[3.5 Fighter Feats] Boosting the Fighter

Background- The Fighter. A glorious concept of a class the archetypal warrior...that just gets bonus feats. People have tried to retool the Fighter over and over and over, with not everyone being satisfied. However, few have thought of changing the feats a fighter gets. As such, I've decided to make some new Fighter feats, with a few from a previous thread reposted, and some existing ones retooled. Please enjoy.

Mighty Weapon Wielder[Fighter]
Prerequisites: BAB +1
Benefit: You may wield any weapon you could previously wield two-handed with one hand.

Weapon Focus[Fighter]
Prerequisites: Proficiency with selected weapon, BAB +1
Benefits: You gain a bonus to attack rolls equal to 1 + 1/4 the number of Fighter feats you have.
Special: This feat can be taken again, selecting a new weapon each time

Greater Weapon Focus[Fighter]
Prerequisites: Weapon Focus with selected weapon, Fighter level 8th
Benefits: Your bonus to attack rolls with the selected weapon changes to 2 + 1/3 the number of Fighter feats you have.
Special: You may take this feat again, selecting a new weapon each time

Weapon Specialization[Fighter]
Prerequisites: Weapon Focus with selected Weapon, Fighter level 4th
Benefits: You gain a bonus to damage rolls with the selected weapon equal to 2 + the number of Fighter feats you have
Special: This feat can be taken multiple times, provided you meet the prerequisites for it and choose a different weapon each time

Greater Weapon Specialization[Fighter]
Prerequisites: Greater Weapon Focus with selected weapon, Weapon Focus with selected weapon, Weapon Specialization with selected weapon, fighter level 12th
Benefit: Your bonus to damage rolls with the selected weapon changes to 4 + (1.5 * the number of Fighter feats you have).
Special: You may take this feat multiple times, choosing a new weapon each time.

Armor Focus[Fighter]
Prerequisites: Proficiency with selected type of Armor
Benefit: You gain an additional bonus to AC from the selected type of armor equal to 1 + 1/4 the number of Fighter feats you have.
Special: You may take this multiple times, selecting a new type of armor each time.

Armor Specialization
Prerequisites: Fighter level 4th, Armor Focus with selected type of armor
Benefit: You no longer take any speed penalties for wearing armor, and you may reduce Armor check penalties by 1 + 1/4 the number of Fighter feats you have.
Special: You may select this feat multiple times, selecting a new type of armor each time.

Greater Armor Focus[Fighter]
Prerequisites: Armor Focus with selected type of Armor, Fighter level 6th
Benefits: Your bonus to AC to the selected type of armor changes to 2 + 1/3 the number of Fighter feats you have.
Special:You may select this feat again, choosing a new type of armor each time.

Swift Blow[Fighter]
Benefit: You know how to pull off a quick attack. Once per encounter, you may attack as a swift action. You may do this an additional time per encounter for every three Fighter feats you have. You gain a -1 penalty to attack and damage rolls done this way.

Shield Warrior[Fighter]
Prerequisites: Proficiency with Shields, Fighter level 2nd
Benefits: You may reduce the penalty for attacks made while fighting defensively while wielding a shield by 1 + 1 for each two Fighter feats you have. You also gain an additional +1 bonus to AC while fighting defensively wielding a shield.

Improved Shield Warrior[Fighter]
Prerequisites: Shield Warrior, Fighter level 6th
Benefits: You now know how to fight better while protecting yourself. While wielding a shield and fighting defensively, you gain a bonus to attacks equal to 1 + 1/6 the number of Fighter feats you have. Also, you may attack once every two turns while taking the Total Defense action, and may apply half the bonus to AC that Shield Warrior gives when fighting defensively with a shield.

Meat Shield[Fighter]
Prerequisites: Fighter level 1st
Benefit: You gain an additional 2 hit points per Fighter feat you have, including this one and ones you take in the future.

Superior Fist[Fighter]
Prerequisites: Fighter level 1st
Benefit: You are treated as being armed even when wielding no weapons. Your unarmed attacks may now deal lethal or nonlethal damage at your option, and now deals 1d6 damage.
Special: This feat counts as Improved Unarmed Strike for the purpose of meeting feat and prestige class prerequisites.

