Author Topic: 3.5 Dwarven Unstoppable Tank, need a little help.  (Read 16319 times)

Offline Zeegen

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3.5 Dwarven Unstoppable Tank, need a little help.
« on: February 06, 2012, 04:34:53 PM »
So I'm building a 3.5 Dwarven Defender that wields 2 Large Spiked Tower Shields, my objective is an unstoppable dwarf that just keeps pushing.
-The Major Feats-
    -Legendary
    -Powerful Build
    -Improved Shield Bash
    -Shield Charge
    -Shield Slam
-Main Items-
    -2 Large Spiked Tower Shields
    -Full-Plate Armor
    -Belt of Giants Strength
    -Amulet of Natural Armor

I don't want him to be a heavy Damage Dealer, but instead an Unstoppable Force. Any suggestions you have would be great!

Offline Jackinthegreen

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Re: 3.5 Dwarven Unstoppable Tank, need a little help.
« Reply #1 on: February 06, 2012, 04:59:40 PM »
Tanks and turtles tend to be ignored in D&D.  Dwarven Defender is a trap for that reason.  Unless you can make your allies harder to hit in the process a la Crusader maneuvers, most things will ignore you because there are juicier targets.  Double shields isn't necessarily a good idea, since you can 2h a shield for the extra damage and with the right feat keep its AC.

You want a proper tank?  Get Tome of Battle and go Crusader.

Where are the Legendary and Powerful Build feats from?

Offline trezac

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Re: 3.5 Dwarven Unstoppable Tank, need a little help.
« Reply #2 on: February 06, 2012, 05:00:32 PM »
edit ninjad
Notice that 2 shield bonus do not stack
I have try te same thing once but that doesn't work much
if your dm is playing nice the intelligent monster will just ignore you and defeat the rest of the party before going to you
you better try to build a battle field controler. with some sort of AAO and maybe some triping

Offline X-Codes

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Re: 3.5 Dwarven Unstoppable Tank, need a little help.
« Reply #3 on: February 06, 2012, 05:45:05 PM »
This is a tank: http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=3146.msg39314#msg39314

Ignore the stuff on weapon groups.

Dwarves aren't that great with that build, though, on account of the Charisma penalty.  You could use Intelligence in place of Charisma by going Wizard, which will make you somewhat better in terms of utility, but slightly weaker in terms of raw power, which the build would actually prefer.  It also doesn't take great advantage of the HP boost, since it's designed to mitigate the damage before it even gets to your HP.

That said, being a Dwarf means you get to use a War Pike/Buckler Axe combo at a lower opportunity cost than a Human gets a Spiked Chain, which is helpful.

Offline Balmas

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Re: 3.5 Dwarven Unstoppable Tank, need a little help.
« Reply #4 on: February 09, 2012, 02:43:43 AM »
To flog a dead horse just a bit more, turtling doesn't really work.  You need to have some way to force monsters to pay attention to you.  Something like http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19856162/A_little_Lock_build_for_you...this, or perhaps a crusader.

If you're absolutely set on dual wielding shields, I'm afraid that you can't shield bash with Tower Shields.

Quote from: SRD
Shield, Tower
This massive wooden shield is nearly as tall as you are. In most situations, it provides the indicated shield bonus to your AC. However, you can instead use it as total cover, though you must give up your attacks to do so. The shield does not, however, provide cover against targeted spells; a spellcaster can cast a spell on you by targeting the shield you are holding. You cannot bash with a tower shield, nor can you use your shield hand for anything else.
Emphasis mine.

Also, I believe that unless somehow you qualify, you can't gain a shield bonus twice to armor class.  There are ways to circumvent this, such as the Ironbound prestige class, from Helm and Hammer. http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Ironbound_(3.5e_Prestige_Class)  Either way, animate the shields.  It costs a +2 bonus, but it frees up your hands for a two-handed reach weapon.

If you want to tank, go Crusader.  If that's not available, try the Knight class from PHBII.

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Offline trezac

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Re: 3.5 Dwarven Unstoppable Tank, need a little help.
« Reply #5 on: February 09, 2012, 04:03:02 AM »
I think the best tank is cleric.
you can hit things pretty hard and heal yourself so you can't be ignore by any monster.
you also have the nicer buff spell available
have fun

Offline Endarire

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Re: 3.5 Dwarven Unstoppable Tank, need a little help.
« Reply #6 on: February 09, 2012, 01:55:54 PM »
Druids can make wonderful tanks.  So can Hood.

Offline trezac

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Re: 3.5 Dwarven Unstoppable Tank, need a little help.
« Reply #7 on: February 09, 2012, 06:21:39 PM »
ok, you'r right druid are great  :)

Offline littha

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Re: 3.5 Dwarven Unstoppable Tank, need a little help.
« Reply #8 on: February 09, 2012, 08:59:14 PM »
I think the best tank is cleric.
you can hit things pretty hard and heal yourself so you can't be ignore by any monster.
you also have the nicer buff spell available
have fun

You generally don't want to be healing yourself in combat, its a waste of actions most of the time. Crusaders are good tanks because they can heal while still attacking.