Alright, so in my last session my wizard almost died and our main "tank" left us because he said he was bored (before the time I almost died). So, I'm thinking of some solid ideas for a back up character if I die and might be going the tank route or the front line melee killer / awesome damage route.
Therefore, I'm looking to see everyone's personal favorite tanks, preferably melee, probably low level compatible. If they can do things outside of battle, even better. So, what do you like for a melee tank and why?
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Pathfinder really doesn't have any "aggro" mechanic, so a tank isn't a very viable party role.
Sure, you could crank up your AC to really high amounts, but without any way of constantly holding a creature's attention, sooner or later it's gonna realize it's not hurting you or can't hit you and go off to chomp on an easier target.
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To be an effective tank, you must give your enemies a reason to target you and be able to whitstand whatever they throw at you.
Paladins are great at this. They have great offense thanks to Full BAB, Divine Bond, spells and, of course, Smite Evil, and their mere presence is enough to buff their allies (with their aura), so they are damn hard to ignore.
They have great defenses too: heavy armor proficiency, swift action self-heal, spellawesome saves and a few immunities.
They are very useful even out of combat. High charisma and a nice selection of class skills makes them good party faces. Detect Evil is great to find hidden baddies, spells are always useful and also allow Paladins to use (and even craft) magic items. They are more than able to heal/buff/restore their allies.
Barbarians have more in-combat RAW power, but are not as versatile as Paladins. Rangers have a nice balance between in-combat efficiency and out-of-combat versatility, their spell lists include things like CLW, Barkskin and Freedom of Movement.
Nearly every class can make a effective melee front-liner, and most of them have great out-of-combat utility too, especially divine casters like Clerics, Druids and Inquisitors.
However, my favorite spell-casting melee front-liners are Oracles of Battle. They get proficiency with heavy armor and all martial weapons, a bunch of free combat feats, the ability to use one maneuver as if they had full-BAB, a great bonus to initiative and, last but not least, full spell casting! The only problem is that they have somewhat low saves, so you might want to dip 2 levels of Paladin anyway.
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I like Dwarven Fighters. Take feats that allow you to hold foes up or interrupt enemy casters. There are tons of options out there now in terms of feats. As a fighter, you have so many feat options you can afford to take a couple in things like skill focus as well to increase chances to do things outside combat.
The archetypes in particular make fighters more interesting and diverse.
I'm playing a dwarven armour master at the moment. He's hard to hit, has DR 3/-, is hard to affect with spells etc through dwarven traits and feat selection. He breaks flanking with feats, and will eventually interrupt movement with aoo's etc.
The trick is to try and get gear that allows more felxibility in weaknesses later on. Less needs to spent on strength items and armour/weapons etc because those are already built in to the class. Instead try to get things that give haste, or flying or freedom of movement, or displacement. Those are spell buffs that become essential later in games for tank types to stay effective as often as possible. If you don't have a caster who can do these for you, then invest in items that can.
Hope that helps. I know folks are going to disagree, but this is from my experience so far and that's all I can really offer.
Cheers
Interesting, I shall definitely check out the Oracle of Battle then.
I would go Paladin, but I've never felt like I could RP their strict nature very well.
I've never played a dwarf before really, so that could be interesting for sure. Fighters are always solid choices too.
I had considered going Synth Summoner as I feel I could flavor that well, but I didn't know Oracle's of Battle get as much as you say.
Thanks so far. Keep em' coming please.
Inquisitor with one level of monk. Add wisdom to AC, take archetype that uses wisdom for intimidate, diplomacy, etc. Get Antagonize as a feat. Skill focus: intimidate.
That's the cheesiest way I can think of doing so. Like already stated, there isn't really an aggro mechanic, but antagonize gets pretty close.
I'm also a fan of the dwarven fighter. I present Gunther Grimmhammer. 20pt Dwarven Phalanx Fighter. Currently 5th level (if that's low enough for ya). Warning: He's pretty much useless outside combat. ;-)
My strategy: Punish with reach and AoO, whip out Axe for close combat.
I see. Well, I guess if being a "tank" isn't the best option, how about a solid front line melee killer build then?
I am liking that inquisitor though. I've read that they can be pretty sweet if done right.
