Ideas for tank?

[DrDeth]

OK, I love back-up characters. In one of my current campaigns, everyone but me is running a spellcaster- and since I am running a inquisitor, that's sorta a 'caster too.

DM has allowed and suggests one of the less common races, and a generous 30 pt buy. We get two traits. 10th level now. 90K gps.

I cant play without some decent skillpoints, so there's that.

So I wanna PC I can have fun with and let the other players shine with all their fancy spells. (one of theplayers is a flying spellcasting archer, so melee guy). All the spellcasting bases are covered.

A couple PCs are "ethically challenged" so a paladin wont work.

So far, I have done up a halfling cavalier on a wardog, a tengu unchained rogue, a hobgoblin brawler and a Fetchling slayer/shadowdancer. Fun ideas, but I want more!

Oh and everyone has darkvision.

So, throw some ideas at me!

[Secret Wizard]

You had me at 30 pt. buy.

Go UnMonk!

But not any kind of UnMonk...

Go Wayang UnMonk!

But not any kind of Wayang UnMonk...

Go Scaled Fist Wayang UnMonk!

Here's how it works ---

Wayangs have an amaaaaazing Monk FCB - they get +1 AC for every 6 levels. On a class that is super defensive like the Monk, that's extremely good.

The catch? Wayangs have a -2 to WIS, so that makes them pretty unacceptable at monastic jobs... except if they are Scaled Fists! Scaled Fists scale with CHA, so who cares about WIS!

Another cool thing about Wayangs? The Shadow Speaker alternate racial! It gives you a few clutch +2 to any d20 roll, which you can use on your Stunning Fist attempts to make sure they hit. With the Wayang Soothsayer feat, you can turn that into a +3 or a +4 later on.

If 3.5 is allowed, you can ignore Scaled Fist and just pick up the Kung Fu Genius feat to be based off INT and really exploit your +INT. If this is a chance, go with the Perfect Scholar archetype from Inner Sea Intrigue to put your Knowledge to use too.

[DrDeth]

Secret Wizard wrote:

You had me at 30 pt. buy.

Go UnMonk!

But not any kind of UnMonk...

Go Wayang UnMonk!

But not any kind of Wayang UnMonk...

Go Scaled Fist Wayang UnMonk!

Here's how it works ---

Wayangs have an amaaaaazing Monk FCB - they get +1 AC for every 6 levels. On a class that is super defensive like the Monk, that's extremely good.

The catch? Wayangs have a -2 to WIS, so that makes them pretty unacceptable at monastic jobs... except if they are Scaled Fists! Scaled Fists scale with CHA, so who cares about WIS!

Another cool thing about Wayangs? The Shadow Speaker alternate racial! It gives you a few clutch +2 to any d20 roll, which you can use on your Stunning Fist attempts to make sure they hit. With the Wayang Soothsayer feat, you can turn that into a +3 or a +4 later on.

If 3.5 is allowed, you can ignore Scaled Fist and just pick up the Kung Fu Genius feat to be based off INT and really exploit your +INT. If this is a chance, go with the Perfect Scholar archetype from Inner Sea Intrigue to put your Knowledge to use too.

Linky to "scaled fist"?

I dont think that available yet.

No 3.5.

Nor do i see the Shadow Speaker alternate anywhere.

Let us keep to pathfinder PRD as much as possible. Or the D20PFSRD.

But I like your ideas!

[Secret Wizard]

Oh, then they aren't there. Scaled Fist is from Legacy of Dragons, Shadow Speaker from Blood of Shadows.

[DrDeth]

Secret Wizard wrote:

Oh, then they aren't there. Scaled Fist is from Legacy of Dragons, Shadow Speaker from Blood of Shadows.

Well, good try and I like the way your mind works!

[Trekkie90909]

I rather like swashbuckler tanks; mouser makes for pretty good debuffs, the bodyguard feat is an excellent addition for a dex-based class, and difficult swings, one of the new weapon mastery feats, lets you turn the squares around you into difficult terrain, so no 5-ft stepping out of your square for anyone! It's better for a party with a front line though; not sure it'd help much for all casters.

