What's a good build for a melee buffer?

[kaith282]

Hi everyone, I'm starting a new campaign and I'm trying to make a melee character that is also a tactician, and can guide and encourage his party members to perform at their best in a fight. I considered a 1 level dip in Order or Peace cleric, and then I'd like to go with bard, but I'd have to reflavor a lot of stuff and bard doesn't seem that good at melee. Magic allowed, and I'd also like him to use a rapier since I thought his style as a duelist. Still, I'm open to ideas that don't match 100% the criteria I just exposed for the creation. Any ideas? Thanks in advance for your advice! ☺

[Leon]

Valour Bard? Capable enough to a supporting melee combatant with reasonable support options with spell and ability particularly combined with your dip choices.

Artificers are great all round supporting characters depending more or less on choice of Subclasses and Infusions.

[Unoriginal]

Battle Master and Psi Warrior Fighters are worth a look into. Lots of good options with those.


Maybe Ancestral Barbarian, if you don't mind not using the Order Cleric.

[Waazraath]

Battlemaster fighter. Plenty of maneuvers to that do exactly this (trip to give allies advantage, commander's strike to give the rogue an off-turn extra sneak attack, push for positioning, meanacing to debuff, disarm especially with an ally that can pick up the disarmed weapon. Even when you're out of maneuvers shove prone can be a decent way to give allies advantage (str builds work better for this though). Pick a fighting style that fits the concept (interception or protection) and some feats (like crusher to give more advantage, or charismatic leader to buff everybody's hp).

[animorte]

Artificers are great all round supporting characters depending more or less on choice of Subclasses and Infusions.
Artillerist does a good job of filling whichever role while you’re focusing on something else.


Battle Master and Psi Warrior Fighters are worth a look into. Lots of good options with those.

Maybe Ancestral Barbarian, if you don't mind not using the Order Cleric.
All of these are solid options as well, a bit less on the support side. Definitely reliable in melee while having a few supportive tricks.


If you’re looking for a duelist, I’ve played… quite a few. Now, Peace is my favorite Cleric, but I wouldn’t recommend it for these purposes unless you’re trying to go Monk or Ranger for this “dueling” idea. I have also combined Druid with each of those.

I’ve played several variations of a duelist with varying combinations of Vengeance Paladin, Swords Bard, Swashbuckler Rogue, and even Hexblade.

If you’re wanting to go more of a supportive route, I would recommend Swords Bard 1-3/Any Paladin 3-6/Bard X.

If you prefer to lean more in the duelist direction, you could do Bard 1-3/Paladin X or… Paladin 3/Swashbuckler Rogue 3-X/Paladin X.

[Burley]

Paladin, in my opinion, is the master of melee support. Not only are you as strong in basic melee as most fighter builds, you've got smite spells. You have spells to heal and support, a Lay on Hands pool to heal or neutralize poison. You have an aura that grants a bonus to all saving throws for yourself and allies within ten feet of you.

And, that's all without any subclass, which gives you different Channel Divinity powers and an extra effect to your aura. I'm a big fan of the Oath of Devotion, but Oath of the Ancients gives allies in your aura resistance to spell damage. That's like... mind-blowingly useful to grant ~2.5 bonus to save against a Fireball, and then cut any damage taken in half (save success means quartered damage).


Bards are definitely better at the support side but they never quite make it on the melee side, in my opinion. Especially at lower levels, you can die in one or two hits. The College of Swords bard gives you a bunch of cool, flashy abilities. But, if you look closely, you'll see that you have to be in melee and you have to burn your bardic inspiration. So, you're really not doing much supporting at all. College of Valor is very basic compared to other subclasses, but effective, especially if you're using a bow instead of a blade.

Anyway, Paladin is my first suggestion and Artificer is my second. Or, actually, maybe a few of the Clerics (the ones that get heavy armor proficiency) are my second choice.

[da newt]

Swords bard, Paladin w/ a 1 lvl dip for order cleric and interception FS - I've played w/ one who looked for every opportunity to set up the other PCs to succeed.

Totem Barbarian Wolf for ADV for friends then Bear for DISADV for foes is simple but helpful for others (and then Kobold just for Pack Tactics).

There are tons of decent build options.

[Bobthewizard]

Since you mentioned the one level dip in order cleric, it works great with an evoker's sculpt spells. Drop a sculpted fireball on the rogu or paladin, they automatically make their save, and then get an extra attack.

[Snails]

I have been eyeing Wolf Totem Barbarian + Ancients Paladin for the right kind of party.
Advantage to friends while Raging. Eventually auras that will protect friends who cluster around you.

