Beefermatic
Hero
Here's a version of the base Fighter class I use in my campaigns. The fact that the Fighter sucks so bad compared to every other class, I find very unfortunate. Not every person wants to be a magic user, but they shouldn't be punished for being a sword and steel type. Here's my more balanced, far more powerful and more viable Fighter, the Improved Fighter, Fighter +, or as it's been long known in my circles The Real Deal Fighter, or more recently, the Gladiator.
Improved, the Fighter class and its abilities should look as follows:
The Real Deal Fighter (Gladiator)
BAB: Full as Fighter
Good Saves: Fort
HD: d10
Class Skills: 2+ int (Acrobatics, Climb, Craft, Handle Animal, Heal, Intimidate, Knowledge Dungeoneering, Knowledge Engineering, Perception, Profession, Ride, Sense Motive, Survival, Swim)
Weapon Prof: All simple and martial weapons, all armors, all shields including tower shields
CLASS FEATURES
1 Footwork +1, Bonus Feat
2 Defensive Training +1, Bonus Feat, Bravery +1
3 Ambush 1d6, Armor Training 1
4 Maneuver Training 1, Bonus Feat
5 Footwork +2, Weapon Training 1
6 Defensive Training +2, Bonus Feat, Bravery +2
7 Advanced Armor Training, Armor Training 2
8 Maneuver Training 2, Parry 1/ Round, Bonus Feat
9 Advanced Weapon Training, Weapon Training 2
10 Footwork +3, Defensive Training +3, Bonus Feat, Bravery +3
11 Armor Training 3
12 Maneuver Training 3, Counter Attack, Bonus Feat
13 Ambush 2d6, Weapon Training 3
14 Defensive Training +4, Bonus Feat, Bravery +4
15 Footwork +4, Armor Training 4
16 Maneuver Training 4, Parry 2/ Round, Bonus Feat
17 Weapon Training 4
18 Defensive Training +5, Bonus Feat, Bravery +5
19 Armor Mastery
20 Footwork +5, Maneuver Training 5, Active Dodge, Bonus Feat, Weapon Mastery
Fighter Improvements/ New Abilities
This is to be added to the existing Pathfinder Fighter and all Archetypes
Skills: Acrobatics, Heal, Perception and Sense Motive added to Skill List
Abilities:
Footwork (Ex): A fighter learns how to dodge and parry attacks even when unarmored and gains a dodge bonus to AC equal to 1/4th his level starting at level 1 to a minimum of 1. This bonus applies if the Fighter is unarmored and unencumbered and is not flat footed or otherwise denied their dex bonus to AC. This ability counts as a Dex bonus for purposes of increasing Armor Class when used with Armor and can apply up to the max Dex bonus of a particular armor type and stacks with Armor Training.
Defensive Training (Ex): A fighter learns to make the most out of the equipment they have and the tools at their disposal. At 2nd level, and every 4 levels thereafter (6th, 10th, 14th, and 18th) they gain an additional point of either Shield, Armor or Dodge bonus to AC. Shield when they are armed or with a shield, Armor if they are wearing armor or have natural armor, or Dodge if they lightly armored on unarmored and are not flat footed, to AC. This bonus stacks with all other bonuses and each point must be chosen individually.
Bravery (Ex): Starting at 2nd level, a fighter gains a +1 bonus on Will saves against fear. This bonus increases by +1 for every four levels beyond 2nd.
Ambush (Ex): A Fighter knows how to surprise unwary foes and strike hard when the enemy is not expecting it. Starting at 3rd Level the Fighter deals 1d6 extra precision based damage on all attacks during a surprise round. This only applies when the Fighter initiates the surprise round, not when being surprised. At 13th level this damage increases to 2d6.
Armor Training (Ex): Starting at 3rd level, a fighter learns to be more maneuverable while wearing armor. Whenever he is wearing armor, he reduces the armor check penalty by 1 (to a minimum of 0) and increases the maximum Dexterity bonus allowed by his armor by 1. Every four levels thereafter (7th, 11th, and 15th), these bonuses increase by +1 each time, to a maximum –4 reduction of the armor check penalty and a +4 increase of the maximum Dexterity bonus allowed.
In addition, a fighter can also move at his normal speed while wearing medium armor. At 7th level, a fighter can move at his normal speed while wearing heavy armor.