[beemer4188]

If you really want to step way outside the box...you could play a Barbarian with superstition rage power line.

[Bazaku Ambrosuis]

Mmm thing with the tanks is that they are boring if you just stand in there... Make shure you have some fun tricks to do.
-Inspiring commander (d20 if allowed) is prety funny to make good aid another (take halfling and order of the dragon to boost it highest)
-Oracle with life mistery but focused on tank (fey founded and safe curing + combat healer makes a good start) maybe take rage prophet prestige class later.
-Half-orc Fighter with inquisitor VMC (get stern gaze and some cool judgments) and make yourself a debuff master, with the intimidate feat tree and antagonize to make shure they come to get you.

[Renegadeshepherd]

beemer4188 wrote:

If you really want to step way outside the box...you could play a Barbarian with superstition rage power line.

How is that out of the box? That's the go to standard for tanks IMO. If not for caster issues I would suggest a dragon disciple for the health and armor. Alternatively go find yourself any class that is full BAB and make full use of combat feats like combat expertise. Invulnerable rager barb is good too. A cleric with reactive healing feat is very paladin like if you just need to get around alignment issues. Scarred witch doctor if you can use the old original version. And then there is the classic "too much AC to hit me" tank.

[Create Mr. Pitt]

You can't go wrong with reach cleric with combat reflexes. With the point buy you can get STR, WIS, CON, and DEX. Maybe grab the travel domain. Either way summon flanking buddies, get a ton of attacks of opportunity, that is the most effect form of tanking.

[Bazaku Ambrosuis]

Create Mr. Pitt wrote:

You can't go wrong with reach cleric with combat reflexes. With the point buy you can get STR, WIS, CON, and DEX. Maybe grab the travel domain. Either way summon flanking buddies, get a ton of attacks of opportunity, that is the most effect form of tanking.

That works too, you can use guided hand feat to focus only in 3 stats, there´s the dark trapestry domains that offers you "it came from beyond" (Only with the archetype) that make your summons much stronger

[Bandw2]

you could also be an abjuration focused occultist? could also face with some enchantment focus, etc.

[beemer4188]

Renegadeshepherd wrote:

beemer4188 wrote:

If you really want to step way outside the box...you could play a Barbarian with superstition rage power line.

How is that out of the box? That's the go to standard for tanks IMO. If not for caster issues I would suggest a dragon disciple for the health and armor. Alternatively go find yourself any class that is full BAB and make full use of combat feats like combat expertise. Invulnerable rager barb is good too. A cleric with reactive healing feat is very paladin like if you just need to get around alignment issues. Scarred witch doctor if you can use the old original version. And then there is the classic "too much AC to hit me" tank.

It is out of the box because the rest of the party is spellcasters. And I think it would make it interesting to have a mage hunter in a party of mages.

[DrDeth]

Renegadeshepherd wrote:

beemer4188 wrote:

If you really want to step way outside the box...you could play a Barbarian with superstition rage power line.

How is that out of the box? That's the go to standard for tanks IMO.

And it's a trap in a large party of spellcasters. I cant get hasted, nor healed, no prayer, nor all sort of neat boosting spells. In exchange for a +2 bonus? Crudtastic.

[Chess Pwn]

DrDeth wrote:

Renegadeshepherd wrote:

beemer4188 wrote:

If you really want to step way outside the box...you could play a Barbarian with superstition rage power line.

How is that out of the box? That's the go to standard for tanks IMO.

And it's a trap in a large party of spellcasters. I cant get hasted, nor healed, no prayer, nor all sort of neat boosting spells. In exchange for a +2 bonus? Crudtastic.

Often it's not a +2 but a +4 or 5 or more. It's what makes the barb have equal to better saves than a paladin. It's not required, but that's why it's viewed so well. Get your haste buff before raging and then go to town.

