Most fun way to frontline

[Hiro Quester]

While this is true, there's no reason you can't move up to within 15' of the victim and (try to) yank them inside. If it fails to hit, simply move up, trapping them inside the blender.

Yes. But the thing with spirit guardians is that to have the optimal effect, the Mountain should not come to Mohammed.

SG requires the enemy to be moved into the area for them to take damage on your turn (and then again when they start their turn in the area). If you move so the area covers them, it doesn't cause the damage until their turn.

So the ideal is to move so they are 20 ft away, and then have an ability to pull them the last 5 feet into the area. Thorn Whip is excellent for this if you have access to the druid cantrip. So is Magic Stone with crusher.

I'm aiming to use a thrown hammer to have that effect, since its range is 20 ft.

[LudicSavant]

While this is true, there's no reason you can't move up to within 15' of the victim and (try to) yank them inside. If it fails to hit, simply move up, trapping them inside the blender.

You need something with a range longer than 15 feet to get the extra damage.

[Theodoxus]

Yes. But the thing with spirit guardians is that to have the optimal effect, the Mountain should not come to Mohammed.

SG requires the enemy to be moved into the area for them to take damage on your turn (and then again when they start their turn in the area). If you move so the area covers them, it doesn't cause the damage until their turn.

So the ideal is to move so they are 20 ft away, and then have an ability to pull them the last 5 feet into the area. Thorn Whip is excellent for this if you have access to the druid cantrip. So is Magic Stone with crusher.

I'm aiming to use a thrown hammer to have that effect, since its range is 20 ft.

You need something with a range longer than 15 feet to get the extra damage.

I suppose if you're concerned about doing damage on your turn... My assumption was that the build was to be a tank. SG keeps your foes pinned inside the aura, keeping them from being able to effectively harass your other party members. As such, the BB Thunderbolt Strke pushing them 10', keeps the firmly in your aura - so on their turn, they're taking 3d8+/- (upcast, save, etc) and deciding to take another 2d8+ if they move from BB (depending on character level). Likewise, the Lightning Lure would pull a foe at the edge of your aura deeper in, keeping them from potentially running out. Alternating between the two (barring any misses), keeps them ping-ponging around in SG aura - and squarely away from your teammates.

I call that pretty good for a tank. YMMV.

[Kane0]

Goliath rune knight? Or something that pairs nicely with the steel defender like wolf totem barb or glory paladin with interception

[Guy Lombard-O]

One quibble, though. Lightning Lure only has a range of 15 ft. So it can't reach outside your Spirit Guardians' 15 ft radius to pull enemies in.

I guess Spell Sniper exists?

Or so I've read...I've never ever seen it used in actual play.

[Snowbluff]

I love this for when it applies. But I worry that is very situational, and won't apply very often. +1 AC applies all the time. But its rather vanilla.

Indeed, it definitely is dependent on how often it comes up from your DM, but when it shines, it glows. 1 AC is fine otherwise.

I guess Spell Sniper exists?

Or so I've read...I've never ever seen it used in actual play.

Indeed. I think I saw it used once by an eldritch spear warlock.

[Stattick]

1) Sacred Clown
The stone giant clan found you in the wilderness as a baby, and raised you as one of their own. Grey like them, a half-orc by blood, but a member of the clan by tradition and rite. As an adult, the shaman helped guide you along your sacred path, the path of the clown. It is your gift to say what cannot be said when it needs to be said, or to break the taboo, when it must be broken. Sometimes, the effect is merely trickery or jest for the sake of humor, but more often, there are deeper meanings behind your actions.

Mark of Finding Half-Orc, Giant Barbarian, Gloom Stalker Ranger, Giant Foundling (Stone). This gives you the ability to move people around on the battlefield. You can Bonus Action throw a stone to prone enemies, while still doing damage to them. You can hit enemies in melee, shove them around, and still do damage. And you can throw people across the battlefield. Also, you can get big. You only have to go to 3rd in Ranger, but you might want to go to 5th or 6th for the 2nd level spells (you might want Pass w/o Trace and/or Spike Growth) or the climbing speed that matches your walking speed (which would be 45). Did I mention Thaumaturgy, Disguise Self, Fairie Fire, Hunter's Mark, Speak w/ Animals, Darkvision 150', invisible to Darkvision when in darkness... You're the bastard son of Batman and Joker.

2) Proteus
Everyone thinks they know what Dragonborn are. They're so far removed from their draconic ancestry, they're just a reddish-orange or reddish-brown people, of some random breath weapon. They hate their draconic ancestry, for the millennia of slavery their former dragon masters held them in. But those are all just stereotypes. Some dragons hew closer to their ancestors, having bold colorations that match their breath weapon, and horn patterns reminiscent of the dragon type they descend from. In some, the old magic runs deep, being tapped at an instinctual level. You are one of these latter types of dragons.

Dragonborn (honestly, color doesn't make much difference), Beast Barbarian, Moon Druid. Become an animal, yet still manifest draconic claws, maw, or tail, to rend your enemies. Or just douse them in your breath weapon. If you want to play with a flaw, go with a Black or White Dragonborn, and say that Proteus (or whatever you call yourself) might be able to turn into almost any animal, but has trouble with the color, so the color of animal usually or always matches the color of your scales in your native form. See if the GM will let you take the Dragon Wings feat, and if so, would they allow you manifest the wings when desired, instead of being there all the time. Because wildshaping into a grizzly bear that suddenly has a giant black dragon wings burst from its back, is cool.



You said, "Fun".

[Hiro Quester]

Thanks, Stattick. I had not yet read the Giants book, so I didn't know about Giant foundling. I just looked it up. Getting 10 feet of forced movement from your background is really cool. The path of Giants Barbarian looks really fun. So does combining it with gloomstalker. Useful spells and abilities for when you are not raging.

The druid with dragon wings also looks cool. But the party already has a druid.

I think I'm going with a Paladin2/Hexblade1/Clockwork Soul Sorcerer build. Mostly clockwork soul for excellent buffing, control and debuffing options. But on a paladin 2 chassis for heavy armor, smites, fighting style, lay on hands, etc. And Warlock for hexblade's curse, spells, and CHA SAD-ness.

Curiously magic stone is on the warlock list. If I took the giant foundling background then using Magic Stone would also cause forced movement. But from a feat you get from your background! That's not a bad idea.