Plane Sailing
Astral Admin - Mwahahaha!
Funny what a difference information makes.
This made it sound like it was completely blocking an attack, which was whacked IMO.
But with a bit more information (i.e. it only blocks a certain amount of damage) it doesn't sound so unreasonable mechanically.
The Swordmage's marking ability rocks. Not only do you mark your opponent, but you can prevent your opponent from damaging other people. This was important in the scenarios we played, because I'd mark an opponent, and he would run off somewhere...but become totally impotent because I could prevent him from damaging other people.
This made it sound like it was completely blocking an attack, which was whacked IMO.
If it makes a difference, I could only prevent 9 points of damage with the 5th level Swordmage's marking ability. I'm not sure how they got their 9 number, but I'd guess that it's tied into an ability score.
But with a bit more information (i.e. it only blocks a certain amount of damage) it doesn't sound so unreasonable mechanically.