I think the fighter is a weak class. They’ve had their power boosted in the PHB2, but spellcasters still outshine them in the mid levels. Here my list of things that make fighters weak:
With these in mind, I have been toying with the following power-ups to the fighter class, call it the “Action Fighter” class:
Battlefield Mobility: Action Fighters know that the key to winning battles is bringing full firepower to the right target at the right time. At third level, the Action Fighter can spend 1 action point to move either before or after making a full attack. They cannot use this ability if they make a 5-foot step during the same turn.
Attack Surge: At seventh level, the Action Fighter gains the ability to spend 1 action point per turn to enhance an attack roll, even if they have already used an action point in the same turn. At twelfth level, this ability increases to 2 action points per turn; at seventeenth level, this ability increases to 3 action points per turn. A single attack roll cannot be modified by more than 1 action point.
Rationale:
The first ability, Battlefield Mobility, helps the fighter to do what a fighter does best: bring the hurt face-to-face. Too often, I’ve seen the other characters, in all earnest helpfulness, eliminate all the opponents next to a fighter before her turn comes up, leaving the fighter no choice but to drag her 20’ movement rate self over to a new opponent and make a single attack.
The second ability means that the fighter can gain full advantage of action points.
I do not think these abilities are too powerful, as they are naturally limited by the number of action points the fighter has. They are abilities best used with sound tactical judgment to make them pay off.
So, anyway, that’s what I was toying with. Any thoughts?
- Half the class’ levels are dead. How boring is that?
- Because of the first point, fighter is mostly a dip class for two levels for the feats.
- To be able to use their full attack, they can’t move. This gives them poor battlefield mobility.
- Since action points are limited to one per turn, they lose in comparison to spellcasters, who can spend their 1 action point per turn on their entire action; fighters are forced to use their action point on only one of their rolls. This means action points are generally less useful to them.
With these in mind, I have been toying with the following power-ups to the fighter class, call it the “Action Fighter” class:
Battlefield Mobility: Action Fighters know that the key to winning battles is bringing full firepower to the right target at the right time. At third level, the Action Fighter can spend 1 action point to move either before or after making a full attack. They cannot use this ability if they make a 5-foot step during the same turn.
Attack Surge: At seventh level, the Action Fighter gains the ability to spend 1 action point per turn to enhance an attack roll, even if they have already used an action point in the same turn. At twelfth level, this ability increases to 2 action points per turn; at seventeenth level, this ability increases to 3 action points per turn. A single attack roll cannot be modified by more than 1 action point.
Rationale:
The first ability, Battlefield Mobility, helps the fighter to do what a fighter does best: bring the hurt face-to-face. Too often, I’ve seen the other characters, in all earnest helpfulness, eliminate all the opponents next to a fighter before her turn comes up, leaving the fighter no choice but to drag her 20’ movement rate self over to a new opponent and make a single attack.
The second ability means that the fighter can gain full advantage of action points.
I do not think these abilities are too powerful, as they are naturally limited by the number of action points the fighter has. They are abilities best used with sound tactical judgment to make them pay off.
So, anyway, that’s what I was toying with. Any thoughts?