Maneuver Training (Ex): At 4th level, a Fighter can select one Combat Maneuver to receive additional training. She gains a +1 bonus on Combat Maneuver checks when performing that Combat Maneuver and a +1 bonus to their CMD when defending against that maneuver.
At 8th level and every 4 levels thereafter, the Fighter becomes further trained in another Combat Maneuver, gaining the above +1 bonus Combat Maneuver checks and to CMD. In addition, the bonuses granted by all previous Maneuver Training increase by 1 each. (For example, if a Fighter chooses grapple at 2rd level and sunder at 8th level, their bonuses to grapple +2 and bonuses to sunder are +1. If they then choose bull rush upon reaching 12th level, their bonuses to grapple are +3, to sunder are +2, and to bull rush are +1.)
Weapon Training (Ex): Starting at 5th level, a fighter can select one group of weapons, as noted below. Whenever he attacks with a weapon from this group, he gains a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls.
Every four levels thereafter (9th*, 13th, and 17th), a fighter becomes further trained in another group of weapons. He gains a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls when using a weapon from this group. In addition, the bonuses granted by previous weapon groups increase by +1 each. For example, when a fighter reaches 9th level, he receives a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls with one weapon group and a +2 bonus on attack and damage rolls with the weapon group selected at 5th level. Bonuses granted from overlapping groups do not stack. Take the highest bonus granted for a weapon if it resides in two or more groups.
A fighter also adds this bonus to any combat maneuver checks made with weapons from his group. This bonus also applies to the fighter’s Combat Maneuver Defense when defending against disarm and sunder attempts made against weapons from this group.
Advanced Armor Training (Ex): Beginning at 7th level, instead of increasing the benefits provided by armor training (reducing his armor’s check penalty by 1 and increasing its maximum Dexterity bonus by 1), a fighter can choose an advanced armor training option (see Advanced Armor Training below) . If the fighter does so, he still gains the ability to move at his normal speed while wearing medium armor at 3rd level, and while wearing heavy armor at 7th level.
Parry (Ex): At 8th level a fighter may attempt to block a single melee attack 1/round. As an immediate action, they must make an opposed attack roll against a foe who has just made a melee attack against them, the weapon types must be within one size category of one another and the fighter must be armed with a manufactured weapon or using a shield in order to use this ability, though this can be used unarmed against an unarmed attacker, it can also be used without penalty against the natural attacks of enemies however, the size of the enemy must be within 1 size category of the Fighter and the blocked attack must make sense to be able to be blocked, (up to GM discretion), if the Fighter succeeds in the roll they effectively block the foe’s attack negating the damage. If a weapon of a different material is used to parry an attack, the attack is treated as a sunder attempt against the weapon if it is made of a weaker material. At 16th level a Fighter may attempt to block a second attack per round though a parry attempt may only be attempted once per attack per round.
Advanced Weapon Training (Ex): Beginning at 9th level, instead of selecting an additional fighter weapon group, a fighter can choose an advanced weapon training option for one fighter weapon group that he previously selected with the weapon training class feature.
Counter Attack (Ex): At 12th level a Fighter may make a counter attack against any foe he successfully parries in a round. This must be a single melee attack with either an unarmed attack or with a manufactured weapon. This ability can only be used once per round even if multiple parry attempts are successful.
Armor Mastery (Ex): At 19th level, a fighter gains damage reduction 5/— whenever he is wearing armor or using a shield.
Active Dodge (Ex): At 20th level a fighter may automatically dodge a single attack roll once per round as an immediate action 3+ Dex Modifier times per day. This ability must be used before the results of an attack roll are known.
Weapon Mastery (Ex): At 20th level, a fighter chooses one weapon, such as the longsword, greataxe, or longbow. Any attacks made with that weapon automatically confirm all critical threats and have their damage multiplier increased by 1 (×2 becomes ×3, for example). In addition, he cannot be disarmed while wielding a weapon of this type.
