The Fighter Revisited

It was recently revealed that the most common character class in all of D&D was the old human fighter. Many were shocked by the news, some even upset, but I relished the news. For my limited times as a player I mostly played human fighters and have a deep love the class.

One of the things that annoys me about B/X are the empty levels. With such massive XP needs, it leaves levels where nothing happens, just some more HP and that's that. 3rd edition did a much better job on this for sure, but it was over-complicated and cumbersome.

So one of my design philosophies for Bastard Sword (nee B/X Revised) is to make sure that every level has meaning or grants the character more ability or options for customization. No class needs that more than the good old dependable Fighter, so without further ado, I present to you the Fighter Revisited.

FIGHTER
Martial Class
Requirements: None
Prime Requisite: STR
Allowed Races: All
Hit Die: d10
Ability Bonus: +1 to either STR or CON
Saves: +2 vs. Death
Armour: Any
Weapons: Any

Fighters are champions, swordsmen (and women), soldiers, and brawlers. They live and die by their knowledge of weaponry and combat. Fighters can be found on the front lines of any battle, clashing with monster and villains. Good fighters are strong and healthy if they hope to survive.

Fighter Level Progression

Level	XP	HD	BAB	WPs	NWPs	Save	Abilities
1	0	1d8	+1	4	2	14	Combat Stance, Weapon Specialization, Weapon Groups, Fighting Style
2	2,000	2d8	+1	4	2	13	Heroic Surge
3	4,000	3d8	+1	5	2	12	Martial Prowess
4	8,000	4d8	+2	5	3	11	Combat Training
5	16,000	5d8	+2	6	3	10	Heroic Surge II
6	32,000	6d8	+2	6	3	9	Shake It Off
7	64,000	7d8	+3	7	4	8	Combat Training II
8	120,000	8d8	+3	7	4	7	Indomitable
9	240,000	9d8	+3	8	4	6	Shake It Off II
10	360,000	10d8	+4	8	5	5	Old Soldier

Fighter Abilities

Combat Stance

Fighters now have a new Combat Ability called a Combat Stance. Normal Stance is default unless the player declares they are changing Combat Stance. This may be done at the beginning of the round, and last until their next actions comes up in the following round.

Stance	Effect
Normal	No changes, attack and defend as usual.
Aggressive	The fighter is attacking wildly and trying to take down his opponent as quickly as possible, though probably leaving themselves open to their attacks. The character gets a +2 bonus to hit but a -4 penalty to AC.
Defensive	The opposite of aggressive stance, this represents a fighter being more cautious and on his guard. The character gets a +2 bonus to AC, but a -4 penalty to his own attack rolls.
Protective	Using this stance, the character attempts to guard a friend or companion who is near to them. The character in protective stance gets a +2 bonus to AC but may not attack at all. If the protected companion is hit by an attack this turn, the character using protective stance may choose to take the hit instead.
Commanding	The character makes themselves conspicuous to the enemy but exhorts his companions to greatness. The character gets a -6 to AC and may not attack but may make a CHA check to give his companions and followers +2 to hit for the round.

Weapon Specialization

Fighters may Specialize in a weapon, costing 1 Weapon Proficiency slot to do so, on top of the original Weapon Proficiency spent to be proficient in the weapon. This gives them a +1 to hit and a +2 to damage with said weapon, and also opens up the multiple attack options for them.

Multiple Attacks

Level	Melee Attacks per Round	Ranged Attacks per Round
1-7	3/2	5/2
8-14	2/1	3/1

A Fighter specialized in long sword for example would get 1 attack on the first round, and 2 on the second, rinse repeat, until they hit 8th level, when they would get 2 attacks per round.

The same fighter specialized in longbow would get 2 attacks on the first round, and 3 on the second, rinse repeat, until they hit 8th level, when they would get 3 attacks per round.

At 4th level, when the Fighter gains another WP and can choose to Double Specialize. This means they double-down and focus on their primary Specialization gaining an additional +1 to hit and +1 to damage, raising it to +2/+3 in total.

