Man-at-arms
The man-at-arms is the archetypical fighter, defender or guardian. The members of this class differ very widely, from ruthless mercenaries to knights in shining armor, some a heroes, others only brutes. The Man-at-arms is the primary warrior class, trained in the use of multiple weapons and armors and in fighting in individual combat as well as on large battlefields. There are many different warriors within this class, but they all have their martial prowess in common. Examples for Man-at-arms characters include almost every soldier, warrior or knight, from Heracles to Sharpe.
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The man-at-arms is one of the three classes I am most content with; it has many options, it completely fulfils its role as a warrior and is flexible and adaptable to a great amount of various concepts. Yes, a character like this is most potent in combat and will easily beat most of the other classes in a direct confrontation. As it should be. The variability of the class also allows to cover very different concepts, from an amoral pirate to the glorious knight in shining armor.
The Man-at-arms is also one of the classes were the similarity to its progenitor is extremely obvious, but thanks to the Arts of War, the Man-at-arms is not only mechanically superior to the fighter, but also offer more flexibility and options for the player.
Hit Points at 1st Level: 20 + Con modifier
Hit Points at Each Additional Level: 4 + Con modifier.
Class Skills
The man-at-arms’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Appraise (Int+Cha), Climb (Str+Dex), Craft (Weaponsmithing), (Str+Int), Craft (Armorsmithing) (Str+Int) Handle Animal (Wis+Cha), Heal (Wis+Cha), Intimidate (Wis+Cha), Jump (2xStr), Knowledge (tactics and war) (2xInt), Knowledge (nobility and royalty) (2xInt), Listen (Con+Wis), Perform (weapon drill) (Dex+Cha), Profession (Wis+?), Ride (Dex+Cha), Spot (Wis+Con), Swim (Str+Con), and Use Rope (Str+Dex).
Skill Points at 1st Level: (5 + Int modifier) x 4.
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 5 + Int modifier.
Table: The Man-at-arms
{table=head]Level|BAB|BDB|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special
1st|+1
|+1
|+3
|+1
|+1
| Weapon Training, Bonus feat
2nd|+2
|+2
|+4
|+1
|+1
| Bonus feat, Way of the Warrior
3rd|+3
|+3
|+5
|+2
|+2
|Art of War, Simple
4th|+4
|+4
|+5
|+2
|+2
| Bonus feat
5th|+5
|+5
|+6
|+3
|+3
| Art of War, Simple
6th|+6/+1
|+5
|+7
|+3
|+3
| Bonus feat, improved Way of the Warrior
7th|+7/+2
|+6
|+7
|+3
|+3
| Art of War, Simple
8th|+8/+3
|+7
|+8
|+4
|+4
| Bonus feat
9th|+9/+4
|+8
|+9
|+4
|+4
| Art of War, Advanced
10th|+10/+5
|+9
|+9
|+5
|+5
| Bonus feat, greater Way of the Warrior
11th|+11/+6/+1
|+10
|+10
|+5
|+5
|Art of War, Advanced
12th|+12/+7/+2
|+10
|+11
|+6
|+6
| Bonus Feat
13th|+13/+8/+3
|+11
|+11
|+6
|+6
| Art of War, Advanced
14th|+14/+9/+4
|+12
|+12
|+6
|+6
| Bonus feat
15th|+15/+10/+5
|+13
|+13
|+7
|+7
| Art of War, Complex
16th|+16/+11/+6/+1
|+14
|+13
|+7
|+7
| Bonus feat
17th|+17/+12/+7/+2
|+15
|+14
|+8
|+8
| Art of War, Complex
18th|+18/+13/+8/+3
|+15
|+15
|+8
|+8
| Bonus feat
19th|+19/+14/+9/+4
|+16
|+15
|+9
|+9
| Art of War, Complex
20th|+20/+15/+10/+5
|+17
|+16
|[center]+9/center]|+9
| Bonus feat, Art of War, Peerless
[/table]
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the man-at-arms:
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A man-at-arms is proficient with all simple and martial weapons and with all armor (heavy, medium, and light) and shields (including tower shields).
Weapons Training (Ex): A Man-at-arms trains obsessively with armor and weapons of all kinds, and using a new weapon is easy and fun for him. By practicing with a weapon he is not proficient with for a week, a Man-at-arms may gain proficiency with that weapon as long as he trains regularly with it. A man-at-arms can only get proficiency with one exotic weapon at a time through this ability; if he trains a new weapon, he loses the proficiency with the older one.
Bonus Feats: At 1st level, a man-at-arms gets a bonus combat-oriented feat in addition to the feat that any 1st-level character gets and the bonus feat granted to a human character. The man-at-arms gains an additional bonus feat at 2nd level and every two man-at-arms levels thereafter (4th, 6th, 8th, 10th, 12th, 14th, 16th, 18th, and 20th). These bonus feats must be drawn from the fighter bonus feat list. A man-at-arms must still meet all prerequisites for a bonus feat, including ability score and base attack bonus minimums.
These bonus feats are in addition to the feat that a character of any class gets from advancing levels. A man-at-arms is not limited to the list of man-at-arms bonus feats when choosing these feats.