Improvements at a Glance (by level)
1 Footwork +1
2 Defensive Training +1
3 Ambush 1d6
4 Maneuver Training 1
5 Footwork +2
6 Defensive Training +2
7
8 Maneuver Training 2, Parry 1/ Round
9
10 Footwork +3, Defensive Training +3
11
12 Maneuver Training 3, Counter Attack
13 Ambush 2d6
14 Defensive Training +4
15 Footwork +4
16 Maneuver Training 4, Parry 2/ Round
17
18 Defensive Training +5
19
20 Footwork +5, Maneuver Training 5, Active Dodge
Improved, the Fighter class and its abilities should look as follows:
The Real Deal Fighter (Gladiator)
BAB: Full as Fighter
Good Saves: Fort
HD: d10
Class Skills: 2+ int (Acrobatics, Climb, Craft, Handle Animal, Heal, Intimidate, Knowledge Dungeoneering, Knowledge Engineering, Perception, Profession, Ride, Sense Motive, Survival, Swim)
Weapon Prof: All simple and martial weapons, all armors, all shields including tower shields
CLASS FEATURES
1 Footwork +1, Bonus Feat
2 Defensive Training +1, Bonus Feat, Bravery +1
3 Ambush 1d6, Armor Training 1
4 Maneuver Training 1, Bonus Feat
5 Footwork +2, Weapon Training 1
6 Defensive Training +2, Bonus Feat, Bravery +2
7 Advanced Armor Training, Armor Training 2
8 Maneuver Training 2, Parry 1/ Round, Bonus Feat
9 Advanced Weapon Training, Weapon Training 2
10 Footwork +3, Defensive Training +3, Bonus Feat, Bravery +3
11 Armor Training 3
12 Maneuver Training 3, Counter Attack, Bonus Feat
13 Ambush 2d6, Weapon Training 3
14 Defensive Training +4, Bonus Feat, Bravery +4
15 Footwork +4, Armor Training 4
16 Maneuver Training 4, Parry 2/ Round, Bonus Feat
17 Weapon Training 4
18 Defensive Training +5, Bonus Feat, Bravery +5
19 Armor Mastery
20 Footwork +5, Maneuver Training 5, Active Dodge, Bonus Feat, Weapon Mastery
Fighter Improvements/ New Abilities
This is to be added to the existing Pathfinder Fighter and all Archetypes
Skills: Acrobatics, Heal, Perception and Sense Motive added to Skill List
Abilities:
Footwork (Ex): A fighter learns how to dodge and parry attacks even when unarmored and gains a dodge bonus to AC equal to 1/4th his level starting at level 1 to a minimum of 1. This bonus applies if the Fighter is unarmored and unencumbered and is not flat footed or otherwise denied their dex bonus to AC. This ability counts as a Dex bonus for purposes of increasing Armor Class when used with Armor and can apply up to the max Dex bonus of a particular armor type and stacks with Armor Training.
Defensive Training (Ex): A fighter learns to make the most out of the equipment they have and the tools at their disposal. At 2nd level, and every 4 levels thereafter (6th, 10th, 14th, and 18th) they gain an additional point of either Shield, Armor or Dodge bonus to AC. Shield when they are armed or with a shield, Armor if they are wearing armor or have natural armor, or Dodge if they lightly armored on unarmored and are not flat footed, to AC. This bonus stacks with all other bonuses and each point must be chosen individually.
Bravery (Ex): Starting at 2nd level, a fighter gains a +1 bonus on Will saves against fear. This bonus increases by +1 for every four levels beyond 2nd.
Ambush (Ex): A Fighter knows how to surprise unwary foes and strike hard when the enemy is not expecting it. Starting at 3rd Level the Fighter deals 1d6 extra precision based damage on all attacks during a surprise round. This only applies when the Fighter initiates the surprise round, not when being surprised. At 13th level this damage increases to 2d6.
Armor Training (Ex): Starting at 3rd level, a fighter learns to be more maneuverable while wearing armor. Whenever he is wearing armor, he reduces the armor check penalty by 1 (to a minimum of 0) and increases the maximum Dexterity bonus allowed by his armor by 1. Every four levels thereafter (7th, 11th, and 15th), these bonuses increase by +1 each time, to a maximum –4 reduction of the armor check penalty and a +4 increase of the maximum Dexterity bonus allowed.
In addition, a fighter can also move at his normal speed while wearing medium armor. At 7th level, a fighter can move at his normal speed while wearing heavy armor.
Maneuver Training (Ex): At 4th level, a Fighter can select one Combat Maneuver to receive additional training. She gains a +1 bonus on Combat Maneuver checks when performing that Combat Maneuver and a +1 bonus to their CMD when defending against that maneuver.