I tank with my Hospitaler Paladin by casting Shield Other on the party. I take half their damage and can channel and lay on hands a ridiculous number of times per day. Since I have Fae Foundling and the Tiefling favored class bonus, I heal myself very quickly (LoH as a swift action, Quick Channel, but a standard--either another LoH or another Channel--cures more than any enemy I've faced can deal).
What's more, I have a polearm and I hit pretty hard, especially when smiting (though I don't have a ton of those), so in general, I'm hard for enemies to ignore.
That said, I also have the best AC in the party and the second most HP, so, yeah, it's pretty damn effective. I'm not really sure how I could tank anywhere close to this (or really, at all) if I wasn't a healer, though.
Paladin oath of vengeance followed by Dwarven barbarian 4/ fighter X.
The paladin "tank" is probly the most durable in the game, while a Dwarven barb/ ftr with superstitious makes a hard hitting, spell saving S.O.B.
I have a player in my group playing an Arminger. (Third party defensive tank class) His defensive abilities are amazing. The party turtles around him for tough fights and he can soak up amazing damage with 6-12hp/level (class ability). He was concerned about enemies dodging him and going after his squishy friends, so he commissioned a shield that can cast Compel Hostility on him, which is the closest thing he could find to an aggro ability. (We discussed Antagonize and I decided not to allow it.) He just got it, so he hasn't had a chance to play with it yet, but I'm envisioning much splattering goodness. He also took up the guisarme (another class ability allows shield and polearm use) and is negotiating with the party sorcerer to get him to learn Enlarge Person, or at least use a wand of it on him every battle. Thought I'd toss that in for consideration.
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There's no "aggro" mechanic in Pathfinder, but there is Saving Shield. You can't persuade enemies to fight you, but you can actively protect any ally who's standing next to you.
If you use a tower shield, you can even grant your allies cover. This will require using the terrain to your advantage to ensure your enemies don't just run around you though. Patches of difficult terrain, walls, and corridors will be your friends.
I'd say a Dwarf with a tower shield would make a great tank. If you can get the Combat Patrol and Stand Still feats, then you've got as close to an aggro mechanic as you can get-- you can actively stop creatures from approaching your allies!
The best tank in PF is a Synthesist Summoner. Or a normal summoner's eidolon, if you don't care about personally being the tank.
Get all the size, strength, and reach you can, a bunch of attacks all at highest BAB, and attach free maneuver checks to your hits with evolutions like Trip, Grab, Push, etc...
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Asside from the Synthetis Summoner (with a 1 level dip in Oracle-Lore Mystery for SideStep Secret
An Wood oracle is surprisingly good a melee frontline Business
With Wood Bond mystery you get the to hit of an melee capable fight
Barkskin bonus spell means that you get the full AC buff + all the Oracle spell goodness (divine favor / shield of faith / divine power / rightous might)
with a full plate (feat) you can get:
level 4
AC: 28 (10 (+1 fp) + 3 (+1 shield) + 1 dex + 2 nat + 2 def)
Level 8
AC: 32 (11(+2FP via spell) + 4 (+2 shield via spell) + 1 dex +3 nat +3 def
Offense is improved via Shilelag + div fav (or div pow) + Rightous might
Alright, so in my last session my wizard almost died and our main "tank" left us because he said he was bored (before the time I almost died). So, I'm thinking of some solid ideas for a back up character if I die and might be going the tank route or the front line melee killer / awesome damage route.
Therefore, I'm looking to see everyone's personal favorite tanks, preferably melee, probably low level compatible. If they can do things outside of battle, even better. So, what do you like for a melee tank and why?
MY best would likely be that (anti)paladin X/phalanx fighter 3 i threw together for Broken Zenith's 'guide to the builds' thread.
covers with reach+AoO/paladin smitey and spell goodness, lots of bulk thanks to self-healing and good AC/saves, buffs allies both passively (via auras) and actively (with spells) while debuffing enemies via shaken/frightened/etc. effects.causes enough damage that ignoring him is a Very Bad Idea for enemies too.
note that it's listed as an antipaladin build, but can be changed to standard paladin (or even better, oath of vengeance) without any issues other than changing the race, really.
the various 'tankbarian' builds in the thread are good as well, btu take more team planning due to superstitious.
Dwarven druid and an anklysaurus both in plate armor.
