The idea was to find a way to get the feel of the class without resorting to too many complex features.
I've stayed away from damage reduction, since I don't want to exclude feats such as Heavy Armor Master. Also I've made it possible to use other feats or to choose not to use feats and both should work equally well.
Updated version thanks to feedback:
Defensive Stance
When you choose this archetype at 3rd level, you learn the arts of the defensive stance passed on through generations of Defenders before you. Once per short rest, you may enter thistrance-like stance (once per rest and no longer requires an action) and you become as hard as stone and as difficult to push around. When you enter the Defensive Stance, you gain temporary hit points equal to your Constitution score. While in your Defensive Stance, you gain the following traits:
Your speed becomes 15 feet (if it is not lower), and you can't benefit from any bonus to your speed. (up from 0 feet and clarified)
You gain disadvantage to Dexterity saving throws
At the start of every turn, you gain temporary hit points equal to your Constitution modifier. These temporary hit points stack, but may never exceed your Constitution score. If you gain temporary hit points from any other source, you count the highest source of temporary hit points as usual.
You may use your bonus action to grant an adjacent ally a +2 to Armor Class until the start of your next turn. You must be wielding a Shield
The stance lasts 1 minute. (clarified) You may end the Defensive Stance at any moment during your turn. It also ends whenever you can not take reactions.
Child of the Stone
At 7th level, you become attuned to the rock from which you were created. Whenever you use your Second Wind (no longer requires Defensive Stance being active), you gain resistance to all Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from Nonmagical Weaponsdamage (increased due to high level effectiveness) until the end of your next turn.
Starting at 15th level, you may choose to become immune to all damage until the start of your next turn instead.
Controlled Stance
From 10th level onwards, while you are in your Defensive Stance, your speed is no longer affected by your Stance (up from halved) and you no longer have disadvantage to Dexterity saving throws. In addition, you can no longer be subjected to effects that move you against your will, like the thunderwave spell or shoving. You also gain advantage to all checks that cause the prone condition.
Guardian of the Stone
At 18th level you become a paragon of defense. Nothing moves past you if you don't want them to. Your Defensive Stance does not automatically end after 1 minute (other effects that may end your Stance still apply). (added, seemed like a cool capstone ability since you still prefer to be in your stance rather than not) Also, while in your Defensive Stance, whenever an enemy enters your reach you may use your reaction to make an opportunity attack. Whenever such an attack causes an enemy to drop to 0 hit points or lower, you regain the use of your reaction. If you are wielding a shield, you may use your bonus action to grant a +2 bonus to Armor Class to all allies within 5 feet you are aware of.
I personally recommend rethinking the zero movement. It sounds evocative, its a very cool dwarfy concept, and it would be great inside of a tunnel or other building where you can lock down passages. Sadly, adventures often take place in areas where there's lots of mobility, or you have ranged attackers / goblins that can Disengage around you, etc. Standing in one place ends up very limiting for a PC. Its a bit easier if you have a Reach weapon, but that's unlikely if we're using a Shield here.
The one time I saw a dwarf fighter considering it back in 3e, they ended up not using the stance very often, and just using all the other bonuses the class granted, which were admittedly very solid. And that's why its a solid PrC - you got very nice abilities, and could occasionally run into swarms of enemies and use the Stance, but mainly you banked on the other features, such as Uncanny Dodge, Trap Sense, and access to Spot/Listen.
This Fighter subclass pretty much runs around the Stance without any compensation for those times its pointless to use the Stance.
I personally recommend rethinking the zero movement. It sounds evocative, its a very cool dwarfy concept, and it would be great inside of a tunnel or other building where you can lock down passages. Sadly, adventures often take place in areas where there's lots of mobility, or you have ranged attackers / goblins that can Disengage around you, etc. Standing in one place ends up very limiting for a PC. Its a bit easier if you have a Reach weapon, but that's unlikely if we're using a Shield here.
The one time I saw a dwarf fighter considering it back in 3e, they ended up not using the stance very often, and just using all the other bonuses the class granted, which were admittedly very solid. And that's why its a solid PrC - you got very nice abilities, and could occasionally run into swarms of enemies and use the Stance, but mainly you banked on the other features, such as Uncanny Dodge, Trap Sense, and access to Spot/Listen.
