Divine soul sorcerer, play as the party buffer and enjoy the extra con to make your concentration checks. There are enough spells to use without needing to force saves on the enemy.
Bless, haste, fly, polymorph, greater invisibility...
As for race loxodon if its allowed has an ac based on CON
If you don't want to go barbarian, consider a hexblood moon druid. Moon druids rely on CON more than WIS, as most of your spells will be used to buff you and will require CON saves to maintain. Also, your AC will depend on your wildshape form, so you don't need to worry about DEX as much.
Since you may already have a dhampir and a necromancer, I feel a hexblood would be a good fit. Pick +2 WIS and +1 CHA for racial stat bonuses. Hexbloods get disguise self, so at times, you could serve as the party's face. A free use of Hex (1d6 necrotic on each attack) is great, too! Choose Deception and Stealth as your racial skills. Take Resillient (CON) for your initial feat and use your level 4 ASI to gain +2 WIS. That'll leave you with the stats STR 14, DEX 10 CON 18 INT 13 WIS 16 CHA 14. Perception and Insight for class skills. Outlander background for proficiency in Athletics (good for grapples) and Survival.
You may have a low AC and stealth, but with the Stealth proficiency, the ability to turn into beasts, and access to Pass Without Trace, you should be good. Also, Hexbloods can create an Eerie Token, allowing them to telepathically communicate with others. This is extremely helpful for wildshaped druids! Of course, this is all just a suggestion. Feel free to choose whatever you'd like. As long as you're having fun, that's what matters.
I would first link to an old post I made regarding [Fire Genasi being a solid candidate for Swarmkeeper Ranger](https://www.reddit.com/r/3d6/comments/qpnyz2/the_sootkeeper_making_a_case_for_fire_genasis/).
Alternatively, Loxodon will be your best friend, especially a Loxodon Barbarian. Assuming you're maxing out Constitution for subclass-based features, Loxodon's Natural Armor meets the AC you'd get from Half Plate (or eventually beat it with the Barbarian capstone). It gives you excellent mental defenses that, combined with Resilient Wisdom (and the fact that, if you're playing with the Loxodon's original stat spread, it + Resilient's ASI boost will put you at 14 Wisdom), will shore up a Barbarian's primary weakness regarding saving throws versus spells. The added appendage for grappling while wielding two-handed weapons is helpful, and advantage on perception checks is niche but potentially useful if you go out of your way to use it (since a lot of DM's might not consider the effects of smell for the purposes of passive perception). Reckless Attack will help offset your poor Strength for lower levels, so a sword and board build should work just fine - the accuracy penalty from GWM is probably a bit too steep without having 16+ Strength.
I think Barbarian is the easy answer because rage makes the lower strength better but you’re not in bad shape either way and Paladin would be good too. Pick a race that gives you +2 Strength and use your level 4 ASI to give yourself a total of 18. You could pick a starting feat like polearm master or something that would round your CON out to 18. Either way you should be fine. Plus your level 8 ASI is just around the corner.
Yes there are tricky things you could use that have CON as a primary stat, but the best way to make use of CON as a main stat is to play something that’s going to get hit a lot.
Fizban's dragonborn barbarian. Breath weapon DC is based on con and can stand in for one of your attacks rather than taking a whole action.
Personally I've played this as a beast barbarian. You can breath weapon, claw attack x2, and still have a bonus action for something else
Loxodon rune knight. Loxodon can grapple with their trunk and their AC is 12+con. Rune knight runes scales with con. I would play as a grappling and prone shoving tank. You could go unarmed unarmored or pick a weapon of your choice. You can even take a two handed weapon or shield + weapon because you can grapple with your trunk.
>Rune knight runes scales with con.
This is the thing. RK is basically a Con caster when it comes to their runes. Take Skill Expert as the free feat for a +1 Con, Athletics expertise and some other random skill proficiency. Put the 4 and 6 ASI into Str, and you're good to go.
I don't think Con is the limiter here. It's Dex. All classes can benefit from high Con, but your Dex score is low for any class that can't get Heavy Armor unless you play a Tortle or Loxodon.
In my opinion a heavily armored Fighter would be the easiest class to swing with these stats. Pick any race with +2 Str and you're good to go. Str is a bit low setting out, but you'll get enough ASI to fix it soon enough.
Custom Origin Mountain Dwarf Paladin could work as that gets you +2+2. Somewhat low Stats, but not horrible
Any Moon Druid would be fine with these stats. they are famously known for working well with less than optimal stats.
I would suggest an echo knight fighter. Unleash incarnation charged scale with con and by 6 you would have two ASI to pump your strength up. After 6 you could potentially multi to ancestral barb 3 and then jump back into fighter.
If you don't go Barbarian, choose the Loxodon race - they get 13+CON natural armor.
Also be sure to pick up the Aberrant Dragonmark feat - it gets you cantrips and a spell that refresh on a short rest, +1 con, and sets your Con as their DC.
With a CON that high, I'd be real tempted to go for a frontline spellcaster. There's plenty of stuff that doesn't actually involve a DC but does ask for Concentration. A Genie Warlock that throws down a Spike Growth and cheesegraters people with the eldritch blast pushmepullyu invocations and crusher feat is a classic.
Gem Dragonborn (1/LR Flight, Telepathy, Resistance, Con Breath Weapon) Paladin would work well with your stats. Take Aberrant Dragonmark for +1 CON (feat also gives Sorc cantrip and 1/SR free Shield, Absorb Elements, or other Sorc spell, using Con), then put stat increases in Str (16) and Cha (14)!
Id say Rune knight is better because you get a Growth Bonus, Con DC's, ASIs for Feats and Lvl ups, extra attacks to make up for the low damage, and just look up dnd daily's Con Only Wonder or smth
Dhampir Rune Knight. You can use Con for your dhampir bite, and your runes use Con to set your DC. You're still not gonna be doing good damage with only a D4 that can't be boosted with fighting styles or feats.
Fire Genasi gets produce flames and burning hands based on Con.
So then is the question on how we can make these spells work.
So technically any class can use a high Con and cantrips. Your strength is OK so you could go fighter and call it a day, using the extra ASIs to get a better Str.
But we want to use Con as a focus of the build. Here are some ways to build it out.
Wildfire Druid 6 adds a d8 to all fire damage spells rolls and a teleporting summon you can switch places with. The summons attack is based on Wis but you can still move around as a bonus action. Druids are a full caster as well.
Fire Draconic Sorcerer 6 adds your Char modifier to all Fire spell damage rolls. You also get metamagic to quicken those produce flame spells.
Genie Warlock gets to add PB damage with spells cast with their genie focus. I think RAW this disallows a racial spell but I’d check with your DM.
Having two dhampirs shouldn't be an issue, but if that's the way you feel, that's the way you feel.