Wall of meatshield!
I've gotta back the Paladin here. I took Aasimar Angel-Blooded, with 1 level of Oracle of Lore. Sidestep Secret, and Scion of War Feat allow me to use my CHA for AC, Saving Throws, Initutive, bonuses to spells and smite, and I took a Revelation that let's me use CHA for Knowledge Skills.
I usually use a Longsword 2-handed, but now that I'm getting up in level (9th) my AC is starting to lag, so I'm considering using a Buckler or Quickdraw Shield to be able to 2-handed when I can, but raise AC if I need to.
I took Power Attack and Corogun Smash which allows me to Demoralize as a free action, and I'm considering adding Cruel to my Longsword (I'm having RP issues with a Paladin wielding a Cruel Longsword), which sickens anyone who's shaken, AND if you take the baddie out, you get 5 temp HP. This is my main PFS character, and I love the extra skills. I can be the Face with a high CHA, high Diplomacy and a zero level Oracle spell Enhanced Diplomacy
I've gotta back the Paladin here. I took Aasimar Angel-Blooded, with 1 level of Oracle of Lore. Sidestep Secret, and Scion of War Feat allow me to use my CHA for AC, Saving Throws, Initutive, bonuses to spells and smite, and I took a Revelation that let's me use CHA for Knowledge Skills.
I usually use a Longsword 2-handed, but now that I'm getting up in level (9th) my AC is starting to lag, so I'm considering using a Buckler or Quickdraw Shield to be able to 2-handed when I can, but raise AC if I need to.
I took Power Attack and Corogun Smash which allows me to Demoralize as a free action, and I'm considering adding Cruel to my Longsword (I'm having RP issues with a Paladin wielding a Cruel Longsword), which sickens anyone who's shaken, AND if you take the baddie out, you get 5 temp HP. This is my main PFS character, and I love the extra skills. I can be the Face with a high CHA, high Diplomacy and a zero level Oracle spell Enhanced Diplomacy
quicker incapacitation = less pain for everyone involved = righteous thing to do. you can refluff it and have them be quaking at your holy smiteyness. instead of being ACTUALLY sickened (like, to their stomachs) when hit by it, they cower from your divine might or something. the terms are just names.
i threw together a similar type of build as that on the third page of the guide to the builds thread. it's more simple though.
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A Foehammer Dwarf (racial Archetype for fighters) or a barbarian with the Groundbreaker rage power are great tanks. Forcing difficult terrain, bull rushing and tripping, and lots of damage and natural tankiness.
The fighter is able to reposition his foes easily with bull rush and trip to try and drag his foes away from his allies. He can even break the ground and then bull rush someone into it so they get stuck in difficult terrain.
The barbarian can use the Intimidating Glare and Terrifying Howl rage powers to leave his foes unable to attack and create a protective shield for his allies by smashing the ground directly in front of them so enemies can't charge them.
Yeah, a tank in PF is like an actual tank, not an APC.
I second Synthesist Summoner (but be careful, they can quite easily overpower other characters unless everyone is very optimized), Oracle, Barbarian, or maaaybe Paladin. Paladins are fantastic at taking damage, and can quite easily have a good ranged backup weapon, but will have less crowd control than the others.
