Help me make the ultimate 5e survivalist.

[TheBumbo]

TL;DR: help me optimize the most survivable 10th level character in 5e.

Me and my regular group are starting a new campaign soon, and this time I finally have the chance to play instead of DM. Our DM wants the campaign to be extremely difficult, with characters frequently changing when players die (we're playing a monster hunting ship's crew, so there will always be plenty of spare hands). I had the idea of playing an impossibly old sea dog made of spit and vinegar who somehow keeps inexplicably surviving every voyage. The other players and DM are on board with the idea, and thought it would be funny to have an unkillable old cockroach stick around while everyone else dies.

So the ask: help me optimize the ultimate 5e survivalist build. Not just a tank either, since adventures will vary between different kinds of obstacles. The character needs to have answers to as many different situations as possible.

Restrictions: The character will be 10th level (and rarely/possibly never level up), multiclassing/feats/extra books are on the table. We may each pick a single very rare magic item to start with as well, though our DM has said they'll zealously ban any magic items that are too powerful/cheesy.

(PS: damage is irrelevant for the build. If anything I think it would be funnier if he was all defense and very little offense.)

[Skrum]

This idea is actually kinda similar to something I've been kicking around - the Unkillable Orc

Race: orc or half orc; we want Relentless Endurance
Class: shadow sorcerer. Let's stack our Relentless Endurance with Strength of the Grave
Background: moderate amount of cheese on this one, but it sounds like your DM will be amenable. Strixhaven: Witherbloom Student. This adds gems like Revivify and most importantly, Death Ward to your spell list.

So, Death Ward + Relentless Endurance + Strength of the Grave. You just will NOT go down. Remember to roll for Str of the Grave first, since Death Ward or Relentless will trigger automatically if Str fails.

If Witherbloom gets nixed, go Lunar Sorc instead, which also gives Death Ward. Not as many ways to stay at 1, but Death Ward is more reliable than Str, so I'd favor that.

Pretty open on the build otherwise. Just pick good stuff, and don't die. While it doesn't strictly fit the theme of "inexplicably tough," taking a level of fighter or cleric is worth a serious consideration; armor and shields will grant you A LOT of tankiness that wouldn't go amiss. Grave cleric in particular is pretty on-point: keep your team alive as a bonus action.

[Unoriginal]

TL;DR: help me optimize the most survivable 10th level character in 5e.

Me and my regular group are starting a new campaign soon, and this time I finally have the chance to play instead of DM. Our DM wants the campaign to be extremely difficult, with characters frequently changing when players die (we're playing a monster hunting ship's crew, so there will always be plenty of spare hands). I had the idea of playing an impossibly old sea dog made of spit and vinegar who somehow keeps inexplicably surviving every voyage. The other players and DM are on board with the idea, and thought it would be funny to have an unkillable old cockroach stick around while everyone else dies.

So the ask: help me optimize the ultimate 5e survivalist build. Not just a tank either, since adventures will vary between different kinds of obstacles. The character needs to have answers to as many different situations as possible.

Restrictions: The character will be 10th level (and rarely/possibly never level up), multiclassing/feats/extra books are on the table. We may each pick a single very rare magic item to start with as well, though our DM has said they'll zealously ban any magic items that are too powerful/cheesy.

(PS: damage is irrelevant for the build. If anything I think it would be funnier if he was all defense and very little offense.)

Beast Barbarian can heal themselves by biting their enemies, once the PC is at half health. Meaning it is pretty hard to keep them below half health.

Being an Half-Orc will increase the survivability, especially when combined with the above trait. And at the end of the day all Barbarians can handle a lot of punishment.

Taking the Sailor, Pirate, Ship Carpenter or Fisher backgrounds would provide plenty of relevant out-of-combat features, combined with the Beast Barbarian's boosted jump and swimming at lvl 6. And Barbarian's skill proficiencies are far from useless, with or without the boost granted by the Tasha's.

The Prodigy or Skill Expert feats can also help.

After the 6th Barbarian level you can either continue or go Battle Master Fighter (with the maneuvre that grants temp HPs).

A surprisingly savvy old seadog who often bites their foes during combat sounds pretty fun to play. Especially if they go "I'm half orc. The other half be Sahuagin" when asked where their biting comes from

Otherwise... well, I don't think it fits the aesthetic you're going for, but Dhampir Zealot Barbarian.

Zealots are hard to kill, especially kill for good, and the Dhampire also has a regen-health-when-you-bite power, but this time it let you use your CON mod for attack and damage.

So if you start with 16 CON by lvl 10 you can easily have 20, granting you 50 HPs from your CON alone while maxing your attack stat.

Alternatively, a Dhampir Long Death Monk with maxed out CON would be pretty damn unkillable, especially if you use your free magic item for a Dragonhide Belt. I'm pretty sure you can use your Monk's martial art die for the Dhampir bite, too, granting you both high accuracy (via maxed CON) and decent damage. But you'd need to keep ki points in reserve to stay alive.

[J-H]

If you get to 14, a zealot barbarian becomes immune to death from HP damage while raging. They're pretty hard to kill. Pair with a shield and maybe PAM (if you can get a magic spear) or just a regular sword.

Armorer Artificers can give themselves +2 armor and +2 shield at level 10, plus flight, plus Flash of Genius to avoid failing saves. INT/day.

Celestial Warlocks get a pool of healing, and at higher levels, a self-raise 1/day.

[JonBeowulf]

Me and my regular group are starting a new campaign soon, and this time I finally have the chance to play instead of DM. Our DM wants the campaign to be extremely difficult, with characters frequently changing when players die
<snip>

Not sure I'd play this campaign.

[KorvinStarmast]

If you get to 14, a zealot barbarian becomes immune to death from HP damage while raging. They're pretty hard to kill.

