So I was looking at Fighter fixes for an upcoming campaign and none of them really clicked with me. The Races of War Fighter always intrigued me and I love the flavour of the Fighter as the guy with a trick for every occasion, but the Tome Fighter is just too much for our group. It was an experiment in giving a class ALL OF THE FEATS and whilst it can certainly be effective it is also a nightmare to keep track of all the bonuses and abilities. Gaining ever increasing numbers of feats providing ever increasing numbers of always available abilities increases the complexity in a way that wasn't fun for our players. Add this to Problem Solver, which requires you to memorise every scaling ability of every feat and you have a class that, whilst it certainly lives up to it's "not for noobs!" tag, is more hassle than I feel it needs to be. I decided to try replacing Problem Solver and the feat bonanza with a more manageable Stance list, but I made it a 10 level class because explicitly mundane concepts should kind of top out then. You can either take Prestige classes to round it out, or I'll be adding a few designed specifically for this class.
It goes without saying most of this class is Frank's work, I've just jiggled things around a little.
Alignment: Every alignment has its share of Fighters, however more Fighters are of Lawful alignment than of Chaotic Alignment.
Races: Every humanoid race has warriors, but actual Fighters are rarer in societies that don't value logistics and planning. So while there are many Fighters among the Hobgoblins, Dwarves, and Fire Giants, a Fighter is rarely seen among the ranks of the Orcs, Gnomes, or Ogres.
Starting Gold: 6d6x10 gp (210 gold)
Starting Age: As Fighter.
Hit Die: d10
Class Skills: The Fighter's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Blu (Cha), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (all skills individually) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), Swim (Str), Tumble (Dex), and Use Rope (Dex).
BAB: Good
Good Saves: [/b]Fort, Ref and Will
Skills/Level: 6 + Intelligence Bonus
| Level: | Special: |
| 1 | Weapons Training, Combat Focus |
| 2 | Bonus Feat |
| 3 | Stance, Pack Mule |
| 4 | Stance, Master of Arms |
| 5 | Stance, Logistics Mastery, Active Assault |
| 6 | Stance, Disabling Strike |
| 7 | Stance, Forge Lore, Improved Delay |
| 8 | Improved Stance, Physical Charisma |
| 9 | Improved Stance, Foil Action |
| 10 | Improved Stance, Hero of Legend |
All of the following are Class Features of the Fighter class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Fighters are proficient with all simple and Martial Weapons. Fighters are proficient with Light, Medium, and Heavy Armor and with Shields and Great Shields.
Weapons Training (Ex): Fighters train obsessively with armor and weapons of all kinds, and using a new weapon is easy and fun. By practicing with a weapon he is not proficient with for a day, a Fighter may permanently gain proficiency with that weapon by succeeding at an Intelligence check DC 10 (you may not take 10 on this check).
Combat Focus (Ex): A Fighter is at his best when the chips are down and everything is going to Baator in a handbasket. When the world is on fire, a Fighter keeps his head better than anyone. If the Fighter is in a situation that is stressful and/or dangerous enough that he would normally be unable to \take 10" on skill checks, he may spend a Swift Action to gain Combat Focus. A Fighter may end his Combat Focus at any time to reroll any die roll he makes, and if not used it ends on its own after a number of rounds equal to his Base Attack Bonus.
Bonus Feat (Ex): The Fighter may take any Combat Feat as a bonus feat.
Stances (Ex): At 3rd level the Fighter gains the benefit of specific fighting techniques called Stances that provide special benefits when engaged. While the Fighter is not flat-footed, they may engage a Stance at the cost of one Swift Action. The Fighter remains in this stance until he spends a Swift action to change to a different stance. A Stance provides certain benefits whilst it is in use, which are listed below. At level 3 a Fighter learns 1 Stance, and he gains another each time he gains a Fighter level. The Stances are listed below:
- Deadeye: By practicing with ranged weapons a Fighter can gain deadly accuracy. This stance provides a +1/3 levels Enhancement bonus to Dex, plus the Fighter does not provoke with ranged weapons and can ignore the -4 penalty for shooting into melee.
- Disrupting Arcana: Through special techniques passed down through the ages the Fighter knows how the currents of magic can be disrupted. Whilst in this stance the Fighter gains Spell Resistance equal to 5+HD. In addition, all damage inflicted by manufactured weapons is considered “ongoing damage" for the purposes of concentration checks made before the beginning of your next round. All your attacks in a round are considered the same source of continuing damage.
- Giant-Killer: A Fighter knows that size can be a disadvantage and larger opponents have weaknesses that can be exploited by those with the right training. This stance provides a +1/3 levels Dodge bonus to AC, and allows the Fighter to automatically avoid grab attempts initiated with Improved Grab. The Fighter also has the Edge against creatures with a longer natural reach.
