LOTRfan
2011-05-16, 08:04 PM
Dead Levels: Fighter
Alright, I am not going to lie; the Fighter will always be stuck in a Tier 4-6 area, because of the fact that it doesn't have any magic potential at all. Despite this, though, it doesn't even get a complete list of class features; whereas the Barbarian has at least one ability every level, the Fighter has a total of nine dead levels and no capstone (but most classes didn't have one in early 3.X, anyway). This is my attempt to give the Fighter a little extra. I am not delusional; this will not make the Fighter go up a tier. This is just to give the average Fighter some neat little tricks, and fill out those empty spaces in the class table. Any suggestions/ideas to replace these abilities are welcome.
Strengthened Will (Ex): At 3rd level, a Fighter is conditioned to be the best warrior he can be, to the point of even withstanding mental assaults. A Fighter adds his Constitution modifier, if any, to all Will saves.
Specialized Training (Ex): At 5th level, a Fighter can specialize into a specific role of his choice. A Fighter can select one of the following benefits as a class feature:
Street Fighter: A Fighter gains a sneak attack special ability that works exactly like the Rogue’s ability, except that his effective Rogue level is equal to one half his Fighter level. This ability stacks with any rogue levels he may take.
Mounted Warrior: A fighter gains a special mount that functions in many ways like a Druid’s animal companion. A Medium fighter has the following options for this special mount: Camel, Dire Boar, Dire Wolf, Heavy Warhorse, Light Warhorse, and Terror Bird. A Small fighter has the following choices: Boar, Dire Badger, Dire Hawk, Dire Weasel, Riding Dog, Monitor Lizard, Warpony, and Wolf. The Fighter’s effective Druid level is equal to ½ his Fighter levels.
Weapons Master: A fighter specializes in a special category of weapons. Choose a single category (light melee weapons, martial ranged weapons, etc.), and the Fighter gains a +2 bonus to all attack and damage rolls when using weapons of that type. The threat for critical using these weapons increase by one. These features stack with any ability that gives similar bonuses.
Shieldbrother: A fighter specializes in protecting himself and his allies. When adjacent to an ally, neither one can be flanked, and both gain a +2 morale bonus to Armor Class. Both also get a bonus to all saves equal to ½ the Fighter’s total character level.
Martial Artist: A fighter is proficient with his unarmed strikes, and may use the Flurry of Blows ability as the Monk ability. He deals unarmed strike damage as a monk of ½ his level would.
Efficient Fighting (Ex): At 7th level, a Fighter becomes even greater at combat, minimizing disadvantages while maximizing any and all potential advantages. When using a feat that requires the Fighter to lessen his attack bonus for another benefit (like Combat Expertise or Power Attack), the benefit of that action is multiplied by 3. For example, a Fighter using Combat Expertise who takes a -2 penalty to the attack roll gets a +6 dodge bonus to Armor Class, instead of the usual +1.
Quickened Strikes (Ex): At 9th level, a Fighter is capable of performing a number of attacks in quick succession. Instead of being a full round action, a full attack is instead treated as a standard action. This means that the Fighter can take a move action in addition to a full attack each round.
Winding Blow (Ex): At 11th level, when a Fighter uses the Power Attack against an opponent, the opponent must make a successful fortitude save (DC 10 + ½ Character level + Str modifier), or become fatigued for the rest of the encounter. If the target is already fatigued, it becomes exhausted instead.
Toughened Condition (Ex): At 13th level, a Fighter has been battle hardened. He adds his Constitution modifier as a bonus to his Armor Class whenever he wears armor. He is also immune to massive damage.
Advanced Specialized Training (Ex): At 15th level, the Fighter's training is advanced even further. The Fighter gets one of the benefits below, corresponding to the Fighter's choice at 15th level.
Street Fighter: The Fighter gains Uncanny Dodge, as in the Rogue ability.
Mounted Warrior: The Fighter's Druid level is now equal to 3/4 his Fighter level.
Weapons Master: When using the weapon category he selected, the Fighter increases the critical hit damage multiplier by one, and the attack/damage roll bonus is increased by +2 (for a +4 bonus overall).
Shieldbrother: Once per encounter, as an immediate action, the Fighter may switch spots with an adjacent ally.
Martial Artist: The damage the Fighter deals with his unarmed strikes are now equal to how much damage a monk of equal level would do.
Powerful Smite (Ex): At 17th level, when a Fighter uses his Power Attack feat, the enemy must make a reflex save (DC 10 + ½ Character level + Str modifier), or be knocked prone.
Extreme Resilience (Ex): At 19th level, a Fighter is not killed by merely reaching -10 hit points. He instead dies when he reaches a negative integer that equals (10 + number of Fighter levels + Con modifier). In addition, he gains Diehard as a bonus feat, even if he does not meet the prerequisites.
Masterful Combat Training (Ex): At 20th level, a Fighter is a master at his specialization. He is a paragon of his combat style.
Street Fighter: These fighters gain a number of bonus attacks of opportunity per round equal to their Intelligence modifier.
Mounted Warrior: These fighters are treated as a druid of equal level to their fighter levels for the purpose of determining their animal companion bonus. Lances wielded by the fighter deal triple damage when charging from a mount.
Weapons Master: These fighters gain an additional +4 bonus to all attack and damage rolls when using the weapon group he chose at 5th level (for a +8 bonus in total).
Shieldbrother: When using a shield while adjacent to at least one ally, the Shieldbrother gains an extra +4 bonus to his AC, and all adjacent allies gain the normal benefit of the shield the fighter wields as long as they remain in an adjacent square.
