Fighter

Some take up arms for glory, wealth, or revenge. Others do battle to prove themselves, to protect others, or because they know nothing else. Still others learn the ways of weaponcraft to hone their bodies in battle and prove their mettle in the forge of war. Lords of the battlefield, fighters are a disparate lot, training with many weapons or just one, perfecting the uses of armor, learning the fighting techniques of exotic masters, and studying the art of combat, all to shape themselves into living weapons. Far more than mere thugs, these skilled warriors reveal the true deadliness of their weapons, turning hunks of metal into arms capable of taming kingdoms, slaughtering monsters, and rousing the hearts of armies. Soldiers, knights, hunters, and artists of war, fighters are unparalleled champions, and woe to those who dare stand against them.

Role: Fighters excel at combat—defeating their enemies, controlling the flow of battle, and surviving such sorties themselves. While their specific weapons and methods grant them a wide variety of tactics, few can match fighters for sheer battle prowess.

Alignment: Any.

Hit Die: d10.

Skill Ranks Per Level: 2 + Int modifier.

Class Skills: The fighter’s class skills are Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (dungeoneering) (Int), Knowledge (engineering) (Int), Pilot (Dex), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Survival (Wis), and Swim (Str).

Table: Fighter
Level Base Attack Bonus Fort Save Ref Save Will Save Special
1st +1 +2 +0 +0 Bonus feat
2nd +2 +3 +0 +0 Bonus feat, bravery
3rd +3 +3 +1 +1 Armor training
4th +4 +4 +1 +1 Bonus feat
5th +5 +4 +1 +1 Weapon training
6th +6/+1 +5 +2 +2 Bonus feat
7th +7/+2 +5 +2 +2 Armor training
8th +8/+3 +6 +2 +2 Bonus feat
9th +9/+4 +6 +3 +3 Weapon training
10th +10/+5 +7 +3 +3 Bonus feat
11th +11/+6/+1 +7 +3 +3 Armor training
12th +12/+7/+2 +8 +4 +4 Bonus feat
13th +13/+8/+3 +8 +4 +4 Weapon training
14th +14/+9/+4 +9 +4 +4 Bonus feat
15th +15/+10/+5 +9 +5 +5 Armor training
16th +16/+11/+6/+1 +10 +5 +5 Bonus feat
17th +17/+12/+7/+2 +10 +5 +5 Weapon training
18th +18/+13/+8/+3 +11 +6 +6 Bonus feat
19th +19/+14/+9/+4 +11 +6 +6 Armor mastery
20th +20/+15/+10/+5 +12 +6 +6 Bonus feat, Weapon mastery

Class Features

The following are class features of the fighter.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A fighter is proficient with all simple and martial weapons and with all armor (heavy, light, and medium) and shields (including tower shields).

Bonus Feats: At 1st level, and at every even level thereafter, a fighter gains a bonus feat in addition to those gained from normal advancement (meaning that the fighter gains a feat at every level). These bonus feats must be selected from those listed as Combat Feats, sometimes also called “fighter bonus feats.”

Upon reaching 4th level, and every four levels thereafter (8th, 12th, and so on), a fighter can choose to learn a new bonus feat in place of a bonus feat he has already learned. In effect, the fighter loses the bonus feat in exchange for the new one. The old feat cannot be one that was used as a prerequisite for another feat, prestige class, or other ability. A fighter can only change one feat at any given level and must choose whether or not to swap the feat at the time he gains a new bonus feat for the level.

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.

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.

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 this 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.

Weapon groups are defined as follows (GMs may add other weapons to these groups, or add entirely new groups):