- Heavy Blows: The Fighter has learned to lever all their body strength through careful positioning and muscle control, and can channel this into overwhelming attacks. This stance provides a +1/3 levels Enhancement bonus to Strength, and the Fighter deals +1D6 damage with all weapon attacks when charging.
- Indomitable Toughness: A Fighter can train their body to take superhuman levels of punishment through sheer force of will. This stance provides a +1/3 levels Enhancement bonus to Damage resistance. If the Fighter does not have Damage resistance treat this as DR/magic. In addition, the Fighter does not go unconscious when below 0 hp and can continue to take actions, however they remain disabled and continue to bleed and roll for stabilization as usual.
- Inner Sight: By training himself to rely on all his senses equally, the Fighter can notice things that others miss. Whilst in this stance the Fighter gains a +5 Enhancement bonus to Spot & Listen checks and Blindsense to 60’.
- Scything Attack: This technique emphasizes rapid spinning attacks to deal with many opponents at once. This Stance provides a +1/3 levels bonus to the number of Attacks of Opportunity the Fighter can take in a round. Additionally, as a standard action the Fighter can make an attack against each opponent within their threatened area with any weapon they are holding.
- Staunch Defense: This technique emphasizes defensive positioning, blocks and rolling with attacks to reduce their impact. This Stance provides a +1/3 levels Enhancement bonus to the Fighter’s armor, plus the Fighter cannot be flanked and gains +4 to rolls to resist Combat Maneuvers.
- Stoic Attitude: Through intense mental exercise a Fighter can train their body and mind to resist threats to an extraordinary degree. This stance provides a +1/3 levels Resistance bonus to Saves, and the Slippery Mind ability as per the Rogue.
- Sudden Strike: With this technique a Fighter can take advantage of a distracted foe with a quick strike that leaves them reeling. This stance provides a +1/3 levels Enhancement bonus to the Fighter’s weapon (this counts as magic for overcoming DR), and whenever the Fighter hits with an Attack of Opportunity the target must make a Fort save or they are Stunned until the start of their next turn.
Master of Arms (Ex): Fighters are weapon masters par excellence, trained to kill with a wide variety of implements. Whilst a 4th level Fighter has Combat Focus they add an amount equal to their BaB to their Strength bonus when dealing damage with a manufactured weapon they are proficient with. This still counts as a Strength bonus for determining when it would be halved or increased (for example due to wielding a two handed weapon).
Logistics Mastery (Ex): Fighters are excellent and efficient logisticians. When a Fighter reaches 5th level, he gains a bonus to his Command Rating equal to one third his Fighter Level.
Active Assault (Ex): A 5th level Fighter can flawlessly place himself where he is most needed in combat. He may take a 5 foot step as an Immediate action. This is in addition to any other movement he takes during his turn, even another 5 foot step.
Disabling Strike (Ex): A 6th level Fighter can strike an opponent in a variety of imaginative ways in order to gain an advantage in battle. Any enemy struck by a manufactured weapon attack from the Fighter must make a Fort Save or become either blinded, entangled or staggered for 1 round (Fighter’s choice). No enemy can be targeted by this ability more than once a round, and the save DC for this ability is 10 + ½ the Fighter’s HD + his Constitution modifier.
Forge Lore: A 7th level Fighter gains Forgemaster as a bonus feat. Alternatively, the Fighter can produce magical weapons and equipment as if he had a Caster Level equal to his ranks in Craft.
Improved Delay (Ex): A Fighter of 7th level may delay his action in one round without compromising his Initiative in the next round. In addition, a Fighter may interrupt another action with his delayed action like it was a readied action (though he does not have to announce his intentions before hand).
Improved Stances (Ex): Once a Fighter reaches 8th level, instead of gaining a new Stance from the Stances list when they gain a level they can choose to replace one of their known Stances with one of the Improved Stances from the list below instead:
- Barreling Charge: The Fighter is able to strike multiple enemies when pressing an assault. When in this stance and charging the Fighter can attack every enemy within their reach at any point with one manufactured weapon attack, gaining charge bonuses to each attack.
- Find Weakness: The Fighter studies opponents to find any gap or chink in their defenses. Whilst in this stance the Fighter may make a standard action attack which ignores all DR, hardness, Deflection bonus and miss chance affecting the target.
- Hawkeye: This stance allows the Fighter to sharpen his vision, taking advantage of any lapse in concentration by his enemies. Whilst in this stance the Fighter may take attacks of opportunity with a ranged weapon against any opponent that provokes within the first range increment.
- Lightning Strike: The Fighter has honed their skills to allow them to move and attack with phenomenal speed. Whilst in this stance the Fighter counts as Hasted.