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Here is my tank
-Race-
Human
-Classes-
Fighter (Lore Warden) 14/ Monk (Monk of the Four Winds / Monk of the Sacred Mountain) 2/ Ranger (Weapon and Shield) 2/ Rogue 2
-Stats-
STR 14 (+6 magic item) = 20
DEX 16 (+4 leveling)(+6 magic item) = 26
CON 15 (+2 racial)(+1 leveling) = 18
INT 14
WIS 10
CHA 08
-Saves-
fort 22
ref 22
will 13
ac 47 (+5 combat expertise)(+3 fighting defensively) = 55
touch 24 (+5 combat expertise)(+3 fighting defensively) = 32
flat-footed 29
-Traits-
Threatening Defender
-Feat / Level Progression-
Ra01) Combat Reflexes, Stand Still
Ra02) Shield Focus
M 03) Elemental Fist, Dodge, Crane Style
M 04) Toughness, Deflect Arrows
F 05) Weapon Focus Unarmed Strike, Missile Shield
F 06) Combat Expertise, Weapon Finesse
F 07) Crane Wing
F 08) Saving Shield
F 09) Bodyguard
F 10) Crane Riposte
F 11) Draconic Defender
F 12) Greater Shield Focus
F 13) Disruptive
F 14) Spellbreaker
F 15) Pin Down
F 16) Ray Shield
F 17) Mobility
F 18) Spring Attack
Ro19) Whirlwind Attack
Ro20) Talent - Combat Trick (Weapon Specialization Unarmed Strike)
-Magic Gear-
Bracers of Armor(+8)
Mithril Heavy Shield (+5 Arrow Catching, Arrow Deflection)
Ring of Protection (+5)
Ring of Regeneration
Amulet of Natural Armor(+5)
Belt of Physical Might (+6 str / +6 dex)
Cloak of Resistance (+5)
-Tanking Method-
Fight with caster standing behind u since any thing that enters ur threaten area will not be able to exit ur threaten are via Stand Still and Pin Down as well all incoming missile attacks would veer towards u via Arrow Catching. When making an attack action fight defensively and use combat expertise to up personal ac and grant 1 adjacent party member a natural armor bonus equal to the dodge bonus from combat expertise and fighting defensively via Draconic Defender. Use AoO to grant aid another ac to an adjacent party member via Bodyguard and an immediate action grant shield bonus via Saving Shield. Negate 1 melee attack, 1 ranged spell attack, and 3 ranged missile attacks a round via Crane Wing, Ray Shield, Deflect Arrows, Missile Shield, and Arrow Deflection.
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The following is a great character for taking enemies alive if u need to or just cop de grace them once they go uncontentious.
level 20 Half - Elf Rogue
-Stats (25 point)-
STR 27 =14 (+6 magic item)(+5 level)(+2 racial)
DEX 20 =14 (+6 magic item)
CON 20 =14 (+6 magic item)
INT 14 =14
WIS 10 =10
CHA 20 =14 (+6 magic item)
01 Skill Focus Intimidate, Skill Focus Bluff
02 Talent - Trap Spotter
03 Combat Reflexes
04 Talent - Combat Trick (Combat Expertise)
05 Improved Feint
06 Talent - Weapon Training
07 Dazzling Display
08 Talent - Strong Impression
09 Shatter Defenses
10 A Talent - Greater Feint
11 Sap Adept
12 A Talent - Improved Evasion
13 Sap Master
14 A Talent - Skill Mastery
15 Vital Strike
16
17 Improved Vital Strike
18
19 Toughness
20
-Method-
Against single targets use Feint as a move action to make the target denied its dex until ur next turn. When fighting multiple enimies perform an aoe intimidate as a full round action that makes all enemies flat footed to u for x rounds to get ur SA off. Have all ur damage be nonlethal to double down on ur SA damage and then perform cop de gras when targets are uncontentious our take them prisoner or w/e. Intimidates = d20+46 and Bluff = d20+38.
I do agree, after Synthesist Summoner, the next best tank is a Barbarian, especially once he's gotten his Come and Get Me - Combat Reflexes - Dazing Assault combo up and running. After that... probably summoned monsters just for their ability to be popped into any tactical position necessary immediately and their expendability. After that... a Fighter spec'd for 2H high damage, or if a high level game... Dazing Assault reach tactics similar to the high level Barb's.
By far the best "melee killer" I've ever seen, though, was a wizard and cleric in our party combining Reverse Gravity with Blade Barrier. That's as literal a meat grinder as you can get. :)
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WIP
Hmm....there are a lot of "tank" opinions, so I've got a damage output build.
We all know Barbarian was coming but how about Barbarian Oracle? And no, not Rage Prophet. It gives up too much of both classes to be viable. "Multiclassing is stupid" you say? Well so do I.....normally.
Most people who know this build know what's coming, so for those that called it: yes this takes advantage of the Lame Curse.
Ability Scorez
Str 14-16 (put stat increase here/race with bonus here)
Dex 14
Con 14-16 (a 15 is required here for Raging Vitality)
Int 7-14 (you need a 13 if you want Fast Learner as a human)
Wis 7
Cha 7
Riddle: When are dump stats not dump stats?
Answer: When you are a synthesist summoner.
Tanks are all about taking hits not damage. But you cannot ignore dealing damage either.
