No. Every player in the table remembers the -2 penalty. (If you're squishy, you'd do best to remember if an attacking monster is marked!) My problem isn't that the mechanics aren't enforced or that we're not benefiting from marks. My problem is that an artificer near death and a bloodied striker reflect poorly on my function as a defender, and I'm pretty sure it's not MY fault since I'm playing the role to the hilt. (I'm the only player - DM included - not carrying any 3.5e baggage with him, if that explains anything.)
That's awesome. What are the prereqs for that. If my Warforged Earthstrength Warden qualifies then I'm ditching my attempts to develop a reach build.
As another poster pointed out, shield push is a Fighter Feat that keys off the Combat Challenge feature, which you don't have. However, as a Warden there are several things you can do to help your allies, and making a reach build probably isn't one of them. Using reach weapons is usually something more offensive in nature, or something relying on Polearm Momentum type tricks, which probably won't save your buddies.
If I were you, I would probably drop the reach weapon and switch to an Axe or Hammer. Preferably a big one with high damage, like a Waraxe. A two-hander would work too (like an Execution Axe), as it would lower your defense and make you a more attractive target, but don't Warforged get a penalty for two-handed weapons?
Regardless of what weapon you use though, pay attention to what power you're using for your attacks on enemies violating your mark. Warden's Fury is an Immediate Interrupt, and thus it can invalidate an attack if you kill the enemy with it. This works particularly well if your DM is sending weakened monsters at the back row for a last ditch attempt to get in some damage, since now your bigger and badder will have a decent chance of killing them. Warden's Grasp, on the other hand, is an Immediate
Reaction power, which means it goes off after the attack. It also does no damage, so it's not really a good disincentive to get the DM to stop attacking. What Warden's Grasp is good for is for when an enemy is out of range of Warden's Fury, or when you want to allow an ally a chance to escape. The slide 1 means that you can pull the enemy away from your ally so that they're no longer adjacent, which means now your ally can move away at full speed with no fear of taking an OA. The enemy you hit with it is also slowed and can't shift, which pretty much means he can't catch up to your ally now if they move their full move distance away.
Powers like Hungry Earth and Form of Winter's Herald are also great to bring with you. While they're not as damaging as some of the other powers, they create difficult terrain for your enemies (and the attack on Winter's Herald grants an immobilize effect). This will slow them down when they're trying to get past you into the back row, thus giving your allies time to pile on some ranged damage. Additionally, if the DM realizes that there's no way he'll reach the back row this turn, he might start attacking you.
Speak to your allies also, as they can try and take powers that grant slow and immobilize effects as well. If you had a Wizard, for example, he could take Ray of Frost. While generally a sub-par At-Will, it slows enemies, which in the type of game you're in is much more valuable. This way, you can create a sort of running battle where your party is constantly in a controlled retreat to keep their distance from the monsters.
Lastly, pick up the feat Sudden Roots (enemies hit by your OA are slowed) and look for ways to maximize your OA's. The level 3 Encounter power Burst of Earth's Fury is great for this. I know you might think "Oh, they can't shift, big whoop", but if they can't shift, they have to
move (or charge, which is still partially a full move action), and that means that they provoke OA's. While you can't only do one Immediate reaction per turn, you can do one OA per
enemy's turn. So, if you hit 3 enemies with that power, and all three decide to move away on their turns, then you get 3 OA's. Each OA that hits slows the enemies, buying your party more time.
There's also some other feats that will help you to hit those OA's, as well as avoid OA's when you're trying to get past enemies in order to get to the back row. And remember, using an At-Will like the one that grants you a +1 to AC will stack with the feat that grants +2 to OA's, which will give you a total of +3 to AC when an enemy tries to OA you.
I'm sure that you can figure out a few other nasty tricks to pull on your DM in order to get him to pay attention to where he needs to. Killing enemies or just plain denying them their moves/actions when he ignores you will tend to have that effect.
Edit: I wanted to add a couple other suggestions, so I dumped them into an sblock below.
[sblock]Using a +3 proficiency weapon might help, since you'll actually connect with more of those OA's and Warden attacks reacting to your mark being violated.
Second, you might want to look into MCing Fighter for some feats and Paragon Paths that could help your issue, especially if you want to keep a shield. Phalanx Warrior (+1 AC to allies adjacent to you with shield) is a great feat to spread some protection around, while Stalwart Guard (level 10 daily utility stance to add +2 to AC and Ref for allies when using a shield) is a great power to use when facing a lot of hard hitting enemies.
And don't underestimate Paragon Paths like Knight Protector and Shield Adept (found in Martial Power). Knight Protector has a lot of ways to give you extra options for your mark, and only the level 16 feature keys off the actual Combat Challenge feature (it also keys off OA's though, so you can still use it). The encounter and daily powers for that PP are also
very nasty when used against enemies violating your marks, and might help to keep the attention on you.
As for Shield Adept, while it might not seem like a strong PP, it does allow for some interesting tactics. Namely, it will allow you to bunch up the party more and rely on effects that require people to be adjacent (things like Phalanx Warrior, or having everyone sit next to the Shaman's pet to gain bonuses, beneficial zones, etc..) due to the ability to grant cover to ranged and area attacks. Plus, it gives you three ways to get back at enemies who are attacking allies, one of which is an actual stun power that you can use when an enemy shifts away, which is normally something that Wardens can't punish.[/sblock]