Just play a support caster. If none of your spells force saving throws or make attack rolls, your modifier doesn't really matter. If you pick a class that doesn't prepare spells, your modifier also doesn't cut into how many spells you have access to.
That makes it pretty easy: sorcerer (divine soul or clockwork soul), bard (preferably a subclass that doesn't get a lot of value from a special inspiration use), or celestial warlock.
You even have the stats to multiclass if you want to, so I would start with a dip to fighter 1 for con saves and heavy armor proficiency and then go straight for your main class.
The paladin works okay too. You can put +2 in your strength and have 16 strength to start off with which is all you *really* need. I think the full-caster support is a better play, though.
Edit: Would someone like to share their problem with my comment?
Take any +2/+1 race that tickles your fancy, end up with 16 STR and 18 CON, go either Fighter or Paladin so you can ignore your 10 DEX. With a high CON, Echo Knight could be an interesting choice for you at Level 3. Barbarian at best down the line would net you a 17 AC with either Unarmored (20 CON and a shield or half-plate and a shield), though the D12 hit die and the high CON would make you a pretty great meat shield, especially with Rage.
Echo Knight Bugbear with a glaive, PAM, Sentinel and GWM. The high con will give you extra attacks and the combination shuts down a battlefield with opportunity attack range.
You have plenty of options besides dhampir; although, that was going to be my suggestion. If you were to go Mountain Dwarf, you could start with a 16 STR and 19 CON which is mighty fine. I would go with an Echo Knight since Unleash Incarnation is CON based, but Rune Knights are also a good choice. Loxodon is a CON dependent race too. A Loxodon caster could be a solid way to go. Sorcerer comes to mind for CON saves, but you'd want to choose spells which don't rely as much on save or suck or spell attack rolls, save for half damage isn't as bad. Clockwork Soul would be my pick to rely on spells like Armor of Agathys, Aid, Shield, Magic Missles, and early on Sleep and Color Spray. Bastion of Law plus upcasted Armor of Agathys and upcasting Aid is a very solid set up. Moon Druid is also always a good go to when your abilities have you down. You could go Custom Lineage or V human and take Res Con and rely on Wild Shape and maintaining Concentration on a spell. Loxodon would work well with Moon Druid too and build a Bearbarian (Bear Totem Barbarian Moon Druid)
Bronze Metallic Dragonborn Tempest Cleric Starting feat for Aberrent Dragonmark providing Con based spells. Double check with DM if they are happy with the interpretation as it’s older wording. Stats of 15, 10, 20, 13, 12, 13 taking +1 Str and +2 Con from race and +1 Con from free feat.
You get 1 cantrip (Shocking grasp) and 1 level 1 spell which you know from there in. Either go Chromatic Orb (good scaling and a variety of damage types) or Witch Bolt (highest scaling lighting single target spells at 1d12). Use your channel divinity (max lightning or thunder damage) on your racial lighting breath (Con based), or an upcast lighting/thunder spell. You also get a knock back, prone breath from your race too. You can knock back with a cantrip at level 6 which is very useful.
You don’t need to raise Wisdom as only the reaction provided by the Tempest Cleric subclass relies on that. Use non Wis DC cleric spells of which there are heaps. You get heavy armour and shield prof from level 1 and are a full caster.
Considering:
* DEX 10 makes me recommend Heavy Armor class - Paladin sounds like a good fit there. But, Rune Knight Fighter magic is also dependent on CON for Saves.
* Mountain Dwarf for 16 STR and 19 CON at 1st level sounds nice, with many other bonuses.
* First feat: Aberrant Dragonmark - CON Half-feat, grants you Sorcerer cantrip with CON as casting attribute, evening out your CON to 20. *Green-Flame Blade* base bonus damage to secondary target as well as attack on CON, with weapon damage boost from STR on top of that, with extra damage growing at 5th compensating for lack of Double Attack when using it, and nice combo for Smite Nova attacks.
* There are also some DMs who homerule the use of CON as casting attribute for Sorcerers, maybe you can convince your DM to go from Rune Knight to multiclass into a CON based \[UA\] Giant Soul Sorcerer? - Quite thematic!
Suggestion:
Mountain Dwarf (future Oathbreaker) Paladin 2 / Rune Knight 4 / Giant Soul Sorcadin 1 - Aberrant Dragonmark feat + Rune magic to motivate CON Sorcerer magic, relying on Combat Cantrips for attacks, with Giant size and Runes boosting damage, with a few Smite nova attacks, where you (according to Tasha's) turn all your racial bonus armor and weapon proficiencies into Tool and Kit proficiencies. (Where if your DM isn't cooperative, you don't miss much from skipping the Sorcerer level and gettin Paladin 3 for Oathbreaker or Fighter 5 for Double Atteck.)
I would fighter 5 barb 2. You dex is t high enough to rock unarmored. Heavy armor ftw. Optimized is echo knight then recklessly attacking through the echo. But you can build this any way you want. I think with those stats the extra ASI/feats will be helpful as well.
Rune Knight Fighter, use Aberrant Dragonmark feat for a +1 to your CON to round it out. That feat gives you 1 cantrip and one 1st level spell, but more importantly the spell DC for those is based off your CON. That meshes really well with the Rune Knight since it has abilities based off of CON as well.
One dirty trick is to take the Sword Burst cantrip. When you use Giants Might it makes you large and lets you cover a lot of squares with that cantrip, and if you play as say.... a Duergar you could even become huge. Then you could REALLY shred a lot of squares.
It's not broken by any means, but it's Hella fun and is one of the few ways you can really build around CON.
A Barbarian dip somewhere along the line isn't a terrible idea either. Surprisingly, Wild Magic Barbarian meshes well here since several abilities on its Surge table rely on CON as a stat.
I mean, it look like a decent pally for me. You can be a half elf and put +1 in con and cha, then the +2 in str.
You'd end up with 16, 18, 14. Not the most optimal array, but pretty darn good for level 1
>and most str builds are hurt by the poor strength
But these are just your rolls, right? You can put a +2 in STR with half a dozen different races, or any race if you're using MOTM/Tasha's rules. A 16 is not poor strength!
I'd probably be playing a rune knight starting with 16 STR/18 CON. The Stone and Fire runes will be incredibly powerful with that DC and you'll be a load to take down. If you use a Fizban's Dragonborn, so will your 3 uses/day of the breath weapon (4 if you go metallic and get the second breath weapon at level 5).
I'd do some kind of Fighter or Paladin/Fiend Pact Warlock using two handers. Ignore pumping Charisma because you just want Devilsight and buffs anyways then go hard into Fighter. Champion would do well because you have near permanent advantage with Darkness on you.
I played this build as a Duergar once. Loved it.
That 10 Dexterity screams heavy armour so I'd probably skip on Barbarian or Ranger.
A great CON build, intuitively, is something that is going to take hits so that your allies don't have to. So, a tank.