I want to recommend trying a human fighter and stacking the many feats to two weapon fight so you can hit with weapon and spiked shield while keeping your shield for the AC bonus. Try the armored fighter archetype (don't trade armor training). Start out with the short sword with medium spiked shield and improved shield bash.
Concentrate on STR>DEX>CON>wis,int,cha
When asked why your are just a fighter?
Because someone has to be.
As someone who plays a lot of spell casters, having unlimited sword attacks and shield bashes would be a refreshing change :-)
Tanks are all about taking hits not damage. But you cannot ignore dealing damage either.
No, tanks are about standing in the way of the enemy and the squishies, preventing them from attacking the squishies. If you go with just a short sword and shield with no further way of stopping the enemies, they just say "oh, hey, look at the guy with the knife. let's ignore him."
You need either a way to make you really really dangerous if ignored (awesome damage and being good with AoO's), or a way to stop the enemies from reaching your friends (tripping, entangling, stand still etc).
I don't really have a build for a tank, as I don't consider my character a tank. However, if you truly looking for ways to protect your friends because you and your characters cherish them so much, I think I have a few tricks that worked for me.
Combat Reflex + reach weapon + pushing assault = angry enemy
One of four with the best swordsman in the world. Combat Reflex gives you more AoO to attack more when people get pass your reach. If you readied actions to pushing assault on enemy, you push it back so it can't 5 ft step. Then he has to walk in so he might attack again next time, but you pushed him back again. After a hit or two, your enemy will hate you so bad that he will kill you even if it cost his life. As for your friends, they will be safe behind you back.
Intimidate
Intimidate your enemies can draw them to you as you are either annoying or threatening. If you pose the most threat, it make sense to take you down first as they want to reduce the casualties in their group. If you are just keep talking them down with intimidate, they will take you down first because you are so annoying. So I think both ways should work. I'm sure it works on GM too, if you dare....
Daze and Stun
If your character is capable at doing one or both of those things, you will annoy your enemies a lot! Want to cast a spell? Oh, got dazed... Want to get to the sorcerer? Oh, got stunned... In that case, they are not going to kill that sorcerer who rain down fire from the sky, they will get you first because you keep stopping them from doing so. Stunning way to go about it, right?
Hit as hard as your strikers
Most strikers rely on rolling lots of d6 sneak attacks and critical damages, or the high damage spells rely on rolling lots of d4 or d6 or even d8. But one thing in common, they all need to roll. Chance are they can sometime roll lower than average. On the other hand, if you can stack your bonus so high, your average damage will be closer their average damage and your minimum will still be higher. One sneak attack without critical at level 20 for a rogue can deal around 34 damages on average. A Greater Vital Strike Power Attack from level 20 fighter with his two handed best weapon (great sword?) deal around 42 damages on average(without adding strength). Some other fighters can deal even more damage on average. Not bad? With this much damage on average, the amount of health you have and the armor class you got, it's normal to want to take you down while they still have enough manpower to do so.
Placement or payment
Learning where to place yourself in very important for a tank. Stand in a choking point when no enemy has range attack, nothing should be able to get pass you. Stand in their face to chop them up if they can fight with range, charge at them if they move. Watch your caster's back if they are fighting a caster. Learn the placement, or pay the price.
Disguise????
What????? Disguise????? Yes, disguise... Put a cloak and disguise yourself like a big fat bookworm! Carry spell books around your waist and hold a staff too! Oh yeah! He must the the spell caster! BANG! It's not a staff, it's a hammer with stuff sticking on top! When the rouge did his sneak attack and found that he was hitting your full-plate, it was too late for him. Waste of skill points? Maybe... But if you can save your druid friend, it's only a natural selection. =D
Full Tank
Your teams want to get all this and all that to improve their spells and sneak attack? NO!!!! Get your full plate first! They want a tank? Build one! Of course, who and why cares about tank's full plate when you can't pull aggro like in MMOs? Well, it's time to equip their mind with knowledge of working as a team. The tank needs to tank, so don't shoot aggro missiles! Wizard is dying, STOP SHOOTING DAMAGE AND GET SOME FIRST AID!!! non-famous last spell? When your team is equipped with the idea of tanking while you got yourself a full plate armor, you are now a full tank with well trained soldiers! Roll out!