Weapon Group Proficiency

Another benefit of being a Martial Class allows Fighters to spend a single Weapon Proficiency to take a Weapon Group Proficiency. These groups are mostly open and are as follows;

Weapon Groups

Group	Includes
Axes	Battle Axe, Great Axe, Hand Axe, Throwing Axe
Bows	Long Bow, Short Bow, Composite Long Bow, Composite Short bow
Clubs	Club, Mace, Morning Star, Tetsubo, Warhammer
Crossbows	Heavy Crossbow, Light Crossbow, Hand Crossbow
Long Blades	Bastard Sword, Longsword, Rapier, Scimitar, Two-Handed Sword
Medium Blades	Cutlass, Sabre
Polearms	Bardiche, Fauchard, Glaive, Halberd, Lucerne Hammer, Ranseur, Voulge
Short Blades	Dagger, Dirk, Knife, Short Sword, Stiletto
Spears	Harpoon, Javelin, Long Spear, Pike, Short Spear, Trident

By spending a single WP on a group, the Fighter is considered to be proficient with all the weapons listed in that group.

Fighting Styles

The Fighter can take is Fighting Style specialization for the cost of 1 WP. Choose from the following;

Fighting Style

Style	Description	Benefit
Ranged Weapon Style	Archers, marksmen and snipers use ranged weapons as if they were an extension of their body making uncanny shots.	Increase all ranges by 25% and eliminate point blank penalties.
Single-Weapon Style	The character wields a single weapon in one hand and nothing in their free hand.	Gain a +1 to AC when wielding a single weapon only.
Two-Hander Style	The character wields a weapon that requires or accommodates two-hands such as polearms or bastard swords.	Add +1 to damage when wielding a two-handed weapon.
Two-Weapon Style	The character wields a weapon in each hand, making two attacks per round. The weapons may be the same size.	Reduce the penalties for Two Weapon Attacks by 1.
Weapon and Shield Style	The character wields a weapon in their primary hand and a shield on their off-hand.	Gain the Shield Punch maneuver, allowing you to make a 2nd attack with the shield at -2, doing 1d4 damage.

A Fighter may only ever be Specialized in 1 style, again as this is their specialty, and there are no Double Specializations for Fighting styles. That said, a creative DM could make those rules if they wanted to, they are just outside the purview of these rules in specific.

Heroic Surge

Starting at 2nd level a Fighter can push themselves beyond their normal limits for a moment. On their  turn, they take one additional action. They may use this ability once per day. They gain an additional use of this ability at 5th level.

Martial Prowess

The 3rd level fighter, when scoring a Critical Hit (natural 20) may immediately take a second attack against the same target, in addition to normal Critical Hit rules. If the target is down, an adjacent foe may be targeted instead. There must be an available target to use this ability.

Combat Training

At 4th level the Fighters chooses a Combat Ability from the following list;

Combat Abilities

Ability	Description
Blind-Fighting	Not only does the Fighter not suffer Disadvantage on attacks against invisible or concealed opponents, they no longer have Advantage against them.
Combat Expertise	Gain +2 AC by taking a -2 to hit until the start of their next turn.
Far Shot	Do not suffer Disadvantage on Long Range ranged attacks.
Point-Blank Shot	No Disadvantage for making ranged attacks within 15’ of thier target.
Power Attack	Gain a +2 bonus on melee damage rolls, in exchange for a -2 penalty on melee attack rolls until the start of their next turn.
Precise Shot	If shooting or throwing into melee combat they do not get Disadvantage as per normal.
Shield Focus	Increase the AC bonus of their shield by +1. If the Fighter is specialized in Weapon and Shield style, their Shield Punch damage is now 1d6.

At 7th level the Fighter may choose another Combat Ability from the list, but it cannot be one previously taken.

Shake It Off

A 6th level Fighter can recover damage while still fighting. Once per day they can choose to heal 1 hit die during combat as their action instead of attacking. Fighters gain a second use of this ability at level 9.

Indomitable

Once per day a Fighter can choose to succeed on a failed Saving Throw.

Old Soldier

At 10th level the Fighter is so adept at combat once per day he can do each of the following;

• Seize the Initiative, allowing his side to go first in a round.
• Take Advantage on an Attack, or confer it to an adjacent ally.
• Take Advantage on a Defense, or confer it to an adjacent ally.

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So there you have it, a Fighter I would want to play in a heat-beat. Some of the rules represented by this class are not yet revealed (such as the way Hit Points, Hit Dice, Saves, and Defense), but they will be very soon.

I hope you enjoyed this and I look forward to your feedback.

Until next time...

Andrew Collas
a.k.a. Celtic Viking, Grumpy Old Gamer, Bear
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/acelticviking
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