Is there a way to use Warding Bond with Clay Golem from Summon Construct?

[Talionis]

If you can use “Tank”/“Soft Taunt” effects to get hit and share damage with your Clay Golem you trigger the Clay Golem’s Berserk Slam attack. Warding Bond is good because it gives you resistance to everything. Is there anything that we can add to make this viable? Magic Weapon on the Clay Golem may help some, but any good ideas on fleshing this out for a casting “Tank”?

[Rukelnikov]

I'm not sure I understand what it is that you are going for. Like, Warding Bond would make you take damage for the Golem and give it resistance to everything, unless you gave it a ring of spell storing or somehow made it so that the Golem casts Warding Bond on you.

Also, going berserk doesn't give it a bonus action attack, goin berserk makes it attack the nearest creature every turn, the bonus action attack is when the golem uses Haste.

So, again, I'm not entirely sure what it is that you want to do exactly.

Oh from Summon Construct, I completely forgot about that part

[stoutstien]

I tried something similar with a BattleSmith a few months ago though i went the other way with the SD using WB+ SSI on the summoned construct (i prefer stone) just to give it some extra staying power.
It was ok but nothing to write home about. On point with theme for the concept.

[Damon_Tor]

I'm assuming you're using a Spell Storing Item to make the golem cast Warding bond on you?

It's an interesting idea. You've got to be sure your con save is up to the challenge.

[Talionis]

I was thinking of being the tank, probably armorer and everything I hit with Gauntlets is soft taunted to me so I might take hits. Yes using the Spell Storing Item to have the Golem cast it on me, so I can take more. Use Aid to beef up both our HP.

As I see it, if I soft taunt two or three creatures and they attack me, I will get hit some and half the damage that hits me is passed on to the Clay Golem generating another attack for the Golem (or movement for Golem). Nice thing is I am taking half damage to help with Warding Bond that should help with Concentration checks.

Can this work as a play style? Is it worth the fuss? What can I do to make it better.

[Damon_Tor]

Well armorer doesn't get Warding Bond, that's only for Battlesmiths.

So to make this work the way you want it to you would need to dip 3 levels into something like cavalier for a mark effect.

[Talionis]

Mark of Sentinel gets it and is allowed in my game.

[Rukelnikov]

I was thinking of being the tank, probably armorer and everything I hit with Gauntlets is soft taunted to me so I might take hits. Yes using the Spell Storing Item to have the Golem cast it on me, so I can take more. Use Aid to beef up both our HP.

As I see it, if I soft taunt two or three creatures and they attack me, I will get hit some and half the damage that hits me is passed on to the Clay Golem generating another attack for the Golem (or movement for Golem). Nice thing is I am taking half damage to help with Warding Bond that should help with Concentration checks.

Can this work as a play style?

I think it depends a lot on what level you expect to play.

The thing here, is that you kinda need Art11 for it to work, and that is locking you into taking 2 more levels of artificar to get the spell at 13th, or MC into something else and get it at 18th.

If you go straight Artificer, you get Summon Construct at level 13, the Construct will have 40 hp, with lets say 10 more from Aid, and some temp HP source, it will help you tank, but its not a big buffer of health to work with, and if the Golem is directly targeted it will be dead pretty fast, so while I think it can work as a damage mitigation strategy, I don't know how viable having the Golem on the front lines will be.

If you multiclass into another caster for higher level slots after 13, you could add a 55 HP golem by 15, a second 55 HP by 16, a 70 HP on by 17, and finally an 85 one by 19.

I think you should expect to lose a golem in most serious encounters, so while by 13 it won't be a strat you can use in many encounters, or keep up thru an entire serious encounter, by 15, with 4 castings it will at least be doable. Note though, that resummoning during combat will be pretty inconvenient, not only are you spending your action, you must also give the SSI to the newly summoned golem which must also use its action to cast WB on you again, so it will be near the frontlines with relatively low hp, and having to spend its action on an action that doesn't improve its survivability much.

