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Unorthodox Fighters
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<blockquote data-quote="Capellan" data-source="post: 2419107" data-attributes="member: 6294"><p>This is a 29 page PDF with 5 alternate core classes for the Fighter. The zip contains several versions of the file: onscreen PDF, print PDF and easy copy/paste RTF. This is a nice feature, though cover art in my onscreen version looked decidedly odd - like a negative image. It's also probably the weakest piece of art in the product, though perhaps the fact that it is of a skimpily clad female had something to do with its choice as the cover art!</p><p></p><p>The product offers five new 'unorthodox fighter' classes. Each is provided with a full write up in the same style as the core rules, with plenty of information on the style of characters that would favor the class:</p><p></p><p><strong>The Bastion</strong>: a defensive fighter who favors heavy armor, the Bastion is designed to form a strong bulwark for his group. It uses a non-standard Will save progression (essentially 1 better than the fighter's) - non-standard save progressions are a personal bugbear of mine, so I would change this if I used the class. It bends the rules in other ways as well, such as granting a bonus feat that can be taken at any level after 3rd (not only at the level it was gained), and overriding many of the standard rules for AoOs. Some of the other class abilities are not fully explained: bastion bash allows the Bastion to shield bash with a tower shield, but no mention is made of how much damage this attack does. The resolute stare ability does not mention a duration or a range, while improved steadfast stance allows the Bastion to make AoOs against creatures that pass within 10 feet of him - though there is no mention of how a Bastion with a reach of 5 feet would be able to do this. These rules issues are a disappointing detraction from a class that has good flavor and a set of abilities which (though a little powerful compared to a normal fighter) suit the theme quite well.</p><p></p><p><strong>The Bully</strong>: a rough and tumble fighter who relies on his fists, but has a style very different to the monk. This class looks like a lot of fun to play, though the iron fists ability is too powerful for first level (where it is a no-brainer cherry pick for rogues looking to max out their sneak attack opportunities). The omission of notes on how this ability (which basically allows the character to use his full attack routine with each hand each round) interacts with flurry of blows and the two-weapon fighting feats is also a serious oversight.</p><p></p><p><strong>The Dogfighter</strong>: a character who fights as a team with a dog or riding dog. There are some nice ideas with this class (the dog gains the ability to deflect missiles aimed at it or its master, for instance, and the two gain extra bonuses when they both attack the same target) but there is no effort made to keep the dog viable at higher levels (it's still just a normal dog), instead granting the character more companions. One fireball, of course, will clean out the whole lot. There is also no explanation of whether the character gains any bonuses to handle his dog companions, and with only 2 skill points per level the dogfighter isn't going to be able to do much else. The class would benefit a great deal from being re-written with a 3.5 druid-style animal companion, and with more skill points.</p><p></p><p><strong>The Legend Seeker</strong>: this fighter is out for glory for himself. The class's abilities revolve around using a signature weapon, and trading off his every-growing reputation as a mighty warrior. Again, an interesting idea is let down by sub-standard mechanics. Heard of Me (the 14th level ability) has a Will save DC of 15 + legend seeker level - opponent's level), which really ought to be 10 + 1/2 legend seeker level + Charisma modifier, both to fit in with the standard application of such abilities and to give the ability a reasonable chance of success. The entourage ability (which gives the 8th level character half a dozen much lower - 3rd or less - level followers) and the sponsor ability (which offers the character the chance to trade half his treasure earned for 5000 gp a year - not a deal most 12th level adventurers will take!) are of dubious worth as well. </p><p></p><p><strong>The Second Son</strong>: the younger child of a powerful noble, this fighter goes out to prove his worth to the world, armed only with his excessive gold (second sons get 8x normal starting money - there's no mention of what they get if the class isn't taken at 1st level) and his steadily more and more ludicrous bonuses in sword-fighting (a 2nd level Second Son effectively gets weapon focus, greater weapon focus and weapon specialization in one type of sword, and gains a +1 bonus to attack and damage with it for every three levels thereafter, as well as another ability at 18th level - or possibly 16th, as the text and table do not match - that adds a further +2 bonus to attack and damage; resulting in +10 to hit and damage at 20th level).</p><p></p><p>One other general note is that the product has an odd phrasing for AoOs, referring to characters as attacks of opportunity (eg The Bully "is not an attack of opportunity when attacking with his fists") rather than the more standard "does not provoke an attack of opportunity". I found this a little disconcerting to read, and was particularly noticeable due to how many classes got abilities that allowed them to ignore the AoO rules entirely.</p><p></p><p><strong>Unorthodox Fighters</strong> has some interesting ideas, but the execution is disappointingly haphazard. Any GM will need to do a considerable amount of work with the material here to make these classes viable options for their PCs and NPCs.