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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Thundershield" data-source="post: 4856927" data-attributes="member: 55219">But that doesn't give them a party role per se. Stalker0 does have a point. In 3rd Edition (and before that) monsters could run past the Fighter/Barbarian/etc. with impunity and kill off the Wizard/Mage or Rogue/Thief quick unless that character took several steps to protect himself (hiding, mirror image, greater invisibility, stoneskin, and the like). All the Fighter could to was run after the monsters and whack them with his sword or axe, hoping the DM decided to let one of the monsters hit back at him despite his superior AC. Simply being able to sponge the damage isn't the same as protecting the party from a mechanical standpoint. There's no incentive for the monsters to attack the Fighter in 3E - rather the opposite. The Fighter is harder to hit, takes longer to kill, and deals less damage than a Sneak Attacking Rogue or a Disintegrating Wizard. Just disengage the Fighter (and take that attack of opportunity) and run the Wizard or Rogue over. In 4E the monsters can't do that anymore. Now Defenders are actually sticky and have abilities that allow them to protect their party members in one way or another. The Marked condition is the very essence of this, allowing the Defender to make the rest of the party harder to hit, thus discouraging the monster from attacking them.</blockquote>