[beemer4188]

And keep in mind "superstitious" is just a name you can re-skin the feat's name for your character to Mind wall or Spell Defense or whatever you think fits your concept. So you can tell your party members that when you rage you will be harder to buff and they need to do it before you rage.

[Renegadeshepherd]

The barb shouldn't need healing, certainly not while raging in battle anyway, or something is very wrong. The con and will saves con be higher than the +2. I mean honestly if the only ways a barb is being boosted in a party full of casters are spells, that party sucks in the support department. Cleric channels, teamwork feats, bardic performances, cleric domain powers, etc etc etc all bypass superstitious 100% of the time. Not that a barb needs much support aside from getting in striking range.

[kyrt-ryder]

Probably take the eberron magitek route and bind a fire elemental to serve as the power siurce for propulsion and canonfire.

[lemeres]

How about an elemental annhilator kineticist?

Two good saves, high CON for HP, and you can have enough DR to make a barbarian jealous.

It can focus on several different styles, including 2 handing, TWF, archery, and later on regular kineticist blasts (you have few infusions before high levels, but you can at least get a single nice status condition or battlefield control one at level 7).

Overall, you can choose to mainly be the 'melee' guy, but you can eventually move onto other styles later so you can branch out and keep up when 'just' melee guys stop being as noticeably useful.

[The Dandy Lion]

I think an Aberrant Bloodrager would work excellently. It benefits from Str, Dex, Con and Cha so you can get decent mileage out of that 30 point buy.

There are three main features to the aberrant bloodline that make it great for a protective role.

Firstly, from level 4, it gets +5 to reach when raging. Stack this Long Arm or Enlarge Person and you're suddenly reaching 20-30 feet away, scaring casters and crippling enemy movement.

Secondly, the higher level bloodline powers protect you from a ton of nasty conditions and give you 50% chance to ignore critical hits. Excellent if you want to be the pillar of the team, and makes up for the mediocre saves of the class.

Finally, it's a bit cheesy but you can gain access to a Tumor Familiar with the Aberrant Tumor feat, which has fast healing 5 while it's attached to you. Slap on the protector archetype and this guy is taking hits for you left right and centre via bodyguard and a shield other effect, while healing off any damage it takes.

-

But that's not all!

As a Bloodrager, you can pick up the Arcane Strike feat, and have Blooded Arcane Strike to have it always on. With this, you have more options to work with the party.

Riving Strike makes your arcane strike-enhanced attacks lower enemies' saves against magic (AMAZING with an all-caster party). If you can spare the feats to grab Bodyguard (you'll already want Combat Reflexes) you can grab Gloves of Arcane Striking to stack up your allies' AC with aid another. And because of your insane reach you should have ample opportunity to do so!

The only catch with all of this is that I've listed quite a few feats.

Realistically, in no particular order, we're talking...

Tumor Familiar
Combat Reflexes
Bodyguard
Arcane Strike
Blooded Arcane Strike
Riving Strike
and inevitably, you'll want at least Power Attack.

Aberrant Bloodline does provide Combat Reflexes as a bloodline feat but your first one is at level 6 and you probably wouldn't want to wait that long. Improved Initiative and Iron Will are a great pickups from that list, though.

[Derek Dalton]

One idea I used and liked was Titan Mauler Barbarian and Tower Shield Specialist fighter. Campaign ended before we hit sixth level. I had planned on him taking a Prestige class where after third I no longer suffered from Fatigue or exhaustion. At about twelth level I could rage all the time wear full plate and move at full speed and use the tower shield without penalty. Race wise Dwarf or Half Orc are a favorite.

[Richard Federle]

I've used a Metal Oracle as a tank before. Given the offensive and defensive buffs plus the emergency heal, makes for a fairly good combination.

[Ventnor]

Maybe an Order of the Staff Cavalier? The rest of the party will love it when you make their saving throw-dependent spells succeed more often.

