, knowing Fireball).

I'm looking to make good use of Armor of Agathys from clockwork soul (or hexblade), upcasting that and Aid as much as possible while protecting armor of agathys via Bastion of Law once I eventually hit Clockwork Sorc 6.

The advice of RP taunting enemies is something I hadn't considered, which is odd because I have such things effect certain creatures on the DM side of things. Seems like a fun aspect to add to the character as well.

The build is going to make heavy use of BB, so Warcaster keeps looking better for this purpose. Only issue with it, is if I've already BB'd the enemy by attacking them the previous turn and they move DIRECTLY away from me, the moving damage from both BBs won't stack. If they have to move AROUND me first the first will trigger and then I get the opp attack if they leave my range. However, in those cases I could always target them with another spell instead.

I like the idea of Sentinel since if I hit them their speed drops to 0. They literally can't go anywhere else, and if they're melee their option becomes to hit me or take the dodge action, which even if armor of agathys isn't damaging them that's still a win on the action economy. I don't want to be too hard to hit so I may not want to use a shield anyway. Hard to pick between the two feats, or neither of them.

[jojosskul]

You can go straight sorcerer for this. Mage armor + dex is good enough for this build, since you want to get hit some, but a level or 2 of hexblade is always good on any sorcerer. Bastion of Law works like the Abjuration Wizard's Arcane Ward to make your Armor of Agathys last longer, allowing you to do more damage from being hit. Cast Armor of Agathys at its highest level, then wade in and get hit, reducing the damage with your Bastion of Law.

If you start combat with a crowd control spell, they should want to hit you. Warcaster is essential for this build to help you keep concentration. It also allows you to make Booming Blade AOO if they try to leave.

This comes on later than it does for a Mark of Warding abjurer, but it should be fun from levels 6 and up.

I've played around with the build doing straight sorcerer, and it actually works quite well that way if you play a Dwarf. Medium armor and grab weapon proficiencies of your choice. At this point though I'm absolutely enamored with playing a custom lineage Rogue Modron.

I may have been approaching this the wrong way however. I've been looking to do as much damage as possible with my attacks/booming blades once I'm in melee so had been looking at things like Hex/Haste and other self combat buffs. But what you and others have said about drawing attacks by concentrating on a crowd control (or possibly buff) spell makes a lot of sense. At 4th level spells while having a 3rd (or higher, thanks font of magic!) Armor of Agathys up and polymorphing myself and one of my closest friends into T-Rex's while benefitting from warcaster... I might to stop focus on being a Gish and more focus on being a Sorcerer who happens to stand on the front lines daring people to hit them.

[BloodSnake'sCha]

Against intelligent enemies you want to cast a high value concentration spell that they will want to stop.

Against non intelligent enemies you want to be near them and on their way.

[Crucius]

You asked if warcaster is good here. I would argue it is a must-have. If you want enemies to hit you, simply walk up to them and then pressure them with a ridiculously strong opportunity attack so they don't simply walk away from you, and therefore 'must' hit you.

It doesn't have to be booming blade, it can be disintegrate you know. You are never losing here. They either hit you (which you want), or they walk away from you and you get to cast another leveled spell in a round.

[Kuulvheysoon]

There are the classic "meta/RP" was (be so annoying the enemy just wants you dead, be so hard-hitting that the enemy has to deal with you, make other targets dangerously far [difficult terrain, opportunity attacks, terrain damage...] so the enemy can't really benefit from leaving you or can't actually get rid of you, don't be nearly impossible to hit).

Compelled Duel (L1 Enchantment Spell for Paladins, so also from the Fey Touched Feat) to give disadvantage to attack others.
I think there's a Paladin Channel Divinity that does something similar?
Armorer Artificer's Thunder Gauntlets does the same.
If you can wall off or hide other party members without negating their ability to participate, that might help too.
Buff allies to make them harder to hit (e.g. Greater Invisibility) or have allies be unpleasant to hit (e.g. Armor of Agathys and Fire Shield throwing damage back at the attacker).

You're thinking of the much maligned (and rightfully so, tbh) Oath of the Crown from the SCAG (Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide).

