Wulf Ratbane
Adventurer
FIGHTER
Alignment: Any.
Hit Die: d10.
Class Skills
The fighter’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Ride (Dex), and Swim (Str).
Skill Points Per Level: 4 + Int modifier.
[sblock]Every class which previously received only 2 skill points per level, receives 4 skill points per level.[/sblock]
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A fighter is proficient with all simple and martial weapons and with all armor (heavy, medium, and light) and shields (including tower shields).
Bonus Feats: At 1st level, a fighter gets a bonus combat-oriented feat in addition to the feat that any 1st-level character gets and the bonus feat granted to a human character. The fighter gains an additional bonus feat at 2nd level and every two fighter levels thereafter (4th, 6th, 8th, 10th, 12th, 14th, 16th, 18th, and 20th). These bonus feats must be drawn from the feats noted as fighter bonus feats. A fighter must still meet all prerequisites for a bonus feat, including ability score and base attack bonus minimums.
These bonus feats are in addition to the feat that a character of any class gets from advancing levels. A fighter is not limited to the list of fighter bonus feats when choosing these feats.
Punishing Strike: When you make an attack of opportunity, you receive a +4 bonus to the attack roll and add +1d6 to the damage dealt. The bonus damage increases at 5th, 9th, 13th, and 17th level.
[sblock]One major addition to the game is the readjustment and realignment of attacks of opportunity under the larger heading of combat reactions. Characters start with 1 reaction and gain an additional combat reaction at 6th, 11th, and 16th level—the levels at which they previously gained new iterative attacks.
Fighters gain a big boost in their effectiveness simply as a function of getting more combat reactions.
There are four main ways to spend your combat reactions.
[/sblock]
Expert Weapon Proficiency: At 3rd level, the Fighter gains Expert Weapon Proficiency with a single weapon. He gains this ability again at 7th, 11th, 15th, and 19th level. He can apply this proficiency to a previous weapon or choose a new weapon.
[sblock]An analysis of all of the melee weapons in the game shows them to be fairly evenly balanced against each other (with just a couple of exceptions—the dagger is pretty darn good for a simple weapon).
But all weapons share certain characteristics: base damage, critical multiplier and threat range, they may be light or two-handed, or they may allow you to perform certain maneuvers like trip, disarm, set vs. charge, and so forth.
Within all that variance among weapons, they nevertheless remain balanced against each other primarily by the feats required to use them: Exotic weapons are slightly better than martial weapons, which in turn are slightly better than simple weapons.
Expert weapon proficiency allows the fighter to alter the fundamentals of his chosen weapon. Each time he takes the ability, he can
Two high level fighters are likely to be equally deadly regardless of what weapon they’ve spent their careers training with.
[/sblock]
[sblock]You might notice that the table is missing the usual columns for saving throws. We’ve standardized saving throws to a character-based progression, rather than a class-based progression. At 1st level, every character chooses two Good saving throws and one Poor saving throw. This simple change allowed us to boost a few classes that were behind the others, and it neatly solves the multiclass saving throw problem. It also allows you to choose, for example, a more swashbuckling fighter type who happens to be good at Will and Reflex saves, if that’s your preference. Players (and NPCs…) can also mix things up to shuffle around their usual weaknesses and keep the enemy guessing.
The BMB column is "Base Magic Bonus" and part of our fix for multiclass spellcasters. The fighter has a 1/3 progression.
The changes here look simple and almost understated, perhaps because they interface directly with other 'core mechanics' of the game. This is a design philosophy that we tried to apply to all of our class changes: more abilities that scale with level, and work in ways the players are already familiar with (rather than lots of new, smaller, exception-based class features scattered throughout the advancement table).
These changes bring the fighter's total value almost even with the class leader (druid).
[/sblock]
Alignment: Any.
Hit Die: d10.
Class Skills
The fighter’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Ride (Dex), and Swim (Str).
Skill Points Per Level: 4 + Int modifier.
[sblock]Every class which previously received only 2 skill points per level, receives 4 skill points per level.[/sblock]
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A fighter is proficient with all simple and martial weapons and with all armor (heavy, medium, and light) and shields (including tower shields).
Bonus Feats: At 1st level, a fighter gets a bonus combat-oriented feat in addition to the feat that any 1st-level character gets and the bonus feat granted to a human character. The fighter gains an additional bonus feat at 2nd level and every two fighter levels thereafter (4th, 6th, 8th, 10th, 12th, 14th, 16th, 18th, and 20th). These bonus feats must be drawn from the feats noted as fighter bonus feats. A fighter must still meet all prerequisites for a bonus feat, including ability score and base attack bonus minimums.
These bonus feats are in addition to the feat that a character of any class gets from advancing levels. A fighter is not limited to the list of fighter bonus feats when choosing these feats.
