is there a way, or some action i dont know about, to use "Ready" (if the 1 hp wizard becomes the target of an attack i step in to take the attack for them) to prevent the low hp ally from taking damage? and follow up question. if i do this and the attack bounces off my AC. what happens?
There is a fighting style that allows you to do something similar, funnily enough its call the protection fighting style. It allows you to use your reaction to impose disadvantage on an attack made against a creature within 5 feet of you, you must be wielding a shield to use it though. Its not available to every class and requires you to spec into it, but its pretty much one of the only options for that sort of thing.
Off the top of my head the only other thing I can think of that does something similar is the School of Abjuration Wizard's 6th level ability that lets you use your Arcane Ward to soak up some damage for creatures that have been hit with 30 feet of you as a reaction.
i am no spellcaster, and i used heavy weapons. and im a bloodhunter with a very protective background. Service to Helm and all that. so i cant use "Ready" to take the hit in lue of my ally?
As a Bloodhunter at second level you gain the Blood Maledict feature. One of the options you can choose is the Blood Curse of the Eyeless. That would be about as close as you could get RAW (Rules as Written).
That being said first I would ask your DM and see what they think, they might be totally cool with you using the ready action to defend an ally, doing that would cost your action and reaction so its a steep cost and might be in line with the type of game y'all are playing.
One martial heavy weapon character that can protect allies is the Barbarian (Ancestral Guardian). Right at 3, it will allow you to pick one creature per round that you've attacked and give them disadvantage when attacking the rest of your party, and gives the party resistance versus their attacks. At level 6, it will let you use a reaction when one of your allies is hit, to reduce the damage of that attack by 2d6 (or more, at higher levels).
A Fighter (Cavalier) is one of the best protector classes in the game. Right at 3, it has a similar ability to the Ancestral Guardian, where you "mark" any enemies that you have struck to give them disadvantage against anyone else while you stay close to the enemy. At 7th level, you get exactly the sort of reaction that you're talking about, where you can roll a 1d8 to add that to your ally's AC versus an attack targeting them.
A Paladin (Oath of the Crown) also gets a cool protective trick. At 7th level, when an ally within 5 feet of you is hit you can use your reaction to make the attack subtract from your own health instead of the target's.
Those are the top three martial defenders that I can think of that have ways of protecting their party. As mentioned, there's also the Protection fighting style (when wielding a shield, can use a reaction to impose disadvantage on an attack against an ally within 5 feet). Also, the Sentinel feat can help you protect your party, by making you harder for enemies to get around.
is there a way, or some action i dont know about, to use "Ready" (if the 1 hp wizard becomes the target of an attack i step in to take the attack for them) to prevent the low hp ally from taking damage? and follow up question. if i do this and the attack bounces off my AC. what happens?
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There is a fighting style that allows you to do something similar, funnily enough its call the protection fighting style. It allows you to use your reaction to impose disadvantage on an attack made against a creature within 5 feet of you, you must be wielding a shield to use it though. Its not available to every class and requires you to spec into it, but its pretty much one of the only options for that sort of thing.
Off the top of my head the only other thing I can think of that does something similar is the School of Abjuration Wizard's 6th level ability that lets you use your Arcane Ward to soak up some damage for creatures that have been hit with 30 feet of you as a reaction.
Check out my latest homebrew: Mystic Knight (Fighter) v1.31
i am no spellcaster, and i used heavy weapons. and im a bloodhunter with a very protective background. Service to Helm and all that. so i cant use "Ready" to take the hit in lue of my ally?
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As a Bloodhunter at second level you gain the Blood Maledict feature. One of the options you can choose is the Blood Curse of the Eyeless. That would be about as close as you could get RAW (Rules as Written).
That being said first I would ask your DM and see what they think, they might be totally cool with you using the ready action to defend an ally, doing that would cost your action and reaction so its a steep cost and might be in line with the type of game y'all are playing.
Check out my latest homebrew: Mystic Knight (Fighter) v1.31
By rules alone, you could not use a Ready action to do what you want.
Ask your DM; they may let you do something like that outside the rules.
One martial heavy weapon character that can protect allies is the Barbarian (Ancestral Guardian). Right at 3, it will allow you to pick one creature per round that you've attacked and give them disadvantage when attacking the rest of your party, and gives the party resistance versus their attacks. At level 6, it will let you use a reaction when one of your allies is hit, to reduce the damage of that attack by 2d6 (or more, at higher levels).
A Fighter (Cavalier) is one of the best protector classes in the game. Right at 3, it has a similar ability to the Ancestral Guardian, where you "mark" any enemies that you have struck to give them disadvantage against anyone else while you stay close to the enemy. At 7th level, you get exactly the sort of reaction that you're talking about, where you can roll a 1d8 to add that to your ally's AC versus an attack targeting them.
A Paladin (Oath of the Crown) also gets a cool protective trick. At 7th level, when an ally within 5 feet of you is hit you can use your reaction to make the attack subtract from your own health instead of the target's.
Those are the top three martial defenders that I can think of that have ways of protecting their party. As mentioned, there's also the Protection fighting style (when wielding a shield, can use a reaction to impose disadvantage on an attack against an ally within 5 feet). Also, the Sentinel feat can help you protect your party, by making you harder for enemies to get around.
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I'm going to make this way harder than it needs to be.
i already plan to get sentinal at level 4. Fits well for a follower of Helm
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