[DrDeth]

The Dandy Lion wrote:

I think an Aberrant Bloodrager would work excellently. It benefits from Str, Dex, Con and Cha so you can get decent mileage out of that 30 point buy.

There are three main features to the aberrant bloodline that make it great for a protective role.

Firstly, from level 4, it gets +5 to reach when raging. Stack this Long Arm or Enlarge Person and you're suddenly reaching 20-30 feet away, scaring casters and crippling enemy movement.

Secondly, the higher level bloodline powers protect you from a ton of nasty conditions and give you 50% chance to ignore critical hits. Excellent if you want to be the pillar of the team, and makes up for the mediocre saves of the class.

Finally, it's a bit cheesy...
-

As a Bloodrager, you can pick up the Arcane Strike feat, and have Blooded Arcane Strike to have it always on. With this, you have more options to work with the party.

Riving Strike makes your arcane strike-enhanced attacks lower enemies' saves against magic (AMAZING with an all-caster party). If you can spare the feats to grab Bodyguard (you'll already want Combat Reflexes) you can grab Gloves of Arcane Striking to stack up your allies' AC with aid another. And because of your insane reach you should have ample opportunity to do so!

The only catch with all of this is that I've listed quite a few feats.

Realistically, in no particular order, we're talking...

Combat Reflexes
Bodyguard
Arcane Strike
Blooded Arcane Strike
Riving Strike
and inevitably, you'll want at least Power Attack.

Aberrant Bloodline does provide Combat Reflexes as a bloodline feat but your first one is at level 6 and you probably wouldn't want to wait that long. Improved Initiative and...

I like it! But I dont do cheesy- the rest is worth trying, thanks!

[Grumbaki]

This might sound crazy but...

Halfling Inspired Blade Swashbuckler and Enlightened Paladin Multiclass
Str(8) Dex(18) Con (16) Int (10) Wis (10) Cha(18)

(lvl 1) Inspired Blade
- lvl 1 feat: Fencing Grace
- Dodging Panache/Opportune Parry (5x times a day, more than enough for most combats)
- Equipment: Studded Leather, Rapier, Buckler

[The Purpose of this is to get Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus and Fencing Grace at lvl 1 for the dex to damage]

(lvl 2+) Enlightened Paladin
- Cha bonus added to Dex bonus for AC, up to your paladin lvl

* At lvl 5, you get +8 AC from your stats. Switch to Silken Ceremonial Armor for +1 Armor AC with no max dex. You also get +1 AC for being a halfling, and +1 Shield AC from your buckler.
* As you are wearing light armor, grab fleet of foot to get your movement speed up to 30ft.
* At lvl 6, get litany of defense (lvl 2 paladin spell)

Quote:

Invoking this litany strengthens your defenses. Any enhancement bonus your armor has is doubled and you are immune to fear. While subject to this spell, the target cannot be the target of another spell that has the word "litany" in the title.

A buckler is armor, and so is your shield. So RAW, if you have +2 buckler and +2 ceremonial armor, as a swift action both double to +4.

* By lvl 8, you should have around 33,000gc. For 24,000gc you can have +2 Rapier, +2 Buckler, +2 Silken Ceremonial armor. That leaves 9,000gc left over for other magical items and whatnot. Such as a ring of protection +2 for 8,000gc.

So once you can afford that, and get the +2 Dex (for AC, reflex, hit and damage), you get...

+9 AC from stats, +1 AC from racial, +5 AC from ceremonial armor, +5 AC from buckler, +2 AC from the ring, for a total of AC32 with a swift action (lasts for 1 round). Without the swift action, "only" AC28.

Best of all, you're still a swashbuckler. So when the enemy attacks you, 5x a day, you can take an immediate action get get a dodge bonus equal to your Cha, ie +4. This pushes you up to AC37 against those who attack you in close combat.

As you want to be a tank, you are also getting +4 to all of your saves from being a paladin. You furthermore have a 10hp class with Con16, so you should have more than enough HP to take a few blows.