[Kurt Kurageous]

Paladin, in my opinion, is the master of melee support. Not only are you as strong in basic melee as most fighter builds, you've got smite spells. You have spells to heal and support, a Lay on Hands pool to heal or neutralize poison. You have an aura that grants a bonus to all saving throws for yourself and allies within ten feet of you.

And, that's all without any subclass, which gives you different Channel Divinity powers and an extra effect to your aura. I'm a big fan of the Oath of Devotion, but Oath of the Ancients gives allies in your aura resistance to spell damage. That's like... mind-blowingly useful to grant ~2.5 bonus to save against a Fireball, and then cut any damage taken in half (save success means quartered damage).

Absolutely the best choice. Imagine a high AC 20+ with plate and shield, defense style, casts sanctuary on self, then takes the dodge action. That puts a nearly unhittable melee buffer up in front of your squishy squishies. Not a lot of fun, but very heroic.

[J-H]

Battlesmith Artificer gets you infusions to help others or yourself, a spell list with some buffs, a pet that can help protect allies by imposing disadvantage, and at 10th level, a 2d6 heal 1/rd on hit.

[RogueJK]

I considered a 1 level dip in Order or Peace cleric, and then I'd like to go with bard, but I'd have to reflavor a lot of stuff and bard doesn't seem that good at melee.

This is very doable. Cleric 1 or 2/Lore Bard X is a very capable frontline support build with innate access to a wide variety of buffs, plus the ability to poach some of the most potent higher level buff spells from the Cleric/Paladin/Wizard spell list via Magical Secrets. Peace, Order, Twilight, or Life Cleric are the usual choices for Cleric domain in this style of Cleric/Bard support build.

For the melee aspect, you already have armor, shield, and weapon proficiency via those two classes. The only thing you need to keep yourself viable in melee is a means to boost your Concentration (Warcaster or Resilient CON feat) plus access to Booming Blade to keep your melee scaling into higher tiers, which you can get from your race using options including High Elf, High Half Elf, MotM Kobold, or VHuman/CLineage with the Magic Initiate Sorcerer feat.

You'll want a high CHA, good DEX, decent CON, and just a 13ish WIS. So something like this with point buy:

High Half Elf
Peace Cleric 1/Lore Bard X
STR 8
DEX 15+1
CON 14
INT 8
WIS 12+1
CHA 14+2
Racial Cantrip: Booming Blade
ASIs: Warcaster at Bard 4, +2 DEX or +2 CHA at Bard 8 and then the other at Bard 12, then either 20 CHA or a feat like Inspiring Leader or Lucky at Bard 16.
Wear medium armor and use a shield and a rapier.

[Itsfrank]

I asked something like this a little while ago. I don't really know how much it will help but here ya go! https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?649756-Making-frontline-characters-that-can-also-support

[5eNeedsDarksun]

I did just finish a campaign with a Paladin 2/ Swords Bard X (Finished at 10 with my flying steed through magical secrets). It mostly fits the bill of what you are asking and was very versatile, and if you go Str based you're no more MAD than a full Paly. There are a couple of levels at the beginning of tier 2 where you don't have the big bump, but I never felt useless. Paly 3 might be worth it for this build if you had an Oath you liked.

[Catullus64]

A Paladin of pretty much any stripe will be pretty good at your stated goals from about 3rd-level onwards, while also being able to output pretty respectable damage. Oath of the Crown, Oath of the Watchers, and Oath of Glory all have 3rd-level Channel Divinity options that can support your melee allies nicely, as well as 7th-level features expertly tuned to that role. Aura of Protection at 6th level is just one of the best features in the game, period.

Consider picking up the Inspiring Leader feat, in my opinion one of the most underrated feats out there, and spending your Fighting Style on Superior Technique for one of the more support-oriented maneuvers like Maneuvering Attack or Distracting Strike.

[Burley]

I'll also add some personal experience. I have a Warforged Paladin called The Unit. It's on the Oath of Devotion track, which is admittedly not the best, but makes sense for the character. What's important, though, is the Interception fighting style which lets The Unit reduce the damage an adjacent ally takes by 1d10+Prof points. Between front-line tanking, Heroism and Protection From spells and the Interception's damage mitigation (which is extremely powerful and rare, IMO), The Unit absolutely dominates the battlespace.


The problem is, of course, when your allies are zipping around the battlefield like caffeinated ferrets. Suddenly, the front line is twenty feet behind you and you're being blamed for diving into the enemy. :smallsigh:

[Kane0]

Armorer articer / battlemaster fighter?
Thunder gauntlets for the same disadvantage shtick that ancestral barbarian does except all day long, and you get to play being a smart tactician by pumping INT. There are feat options like telekinetic, fey touched and gift of the chromatic dragon to fill out uses for your bonus action to support your party too. Mobile is also a good pick.