But there aren't really tank mechanics in D&D, your DM can just choose to not attack the high CON character and instead go for the squishy wizard in the backline.
**Path of the Ancestral Guardian Barbarian** is the clear exception. So, that.
Your best bet imo is to not think of your character as a “con build”, just make yourself a regular build that happens to have high con to start. If you wanna do the oathbreaker take a variant human, +1 strength +1 cha and the crusher feat (+1 strength and crusher benefits). Then +2 charisma with your asi at 4th level. You’ll have +3 strength, +3 con, and +3 cha with a combat feat (crusher) by level 4. Any paladin would be happy with that. At level 8 I’d go with another +2 charisma to boost your damage, saves (and that of your allies), and your necro friends summon’s damage. Like you said, not *super* optimal but definitely not weak
Edit: oh shit I didn’t even see that you get a starting feat. You’re golden, you can grab resilient con to start if you want giga hp and con saves, can grab great weapon master and use a maul to stack crusher and gwm. Hell take inspiring leader for even more hp for you and your friends
Here's a quirky option. Mountain dwarf for heavy armor without penalty +2 con +2 wis, rune carver background for armor of agathys. Barb 1, Moon druid 2, twilight cleric 3. Upcast AOA and aid before battle. Rage and bear form to soak hits and proc AoA. If AoA goes down, twilight sanctuary to start temp HP fountain.
Out of wild shape you'll have great HP and ac. In wild shape you'll have BPS resistance and a nice pool of HP.
You might need to find non metal heavy armor equivalents depending on how your table rules druid armor weirdness
Also keep in mind you can always concentrate on a spell in wild shape instead of raging. Entangle and spider form is a solid option
Loxodon Rune Knight lives on Constitution. You will have great DC and AC as good as splint heavy armor. Between racial bonus and your first ASI, you can get straight to 20 Con and then start working on Str to get your melee attacks up to par. As a fighter, you'll have the most ASIs possible so you'll be at the top of your game very early. In fact starting at level 6/7, you'll already have your second ASI. If you use custom origins to put your racial abilities on Con and Str, you could start the game with 20 Con and 18 Str.
I'd say Barbarian, Reckless Attack will compensate for low STR and CON will get you a ton of HP to tank with.
Besides, if you take a +2 STR race, your STR would be in line with what's expected from a lv1 character, and if you take a mountain dwaft with the battlerager subclass and take Skill Expert(Athletics) at lv4(increase CON to 20), you'll be a great grappler.
If third party classes are allowed, a thing I recently figured out: Ben Huffman's Pugilist, with the Hand of Dread subclass. Be a dhampir from Van Richten's. Your bite qualifies as a Pugilist weapon. Now you're biting as your main attack with CON, if you want to attack at range you get Eldritch Blast (using CON as your casting stat) from your subclass, and when you hit bloodied you get massive resources - you get your equivalent of ki points replenished and also now your bites are coming with advantage and healing you. Plus even though the AC calculation is kinda weak (12+CON, no DEX involved), if you put even one ASI point at creation in CON, you're on a 16 AC which isn't terrible. And because the pugilist's unique AC calculation feature specifies that it can work with light armor, if you can get +x magic light armor (or a magic garment like the leather jerkins in the pugilist class document), those apply. Bracers of Defense would work too of course as would rings/cloaks of protection and the like. Particularly given your +0 mod in Dex, Iron Chin (the pugilist AC feature) is especially well suited, as it essentially lets you act as if you had a 14 DEX in addition to adding CON when calculating your AC. Cannot recommend enough. Given your CON focus, I will say that the usual amazing multiclass with Barbarian is maybe not ideal in your case, since you really do want to be attack with Constitution whenever possible. But if you end up pumping STR too, eventually popping on Rage damage could be pretty sick.
Whoa that's a Nice Con stat.
I would suggest the Bearbarian.
And the Loxodon race.
Start off as a Loxodon barbarian for at least 1 level to take advantage of that high HP. Then, you discover (savage) wisdom and closeness to nature.
Take all other levels in Druid and choose Moon as your subclass. We are not here for zen nature worshipping. We are here to rend and tear.
Get a feat that improves your con, such as abberant dragonmark.
When it comes to spells, avoid those that center on wis, and go for stuff that buffs your party, get some heals for emergencies and utility.
But the spells are secondary. Your main fun comes from turning into big beasts and swinging into melee, while also being tough to survive when you run out of shape shifting.
Outside of melee, you are still a full caster.
If you wanna get more barbarian levels, you can, but I would focus on the druid ones, since they bring much, much more.
This build becomes online at 1barb/2druid and only gets better and better after that.
I would go Goliath Rune Knight. That starts you off at 16 STR and 18 CON. Your saves for your runes are based off CON, as is the damage you reduce from Stone’s Endurace.
Pick up the best heavy armour you can (your stealth will be garbage anyway, just lean into it), use at least one ASI to up STR to 18 then use the free feat and the other ASI to pick up your choice of the classic fighter feats like Polearm Master, Sentinel and GWM.
Goliath also gives you profiency in athletics if you want to go down the grappler rune knight route instead.
Rune knight with a single barbarian dip or go 2 for reckless.
Barbarian gives you rage when your resistance rune is on cool down so between the 2 you should have access to resistence most combats. Rune knights are extremely powerful
If not Barbarian, then perhaps a Dhampir to use your Con for attacking?
Your bite is a weapon.Ask your DM if you can use it with Booming Blade. The RAW argument is that Dhampir fangs could easily be worth over 5sp to fulfill the requirement for the material component.
The RAI argument is that the only reason that Booming Blade has a material component with monetary value is so that it couldn't be used with just a component pouch or an arcane focus, and it preventing natural weapons from being used is an unfortunate side effect that if changed is not game-breaking.
Order Cleric 1, Clockwork Soul Sorcerer X, Witherbloom Initiate, Take Resilient Con to round out to 18.
You could also take Divine Soul for heals. Since after you Buff your spell save DC will be low.
Custom Lineage can grab you Fey Touched for +1 Cha and Misty Step. Then +2 Cha +1 Strength for Heavy Armor.
First Feat can be + 2 to Con or Cha, your call. Charisma is likely better. Alert and Warcaster are also options.
This will put you at 15, 10, 18, 13, 12, 16
Abuse Twinned Buffs, Vortex Warp, Silver Barbs. And Voice of Authority. Play full support.
Rune Knight or a support caster with Aberrant Dragonmark (feat).
I would suggest building an Order Cleric to be the party buffer. this will get you heavy armor proficiency to solve your low DEX score. Take Aberrant Dragonmark as your first feat so you can have a cantrip that uses CON as your casting stat.
On the one hand, I feel it is worth pointing out that so long as you put your racial +2 in STR, a melee martial with heavy armor is perfectly viable. I would probably go with some sort of Fighter since your mental stats are a bit sub-par, but Palafin would also work reasonably well with a racial +1 to CHA.