You are also at least at +16 to hit and +7 damage. Yeah, that's nothing special, but this is meant to be a tank. And you get 3 feats to play with to try and increase your damage output. This would of course include Improved Critical (Crit on a 15-20), followed by Critical Focus when you hit lvl 9. The other 2 feats could be anything you want. But as a tank why not take toughness for even more HPs, for the rare occasions that someone does hit you?

You also get feats. As a crit build, you could go for Killer (+2 dmg when you crit) and anatomist (+ 1 to confirm a critical hit).

Put it all together and you are a nearly naked halfling who is impossible to hit, as tough as nails, and who pokes a thin sharp object into very painful places.

[Bandw2]

I decided to make this character. It is a rapier & shield wielding dex to damage tanky character.

Spoiler:

Unnamed Hero
Human fighter 5/rogue (unchained) 3 (Pathfinder Unchained 20)
N Medium humanoid (human)
Init +5; Senses Perception +12
--------------------
Defense
--------------------
AC 27, touch 16, flat-footed 21 (+7 armor, +5 Dex, +1 dodge, +4 shield)
hp 64 (8 HD; 3d8+5d10+16)
Fort +9, Ref +11, Will +5 (+1 vs. fear); +4 vs. effects that cause you to lose your grip on weapons
Defensive Abilities danger sense +1
--------------------
Offense
--------------------
Speed 30 ft.
Melee +1 keen rapier +16/+11 (1d6+11/15-20)
Special Attacks sneak attack (unchained) +2d6, weapon training (light blades +3)
--------------------
Statistics
--------------------
Str 14, Dex 21, Con 14, Int 14, Wis 12, Cha 10
Base Atk +7; CMB +12; CMD 28 (32 vs. disarm, 32 vs. sunder)
Feats Advanced Armor Training, Armor Trick (medium Armor), Covering Defense[APG], Dodge, Mobility, Shield Focus, Shield Specialization[APG], Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus (rapier), Weapon Specialization (rapier)
Skills Acrobatics +14, Appraise +6, Bluff +4, Climb +4, Diplomacy +4, Disable Device +15, Disguise +11, Escape Artist +7, Handle Animal +4, Intimidate +4, Knowledge (engineering) +6, Knowledge (local) +6, Linguistics +6, Perception +12, Ride +7, Sense Motive +12, Sleight of Hand +7, Stealth +14, Survival +5, Swim +4, Use Magic Device +4
Languages Celestial, Common, Dwarven, Elven
SQ armor training 1, rogue talent (combat trick), trapfinding +1
Other Gear +1 hide armor, +1 guarding heavy steel shield, +1 keen rapier, cloak of resistance +2, gloves of dueling[APG], 345 gp
--------------------
Special Abilities
--------------------
Armor Specialization +2 (Hide) (Ex) Increase armor bonus of chosen armor.
Armor Training 1 (Ex) Worn armor -1 check penalty, +1 max DEX.
Armor Trick (Medium Armor) You may perform armor tricks with the chosen armor type.
Covering Defense Total Defense: grant a cover bonus to AC of your shield's shield bonus until your next turn.
Danger Sense +1 (Ex) +1 bonus on reflex saves and AC against traps.
Mobility +4 to AC vs. AoO provoked by moving out of or through a threatened area.
Shield Specialization (Heavy Shield) Choose one type of shield (buckler, light, heavy, or tower shield). With the selected shield, you gain a +2 bonus to your Armor Class against critical hit confirmation rolls. In addition, you may add your base shield bonus (including the bonus from Shield Focus but not including enhancement bonuses) to your CMD.
Sneak Attack (Unchained) +2d6 Attacks deal extra dam if flank foe or if foe is flat-footed.
Trapfinding +1 Gain a bonus to find or disable traps, including magical ones.
Weapon Training (Blades, Light) +3 (Ex) +3 Attack, Damage, CMB, CMD with Light Blades

It still have a weak will save but it's got a bunch of stuff to protect other people adjacent to him and has a pretty good AC. He also has access to medium armor tricks so he can't be kept down, which will allow him to increase his AC by 1 at the cost of -3 ACP if he so chooses for instance.