Edit: Oh and inspiring leader of course, unless the party CHA character is already going to take it or you have a steady stream of temps from other sources

[kaith282]

A Paladin of pretty much any stripe will be pretty good at your stated goals from about 3rd-level onwards, while also being able to output pretty respectable damage. Oath of the Crown, Oath of the Watchers, and Oath of Glory all have 3rd-level Channel Divinity options that can support your melee allies nicely, as well as 7th-level features expertly tuned to that role. Aura of Protection at 6th level is just one of the best features in the game, period.
Consider picking up the Inspiring Leader feat, in my opinion one of the most underrated feats out there, and spending your Fighting Style on Superior Technique for one of the more support-oriented maneuvers like Maneuvering Attack or Distracting Strike.

I went with Oath of the Ancient because of the 6th level ability. Also, I asked my master if I can change my channel divinity with the one from oath of the crown to make it fit the character style I want. I'm honestly thinking of multiclassing to a third class (I wanna make a build that suits my character's personality and wanted abilities rather than focusing on what a class actually should be/do).
I'm undecided between sorcerer (5 levels to get to haste, maybe clockworksoul for the amazing lv1 ability), Fighter (Battlemaster for the maneuvers or eldritch knight for the spells) and bard (either Valor or Dirge Singer). I also considered Spell-less ranger in place of battlemaster.
What would you suggest in terms of efficiency?

[kaith282]

Armorer articer / battlemaster fighter?
Thunder gauntlets for the same disadvantage shtick that ancestral barbarian does except all day long, and you get to play being a smart tactician by pumping INT. There are feat options like telekinetic, fey touched and gift of the chromatic dragon to fill out uses for your bonus action to support your party too. Mobile is also a good pick.

Edit: Oh and inspiring leader of course, unless the party CHA character is already going to take it or you have a steady stream of temps from other sources

As a first-liner, I also want to be strong enough to be the party tank. I think the best party buff is not getting the enemy to reach the other members at all, so I have a very high armor class and decent hp. Would you prefer inspiring leader over something like tough?

[kaith282]

This is very doable. Cleric 1 or 2/Lore Bard X is a very capable frontline support build with innate access to a wide variety of buffs, plus the ability to poach some of the most potent higher level buff spells from the Cleric/Paladin/Wizard spell list via Magical Secrets. Peace, Order, Twilight, or Life Cleric are the usual choices for Cleric domain in this style of Cleric/Bard support build.

For the melee aspect, you already have armor, shield, and weapon proficiency via those two classes. The only thing you need to keep yourself viable in melee is a means to boost your Concentration (Warcaster or Resilient CON feat) plus access to Booming Blade to keep your melee scaling into higher tiers, which you can get from your race using options including High Elf, High Half Elf, MotM Kobold, or VHuman/CLineage with the Magic Initiate Sorcerer feat.

You'll want a high CHA, good DEX, decent CON, and just a 13ish WIS. So something like this with point buy:

High Half Elf
Peace Cleric 1/Lore Bard X
STR 8
DEX 15+1
CON 14
INT 8
WIS 12+1
CHA 14+2
Racial Cantrip: Booming Blade
ASIs: Warcaster at Bard 4, +2 DEX or +2 CHA at Bard 8 and then the other at Bard 12, then either 20 CHA or a feat like Inspiring Leader or Lucky at Bard 16.
Wear medium armor and use a shield and a rapier.

Do you think Lore bard might be a good choice to go on with for a Peace cleric 1/ Oath of the Ancient 7?

[kaith282]

A Paladin of pretty much any stripe will be pretty good at your stated goals from about 3rd-level onwards, while also being able to output pretty respectable damage. Oath of the Crown, Oath of the Watchers, and Oath of Glory all have 3rd-level Channel Divinity options that can support your melee allies nicely, as well as 7th-level features expertly tuned to that role. Aura of Protection at 6th level is just one of the best features in the game, period.

Consider picking up the Inspiring Leader feat, in my opinion one of the most underrated feats out there, and spending your Fighting Style on Superior Technique for one of the more support-oriented maneuvers like Maneuvering Attack or Distracting Strike.

I took your advice and asked my master if I can use channel divinity from oath of the Crown in place of the Oath of the ancients one, so I get those pretty good channel divinity options with halved magical damage.
I'm not sure about inspiring leader. It's pretty cool but I'd rather use the feat for something like tough, or a +2 in con to tank more efficiently.

[kaith282]

Swords bard, Paladin w/ a 1 lvl dip for order cleric and interception FS - I've played w/ one who looked for every opportunity to set up the other PCs to succeed.

Totem Barbarian Wolf for ADV for friends then Bear for DISADV for foes is simple but helpful for others (and then Kobold just for Pack Tactics).