Those are some of my ways to tank. Helped me a few times. Hope they help you too.
No, tanks are about standing in the way of the enemy and the squishies, preventing them from attacking the squishies.
I completely disagree with this definition. Not only is it far too narrow, it's also the by far worst way to try and build a tank. "Wait, the corridors are 20 ft wide? Damn, my whole concept just fell apart!"
A tank is someone who keeps enemies from harming his allies. There are numerous ways to accomplish this. The most effective being aggro or lockdown. Aggro is forcing enemies to attack you; PF does not like aggro very much, best option is the Compel Hostility spell, which is hella unreliable. Lockdown is keeping enemies from actually being able to get to a position to attack allies. Either keeping them away from melee range, or perhaps throwing up line of sight/effect blocking wall or battlefield control spells. Needless to say, casters and non-casters can be built to do this, though as with everything in PF and D&D, casters tend to do it better and without putting themselves personally within harm's way nearly as much.
If you go with just a short sword and shield with no further way of stopping the enemies, they just say "oh, hey, look at the guy with the knife. let's ignore him."
You need either a way to make you really really dangerous if ignored (awesome damage and being good with AoO's), or a way to stop the enemies from reaching your friends (tripping, entangling, stand still etc).
The rest of this, however, I completely agree with. The most sure-fire way to get enemies to attack you is to be too deadly to ignore. The other thing about tanking is that you don't just want one "expert" at it, though. No matter how tough your tank is, enough focus fire will kill him dead just as sure as anyone else. The game heavily rewards focus fire with its critical existence failure (ie, "I fight just as strong at 1 hp as I do at 100!") already. So the best tanking situation has a few PCs able to draw or prevent attacks on occasion, to make sure the damage gets spread out and one poor schmuck doesn't get horribly ganged up on.
A "tank" should have three things:
- High AC
- High Hit Point
- Damage Reduction
Nice things to have:
- damage dealing
- healing options (fast healing, fast drinker/raging drunk, ...)
- intimidate (see below)
- reach (Enlarge Person, ... see below)
Combat Reflex + reach weapon + pushing assault = angry enemy
Verry nice :-) + put a little Come and get me (rage power) in.
Intimidate
plus Power Attack with Cornugon Smash
Intimidateplus Power Attack with Cornugon Smash
plus shatter defenses and a cruel weapon
No, tanks are about standing in the way of the enemy and the squishies, preventing them from attacking the squishies.I completely disagree with this definition. Not only is it far too narrow, it's also the by far worst way to try and build a tank. "Wait, the corridors are 20 ft wide? Damn, my whole concept just fell apart!"
A tank is someone who keeps enemies from harming his allies.
I agree that my definition is too narrow, you're right about that, but I think your definition is a bit too wide. Tank still evokes a certain kind of harm prevention to mind - that of actively physically hindering your opponent in some way. A buffer, for example, keeps enemies from harming allies but a bard with defensive buffs who stands in the back and uses a wand of create pit to change the battlefield may be very effective at preventing enemies from harming allies, but isn't what I'd call a tank. A battlefield controller/defensive buffer can replace a tank and make tanking unnecessary (to a degree), but I do not see them as the same thing at all.
Though, a 20ft corridor is by no means enough to prevent a tank from working. At high levels things work a bit different, but at low to mid levels most foes have limited movement, and if you're in a straight line between your opponent and your ally they usually need to move over 30 ft to not provoke an attack of opportunity. But realistically, tanks have some way to have reach - an enlarged fighter with boot blades and a glaive can fill up a 50ft wide area. And that's without a single feat spent, there are loads of feats and abilities that help tanking.
At low-to-mid levels it is very possible and simple to be a decently efficient tank, but since tanks only works against certain types of enemies (melee enemies without too much maneuverability), being a "tank" is a bit like being a "healer" - it shouldn't be the only thing you can do.
I think every martial character should pick up equipment and a few feats to be a decent tank when the situation requires it, but if you want to be a dedicated "tank" you need to do something exceptional.
It's also a bit about teamwork. While a tank can do decently on their own, and a battlefield controller can do decently on their own, combining them can be lethal, especially at low levels. Many good area denial spells are limited in area and are stationary (grease, create pit etc) but can be used to great effect to force enemies to come through the tank instead of going around.
