ToME: the Tales of Maj'Eyal

Mobs have tons of abilities that only work in melee range or only work on weapon attacks but there is very little defense against spells or ranged abilities.

I propose a sustain that gives an instant Rush-lite ability when the user is hit with a ranged attack. It would do nothing if the attacker was in melee range. The Rush-lite would only work if there was a direct path between the defender and attacker, would do 50% or less weapon damage, and would cause some kind of a short term debuff (1-3 turns) that hampers kiting, (pin, slow, stun, daze, or confuse).

Another proposal is a shield (or possibly a sustain) that decreases the damage of an attack by a fixed % the further the attacker is from the defender. This would only be appropriate for melee heavy mobs but would also work as a Doomed ability since their attacks are short range. Just for example it could decrease the damage of an attack 4% for each square distance the defender is from the attacker. So in this case a max range lighting bolt would do 36% less damage than a point blank bolt.

Both of these abilities would be great to add to the Marauder's toolbox since they appear to be somewhat lacking now.

It sounds like you are looking for Heightened Reflexes (a Brawler skill, that adds global speed when targeted by a projectile) and Sanctuary (a Cursed Skill that reduces damage with range).

Although, more could always be added.