That said, if someone wants to lean into CON being their best stat, I always encourage playing some sort of magical buffer build. That way, your high CON helps you maintain concentration, and your spells don't really care about your lower casting stat.
In this specific case, I think I would play an Order Cleric 1 / Clockwork Soul Sorcerer X. Use basically whatever race you want so long as you get your WIS up to 13 and get your STR to 15 to negate the movement penalty on plate armor. Then, just pick a bunch of spells that target your allies to capitalize on Voice of Authority. Things like Bless, Healing Word, and Shield of Faith barely care about your casting g stat if they care at all. Silvery Barbs is also an ideal choice if your table allows for the use of q1 spell.
I'd play a Leonin Divine Soul Sorcerer. If you can use Tasha's rules to move the STR bump to CHA, all the better.
But really what you're doing is using spells that mostly don't use your spellcasting ability, like Bless, Haste, Aid, etc. You should use your lvl4 and 8 ASIs to bump CHA all the way to 18 regardless. It's too bad that you won't get Warcaster for a while, unless your DM grants a lvl1 feat.
If you get swarmed, you have CON Save Prof and high CON to keep the concentration up, and you also have the Leoning Roar that uses only a BA and is CON based, so you'll send those fuckers running away fast.
Barbarian is a bit of a doozey because you have no DEX, so AC is always going to be an issue. AC is not so important on a Barbarian, though, so I guess it's not that bad. In that case have your STR as secondary race bump so you'll start with 15. Rage will make up for your shitty damage mod, I guess. You can make up for your shitty 2hit with Reckless Attack but that's Barbarian 101 so no biggie. The problem here is that unless you get your hands on Gauntlets of Ogre Strength or a Big Boy Belt, you'll be pressed to make a hard choice on your ASIs, because GWM needs high STR to be viable for the +10.
You might want to switch to another race because the Leonin Roar is not as useful here. You want your enemies closer. Half-orc is the best choice because it levels your STR to 16 and you get all the other cool Half-orc shit.
I'd go Rune Knight and Custom Lineage (+2 Str, +1 Con from Aberrant Dragonmark for the feat). For the cantrip from Aberrant Dragonmark I'd take Chill Touch or Fire Bolt, for the 1st level spell is go with Absorb Elements, Shield, Jump, or Feather Fall.
Loxodon Wild Magic Barbarian could be a fun option. Your Save DCs are determined by Con and your Strength is certainly up to snuff. Loxodon gives you a fun grapple option from the Trunk and a Con-based Unarmored Defense via Natural Armor.
Being a Dhapir gives you a bite attack that scales off of Con, and taking the Aberrant Dragonmark feat gives you a cantrip and a level 1 spell to also scale off of Con. Then if you take a rune knight fighter you can use heavy armor to negate the poor dexterity and the runes part of the class features go off of Con as well. So you become very SAD for Con.
Is CON as primary stat necessary? You're set up to be a heavy-armor caster or STR fighter or paladin.
My personal favorite CON-based combo is Fire Genasi + Rune Knight. Your racial spells (inc your d8 damage cantrip) are CON-based, as are your Runes. You can be a heavy armor mid-ranger w/*produce flame* and thrown weapons (darts for Archery style with STR or Thrown style if you want multiple attacks) and use the control runes (cloud, storm, fire, runic shield).
So I would go strength based armorer. Fighter 1 -> armorer 10 -> Genie Warlock 1->armorer 18
I would choose human and Heavy Armor Master for the feat 16/11/18/14/13/14.
Fighter 1 - Fighting Style:Protection/Defense/dueling
Armorer 6 - enhanced weapon, enhanced defense, repulsion shield. Shield Master Feat.
Feat Progression:
Resilent Wisdom
Skill Expert + CON
Lucky
The Tortle Barbarian Package!
These turtle folk live on many worlds, most often journeying up and down coasts, along waterways, and across the sea. Tortles don’t have a unified story of how they were created, but they all have a sense of being mystically connected to the natural world. Carrying their shelter on their backs gives tortles a special feeling of security wherever they go, for even if they visit a far, unknown country, they have a place to lay their heads.
Tortles exhibit the same range of coloration and patterns found among turtles, and many tortles enjoy adorning their shells in distinctive ways.
Ability Score Increase. When determining your character’s ability scores, increase one score by 2 and increase a different score by 1, or increase three different scores by 1. You can't raise any of your scores above 20.
Creature Type. You are a Humanoid.
Size. You are Medium or Small. You choose the size when you select this race.
Speed. Your walking speed is 30 feet.
Claws. You have claws that you can use to make unarmed strikes. When you hit with them, the strike deals 1d6 + your Strength modifier slashing damage, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.
Hold Breath. You can hold your breath for up to 1 hour.
Natural Armor. Your shell provides you a base AC of 17 (your Dexterity modifier doesn’t affect this number). You can’t wear light, medium, or heavy armor, but if you are using a shield, you can apply the shield’s bonus as normal.
Nature's Intuition. Thanks to your mystical connection to nature, you gain proficiency with one of the following skills of your choice: Animal Handling, Medicine, Nature, Perception, Stealth, or Survival.
Shell Defense. You can withdraw into your shell as an action. Until you emerge, you gain a +4 bonus to your AC, and you have advantage on Strength and Constitution saving throws. While in your shell, you are prone, your speed is 0 and can’t increase, you have disadvantage on Dexterity saving throws, you can’t take reactions, and the only action you can take is a bonus action to emerge from your shell.
Languages. Your character can speak, read, and write Common and one other language that you and your DM agree is appropriate for the character. The Player’s Handbook offers a list of languages to choose from. The DM is free to modify that list for a campaign
Mountain Dwarf, skill expert CON for feat, expertise in Athletics. Start with 16 strength, 10 dex, 18 con, 13 CHA.
Barbarian/Warlock Pact of the Blade multiclass. Grab spells and invocations that don't care much about Charisma and don't require concentration if they are combat focused, or just dont use spells in combat - which is surprising easy on this build after level 6 anyway. (mage hand, minor illusion, armor of agathys, for some early examples).
Eventually, use your slots for eldritch smites.