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It's also a bit about teamwork. While a tank can do decently on their own, and a battlefield controller can do decently on their own, combining them can be lethal, especially at low levels. Many good area denial spells are limited in area and are stationary (grease, create pit etc) but can be used to great effect to force enemies to come through the tank instead of going around.
This is an area where the Magus can shine with the capability to both attack and cast area control spells in the same round.
I am going to go with the brawler archetype for fighter as one of the best for being a 'tank' because they are lock down specialists. Now, before going indepth, pretty much everything I will say will be relying on Bladestorm's Guide to TWF fighters. While it is a good idea due to the archetype's version of weapon training, TWF is not necessary, and only provided a similar goal to what you want: to keep enemies from running off to kill the squishy casters instead of staying and being beat up by your full attacks.
Now, the idea is to combine the stand still feat (which uses your AoO to stop enemies that try to move through your square) with this archetype's No Escape ability (which causes an AoO for enemies taking 5 foot steps, withdraws, or just plain moving out of squares adjacent to you, as you could guess by the name). This can keep an enemy in one place, which is pretty close to aggro. You also debuff your enemies' to hit (by up to a -4 penalty) and concentration (-7 to the check) just by standing next to them. So just move on up to a BBEG, hold him down, and allow your archers and casters to wail on him without any concern what so ever. You might also enjoy the brawler's bonuses to drag, bull rush, and reposition at the start of this fight, so that you can take this away from the squishies from the get go.
Sorry, about half of the posts are from after the necro, so it was hard to tell on my end. I can understand though. If you do a search, it can be hard to tell when the thread was originally posted and abandoned.
If you are playing in a campaign that contains open areas more than dungeon crawls, I suggest a mounted combat build. It's not a specialty of my current character, but he rode down baddies while the paladin "drew agro". They baddies eventual ran & I rode down 2 before they could get away.
Other than that, a barbarian, cavalier (mount or non-mounted), magus, fighter, ranger, battle mystery oracle, or cleric all make pretty decent front-liners. I know I'm going to draw some flack for some of those, but they are all proven in games I have played.
Barbarian Invunarable is my favorite = )
Attributes: (20 point buy)
STR - 20 (+6magic)
DEX - 10
CON - 29 (18 +5 lvs + 6magic)
INT - 14
WIS - 10
CHA - 10
Racial Trait:
Heart of the Wilderness: half their character
level to their Constitution score when determining the
negative hit point total necessary to kill them.
Feats:
1st - Endurance
1st - Diehard
3rd - Combat Expertise (-5 attack + 5dodge)
5th - Stalwart (-5 dodge + 5 RD)
7th - Deathless Initiate (fight at negative hp)
9th - Toughness
11th - Improved Stalwart (-5 dodge + 10 RD)
13th - Power Attack
15th - Raging Brutality
17th -
19th -
Rage Powers:
2 - guard life
4 - Renwed Vigor
6 - Gaurd life, greater
8 - increased damage reduction
10 - increased damage reduction
12 - increased damage reduction
14 - Regenerative Vigor
16 -
18 -
20 -
Rage Rounds: 51
positive HP:~420 (d12 +1favorite class + 1toughness + 13cons(with rage))
0 HP: convert 40 damage points to nonlethal (guard life)
negative HP: -47 (diehard, deathless initiate, Heart of the Wilderness)
RD: 23/-
Greatsword +5: 2d6 + 8str +18pa + 19cons + 5 = 2d6 + 50
While it might have been necro'd, I don't mind. Any information people post could be helpful for other builds for other games.
While I'm not sure about it being a 'tank' but melee rangers are great frontliners. They dish out alot of damage if the specifics are right. In addition they have alot of skill points and useful class skills as well as more then a few interesting abilities as they increase level.
At best you are in your favored terrain and fighting your favored enemy with a lot of bonuses. Without that you still have the same BAB and hitpoints of a fighter with a few less feats then a fighter and a load more skills. The only really down side is the lack of heavy armor, I can't think of anything else really.
My current build is a Ranger with Sword and Shield combat style. It chains a shield bash and bullrush when a critical is scored. It took until level 11 to reach fruition though.
Necro's are ok. ESPECIALLY when someone mentions my guides. Boom!