See, I consider moving to the enemies you want to attack, and being able to establish the "front line" where you choose--allowing you to place it tactically, and keep it away from your squishy friends--to be a great benefit for being proactive.
Sure. There is some measure of "mark it and move!" that any defender can employ (well, maybe not paladins, but eh...). But once you've locked down the opposition, your squishy friends can move away. They've got the entire battlefield as a playground, more or less.
See, I disagree. I seem them charging into the midst of the foe--not necessarily going for the "squishy," but the biggest, baddest mofo on the field--and standing toe-to-toe, trading strike for strike and strength for strength. A character needn't be mobile to be focused heavily on offense.
I'm with you, but the defenders I've seen in play aren't the ones who can jump to the back ranks and hit the big bad. The strikers certainly are. The defenders are the ones who take those front ranks away so that the strikers can get at them. The strikers are the one running the pass, the defenders are there mostly to make sure they've got a clear shot.
In this, I see the Barbarian more as the guy who can leap into the back row and hit whatever the target is more than the guy who stands in the front row and stops the rank-and-file from pestering that guy who's jumping into the back. More where the warlock and the rogue and the ranger stand than where the fighter and paladin and swordmage stand.
And I think the Barb's HP cushion will help him go toe-to-toe with that big bad while the defenders of the party catch up. I don't particularly see Barb's as very enduring, though. Glass cannons who are always about to keel over (but who can be "almost keeling over" for the next couple of minutes easily).
But even if your example is the standard case, I don't see the barbarian as dashing around the perimeter. He's in the center of it all, the more enemies the better, the tougher the enemy the better. He stands tall, and he doesn't stop hitting until he or the foe drops, only then moving on to the next one.
You've got a more "resolute" view of the Barbarian than I have. I see their famous endurance and grit as being evidenced in how they can keep fighting while dying and have a big HP cushion and the like. They SHOULD be more resolute than the strikers we've seen so far, but that grit and determination shouldn't define them like it defines the defenders. Rather, their
sheer awesome power should define them. A striker based on STR and CON (and a little bit of Dex maybe) rather than one based on DEX and STR (or CHA or whatever).
Primarily, the Strength of the barbarian should be their defining trait, and the Constitution of the barbarian could easily be a secondary trait (along with maybe Wisdom for your "Noble Savage" types, or Dex for your "Agile Athlete" types).
I don't see the barbarian as standing tall. I see them as leaning forward, in a hunting pose, barreling into the biggest thing on the field. And if that thing doesn't fall? You back up, and you charge them again. You don't just stand around swinging your axe. Constant, predatory, angry, manic energy bursting from your muscles and into the other guy's hide.
As above, I don't see the barbarian needing to move that much, and I certainly don't consider racing into the thick of things and doing your best to stay there to be "passive" in any meaningful definition of the term.
I would consider attracting enemy attention to be more yin than yang. I see the barbarian as the definitive yang.
I mean, think of the historical and fantastic archetypes for barbarians. They are highly mobile, they leave destruction in their wake, they take as they move, they can't be found or routed, and the shields and walls of their enemies are all for naught. They paint themselves blue, foam at the mouth, and turn into bears. They undo your order and control because of the speed and ferocity with which they strike. They will rip off your arms and beat you to death with them. A defender might rip off your arms, but it will do that more to stop you in your tracks than to kill you any faster.
The forceful "shock and awe" of a berserker's blitzkrieg should stun the enemy party as it dives straight for the heart. I don't see barbarians strolling calmly in, laughing as attacks bounce off of them like the defenders I've seen do. Nothing bounces off a barbarian, and sooner or later, they'll succumb to their wounds. They just want to make sure the OTHER guy succumbs faster.