This Fighter subclass pretty much runs around the Stance without any compensation for those times its pointless to use the Stance.
Thanks for your feedback. I was considering to ditch the whole 0 movement thing for that exact reason. You think halving speed at first and then no speed penalty at lvl 10+ is a better solution? Are there any other features you think need some reconsidering?
I'm a fan of 3e ports--I'm making a bunch myself. I like where you're going with this one. Anyways.
For the defensive stance, is anything preventing a Defender from moving, making attacks, and entering the stance at the end of their turn to take advantage of the temporary hit points? If you can break the stance on a whim, then the speed reduction is irrelevant. A slight wording change would fix this, something along the lines of "When you take the defensive stance, your speed becomes 0 until the beginning of your next turn." Also, do players need to spend another bonus action to sustain the stance in their next turn? If so, then they will never be able to use the bonus action to defend an ally. You may want to consider treating the defensive stance like a barbarian rage, something that requires no action to sustain, but is limited in its number of uses per rest. In that case it would be fair to allow some movement.
Other than that I'm less useful. I'm reasonably good about syntax and rules, but not too wise on balance.
Huh. Random thought - considering that the Dwarven Stance, at least in 3e, worked on the same principles as Rages did (per day ability that gave you bonuses), have you considered making this a Barbarian subclass instead of a Fighter one? Like, you could make the first subclass ability something to do with maintaining the effects of Rage even when hurting someone or taking damage, as long as you stood still?
This frees up some of the things you want to put in the subclass, and lets you do others. Like, add a defensive Fighting Style, heavy armor and shield bashing, or the like.
Well, that's something you can modify through the Subclass. Its not like it would be the first time such a thing happened. Swashbuckler, for instance, modified how Rogues could use their Sneak Attack damage. This shouldn't be different.
That's true, fair enough. My concern would be that if you allow a barbarian to rage and get a movement bonus/AC with heavy armor, along with their top tier HD, you're tampering with the balance.
have you considered making this a Barbarian subclass instead of a Fighter one?
Truth be told, it has not crossed my mind. Since the Dwarven Defender always felt like a very "lawful" class against the barbarian "chaotic" feel. Also the barbarian is a very mobile class, whereas this is the opposite. It just doesn't really mesh with me. Also, the old DD required a lot of feats, which meant that the most common way to be a Dwarven Defender was by starting as a Fighter. I've considered Paladin, but felt that the spellcasting interfered with the subclass.
I'm a fan of 3e ports--I'm making a bunch myself. I like where you're going with this one. Anyways.
For the defensive stance, is anything preventing a Defender from moving, making attacks, and entering the stance at the end of their turn to take advantage of the temporary hit points? If you can break the stance on a whim, then the speed reduction is irrelevant. A slight wording change would fix this, something along the lines of "When you take the defensive stance, your speed becomes 0 until the beginning of your next turn." Also, do players need to spend another bonus action to sustain the stance in their next turn? If so, then they will never be able to use the bonus action to defend an ally. You may want to consider treating the defensive stance like a barbarian rage, something that requires no action to sustain, but is limited in its number of uses per rest. In that case it would be fair to allow some movement.
Other than that I'm less useful. I'm reasonably good about syntax and rules, but not too wise on balance.
I'm sorry I've overlooked this post. It is meant that you can enter the stance and then can stay in it until you choose to leave it. I'll fix the text in a new version to be more clear about that. The intention was that you can't move at first while in the stance, but I'm thinking about changing that to changing your speed to 15 (unless it is lower) or some similar model. I haven't thought about x times per short/long rest, I may consider that thank you.
Personally I wouldn't override the temporary hit point stacking rule (mostly for consistency) but go with perhaps con bonus + proficiency bonus in temporary hit points. While it does give a bit more at the first round (or when recharging) overall it also wont end up as high in total (though you could upgrade the hp to double proficiency later). All in all it keeps it as all other temporary hit points and takes some pressure of requiring exceptional constitution.
For Child of the Stone, I would likely let the resistant be for magic weapons as well. It only lasts the one round and requires expenditure of Second Wind, keeping it rather limited in use anyway, so having it vs magic weapons gives the short lived effect more clout.