Channel Divinity: Champion Challenge
As a bonus action, you issue a challenge that compels other creatures to do battle with you. Each creature of your choice that you can see within 30 feet of you must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, a creature can't willingly move more than 30 feet away from you. This effect ends on the creature if you are incapacitated or die or if the creature is more than 30 feet away from you.
The best part about the CD is even though it's only 1/SR, it hits every foe within 30 feet, not just one of your choice.

If you dip it for three levels, not only do you get smites and such but you get command and compelled duel as free prepared spells, leaving your precious spells known as a sorc (less troublesome as a clockwork sorc, I know) free. You could also nab a pair of cleric cantrips (based on Charisma) with the Blessed Warrior fighting style from TCOE, if that's your thing.

[RogueJK]

Hard to ignore you means something like Sentinel or Warcaster + BB.

Of the two, Sentinel is the better tanking option.

Sentinel lets you freeze enemies with an OA when they try to move away, plus smack an enemy for attacking a nearby ally. So you get to punish them for moving away, as well as punish them for staying put and attacking anyone but you. Plus Disengaging does them no good.

Warcaster + Booming Blade simply lets you punish an enemy for moving away, and they could still Disengage. Less than half of the usefulness of Sentinel, when it comes to making an enemy want to stick around and attack you.

(And unfortunately, these two feats don't combine very well, since Sentinel's speed reduction prevents BB's rider damage from triggering. But having both does still let you add BB's d8 or two of extra damage to your OA, or use Green Flame Blade to hit two adjacent enemies if one tries to move away, so it may be worth taking Warcaster too.)

[jojosskul]

You asked if warcaster is good here. I would argue it is a must-have. If you want enemies to hit you, simply walk up to them and then pressure them with a ridiculously strong opportunity attack so they don't simply walk away from you, and therefore 'must' hit you.

It doesn't have to be booming blade, it can be disintegrate you know. You are never losing here. They either hit you (which you want), or they walk away from you and you get to cast another leveled spell in a round.

That is an excellent point, I kept thinking of Warcaster in relation to just BB, but I can just as easily cast anything else. And fear of getting a leveled spell cast at you is a wonderful way to make enemies stay put.

Question now becomes do I want to delay my spell progression at all with the single level of hexblade? My goal is to get hit, and I want Bastion of Law online as soon as possible.

With the 14 Dex (best I can do with Custom Race while taking Warcaster unless I start with 14/15 Cha, which no) my AC with mage armor would be 15, not much different than 16 from medium armor without a shield, and I'd still have the spell Shield for emergencies. And I'd have no interruption to spell slot or spell level progression.

I'd have to give up on booming blade, which is unfortunate but this thread has shown me alternate methods of drawing aggro, so not the end of the world. Shocking Grasp does decent enough damage and can fill in just fine for my "default" attack.

On the other hand, that one level of hexblade gets me, well, one level of hexblade. Medium Armor/Shields, Hex as a good default concentration option for smaller fights, Charisma based attacks with a longsword, hexblades curse, and even Hellish Rebuke.

Thoughts?

[BoxANT]

the solution is simple, taunt the DM.

[BloodSnake'sCha]

the solution is simple, taunt the DM.

Or to bribe him.

[Sherlockpwns]

I’m not sure about a straight sorcerer, even a dwarf one. Since you don’t get shield proficiency, your ac max is 17. That’s hardly tank-worthy. You also don’t have anything for save defense. I suppose if the goal is milking armor of ag, then maybe a middle range ac is fine.

As far as the abilities that really tend to lock people on to you, I’m a little surprised Cavalier hasn’t been brought up. It has an at will compelled duel (though you REALLY need sentinel since it only works if they stay within 5ft). I think armor artificer is better at giving mass disadvantage to be honest, but cavalier is a close second.


One funny non-sorcerer thing you could do is go cavalier fighter 3 / battle smith x. Riding the pet is optional, but you could make it so you mark an enemy. If they attack you, your defender gives them disadvantage for an attack, if they attack the defender they also have disadvantage. Plus double opportunity attack potential.