  • Axes: bardiche, battleaxe, dwarven waraxe, greataxe, handaxe, heavy pick, hooked axe, knuckle axe, light pick, mattock, orc double axe, pata, and throwing axe.
  • Blades, Heavy: bastard sword, chakram, double chicken saber, double walking stick katana, elven curve blade, falcata, falchion, great terbutje, greatsword, katana, khopesh, longsword, nine-ring broadsword, nodachi, rhoka sword, sawtooth sabre, scimitar, scythe, seven-branched sword, shotel, temple sword, terbutje, and two-bladed sword.
  • Blades, Light: bayonet, butterfly sword, dagger, dogslicer, gladius, hunga munga, kama, kerambit, kukri, pata, quadrens, rapier, short sword, sica, sickle, starknife, sword cane, swordbreaker dagger, and wakizashi.
  • Bows: composite longbow, composite shortbow, longbow, and shortbow.
  • Close: armor spikes, bayonet, brass knuckles, dan bong, emei piercer, fighting fan, gauntlet, heavy shield, iron brush, light shield, madu, mere club, punching dagger, sap, scizore, shield spikes, spiked gauntlet, tekko-kagi, tonfa, unarmed strike, wooden stake, and wushu dart.
  • Crossbows: double crossbow, hand crossbow, heavy crossbow, light crossbow, repeating hand crossbow, repeating heavy crossbow, repeating light crossbow, tube arrow shooter, underwater light crossbow, and underwater heavy crossbow.
  • Double: bo staff, dire flail, double walking stick katana, double-chained kama, dwarven urgrosh, gnome hooked hammer, kusarigama, orc double axe, quarterstaff, and two-bladed sword.
  • Firearms: all one-handed and two-handed firearms.
  • Flails: chain spear, dire flail, double chained kama, flail (light flail), flying blade, heavy flail, kusarigama, kyoketsu shoge, meteor hammer, morningstar, nine-section whip, nunchaku, sansetsukon, scorpion whip, spiked chain, urumi, and whip.
  • Hammers: aklys, battle aspergillum, club, earth breaker, greatclub, heavy mace, light hammer, light mace, mere club, taiaha, tetsubo, wahaika, and warhammer.
  • Monk: bo staff, brass knuckles, butterfly sword, cestus, dan bong, double chained kama, double chicken saber, emei piercer, fighting fan, jutte, kama, kusarigama, kyoketsu shoge, lungchuan tamo, monk's spade, nine-ring broadsword, nine-section whip, nunchaku, quarterstaff, rope dart, sai, sansetsukon, seven-branched sword, shang gou, shuriken, siangham, tiger fork, tonfa, tri-point double-edged sword, unarmed strike, urumi, and wushu dart.
  • Natural: unarmed strike and all natural weapons, such as bite, claw, gore, tail, and wing.
  • Pole Arms: bardiche, bec de corbin, bill, glaive, glaive-guisarme, guisarme, halberd, hooked lance, horsechopper, lucerne hammer, mancatcher, monk's spade, ogre hook, naginata, nodachi, ranseur, and tiger fork.
  • Spears: amentum, boar spear, javelin, harpoon, lance, longspear, pilum, shortspear, sibat, spear, tiger fork, and trident.
  • Thrown: aklys, amentum, atlatl, blowgun, bolas, boomerang, chakram, club, dagger, dart, halfling sling staff, harpoon, hunga munga, javelin, lasso, kestros, light hammer, net, poisoned sand tube, rope dart, shortspear, shuriken, sling, snag net, spear, starknife, throwing axe, throwing shield, trident, and wushu dart.

Armor Mastery (Ex): At 19th level, a fighter gains Damage Reduction 5/— whenever he is wearing armor or using a shield.

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.

Archtypes

From dockside brawlers to legendary champions, poor foot soldiers to the greatest duelists of the nobility, fighters are those who devote themselves wholeheartedly to the art of combat. While barbarians tap into raw fury in battle, fighters know that the mind is the keenest weapon, and they use theirs to great effect, mastering numerous armaments and fighting styles in a never-ending quest to be the last warrior standing. Presented below are a number of common martial themes, complete with variant class abilities to help customize characters to their chosen fighting style.

Archer

The archer is dedicated to the careful mastery of the bow,perfecting his skills with years of practice honed day after day on ranges and hunting for game, or else on the battlefield, raining destruction down on the enemy lines.

Hawkeye (Ex): At 2nd level, an archer gains a +1 bonus on Perception checks, and the range increment for any bow he uses increases by 5 feet. These bonuses increase by +1 and 5 additional feet for every 4 levels beyond 2nd. This ability replaces Bravery.

Trick Shot (Ex): At 3rd level, an archer can choose one of the following combat maneuvers or actions: disarm, feint, or sunder. He can perform this action with a bow against any target within 30 feet, with a –4 penalty to his CMB. Every four levels beyond 3rd, he may choose an additional trick shot to learn. These maneuvers use up arrows as normal.

At 11th level, he may also choose from the following combat maneuvers: bull rush, grapple, trip. A target grappled by an arrow can break free by destroying the archer’s arrow (hardness 5, hit points 1, break DC 13) or with an Escape Artist or CMB check (against the archer’s CMD –4). This ability replaces Armor Training 1, 2, 3, and 4.

Expert Archer (Ex): At 5th level, an archer gains a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls with bows. This bonus increases by +1 for every four levels beyond 5th. This ability replaces Weapon Training 1.

Safe Shot (Ex): At 9th level, an archer does not provoke attacks of opportunity when making ranged attacks with a bow. This ability replaces Weapon Training 2.

Evasive Archer (Ex): At 13th level, an archer gains a +2 dodge bonus to AC against ranged attacks. This bonus increases to +4 at 17th level. This ability replaces Weapon Training 3.

Volley (Ex): At 17th level, as a full-round action, an archer can make a single bow attack at his highest base attack bonus against any number of creatures in a 15-foot radius burst, making separate attack and damage rolls for each creature. This ability replaces Weapon Training 4.

Ranged Defense (Ex): At 19th level, an archer gains DR 5/— against ranged attacks. In addition, as an immediate action, he can catch an arrow fired at him and shoot it any target he chooses, as if he had the Snatch Arrows feat. This ability replaces Armor Mastery.

Weapon Mastery (Ex): An archer must choose a type of bow for his Weapon Mastery class feature.

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