As Wi1dBi11 stated, Bladesingers are first and foremost, wizards. They will never be a "tank" unless you only take a dip into Bladesinger, while your primary class is something like Barbarian. In order to be a tank, you need to be able to be targeted by several enemy at once and have the hp to take the hits and keep on your feet. Bladesingers simply don't have the hp to fill the role of "tank".
I would suggest that you would be better off making it a "striker", who can move in and out of the battle, scoring hits against those who are focued on the party's real "tank". Let's face it, as soon as a real enemy decides to focus on the Bladesinger, either the Bladesinger gets out of the way, or the Bladesinger is going to be humming a dirge as they bleed out on the ground.
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Playing D&D since 1982
Have played every version of the game since Basic (Red Box Set), except that abomination sometimes called 4e.
They can frontline just fine. They're not the best tank. That privilege goes to twilight clerics. But they're close. You just have to build them correctly to do it.
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I'm probably laughing.
It is apparently so hard to program Aberrant Mind and Clockwork Soul spell-swapping into dndbeyond they had to remake the game without it rather than implement it.
Define TANK. My BladeSinger has studded +2, 18 dex and a staff of defence for 19AC, 24 Bladesinging, and 29 on a Shield spell (staff has 5 charges). I cast FireShield which triggers Greater Invisibility (contingency spell) so the enemy see thre fire shield take effect. (I may be invisible but is the light still visible so they know ehere to attack) Theory being goad them into attacking me which diverts attention from the party, disadvantage to hit invisible opponent against that AC works well 95% of the time, until the DM rolls a 20.
With all due apologies to the late Mr Bowie, singing "Ha ha ha, He he he, I'm the laughing elf and you can't see me" can wind up a tribe of bugbears to "try" to get the elf.
Diverting damage from the party at your high AC is Tanky of a sorts.
Ok - nice try with the invisibility + fire shield but I know I would rule it the equivalent of Faerie fire and you lose the benefit of being invisible so now they are hitting you with advantage not disadvantage. You still have the 24 AC but …
Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
Define TANK. My BladeSinger has studded +2, 18 dex and a staff of defence for 19AC, 24 Bladesinging, and 29 on a Shield spell (staff has 5 charges). I cast FireShield which triggers Greater Invisibility (contingency spell) so the enemy see thre fire shield take effect. (I may be invisible but is the light still visible so they know ehere to attack) Theory being goad them into attacking me which diverts attention from the party, disadvantage to hit invisible opponent against that AC works well 95% of the time, until the DM rolls a 20.
With all due apologies to the late Mr Bowie, singing "Ha ha ha, He he he, I'm the laughing elf and you can't see me" can wind up a tribe of bugbears to "try" to get the elf.
Diverting damage from the party at your high AC is Tanky of a sorts.
You neglected to list what level your bladesinger is, and if you play it up from level 1 trying to 'tank' you'll be dead before you get any of that.
I did not say Bladesingers can't melee up front, i'm saying they can't 'tank'. There's a difference. Also, not every group even needs a 'tank'. A group of 'strikers' works just fine, but a tank is someone who can take lots of hits and keep standing. AC has nothing to do with it, let's face it, if a PC can get a 32 AC the DM is going to throw them against creatures that can hit a 32 AC.
Any creature that can regularly hit that AC 29 of yours is going to take that bladesinger out in a single round.
Define TANK. My BladeSinger has studded +2, 18 dex and a staff of defence for 19AC, 24 Bladesinging, and 29 on a Shield spell (staff has 5 charges). I cast FireShield which triggers Greater Invisibility (contingency spell) so the enemy see thre fire shield take effect. (I may be invisible but is the light still visible so they know ehere to attack) Theory being goad them into attacking me which diverts attention from the party, disadvantage to hit invisible opponent against that AC works well 95% of the time, until the DM rolls a 20.
With all due apologies to the late Mr Bowie, singing "Ha ha ha, He he he, I'm the laughing elf and you can't see me" can wind up a tribe of bugbears to "try" to get the elf.
