So a friend and I are talking about an effective group make up similar to the triangle in MMOs (Tank, DPS, Heals) and while it's stupid easy to find Damage and Heals in classes, I am having a hard time finding things that will encourage enemies to attack a specific character, similar to tank aggro or hate. Any suggestions?
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You only lose if you die. Any time else, there's opportunity for a come back.
D&D doesn't have aggro/threat mechanics though in the way that MMO video games do.
Say you're playing a Fighter character in heavy armour, with a shield - you're going to have more AC and more Hit Points than most of the party and are going to be one of the most durable members of the party.
The character is likely going to be first to get in the face of monsters and bear the brunt of their attacks in return.
One of the mechanics that helps with this is using reaction for opportunity attacks. This means that if the fighter is attacking the monster and it tries to run off to attack the party Wizard, then the fighter gets a free attack against the monster as it runs off.
The roleplay side of the game can be effective for you too - if the character knows the language and culture of their opponents, they can probably insult them pretty effectively.
D&D doesn't have aggro/threat mechanics though in the way that MMO video games do.
Say you're playing a Fighter character in heavy armour, with a shield - you're going to have more AC and more Hit Points than most of the party and are going to be one of the most durable members of the party.
The character is likely going to be first to get in the face of monsters and bear the brunt of their attacks in return.
One of the mechanics that helps with this is using reaction for opportunity attacks. This means that if the fighter is attacking the monster and it tries to run off to attack the party Wizard, then the fighter gets a free attack against the monster as it runs off.
The roleplay side of the game can be effective for you too - if the character knows the language and culture of their opponents, they can probably insult them pretty effectively.
I took this into account. I started looking into debilitation instead of aggro after the post and I suppose poison, paralysis, fright, and blind are all effective ways of mitigating damage against the party outside of the typical "Attack only me" concept. So with those in mind any suggestions on effective ways to accomplish damage mitigation?
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
You only lose if you die. Any time else, there's opportunity for a come back.
At low levels, the best class for this is probably Paladin. They get access to the Protection fighting style to give enemies disadvantage when they attack allies who are adjacent to you. They also get access to a lot of tank-friendly spells, for example, Compelled Duel.
And if your campaign is using feats, Sentinel would be an absolute must-have for a tank.
With paladin, you can also take the Oath of the Crown, which provides a channel divinity that is similar to compelled duel, a 7th level feature that lets you take damage for allies, and warding bond as a spell at 5th level.
Battle Master fighter and Oath of the Crown paladin would probably be your best bet for simulating what it is to be a tank traditionally found in MMO's. Whereas other options while still viable would require far more tweaking to get "just right" for your tank needs, so I'd look at those two options before anything else.
Battle Master fighter and Oath of the Crown paladin would probably be your best bet for simulating what it is to be a tank traditionally found in MMO's.
I'd argue the Cavalier Fighter is currently the best tank all around, followed by Path of the Ancestral Guardians Barbarian (which is limited by its number of Rage uses.) Paladins don't have anything that can compete with Unwavering Mark/Warding Maneuver or Ancestral Protectors/Spirit Shield. Compelled Duel is nice but allows a saving throw and is limited by spell slots.
I'd argue the Cavalier Fighter is currently the best tank all around, followed by Path of the Ancestral Guardians Barbarian (which is limited by its number of Rage uses.) Paladins don't have anything that can compete with Unwavering Mark/Warding Maneuver or Ancestral Protectors/Spirit Shield.
Ah yes, I forgot about those two on account of them being newer subclasses. They'd definitely be worth a look as well.
In my experience a tank/defender can also benefit greatly from feats like Sentinel and Polearm Master, and the tunnel fighter (Unearthed Arcana: Light, Dark Underdark) fighting style.
Together With those three things I was able to create a character that could opportunity attack any creature within 10 ft of them (Polearm Master), as many times per round as necessary (defensive stance, tunnel fighter), and immediately stop the enemy's movement (sentinel).
