3 man party tank?

[BobaDefett]

My wife, son (6), and I are going to be using d&d to help my son learn math. The wife and I have been playing for decades. My son has decided he wants to play a monk, as they are the closest thing to a ninja/karate guy, as he puts it, that exists. My wife will play some sort of spellcaster, as she always does, which leaves me tanking. Now I've never played in such a small party before. We will be fudging a lot of dice rolls to keep the game going so my son has a great time without dying. (I still plan on him getting worried about death) I was wondering what would be a solid tank for such a small party with no healer?

[Eldariel]

Well, Cleric is obviously one of the best tanks in the game and would fit to the T. Arcana, Twilight, Peace, Forge are all solid. Druid also works; particularly Moon Druid is just an absurdly huge sac of HP that also brings a bunch of its own sacs of HP on level 5. Bard (e.g. Swords Bard with the Hexblade dip or Moderately Armored) would also work pretty well, as would Paladin. Honestly, there are lots of choices; but I'd make sure to have restorative magic, support magic and frontline ability.

[f5anor]

My wife, son (6), and I are going to be using d&d to help my son learn math. The wife and I have been playing for decades. My son has decided he wants to play a monk, as they are the closest thing to a ninja/karate guy, as he puts it, that exists. My wife will play some sort of spellcaster, as she always does, which leaves me tanking. Now I've never played in such a small party before. We will be fudging a lot of dice rolls to keep the game going so my son has a great time without dying. (I still plan on him getting worried about death) I was wondering what would be a solid tank for such a small party with no healer?

The obvious answer is Paladin. Its arguably anyway the best tank in the game, and also comes with very reliable healing.

If you include "Inspiring Leader" you can not only heal, but even increase their hit points every short rest.

I would recommend Conquest, the fear lockdown works marvels. If you go Dragonborn, you will have extra lock down options with "Dragon Fear".



Frightened
A frightened creature has disadvantage on ability checks and attack rolls while the source of its fear is within line of sight.

The creature can't willingly move closer to the source of its fear.

With this condition imposed on the enemies, they will not even dare to come close, let alone attack you or your party.

Not to mention the other great defensive goodies Paladins get past Tier 1.

[KillingTime]

Cleric and Paladin are both great tanks that bring healing and decent -> excellent front line abilities.
Or just take a bearbarian and be done with it.

[CTurbo]

I'm actually in a similar position with my 2 daughters. Me and my Brother-in-law are trying to get our kids to play a campaign. One daughter wants to play a Wizard that blows stuff up and the other wants to play a Sorcerer that blows stuff up. Obviously they are going to be very squishy so I want to play a tank. I chose Barbarian because I think they will enjoy me playing a big dumb stereotypical Barbarian more than they would me playing a fancy magical tank like Cleric. Ironically, my nephew who is 7 is going to be the 4th player and he wants to play a Kung Fu Monk.

I vote Barbarian because most young kids can somewhat relate or at least understand what a Barbarian is and does, and I think it would be entertaining to them to see us roleplay.

[Unoriginal]

My wife, son (6), and I are going to be using d&d to help my son learn math. The wife and I have been playing for decades. My son has decided he wants to play a monk, as they are the closest thing to a ninja/karate guy, as he puts it, that exists. My wife will play some sort of spellcaster, as she always does, which leaves me tanking. Now I've never played in such a small party before. We will be fudging a lot of dice rolls to keep the game going so my son has a great time without dying. (I still plan on him getting worried about death) I was wondering what would be a solid tank for such a small party with no healer?

Cavalier Fighter is a great tank.

Psi Warrior Fighter can also be, but I dunno if you want your son to consider positioning and related tactical concerns.

Ancestral Barbarian is pretty great to protect all your party at once.

[J-H]

Paladin or any heavy-armor cleric (Forge, Life, Grave, Order).

[Burley]

I'd go with the obligatory dwarven cleric in heavy armor. You're going to want to be able to buff and heal the karate guy, who will learn lots of math from temporary bonuses and healing.
Paladin is nice because it's has spells and abilities to draw fire, but you'll definitely probably need the extra healing in a 3 person party.

[Spiritchaser]

You’ll likely be ok with whatever, but if your spell caster is not a CHA caster then I’d pick a Paladin, or alternatively a Paladin with a sorcerer warlock or bard dip.

A tank with a bit of healing who can clean up fairly well, be persuasive or intimidating and generally be the party face.

Maybe consider a CHA focussed conquest Paladin with a 1 level hexblade dip.

[jojo]

You probably want to play a Paladin in this case so that you can Buff and, also Heal as needed. You don't REALLY need a dip to do this. You need to either choose the Oath of Ancients or, the Oath of the Watcher both of which give ridiculous auras. I'd lean towards Ancients because it lets you shut down spellcasters pretty hard.

You will want an additional body in your Party. I'd suggest choosing the Variant Noble Background with Retainers in conjunction with the Warrior Sidekick from TCoE to give you a second body to tank with. Alternatively you can get your Retainer as an Expert Sidekick to handle skillmonkey stuff.

Given the context, a simple conversation with your DM should let this happen.

[TyGuy]

son (6)

There are TTRPGs specifically designed for children. Simply fyi.

[jojo]

There are TTRPGs specifically designed for children. Simply fyi.

Don't be rude.

Also, provide examples.

[TyGuy]

Don't be rude.

Also, provide examples.

Just brought it up in case it wasn't considered. The familiarity and popularity of 5e can create a bubble effect. The game is based on heroic violence at heart. Sure there's a lot that can be added on to get around that, but then the question comes up 'wouldn't it be easier to run something designed for children?'

Hero Kids is popular. Amazing Tales seems like it might be nice. In addition to more G-rated themes, there's an added benefit of the systems being designed around quicker sessions for those mercurial attention spans.

[Burley]

Also, provide examples.

I have a game called Stuffed Fables and, while it's more complex that it could be, with competent adults it is fun, cute and a great introduction to tabletop games. Plus, there's lots of opportunities to practice reading aloud and discussion topics for the scenarios, which revolve around typical ~6 year old issues, like losing beloved toys, transitioning to a big-kid bed and night lights.

[KorvinStarmast]

I'd go with the obligatory dwarven cleric in heavy armor. I'll second this notion, with Life or Tempest as my suggestions. :smallsmile: