The Eternal Cockroach: Nearly unkillable D&D 5e build

This is an updated version of this build: • The Eternal Cockroach ...
that utilizes all the newest rules up to but not including the 2024 revised core rulebooks.
See the character sheet: www.dndbeyond.com/characters/...
If you like what I do and would consider supporting this channel through Patreon:
/ treantmonkstemple
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
6:00 Racial selection
10:44 Ability scores
12:39 Pldn 1
14:20 Pldn 1 Wrlk 1
16:22 Pldn 6 Wrlk 1
22:43 Pldn 6 Wiz 2 Wrlk 1
26:30 Pldn 6 Brd 5 Wiz 2 Wrlk 1
35:08 Pldn 6 Brd 5 Wiz 2 Wrlk 1 Srcr 1
37:06 Pldn 8 Brd 5 Wiz 2 Wrlk 2 Srcr 3

[@TreantmonksTemple]

I did notice that there's a graphic that shows magic stone doing 1d8+3 while I'm saying it does 1d6+3. The graphic is incorrect, it is 1d6+3. Also, I have stopped tracking free hands for somatic components, but if you do, you'll need to weapon juggle a bit to keep a free hand for reaction spell casting.

[@rileypeterson7381]

Not only unkillable, but actively performing circus act level juggling the entire time? Love it

[@carsonrush3352]

You could attach a holy symbol to your weapon, or use a staff with a holy symbol for your focus/ weapon. That might solve the juggling issue. Also, I didn't realize how good the hobgoblin is with saving throws. My pick for tanky races typically starts with 3 levels of kalashtar totem barbarian. Advantage on dex and wis saves and Con prof means that we essentially have prof with all 3 big saving throws, plus psychic resistance with the bear totem. Swing into paladin for the Cha boost to all saves, and you don't need AC.

[@Byssbod]

Man ....seems like nobody cares about tracking somatic components these days :(

[@dylans7742]

Swords Bard can use their weapon as their focus as well, so many of the reaction spells are good to go

[@stevesmith4600]

I have a Level 0 character that doesn't play in any games, he never gets hit or fails any saves. The only drawbacks are that he never gains XP, he does no damage, and he accomplishes nothing to move the story forward in any meaningful or interesting way. But, I guess if you cannot live with those drawbacks, Chris's updated build is your next best bet.

[@TreantmonksTemple]

A truly invincible character.

[@Otaconsps]

I think people might be getting confused about spell casting in heavy armor because you have to be proficient in the armor you're wearing to cast a spell. But if you ARE proficient, it doesn't matter if you meet the strength requirement.

[@carsonrush3352]

What page is that rule on? Isn't that just a 3.5e rule? Maybe I'm wrong.

[@bulldozer8950]

@@carsonrush3352 “Armor Proficiency. Anyone can put on a suit of armor or strap a shield to an arm. Only those proficient in the armor's use know how to wear it effectively, however. Your class gives you proficiency with certain types of armor. If you wear armor that you lack proficiency with, you have disadvantage on any ability check, saving throw, or attack roll that involves Strength or Dexterity, and you can't cast spells.” Page 144 I think, should be in the armor section of the equipment section of phb In the same section “Heavy Armor. Heavier armor interferes with the wearer's ability to move quickly, stealthily, and freely. If the Armor table shows "Str 13" or "Str 15" in the Strength column for an armor type, the armor reduces the wearer's speed by 10 feet unless the wearer has a Strength score equal to or higher than the listed score.” It’s pretty clear, you get completely cucked if you’re wearing armor you’re not proficient in. All the strength requirement is is only a 10ft penalty though.

[@mechmuzic8290]

Some folks say page 79 in phb?

[@matthewcrowther890]

@@carsonrush3352page 144. It has the paragraph treatmonk showed at 11:56, and slightly above it the penalty for wearing armour you aren’t proficient with (disadvantage on str and dex based ability checks, saves and attack rolls, and can’t cast spells)

[@MrBoredinthedorm]

It's an excellent thing to remember if you need to keep an enemy spellcaster alive for interrogation. Just knock them out, put them in heavy armor, laugh as even verbal only spells fail.

[@joaod.carvalho182]

The cockroach can casually misty step out of a Force Cage too

[@proforeveryone]

People in the optimization community generally undervalue survivability, so I love to see things like this!

[@Notsogoodguitarguy]

I mean, most optimizers say "I optimize for X", with X usually being damage, cause it's fun to do big damage. It's not like they undervalue survivability, they just don't wanna optimize for it. Sure, literally every character can benefit from Resilient, either CON, WIS or DEX, but that takes away potentially +2 to a stat or a feat that's gonna give you more damage, so all else be damned. Also, sadly, a lot of things that are optimal for damage are usually just straight better than things optimal for survivability. If you can kill your opponent faster, then you take less damage, therefore are a better tank in addition to being a better damage dealer.

[@proforeveryone]

@@Notsogoodguitarguy I mostly look at this as an interesting thing for people to look at and pick pieces off where they see fit. Like you said killing the enemy faster will increase your survivability by default but there are a surprising number of places where "tank" choices can be made for a minor damage loss that end up being better in the long run. I do think some people, and its mostly newer players to be fair, undervalue how much being harder to kill can allow you to bein places where you can do more damage. It's just refreshing to see something like this and was happy to see it updated. I actually had a recent...conversation, surrounding being a "tank" in 5th edition, and I very much took your position of damage > raw survivability.

[@Notsogoodguitarguy]

@@proforeveryone Oh, wait, that's not my position at all xD I don't think damage > raw survivability. I just said that most people, including most optimizers, think damage is more fun and thus pay more attention to damage than anything else. I love being a tank. I've played tanks literally every game I play - from souls games, to MMOs, to every type of RPG, to League of Legends, to even D&D. For me, it's usually a more interesting thing than just doing big damage. It's much more of an interesting puzzle. Plus, I like being the tank and protecting others.

[@proforeveryone]

@@Notsogoodguitarguy Apologies for misconstruing you! Tanking is a lot of fun, my last 4 characters would probably be considered "bruisers" as that's the archetype I most enjoy. A lot of that sort of thing also probably has to do with the style of DMs someone plays with. I like to tell new players there is a gradient between "you cant do damage if you're dead" and "the enemy cant kill you if they're dead" that you need to find where you most enjoy.

[@larkohiya]

My thoughts on "tanky vs damage" is that ultimately a lot of this game is "combat ends when enemies die" so getting to "enemies dead" fastest is the ""optimal"" use of energy for most players. That said since it's a team game you'd think more investigation into team strat would involve having a tanky dude. Now to setup the tactics so enemies hit them instead of the squishy allies... Ah, now we see the problem in the long run.

[@erenerikci3263]

Easily the best sponsor in a video ever

[@TreantmonksTemple]

I hear they are top notch.

[@SortKaffe]

Have you tried them out yourself though?

[@KaitlynBurnellMath]

@@TreantmonksTemple How much did they pay you for this sponsorship??? :o

[@HanmaHeiro]

​@@SortKaffeI'm recently new to DnD and his videos have been really fun to watch. Especially the ones shitting, making the best of, and seeing real improvements to the monk class that I wanted to play before learning it had apparently been gimped

[@Clayjar444]

​@@KaitlynBurnellMath everything

[@20storiesunder]

Love how much you stretch the system without breaking anything.

[@H4LFsanity]

Cockroach: "I cast Shield so that 34 misses." DM: "Wow, that's crazy!" *attacks someone else* My Bladesinger cries every time.

[@johngleeman8347]

Your Bladesinger can provide wall effects and control if the enemy insists on ignoring the tank. At least they have options. Also the Cockroach can smite so they enemy can't laugh off their attacks forever. XD

[@piranhaplantX]

The worst is when you have a barbarian rocking reckless attack every round. DMs can't help themselves when faced with a nigh unhittable Bladesinger and a nearly impossible to miss Barbarian.

[@DanielTose]

That's one of the reasons I like Artificer Armorer for tank builds. If you punch them with your thunder gauntlets, even if they switch to someone else, they have disadvantage against them

[@minikawildflower]

This is my favorite kind of multiclassing, where there's a really clear story as to your build. Some multiclasses feel a bit thin in terms of story, but this truly feels like a character who has explored various types of magic and training in service of their goal of being unkillable in combat ... maybe even a theme of a character whose ultimate goal is immortality.

[@andrewgreeb916]

Faith, the dark powers, faith again, wizardry, music, divine heritage. Yeah, really going all over the place to become immortal.

[@toddmingin2604]

7:30 Shadar Kai teleport important note you’ve mentioned before that I didn’t catch you mention here is that it’s NOT A SPELL. This means that if the need calls for it, you can cast a spell with your action and still use your teleport unlike most other teleports which use Misty Step, which is a spell.