There are tons of decent build options.

I went with 1 level peace cleric and Paladin. I'm considering Swords bard as an option for the third class in the build.

[kaith282]

I'll also add some personal experience. I have a Warforged Paladin called The Unit. It's on the Oath of Devotion track, which is admittedly not the best, but makes sense for the character. What's important, though, is the Interception fighting style which lets The Unit reduce the damage an adjacent ally takes by 1d10+Prof points. Between front-line tanking, Heroism and Protection From spells and the Interception's damage mitigation (which is extremely powerful and rare, IMO), The Unit absolutely dominates the battlespace.


The problem is, of course, when your allies are zipping around the battlefield like caffeinated ferrets. Suddenly, the front line is twenty feet behind you and you're being blamed for diving into the enemy. :smallsigh:

I was undecided between interceptor and defense, but I prefered a neat +1 in AC to begin since I also want to tank to protect my party. I will still take interception if my third class will be fighter or spell-less ranger, I think that's a pretty great fighting style.

[Kane0]

As a first-liner, I also want to be strong enough to be the party tank. I think the best party buff is not getting the enemy to reach the other members at all, so I have a very high armor class and decent hp. Would you prefer inspiring leader over something like tough?

Just play a fighter, barbarian or paladin then, and pick subclass and feats that lets you minor in assisting your party.
I would usually advise inspiring leader over tough yes, unless you already have someone in the party providing temporary HP on a regular basis

[kaith282]

Just play a fighter, barbarian or paladin then, and pick subclass and feats that lets you minor in assisting your party.
I would usually advise inspiring leader over tough yes, unless you already have someone in the party providing temporary HP on a regular basis

I actually like the direction the character is taking. I think I just wanna know how to improve the buffer side right now, not losing too much on my melee. Honestly, I don't need a super optimized character for this campaign, I just want something super fun to play that suits the kind of person I have in mind. I will think about inspiring leader for my next ASI then, I guess temporary HP for the whole party is better than 16/20 hp for me after all.

[Frogreaver]

I think I would go hexblade 1 + divine soul sorcerer 8 asap.

Use Booming blade, sword + shield, and take some buffs like Bless/Aid/Haste/Polymorph. Make sure to take twin spell metamagic to twin those buff spells.

Early game use bless as your buff. Keep a high level slot cast of aid on you and some allies. Twin spell Haste/Polymorph. Possibly take extend spell as doubling the duration of things like aid or polymorph can be useful. Also doubling the duration of aura of vitality can be great for out of combat healing.

[sambojin]

I'd make a new-Kobold Peace Cleric, then 5 levels of Fighter for Battlemaster gimmicks (Commander's Strike, Ambush, Maneuvering Attack), and probably another level of fighter for the ASI at 7th.

Then, the world's your oyster. With a vhuman you've got two spare feats at lvl1 and lvl5 (maybe just ASI into either Dex/Str then), so you can really focus on combat or utility. Another two levels of Cleric rounds out the magic easily, for plenty of spell slots by lvl10 and your CD and maybe an ASI/ extra maneuvers at Cleric4/Fighter6 or Cleric3/Fighter7.

It's not perfect, but it is repeatedly buffable and also pretty good in combat.

[da newt]

Inspiring Leader is mathematically superior to tough and FEELs more significant as you not only help yourself but help your allies too.

Defense FS is solid, but Interception is mathematically superior and FEELs more significant as well and (because it's an active FS) your party will see it in action all the time.

These things really help you lean into the trope of someone who is there for the benefit of the team, selfless and helpful, if that's the sort of thing you are interested in.

[kaith282]

Inspiring Leader is mathematically superior to tough and FEELs more significant as you not only help yourself but help your allies too.

Defense FS is solid, but Interception is mathematically superior and FEELs more significant as well and (because it's an active FS) your party will see it in action all the time.

These things really help you lean into the trope of someone who is there for the benefit of the team, selfless and helpful, if that's the sort of thing you are interested in.

I think you are right, these are all things I want, I think I will get inspiring leader with my next ASI and change my fighting style ☺

[Albert]

I'll also add some personal experience. I have a Warforged Paladin called The Unit. It's on the Oath of Devotion track, which is admittedly not the best, but makes sense for the character. What's important, though, is the Interception fighting style which lets The Unit reduce the damage an adjacent ally takes by 1d10+Prof points. Between front-line tanking, Heroism and Protection From spells and the Interception's damage mitigation (which is extremely powerful and rare, IMO), The Unit absolutely dominates the battlespace.


The problem is, of course, when your allies are zipping around the battlefield like caffeinated ferrets. Suddenly, the front line is twenty feet behind you and you're being blamed for diving into the enemy. :smallsigh:

I’m obsessed with The Unit.