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Capellan, post: 2419107, member: 6294"] This is a 29 page PDF with 5 alternate core classes for the Fighter. The zip contains several versions of the file: onscreen PDF, print PDF and easy copy/paste RTF. This is a nice feature, though cover art in my onscreen version looked decidedly odd - like a negative image. It's also probably the weakest piece of art in the product, though perhaps the fact that it is of a skimpily clad female had something to do with its choice as the cover art! The product offers five new 'unorthodox fighter' classes. Each is provided with a full write up in the same style as the core rules, with plenty of information on the style of characters that would favor the class: [b]The Bastion[/b]: a defensive fighter who favors heavy armor, the Bastion is designed to form a strong bulwark for his group. It uses a non-standard Will save progression (essentially 1 better than the fighter's) - non-standard save progressions are a personal bugbear of mine, so I would change this if I used the class. It bends the rules in other ways as well, such as granting a bonus feat that can be taken at any level after 3rd (not only at the level it was gained), and overriding many of the standard rules for AoOs. Some of the other class abilities are not fully explained: bastion bash allows the Bastion to shield bash with a tower shield, but no mention is made of how much damage this attack does. The resolute stare ability does not mention a duration or a range, while improved steadfast stance allows the Bastion to make AoOs against creatures that pass within 10 feet of him - though there is no mention of how a Bastion with a reach of 5 feet would be able to do this. These rules issues are a disappointing detraction from a class that has good flavor and a set of abilities which (though a little powerful compared to a normal fighter) suit the theme quite well. [b]The Bully[/b]: a rough and tumble fighter who relies on his fists, but has a style very different to the monk. This class looks like a lot of fun to play, though the iron fists ability is too powerful for first level (where it is a no-brainer cherry pick for rogues looking to max out their sneak attack opportunities). The omission of notes on how this ability (which basically allows the character to use his full attack routine with each hand each round) interacts with flurry of blows and the two-weapon fighting feats is also a serious oversight. [b]The Dogfighter[/b]: a character who fights as a team with a dog or riding dog. There are some nice ideas with this class (the dog gains the ability to deflect missiles aimed at it or its master, for instance, and the two gain extra bonuses when they both attack the same target) but there is no effort made to keep the dog viable at higher levels (it's still just a normal dog), instead granting the character more companions. One fireball, of course, will clean out the whole lot. There is also no explanation of whether the character gains any bonuses to handle his dog companions, and with only 2 skill points per level the dogfighter isn't going to be able to do much else. The class would benefit a great deal from being re-written with a 3.5 druid-style animal companion, and with more skill points. [b]The Legend Seeker[/b]: this fighter is out for glory for himself. The class's abilities revolve around using a signature weapon, and trading off his every-growing reputation as a mighty warrior. Again, an interesting idea is let down by sub-standard mechanics. Heard of Me (the 14th level ability) has a Will save DC of 15 + legend seeker level - opponent's level), which really ought to be 10 + 1/2 legend seeker level + Charisma modifier, both to fit in with the standard application of such abilities and to give the ability a reasonable chance of success. The entourage ability (which gives the 8th level character half a dozen much lower - 3rd or less - level followers) and the sponsor ability (which offers the character the chance to trade half his treasure earned for 5000 gp a year - not a deal most 12th level adventurers will take!) are of dubious worth as well. [b]The Second Son[/b]: the younger child of a powerful noble, this fighter goes out to prove his worth to the world, armed only with his excessive gold (second sons get 8x normal starting money - there's no mention of what they get if the class isn't taken at 1st level) and his steadily more and more ludicrous bonuses in sword-fighting (a 2nd level Second Son effectively gets weapon focus, greater weapon focus and weapon specialization in one type of sword, and gains a +1 bonus to attack and damage with it for every three levels thereafter, as well as another ability at 18th level - or possibly 16th, as the text and table do not match - that adds a further +2 bonus to attack and damage; resulting in +10 to hit and damage at 20th level). One other general note is that the product has an odd phrasing for AoOs, referring to characters as attacks of opportunity (eg The Bully "is not an attack of opportunity when attacking with his fists") rather than the more standard "does not provoke an attack of opportunity". I found this a little disconcerting to read, and was particularly noticeable due to how many classes got abilities that allowed them to ignore the AoO rules entirely. [b]Unorthodox Fighters[/b] has some interesting ideas, but the execution is disappointingly haphazard. Any GM will need to do a considerable amount of work with the material here to make these classes viable options for their PCs and NPCs. [/QUOTE]
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