[@TreantmonksTemple]

I don't think I actually mentioned it in this video, but definitely a very nice aspect of the feature.

[@crownlexicon5225]

Thats both a good and bad thing. Good for the reason you said. Bad as, since it's not a spell, it doesn't affect your Find Steed. Misty Step would teleport you AND your mount that way.

[@toddmingin2604]

@@crownlexicon5225❤

[@user-ps7ny4qf4z]

14 levels in zealot barb is the definition of a cockroach. 1 level in paladin lvl to survive the end of rage (take first to get wis save proficiency), alert and lucky to go first in battle and whatever race and classes that help your wis save. 5 minutes of immunity to all damage (kinda)

[@Notsogoodguitarguy]

*Laughs in Power Word Kill/Sleep/Power Word Stun*

[@WexMajor82]

@@Notsogoodguitarguy Calm Emotions is the troll spell for the Barbarian.

[@pickle5666]

The problem with that idea is that there are many things that can take you out of rage (see the above comments) and since you are a Barbarian you are going to be splitting your ability scores between Strength, Dexterity, Constitution and Wisdom (add Charisma if you want Paladin) which means you can't afford to have more than a +2 in Wisdom. This results in at best +8 to Wisdom saves which at 15th level is not nearly good enough for consistent success.

[@Adurnis]

The bigger problem in my book is that Zealot is being rewritten for the new PHB.

[@pickle5666]

@@Adurnis I agree in the long term however the original video is about current 5e using current 5e content and all other discussion in the comment section about the build is discussing it in the context of 5e. With that in mind I don't think saying D&D is being updated is a useful point.

[@bennettellis1154]

There's a very valid reading of the rules that Jack of All Trades and the Watcher paladin bonus do stack. Watcher paladin does not add your proficiency to initiative. It adds an aura bonus whose magnitude is equal to your proficiency. That sounds like splitting hairs, but also makes a lot of intuitive RAI sense: the idea of Jack of all trades is to give you a boost to skills you dont have direct practice in, but the watcher paladin is not a skill thing but a magical aura. dndbeyond doesn't do it this way, but that's not actually dispositive in how the rules are supposed to work.

[@Notsogoodguitarguy]

That's like Bless + Peace Cleric - they look like they're not supposed to stack, but they do. It's not about the magnitude of the bonus, but whether it's the same effect or not. The rules explicitly say that the same effects don't stack. In this case, it's two different effects that offer the same magnitude bonus.

[@NotYourAverageNothing]

⁠@@NotsogoodguitarguyIt's not about same features not stacking; it's about proficiency bonus only being able to be applied once to any roll.

[@brennennestvogel3983]

Yeah, the only exception I can think of for stacking proficiency is Expertise, but that's pretty explicit

[@elliotbryant3459]

Yeah or with Harengon & the Watcher's aura. It's not a matter of being proficient, it's adding 2 non-competing bonuses that both just happen to advance in line with your proficiency bonus.

[@LyleAshbaugh]

Every class should have a “treantmonk” subclass

[@AlwaysGrowing0]

After looking at the three pillars for your goals, I thought, "So you want to be a Paladin then..."

[@derbohrkopf]

Finally you're doing builds again! Loved those videos!

[@micahthomas6600]

Awesome update! This actually makes me want to use the hobgoblin more.

[@TreantmonksTemple]

The Hobgoblin is quite good, and I dare say underrated.

[@SortKaffe]

I had the takeaway! Shadar-Kai has already seen too much play at my table to feel like a novel idea.

[@jonathanhaynes9914]

I thought I'd gone insane for a moment when it says 27 minutes. thanks Chris.

[@kibbo86]

Now you know how your DM will feel

[@goyasolidar]

You don't need to pick yourself as one of the targets for Watcher's Will. You're automatically affected by the spell.

[@nickdude54]

That ssounds like an awesome product. I'll definitely subscribe and support treantmonk's Temple

[@dreamwanderer5791]

My preferred way of going up to decently crazy AC levels (mid to upper 20's before Shield) is going through Artificer thanks to its built in +2 Armor and Cloak of Protection due to replicating magic items. Slap on War Mage, and become the glorious wall you were meant to be.

[@AtelierGod]

Add in Mark of Sentinel for access to Shield of Faith.

[@LuizCesarFariaLC]

You got me imagining a Treantmonk Temple build video for DC20...

[@Adurnis]

TM: “There are just too many damage types to get all those resistances.” Me: “Hmm. Maybe Shadar-Kai will work then?” TM: “Anyway, let’s start with Shadar-Kai!” I mean, hobgoblin is the right colour for a cockroach, but shadar-kai literally scuttles from shadow to shadow.

[@TreantmonksTemple]

If memory serves, you've been aware how good the hobgoblin is for awhile Adurnis.

[@Adurnis]

Truly! One of the more underrated picks.

[@SortKaffe]

Great update! Personally, I would skip Wizard to be able to dump Int in favor of Con and Cha. As an Int build, a single-class Artificer gets Flash of Genius for saves, infusions for AC, and Aid for hp. Combined with Hobgoblin or the old Yuan-ti Pureblood, they can be really good at saves, especially if there already is a Paladin in the party. Each Artificer subclass offers additional defensive boosts, so it's up to you if you prefer the Alchemist (elixirs give AC +1 or a d4 to every save), Armorer (heavy armor, extra infused items, and Mirror Image), Artillerist (Shield spell and Eldritch Cannon provide a lot of temporary hp each turn), or Battle Smith (Shield spell, Steel Defender can impose disadvantage on an attack each round and absorb hits itself).

[@foldionepapyrus3441]

Yeah I think I'd have gone down an Artificer as part of this build concept myself. Though that is the best bit of D&D type games there are so many paths to a similar result with entirely different methods.

[@SortKaffe]

​@@foldionepapyrus3441 you're right. Because these builds are created in a vacuum, Chris needs to cover all bases by himself. In practice, you might be in a party with both a Paladin (Aura of Protection and Bless) and an Artificer (Flash of Genius). Then it'll be near impossible that you fail a save if only you pick up 2 levels of War Magic Wizard, 1 level of Peace Domain Cleric, and/or 7 levels of Warlock (with the Protection of the Talisman invocation).

[@foldionepapyrus3441]

@@SortKaffe Indeed, though I'd argue you never have to cover all bases yourself in a single build. It is always a team game, so simply remarking this build goes really well with these builds or ones more broadly speaking that provide whatever you are bad at.

[@TedSroka]

Another great video Chris! Looking forward to seeing some of your other older builds revisited. Side note - the link to the character sheet just links to the character creation main page, not to the character.

[@irisinthedarkworld]

"so what are you playing today?" "a bard."

[@JMCLoader]

Waiting with baited breath for every treantmonk video!

[@michaellavy4482]

I love your creative build videos! It’s always cool to see what you come up with

[@igorbertoldo6237]

There's no content creator more deserving of 100.000 subs!!! Hope you reach it soon, mate! You have been, and continue to be, a huge inspiration!

[@jordanprice6457]

Great job as always, Chris! I’d like to say thank you for the editing and graphic quality! You’ve always been good at keeping the videos visually engaging for us, but seeing an updated Eternal Cockroach is a reminder of how far you’ve come and I don’t want that hard work to go unnoticed! Thank you for everything!!!

[@moto2442]

I think you could probably ask your DM to remove the level restriction on protection of the talisman. It is no better than similar abilities like favoured by the gods that you can access at level 1. Gift of the ever living ones would also fit really well with the theme of this build. You can gain max possible hit points for healing spells towards you or for hit dice during short rests. As the eternal cockroach if you are taking damage getting back up to full optimally would clearly be a big deal. Also wow that giant foundling background seems much better than most other backgrounds as it actually gives a real combat feature one that is fairly useful too.

[@jonathanfrederic7292]

... I'd buy a book made of your builds and analysis with nicely done art. Never knew I wanted this until I watched that amazing sponsor video. 😂

[@johngleeman8347]

I love both shadar-kai and hobgoblins for very different reasons. The lounge singer pic for the hob is one of my favorite pieces of art for 5e. The oil and water species are even better if combined together in the same party. The jolly blue-nosed crooner with Iori Yagami! XD

[@mattdahm4289]

Thanks Treantmonk! I love your build vids- so much fun! 🌳 🥷

[@TreantmonksTemple]

Glad you like them!

[@sarezar]

Your timing could not have been any more perfect! Cheers Chris

[@TreantmonksTemple]

Perfect!

[@benjaminrheault4998]

Been waiting for this!

[@benji4281]

Great video! I love your new thumbnail style, this channel is so underrated

[@TreantmonksTemple]

Glad you think so!

[@dmeep]

No Thri-Kreen for eternal cockroach build? im not mad just disappointed

[@arsov9885]

Thanks for this!