He also has access to many different skills and so should be able to at least participate anywhere. Also since he has sneak attack he would be a great flank partner.

after this level get 1 more level of rogue for dat debilitating strike, then all the way to fighter 16.

[The Dandy Lion]

DrDeth wrote:

I like it! But I dont do cheesy- the rest is worth trying, thanks!

Yeah honestly when I built an Aberrant rager it didn't much consideration to realise just how insane that combo is. It's far, far beyond the scope of power it should be. I ended up grabbing a familiar anyway, but as an infiltrator instead.

[Lincoln Hills]

Well, you obviously want low-bar spring torsion: I gather the lowered center of gravity is really important so that you can move while firing your main gun. Don't spend too much on treads - it's better to have cheap ones and replace damaged ones when you get back to...

To... uh...

I'm sorry, I misunderstood the title. Uh, in this context I'd suggest a dwarf cavalier with Order of the Shield. Standard Bearer is a good archetype for dumping the mount in favor of footslogging, but I do like the look of Occult Adventure's Ghost Rider archetype - all the perks of a mount, none of the drawbacks.

[Bandw2]

Lincoln Hills wrote:

Well, you obviously want low-bar spring torsion: I gather the lowered center of gravity is really important so that you can move while firing your main gun. Don't spend too much on treads - it's better to have cheap ones and replace damaged ones when you get back to...

I mean if we're going that route, you want your tank to be 50% engine, 45% gun, and 5% heavily sloped armor plates. You're also going to want a Engine powered gun laying mechanism to allow for quick aiming. You're also going to want a gun stabilizing mechanism so you can accurately fire the gun while moving. Also probably look into a hydraulic ramming system to load the gun if you're using a high caliber.

I enjoy tanks.

[Melkiador]

The Dandy Lion wrote:

DrDeth wrote:

I like it! But I dont do cheesy- the rest is worth trying, thanks!

Yeah honestly when I built an Aberrant rager it didn't much consideration to realise just how insane that combo is. It's far, far beyond the scope of power it should be. I ended up grabbing a familiar anyway, but as an infiltrator instead.

The cheesy part doesn't actually kick in till level 5 though. I have another abberant bloodrager build idea that's similar but goes for shield slam. So at level 6 you get a free bull rush against any enemy you hit and you have the wide reach to do that as your AoO. It's pretty good denial. With this build, it's also very tempting to go 2 levels of ranger or slayer to pickup shield slam without needing two weapon fighting, as you should be two handing the shield all of the time anyway.

[Kaouse]

Be a Myrmidarch Magus. VMC Fighter too if you can. With Advanced Weapon Training, you can get superior AC and saves to most classes. Armed Bravery gives you an awesome Will Save without much WIS investment, and Fighter Reflexes give you a decent REF save. Advanced Armor Training can also get you more AC out of your Armor, and even some DR/- that stacks with Adamantine.

On top of this, you're an INT based class, so you have tons of skill points and spells to fall back on. Offensively, I like to take "Warrior's Spirit" as an AWT option to give the Magus an effective +10 weapon on demand. For the Myrmidarch, being able to add the "Sharding" weapon property to anything you wield should allow you to make use of Ranged Spellstrike even with melee weapons, greatly expanding your choice of combat styles. Dual Spellstrike abilities + Spell Combat should easily handle most any encounter.

All of this is possible without the VMC (barring Armed Bravery), but the VMC certainly helps!

[Scott Wilhelm]

DrDeth wrote:

DM has allowed and suggests one of the less common races, and a generous 30 pt buy. We get two traits. 10th level now. 90K gps.

I cant play without some decent skillpoints, so there's that.

