How many tanks in YOUR parties?

[krunchyfrogg]

What's a good number of tanks to have? 1,2,3,4?

[mr_sir]

i normally only have 1 or 2, never more than 2 as i like spellcasters so tend to have clerics, druids and mages etc, and a thief.

[Raven_Song]

What's a good number of tanks to have? 1,2,3,4?

It depends what you are classing as a tank.

It would appear that Mr_Sir classes clerics and druids as spellcasters, but given the right build these guys can be far more effective tanks than pure fighters.

I usually have 4, but only two are what you would call full time tanks

Full-time
Aasimar Paladin (3) Fighter (X)
Shield Dwarf Fighter (4) Barbarian (X)

Part-Time
Shield Dwarf Battleguard of Tempus (X)
Human Monk of the Old Order (1-3) Druid (X)

In this game, unlike Baldur's Gate II you are better having tanks that can use spells (especially if you are a power-gamer type or interested in HoF mode - I'm neither)

[myrophine]

In my past sucessful party (and it was a default party - hands of fury so the stats were all messed up) I had:

1 Full Tank - Psycho Barbarian X - Axes are unbelievable!

2 Pseudotanks

fighter4cleric3MageX - Archer, support caster, decoy
[INDENT]high AC plus MI stoneskin and other AC or hard to hit buffs[/INDENT]
figter1->4 rogueXMageX - backstabber
[INDENT]terrible AC plus MI stoneskin and both fireshields (make that bad AC work for me )[/INDENT]

BUT and this is important to note! In important battles I had 5 extra tanks!

Animate dead and Shades ha ha

myrophine

[Sparrow]

I use 4, and my setup is similar to Raven_Song's. I use a 2 by 6 formation, so I have 2 "front line" tanks- a fighter and a paladin. Behind them I have a cleric and a druid. The reason clerics and druids are lesser tanks is because their attack rolls improve more slowly than fighters and paladins. That means they acquire extra attacks more slowly. But they are still good tanks.