[@ADirtyLeviathan]

Love this!

[@arsov9885]

Can't wait for more videos.

[@jackmcgeehan328]

Woohoo this is the series I’ve been waiting on

[@atortoiseamongturtles4958]

My favorite build has returned for more

[@Lucas-zu5zn]

Watcher's will actually doesn't require you to target yourself, it affects "you and the chosen creatures"

[@Ford-ju9yr]

That's not the point

[@TheCinnamonCloud]

I’d love to see a series where you rate homebrew subclasses for balance

[@ussxrequin]

A very cool build (:

[@prygrama9313]

Dang. Treantmonk's Temple looks like an amazing product

[@brynwtsn]

This is totally one of my favorite builds in all of 5e.

[@charrleschervanik3632]

I had a similar build to this that was a Rogue Fighter Barbarian multiclass that wore medium armor and a shield, took medium armor master and had proficiency in every save. Kalashtar Race Samurai Fighter 8 levels Totem warrior Barbarian 4 levels Scout Rogue 8 levels Feral instinct mixed with evasion Resistance to all damage while raging A decently high AC Halfplate & shield with a +3 to dexterity from medium armor master +1 from defense fighting style. Uncanny Dodge as a reaction A source of temporary hitpoints through the samurai's fighting spirit feature (admittedly limited, but it's doubled for me since a mix of racial resistance and rage resistances.) Shield master for added defense against Dex saves Advantage on wisdom saving throws.

[@HippoLore]

I was expecting thri-kreen when i saw cockroach in the title and was curious how you were going to optimize it for survivability

[@elliotbryant3459]

One of the best for maintaining a free hand for the somatic only reaction spells!

[@StefVanDerVelden]

Hey treantmonk, i really like your videos. It shows so much skill in creating builds. Is it possible that you do some DC20 content?

[@TreantmonksTemple]

I will definitely revisit DC20 again at some point, nothing planned yet though.

[@MekkaYGO]

A really good way to cast warding bond on you is your familiar since it is a range of touch spell. You can get a really good familiar from strixhaven background and strixhaven mascot feat. The Pest mascot has passive regeneration, so a nice combo is to fully dip into twilight cleric for temp hp. You can cheese this by putting the familiar in your bag since it is tiny for full cover. If you can use Humblewood spells, Invoke the Amaranthine is broken since it is stackable like death ward.

[@Tryptyophan]

A couple of straight-classed honorable mentions: 1. Githzerai Armorer Artificer. Amazing AC, native shield spell, solid temporary hit points, good saves with Flash of Genius and mental discipline, and the best capstone in the game. 2. Hobgoblin Spores Druid. Good native saves + Fortune of the Many, ridiculous temporary hit points, good access to damage resistances, and at high levels you get a lot of condition immunities and basically infinite hit points.

[@CivilWarMan]

3. Mountain Dwarf Clockwork Soul Sorcerer. Gets Medium Armor proficiency, two +2s to ability scores (any two with Tasha's, STR/CON without), resistance against poison, can cancel advantage/disadvantage (reduces chances of getting crit), extra spells known (the worst of which can be swapped out for the best Abjuration/Transmutation spells from Wizard/Sorcerer/Warlock as they level up), can spend Sorcery points to create a damage shield, and Trance of Order canceling advantage against them and making them unable to roll lower than a 10 on attacks, ability checks, and saves for a minute at a time (1/LR, but can spend Sorcery Points to use it more often).

[@googloocraft1217]

Artificer armorer doesn't have more AC then other class if you find magic items. What do you mean by mental discipline and the best capstone in the game?

[@googloocraft1217]

@@user-ni7ji3fb8m Long Death Monk with Moon druid makes you a big wall of flesh (A LOT OF HP)

[@CivilWarMan]

@@googloocraft1217 While I didn't suggest the build, I would say Armorer Artificer is one of the most reliable ways to get high AC, since they can just make their magical protection instead of relying on the DM to hand them out. As for the abilities, Mental Discipline is a Githzerai ability that gives them advantage on saving throws against being charmed or frightened (not unique, but Githzerai also gets the Shield spell at level 3 on top of that). And the Artificer capstone is a +1 bonus to all saves for every magical item they are attuned to, which for Armorers is a maximum of +8, 6 from Magic Item Master at level 18, plus two more from Armor Modifications at level 9, along with the ability to purge an infusion to avoid falling to 0 hp. I don't know if I'd go so far as to call it the best capstone in the game, but I'd definitely rank it at least in my top 3.