Personally I wouldn't override the temporary hit point stacking rule (mostly for consistency) but go with perhaps con bonus + proficiency bonus in temporary hit points. While it does give a bit more at the first round (or when recharging) overall it also wont end up as high in total (though you could upgrade the hp to double proficiency later). All in all it keeps it as all other temporary hit points and takes some pressure of requiring exceptional constitution.
For Child of the Stone, I would likely let the resistant be for magic weapons as well. It only lasts the one round and requires expenditure of Second Wind, keeping it rather limited in use anyway, so having it vs magic weapons gives the short lived effect more clout.
You have a point. While I thought it would be interesting, I can see why it may be more complex than required. I like the scaling with proficiency bonus; that makes this class less Constitution reliable. Maybe start with "level + proficiency modifier" and every turn after "proficiency modifier", then later at lvl 10+ double the proficiency bonus on both?
You're right about Child of the Stone, at that level most enemies would deal magical damage, I'm kinda thinking to make it all types of damage since it is only one round.
Updated the build with the advice Loswaith gave me. Also had an idea for defensive stance temporary hit points:
When you enter the defensive stance, you roll 1d10 per half of your class levels (round up). You gain the result + Constitution modifier + proficiency modifier as temporary hit points. At the end of every turn, you gain 1 die to your "defensive pool", but the total number of dice may never exceed your class levels. At the start of your every turn, you may roll any number of dice to gain the result + proficiency modifier as temporary hit points. These temporary hit points stay until you lose them or until you leave your defensive stance.
It causes more die-rolling but also gives the player tactical decisions to make. A good idea or too much of a hassle? I could do the math on the amount of defense dice you start with and put it in a table to make it more clear. In the same vein I could up the gain per turn to two or three at higher levels, since it might be a but underwhelming if you start with 10d10 at lvl 20, and then regain 1d10 temporary hit points per turn. However, since your proficiency modifier is also increased, it might work out fine with a single d10 per turn, I'll have to do the math on that one.
At the same time you wrote this thread, I was also working on a dwarven defender! For comparison, here's what I've got. The concept is a bit different. My defender is a redesign of the Cavalier subclass, without a focus on mounted combat. The basic idea is to turn the defender into a mobile environmental hazard. I ripped the wording of defensive stance from the Barbarian rage feature. I'm still working to distinguish the defensive stance from a rage, and will probably remove the resistance bit. Trap sense is an artifact of the 3.5e class which helps to boost the usefulness of the defender in exploration (ie. outside of combat). I'm worried that it steps on the toes of the Dungeon Delver feat, but there's really few other ways to incorporate the concept. Tower of Defense is my favorite addition. It makes the defender a wall for squishier allies, and synergizes with the protection fighting style (that any defender should be taking).
My concerns, and the reason I've shelved the idea for the moment, is that I'm worried that Tower of Defense, Warding Maneuver, and the Protection fighting style together make some of the features redundant. Also, Warding Maneuver loses some of its value if the Defender already has resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage. I was thinking of swapping it for some offensive feature that bolsters the "Overrun" attack option from the DMG.
Feel free to take whatever features you like or completely disregard.
Dwarven Defender
Your people defied the titans and giants. Unity has sustained them, and tenaciousness has upheld them; traditions preserving these values serve them well. They stand unmoved and unconquered, like the mountains, against orcs and goblins and dragons.
Dwarf soldiers are unmatched in their fighting prowess and loyalty to one another. War stories hold that a single dwarf foot soldier is the match of any two warriors of another race and the same skill. Two such soldiers are worth five similarly skilled enemies. When the enemy forces are composed of little more than savages, dwarven armies break them like stone channels water.
All the institutions of dwarven society have soldiers loyal to the cause. Doughty fighters serve king or lord, guild or business, deity or church, or a simple creed. A few serve the almighty coin, selling their time and axes for wealth. Time-honored fighting techniques teach a dwarf warrior to use his or her racial abilities to the fullest and to use fine weapons and heavy armor. When the dogs of war are loosed, dwarf soldiers hold the line.
You are a master of dwarven fighting arts, relying on loyal allies as much as your own courage and resilience. Your expertise lies in defensive maneuvers and battle-line tactics. You know how to take advantage of holes in enemy lines. Allies come to rely on you as the center of the squad. They take heart in your steadfastness and your ability to break the defenses of your enemies.
