Help with Character Concept/Class/Role

[Riftwolf]

Short version: I have a character concept who's a psychic spy turned good. The party I'm in needs a tank. Can these two disparate wants ever come together? Or should I put the character on the alt pile and muster another?

[Mastikator]

Dex based psi warrior with spy(criminal) background should land you in the ballpark.

[Sorinth]

A Battlemaster with Commanding Presence and/or Tactical Assessment with the Telepathic feat would meet all the requirements but psychic spy is kind of vague so perhaps clarifying what you see that as being would help.

As an example Ancestral Barbarian's abilities to see/communicate with dead people can be viewed as a psychic power, especially if fluffed so that they aren't actually your ancestors but just a bunch of random dead people you can talk to. But is that psychic enough for you? Same goes for Spy, it's a background so is that good enough or do you need something more, would Skill Expert be enough?

[Riftwolf]

A Battlemaster with Commanding Presence and/or Tactical Assessment with the Telepathic feat would meet all the requirements but psychic spy is kind of vague so perhaps clarifying what you see that as being would help.

As an example Ancestral Barbarian's abilities to see/communicate with dead people can be viewed as a psychic power, especially if fluffed so that they aren't actually your ancestors but just a bunch of random dead people you can talk to. But is that psychic enough for you? Same goes for Spy, it's a background so is that good enough or do you need something more, would Skill Expert be enough?

Slightly longer version: initially the character was an awakened Mystic Kenku but both me and the DM agreed that without trying I'd created an unusably powerful character. I liked the idea of building a psychic Kenku who can only speak into someone's mind, then built an extremely creepy skillset (an agent provocateur/accelerationist who could psychically implant false memories and use traditional techniques to falsify evidence in the interests of stirring up wars), but once he was out of the spy ring's direct control he realised he wanted to do good instead of evil.
Kenku Spy with Telepathic feat at 4th level covers about 90% of the idea, at least the traditional agent work. I looked at maybe Rogue/Pally multiclass but Oath of Redemption feels... A bit... Bad. Being the one pacifist in the party might turn me into the guilt police just by osmosis.

[Sorinth]

So if Kenku with Telepathic at level 4 is locked in and gives you 90% of the theme and you just want a tank that sort of fits I would say Psi Warrior is probably best. If you wanted to go down the Paladin route, if the mission that caused you to turn away from the spy ring involved using extra planar creatures like fiends that then went on a rampage and made things way worse then you thought that could be a reason to go Watcher's Paladin.

[Psyren]

Slightly longer version: initially the character was an awakened Mystic Kenku but both me and the DM agreed that without trying I'd created an unusably powerful character. I liked the idea of building a psychic Kenku who can only speak into someone's mind, then built an extremely creepy skillset (an agent provocateur/accelerationist who could psychically implant false memories and use traditional techniques to falsify evidence in the interests of stirring up wars), but once he was out of the spy ring's direct control he realised he wanted to do good instead of evil.
Kenku Spy with Telepathic feat at 4th level covers about 90% of the idea, at least the traditional agent work. I looked at maybe Rogue/Pally multiclass but Oath of Redemption feels... A bit... Bad. Being the one pacifist in the party might turn me into the guilt police just by osmosis.

You don't need be a pacifist to be a Redemption Paladin, and you don't need to be a Redemption Paladin (or any paladin) to roleplay a redeemed concept. Personally, I would just avoid Paladin entirely and play to my strengths as a telepathic fighter/rogue.

(Note too that if you're going telepathic kenku in part to get around their speech impediment, the latest version of kenku removed that.)

[Skrum]

Sorta playing a character that would fit this bill right now...

Barb and rogue is one of the more synergistic combos in the game. So, do an ancestral barb/soul knife rogue. You've got tankiness, you've got sneakiness, you've got reckless sneak attacks, you've got an unbeatable grapple check (like no joke, you will never lose a grapple check), and you've got telepathic communication.

Idk what level you're starting at but I'd recommend taking 5 levels of barb first, just to get to extra attack faster. But it wouldn't be the end of the world to do like a barb 3/rogue 1 start either, just so you could get your skills in order.

[Unoriginal]

Dex based psi warrior with spy(criminal) background should land you in the ballpark.

Also work with STR-based Psi Warrior.

The Telepathic feat works well with Psi Warrior and the Spy (Crimimal) Background.

[Mastikator]

Also work with STR-based Psi Warrior.

The Telepathic feat works well with Psi Warrior and the Spy (Crimimal) Background.

True, but dex based will be slightly better at spy stuff (stealth, sleight of hand, thief's tools). Going sword and board dex (duelist or defense fighting style) will be decently defensive and offensive. Telepathic feat is a great addition too. Detect thoughts is amazing in spy related activities.

[Gondolin01]

If you're okay with an unusual class, I'd suggest Whispers Bard.

College of Whispers gets two good features at 3rd level: Psychic Blades (spend Bardic Inspiration for extra psychic damage with melee weapons) and Words of Terror (can attempt to make a creature you talk to afraid of you or another if you speak to them for 1 minute), which would fit with your desire to be a psychic assassin capable of planting memories in people's minds. The rest of your repertoire would be up to spell and skill choices. Bards do get some Expertise choices as well, so you can emphasize skills like Deception and Stealth.

I played a 6th-level Changeling Whispers Bard in an old campaign, and it was a blast. I didn't even use any spells the whole campaign: his subclass features were very good on their own.

If you still want to be a tank, Bard/Paladin is not a bad way to go. Maybe consider the Oath of the Watchers if you get at least 3 Paladin levels.

[KorvinStarmast]

True, but dex based will be slightly better at spy stuff (stealth, sleight of hand, thief's tools). Going sword and board dex (duelist or defense fighting style) will be decently defensive and offensive. Telepathic feat is a great addition too. Detect thoughts is amazing in spy related activities.

I did a dex based paladin/spy/covert ops guy with Telekinetic feat. Worked. (Watchers).