What do you think of this Base fighting class?

[ambu]

Encouraged by the kind words I received in another thread, I would like my fellow gamers to criticize my attempt at a differently themed fighting class, which emphasizes defense. It is based on the barbarian in order to avoid overpowering. What do you think of it, balance-wise? If someone wants it I can provide a better description.


The sentinel
Alignment: Any nonchaotic
Hit Die: d12.

Class Skills
The sentinel’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Listen (Wis), Ride (Dex), Survival (Wis), and Swim (Str).
Skill Points at 1st Level: (2 + Int modifier) x4.
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 2 + Int modifier.
BAB: Good
Fort save: Good
Reflex save: Poor
Will save: Good

Level Special
1st Defensive stance
2nd Shifting feet
3rd Duty is lighter than a feather
4th Defensive stance 2/day
5th Turtle shell
6th Misleading feet
7th Damage reduction 1/—
8th Duty is lighter than air
9th Defensive stance 3/day
10th Damage reduction 2/—
11th Greater Defensive stance
12th Defensive stance 4/day
13th Damage reduction 3/—
14th Indomitable will
15th
16th Damage reduction 4/—, Defensive stance 5/day
17th Tireless Defensive stance
18th
19th Damage reduction 5/—
20th Mighty Defensive stance, Defensive stance 6/day

Class Features
All of the following are class features of the sentinel.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A sentinel is proficient with all simple and martial weapons, all armor and shields
Defensive Stance: When he adopts a defensive stance, a defender gains phenomenal strength and durability, but he cannot move from the spot he is defending, unless he takes a five foot step. He +4 to Constitution, a +2 resistance bonus on all saves, and a +4 dodge bonus to AC. The increase in Constitution increases the defender’s hit points by 2 points per level, but these hit points go away at the end of the defensive stance when the Constitution score drops back 4 points. These extra hit points are not lost first the way temporary hit points are. While in a defensive stance, a defender cannot use skills or abilities that would require him to shift his position. A defensive stance lasts for a number of rounds equal to 3 + the character’s (newly improved) Constitution modifier. A defender may end his defensive stance voluntarily prior to this limit. At the end of the defensive stance, the defender is winded and takes a –2 penalty to Strength for the duration of that encounter. A defender can only use his defensive stance a certain number of times per day as determined by his level. Using the defensive stance takes no time itself, but a defender can only do so during his action.
Shifting feet (Ex): At 2nd level, a sentinel retains his Dexterity bonus to AC (if any) even if he is caught flat-footed or struck by an invisible attacker, as long as he is wearing medium or heavier armor and he knows that an enemy is nearby. However, he still loses his Dexterity bonus to AC if immobilized.
Duty is lighter than a feather (Ex): The sentinel can ignore 5 feet of movement penalty if caused by his armor. No other movement penalties (terrain etc) are negated. At 8th level he can ignore 10 feet
Turtle shell (Ex) : At 5thd level and higher, a sentinel can avoid even magical and unusual attacks with great agility. If she makes a successful Reflex saving throw against an attack that normally deals half damage on a successful save, she instead takes no damage. Turtle shell can be used only if the sentinel is wearing medium armor or heavier. A helpless sentinel does not gain the benefit of turtle shell.
Misleading feet (Ex): At 5th level and higher, a sentinel can no longer be flanked, as long as he is wearing medium or heavier armor and he knows that an enemy is nearby. This defense denies a rogue the ability to sneak attack the sentinel by flanking him, unless the attacker has at least four more rogue levels than the target has sentinel levels.
Damage Reduction (Ex): At 7th level, a sentinel gains Damage Reduction if he wears heavy armor. Subtract 1 from the damage the sentinel takes each time he is dealt damage from a weapon or a natural attack. At 10th level, and every three sentinel levels thereafter (13th, 16th, and 19th level), this damage reduction rises by 1 point. Damage reduction can reduce damage to 0 but not below 0.
Greater Defensive stance (Ex): At 11th level, a sentinel’s bonuses to Strength and Constitution during his rage each increase to +6, and his morale bonus on Will saves increases to +3. The penalty to AC remains at –2.
Indomitable Will (Ex): While in a rage, a sentinel of 14th level or higher gains a +4 bonus on Will saves to resist enchantment spells. This bonus stacks with all other modifiers, including the morale bonus on Will saves he also receives during his rage.
Tireless Defensive stance (Ex): At 17th level and higher, a sentinel no longer becomes fatigued at the end of his rage.
Mighty Defensive stance (Ex): At 20th level, a sentinel’s bonuses to Strength and Constitution during his stance increase to +4 and +8 respectively, and his resistance bonus to saves increases to +4.

[Norhg]

Yepp, but I had multiclass out of it early... To what I don't know.
Misleading feet is listed as both a level 5 ability and a level 6 ability.

[Umael]

One part cleric minus spells, one part barbarian minus rage, press puree.

I did not carefully digest it, but at first glance, that's what I got and it seems fine. It had the toughness of the barbarian and the defensive capabilities of the cleric.

Okay, looking through it more carefully...

On the run-down of what you get per level, on 1st level you get defensive stance 1/day. Make that clear.

Duty Lighter Than a Feather: does this mean a Medium in Heavy would move 25' at 3rd level? How about the fact that in Heavy you can only go x3 on a Run? Shouldn't a more advanced version of that remove that restriction as well? 15th level would be a good level for that one.

Here's an idea for the 20th level class ability (which means dropping down the advantages of 20th to a lower level, causing something of a domino-effect).

Duty Beyond Death: At 20th level, while adopting the defensive stance, the Sentinel can continue to fight normally even when reduced to 0 or below hit points. Each round, the Sentinel must make a Will Save, DC 20 + the number of hits points below 0 at which the Sentinel is currently. If reduced to -10 hit points or below*, the Sentinel is considered dead and cannot be healed. However, the Sentinel can continue to fight as long as the defensive stance lasts and the Will Saves are successful. At the end of the defensive stance, the Sentinel drops, dead.

*If the Sentinel has some kind of feat or magical ability to stave off death until reduced to a number lower than -10, then the Sentinel would be considered dead at that number.

Example: While undergoing defensive stance, Sorg the 20th level Sentinel is reduced to -4 hit points. In order to keep fighting, Sorg must make a Will Save DC 24 (20 + 4). The next round, before acting, Sorg is reduced to -12 hit points. Instead of falling to the ground, dead, Sorg can continuing fighting that round as long as he makes another Will Save DC 32 (20 + 12). Although still fighting, Sorg can no longer benefit from healing magic, rings of regeneration, or otherwise recover hit points, nor can Sorg gain temporary hit points. Two rounds later, Sorg's defensive stance ends and Sorg dies.

If Sorg had some kind of special ability that allowed he to remain alive until he was reduced to -15 hit points, he would still be considered alive and fighting when reduced to only -12 hit points, and could be healed through use of magic.

Note that Duty Beyond Death does not allow the Sentinel to avoid the loss of blood from having negative hit points.

[ambu]

Thanks for your time guys. Umael. the ' Duty is lighter than a feather' means exactly that. Your suggestions are excellent, but wouldn't the extra ability make the Sentinel overpowered compared to the barbarian? But it is a very cool idea, nevertheless.

[Reptile]

Overall the class seems pretty good and reasonably balanced--basically a reworked Barbarian with Dwarven Defender leanings.

A few things I noticed:


Defensive Stance: When he adopts a defensive stance, a defender gains phenomenal strength and durability, but he cannot move from the spot he is defending, unless he takes a five foot step. He +4 to Constitution, a +2 resistance bonus on all saves, and a +4 dodge bonus to AC. The increase in Constitution increases the defender’s hit points by 2 points per level, but these hit points go away at the end of the defensive stance when the Constitution score drops back 4 points. These extra hit points are not lost first the way temporary hit points are. While in a defensive stance, a defender cannot use skills or abilities that would require him to shift his position. A defensive stance lasts for a number of rounds equal to 3 + the character’s (newly improved) Constitution modifier. A defender may end his defensive stance voluntarily prior to this limit. At the end of the defensive stance, the defender is winded and takes a –2 penalty to Strength for the duration of that encounter. A defender can only use his defensive stance a certain number of times per day as determined by his level. Using the defensive stance takes no time itself, but a defender can only do so during his action.

This seems to be taken from the ability of the same name from the Dwarven Defender prestige class (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/prestigeClasses/dwarvenDefender.htm), with a couple of differences. The first is that the Dwarven Defender gets a Strength bonus of +2 when in a defensive stance; the second is that the sentinel is allowed to take five-foot steps (whereas the DD gets this as a separate ability, Mobile Defense, at 8th level).

I think that the ability to move at all--even just five feet per round--while in a defensive stance is pretty powerful. I think that Defensive Stance from the DD is comparable to a rage (less Strength bonus and lose mobility, but get bonuses to all saves and an AC bonus instead of a penalty), but the one presented here might be a bit more powerful. Possibly revert to the DD one?


Greater Defensive stance (Ex): At 11th level, a sentinel’s bonuses to Strength and Constitution during his rage each increase to +6, and his morale bonus on Will saves increases to +3. The penalty to AC remains at –2.

This needs to be reworded from the Barbarian description...


Indomitable Will (Ex): While in a rage, a sentinel of 14th level or higher gains a +4 bonus on Will saves to resist enchantment spells. This bonus stacks with all other modifiers, including the morale bonus on Will saves he also receives during his rage.

This also should be reworded to get rid of references to "rage" ;). However, since the save bonus from the defensive stance isn't Will-save-specific, you might consider reworking this a bit. Possibilities include eliminating it altogether (to make room for either Umael's suggestion, Mobile Defense (if you revert to the DD's defensive stance), or something else), or reworking it into a more general save bonus.

[Umael]

Thanks for your time guys. Umael. the ' Duty is lighter than a feather' means exactly that. Your suggestions are excellent, but wouldn't the extra ability make the Sentinel overpowered compared to the barbarian? But it is a very cool idea, nevertheless.

As LargeMythicalReptile pointed out, maybe being able to move even a 5-foot step is too much too soon.

It might be good to go back and explain the concept you want; not the concept we imagine, but what you actually have in mind. It looks like you want a mirror to the barbarian that emphasizes defense over offense. If that is the case, what is the exact point of 'Duty is Lighter Than a Feather?' I mean, I could give a guess myself, but I think it would be better to have you tell us.

Also, keep in mind that the Sentinel has only 2 + Int for skills compared to the Barbarian's 4 + Int for skills. I am not saying that the Sentinel should have 4 + Int, but that the closer you mirror the Barbarian, the more you need to monitor your give and take.

[Wih]

Remember that Defensive Stance is a PrC ability. Giving it, first level, to a base class is dubious at the least. The Turtle Shell line is a nice touch. Not that useful since the character will have a bad reflex save - I suppose to this balances it out.

[ambu]

Once again thanks for your time and ideas. As you noticed, the sentinel is in concept a barbarian geared towards defence and staying power as opposed to mobility and rage. The defencive stance is copied from the dwarven defender ability, as it was the only thing that resembled a rage but was defense- based. I specifically made it weaker because I gave the five foot step ability. I did this because otherwise the defencive stance loses much of its usability and may even become a liability. I worked with the premise that the original ability was on par with the barbarian rage. In order to avoid overpowernes I clamped down the skill points. And of course it is true that the indominable will and greater defencive stance have to be reworked. Damn clumsy of me!
'Duty is lighter than a feather' is my attempt at simulating the barbarian extra movement with something usefyll but not overpowered. I wanted these guys to be able to move more quickly than most other armored warriors.
So overal:
Indomitable Will (Ex): While adopting a defensive stance, a sentinel of 14th level or higher gains a +2 bonus on Will saves . This bonus stacks with all other modifiers, including the morale bonus on Will saves he alsonormay receives during the defensive stance.
Greater Defensive stance (Ex): At 11th level, a sentinel’s bonuses to Constitution during his defensive stance increase to +6, and his bonus on saves increases to +3

Now what do you think?

[catfan]

At first glance it looks ridiculously strong - Uncanny dodge and evasion (by any name, and in med/heavy armor too), 2 good saves, full BAB, a rage-like ability (or prestige class ability that is normally racial specific) that improves with level (to be stronger than aforementioned prestige class ability), and reduced penalties for heavy armor (e.g. movement).

At a more careful look it is still too strong. Drop a save, drop evasion or increase required level, drop indomitable will.

Change the various stances to +2/3/4 str, +4/6/8 con, +4/4/4 AC, +2/3/4 saves?

[ambu]

Catfan, the exact same abilities are given to the berbarian at exactly the same level. So it is fair to say that the sentinel in this regard is as strong as the barbarian. He gets a better save but loses the two skill points. Also, the defencive stance given to the sentinel is weaker than that given to the PrC. It scales in the way rage scales, but in weaker form (did you check the corrections in my last post?). Am I correct to understand that you think the Defencive stance as presented here more powerful than Rage?

[stainboy]

I think this class is overpowered. It's not that it gains more or better abilities than, say, a barbarian, but it's got such a well-rounded set of defensive abilities that a DM's going to be frustrated as hell trying to endanger their lives.

-d12 HD, heavy armor, a Con-increasing class feature, and damage reduction. Any melee attacker that can make a sentinel break stride is going to be more than most of the rest of the party can handle at all.

-Good Fort and Will saves. Disabling spells aren't likely to work either. (Barbarians at least have poor Will saves, which gives them a big hole in their otherwhise impressive resilience.)

-d12 HD and Evasion. Trying to fireball them to death is just going to kill everyone standing next to them.


The only way to seriously threaten a sentinel is going to be a barrage of touch attacks. That's not enough of a defensive weakness in my opinion.

This class reminds me of the Sohei from Oriental Adventures (an awesome class, in my opinion). You might want to look at that for an example of a defense-oriented melee character.

[Umael]

Actually, I think a good way to fix the class would be to seriously remove all the mobility.

Lose the ability to take that free 5' step or lose your use of defensive stance. Maybe at higher levels, you can regain it. (Hint: Sentinels should have lots of readied actions to creatures that get wise, and should pick up Improved Disarm, Improved Sunder, and reach weapons whenever possible). However, allow the Sentinel to make a 5' step as a move-action (and still have defense stance going).

Forget 'Duty is Lighter Than a Feather.' You want defense and staying power, not the ability to move like a rook in chess.

Require the Sentinel to move as if in medium armor, even when wearing light or no armor (don't change things for the Sentinel if wearing heavy armor). Describe this drawback as the natural defensive training of the Sentinel, emphasizing sure-footedness and steady defense. If a Sentinel moves at normal speeds, have the Sentinel lose all Dexterity bonuses to AC while doing so.

Forget evasion and give the Sentinel Spell Resistance. A Sentinel should not dodge aside when the fireballs go off, but instead standfast and be as unyielding as stone.

[idksocrates]

Spell resistence equal to level should be fine...
or should half the level be better?

[catfan]

I'm sorry for my adversarial post earlier. I didn't get much sleep and was feeling grumpy, though that isn't really an excuse.

I didn't think about the incredible loss of mobility during a defensive stance. Were it not for that, defensive stance would definitely be stronger than rage. You get half as much strength, as much con, a significant bonus to all saves, and not only is there no penalty to AC, but you gain AC. Unlike rage, defensive stance stops you from chasing down ranged attackers or creatures with reach.


... Also, the defencive stance given to the sentinel is weaker than that given to the PrC.
The prestige classes defensive stance is identical to the one listed here, except that they don't get a 5 foot step till 8th level with Dwarven Defender. I could be missing something, but this looks to be damn near identical to the listed stance for this base class. The fact that the stance improves with level makes it stronger, as does the starting 5-foot step during stance.

"Defensive Stance
When he adopts a defensive stance, a defender gains phenomenal strength and durability, but he cannot move from the spot he is defending. He gains +2 to Strength, +4 to Constitution, a +2 resistance bonus on all saves, and a +4 dodge bonus to AC. The increase in Constitution increases the defender’s hit points by 2 points per level, but these hit points go away at the end of the defensive stance when the Constitution score drops back 4 points. These extra hit points are not lost first the way temporary hit points are. While in a defensive stance, a defender cannot use skills or abilities that would require him to shift his position. A defensive stance lasts for a number of rounds equal to 3 + the character’s (newly improved) Constitution modifier. A defender may end his defensive stance voluntarily prior to this limit. At the end of the defensive stance, the defender is winded and takes a -2 penalty to Strength for the duration of that encounter. A defender can only use his defensive stance a certain number of times per day as determined by his level (see Table: The Dwarven Defender). Using the defensive stance takes no time itself, but a defender can only do so during his action."

At any rate, evasion in medium to heavy armor is a very strong ability, let alone with a high HP and AC class. Even allowing for the defensive focus of the class, I think it comes too soon. If I were you, I'd put it at a minimum base level equivalent to when an Oracle gets it's 'Evasion' ability (prestige class level 3, I believe, so Sentinel level 8 ), and probably even add a couple more levels since this class, unlike the oracle, doesn't require spellcasting.

The duty is lighter than X is interesting, and honestly gave me a bit of a thrill since I'm a fan of WoT, but I think its a needless complication. Defensive stance cuts you to 5 feet anyway (and I'd suggest moving when you can 5 foot step to a later level too).

Shifting feet and misleading feet are another interesting flavor change, but should be simplified to Uncanny dodge, since every other class with it has it called Uncanny Dodge. If the class is simply for your own use, then flavor is fine, but generally I think it's better to keep it simple.

[Esclados]

I'd consider giving them the Mettle class feature (as the hexblade/pious templar/etc ability) instead of the evasion ability. Mettle is basically evasion for fort/will saves, through sheer toughness and bloody-mindedness. It would seem to fit the mold pretty well. Hexblades gain this ability at level 3, for reference.

And here is the full description from CW (with 'hexblade' replaced with 'sentinel').




Mettle (Ex): At 3rd level and higher, a sentinel can resist magical and unusual attacks with great willpower or fortitude. If he makes a successful Will or Fortitude save against an attack that normally would have a lesser effect on a successful save (such as any spell with a saving throw entry of Will half or Fortitude partial), he instead completely negates this effect. An unconscious or sleeping sentinel does not gain the benefit of mettle.

[Everyman]

So...it's the Dwarven Defender, except more progression and not race-specific? Hmmm...well, lemme take a look.

HD, Skills, BAB, Saves: Cool. Nothing bad here. I'm usually a tad uneasy of a d12 hit die, as that means you must be incredibly tough. However, I'm getting the vibe that this class was designed to take hits, so it can stay.

Defensive Stance: Reverse Rage. Instead of going uber-strong and loosing AC, you're gaining it. Okay. Cool. I'd remove the 5 ft. step part (at least at first), as that makes it a tad too convienient. Otherwise, it looks good.

Shifting Feet: Essentially a variant on Uncanny Dodge. I don't see why you're requiring "medium armor or heavier" at all. I would think a defender could be aware of his surroundings and act just as well (maybe even better) in light armor. Why not just give him Uncanny Dodge instead?

Duty is lighter than a feather: I don't think this is really necessary. Frankly, a class that specializes in defense (aka. not moving far) won't really gain much from this ability. I'd loose it, but maybe grant a choice of bonus feats that compliment the class (I'll leave that decision to you).

Turtle Shell: Generally, classes that gain Evasion-like abilities have good Reflex saves. The sentinel doesn't. This makes it the ability both A) uneffective and B) unreasonable. I'd go with Esclados' suggestion of giving them Mettle instead (since the ability matches up with the save progression).

Misleading Feet: Make it Improved Uncanny Dodge, and remove the armor requirement.

Duty is lighter than air: Either you removed the ability or I'm missing it. Perhaps here is where you could list the "5 ft. step rule" (as metioned earlier).

Damage Reduction: Sure. Matches up with the focus of the class well. I'm still wondering why you require a paticular armor grade though. If the point of this (and all other) requirements was some sort of training reason (aka. their style was taught to use and take advantage of heavier armor), you should list that somewhere. (Read below for my suggestion)

Greater Defensive Stance: Uh...you're suddenly giving the class a +6 STR bonus? I'm guessing that was a typo. Make it +2, since it matches up with the progression you're giving better.

Indomitable Will: Sure. Keep it.

Tireless and Mighty Stance: Sure, though remove the copy n' pasted "rage" reference.

As I mentioned in my analysis of DR, you might want to list a "Code of Conduct" like requirement at the end of the class description. Something akin to:
A sentinel's training teaches him to make the best use of his armor and shields, to insure that he becomes the very wall of protection he is supposed to be. As such, his skills are directly tied to what he is wearing. A sentinel loses the ability to make use of his Uncanny Dodge, Improved Uncanny Dodge, and Damage Reduction unless wearing Medium or heavier armor.

Otherwise, I like the class a lot. It's kind of interesting to see a PrC turn into a base class. Very nice.

[ambu]

I have been trying for two days now to login and post but I have not been able. In short, I have adopted most of the suggestions here and I have rewritten the class. I will be posting it shortly! (Not at home at the moment...)

[ambu]

Taking into consideration all the above suggestions, I am pleased to announce the final version:The sentinel
Alignment: Any nonchaotic
Hit Die: d12.

Good fort save, Bad will and reflex save

Class Skills
The sentinel’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Listen (Wis), Ride (Dex), Survival (Wis), and Swim (Str).
Skill Points at 1st Level: (2 + Int modifier) x4.
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 2 + Int modifier.

Level Special
1st Defensive stance
2nd Shifting feet
3rd Mettle
4th Defensive stance 2/day
5th Turtle shell
6th Misleading feet
7th Damage reduction 1/—
8th Duty is lighter than a feather
9th Crawling feet
10th Defensive stance 3/day
11th Damage reduction 2/—
12th
13th Defensive stance 4/day
14th Damage reduction 3/—
15th Indomitable will
16th Tireless Defensive stance
17th Damage reduction 4/—, Defensive stance 5/day
18th
19th Damage reduction 5/— Defensive stance 6/day
20th Duty beyond death

Class Features
All of the following are class features of the sentinel.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A sentinel is proficient with all simple and martial weapons, all armor and shields
Defensive Stance: When he adopts a defensive stance, a defender gains phenomenal strength and durability, but he cannot move from the spot he is defending. He +4 to Constitution, a +2 to Strength, a +2 resistance bonus on all saves, and a +4 dodge bonus to AC. The increase in Constitution increases the defender’s hit points by 2 points per level, but these hit points go away at the end of the defensive stance when the Constitution score drops back 4 points. These extra hit points are not lost first the way temporary hit points are. While in a defensive stance, a defender cannot use skills or abilities that would require him to shift his position. A defensive stance lasts for a number of rounds equal to 3 + the character’s (newly improved) Constitution modifier. A defender may end his defensive stance voluntarily prior to this limit. At the end of the defensive stance, the defender is winded and takes a –2 penalty to Strength for the duration of that encounter. A defender can only use his defensive stance a certain number of times per day as determined by his level. Using the defensive stance takes no time itself, but a defender can only do so during his action.
Shifting feet (Ex): At 2nd level, a sentinel retains his Dexterity bonus to AC (if any) even if he is caught flat-footed or struck by an invisible attacker, as long as he is wearing medium or heavier armor and he knows that an enemy is nearby. However, he still loses his Dexterity bonus to AC if immobilized.
Duty is lighter than a feather (Ex): At 8th level, the sentinel can ignore 5 feet of movement penalty if caused by his armor.
Turtle shell (Ex) : At 5thd level and higher, a sentinel can avoid even magical and unusual attacks with great agility. If she makes a successful Reflex saving throw against an attack that normally deals half damage on a successful save, she instead takes no damage. Turtle shell can be used only if the sentinel is wearing medium armor or heavier. A helpless sentinel does not gain the benefit of turtle shell.
Displacing feet (Ex): At 5th level and higher, a sentinel can no longer be flanked, as long as he is wearing medium or heavier armor and he knows that an enemy is nearby. This defense denies a rogue the ability to sneak attack the sentinel by flanking him, unless the attacker has at least four more rogue levels than the target has sentinel levels.
Damage Reduction (Ex): At 7th level, a sentinel gains Damage Reduction if he wears heavy armor. Subtract 1 from the damage the sentinel takes each time he is dealt damage from a weapon or a natural attack. At 10th level, and every three sentinel levels thereafter (13th, 16th, and 19th level), this damage reduction rises by 1 point. Damage reduction can reduce damage to 0 but not below 0.
Crawling feet( Ex): The sentinel can walk 5 feet during a defensive stance
Indomitable Will (Ex): While in defensive stance, a sentinel of 14th level or higher gains a +4 bonus on Will saves to resist enchantment spells. This bonus stacks with all other modifiers, including the morale bonus on Will saves he also receives during his defensive stance.
Tireless Defensive stance (Ex): At 15th level and higher, a sentinel no longer becomes fatigued at the end of his stance.
Duty Beyond Death(Ex): At 20th level, while adopting the defensive stance, the Sentinel can continue to fight normally even when reduced to 0 or below hit points. Each round, the Sentinel must make a Will Save, DC 20 + the number of hits points below 0 at which the Sentinel is currently. If reduced to -10 hit points or below*, the Sentinel is considered dead and cannot be healed. However, the Sentinel can continue to fight as long as the defensive stance lasts and the Will Saves are successful. At the end of the defensive stance, the Sentinel drops dead.

In a glance, I made the Defencive stance EXACTLY like the one found in the dwarven defender, I did not let it scale with level with the exception of Tireless Defensive stance, I gave Mettle at third level (pushing the whole progression up), allowed only one good Saving throw and added Duty beyond Death and Crawling feet. I did NOT give the 4 skill points of the barbarian.
Better?

[The_Werebear]

I would consider dropping their BaB to (15/10/5) at 20, and give them the monk's continuing armor bonus(not the wisdom one, but the simple +whatever every few levels). Say they only get it in medium or hevier armor. Also, maybe something like Vigilance: The Sentinal only needs 4 hours of sleep, and may sleep in medium or heavy armor with none of the exhaustion in the morning.) This could replace the duty is lighter than a feather. I would have mettle replace turtle shell.