[@Adurnis]

The return of the roach! The great comeback of ‘24!

[@comfortablegrey]

Finally a sponsor we can trust!

[@ShadowGamer-qk9xi]

I’ve always loved builds like this. One positive is that it doesn’t step on anybody else’s toes. This build lets everybody else do their thing and actually has a lot that helps them. The only person it might irritate a little bit is the DM.

[@agilemind6241]

Naw, the person who gets annoyed in cases like this IME is the person playing the tank. Because I as a DM have myriad ways to work around any defensive build you can dream up. Being invincible is boring so I will find a way to KO your character, be that: Grappling & dragging you through lava / spike growth (e.g. giant), reflective damage when the creature is hit (e.g. fire elemental), or areas of unavoidable damage (e.g. bodak), or all the many abilities that still do half damage on a successful save (ready for some necrotic fireballs?)

[@Suavemente_Enjoyer]

I would love to see this build in the gauntlet 😮

[@michaelmuirhead910]

Ever since you highlighted how good the Hobgoblin is as a racial choice, I’ve been using it more and more. That +3 save has come in handy a lot! Great work as always!

[@michaelmuirhead910]

Fun fact: if you build this for AL play, you can choose one of 3 feats for free now. Tough Magic Initiate Or skilled… So you can fit War Caster or something else in.

[@notsobright7482]

Im not finished with the vid yet but an awesome thing about longstrider is that if you just cast it on yourself your mount from find steed also gets the movespeed bonus.

[@walher4523]

17:40 "we're gonna pick ourselves as a target of course", the channel divinity actually targets yourself + the allies you chose ("you and the chosen creatures [...]"). So it's even better!

[@WhiteOwl1061]

I will be curious to see this build after the new 2024 PHB comes out

[@harley3211]

Treantmonk build videos just hit different 🤌🤌

[@brylythhighlights4335]

If you cast warding bond on yourself (assuming it's legal) you would die to any damage. "EACH time the target (you) takes damage, you take the same amount of damage". Kobold slings a rock at you for 2 damage - resistance takes it down to 1 damage. You take 1 damage, this procs warding bond, causing you to take 1 damage. This 1 damage procs warding bond, causing you to take 1 damage. This repeats until you lose concentration on the spell from an infinite number of DC10 con checks, or die.

[@pederw4900]

I have no doubt you’ll hit that 100K in September or October

[@TreantmonksTemple]

That would be awesome!

[@trevorgreenough6141]

The sponsor of this video is brilliant. So is the video.

[@Psychomaniac14]

fun fact: if you're fine with not doing spell stuff in combat, you can be a totem warrior barbarian with the bear totem and rage while wearing heavy armour and still get the damage resistances... though you'd have to source heavy armour proficiency from somewhere

[@TreantmonksTemple]

I considered this, though limited Barbarian rage uses are a significant limitation

[@Psychomaniac14]

@@TreantmonksTemple I was more thinking about not being able to cast spells while raging, but yeah that's another issue A quick build I theorycrafted in my head since making that comment was Watchers Paladin 6 or 7, Totem Warrior Barbarian 3, War Wizard 2, Hexblade Warlock 1

[@TreantmonksTemple]

@@Psychomaniac14 That's another issue, though AoA and Aid can be cast before raging.

[@purpleniumowlbear2952]

I know shadar-kai makes sense... But can we just acknowledge how much fun Half Orc would be for this build? In almost every session of the game, the shadar-kai would out perform, but I think that ONE session where the DM finally knocks you down, but forgets you have Relentless Endurance, and you get to say "I get back up" makes it all worth it

[@AtelierGod]

Find Steed specifies any spell that affects you also affects the summoned steed, so casting longstrider would also buff its speed.

[@derekchristensen6965]

You know the only characters who would defeat your eternal cockroach? The grapple death squad...🤣🤣🤣

[@TreantmonksTemple]

You are correct

[@hermitdad8726]

My eternal cockroach is simple, but adventure specific. I am playing a path of the bear totem barb in a Tyranny of Dragons campaign and have been able to get two dragon masks, turning them into a Mask of the Dragon Queen. So when I am raging, not only am I resistant to all but psychic damage but i am also immune to Acid, Cold, Fire, Lightning, Poison! 😁

[@mikecarson7769]

Wow, congratulations on the new sponsor!!!