If you are starting at 18+ Art11/Clockwork7+ sounds better than Art13/Something5+


Is it worth the fuss?

Go for it, you seem to like the idea, but I wouldn't start a lvl 1 character aiming only for a playstyle that'll be viable by lvl 13.


What can I do to make it better.

Well, if you don't think restarting the strategy during combat is relevant, and you think you'll be able to get a Ring of spell storing by level 11 or before (its only a rare item, I don't think its a big ask by lvl 11), you could go Sorcadin, extend summon before going to short rest, have it attune to the ring during the rest, cast warding bond on you, and you have an hour of adventuring with a more powerful and durable golem, and maybe even get Interception style, so you can block attacks directed at your Golem.

[Damon_Tor]

I think it depends a lot on what level you expect to play.

The thing here, is that you kinda need Art11 for it to work, and that is locking you into taking 2 more levels of artificar to get the spell at 13th, or MC into something else and get it at 18th.

If you go straight Artificer, you get Summon Construct at level 13, the Construct will have 40 hp, with lets say 10 more from Aid, and some temp HP source, it will help you tank, but its not a big buffer of health to work with, and if the Golem is directly targeted it will be dead pretty fast, so while I think it can work as a damage mitigation strategy, I don't know how viable having the Golem on the front lines will be.

If you multiclass into another caster for higher level slots after 13, you could add a 55 HP golem by 15, a second 55 HP by 16, a 70 HP on by 17, and finally an 85 one by 19.

I think you should expect to lose a golem in most serious encounters, so while by 13 it won't be a strat you can use in many encounters, or keep up thru an entire serious encounter, by 15, with 4 castings it will at least be doable. Note though, that resummoning during combat will be pretty inconvenient, not only are you spending your action, you must also give the SSI to the newly summoned golem which must also use its action to cast WB on you again, so it will be near the frontlines with relatively low hp, and having to spend its action on an action that doesn't improve its survivability much.

If you are starting at 18+ Art11/Clockwork7+ sounds better than Art13/Something5+



Go for it, you seem to like the idea, but I wouldn't start a lvl 1 character aiming only for a playstyle that'll be viable by lvl 13.



Well, if you don't think restarting the strategy during combat is relevant, and you think you'll be able to get a Ring of spell storing by level 11 or before (its only a rare item, I don't think its a big ask by lvl 11), you could go Sorcadin, extend summon before going to short rest, have it attune to the ring during the rest, cast warding bond on you, and you have an hour of adventuring with a more powerful and durable golem, and maybe even get Interception style, so you can block attacks directed at your Golem.

All great points.

I'll add that the Battlesmiths has most of this sort of flavor down already, with a much tanker minion that doesn't eat spell slots. The defender even deals damage on it's defensive reaction at 15th level. Late? A little, but as noted above the combo you're looking at needs 13th level anyway and is far less reliable for a number of reasons including concentration, low HP, the dangers of your own allies being in melee range of it at the wrong time, and more.

I feel like the battlesmith and his defender give you what you're looking for

[Talionis]

I’m going to dig into Battlesmith. That might work as good or better. I didn’t realize the Defender has a soft Taunt.

[Damon_Tor]

My tanky battlesmith took the fey touched feat at 4th level. This evened out his odd int score and got him Compelled Duel as a bonus spell with a free daily cast. I didn't want to multiclass, so this works well enough when basic area control isn't enough to keep tanking for the team.

He has his Defender casts Warding Bond on him via SSI basically every combat. His Defender is his mount: it's bipedal and he just treats it like a mech. Saddle of the Cavalier's property, taken literally by RAW, means that even effects like teleportation and banishment can't dismount him unless he wants them to.

[RSP]

Ring of Spell Storing wouldn’t work as Summon Construct has a 1 hr duration, and the Ring requires attunement, which takes an hour.

[Rukelnikov]

Ring of Spell Storing wouldn’t work as Summon Construct has a 1 hr duration, and the Ring requires attunement, which takes an hour.

It would work with extended summon construct