Diverting damage from the party at your high AC is Tanky of a sorts.
You neglected to list what level your bladesinger is, and if you play it up from level 1 trying to 'tank' you'll be dead before you get any of that.
I did not say Bladesingers can't melee up front, i'm saying they can't 'tank'. There's a difference. Also, not every group even needs a 'tank'. A group of 'strikers' works just fine, but a tank is someone who can take lots of hits and keep standing. AC has nothing to do with it, let's face it, if a PC can get a 32 AC the DM is going to throw them against creatures that can hit a 32 AC.
Any creature that can regularly hit that AC 29 of yours is going to take that bladesinger out in a single round.
^^ 100% this.
I don't understand the logic of trying to take the best class in the game and turn it into a bad...martial.
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Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
Ok - nice try with the invisibility + fire shield but I know I would rule it the equivalent of Faerie fire and you lose the benefit of being invisible so now they are hitting you with advantage not disadvantage. You still have the 24 AC but …
Yall. That's wildly homebrew. And counter to the explicit text of either spell. So a bad ruling too. Spells do what they say they do.
A DM doing this is one of those "rocks fall you die" antagonists.
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I'm probably laughing.
It is apparently so hard to program Aberrant Mind and Clockwork Soul spell-swapping into dndbeyond they had to remake the game without it rather than implement it.
You neglected to list what level your bladesinger is, and if you play it up from level 1 trying to 'tank' you'll be dead before you get any of that.
Uh. There are no level 1 bladesingers. So, yeah... a level 1 wizard without a Subclass is going to die trying to tank. Thats... got nothing to do with bladesinger Subclass or how well you can tank with one.
I did not say Bladesingers can't melee up front, i'm saying they can't 'tank'. There's a difference. Also, not every group even needs a 'tank'.
They can and do tank. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, as they say. Groups that don't need tanks tend to all be tank-y across the board.
A group of 'strikers' works just fine, but a tank is someone who can take lots of hits and keep standing. AC has nothing to do with it, let's face it, if a PC can get a 32 AC the DM is going to throw them against creatures that can hit a 32 AC.
Uh no. A tank doesn't have to "take" lots of hits. He need to take lots of "attacks". If he does that by never getting hit, then he's doing his job.
You also describe some bad DMing tactics as if it is normal or acceptable.
Any creature that can regularly hit that AC 29 of yours is going to take that bladesinger out in a single round.
Uh, no.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
I'm probably laughing.
It is apparently so hard to program Aberrant Mind and Clockwork Soul spell-swapping into dndbeyond they had to remake the game without it rather than implement it.
As Wi1dBi11 stated, Bladesingers are first and foremost, wizards. They will never be a "tank" unless you only take a dip into Bladesinger, while your primary class is something like Barbarian. In order to be a tank, you need to be able to be targeted by several enemy at once and have the hp to take the hits and keep on your feet. Bladesingers simply don't have the hp to fill the role of "tank".
I would suggest that you would be better off making it a "striker", who can move in and out of the battle, scoring hits against those who are focued on the party's real "tank". Let's face it, as soon as a real enemy decides to focus on the Bladesinger, either the Bladesinger gets out of the way, or the Bladesinger is going to be humming a dirge as they bleed out on the ground.
If they both have +3 con., then a wizard will have 7 hp per level and a fighter 10. The wizard's hp is lower, obviously, but only slightly.
I've always viewed mage armor as a trap option that eats up a spellslot I can't really afford to use, for a fairly minimal gain in AC. I prefer to keep myself on my feet relying on position and/or MC for armor if it makes sense for the character.
Level 1 spell slots begin to lose relevance at level 3.
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As Wi1dBi11 stated, Bladesingers are first and foremost, wizards. They will never be a "tank" unless you only take a dip into Bladesinger, while your primary class is something like Barbarian. In order to be a tank, you need to be able to be targeted by several enemy at once and have the hp to take the hits and keep on your feet. Bladesingers simply don't have the hp to fill the role of "tank".