So I wanna PC I can have fun with and let the other players shine with all their fancy spells. (one of theplayers is a flying spellcasting archer, so melee guy). All the spellcasting bases are covered.

A couple PCs are "ethically challenged" so a paladin wont work.

So far, I have done up a halfling cavalier on a wardog, a tengu unchained rogue, a hobgoblin brawler and a Fetchling slayer/shadowdancer. Fun ideas, but I want more!

Oh and everyone has darkvision.

So, throw some ideas at me!

Goblin Monk, Master of Many Styles

Take Panther Syle Feats. Take Roll with It, Underfoot Fighting, and Tangle Feet feats. Take Vicious Stomp, of course. Acqurie a Crown of Swords. Take Snake Style Feats or dip into Alchemist and take Cognatation: not both.

The idea is that you run around the battlefield making Acrobatics Checks. If they succeed, use Tangle Feet, Knock your victims Prone and take Attacks of Opportunity with Vicious Stomp. If they fail, you get an Unarmed Strike via Panther Style Feats. If the Attack of Opportunity you provoked misses, you get an Attack of Opportunity via Snake Fang. If it hits, that activates your Crown of Swords which sics a Spiritual Weapon at the one who hit you. Also, you get to use Roll with It to make a Saving Throw vs the melee attack, which will send you skittering off in the direction you choose Knocking down more opponents like a little green wrecking ball, or bowling ball.

If you dip into Alchemist, take Cognatation so you can raise your Wisdom and get more attacks via Panther Claw. Wisdom Cognatations raise your Wisdom but lower your Dex. Dex Mutagens raise your Dex but lower your Wisdom. So you probably don't want to take Panther Claw, Snake Fang, Mutagen, and Cognatation: they sort of work against each other. You should consider getting a Protector Alchemal Familiar. In addition to giving you a bonus in whatever it will give you your bonus in, Protector Familiars grant Shield Other at level 5, essentially cutting all the damage you suffer in half. And the damage your Familiar suffers will be offset by its Fast Healing 5.

You will share in Darkvision. You will protect yoru party by knocking all your opponents on their behinds, debuffing everyone but killing very few and giving the rest of the party a real chance to shine while doing a fair bit of shining yourself!

[Burnscar]

Well, if everyone is doing casters, I suggest you roll out a Master Summoner archetype Summoner. Grab yourself some appropriate feats and a Rod of Giant Summoning, there's your tank right there.

[Dwarftr]

With a 30point buy and lvl 10 you could be really weird and go Ectoplasmatist Spiritualist with a dip into monk/unchained monk since both classes use Wis. You will have a 15ft reach weapon that can deliver touch spells and is ghost touch. You will also get a ectoplasmic armor ability that doest count as armor so it wont interfere with the monk stuff.

PFS Legal Ectoplasmatist
Source Occult Adventures pg. 108 (Amazon)
Instead of calling upon a phantom from the Ethereal Plane, an ectoplasmatist infuses herself with the mysterious substance called ectoplasm.

Ectoplasmic Lash (Su): At 1st level, as a full-round action an ectoplasmatist can manifest one or two lashes of ectoplasm tethered to her by wispy, ectoplasmic tendrils. If she manifests two lashes, she can wield them both as light melee weapons, each dealing 1d6 points of slashing damage (1d4 if the ectoplasmatist is Small) with a critical threat range and multiplier of 19–20/×2. If the ectoplasmatist manifests only one lash, she can manifest it either as a single one-handed melee weapon that deals 1d8 points of slashing damage (1d6 if the ectoplasmatist is Small) with a critical threat range and multiplier of 19–20/×2, or as a two-handed melee weapon that deals 2d6 points of bludgeoning damage (1d10 if the ectoplasmatist is Small) with a critical multiplier of ×2. Only the ectoplasmatist can wield or use these lashes. Dismissing any or all manifested lashes is a free action.

At 2nd level, the ectoplasmatist’s lashes gain a +1 enhancement bonus on attack and damage rolls, and are treated as magic weapons.