- Lunging Attacks: The battlefield is an extremely dangerous place, and Fighters are expected to hold off Elder Elementals, Hezrou and Hamatulas. This stance allows the Fighter to add 5 feet to the reach of any weapons he holds during his turn.
- Mighty Leap: The Fighter uses ancient meditation techniques and muscle control to leap incredible distances. Whilst in this stance the Fighter gains a +20 Enhancement bonus to Jump checks and ignores their ACP when making skill checks. They use the Long Jump DC table for vertical jumps and any jump is completed in one round regardless of distance travelled. In addition all falling damage is reduced by half.
- Severing Arcana: Magic is part of the Fighters natural world and it behooves them to study ways it can be neutered. This stance provides the Fighter with Spell resistance equal to 10+HD whilst active. In addition the Fighter may make a Standard action attack against any ongoing spell effect within reach against an AC of the spells save DC. If successful the spell is Dispelled.
- Slippery Body: Through superhuman feats of skill the Fighter can extricate themselves from sticky situations with ease. This stance allows the Fighter to automatically escape any grapple or
Entangle effect at the start of their turn. - Tempered Mind: This technique allows the Fighter to bolster his mind against outside interference. Whilst in this stance the Fighter is immune to all Mind Affecting effects and cannot be Stunned or Dazed.
Foil Action (Ex): A 9th level Fighter may attempt to monkeywrench any action an opponent is taking. The Fighter may throw sand into a beholder's eye, bat aside a key spell component, or strike a weapon hand with a thrown object, but the result is the same: the opponent's action is wasted, and any spell slots, limited ability uses, or the like used to power it are expended. A Fighter must be within 30 feet of his opponent to use this ability, and must hit with a touch attack or ranged touch attack. Using Foil Action is an Immediate action.
Hero of Legend (Su): At 10th level a Fighter has reached the limits of mortal advancement and is now the pinnacle of physical perfection for their race. In order to advance further they must realize their true potential as a Hero worthy of legends and to reflect this they begin gaining explicitly supernatural abilities. Perhaps the Fighter finds out they are the bastard child of an errant demigod, or their constant exposure to magic has awakened some spark within them. Maybe their increasing power level just causes them to go all Super-Saiyan, but however you choose to explain it they get to choose a Legendary ability from the following list:
- Arcane Ward: Maybe the Fighter hates magic so much it actually fails to affect them. Or it could just be those glowing runes that emerged on their skin. The Fighter gains Spell Resistance equal to 10+HD, and every time a spell fails to penetrate this resistance the Fighter heals HP equal to its Spell Level.
- Flame Touched (Sp): The Fighter is infused with the power of fire. This provides Immunity to Fire & the ability to cast Fireball as an SLA (caster level = HD, no damage cap) at will. Their skin always feels hot to the touch and they get grouchy when the temperature drops below Warm.
- Goliath: The Fighter’s Cloud giant heritage is showing. They increase in size to Large size, gaining a 10’ reach and a permanent +4 to Str and Con. If the Fighter is already Large this ability cannot be chosen.
- Immortal: The Fighter has weighed up the pro’s and con’s of dying and decided against it. They gain Immunity to Death effects and Negative levels, and any time they have been dead for a day they return to life as per Raise Dead (with all the restrictions of that spell), however they do not lose a level or HD.
- Master of the Heavens: The Fighter is freed from his earthly bonds and takes to the skies. They can grow wings if you like, summon a magic cloud to zip around on or just float through the power of their inherent awesomeness. However they do it, they can Fly at double their walking speed with Average maneuverability.
- Skin of Iron: The Fighter’s skin hardens and can turn aside weapons with ease, making them incredibly hard to kill. This can be a visual transformation with rivets and stuff, or just super toughness like Superman. This provides DR10/Adamantine, and Fast Healing 10.
- Son of the Storm (Sp): The Fighter manifests their destiny as a lovechild of Thor or whatever. This provides Immunity to Lightning & the ability to cast Shocking Grasp as an SLA (caster level = HD) at will, however it can be delivered through a manufactured weapon attack. Sometimes the Fighter’s eyes will spark when they’re angry or excited, which tends to freak people out.
- Spirit of Ice (Sp): The Fighter’s spirit is frozen solid. This provides Immunity to Cold & the ability to cast Freezing Sphere as an SLA (caster level = HD, no damage cap) at will. They also get funky frost patterns on their skin and their eyes turn ice blue.
- Walker of the Secret Path: Perhaps the Fighter can cut so hard they slice holes in reality, or perhaps they just know the hidden shortcuts through the Multiverse the Gods put in for emergencies. This allows them to Dimension Door, Teleport and Plane Shift once each per day as per the spells (Caster level = HD).