[@TreantmonksTemple]

🎉

[@lukesandadordoceu4835]

This is the guy that can spend a whole combat just keeping people on their feet and getting them back up when a foe is just bombarding the party

[@abcrasshadow9341]

One suggestion I have is to copy from Colby @d4 the idea of showing what a typical turn would look like at the most important levels you can copy Colbys levels thoo I suspect your builds aren't as stringent to a mythical spreadsheet as his are. As another note a common level for a campaign/oneshot is levels 3-5, so maybe you could focus on creating the most defence at those levels. For example at lvl 5 it is more benefitial to be pali 2 warlock 1 wizard 2 to get the most defensive features online, since the plus 4 from war wizard is available with less investment than pali 6 is. Other than these notes it was a good video.

[@Poduma_]

If I'm not grappling, I like to use Gnomes for my "tank" builds (since Yuan-ti Pureblood isn't allowed at most tables, understandably). I love Gnome Cunning so much 👌

[@JetBlackRage]

I just figured you'd go straight Artificer armourer, takes till level 10ish for flash of genius and spell storing for heals

[@muffin2007]

you could add a battle master artificer to get the bonus action to impose disadvantage but that does take a reaction. And you can get some additional magic items but not sure if it would really be worth the dip. Their defender also counts as an ally if you want to make sure that you get the max bonus to the racial trait

[@pederw4900]

LA CUCARACHA ETERNA!

[@jaysw9585]

Built a shield master, medium armor master with resistance in Dex. It's really great for resisting both aoe and direct damage and gives me the shove ability for free.

[@ForlornJam]

worth noting that you do not have to target yourself with the Watcher's Will Channel Divinity. It buffs you+targets chosn

[@UncleBBQ]

Youd only be able to do it once a short rest, but by grabbing a feat that lets you take a Maneuver could let you take the likes of "Bait & Switch" which will add another d6 to your AC, though at this point it would be a better idea to give it to an ally for some more assisted tanking abilities.

[@derektom14]

Very nice! The build's biggest weakness is most likely Heat Metal for its ability to inflict constant damage with no attack roll or save. The cockroach's only reliable counter would be Dispel Magic, but a full caster enemy can almost outlast the cockroach's spell slots. I think OneDnD will make a Cockroach build far simpler, primarily because Indomitable becomes actually good. An Eldritch Knight can take Magic Initiate (shield of faith + resistance), Lucky, Defense, the Sap mastery on a longsword, blade ward, shield, War Caster, Shield Master (backed by Indomitable to negate any Dex breath weapon), Mage Slayer, and Resilient to be incredibly difficult to take out, while using booming blade and potential reaction booming blade to lock down the enemy.

[@delilahfox3427]

I'd love to see how you would make a support character. Like, a character whose primary contribution is boosting their allies' effectiveness in combat while also being effective themselves. 6 levels of paladin with a 5 level eloquence bard multiclass seems obvious to me, but I'd love to see what else you would do.

[@DanielTose]

Straight armorer is good too. Pretty easy to start 18 AC with a +5 to hit (going dex initially, ASIs boost until capped) AC 20 assuming Splint mail at 4, AC 22 assuming plate at 6. Level 10, AC 24, Luck stone and cloak of Protection for saves, headband of intellect makes flash of genius good, making lowest main save +9 when needed. End up with base AC of 25, lowest save +10, can ensure DC 20 saves for all primary saves

[@Pharoom]

I'd consider putting two of the final levels into artificer and in particular taking the mind sharpener infusion. It's one of those very few things that can outright turn a failure into a success. So even if you take a massive amount of damage, you could still keep up concentration for the cost of a reaction.

[@randallgpreston]

I'm playing a really defensive character right now. I went with Veldalken. I have 4 levels of totem barbarian, 6 levels of Conquest paladin, and 2 levels of war wizard. While raging I have advantage on str,dex,int,wis,and cha saves. Resistance to all damage except psychic. +4 to all saves from my aura. I took shield master as a feat. And for armor I'm wearing mizzium half plate. He is pretty tough nut to crack.

[@demnix6210]

Free subscription!

[@joshbecker4214]

If you take one last warlock level instead of a sorcerer level, you can take Gift of the Everliving ones and Pact of the Chain to max out all healing received. And Mending Affinity is also a feat worth taking if you can find space, to increase your healing received, although this version of the build has lower con. I did a warlock/paladin tank built that leveraged those two features and it's really nice. A first level cure wounds with her +5 con cast by someone with a +5 wisdom is 18 hp. 26 if you are using the 2024 Cure Wounds. She went deeper into warlock for more healing from 2024 lifedrinker (which works so well with maxed out healing and periapt of wound closure, holy crap), but it does mean lower saving throws than this build, but this build totally has space for the maxed out healing to self, it's a game changer for your ability to take hits.