Restriction: Dwarves Only
Only dwarves can become dwarven defenders. The dwarven defender fills a particular niche in dwarven society and culture.
Defensive Stance
When you choose this archetype at 3rd level, you learn to become a stalwart bastion of defense. On your turn, you can enter a defensive stance as a bonus action.
While in a defensive stance, you gain the following benefits while you are using a shield:
You have advantage on Strength checks and Strength saving throws.
You have resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage.
Hostile creatures treat the area within your reach as difficult terrain.
Your speed is halved.
Your defensive stance lasts for 1 minute. It ends early if you are knocked unconscious. You can also end your defensive stance on your turn as a bonus action.
You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Constitution modifier (a minimum of once). You regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.
Trap Sense
Starting at 3rd level, you have advantage on saving throws made to avoid or resist traps, and can search for traps while traveling at a normal pace, instead of only at a slow pace.
Warding Maneuver
At 7th level, you learn to fend off strikes directed at you or other creatures nearby. While you are in your defensive stance, if you or a creature you can see within 5 feet of you is hit by an attack, you can roll 1d8 as a reaction if you’re wielding a melee weapon or a shield. Roll the die, and add the number rolled to the target’s AC against that attack. If the attack still hits, the target has resistance against the attack’s damage.
You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Constitution modifier (minimum of once), and you regain all expended uses of it when you finish a long rest.
Hold the Line
At 10th level, you become a master of locking down your enemies. While you are in your defensive stance, creatures provoke an opportunity attack from you when they move 5 feet or more while within your reach, and if you hit a creature with an opportunity attack, the target’s speed is reduced to 0 until the end of the current turn.
Tower of Defense
Beginning at 15th level, you become a wall of protection for your allies. While you are in your defensive stance, you can use a bonus action to provide one-half cover to each creature of your choice within 5 feet of you.
Survivor
At 18th level, you attain the pinnacle of resilience in battle. At the start of each of your turns, you regain hit points equal to 5 + your Constitution modifier if you have no more than half of your hit points left. You don’t gain this benefit if you have 0 hit points.
At the same time you wrote this thread, I was also working on a dwarven defender! For comparison, here's what I've got. The concept is a bit different. My defender is a redesign of the Cavalier subclass, without a focus on mounted combat. The basic idea is to turn the defender into a mobile environmental hazard. I ripped the wording of defensive stance from the Barbarian rage feature. I'm still working to distinguish the defensive stance from a rage, and will probably remove the resistance bit. Trap sense is an artifact of the 3.5e class which helps to boost the usefulness of the defender in exploration (ie. outside of combat). I'm worried that it steps on the toes of the Dungeon Delver feat, but there's really few other ways to incorporate the concept. Tower of Defense is my favorite addition. It makes the defender a wall for squishier allies, and synergizes with the protection fighting style (that any defender should be taking).
Thanks, I like it quite a bit. However, I think that the features you suggest might interfere with the features already present in my version. I understand the whole Defensive stance as a rage mechanic, and I initially did the same. However, I've found that it is quite heavy on your bonus actions. I'll consider your version some more and come back to it, maybe there are points I'm going to borrow from :) thanks for your feedback and for showing your version.
Hi guys,
I've made a 5E version of the Dwarven Defender, the prestige class from 3.5. I was wondering what you guys think of it, you can find it here: https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/subclasses/4103-dwarven-defender
The idea was to find a way to get the feel of the class without resorting to too many complex features.
I've stayed away from damage reduction, since I don't want to exclude feats such as Heavy Armor Master. Also I've made it possible to use other feats or to choose not to use feats and both should work equally well.
Updated version thanks to feedback:
Defensive Stance
When you choose this archetype at 3rd level, you learn the arts of the defensive stance passed on through generations of Defenders before you. Once per short rest, you may enter this trance-like stance (once per rest and no longer requires an action) and you become as hard as stone and as difficult to push around. When you enter the Defensive Stance, you gain temporary hit points equal to your Constitution score. While in your Defensive Stance, you gain the following traits:
The stance lasts 1 minute. (clarified) You may end the Defensive Stance at any moment during your turn. It also ends whenever you can not take reactions.