That all said, not much is better at forcing a target to want to hit you than thunder gauntlets imo. You’d have to drop 3 levels of sorcerer and 1 spell progression. Even if you only used BB and your gauntlet, the extra damage and the disadvantage elsewhere makes you a much more appealing target. I suppose if I were building this I’d take armorer to 5 for extra attack and asi, pick up dual wielder, allowing to lock down up to 3 targets. While your sorcerer spells will kinda suck, your spell slots are only 2 levels behind.

So here is how I’d build it. Assuming your dm allows swapping at level 1, I’d put that 16 into int and 13 or 14 cha. Go for armorer to 3 first, dip sorcerer for 1, and back to armorer to 5. I’d take dual wield at level 1 and INT at armorer 4. This means at level 6 you’d be able to smack 3 targets, your AC will be very high, and you can even place a level 2 armor of agathys on yourself. The big downside here is your damage is gonna be a bit trash at a maximum of 3d6+8. After level 6 you can either go back to sorcerer or stay full Ironman, depending on if you want more spells or more magic items (and some nice save buffs). Your cha is low, but there are plenty of spells that don’t require DC checks, including buffs like haste, cloud of daggers, etc. also, you can quicken a spell and still attack twice, which opens up some interesting combos.

[Theodoxus]

Compelled Duel is super interesting! And grabbing that from Fey Touched would be pretty simple, I was considering taking it as a half feat anyway.

I got super excited thinking I might be able to twin it, and I CAN, but I then can't attack either target without ending the spell, and have to maintain myself within 30 ft of BOTH targets. However, my armor of agathys/fire shield (eventually) should hurt both without breaking anything. But then I'm limited to non-hostile actions/buffing on my turn. So, twinnable, and absolutely not worth twinning. But still amazing for keeping at least one person fighting my character. I like it and am going to find a way to put it in the build.

I know you're a DM, and maybe you and your friend already think along the same lines, but if not, you might want to ask them how they interpret the spell.

I have less of an issue with the bolded part, since the spell specifies "The spell ends if you attack any other creature..." implying 'not under the enchantment' - which is how I interpret it, so I'd be fine with a twinned Compelled Duel allowing you to freely attack either victim.

The questionable part for me is this line "if you cast a spell that targets a hostile creature other than the target..." and only because Twinned doesn't say anything about simultaneously. You target one creature and then Twin allows you to target a second creature. Kinda nit-picky, and I can certainly be talked out of it, but on the face, CD appears to really want to be singular in nature.

[solidork]

The build is going to make heavy use of BB, so Warcaster keeps looking better for this purpose. Only issue with it, is if I've already BB'd the enemy by attacking them the previous turn and they move DIRECTLY away from me, the moving damage from both BBs won't stack. If they have to move AROUND me first the first will trigger and then I get the opp attack if they leave my range. However, in those cases I could always target them with another spell instead.

The thing about Warcaster + BB is that Booming Blade's rider damage triggers if they move any distance. So they take the damage as they start to move, then once they try to leave your reach you get your opportunity attack Booming Blade and get to apply the rider again. If they continue to move they'll take the damage again.

[jojosskul]

The thing about Warcaster + BB is that Booming Blade's rider damage triggers if they move any distance. So they take the damage as they start to move, then once they try to leave your reach you get your opportunity attack Booming Blade and get to apply the rider again. If they continue to move they'll take the damage again.

Sadly it doesn't trigger unless they move willingly 5 feet or more. Based on how opportunity attacks trigger, you're going to be attacking with booming blade for the Op attack before the first booming blade damage triggers. And you can't be under the effect of multiple instances of the same spell at the same time. So if they move directly away from you they'll only take the rider damage from booming blade once. If they move WITHIN your reach first, THEN move away from you, you'll get both instances of damage.

[Ganryu]

I’m not sure about a straight sorcerer, even a dwarf one. Since you don’t get shield proficiency, your ac max is 17. That’s hardly tank-worthy. You also don’t have anything for save defense. I suppose if the goal is milking armor of ag, then maybe a middle range ac is fine.

