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<blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 6532897" data-attributes="member: 42582">I just wanted to pick up on this.In AD&amp;D, a fighter doesn't need a tool like marking to do his/her thing, because melee combat is sticky by default. There is no analogue of the 5' step, and withdrawing from melee is extremely punitive. (A free attack sequence with +2 to hit.) All a fighter has to do, to lock down enemies, is to engage them in melee (and the DMG has detailed mechanical rules for resolving this, but they are not part of the fighter class description).The need for marking in 4e arises because 4e follows 3E in making combat non-sticky by default. &quot;Defenders&quot; (or &quot;soldiers&quot; if NPCs/monsters) are characters who can override this default by marking, by ending movement, by imposing conditions like slowed, immobilised or prone, etc, from within melee.In 5e, melee is even less sticky - the movement rules are much more liberal (no distinct &quot;move&quot; action), and OAs are reduced. In principle there is plenty of room in 5e for a &quot;defender&quot; role, to override this default by more generous AOs, condition imposition, etc.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="pemerton, post: 6532897, member: 42582"] I just wanted to pick up on this. In AD&D, a fighter doesn't need a tool like marking to do his/her thing, because melee combat is sticky by default. There is no analogue of the 5' step, and withdrawing from melee is extremely punitive. (A free attack sequence with +2 to hit.) All a fighter has to do, to lock down enemies, is to engage them in melee (and the DMG has detailed mechanical rules for resolving this, but they are not part of the fighter class description). The need for marking in 4e arises because 4e follows 3E in making combat non-sticky by default. "Defenders" (or "soldiers" if NPCs/monsters) are characters who can override this default by marking, by ending movement, by imposing conditions like slowed, immobilised or prone, etc, [I]from within melee[/I]. In 5e, melee is even less sticky - the movement rules are much more liberal (no distinct "move" action), and OAs are reduced. In principle there is plenty of room in 5e for a "defender" role, to override this default by more generous AOs, condition imposition, etc. [/QUOTE]

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