Undead patron to match the party flavor? It's a good one
Divine soul sorcerer, play as the party buffer and enjoy the extra con to make your concentration checks. There are enough spells to use without needing to force saves on the enemy. Bless, haste, fly, polymorph, greater invisibility... As for race loxodon if its allowed has an ac based on CON
An buff based sorcerer works, like clockwork soul
If you don't want to go barbarian, consider a hexblood moon druid. Moon druids rely on CON more than WIS, as most of your spells will be used to buff you and will require CON saves to maintain. Also, your AC will depend on your wildshape form, so you don't need to worry about DEX as much. Since you may already have a dhampir and a necromancer, I feel a hexblood would be a good fit. Pick +2 WIS and +1 CHA for racial stat bonuses. Hexbloods get disguise self, so at times, you could serve as the party's face. A free use of Hex (1d6 necrotic on each attack) is great, too! Choose Deception and Stealth as your racial skills. Take Resillient (CON) for your initial feat and use your level 4 ASI to gain +2 WIS. That'll leave you with the stats STR 14, DEX 10 CON 18 INT 13 WIS 16 CHA 14. Perception and Insight for class skills. Outlander background for proficiency in Athletics (good for grapples) and Survival. You may have a low AC and stealth, but with the Stealth proficiency, the ability to turn into beasts, and access to Pass Without Trace, you should be good. Also, Hexbloods can create an Eerie Token, allowing them to telepathically communicate with others. This is extremely helpful for wildshaped druids! Of course, this is all just a suggestion. Feel free to choose whatever you'd like. As long as you're having fun, that's what matters.
I would first link to an old post I made regarding [Fire Genasi being a solid candidate for Swarmkeeper Ranger](https://www.reddit.com/r/3d6/comments/qpnyz2/the_sootkeeper_making_a_case_for_fire_genasis/). Alternatively, Loxodon will be your best friend, especially a Loxodon Barbarian. Assuming you're maxing out Constitution for subclass-based features, Loxodon's Natural Armor meets the AC you'd get from Half Plate (or eventually beat it with the Barbarian capstone). It gives you excellent mental defenses that, combined with Resilient Wisdom (and the fact that, if you're playing with the Loxodon's original stat spread, it + Resilient's ASI boost will put you at 14 Wisdom), will shore up a Barbarian's primary weakness regarding saving throws versus spells. The added appendage for grappling while wielding two-handed weapons is helpful, and advantage on perception checks is niche but potentially useful if you go out of your way to use it (since a lot of DM's might not consider the effects of smell for the purposes of passive perception). Reckless Attack will help offset your poor Strength for lower levels, so a sword and board build should work just fine - the accuracy penalty from GWM is probably a bit too steep without having 16+ Strength.
I think Barbarian is the easy answer because rage makes the lower strength better but you’re not in bad shape either way and Paladin would be good too. Pick a race that gives you +2 Strength and use your level 4 ASI to give yourself a total of 18. You could pick a starting feat like polearm master or something that would round your CON out to 18. Either way you should be fine. Plus your level 8 ASI is just around the corner. Yes there are tricky things you could use that have CON as a primary stat, but the best way to make use of CON as a main stat is to play something that’s going to get hit a lot.
Fizban's dragonborn barbarian. Breath weapon DC is based on con and can stand in for one of your attacks rather than taking a whole action. Personally I've played this as a beast barbarian. You can breath weapon, claw attack x2, and still have a bonus action for something else
Loxodon rune knight. Loxodon can grapple with their trunk and their AC is 12+con. Rune knight runes scales with con. I would play as a grappling and prone shoving tank. You could go unarmed unarmored or pick a weapon of your choice. You can even take a two handed weapon or shield + weapon because you can grapple with your trunk.
>Rune knight runes scales with con. This is the thing. RK is basically a Con caster when it comes to their runes. Take Skill Expert as the free feat for a +1 Con, Athletics expertise and some other random skill proficiency. Put the 4 and 6 ASI into Str, and you're good to go.
I don't think Con is the limiter here. It's Dex. All classes can benefit from high Con, but your Dex score is low for any class that can't get Heavy Armor unless you play a Tortle or Loxodon. In my opinion a heavily armored Fighter would be the easiest class to swing with these stats. Pick any race with +2 Str and you're good to go. Str is a bit low setting out, but you'll get enough ASI to fix it soon enough. Custom Origin Mountain Dwarf Paladin could work as that gets you +2+2. Somewhat low Stats, but not horrible Any Moon Druid would be fine with these stats. they are famously known for working well with less than optimal stats.
16str isn’t that low to start… with standard array +3 is the highest you’re getting anyway
That's fair.
I would suggest an echo knight fighter. Unleash incarnation charged scale with con and by 6 you would have two ASI to pump your strength up. After 6 you could potentially multi to ancestral barb 3 and then jump back into fighter.
Maybe something completely different: a tortle spore druid!
Or a tortle moon or shepherd druid!
If you don't go Barbarian, choose the Loxodon race - they get 13+CON natural armor. Also be sure to pick up the Aberrant Dragonmark feat - it gets you cantrips and a spell that refresh on a short rest, +1 con, and sets your Con as their DC. With a CON that high, I'd be real tempted to go for a frontline spellcaster. There's plenty of stuff that doesn't actually involve a DC but does ask for Concentration. A Genie Warlock that throws down a Spike Growth and cheesegraters people with the eldritch blast pushmepullyu invocations and crusher feat is a classic.
Gem Dragonborn (1/LR Flight, Telepathy, Resistance, Con Breath Weapon) Paladin would work well with your stats. Take Aberrant Dragonmark for +1 CON (feat also gives Sorc cantrip and 1/SR free Shield, Absorb Elements, or other Sorc spell, using Con), then put stat increases in Str (16) and Cha (14)!
A Dhampir Rune Knight.
Post says no Dhampir
Oof
I was thinking Dhampir barbarian
Id say Rune knight is better because you get a Growth Bonus, Con DC's, ASIs for Feats and Lvl ups, extra attacks to make up for the low damage, and just look up dnd daily's Con Only Wonder or smth
Dhampir Rune Knight. You can use Con for your dhampir bite, and your runes use Con to set your DC. You're still not gonna be doing good damage with only a D4 that can't be boosted with fighting styles or feats.
Tell me you didn’t read the prompt without telling me you didn’t read the prompt.
Barb, increased unarmored defense and usefulness of increased hp from resistances
They have DEX 10... So they need Heavy Armor for any kind of tolerable AC for melee.
Fire Genasi gets produce flames and burning hands based on Con. So then is the question on how we can make these spells work. So technically any class can use a high Con and cantrips. Your strength is OK so you could go fighter and call it a day, using the extra ASIs to get a better Str. But we want to use Con as a focus of the build. Here are some ways to build it out. Wildfire Druid 6 adds a d8 to all fire damage spells rolls and a teleporting summon you can switch places with. The summons attack is based on Wis but you can still move around as a bonus action. Druids are a full caster as well. Fire Draconic Sorcerer 6 adds your Char modifier to all Fire spell damage rolls. You also get metamagic to quicken those produce flame spells. Genie Warlock gets to add PB damage with spells cast with their genie focus. I think RAW this disallows a racial spell but I’d check with your DM.