Grand Strike[Fighter]
Prerequisites: Fighter Level 2, one Fighter Bonus Feat
Benefit: You learn to use your expertise in arms to further benefit your attacks. When making a non-magical melee attack, you add a number of dice to the weapon equal to 1/2 the number of fighter bonus feats you have. This may, at no time, add more additional dice than 1/2 your level. (ex1. A Fighter 2 has 2 Fighter Bonus feats and attacks with a Longspear(1d8), so he adds 2 Fighter Bonus feats/2 = 1 dice to his attack, making the attack deal 2d8 damage. ex2. A Fighter 6 with 4 Fighter Bonus feats attacks with a dagger(1d4), so he adds 4 Fighter Bonus feats/2 = 2 dice to the attack, dealing 3d4 damage with the attack). This feat's benefit applies only to your primary weapon.

Grand Twin Strike[Fighter]
Prerequisites: Grand Strike, Two Weapon Fighting, 4th level
Benefit: When wielding two weapons, you may grant your off-hand weapon an additional amount of dice to attacks equal to 1/2 the dice it would be entitled to if it were being used as a primary weapon.

Grand Shot[Fighter]
Prerequisites: Fighter Level 2, one Fighter Bonus Feat
Benefit: You learn to use your expertise in arms to further benefit your attacks. When making a non-magical ranged melee attack, you add a number of dice to the weapon equal to 1/2 the number of fighter bonus feats you have. This may, at no time, add more additional dice than 1/2 your level.

Favored Weapon Strike[Fighter]
Prerequisites: Weapon Focus, Weapon Specialization, Greater Weapon Focus, Grand Strike(if melee) or Grand Shot(if ranged), 12th level
Benefit: Choose one weapon that you have the Weapon Focus, Weapon Specialization, and Greater Weapon Focus for. When using the effects of Grand Shot or Grand Strike(as appropriate for weapon type), you may add an additional amount of dice equal to your Strength modifier, regardless of whether this would exceed Grand Shot or Grand Strike's limit of dice that could be added. If you also have or later gain Greater Weapon Specialization for this weapon, you may add an additional die of damage.
Special: This may be selected multiple times, selecting a new weapon each time, provided you somehow have the appropriate feats for that type of weapon.

Note: For the purpose of counting [Fighter] feats, any feat that may be selected as a Fighter Bonus feat is considered to be a [Fighter] feat

Note: Martial Study and Stance are now changed to be able to be selected a number of times equal to 3 + 1/4 the number of Fighter feats you have.

I would also recommend giving the Fighter Fighter feats at every level, or giving them this class feature:

Fighting Spirit: You treat your Fighter level as the number of [Fighter] feats you have. However, you do not count Fighter feats selected through this class as Fighter feats for the purpose of counting the number of Fighter feats you have, only counting [Fighter] feats gained from other classes or gained from normal feat selection.

That will be all for now. Please PEACH and comment.

Looks good.

In general I like these feats, but the ones that increase AC...they're just wrong. Especially at the level you get them, they basically mean "you miss". There a reason for that?

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Originally Posted by Phosphate

In general I like these feats, but the ones that increase AC...they're just wrong. Especially at the level you get them, they basically mean "you miss". There a reason for that?

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Um, not entirely sure what you mean by "you miss". Could you please explain?

I have always thought that the fighter class was to broad. It seems to just mean a guy who has good hp and rellys on is equipment and str for combat, but I think it would add more flavor if you had feats like this for example

Bouncing Axe
Discription: You have learned to ricochet non-piercing throwing weapons off of any surface
Prerequisite: Weapon Focus with a non-piercing throwing weapon, BAB +1
Benefit: When throwing a non-piercing weapon at any object or person you may choose another target no farther then one range increment away. You may attack this new target with the same weapon if you hit the first one. Use the same attack roll used to hit the first target but this new target is now flat footed because the attack is coming from an odd angle. The damage of this second attack is 1/2 the damage you dealt in your first attack.

or this one

stategic thinking
Discription: You always have a back up plan
Prerequisite: 1 rank in knowlage (tactics)
Benefit: When entering a new room you my make a knowlage (tactics) check to locate traps and secret doors instead of search as a free action. If you find any thing strange you and your allies gain a +1 circumstance bonus to attack rolls, knowlage (tactics) checks, and a +1 morale bonus to saves vs. fear. You lose this bonus after leaving this room.