At 4th level, the ectoplasmatist can use her lashes as reach weapons or use them to manipulate objects from a distance. When used as weapons, the lashes gain an additional 5 feet of reach. Unlike most other weapons with reach, the lashes can be used to attack foes anywhere within the ectoplasmatist’s reach (including adjacent foes). Attacks with the lashes’ extended reach provoke attacks of opportunity just as if the ectoplasmatist were attacking with a ranged weapon. When the lashes are used to manipulate items, they have the same manual dexterity as the ectoplasmatist’s hands. Using the lashes to manipulate items always provokes attacks of opportunity, even if the action the ectoplasmatist is taking normally wouldn’t.

At 6th level, the lashes’ enhancement bonus increases to +2, and they are treated as having the ectoplasmatist’s alignment for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.

At 8th level, the ectoplasmatist’s lashes become ghost touch weapons and their reach increases by another 5 feet (for a total increase of 10 feet). Additionally, attacks with the lashes against nonadjacent foes no longer provoke attacks of opportunity. Using the lashes to manipulate objects from a distance still provokes attacks of opportunity, but only if the action the ectoplasmatist is taking would normally provoke such attacks (instead of always provoking).

At 10th level, the lashes’ enhancement bonus increases to +3.

At 12th level, the ectoplasmatist chooses a single emotional focus (anger, dedication, despair, fear, hatred, jealousy, or zeal). The ectoplasmatist’s lashes gain a special weapon ability as if affected by a spirit-bound blade spell (see page 187) matching the emotional energy of the focus the ectoplasmatist has chosen.

At 14th level, the lashes’ enhancement bonus increases to +4.

At 16th level, the ectoplasmatist chooses a second emotional focus, and her lashes gain the special weapon abilities as if affected by a spirit-bound blade spell with the special weapon ability of both of the ectoplasmatist’s chosen emotional foci.

At 18th level, the lashes’ enhancement bonus increases to +5.

This ability replaces etheric tether, phantom, shared consciousness, fused consciousness, spiritual bond, and empowered consciousness.

Spiritual Combat (Su): At 3rd level, as a full-round action, an ectoplasmatist can make all of her attacks with a single light or one-handed ectoplasmic lash wielded in one hand, and also cast a single spiritualist spell with a casting time of one standard action as a free action either before or after making the ectoplasmic lash attacks. The ectoplasmatist takes a –2 penalty on her attack rolls when using spiritual combat. If she decides to cast the spell defensively, she can choose to take an additional penalty on her attack rolls up to her Wisdom bonus, and add the same amount as a circumstance bonus on her concentration check. If the concentration check fails, the spell is wasted, but the attacks still take the penalty.

Also, when the ectoplasmatist casts a spiritualist spell with a range of touch, she can deliver the spell through one of her ectoplasmic lashes. Instead of making the free melee touch attack she would normally use to deliver the spell, the ectoplasmatist can choose to make a free ectoplasmic lash attack at her highest base attack bonus. A successful lash attack deals damage normally and imparts the spell’s effects. The ectoplasmatist can’t hold the charge if her lash attack misses.

This ability replaces bonded manifestation, phantom recall, and dual bond.

Ectoplasmic Armor (Su): At 4th level when an ectoplasmatist manifests her spiritual lash ability, tendrils of ectoplasmic material envelop her body, granting her a +4 armor bonus to AC.

At 12th level, the ectoplasmatist’s armor bonus to AC increases to +6 and is treated as ghost touch armor.

This ability replaces spiritual interference and greater spiritual interference.

[666bender]

depends, the best solo boss tank is a barbarian grappler with 1 dip into oracle for fatigue immune.
STR surge every round , pin foe and smack it around. high DR, great saves, huge hp, high mobility.

i had a halfling cavalier on a pony-sous (Pegasus that is a pony) taken via monstrous mount feat (dm allowed).big AC, nice spike charge damage, good all around body-guard effect. was nice.