I would suggest that you would be better off making it a "striker", who can move in and out of the battle, scoring hits against those who are focued on the party's real "tank". Let's face it, as soon as a real enemy decides to focus on the Bladesinger, either the Bladesinger gets out of the way, or the Bladesinger is going to be humming a dirge as they bleed out on the ground.
Playing D&D since 1982
Have played every version of the game since Basic (Red Box Set), except that abomination sometimes called 4e.
They can frontline just fine. They're not the best tank. That privilege goes to twilight clerics. But they're close. You just have to build them correctly to do it.
I'm probably laughing.
It is apparently so hard to program Aberrant Mind and Clockwork Soul spell-swapping into dndbeyond they had to remake the game without it rather than implement it.
Define TANK. My BladeSinger has studded +2, 18 dex and a staff of defence for 19AC, 24 Bladesinging, and 29 on a Shield spell (staff has 5 charges). I cast FireShield which triggers Greater Invisibility (contingency spell) so the enemy see thre fire shield take effect. (I may be invisible but is the light still visible so they know ehere to attack) Theory being goad them into attacking me which diverts attention from the party, disadvantage to hit invisible opponent against that AC works well 95% of the time, until the DM rolls a 20.
With all due apologies to the late Mr Bowie, singing "Ha ha ha, He he he, I'm the laughing elf and you can't see me" can wind up a tribe of bugbears to "try" to get the elf.
Diverting damage from the party at your high AC is Tanky of a sorts.
Life's hard - get a helmet!
Ok - nice try with the invisibility + fire shield but I know I would rule it the equivalent of Faerie fire and you lose the benefit of being invisible so now they are hitting you with advantage not disadvantage. You still have the 24 AC but …
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
agree 100% on ruling that like faerie fire
Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
Tasha
You neglected to list what level your bladesinger is, and if you play it up from level 1 trying to 'tank' you'll be dead before you get any of that.
I did not say Bladesingers can't melee up front, i'm saying they can't 'tank'. There's a difference. Also, not every group even needs a 'tank'. A group of 'strikers' works just fine, but a tank is someone who can take lots of hits and keep standing. AC has nothing to do with it, let's face it, if a PC can get a 32 AC the DM is going to throw them against creatures that can hit a 32 AC.
Any creature that can regularly hit that AC 29 of yours is going to take that bladesinger out in a single round.
Playing D&D since 1982
Have played every version of the game since Basic (Red Box Set), except that abomination sometimes called 4e.
^^ 100% this.
I don't understand the logic of trying to take the best class in the game and turn it into a bad...martial.
Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
Tasha
Yall. That's wildly homebrew. And counter to the explicit text of either spell. So a bad ruling too. Spells do what they say they do.
A DM doing this is one of those "rocks fall you die" antagonists.
I'm probably laughing.
It is apparently so hard to program Aberrant Mind and Clockwork Soul spell-swapping into dndbeyond they had to remake the game without it rather than implement it.
Uh. There are no level 1 bladesingers. So, yeah... a level 1 wizard without a Subclass is going to die trying to tank. Thats... got nothing to do with bladesinger Subclass or how well you can tank with one.
They can and do tank. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, as they say. Groups that don't need tanks tend to all be tank-y across the board.
Uh no. A tank doesn't have to "take" lots of hits. He need to take lots of "attacks". If he does that by never getting hit, then he's doing his job.
You also describe some bad DMing tactics as if it is normal or acceptable.
Uh, no.
I'm probably laughing.
It is apparently so hard to program Aberrant Mind and Clockwork Soul spell-swapping into dndbeyond they had to remake the game without it rather than implement it.
If they both have +3 con., then a wizard will have 7 hp per level and a fighter 10. The wizard's hp is lower, obviously, but only slightly.
Level 1 spell slots begin to lose relevance at level 3.