Child of the Stone
At 7th level, you become attuned to the rock from which you were created. Whenever you use your Second Wind (no longer requires Defensive Stance being active), you gain resistance to all
Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from Nonmagical Weaponsdamage (increased due to high level effectiveness) until the end of your next turn.Starting at 15th level, you may choose to become immune to all damage until the start of your next turn instead.
Controlled Stance
From 10th level onwards, while you are in your Defensive Stance, your speed is no longer affected by your Stance (up from halved) and you no longer have disadvantage to Dexterity saving throws. In addition, you can no longer be subjected to effects that move you against your will, like the thunderwave spell or shoving. You also gain advantage to all checks that cause the prone condition.
Guardian of the Stone
At 18th level you become a paragon of defense. Nothing moves past you if you don't want them to. Your Defensive Stance does not automatically end after 1 minute (other effects that may end your Stance still apply). (added, seemed like a cool capstone ability since you still prefer to be in your stance rather than not) Also, while in your Defensive Stance, whenever an enemy enters your reach you may use your reaction to make an opportunity attack. Whenever such an attack causes an enemy to drop to 0 hit points or lower, you regain the use of your reaction. If you are wielding a shield, you may use your bonus action to grant a +2 bonus to Armor Class to all allies within 5 feet you are aware of.
Subclass: Dwarven Defender - Dragonborn Paragon
Feats: Artificer Apprentice
Monsters: Sheep - Spellbreaker Warforged Titan
Magic Items: Whipier - Ring of Secret Storage - Collar of the Guardian
Monster template: Skeletal Creature
I personally recommend rethinking the zero movement. It sounds evocative, its a very cool dwarfy concept, and it would be great inside of a tunnel or other building where you can lock down passages. Sadly, adventures often take place in areas where there's lots of mobility, or you have ranged attackers / goblins that can Disengage around you, etc. Standing in one place ends up very limiting for a PC. Its a bit easier if you have a Reach weapon, but that's unlikely if we're using a Shield here.
The one time I saw a dwarf fighter considering it back in 3e, they ended up not using the stance very often, and just using all the other bonuses the class granted, which were admittedly very solid. And that's why its a solid PrC - you got very nice abilities, and could occasionally run into swarms of enemies and use the Stance, but mainly you banked on the other features, such as Uncanny Dodge, Trap Sense, and access to Spot/Listen.
This Fighter subclass pretty much runs around the Stance without any compensation for those times its pointless to use the Stance.
Subclass: Dwarven Defender - Dragonborn Paragon
Feats: Artificer Apprentice
Monsters: Sheep - Spellbreaker Warforged Titan
Magic Items: Whipier - Ring of Secret Storage - Collar of the Guardian
Monster template: Skeletal Creature
Sorry, I'm not sure. I'm just giving a bit of second hand insight from a friend of mine when they went this route.
I'm a fan of 3e ports--I'm making a bunch myself. I like where you're going with this one. Anyways.
For the defensive stance, is anything preventing a Defender from moving, making attacks, and entering the stance at the end of their turn to take advantage of the temporary hit points? If you can break the stance on a whim, then the speed reduction is irrelevant. A slight wording change would fix this, something along the lines of "When you take the defensive stance, your speed becomes 0 until the beginning of your next turn." Also, do players need to spend another bonus action to sustain the stance in their next turn? If so, then they will never be able to use the bonus action to defend an ally. You may want to consider treating the defensive stance like a barbarian rage, something that requires no action to sustain, but is limited in its number of uses per rest. In that case it would be fair to allow some movement.
Other than that I'm less useful. I'm reasonably good about syntax and rules, but not too wise on balance.
Huh. Random thought - considering that the Dwarven Stance, at least in 3e, worked on the same principles as Rages did (per day ability that gave you bonuses), have you considered making this a Barbarian subclass instead of a Fighter one? Like, you could make the first subclass ability something to do with maintaining the effects of Rage even when hurting someone or taking damage, as long as you stood still?
This frees up some of the things you want to put in the subclass, and lets you do others. Like, add a defensive Fighting Style, heavy armor and shield bashing, or the like.
I would recommend against that, as Barbarians lose most of their features with heavy armor and shields.