Punishing Strike: When you make an attack of opportunity, you receive a +4 bonus to the attack roll and add +1d6 to the damage dealt. The bonus damage increases at 5th, 9th, 13th, and 17th level.
[sblock]One major addition to the game is the readjustment and realignment of attacks of opportunity under the larger heading of combat reactions. Characters start with 1 reaction and gain an additional combat reaction at 6th, 11th, and 16th level—the levels at which they previously gained new iterative attacks.
Fighters gain a big boost in their effectiveness simply as a function of getting more combat reactions.
There are four main ways to spend your combat reactions.
- Dodge: You can spend a combat reaction to dodge a single attack, adding ½ your BAB to your AC.
- Block: You can spend a combat reaction to block an attack, gaining DR equal to ½ your BAB, plus your shield bonus.
- Aid Another: If you and and ally are both in melee combat against the same opponent, you can spend a combat reaction to give an ally a +2 bonus to one attack roll, or a +2 bonus to his AC against one attack. (Note that there’s no attendant “vs. AC 10” roll required—just announce that you’d like to use the reaction, and the bonus is yours.)
- Make an attack of opportunity: We’ve made it much easier to move around the battlefield, greatly simplifying the number of conditions which trigger attacks of opportunity. Moving into or within threatened squares no longer provokes an attack of opportunity, but moving out of a threatened area will. On those occasions, the fighter’s punishing strike ability helps him “hold the line.”
[/sblock]
Expert Weapon Proficiency: At 3rd level, the Fighter gains Expert Weapon Proficiency with a single weapon. He gains this ability again at 7th, 11th, 15th, and 19th level. He can apply this proficiency to a previous weapon or choose a new weapon.
[sblock]An analysis of all of the melee weapons in the game shows them to be fairly evenly balanced against each other (with just a couple of exceptions—the dagger is pretty darn good for a simple weapon).
But all weapons share certain characteristics: base damage, critical multiplier and threat range, they may be light or two-handed, or they may allow you to perform certain maneuvers like trip, disarm, set vs. charge, and so forth.
Within all that variance among weapons, they nevertheless remain balanced against each other primarily by the feats required to use them: Exotic weapons are slightly better than martial weapons, which in turn are slightly better than simple weapons.
Expert weapon proficiency allows the fighter to alter the fundamentals of his chosen weapon. Each time he takes the ability, he can
- Increase the damage die (up to 2d8)
- Increase the critical multiplier (up to x4)
- Increase the critical threat range (to 18-20)
- Learn to perform a special maneuver with the weapon (trip, disarm, etc. e.g. flail)
- Treat a one-handed weapon as light (as with the rapier)
- Give a two-handed weapon reach, set, or mounted special function
Two high level fighters are likely to be equally deadly regardless of what weapon they’ve spent their careers training with.
[/sblock]
Code:
Level BAB BMB Class Features
1 +1 +0 Bonus feat, punishing strike (+1d6)
2 +2 +0 Bonus feat
3 +3 +1 Expert weapon proficiency
4 +4 +1 Bonus feat
5 +5 +1 Punishing strike (+2d6)
6 +6 +2 Bonus feat
7 +7 +2 Expert weapon proficiency
8 +8 +2 Bonus feat
9 +9 +3 Punishing strike (+3d6)
10 +10 +3 Bonus feat
11 +11 +3 Expert weapon proficiency
12 +12 +4 Bonus feat
13 +13 +4 Punishing strike (+4d6)
14 +14 +4 Bonus feat
15 +15 +5 Expert weapon proficiency
16 +16 +5 Bonus feat
17 +17 +5 Punishing strike (+5d6)
18 +18 +6 Bonus feat
19 +19 +6 Expert weapon proficiency
20 +20 +6 Bonus feat[sblock]You might notice that the table is missing the usual columns for saving throws. We’ve standardized saving throws to a character-based progression, rather than a class-based progression. At 1st level, every character chooses two Good saving throws and one Poor saving throw. This simple change allowed us to boost a few classes that were behind the others, and it neatly solves the multiclass saving throw problem. It also allows you to choose, for example, a more swashbuckling fighter type who happens to be good at Will and Reflex saves, if that’s your preference. Players (and NPCs…) can also mix things up to shuffle around their usual weaknesses and keep the enemy guessing.
The BMB column is "Base Magic Bonus" and part of our fix for multiclass spellcasters. The fighter has a 1/3 progression.
The changes here look simple and almost understated, perhaps because they interface directly with other 'core mechanics' of the game. This is a design philosophy that we tried to apply to all of our class changes: more abilities that scale with level, and work in ways the players are already familiar with (rather than lots of new, smaller, exception-based class features scattered throughout the advancement table).
These changes bring the fighter's total value almost even with the class leader (druid).
[/sblock]
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