The Lost Role of a Protector

Jidokwon

I've lost count of how many roleplaying games I've played, but one thing that they almost always had in common was the role of protector. I love and have played D&D and the original Baldur's Gate series many times. I've always been able to have characters fill this role throughout the series with rare exceptions. However, most of the new content in the EE versions obsolites this role. Plate tanking is dead now and most, if not all, of the mobs go straight for the casters with nothing the warriors can do.

While frustrating, I've looked at these new challenges as I did when I brought casters to dead or wild magic zones. Most of the new content is entirely optional and avoidable even. I'll also admit that my ideal of the plate tank protecting weaker party members might need some adjusting. After all, no where in any of the class descriptions is the role of protecting others even hinted at. Perhaps, in D&D and the Baldur's Gate series, my thinking of the plate wearing Fighters, Paladins, and Rangers was all wrong. Is their primary role really about doing melee or ranged damage?

Well, the purpose of this thread is to request the role of a protector. In most roleplaying games the plate wearing warriors have aggro management tools, such as taunt. In the new content (and SCS, perhaps) mobs go straight for the casters and the plate wearing warriors can do nothing about it. My suggestion is that tools, even with limited use, be given to them so they can fulfull the whole point of wearing plate mail and equiping a shield and having abilities that help take damage.

ZanathKariashi

tanking doesn't exist in DnD. it's based entirely on the tactical understanding of the creatures involved to weigh who is the most dangerous target and how to most efficiently take them out. Only mindless undead or animals would attack the closest hostile target and the rest would without contest go for any visible mage or cleric immediately because they are on a whole other threat scale then even an entire platoon worth of warriors/paladin/rangers are.

The only class in the entirety of DND to get a taunt-like ability is the PNP Jester bard kit, whose "song" forces targets that fail the save to attack the jester with no regard for tactics or situational awareness.

Though some illusion or enchantment spells can be used for a similar purpose.

The closest you're gonna realistically get is body-blocking the enemy from being able to physically reach a caster.

simAlity

While there may not be a formal protector role, you can assign a character to act as a protector during a fight by using scripts or the shield button.