I want to be a damage sponge

[Novir Vetru]

Any class or feat suggestions for making a character who can take their teammates damage, thereby protecting his teammates from being harmed?

[MisterKaws]

Easiest way to shield your allies is to stop the damage source from happening, either by stabbing them in the kidney or holding them still long enough for someone else to stab them in the kidney.

BUT never mind that. You want to be the dude who keeps cleaning the leak instead of fixing it up. Let's be that guy.
Your main option here is Shield Other, with a variety of buffs. Additionally, if you get Wings of Cover and have a way to share spells with your familiar at long-range, you can block a bunch of attacks by having your pet hamsters inside people's pants.

There's also some Crusader maneuvers to look at, but I'll leave the specifics to others who know more about those.

[Gallowglass]

Isn't there a well known life-link paladin/cleric build that uses some life-link power to absorb the damage from the rest of the team and let the paladin heal it on himself with Lay on Hands?

[heavyfuel]

In 3.5 you have both the Knight and the Crusader classes.

[DEMON]

I will just link to Deadline's E6 Iron Chef Optimization Challenge 4th round's winner for inspiration.

[The Viscount]

Sword and Fist has a mundane approach to this with the Devoted Defender PrC. It's 10 levels long, but 3 levels give you all the class features (the rest just giving +1 to to the rolls). The most important feature is Harm's Way, granted at level 1, which lets you swap places with a friend within 5 feet being attacked. You are restricted to protecting a single target per combat, though.

[Anthrowhale]

You might want to look at the Allied Defense feat, which can protect the whole party from attacks.

[MisterKaws]

By the way, if you mount your friends, you can give them a huge bonus to AC with ride checks.

[HouseRules]

In 3.5 you have both the Knight and the Crusader classes.

Dragon Magazine has a Crusader Prestige Class.
Tome of Battle has a Crusader Base Class.
The two classes are entirely different, but other than having the same name.

[mouser13]

Not really I good option could go cleric and metamagic chain spell( and Divine meta-magic) and shield other. Or dragon mark that grants shield other uses.

[stack]

3.5, PF, or both? 1st party only or is 3pp available?

[Kelb_Panthera]

Okay, follow me here.

Crusader/ Shaman/ Prestige Paladin/ Ruby Knight Vindicator.

Be sure you pick up stone power as a feat. Make use of the stone dragon maneuvres that grant you temporary damage reduction and the devoted spirit heals to keep your own health up.

Cast the spells substitution and glory of the martyr so that you take half of everyone's damage and then your substitution focus takes half of that if it gets through the steely resolve/ stone power/ DR buffer.

You are now a ridiculous kung-fu tank and HP battery for your whole party.

[Fizban]

When it rains, it pours: this is like the third variation on "how to tank" recently. Answers remain the same-

Clerics (and those who use their list) have the spell Shield Other, as mentioned, which lets you take half of someone's damage. Done. The main downside is that they have to stay pretty close, but it's only a second level spell with very little caster level dependence, so you can just get a wand eventually. You also need some source of healing if you want to truly sponge, and being a Cleric is obviously useful there.

The feats Constant Guardian and Dutiful Guardian from Drow of the Underdark let anyone have the ability to swap places with a nearby ally on someone else's turn (I also usually mention Allied Defense, which someone got above, but it boosts AC rather than directly soak damage so I wasn't going to).

And also as mentioned, the Knight class from PHB2. Its ability comes on at 6th level and only works on physical attacks against an adjacent ally, but is otherwise unlimited. Since magic is kinda important I address that in my class tweaks-

Knight: Fort save is now High, gain tower shield proficiency, Call to Battle overturns fear save automatically and grants a new save against another ongoing effect if any, Daunting Challenge frightens on failed/shaken on successful save (lasts 5+cha rounds). Shield Ally works on spells and other effects at 10th, Improved Shield Ally does the same immediately.

[Lans]

Divine mind has an ability that let's you take a hot of an ally

[3drinks]

Crusader from tome of battle is the simplest way to do that as it's a natural mundane tank. Won't really do anything vs magic or most long range fights though.

[daremetoidareyo]

Share pain can be used with a companion with DR

[animewatcha]

Dragon Magazine has a Crusader Prestige Class.
Tome of Battle has a Crusader Base Class.
The two classes are entirely different, but other than having the same name.

What magazine would the prestige class version one be? I keep getting results like maquar crusader and shining crusader, but not just plain crusader as a prestige class.

[Thurbane]

In 3.5 you have both the Knight and the Crusader classes.

Dragon Magazine has a Crusader Prestige Class.
Tome of Battle has a Crusader Base Class.
The two classes are entirely different, but other than having the same name.