As far as the abilities that really tend to lock people on to you, I’m a little surprised Cavalier hasn’t been brought up. It has an at will compelled duel (though you REALLY need sentinel since it only works if they stay within 5ft). I think armor artificer is better at giving mass disadvantage to be honest, but cavalier is a close second.


One funny non-sorcerer thing you could do is go cavalier fighter 3 / battle smith x. Riding the pet is optional, but you could make it so you mark an enemy. If they attack you, your defender gives them disadvantage for an attack, if they attack the defender they also have disadvantage. Plus double opportunity attack potential.


That all said, not much is better at forcing a target to want to hit you than thunder gauntlets imo. You’d have to drop 3 levels of sorcerer and 1 spell progression. Even if you only used BB and your gauntlet, the extra damage and the disadvantage elsewhere makes you a much more appealing target. I suppose if I were building this I’d take armorer to 5 for extra attack and asi, pick up dual wielder, allowing to lock down up to 3 targets. While your sorcerer spells will kinda suck, your spell slots are only 2 levels behind.

So here is how I’d build it. Assuming your dm allows swapping at level 1, I’d put that 16 into int and 13 or 14 cha. Go for armorer to 3 first, dip sorcerer for 1, and back to armorer to 5. I’d take dual wield at level 1 and INT at armorer 4. This means at level 6 you’d be able to smack 3 targets, your AC will be very high, and you can even place a level 2 armor of agathys on yourself. The big downside here is your damage is gonna be a bit trash at a maximum of 3d6+8. After level 6 you can either go back to sorcerer or stay full Ironman, depending on if you want more spells or more magic items (and some nice save buffs). Your cha is low, but there are plenty of spells that don’t require DC checks, including buffs like haste, cloud of daggers, etc. also, you can quicken a spell and still attack twice, which opens up some interesting combos.

Mage Armor, Blur, Shield, Mirror Image (and absorb elements for extra 'screw you DM')

I've had a DM curse me out for my tankiness as a sorcerer. I then had the problem of he would never target me. Even with new enemies that had no way of knowing I was ungodly to hit. Granted, it was stone sorcerer back in the day when that was an appealing UA, but even without shields, that can be up to 23 AC + Disadvantage + Mirror Image.

Problem is drawing agro.

That, and Op's build wants to be hit with Armor of Agathys.

His idea's pretty decent. Personally, I prefer lore bard with it, and grab AoA without dipping, as you can reduce incoming damage with their bardic inspiration.

But not bad way OP. I say role play wanting to get hit might do it.

Will say this as a bit of advice, if you're playing like this as sorcerer, your casting stat isn't actually as important as you'd think.

[Theodoxus]

Hmm... how about an untraditional combination?

Barbarian/Clockwork Sorcerer.

Need 2 levels of Barbarian for Reckless Attack at least. Need 2 levels of Sorcerer to swap alarm for armor of agathys. But after that?

Medium armor, shield for decent but not insane AC (you do want to be hit). Cast AoA then bonus action Rage. (AoA isn't Concentration, so it's fine). Your resistance helps with the THP from AoA.

Reckless Attack (which will help you hit, as your Str probably won't be awesome), but now you have Restore Balance! So your target won't have Advantage against you - well, PB times per long rest anyway.

I could see this multiclass working better when you have a single good roll (16-18) and at least a couple of 12's or 13's. Throw the high roll in Constitution, you'll be HP tanking primarily. Then as long as you have the necessary 13s in Str and Cha, you can multiclass. Obviously, higher stats help, but I don't think anyone will expect the Spanish Inquisition! Barbsorc!

[jojosskul]

Mage Armor, Blur, Shield, Mirror Image (and absorb elements for extra 'screw you DM')

I've had a DM curse me out for my tankiness as a sorcerer. I then had the problem of he would never target me. Even with new enemies that had no way of knowing I was ungodly to hit. Granted, it was stone sorcerer back in the day when that was an appealing UA, but even without shields, that can be up to 23 AC + Disadvantage + Mirror Image.

Problem is drawing agro.

That, and Op's build wants to be hit with Armor of Agathys.