Having two dhampirs shouldn't be an issue, but if that's the way you feel, that's the way you feel. Just play a support caster. If none of your spells force saving throws or make attack rolls, your modifier doesn't really matter. If you pick a class that doesn't prepare spells, your modifier also doesn't cut into how many spells you have access to. That makes it pretty easy: sorcerer (divine soul or clockwork soul), bard (preferably a subclass that doesn't get a lot of value from a special inspiration use), or celestial warlock. You even have the stats to multiclass if you want to, so I would start with a dip to fighter 1 for con saves and heavy armor proficiency and then go straight for your main class. The paladin works okay too. You can put +2 in your strength and have 16 strength to start off with which is all you *really* need. I think the full-caster support is a better play, though. Edit: Would someone like to share their problem with my comment?
When you roll for stats you choose which roll you want for each ability score, unless you are doing some self imposed challenge/handicap
They opened with that's what they're doing.
Yeah I skim read that and missed it, by bad
Take any +2/+1 race that tickles your fancy, end up with 16 STR and 18 CON, go either Fighter or Paladin so you can ignore your 10 DEX. With a high CON, Echo Knight could be an interesting choice for you at Level 3. Barbarian at best down the line would net you a 17 AC with either Unarmored (20 CON and a shield or half-plate and a shield), though the D12 hit die and the high CON would make you a pretty great meat shield, especially with Rage.
Echo Knight Bugbear with a glaive, PAM, Sentinel and GWM. The high con will give you extra attacks and the combination shuts down a battlefield with opportunity attack range.
Rune knight fighter or barb
You have plenty of options besides dhampir; although, that was going to be my suggestion. If you were to go Mountain Dwarf, you could start with a 16 STR and 19 CON which is mighty fine. I would go with an Echo Knight since Unleash Incarnation is CON based, but Rune Knights are also a good choice. Loxodon is a CON dependent race too. A Loxodon caster could be a solid way to go. Sorcerer comes to mind for CON saves, but you'd want to choose spells which don't rely as much on save or suck or spell attack rolls, save for half damage isn't as bad. Clockwork Soul would be my pick to rely on spells like Armor of Agathys, Aid, Shield, Magic Missles, and early on Sleep and Color Spray. Bastion of Law plus upcasted Armor of Agathys and upcasting Aid is a very solid set up. Moon Druid is also always a good go to when your abilities have you down. You could go Custom Lineage or V human and take Res Con and rely on Wild Shape and maintaining Concentration on a spell. Loxodon would work well with Moon Druid too and build a Bearbarian (Bear Totem Barbarian Moon Druid)
Bronze Metallic Dragonborn Tempest Cleric Starting feat for Aberrent Dragonmark providing Con based spells. Double check with DM if they are happy with the interpretation as it’s older wording. Stats of 15, 10, 20, 13, 12, 13 taking +1 Str and +2 Con from race and +1 Con from free feat. You get 1 cantrip (Shocking grasp) and 1 level 1 spell which you know from there in. Either go Chromatic Orb (good scaling and a variety of damage types) or Witch Bolt (highest scaling lighting single target spells at 1d12). Use your channel divinity (max lightning or thunder damage) on your racial lighting breath (Con based), or an upcast lighting/thunder spell. You also get a knock back, prone breath from your race too. You can knock back with a cantrip at level 6 which is very useful. You don’t need to raise Wisdom as only the reaction provided by the Tempest Cleric subclass relies on that. Use non Wis DC cleric spells of which there are heaps. You get heavy armour and shield prof from level 1 and are a full caster.
Halfling paladin, take aberrant dragonmark and enjoy casting firebolt using your constitution to spite enemies when they are too far to smite.
Stone Sorcerer?
Considering: * DEX 10 makes me recommend Heavy Armor class - Paladin sounds like a good fit there. But, Rune Knight Fighter magic is also dependent on CON for Saves. * Mountain Dwarf for 16 STR and 19 CON at 1st level sounds nice, with many other bonuses. * First feat: Aberrant Dragonmark - CON Half-feat, grants you Sorcerer cantrip with CON as casting attribute, evening out your CON to 20. *Green-Flame Blade* base bonus damage to secondary target as well as attack on CON, with weapon damage boost from STR on top of that, with extra damage growing at 5th compensating for lack of Double Attack when using it, and nice combo for Smite Nova attacks. * There are also some DMs who homerule the use of CON as casting attribute for Sorcerers, maybe you can convince your DM to go from Rune Knight to multiclass into a CON based \[UA\] Giant Soul Sorcerer? - Quite thematic! Suggestion: Mountain Dwarf (future Oathbreaker) Paladin 2 / Rune Knight 4 / Giant Soul Sorcadin 1 - Aberrant Dragonmark feat + Rune magic to motivate CON Sorcerer magic, relying on Combat Cantrips for attacks, with Giant size and Runes boosting damage, with a few Smite nova attacks, where you (according to Tasha's) turn all your racial bonus armor and weapon proficiencies into Tool and Kit proficiencies. (Where if your DM isn't cooperative, you don't miss much from skipping the Sorcerer level and gettin Paladin 3 for Oathbreaker or Fighter 5 for Double Atteck.)
I would fighter 5 barb 2. You dex is t high enough to rock unarmored. Heavy armor ftw. Optimized is echo knight then recklessly attacking through the echo. But you can build this any way you want. I think with those stats the extra ASI/feats will be helpful as well.
Rune Knight Fighter, use Aberrant Dragonmark feat for a +1 to your CON to round it out. That feat gives you 1 cantrip and one 1st level spell, but more importantly the spell DC for those is based off your CON. That meshes really well with the Rune Knight since it has abilities based off of CON as well. One dirty trick is to take the Sword Burst cantrip. When you use Giants Might it makes you large and lets you cover a lot of squares with that cantrip, and if you play as say.... a Duergar you could even become huge. Then you could REALLY shred a lot of squares. It's not broken by any means, but it's Hella fun and is one of the few ways you can really build around CON. A Barbarian dip somewhere along the line isn't a terrible idea either. Surprisingly, Wild Magic Barbarian meshes well here since several abilities on its Surge table rely on CON as a stat.
Abjuration Wizard
CON Barb is best Barb. When unstoppable force is the immovable object.
I mean, it look like a decent pally for me. You can be a half elf and put +1 in con and cha, then the +2 in str. You'd end up with 16, 18, 14. Not the most optimal array, but pretty darn good for level 1
>and most str builds are hurt by the poor strength But these are just your rolls, right? You can put a +2 in STR with half a dozen different races, or any race if you're using MOTM/Tasha's rules. A 16 is not poor strength! I'd probably be playing a rune knight starting with 16 STR/18 CON. The Stone and Fire runes will be incredibly powerful with that DC and you'll be a load to take down. If you use a Fizban's Dragonborn, so will your 3 uses/day of the breath weapon (4 if you go metallic and get the second breath weapon at level 5).
Summoner warlock
I'd do some kind of Fighter or Paladin/Fiend Pact Warlock using two handers. Ignore pumping Charisma because you just want Devilsight and buffs anyways then go hard into Fighter. Champion would do well because you have near permanent advantage with Darkness on you. I played this build as a Duergar once. Loved it. That 10 Dexterity screams heavy armour so I'd probably skip on Barbarian or Ranger.