Well, that's something you can modify through the Subclass. Its not like it would be the first time such a thing happened. Swashbuckler, for instance, modified how Rogues could use their Sneak Attack damage. This shouldn't be different.
That's true, fair enough. My concern would be that if you allow a barbarian to rage and get a movement bonus/AC with heavy armor, along with their top tier HD, you're tampering with the balance.
Subclass: Dwarven Defender - Dragonborn Paragon
Feats: Artificer Apprentice
Monsters: Sheep - Spellbreaker Warforged Titan
Magic Items: Whipier - Ring of Secret Storage - Collar of the Guardian
Monster template: Skeletal Creature
Subclass: Dwarven Defender - Dragonborn Paragon
Feats: Artificer Apprentice
Monsters: Sheep - Spellbreaker Warforged Titan
Magic Items: Whipier - Ring of Secret Storage - Collar of the Guardian
Monster template: Skeletal Creature
Updated in top post
What do you think? :)
Subclass: Dwarven Defender - Dragonborn Paragon
Feats: Artificer Apprentice
Monsters: Sheep - Spellbreaker Warforged Titan
Magic Items: Whipier - Ring of Secret Storage - Collar of the Guardian
Monster template: Skeletal Creature
Looks ok.
Personally I wouldn't override the temporary hit point stacking rule (mostly for consistency) but go with perhaps con bonus + proficiency bonus in temporary hit points. While it does give a bit more at the first round (or when recharging) overall it also wont end up as high in total (though you could upgrade the hp to double proficiency later). All in all it keeps it as all other temporary hit points and takes some pressure of requiring exceptional constitution.
For Child of the Stone, I would likely let the resistant be for magic weapons as well. It only lasts the one round and requires expenditure of Second Wind, keeping it rather limited in use anyway, so having it vs magic weapons gives the short lived effect more clout.
- Loswaith
Subclass: Dwarven Defender - Dragonborn Paragon
Feats: Artificer Apprentice
Monsters: Sheep - Spellbreaker Warforged Titan
Magic Items: Whipier - Ring of Secret Storage - Collar of the Guardian
Monster template: Skeletal Creature
Updated the build with the advice Loswaith gave me. Also had an idea for defensive stance temporary hit points:
When you enter the defensive stance, you roll 1d10 per half of your class levels (round up). You gain the result + Constitution modifier + proficiency modifier as temporary hit points. At the end of every turn, you gain 1 die to your "defensive pool", but the total number of dice may never exceed your class levels. At the start of your every turn, you may roll any number of dice to gain the result + proficiency modifier as temporary hit points. These temporary hit points stay until you lose them or until you leave your defensive stance.
It causes more die-rolling but also gives the player tactical decisions to make. A good idea or too much of a hassle? I could do the math on the amount of defense dice you start with and put it in a table to make it more clear. In the same vein I could up the gain per turn to two or three at higher levels, since it might be a but underwhelming if you start with 10d10 at lvl 20, and then regain 1d10 temporary hit points per turn. However, since your proficiency modifier is also increased, it might work out fine with a single d10 per turn, I'll have to do the math on that one.
Subclass: Dwarven Defender - Dragonborn Paragon
Feats: Artificer Apprentice
Monsters: Sheep - Spellbreaker Warforged Titan
Magic Items: Whipier - Ring of Secret Storage - Collar of the Guardian
Monster template: Skeletal Creature
At the same time you wrote this thread, I was also working on a dwarven defender! For comparison, here's what I've got. The concept is a bit different. My defender is a redesign of the Cavalier subclass, without a focus on mounted combat. The basic idea is to turn the defender into a mobile environmental hazard. I ripped the wording of defensive stance from the Barbarian rage feature. I'm still working to distinguish the defensive stance from a rage, and will probably remove the resistance bit. Trap sense is an artifact of the 3.5e class which helps to boost the usefulness of the defender in exploration (ie. outside of combat). I'm worried that it steps on the toes of the Dungeon Delver feat, but there's really few other ways to incorporate the concept. Tower of Defense is my favorite addition. It makes the defender a wall for squishier allies, and synergizes with the protection fighting style (that any defender should be taking).
My concerns, and the reason I've shelved the idea for the moment, is that I'm worried that Tower of Defense, Warding Maneuver, and the Protection fighting style together make some of the features redundant. Also, Warding Maneuver loses some of its value if the Defender already has resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage. I was thinking of swapping it for some offensive feature that bolsters the "Overrun" attack option from the DMG.
Feel free to take whatever features you like or completely disregard.
Dwarven Defender
Your people defied the titans and giants. Unity has sustained them, and tenaciousness has upheld them; traditions preserving these values serve them well. They stand unmoved and unconquered, like the mountains, against orcs and goblins and dragons.
Dwarf soldiers are unmatched in their fighting prowess and loyalty to one another. War stories hold that a single dwarf foot soldier is the match of any two warriors of another race and the same skill. Two such soldiers are worth five similarly skilled enemies. When the enemy forces are composed of little more than savages, dwarven armies break them like stone channels water.
All the institutions of dwarven society have soldiers loyal to the cause. Doughty fighters serve king or lord, guild or business, deity or church, or a simple creed. A few serve the almighty coin, selling their time and axes for wealth. Time-honored fighting techniques teach a dwarf warrior to use his or her racial abilities to the fullest and to use fine weapons and heavy armor. When the dogs of war are loosed, dwarf soldiers hold the line.
You are a master of dwarven fighting arts, relying on loyal allies as much as your own courage and resilience. Your expertise lies in defensive maneuvers and battle-line tactics. You know how to take advantage of holes in enemy lines. Allies come to rely on you as the center of the squad. They take heart in your steadfastness and your ability to break the defenses of your enemies.
Restriction: Dwarves Only
Only dwarves can become dwarven defenders. The dwarven defender fills a particular niche in dwarven society and culture.
Defensive Stance
When you choose this archetype at 3rd level, you learn to become a stalwart bastion of defense. On your turn, you can enter a defensive stance as a bonus action.
While in a defensive stance, you gain the following benefits while you are using a shield:
Your defensive stance lasts for 1 minute. It ends early if you are knocked unconscious. You can also end your defensive stance on your turn as a bonus action.
You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Constitution modifier (a minimum of once). You regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.
Trap Sense
Starting at 3rd level, you have advantage on saving throws made to avoid or resist traps, and can search for traps while traveling at a normal pace, instead of only at a slow pace.
Warding Maneuver
At 7th level, you learn to fend off strikes directed at you or other creatures nearby. While you are in your defensive stance, if you or a creature you can see within 5 feet of you is hit by an attack, you can roll 1d8 as a reaction if you’re wielding a melee weapon or a shield. Roll the die, and add the number rolled to the target’s AC against that attack. If the attack still hits, the target has resistance against the attack’s damage.
You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Constitution modifier (minimum of once), and you regain all expended uses of it when you finish a long rest.
Hold the Line
At 10th level, you become a master of locking down your enemies. While you are in your defensive stance, creatures provoke an opportunity attack from you when they move 5 feet or more while within your reach, and if you hit a creature with an opportunity attack, the target’s speed is reduced to 0 until the end of the current turn.
Tower of Defense
Beginning at 15th level, you become a wall of protection for your allies. While you are in your defensive stance, you can use a bonus action to provide one-half cover to each creature of your choice within 5 feet of you.
Survivor
At 18th level, you attain the pinnacle of resilience in battle. At the start of each of your turns, you regain hit points equal to 5 + your Constitution modifier if you have no more than half of your hit points left. You don’t gain this benefit if you have 0 hit points.
Subclass: Dwarven Defender - Dragonborn Paragon
Feats: Artificer Apprentice
Monsters: Sheep - Spellbreaker Warforged Titan
Magic Items: Whipier - Ring of Secret Storage - Collar of the Guardian
Monster template: Skeletal Creature
No problem. I've actually put a lot more thought into it tonight, and have made several changes. My most up to date version is here.
My updated version has been approved by moderation. You can find it here: https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/subclasses/9221-dwarven-defender I'd love to hear your feedback :)
Subclass: Dwarven Defender - Dragonborn Paragon
Feats: Artificer Apprentice
Monsters: Sheep - Spellbreaker Warforged Titan
Magic Items: Whipier - Ring of Secret Storage - Collar of the Guardian
Monster template: Skeletal Creature
Pathfinder Stonelord vibes :D