Martial Artist: When using his unarmed strike, he adds double his strength modifier to his base damage.
Alright, I am not going to lie; the Fighter will always be stuck in a Tier 4-6 area, because of the fact that it doesn't have any magic potential at all. Despite this, though, it doesn't even get a complete list of class features; whereas the Barbarian has at least one ability every level, the Fighter has a total of nine dead levels and no capstone (but most classes didn't have one in early 3.X, anyway). This is my attempt to give the Fighter a little extra. I am not delusional; this will not make the Fighter go up a tier. This is just to give the average Fighter some neat little tricks, and fill out those empty spaces in the class table. Any suggestions/ideas to replace these abilities are welcome.
Strengthened Will (Ex): At 3rd level, a Fighter is conditioned to be the best warrior he can be, to the point of even withstanding mental assaults. A Fighter adds his Constitution modifier, if any, to all Will saves.
Specialized Training (Ex): At 5th level, a Fighter can specialize into a specific role of his choice. A Fighter can select one of the following benefits as a class feature:
Street Fighter: A Fighter gains a sneak attack special ability that works exactly like the Rogue’s ability, except that his effective Rogue level is equal to one half his Fighter level. This ability stacks with any rogue levels he may take.
Mounted Warrior: A fighter gains a special mount that functions in many ways like a Druid’s animal companion. A Medium fighter has the following options for this special mount: Camel, Dire Boar, Dire Wolf, Heavy Warhorse, Light Warhorse, and Terror Bird. A Small fighter has the following choices: Boar, Dire Badger, Dire Hawk, Dire Weasel, Riding Dog, Monitor Lizard, Warpony, and Wolf. The Fighter’s effective Druid level is equal to ½ his Fighter levels.
Weapons Master: A fighter specializes in a special category of weapons. Choose a single category (light melee weapons, martial ranged weapons, etc.), and the Fighter gains a +2 bonus to all attack and damage rolls when using weapons of that type. The threat for critical using these weapons increase by one. These features stack with any ability that gives similar bonuses.
Shieldbrother: A fighter specializes in protecting himself and his allies. When adjacent to an ally, neither one can be flanked, and both gain a +2 morale bonus to Armor Class. Both also get a bonus to all saves equal to ½ the Fighter’s total character level.
Martial Artist: A fighter is proficient with his unarmed strikes, and may use the Flurry of Blows ability as the Monk ability. He deals unarmed strike damage as a monk of ½ his level would.
Efficient Fighting (Ex): At 7th level, a Fighter becomes even greater at combat, minimizing disadvantages while maximizing any and all potential advantages. When using a feat that requires the Fighter to lessen his attack bonus for another benefit (like Combat Expertise or Power Attack), the benefit of that action is multiplied by 3. For example, a Fighter using Combat Expertise who takes a -2 penalty to the attack roll gets a +6 dodge bonus to Armor Class, instead of the usual +1.
Quickened Strikes (Ex): At 9th level, a Fighter is capable of performing a number of attacks in quick succession. Instead of being a full round action, a full attack is instead treated as a standard action. This means that the Fighter can take a move action in addition to a full attack each round.
Winding Blow (Ex): At 11th level, when a Fighter uses the Power Attack against an opponent, the opponent must make a successful fortitude save (DC 10 + ½ Character level + Str modifier), or become fatigued for the rest of the encounter. If the target is already fatigued, it becomes exhausted instead.
Toughened Condition (Ex): At 13th level, a Fighter has been battle hardened. He adds his Constitution modifier as a bonus to his Armor Class whenever he wears armor. He is also immune to massive damage.
Advanced Specialized Training (Ex): At 15th level, the Fighter's training is advanced even further. The Fighter gets one of the benefits below, corresponding to the Fighter's choice at 15th level.
Street Fighter: The Fighter gains Uncanny Dodge, as in the Rogue ability.
Mounted Warrior: The Fighter's Druid level is now equal to 3/4 his Fighter level.
Weapons Master: When using the weapon category he selected, the Fighter increases the critical hit damage multiplier by one, and the attack/damage roll bonus is increased by +2 (for a +4 bonus overall).
Shieldbrother: Once per encounter, as an immediate action, the Fighter may switch spots with an adjacent ally.
Martial Artist: The damage the Fighter deals with his unarmed strikes are now equal to how much damage a monk of equal level would do.
Powerful Smite (Ex): At 17th level, when a Fighter uses his Power Attack feat, the enemy must make a reflex save (DC 10 + ½ Character level + Str modifier), or be knocked prone.
Extreme Resilience (Ex): At 19th level, a Fighter is not killed by merely reaching -10 hit points. He instead dies when he reaches a negative integer that equals (10 + number of Fighter levels + Con modifier). In addition, he gains Diehard as a bonus feat, even if he does not meet the prerequisites.
Masterful Combat Training (Ex): At 20th level, a Fighter is a master at his specialization. He is a paragon of his combat style.
Street Fighter: These fighters gain a number of bonus attacks of opportunity per round equal to their Intelligence modifier.
Mounted Warrior: These fighters are treated as a druid of equal level to their fighter levels for the purpose of determining their animal companion bonus. Lances wielded by the fighter deal triple damage when charging from a mount.
Weapons Master: These fighters gain an additional +4 bonus to all attack and damage rolls when using the weapon group he chose at 5th level (for a +8 bonus in total).
Shieldbrother: When using a shield while adjacent to at least one ally, the Shieldbrother gains an extra +4 bonus to his AC, and all adjacent allies gain the normal benefit of the shield the fighter wields as long as they remain in an adjacent square.
Martial Artist: When using his unarmed strike, he adds double his strength modifier to his base damage.