[@joshmeyer8172]

Nice build! Nice to see some options besides variant human and custom lineage. I also like that you assumed no magic items. The first time the DM asks, "does a 25 hit?" and hears "no" all the magic armor/shield vendors tend to mysteriously vanish. This is very similar to my fav sorlockadin build. I don't like the wizard dip. Fitting 13 INT doesn't seem worth it when you already meet the prerequisites for sorcerer. Although, Arcane Deflection is clearly better than Favored by the Gods. Might be a good option to keep in mind if I'm rolling for stats and end up with an extra 13. Personally I dump INT to get 15 STR, go strait for paladin 8 at lvl 9, warlock 2 at lvl 10, then switch to sorcerer for the rest of the campaign. I quite like the idea of bard levels though, I want to try that.

[@theshadowbadger]

Really surprised this build didn’t see any artificer levels.

[@H1Guard]

Back in 1e, the Pal had the best saving throws, period.

[@varietasVeritas]

Gnome, for advantage on spell saves Moon druid 2 Rune fighter 14 for giant size and multiple attacks Bear barbarian 4 for resistance to most damage while raging

[@SergioLeRoux]

If you can use Warding Bond on yourself, then everytime you take damage, you take damage, so you take damage, take damage, and take damage, and take damage, and take damage, and therefore take damage, which makes you take damage... until you reach 0 HP, from a single attack. Or best case scenario, you have resistance to that damage, so you halve it again, then you take the halved damage again, until it rounds down to zero. In that case, you take all the damage anyway, minus any rounding leftovers.

[@Nergaal]

Hi @TreantmonksTemple, this build is awesome and i like the choices you made but it seems it lack Warcaster feat no ? You can't cast Shield with your hands full :(

[@TreantmonksTemple]

You could do it with some weapon juggling, though I figured most players have given up tracking that. I've added that note to the pinned comment.

[@Notsogoodguitarguy]

Chris, when you make the speed/deal lines around "Absolutely free", you gotta also shake the screen and put in some horns! xD If you're gonna go, then go all the way! xD

[@jamiemacadam4343]

Perfect timing on this. My Swashbuckler Rogue met his end in our last session and I decided to roll up a tank. Anyone have any thoughts on Oath of the Open Sea instead of Oath of the Watcher. The DM for this campaign uses a group initiative system that makes the Lvl 7 Watcher feature a lot less attractive. I'd be losing out on advantage on INT, WIS, and CHA saves but gaining heavy obscurment from much of the battlefield.

[@Deocarvalho]

@TreantmonksTemple which of the two versions would you say is the best?

[@beryllium_oxide]

IT'S BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK

[@sazuru5708]

With all these dips and the focus on saves, I'm surprised you didn't go to class six for emboldening bond.

[@ryanscanlon2151]

I've got a very cool ability interaction I'm wondering if you can do anything cool with, a paladin with a 1 lvl dip in order cleric can give free attacks to their mount via find steeds spell sharing whenever you target yourself with a spell and share it with the mount. The build I came up with based on this was the dark rider, oath breaker paladin with 1 level hex blade 1 lvl order cleric and picking up some sorcerer levels later on as an option. Juicing up the mount attacks with arua of hate makes it hit pretty hard, and with some good timing you can actually do a pretty gross combo. When you charge in to attack an enemy and cast any self target spell (divine favor is actually outstanding for this) you can trigger trampling charge off the free reaction attack which should allow your mount to make a bonus action attack. Although my favorite interaction is when I cast shield on my paladin and my mount kills the create that attacked me, it's just so funny, like a counter in a fighting game.

[@pefcs]

How do you cast non-paladin spells which needs material component in combat while holding both a weapon and a shield? You put away your weapon with a free action and pull the focus (or reagent) with your action and cast it next turn (if not a bonus action spell)? S spellcast can work with putting away the weapon free action and do the handwork, but with M I see it pretty complicated. Ofc. if it's a paladin spell, you can have a holy shield as a focus, but for the spells from other classes?

[@fred-lol]

Nice video! Would you mind doing a "tank build"? Not in the "I am unkillable" way, but in the "protecting others and making space for my party (e.g. displacing the enemy)" way.