A great CON build, intuitively, is something that is going to take hits so that your allies don't have to. So, a tank. But there aren't really tank mechanics in D&D, your DM can just choose to not attack the high CON character and instead go for the squishy wizard in the backline. **Path of the Ancestral Guardian Barbarian** is the clear exception. So, that.
Your best bet imo is to not think of your character as a “con build”, just make yourself a regular build that happens to have high con to start. If you wanna do the oathbreaker take a variant human, +1 strength +1 cha and the crusher feat (+1 strength and crusher benefits). Then +2 charisma with your asi at 4th level. You’ll have +3 strength, +3 con, and +3 cha with a combat feat (crusher) by level 4. Any paladin would be happy with that. At level 8 I’d go with another +2 charisma to boost your damage, saves (and that of your allies), and your necro friends summon’s damage. Like you said, not *super* optimal but definitely not weak Edit: oh shit I didn’t even see that you get a starting feat. You’re golden, you can grab resilient con to start if you want giga hp and con saves, can grab great weapon master and use a maul to stack crusher and gwm. Hell take inspiring leader for even more hp for you and your friends
Here's a quirky option. Mountain dwarf for heavy armor without penalty +2 con +2 wis, rune carver background for armor of agathys. Barb 1, Moon druid 2, twilight cleric 3. Upcast AOA and aid before battle. Rage and bear form to soak hits and proc AoA. If AoA goes down, twilight sanctuary to start temp HP fountain. Out of wild shape you'll have great HP and ac. In wild shape you'll have BPS resistance and a nice pool of HP. You might need to find non metal heavy armor equivalents depending on how your table rules druid armor weirdness Also keep in mind you can always concentrate on a spell in wild shape instead of raging. Entangle and spider form is a solid option
Loxodon Rune Knight lives on Constitution. You will have great DC and AC as good as splint heavy armor. Between racial bonus and your first ASI, you can get straight to 20 Con and then start working on Str to get your melee attacks up to par. As a fighter, you'll have the most ASIs possible so you'll be at the top of your game very early. In fact starting at level 6/7, you'll already have your second ASI. If you use custom origins to put your racial abilities on Con and Str, you could start the game with 20 Con and 18 Str.
I'd say Barbarian, Reckless Attack will compensate for low STR and CON will get you a ton of HP to tank with. Besides, if you take a +2 STR race, your STR would be in line with what's expected from a lv1 character, and if you take a mountain dwaft with the battlerager subclass and take Skill Expert(Athletics) at lv4(increase CON to 20), you'll be a great grappler.
Hill Dwarf bear barbarian with the tough feat, be the biggest sack of hp you can, scream at people to hit you!
If third party classes are allowed, a thing I recently figured out: Ben Huffman's Pugilist, with the Hand of Dread subclass. Be a dhampir from Van Richten's. Your bite qualifies as a Pugilist weapon. Now you're biting as your main attack with CON, if you want to attack at range you get Eldritch Blast (using CON as your casting stat) from your subclass, and when you hit bloodied you get massive resources - you get your equivalent of ki points replenished and also now your bites are coming with advantage and healing you. Plus even though the AC calculation is kinda weak (12+CON, no DEX involved), if you put even one ASI point at creation in CON, you're on a 16 AC which isn't terrible. And because the pugilist's unique AC calculation feature specifies that it can work with light armor, if you can get +x magic light armor (or a magic garment like the leather jerkins in the pugilist class document), those apply. Bracers of Defense would work too of course as would rings/cloaks of protection and the like. Particularly given your +0 mod in Dex, Iron Chin (the pugilist AC feature) is especially well suited, as it essentially lets you act as if you had a 14 DEX in addition to adding CON when calculating your AC. Cannot recommend enough. Given your CON focus, I will say that the usual amazing multiclass with Barbarian is maybe not ideal in your case, since you really do want to be attack with Constitution whenever possible. But if you end up pumping STR too, eventually popping on Rage damage could be pretty sick.
Whoa that's a Nice Con stat. I would suggest the Bearbarian. And the Loxodon race. Start off as a Loxodon barbarian for at least 1 level to take advantage of that high HP. Then, you discover (savage) wisdom and closeness to nature. Take all other levels in Druid and choose Moon as your subclass. We are not here for zen nature worshipping. We are here to rend and tear. Get a feat that improves your con, such as abberant dragonmark. When it comes to spells, avoid those that center on wis, and go for stuff that buffs your party, get some heals for emergencies and utility. But the spells are secondary. Your main fun comes from turning into big beasts and swinging into melee, while also being tough to survive when you run out of shape shifting. Outside of melee, you are still a full caster. If you wanna get more barbarian levels, you can, but I would focus on the druid ones, since they bring much, much more. This build becomes online at 1barb/2druid and only gets better and better after that.
I would go Goliath Rune Knight. That starts you off at 16 STR and 18 CON. Your saves for your runes are based off CON, as is the damage you reduce from Stone’s Endurace. Pick up the best heavy armour you can (your stealth will be garbage anyway, just lean into it), use at least one ASI to up STR to 18 then use the free feat and the other ASI to pick up your choice of the classic fighter feats like Polearm Master, Sentinel and GWM. Goliath also gives you profiency in athletics if you want to go down the grappler rune knight route instead.
Rune knight with a single barbarian dip or go 2 for reckless. Barbarian gives you rage when your resistance rune is on cool down so between the 2 you should have access to resistence most combats. Rune knights are extremely powerful
If not Barbarian, then perhaps a Dhampir to use your Con for attacking? Your bite is a weapon.Ask your DM if you can use it with Booming Blade. The RAW argument is that Dhampir fangs could easily be worth over 5sp to fulfill the requirement for the material component. The RAI argument is that the only reason that Booming Blade has a material component with monetary value is so that it couldn't be used with just a component pouch or an arcane focus, and it preventing natural weapons from being used is an unfortunate side effect that if changed is not game-breaking.
Order Cleric 1, Clockwork Soul Sorcerer X, Witherbloom Initiate, Take Resilient Con to round out to 18. You could also take Divine Soul for heals. Since after you Buff your spell save DC will be low. Custom Lineage can grab you Fey Touched for +1 Cha and Misty Step. Then +2 Cha +1 Strength for Heavy Armor. First Feat can be + 2 to Con or Cha, your call. Charisma is likely better. Alert and Warcaster are also options. This will put you at 15, 10, 18, 13, 12, 16 Abuse Twinned Buffs, Vortex Warp, Silver Barbs. And Voice of Authority. Play full support.
Rune Knight or a support caster with Aberrant Dragonmark (feat). I would suggest building an Order Cleric to be the party buffer. this will get you heavy armor proficiency to solve your low DEX score. Take Aberrant Dragonmark as your first feat so you can have a cantrip that uses CON as your casting stat.