I think this is going to stay at about level 10, per the OP. But I agree on the shield/spear PAM. My Orc Battlemaster did that, and he was very durable.

Celestial Warlocks get a pool of healing, and at higher levels, a self-raise 1/day.

At level 10, they give self Level Plus Cha Temp HP per long rest, and half of that to up to five party members.

[DarknessEternal]

Wear a red helmet, buy way too many weapons than you could ever use, dump Intelligence.

[Psyren]

Treantmonk had a build called Eternal Cockroach IIRC, which was a Paladin/Bard/Warlock/Wizard that was built to have as high AC, saves, and general survivability as he could get. It predates Tasha's so he would probably build it differently today but there are probably some ideas you could borrow from it.

[Sorinth]

Not the absolute best but Spore Druid could be an option. At level 10 that's 40 temp hp which isn't bad, and there's an argument that RAW those temp hp don't disappear after 10min as the benefits are defined as the extra spore damage + melee weapon damage and only the benefits disappear after the 10min. If you also went Tortle you cast one big concentration spell then retreat into your shell and just minionmancy thanks to stable of undead you create with Animate Dead.

[OracularPoet]

Beg you DM to let you be an 11th level long death monk, only use ki to avoid hitting zero HP.

Or… be a githzerai (psychic resistance, look old) bear totem barb (resist everything else) with a two level war wizard dip for arcane deflection. Max starting DEX and CON, 13 INT for multiclassing, rest WIS. ASIs (only two) some combination of +dex/con, toughness, lucky, resilient, shield master for evasion effect. Fight from range, standing near a paladin if possible.

[Skrum]

Beg you DM to let you be an 11th level long death monk, only use ki to avoid hitting zero HP.

Or… be a githzerai (psychic resistance, look old) bear totem barb (resist everything else) with a two level war wizard dip for arcane deflection. Max starting DEX and CON, 13 INT for multiclassing, rest WIS. ASIs (only two) some combination of +dex/con, toughness, lucky, resilient, shield master for evasion effect. Fight from range, standing near a paladin if possible.

You need 13 Str to multiclass into or out of barb. Interesting build overall, but I don't think torturing barb to be dex-based is the way to go.

If playing point buy, starting with something like
str 15 dex 12 con 14 int 13 wis 10 cha 8

use racial modifiers to boost str by 2 and con by 1
first asi, bring str to 18 and con to 16
second asi, take whatever (shield master is pretty nice, if the idea is to boost saves. Though dex saves are of pretty low concern for a character that's resistant to everything). Str +2, alert, lucky, or even mobile would be pretty high on my list

I really like the free cast of shield (and the 3 other spell slots). Nifty little defensive tools for when someone attacks before rage is active.

[Unoriginal]

Treantmonk had a build called Eternal Cockroach IIRC, which was a Paladin/Bard/Warlock/Wizard that was built to have as high AC, saves, and general survivability as he could get. It predates Tasha's so he would probably build it differently today but there are probably some ideas you could borrow from it.

The so-called "Eternal Cockroach" is an inefficient mess of a build that does not work as advertised.

Quite tellingly, most of the "survavibility" came from having the strongest magic items available for that purpose, and those would give the large majority of builds more survivability.

It was bad before the Tasha's. Typical Treantmonk work, really.

Or… be a githzerai (psychic resistance, look old)

Why do you mean by "look old"?

Githzerai don't look older than their age.

[OracularPoet]

You need 13 Str to multiclass into or out of barb. Interesting build overall, but I don't think torturing barb to be dex-based is the way to go.

Duh... rookie mistake. Glad to see it's still feasible with STR.

Why do you mean by "look old"?

Githzerai don't look older than their age.

I suppose that's my prejudice. The Fiend Folio githyanki artwork lodged a mummified/desiccated aesthetic in my brain. Githzerai ride for free!

[Psyren]

The so-called "Eternal Cockroach" is an inefficient mess of a build that does not work as advertised.

Quite tellingly, most of the "survavibility" came from having the strongest magic items available for that purpose, and those would give the large majority of builds more survivability.

It was bad before the Tasha's. Typical Treantmonk work, really.

What are you on about? He suggests a cloak of protection as good addition at level 14 but it's in no way required for the build. The main things he was suggesting were Ancients Paladin 8 for heavy armor and the magic damage resistance aura, Yuan-Ti as the race for the magic and poison resistance (immunity to the latter back then but still good post-nerf), A Hexblade dip for Shield and an Armor of Agathys that can be used with the scaling spell slots, and War Mage for the saving throw reaction when Shield and Absorb Elements aren't needed. All of that is advice that works just fine post-Tasha's, and is pretty easy to make a viable build around since all you need are 14 Str 13 Int and 16+ Cha.

[Keravath]

A shadow monk might be an option. Unlimited bonus action 60' teleport in dim light or darkness can provide a lot of survivability. Darkness, pass without trace and silence can provide some very useful tools for dealing with other issues. Being able to operate without needing much in the way of gear could also be an advantage. Mobile feat would make the character even faster and give options to run away without being attacked.

Could also go for a rogue/monk multiclass so that the character also has a wider variety of skills and some expertise to make it easier to identify and survive dangerous situations. Expertise in perception and stealth perhaps?

Anyway, it might not be the most survivable idea but I think it would work well from a role playing perspective and the character's speed and abilities like evasion, the teleport and other options could allow the character a better chance to get away from situations that go sideways while still being an excellent supporting character for a party.

If you ever get to monk level 14, diamond soul would also greatly enhance the character's survivability further.

[XmonkTad]

Monk (Drunken Master) 6/ Fighter (Rune Knight) 4. Make liberal use of the cloud rune plus tipsy sway to redirect all incoming attacks to other targets. Play it as a giant half-orc who can't be pinned down.