At 8th level and every 4 levels thereafter, the Fighter becomes further trained in another Combat Maneuver, gaining the above +1 bonus Combat Maneuver checks and to CMD. In addition, the bonuses granted by all previous Maneuver Training increase by 1 each. (For example, if a Fighter chooses grapple at 2rd level and sunder at 8th level, their bonuses to grapple +2 and bonuses to sunder are +1. If they then choose bull rush upon reaching 12th level, their bonuses to grapple are +3, to sunder are +2, and to bull rush are +1.)
Weapon Training (Ex): Starting at 5th level, a fighter can select one group of weapons, as noted below. Whenever he attacks with a weapon from this group, he gains a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls.
Every four levels thereafter (9th*, 13th, and 17th), a fighter becomes further trained in another group of weapons. He gains a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls when using a weapon from this group. In addition, the bonuses granted by previous weapon groups increase by +1 each. For example, when a fighter reaches 9th level, he receives a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls with one weapon group and a +2 bonus on attack and damage rolls with the weapon group selected at 5th level. Bonuses granted from overlapping groups do not stack. Take the highest bonus granted for a weapon if it resides in two or more groups.
A fighter also adds this bonus to any combat maneuver checks made with weapons from his group. This bonus also applies to the fighter’s Combat Maneuver Defense when defending against disarm and sunder attempts made against weapons from this group.
Advanced Armor Training (Ex): Beginning at 7th level, instead of increasing the benefits provided by armor training (reducing his armor’s check penalty by 1 and increasing its maximum Dexterity bonus by 1), a fighter can choose an advanced armor training option (see Advanced Armor Training below) . If the fighter does so, he still gains the ability to move at his normal speed while wearing medium armor at 3rd level, and while wearing heavy armor at 7th level.
Parry (Ex): At 8th level a fighter may attempt to block a single melee attack 1/round. As an immediate action, they must make an opposed attack roll against a foe who has just made a melee attack against them, the weapon types must be within one size category of one another and the fighter must be armed with a manufactured weapon or using a shield in order to use this ability, though this can be used unarmed against an unarmed attacker, it can also be used without penalty against the natural attacks of enemies however, the size of the enemy must be within 1 size category of the Fighter and the blocked attack must make sense to be able to be blocked, (up to GM discretion), if the Fighter succeeds in the roll they effectively block the foe’s attack negating the damage. If a weapon of a different material is used to parry an attack, the attack is treated as a sunder attempt against the weapon if it is made of a weaker material. At 16th level a Fighter may attempt to block a second attack per round though a parry attempt may only be attempted once per attack per round.
Advanced Weapon Training (Ex): Beginning at 9th level, instead of selecting an additional fighter weapon group, a fighter can choose an advanced weapon training option for one fighter weapon group that he previously selected with the weapon training class feature.
Counter Attack (Ex): At 12th level a Fighter may make a counter attack against any foe he successfully parries in a round. This must be a single melee attack with either an unarmed attack or with a manufactured weapon. This ability can only be used once per round even if multiple parry attempts are successful.
Armor Mastery (Ex): At 19th level, a fighter gains damage reduction 5/— whenever he is wearing armor or using a shield.
Active Dodge (Ex): At 20th level a fighter may automatically dodge a single attack roll once per round as an immediate action 3+ Dex Modifier times per day. This ability must be used before the results of an attack roll are known.
Weapon Mastery (Ex): At 20th level, a fighter chooses one weapon, such as the longsword, greataxe, or longbow. Any attacks made with that weapon automatically confirm all critical threats and have their damage multiplier increased by 1 (×2 becomes ×3, for example). In addition, he cannot be disarmed while wielding a weapon of this type.
Improvements at a Glance (by level)
1 Footwork +1
2 Defensive Training +1
3 Ambush 1d6
4 Maneuver Training 1
5 Footwork +2
6 Defensive Training +2
7
8 Maneuver Training 2, Parry 1/ Round
9
10 Footwork +3, Defensive Training +3
11
12 Maneuver Training 3, Counter Attack
13 Ambush 2d6
14 Defensive Training +4
15 Footwork +4
16 Maneuver Training 4, Parry 2/ Round
17
18 Defensive Training +5
19
20 Footwork +5, Maneuver Training 5, Active Dodge
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