I'm pretty sure heavyfuel was referring to the Knight base class (PHB2 p.24) and the Crusader base class (ToB p.8), both of which have some "tanking" abilities.

Not be confused with the anointed knight, bone knight, eldritch knight, Knight of the Blue Moon, knight of the Chalice, Knight of the Crown, Knight of the Flying Hunt, Knight of the Iron Glacier, Knight of the Lily, knight of the Middle Circle, knight of the pearl, knight of the raven, Knight of the Rose, knight of the sacred seal, Knight of the Skull, Knight of the Sword, Knight of the Thorn, Knight of the Weave, knight phantom, knight protector, Knight Protector of the Great Kingdom, knight-errant of Silverymoon, platinum knight,Purple Dragon knight, Ruby Knight vindicator, Thayan knight, Triadic knight, vengeance knight, divine crusader or Maquar crusader prestige classes.

What magazine would the prestige class version one be? I keep getting results like maquar crusader and shining crusader, but not just plain crusader as a prestige class.

From Dragondex, looks like Dragon # 311, page 50: although that may be base class, rather than a PrC.

[CharonsHelper]

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned Pathfinder's Oradin build. It's 4 levels of Oracle and then Paladin.

I forget the exact combo, but basically it lets you take your ally's damage and then heal yourself with Lay on Hands as a swift action, and with the right traits/abilities, you get huge bonuses to healing yourself with Lay on Hands.

There's even a guide to building an Oradin on this board (have not looked close for quality) http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showt...-minus-the-bot

[skunk3]

Not 'optimal' but there is also the Dwarven Defender PrC. Good for flavor but if you're looking at it from a numbers point of view you can do better.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Dragonborn Warforged with Adamantine Body, Crusader 5/ Binder 1/ Hellreaver 5/ Crusader 9 for the final build. Always bind Naberius, take Stone Power. Get the Heart aspect from Dragonborn for a breath attack, and take Entangling Exhalation and try to keep as many opponents as possible debuffed with that so they can't move past you easily or ignore you.

[Thurbane]

There's a couple of "dirty tricks" for drawing enemy attacks that I've discovered since being on these forums.

First is the Commoner flaw Delicious (Dragon 330) which makes "All monsters attack you if able, regardless of their attitude toward the rest of your party". Weresheep flaw achieves the same thing, but hampers you with an unwanted form. The downsides are 1.) you need at least one level in Commoner, and 2.) this is very obviously an April Fools article, and was never intended in serious game play.

Second, and more insidious IMHO, is the the curse effect presented in Secrets of Xen'Drik: "The character is surrounded by an unnerving aura of menace. Lower the starting attitude of NPCs and animals towards this PC by one step. If a creature is already hostile, it attacks this character in preference to any others."

...you'll need your DM to be on board to avoid having books thrown at you!

[Tytalus]

That's gold, thank you Thurbane!

[Calthropstu]

Don't you need polymorph any object to become a sponge?

[Zombulian]

I’m surprised Share Pain has only been mentioned once. Vigor + Share Pain with a Psicrystal makes you incredibly tough, and you can Share Pain with other allies to take half their damage too.

[schreier]

I’m surprised Share Pain has only been mentioned once. Vigor + Share Pain with a Psicrystal makes you incredibly tough, and you can Share Pain with other allies to take half their damage too.

The erudite guide on the interweb specifically mentions a 3.0 power, Glorytongue (WOTC website Mind's eye series), that works particularly well with Share Pain. The power makes a construct in your mouth with half your hitpoints.

You can also shoot your tongue out 100 feet to lick people as a free action, but that's just bonus.

[Zombulian]

The erudite guide on the interweb specifically mentions a 3.0 power, Glorytongue (WOTC website Mind's eye series), that works particularly well with Share Pain. The power makes a construct in your mouth with half your hitpoints.

You can also shoot your tongue out 100 feet to lick people as a free action, but that's just bonus.

Haha... WHAT.

Also I couldn’t find it on Mind’s Eye, but there is one for the Wyrms of the North series.

That’s a really neat power, though the rounds/level duration is a bit blah.

[ExLibrisMortis]

There are multiple cool psionic powers that allow you to play with damage.

Fate link (PR, Will negates), empathic feedback (melee damage only, mind-affecting, but personal--contingency material), hostile empathic transfer (PR, Will negates, mind-affecting) and forced share pain (PR, Fort negates) together are quite interesting. They're not all equally reliable, but with the combination, you can defend yourself just by tanking damage and spreading it to enemies.

Can be combined quite easily with Stone Power, if you want temporary hp that don't consume power points. You could even use it with some touch powers.