Art of War: at level 3, and every odd level after that, the Man-at-arms gains a special ability from the appropriate list of Arts of War. No ability may be taken more than once. If an Art of War ability has other such abilities as prerequisites, a Man-at-arms must possess the prerequisite abilities to take the ability in question.
Way of the Warrior: At 2nd level, a man-at-arms decides to follow one specific style of fighting, and gains a bonus to some special skills – like Attack Rolls, Defense Rolls or certain skill rolls when he follows this certain way. To follow a certain way, the man-at-arms must fulfill some requirements to get the bonus. At 6th and 10th level, the Bonus increases. You may use your 2nd level Bonus feat to fulfill the requirements of any way of the warrior.
The man-at-arm's ways of the warrior:
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Way of the Ambush
Requirements: Move silently 2 Ranks, Hide 2 Ranks, Stealthy
Bonus: You get Sneak Attack +1 d6 at 2nd level. At 6th level, the damage increases to +2d6, and on 10th level to +3d6
Way of Ambidexterity
Requirements: Dexterity 15
Bonus: You get Two Weapon Combat as a Bonus Feat at 2nd level, Improved Two Weapon Combat at 6th level, and Greater Two Weapon Fighting on 10th level. The Man-at-arms does not have to fulfill the feats’ prerequisites.
Way of the Brave
Requirements: Concentration 3 Ranks
Bonus: You get a +4 Bonus to resist fear and fear-like effects and spells and can cast Heroism (self only) as a spell-like ability that you can use 1/day at 2nd level whereby your caster level is equal to half of your man-at-arms class levels. You get additional uses at 6th and 10th level. To successfully use the heroism ability, you must succeed in a Concentration Check (DC 15).
Way of the Horseman
Requirements: Mounted Combat, 4 Ranks in Handle Animal and Ride
Bonus: +1 to Attack and +2 to Damage rolls with all melee attacks when mounted. You also get a +2 Bonus to all Ride and Handle Animal checks that deal with your mount. These Bonuses increases to +2/+4 on 6th level and +3/+6 on level 10.
Way of the Defender
Requirements: Combat expertise
Bonus: When fighting defensively, using Combat Expertise, or using the total defense action, increase the dodge bonus to Defense that you gain from using that tactic by 1. This Bonus increases to +3 on 6th, and +5 on 10th level.
Way of the Tyrant
Requirements: Intimidate 5 Ranks, Skill Focus (intimidate)
Bonus: On 2nd level, you can intimidate your foes with a move action, instead of a standard action. On 6th level, you can use the intimidate skill to demoralize all foes within 30’ radius, and on 10th level, you only need a swift action to use the intimidate skill. Additionally, you get a +2 Bonus to the Intimidate skill on every step (up to +6 on 10th level).
Way of the Bull
Requirements: Power Attack, Improved Bull Rush
Bonus: Whenever you bullrush or charge an opponent, you get a +1 Bonus to your attack roll and Strength checks. This bonus increases at 6th level to +3 and at 10th level to +5.
Way of the Mongoose
Requirements: Improved Initiative, Combat Reflexes or Elf
Bonus: You get a +1 Bonus to your initiative and your reflex saves. This bonus increases by +1 at 6th and 10th level.
Way of the Mageslayer
Requirements: Iron Will, Knowledge (Arcane) 1 Rank or Dwarf
Bonus: +1 to saving throws against spells and spell-like effects, this bonus increases at 6th and 10th level by +1.
Way of the Survivor
Requirements: Endurance, 3 Ranks in Heal
Bonus: +5 Hitpoints at 2nd, 6th and 10th level.
Way of the Knight
Requirement: significant code of honor, Ride 3 Ranks, Knowledge (nobility and royalty) 3 Ranks
Bonus: You gain a +2 to Charisma based skills and may treat Diplomacy, Sense motive and Gather Information as class skills. The bonus increases to +4 at 6th and +6 at 10th level. In addition, you may add your bonus from your code of honor to your leadership score as well, if you take the leadership feat.
Way of the Blackguard
Requirements: No code of honor, Appraise 3 Ranks, Knowledge (tactics and war) 3 ranks
Bonus: You get a +2 Bonus to Charisma based skills and may treat Bluff, Sneak and Hide as Class Skills. The bonus increases to +4 at 6th and +6 at 10th level.
Way of the Corsair
Requirements: Swim 2 Ranks, Use Rope 2 Ranks, Profession (Sailor) 2 Ranks, Balance 1 Rank
Bonus: You can treat Balance as a class skill and can ignore the penalty to combat roles from slippery footing. Add +1 to your Attack Rolls and Defense Rolls when fighting on board of a ship. This bonus increases by +1 at level 6 and 10.
Way of the true Ally
Requirements: minor code of honor, Charisma 11+
Bonus: When you use the Help another action, you grant your ally an additional +1 Bonus and gain an equal bonus to your defense. This increases to +2 at 6th and +3 at 10th level.
Variant: Dungeon Crasher
This variant of the man-at-arms is more specialized in fighting in the enclosed space of subterranean cave or dungeon. They do not get the Bonus feat on second and 6th level, but the Dungeon Crasher abil-ity described in Dungeonscape (p. 10).
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