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Message: <blockquote data-quote="schnee" data-source="post: 7345966" data-attributes="member: 16728">Yeah, the idea that a pen and paper RPG has to 100% replicate an MMO aggro mechanic to use the term is kind of silly.We had 'Meat shield walls' in the 80's. They prevented the magic users and thieves from being mashed, and gave monsters something to bang on. I never got into the level of mechanical meta-analysis that is common today, but it was obvious: Fighters had high AC and high hit points, so they were the ones who took the brunt of melee or missile fire while the more subtle classes did their thing from a protected space.We often ran 2 characters each to make for a huge party to make literal shield walls in open spaces, and every table house-ruled AD&D heavily back then - and I've seen everything from weapon speed and range-based initiative to the equivalent of 'attacks of opportunity' when creatures tried running by fighters.--I'm sure everyone's exhausted the list of great tanks, but I'm about to run a Defense style, Pole-arm using Battlemaster. I'll be half about being 'tanky', half about controlling a ton of space to foil our enemies' actions. Feats are (1) Heavy Armor Master, (4) Resilient Wisdom, (6) Pole Arm Master and (12) Sentinel. Balanced between defense and offense.Trip, Menacing Attack, Maneuvering Attack, Goading Attack, and Disarming Attack will combine to reduce the pressure on the rest of the party. We'll see how it works out.</blockquote>