I like feats like this one more because it adds more diversity to the fighter and better defines who the character is

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Originally Posted by Dr.Orpheus

I have always thought that the fighter class was to broad. It seems to just mean a guy who has good hp and rellys on is equipment and str for combat, but I think it would add more flavor if you had feats like this for example

Bouncing Axe
Discription: You have learned to ricochet non-piercing throwing weapons off of any surface
Prerequisite: Weapon Focus with a non-piercing throwing weapon, BAB +1
Benefit: When throwing a non-piercing weapon at any object or person you may choose another target no farther then one range increment away. You may attack this new target with the same weapon if you hit the first one. Use the same attack roll used to hit the first target but this new target is now flat footed because the attack is coming from an odd angle. The damage of this second attack is 1/2 the damage you dealt in your first attack.

or this one

stategic thinking
Discription: You always have a back up plan
Prerequisite: 1 rank in knowlage (tactics)
Benefit: When entering a new room you my make a knowlage (tactics) check to locate traps and secret doors instead of search as a free action. If you find any thing strange you and your allies gain a +1 circumstance bonus to attack rolls, knowlage (tactics) checks, and a +1 morale bonus to saves vs. fear. You lose this bonus after leaving this room.

I like feats like this one more because it adds more diversity to the fighter and better defines who the character is

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...No offense, but what does this have to do with these feats? Also, I think the first feat you made is a Magic Weapon property somewhere, and the second feat looks like a skill trick.

These feats are quite good. Two things, though:
A) One thing that bothers me is that having more [Fighter] feats is a good thing, since a lot of bonuses scale off of that. However, that encourages prioritizing [Fighter] feats, even when you're getting feats at levels 1,3,6, etc, encouraging possible suboptimal choices (and choices that don't seem super interesting) for the sake of minmaxing... I guess that's sort of the story everywhere, but I wanted to get it out.

B) I don't understand Fighting Spirit. Why would you want to give a class feature that counts your fighter level as 1/2 of what is actually is?

Fighting Spirit should have the words "Fighter Level" and "Number of Fighter feats" swapped.

Superior Fist- You're armed. So you don't provoke when you attack with your unarmed strikes, and you threaten with your unarmed strikes. But you don't gain proficiency with them. So you're still taking a -4 penalty to attack rolls.

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Originally Posted by NeoSeraphi

Superior Fist- You're armed. So you don't provoke when you attack with your unarmed strikes, and you threaten with your unarmed strikes. But you don't gain proficiency with them. So you're still taking a -4 penalty to attack rolls.

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No. Fighters gain proficiency with all simple weapons, and unarmed strikes are simple weapons.

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Originally Posted by gkathellar

No. Fighters gain proficiency with all simple weapons, and unarmed strikes are simple weapons.

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I don't think thats true. An unarmed strike is the total lack of a weapon.

Without this feat, you are considered unarmed when attacking with an unarmed strike, and you can deal only nonlethal damage with such an attack.
and

A fighter may select Improved Unarmed Strike as one of his fighter bonus feats

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Phosphate

In general I like these feats, but the ones that increase AC...they're just wrong. Especially at the level you get them, they basically mean "you miss". There a reason for that?

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I really like the AC feats. For me level 6 is kind of when it feels like armor isn't helping as much as it was at earlier levels in average weighted encounters.

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Originally Posted by necroon

I don't think thats true. An unarmed strike is the total lack of a weapon.

Without this feat, you are considered unarmed when attacking with an unarmed strike, and you can deal only nonlethal damage with such an attack.
and

A fighter may select Improved Unarmed Strike as one of his fighter bonus feats

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No. Go read the PHB/SRD entry on weapons again. Unarmed strikes are simple weapons, which is why monks are famously non-proficient with them. Improved Unarmed Strike simply allows you to ignore the unique penalties involved with using them.

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Originally Posted by gkathellar

No. Go read the PHB/SRD entry on weapons again. Unarmed strikes are simple weapons, which is why monks are famously non-proficient with them. Improved Unarmed Strike simply allows you to ignore the unique penalties involved with using them.

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There was an errata to that. I'll go dig it up.

I'm pretty sure that the SRD already has errata applied, but I'll be grateful if you can demonstrate otherwise.

Alrighty, now that the Superior Fist issue has been resolved....(I think)

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Originally Posted by Amechra

Fighting Spirit should have the words "Fighter Level" and "Number of Fighter feats" swapped.

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Changed. The meaning is the same, but now I think the meaning is conveyed more clearly. Thanks.

Also, part of the reasoning with Superior Fist was: Superior Fist + Grand Strike (+ Ki feats if decided to be monk-ish) = Monk's Unarmed Strike as it should've been. And it allows awesome in-play effects with punches. Like:

Player:"I want to break the door"
DM:"You know the drill: Roll"
Player:"I passed!"
DM:"You punch open the door, shattering it to pieces."
Player:"Bad.Ass."

You know? Yeah. :smallbiggrin: