first crack at fighter builds
So, the fighter builds I listed were:
Askar, Guard, Mamluk, Mercenary, and Traitor. I've tackled the first two so far, and I'd love some feedback.
These have proved more challenging for me than the clerics because I'm still learning the 4e combat rules and also because the 3 fighter class features (combat superiority, combat challenge, and fighter weapon talent) are really good and coming up with swap-outs is tough. For example, I ended up valuing fighter weapon talent as 1.5 feats, after comparing it to the Nimble Blade feat.
FIGHTERS
Zakharans divide fighters into two groups: career soldiers who are trained to fight in their youth and are paid by a ruler, and those who learned to fight through necessity or simply possess brute strength. Both groups share a disdain for each other.
Career soldiers (mamluks and mercenaries) are usually connected to a military organization and act most effectively when coordinating as a group. They generally are skilled tacticians, competent equestrians, and have well-honed armaments. Whether groomed since childhood or raised in a warrior culture, fighting is in their blood.
Those who wield a sword for other causes (askars, guards, and traitors) may or may not receive payment, and often have conflicting motives. For example, a harem guard may allow favorable suitors to come and go under the caliph’s nose, or a traitor may still love his old commander who now hunts him like a dog for deserting. Generally, such fighters are fierce when cornered but lack the tactical finesse and superior arms of professional soldiers.
Display Weapon Prowess
Every Zakharan fighter has the ability to put on a stunning display with their weapon, whether a traditional sword dance or splitting a melon with an arrow. Doing so requires both a standard and a move action, and allows the fighter to use their Strength or Dexterity (whichever is higher) as a modifier to an Intimidate check instead of Charisma.
Honor Duels
It is not uncommon to see two warriors circling each other outside a city’s gate. Whether fulfilling a fierce sheikh’s ruling, seeking revenge in a blood feud, or simply a friendly competition to prove the superior swordsman, fighters often find themselves in one-on-one honor grudge combats. Such duels rarely end in death, rather the loser is expected to make an oath to the winner; failing to do so results in the loss of 1 degree of station. Other Enlightened folk consider this practice a bit barbaric.
ASKAR
“Who abandons his home lessens his value.”
When wars break out petty rulers prefer to call upon cheap infantrymen drawn from the ranks of their own citizens. You are one of the askar, inheritor of a proud family tradition of honor, warrior spirit, and loyalty to the homeland; indeed, you can recount back a dozen generations of brave ancestors. Their legacy lives on in you. Whether your home is a humble oasis or grand Huzuz it is “the greatest of all places in Zakhara”, an assertion you are happy to prove at swordpoint. When your ruler needs your service, you rise from your post as city watch or town sheriff to lift your father’s sword once again. While the more educated claim you are chauvinistic, provincial, hard-drinking, and loud-mouthed, they do not know the depth to which your family’s enemies and the enemies of your home have wronged you. Everything you do, no matter how bloody, is to restore and protect your family’s honor. When the battle is won will you stay the blade or will you take on your ancestor’s vengeance as your own?
Class Features: Combat Challenge, Combat Superiority, Zakharan Fighter Talent*
Class Skills: Athletics, Endurance, History, Intimidate, Streetwise
Station: 8
Suggested Feat: Weapon Focus
Suggested Skills: History, Intimidate, Streetwise
Suggested At-Will Powers: reaping strike, sure strike
Suggested Encounter Power:
Suggested Daily Power:
Suggested Paragon Paths: Fate Blade*, Peacemaker*, Scimitar Dancer*
Zakharan Fighter Talent: You gain a talent according to your homeland. Some ideas...
Crowded Sea: Power Attack, +2 Fortitude
Free Cities: Distracting Shield, +1 speed
Haunted Lands: Durable, +1 initiative
Heart Cities: +1 AC in light or no armor
High Desert: Defensive Mobility, +1 speed
Mamluk Cities: +1 attack with either one or two-handed weapons
Pantheist League: Shield Push, +2 Will
Pearl Cities: Blade Opportunist, +2 Reflex
Ruined Kingdoms: Powerful Charge, +1 initiative
GUARD
“Trust makes way for treachery.”
There are many treasures in this world – from royal vaults filled with the spoils of war to the irreplaceable life of a child – and many who would seize them were it not for you, the stoic and unyielding guard. You may have begun tending caravans or city gates, but now you are concerned with grander tasks – treasuries, royal heirs, and harems are your wards. While you may be richly rewarded, you have a deeper conviction, a commitment to the cause and your profession. Your eagle eye identifies threats, and your intimidating presence can help to dissuade would-be assailants, but when the time for action arrives your response is unwavering and you become an impassible wall of death. Even if your life pays the forfeit, your charge will remain secure. When faced with a choice will you follow your heart or your honor?
Class Features: Guard’s Challenge*, Combat Superiority, Warding Talent*
Class Skills: Athletics, Endurance, Insight, Intimidate, Perception
Station: 8
Suggested Feat: Alertness
Suggested Skills: Insight, Intimidate, Perception
Suggested At-Will Powers: tide of iron, warding strike*
Suggested Encounter Power: covering attack
Suggested Daily Power: comeback strike
Suggested Paragon Paths: Iron Vanguard, Slave of the Promise*, Tasked Minder*
Guard`s Challenge: At the start of an encounter choose a target (character or place) you are guarding. Enemies attempting to attack or enter the target are marked by you. If an enemy you have marked attempts to attack or enter the target, you may make an immediate interrupt basic attack against them. You can mark a number of enemies equal to your half your level.
Warding Talent: When wielding a weapon, you bestow +1 AC on one adjacent ally of your choice. You may change who you are warding as a free action.