His idea's pretty decent. Personally, I prefer lore bard with it, and grab AoA without dipping, as you can reduce incoming damage with their bardic inspiration.

But not bad way OP. I say role play wanting to get hit might do it.

Will say this as a bit of advice, if you're playing like this as sorcerer, your casting stat isn't actually as important as you'd think.

So I did some more thinking on it, and think I came up with a solution, based around a lot of the advice I received here. This solution requires a high casting stat, but that's because I'm leaving Booming Blade by the wayside. Instead of Hexblade, I'm taking a single level of Peace Cleric as my second level. This character is point buy, so stats with Custom Race end up being:

8 Str/12 Dex/14 Con/8 Int/14 Wis/17 Cha

To start. I spend level 1 with an extremely scary 11 AC, but then with Scale Mail and a Shield at level 2 I'm at 17. I think 17 is a good sweet spot AC wise, I'm still getting hit, but I can shield up to 22 if things get dicey or I'm mostly receiving ranged attacks. I use warcaster combined with melee compatible cantrips/leveled spells as the deterrent from leaving my threat range.

There are a few reasons I like this a little better:

1. This build LOVES higher spell slots for Armor of Agathys and Aid. Most of my high level slots are likely spent on that anyway, so keeping up with spell slot progression eases the sting of a dip quite a bit.

2. It does save on spell selection/slots by not needing Mage Armor.

3. The ability to healing word my allies to get them going again makes me an even MORE enticing target for enemies. Also, by still being able to focus on just my casting stat I can cast high value debuffs/control spells, that if they don't try and hit my they'll have to deal with the entire battle.

4. Saves me some 1st level spell selections, so I can bump those sorcerer spells to higher levels as I move up in level.

I do feel like a Peace Cleric would be quite focused on trying to protect others when combat ensues. I may try to annoy the enemy by yelling insults at them in Modron, which in my mind sounds like a really loud dial up modem from the 90s since the Modron language is a series of "clicks and whirrs."

I forgot to multiquote here but regarding Barbarian, I did consider it, fairly heavily. I think it's definitely a viable route to make this work, and honestly I don't think you'd WANT to cancel Reckless's advantage to hit you, at least not all the time. Yet another way to make the enemy want to attack you! Not going for it this time, ended up taking Blade Ward, but especially if you're good with taking a minimal Charisma it makes a great candidate for a Con focused build. Oh god, play a Dhampir and get your teeth silvered so they have a value. That covers you on the booming blade side of things, can even cast magic weapon on your teeth when you're not raging. No strength bonus to attack or reckless attack, but we're not fully here for that, especially if using Booming Blade.

Dhampir makes good Clockwork Soul tank confirmed. Weird.

[da newt]

Another way to get foe to attack you is to move through their melee range and troll for OpAtt. It's not always the best choice, but it's another way to trigger more attacks against you.

[jojosskul]

Another way to get foe to attack you is to move through their melee range and troll for OpAtt. It's not always the best choice, but it's another way to trigger more attacks against you.

That... is amazing. And I'm absolutely flabbergasted that I didn't think of it before. Intentionally triggering op attacks is perfect for this build. To the point where maybe Shocking Grasp isn't the best bet for melee cantrip, since I kind of WANT them to have their reactions.

I may be grabbing lightning lure. And instead of pulling them towards a hazard like you'd normally want to, I'LL be the hazard. Twin it on two enemies to get them within melee range and walk away, daring them to hit me. And whether they do or don't, move right back into melee afterwards so they trigger an op attack/spell from me if they try and leave.

Or if they're already engaged with me, pop a blade ward and do the same thing.

Thank you! This adds a whole extra tactical/decision making element to how the build is played.

[Damon_Tor]

I got super excited thinking I might be able to twin it, and I CAN, but I then can't attack either target without ending the spell, and have to maintain myself within 30 ft of BOTH targets. However, my armor of agathys/fire shield (eventually) should hurt both without breaking anything. But then I'm limited to non-hostile actions/buffing on my turn. So, twinnable, and absolutely not worth twinning. But still amazing for keeping at least one person fighting my character. I like it and am going to find a way to put it in the build.