While this isn't strictly tanking, it can prevent enemies from moving past you to attack your squishier ranged allies.
edit: Also, in terms of debilitation, the Wrathful Smite spell is very useful. Disadvantage on attack rolls can be big, plus if you position yourself well, you can prevent the enemy from getting to your allies by forcing them to go through you.
Maybe I'm misunderstanding what aggro is, but isn't the Battlemaster's goading attack "aggro?"
Aggro is anything that makes enemies want to attack you over your allies and a lot of the Battle Masters maneuvers create excellent aggro, most notably goading attack. Which is why Martial Adept is a great feat for anyone looking to be more like a "tank" as defined by MMO's.
Some times a smaller character can be a tank, high dexterity means higher armour class which means that if you get in monsters' faces they can't hit you that easily. Perhaps a monk or a dwarf if you are still looking for some health!
So a friend and I are talking about an effective group make up similar to the triangle in MMOs (Tank, DPS, Heals) and while it's stupid easy to find Damage and Heals in classes, I am having a hard time finding things that will encourage enemies to attack a specific character, similar to tank aggro or hate. Any suggestions?
You only lose if you die. Any time else, there's opportunity for a come back.
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D&D Beyond FoundersD&D doesn't have aggro/threat mechanics though in the way that MMO video games do.
Say you're playing a Fighter character in heavy armour, with a shield - you're going to have more AC and more Hit Points than most of the party and are going to be one of the most durable members of the party.
The character is likely going to be first to get in the face of monsters and bear the brunt of their attacks in return.
One of the mechanics that helps with this is using reaction for opportunity attacks. This means that if the fighter is attacking the monster and it tries to run off to attack the party Wizard, then the fighter gets a free attack against the monster as it runs off.
Maybe also look at the Protection fighting style.
The roleplay side of the game can be effective for you too - if the character knows the language and culture of their opponents, they can probably insult them pretty effectively.
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You only lose if you die. Any time else, there's opportunity for a come back.
At low levels, the best class for this is probably Paladin. They get access to the Protection fighting style to give enemies disadvantage when they attack allies who are adjacent to you. They also get access to a lot of tank-friendly spells, for example, Compelled Duel.
And if your campaign is using feats, Sentinel would be an absolute must-have for a tank.
With paladin, you can also take the Oath of the Crown, which provides a channel divinity that is similar to compelled duel, a 7th level feature that lets you take damage for allies, and warding bond as a spell at 5th level.
Battle Master fighter and Oath of the Crown paladin would probably be your best bet for simulating what it is to be a tank traditionally found in MMO's. Whereas other options while still viable would require far more tweaking to get "just right" for your tank needs, so I'd look at those two options before anything else.
The Forum Infestation (TM)
In my experience a tank/defender can also benefit greatly from feats like Sentinel and Polearm Master, and the tunnel fighter (Unearthed Arcana: Light, Dark Underdark) fighting style.
Together With those three things I was able to create a character that could opportunity attack any creature within 10 ft of them (Polearm Master), as many times per round as necessary (defensive stance, tunnel fighter), and immediately stop the enemy's movement (sentinel).
While this isn't strictly tanking, it can prevent enemies from moving past you to attack your squishier ranged allies.
edit: Also, in terms of debilitation, the Wrathful Smite spell is very useful. Disadvantage on attack rolls can be big, plus if you position yourself well, you can prevent the enemy from getting to your allies by forcing them to go through you.
The Tunnel Fighter style got rolled into the Cavalier as a class feature.
The Forum Infestation (TM)
Maybe I'm misunderstanding what aggro is, but isn't the Battlemaster's goading attack "aggro?"
Some times a smaller character can be a tank, high dexterity means higher armour class which means that if you get in monsters' faces they can't hit you that easily. Perhaps a monk or a dwarf if you are still looking for some health!
If you are looking at debilitation and you don't mind not being a tank, wizard is the class for you.
If you're interested I suggest you read Treantmonk's guides. If you aren't, I suggest you read the first one anyway :p
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IeOXWvbkmQ3nEyM2P3lS8TU4rsK6QJP0oH7HE_v67QY/edit
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZHzEjiHvtDItZE2ixfoYwqi7brTO-ag8uBJndE5saro/edit
EDIT: typo