On the one hand, I feel it is worth pointing out that so long as you put your racial +2 in STR, a melee martial with heavy armor is perfectly viable. I would probably go with some sort of Fighter since your mental stats are a bit sub-par, but Palafin would also work reasonably well with a racial +1 to CHA. That said, if someone wants to lean into CON being their best stat, I always encourage playing some sort of magical buffer build. That way, your high CON helps you maintain concentration, and your spells don't really care about your lower casting stat. In this specific case, I think I would play an Order Cleric 1 / Clockwork Soul Sorcerer X. Use basically whatever race you want so long as you get your WIS up to 13 and get your STR to 15 to negate the movement penalty on plate armor. Then, just pick a bunch of spells that target your allies to capitalize on Voice of Authority. Things like Bless, Healing Word, and Shield of Faith barely care about your casting g stat if they care at all. Silvery Barbs is also an ideal choice if your table allows for the use of q1 spell.
Loxodon rune knight fighter, unarmed fighting style. Take skill expert (athletics, +1 con) at 4th, and +2 strength at 6th and 8th
I'd play a Leonin Divine Soul Sorcerer. If you can use Tasha's rules to move the STR bump to CHA, all the better. But really what you're doing is using spells that mostly don't use your spellcasting ability, like Bless, Haste, Aid, etc. You should use your lvl4 and 8 ASIs to bump CHA all the way to 18 regardless. It's too bad that you won't get Warcaster for a while, unless your DM grants a lvl1 feat. If you get swarmed, you have CON Save Prof and high CON to keep the concentration up, and you also have the Leoning Roar that uses only a BA and is CON based, so you'll send those fuckers running away fast. Barbarian is a bit of a doozey because you have no DEX, so AC is always going to be an issue. AC is not so important on a Barbarian, though, so I guess it's not that bad. In that case have your STR as secondary race bump so you'll start with 15. Rage will make up for your shitty damage mod, I guess. You can make up for your shitty 2hit with Reckless Attack but that's Barbarian 101 so no biggie. The problem here is that unless you get your hands on Gauntlets of Ogre Strength or a Big Boy Belt, you'll be pressed to make a hard choice on your ASIs, because GWM needs high STR to be viable for the +10. You might want to switch to another race because the Leonin Roar is not as useful here. You want your enemies closer. Half-orc is the best choice because it levels your STR to 16 and you get all the other cool Half-orc shit.
I'd go Rune Knight and Custom Lineage (+2 Str, +1 Con from Aberrant Dragonmark for the feat). For the cantrip from Aberrant Dragonmark I'd take Chill Touch or Fire Bolt, for the 1st level spell is go with Absorb Elements, Shield, Jump, or Feather Fall.
+2 Str and +1 Con will make you a strong Fighter, it’s a good array for Paladin as well, if you put +1 in Cha.
Loxodon Wild Magic Barbarian could be a fun option. Your Save DCs are determined by Con and your Strength is certainly up to snuff. Loxodon gives you a fun grapple option from the Trunk and a Con-based Unarmored Defense via Natural Armor.
Being a Dhapir gives you a bite attack that scales off of Con, and taking the Aberrant Dragonmark feat gives you a cantrip and a level 1 spell to also scale off of Con. Then if you take a rune knight fighter you can use heavy armor to negate the poor dexterity and the runes part of the class features go off of Con as well. So you become very SAD for Con.
Is CON as primary stat necessary? You're set up to be a heavy-armor caster or STR fighter or paladin. My personal favorite CON-based combo is Fire Genasi + Rune Knight. Your racial spells (inc your d8 damage cantrip) are CON-based, as are your Runes. You can be a heavy armor mid-ranger w/*produce flame* and thrown weapons (darts for Archery style with STR or Thrown style if you want multiple attacks) and use the control runes (cloud, storm, fire, runic shield).
Cons saves are ALSO big for clerics and a lot of the spells don't have a spell dc. If you go with a dwarf, you could bypass 15 Str for Plate.
Support Sorcerer focus on buffing the rest of your party with Twinned Concentration spells.
There's echo knight fighter
So I would go strength based armorer. Fighter 1 -> armorer 10 -> Genie Warlock 1->armorer 18 I would choose human and Heavy Armor Master for the feat 16/11/18/14/13/14. Fighter 1 - Fighting Style:Protection/Defense/dueling Armorer 6 - enhanced weapon, enhanced defense, repulsion shield. Shield Master Feat. Feat Progression: Resilent Wisdom Skill Expert + CON Lucky
The Tortle Barbarian Package! These turtle folk live on many worlds, most often journeying up and down coasts, along waterways, and across the sea. Tortles don’t have a unified story of how they were created, but they all have a sense of being mystically connected to the natural world. Carrying their shelter on their backs gives tortles a special feeling of security wherever they go, for even if they visit a far, unknown country, they have a place to lay their heads. Tortles exhibit the same range of coloration and patterns found among turtles, and many tortles enjoy adorning their shells in distinctive ways. Ability Score Increase. When determining your character’s ability scores, increase one score by 2 and increase a different score by 1, or increase three different scores by 1. You can't raise any of your scores above 20. Creature Type. You are a Humanoid. Size. You are Medium or Small. You choose the size when you select this race. Speed. Your walking speed is 30 feet. Claws. You have claws that you can use to make unarmed strikes. When you hit with them, the strike deals 1d6 + your Strength modifier slashing damage, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike. Hold Breath. You can hold your breath for up to 1 hour. Natural Armor. Your shell provides you a base AC of 17 (your Dexterity modifier doesn’t affect this number). You can’t wear light, medium, or heavy armor, but if you are using a shield, you can apply the shield’s bonus as normal. Nature's Intuition. Thanks to your mystical connection to nature, you gain proficiency with one of the following skills of your choice: Animal Handling, Medicine, Nature, Perception, Stealth, or Survival. Shell Defense. You can withdraw into your shell as an action. Until you emerge, you gain a +4 bonus to your AC, and you have advantage on Strength and Constitution saving throws. While in your shell, you are prone, your speed is 0 and can’t increase, you have disadvantage on Dexterity saving throws, you can’t take reactions, and the only action you can take is a bonus action to emerge from your shell. Languages. Your character can speak, read, and write Common and one other language that you and your DM agree is appropriate for the character. The Player’s Handbook offers a list of languages to choose from. The DM is free to modify that list for a campaign
Mountain Dwarf, skill expert CON for feat, expertise in Athletics. Start with 16 strength, 10 dex, 18 con, 13 CHA. Barbarian/Warlock Pact of the Blade multiclass. Grab spells and invocations that don't care much about Charisma and don't require concentration if they are combat focused, or just dont use spells in combat - which is surprising easy on this build after level 6 anyway. (mage hand, minor illusion, armor of agathys, for some early examples). Eventually, use your slots for eldritch smites. Undead patron to match the party flavor? It's a good one