I feel like it's worth thinking about how Twinned Spell actually works.


Twinned Spell
When you Cast a Spell that Targets only one creature and doesn’t have a range of self, you can spend a number of sorcery points equal to the spell’s level to target a second creature in range with the same spell (1 sorcery point if the spell is a cantrip).

What's important here: Twinned Spell does NOT create a second instance of the spell in question. You are still casting ONE spell, Twinned Spell is adding an additional target to that spell. That means you can ABSOLUTELY attack either of the two targets and not break spell: neither of them are "other creatures" because they are both targets of the ONE spell you cast. One downside to this however: if either of the creatures manages to break the spell by passing the save to move 30 feet from you, the whole spell ends, and other target is now free as well.

[Waterdeep Merch]

Or to bribe him.

Brag about your awesome unkillable character for four hours over text.

[Mork]

I'm building a similar charachter. But I'm going with a Dwarf with the mark of warding to get AoA. And will combo that with abjuration wizard.

Putting barbarian in there sounds interresting.. but it's just so counter synergystic. You want all your spell slots to get that AoA to keep up with enemy attacks, meaning as many caster levels. But that also means you want to cast spells.. which you can't when raging.

As for armor. I think it depends a lot on what kind DM you have (stupid monsters attack the closest thing) and if you have party members that are all flying for example. If that is the case it might be worth it for 1 level of tempest cleric, for a reaction attack when you get hit and heavy armour. Then add heavy armour master for DR3, and keep that AoA up even longer. Also if your are the main target to get attacked, they are going to chew through your defenses pretty quickly, so you'll want some armour.

If on the other hand there are other front line fighters you share the spotlight with, I think a low AC is probably better. My dwarf is going to go full slayer (warhammer), wearing nothing but a mage armour, daring people to hit him.

If you are going to go for oppertunity attacks, I would highly reccomend the blade ward cantrip before moving. But the problem with OA is that.. it's more attacks for the enemies, where they normally wouldn't have any. Although if the monsters have other ways to use their reaction (other party members moving, parry or counterspell) it is certainly worth it.

[Deen]

If you have INT for it there is an very interesting tank build:

9 Oath of Crown/4 Artificer: Armorer. BOth are half-casters so your slot progression is not lost for Smites and you get the following things to tank:

1. Channel Divinity: Champion Challenge. An AOE taunt that make enemies to be unable to move 30 feet from you.

2. Spirit Guardians. 15 feet around you is difficult terrain. Meaning enemies can't move more than 30 feet away from you so normal movement will only get them 15 feet away from you (diff. terrain) and dash can't get them further than 30 feet still.

3. Thunder Gauntlets - A creature hit by the gauntlet has disadvantage on attack rolls against targets other than you until the start of your next turn. So you can keep boss at attacking you or he has disadvantage on anyone else.

4. You also get Absorb Elements from Artificer and Mirror Image from Armorer.

5. Divine Allegiance from level 7 Oath of Crown: When a creature within 5 feet of you takes damage, you can use your reaction to magically substitute your own health for that of the target creature, causing that creature not to take the damage. Instead, you take the damage.

Overall a solid tank to keep enemies on him and to even prevent damage on allies.

[JackPhoenix]

Avoid Armor of Agathys/Fire Shield/Hellish Rebuke. The enemy is less likely to attack you if they get hurt doing it. Some people think those are "tanking" spells, but that's not true: they are akin to bright colors or pointy bits on animals: a warning to stay the Baator away. If someone gets to pick between hitting someone who causes damage when attacked, and attacking someone at disadvantage (and that's assuming those are the only options and they can't Help their allies instead, or use something that doesn't require attack roll, or simply Dodge or run away), guess what they'll pick, unless attacking the dangerous target is super critical?


(And unfortunately, these two feats don't combine very well, since Sentinel's speed reduction prevents BB's rider damage from triggering. But having both does still let you add BB's d8 or two of extra damage to your OA, or use Green Flame Blade to hit two adjacent enemies if one tries to move away, so it may be worth taking Warcaster too.)

War Caster specifically prevents you from targetting more than one creature, so no GFB.