The Fighter - From The Black Mete: Characters & Combat

Here begins a series of posts from my houserule doc. Eventually, I'll finish getting it ship-shape and post the PDF for download. It's basically an alternative Player's Handbook, minus the spells.  It draws on material from S&W, AD&D, LL, various OSR tidbits and the occasional thing of my own. It might be thought of as a mash-up of S&W and AD&D. I'm using the Cleric and MU spells from S&W core and John Stater's Druid spells.

The following is Open Game Content

The Fighter

Fighters are the front line battle-hardened warriors, who go toe-to-toe with their foes, dealing damage and taking it! They may be mercenaries, fighting for pay, servants of liege lords, or religious organizations, or maybe wild eyed Barbarian chieftains. Often, they are members of Adventuring Parties, exploring the dark recesses of the world, battling Monsters for gold and glory. The Fighter is the backbone of an adventuring group and eventually, may lead armies and rule his own demesne.

Prime Attribute: Strength.

Hit Dice: 1d6+3/level (Gains 3 hp/level after 9th.)

Saving Throw Bonus: +2 to saves vs. Poison and Death.

Fighting-man Class Abilities

Fighting Mastery: At 7^th level a Fighter attacks 3/2 rounds. At 14^th level he attacks 2/round.

Slaying Machine: When a Fighter is engaged in melee and brings an opponent to 0 HP or less, he may, in addition to any remaining attacks he may have, immediately make an extra attack against an adjacent enemy (who must be within 5’.) He may use this ability a number of times per round, equal to his number of attacks per round, plus one. If he is engaged in melee against multiple opponents, all of whom are 1 HD/Level or lower, he may use this ability a number of times per round equal to his level.

Advanced Combat Training: A Fighter may choose one area of specialization.

• Melee Specialist: Receives +1 to hit and +1 to damage with any hand-held weapon.

• Bow & Missile Specialist: Receives +1 to hit and +1 to damage, and may fire into melee as if he had studied the situation, with no penalty to his rate of fire.

• Two-Weapon Fighter – When fighting with two weapons, he receives both +1 to hit and +1 to AC (see the Combat Options section.) A Dexterity of 13+ is necessary.

• Serpent Strike: When in leather or lighter armor, he may use his Dex. bonus instead of Strength on his to hit, so long as he is wielding a one-handed bladed or thrusting weapon. Dex. will not grant a bonus to damage. When using his Serpent Strike, he also receives the benefit of the Dual-Weapon Fighter combat training, but suffers a -2 penalty to hit any time he isn’t using his Serpent Strike. A Dex. Of 13+ is required.
  
  
• Shield Master: When using a medium or large shield, the character receives a +2 bonus to AC and Shield Bash attacks.

Establish Stronghold (9th): At ninth level, a Fighter may clear a tract of land and establish a stronghold, attracting loyal men-at-arms and servants, sworn to his service.

Table 12: Fighter Advancement

Level	Experience	Hit Dice	To Hit Bonus	Saving Throw
1	0	1	+0	15
2	2,001	2	+1	14
3	4,001	3	+2	13
4	8,001	4	+3	12
5	16,001	5	+4	11
6	32,001	6	+5	10
7	64,001	7	+5	9
8	120,001	8	+6	8
9	240,001	9	+7	7
10	360,001	+3	+8	7
11	480,001	+6	+9	6
12	600,001	+9	+10	6
13	720,001	+12	+10	5
14	840,001	+15	+11	5
15	960,001	+18	+12	4
16	1,080,001	+21	+13	4
17	1,200,001	+24	+14	4
18	1,320,001	+27	+15	4
19	1,440,001	+30	+16	4
20	1,560,001	+33	+16	4
21+	+120,000/Lvl	+3 HP/Level	+16	4

Table 13: Fighter Combat Chart

Level	-8	-7	-6	-5	-4	-3	-2	-1	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
1	23	22	21	20	20	20	20	20	20	19	18	17	16	15	14	13	12	11
2	22	21	20	20	20	20	20	20	19	18	17	16	15	14	13	12	11	10
3	21	20	20	20	20	20	20	19	18	17	16	15	14	13	12	11	10	9
4	20	20	20	20	20	20	19	18	17	16	15	14	13	12	11	10	9	8
5	20	20	20	20	20	19	18	17	16	15	14	13	12	11	10	9	8	7
6 - 7	20	20	20	20	19	18	17	16	15	14	13	12	11	10	9	8	7	6
8	20	20	20	19	18	17	16	15	14	13	12	11	10	9	8	7	6	5
9	20	20	19	18	17	16	15	14	13	12	11	10	9	8	7	6	5	4
10	20	19	18	17	16	15	14	13	12	11	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3
11	19	18	17	16	15	14	13	12	11	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2
12	18	17	16	15	14	13	12	11	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	2
13 - 14	17	16	15	14	13	12	11	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	2	2
15	16	15	14	13	12	11	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	2	2	2
16	15	14	13	12	11	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	2	2	2	2
17	14	13	12	11	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	2	2	2	2	2
18	13	12	11	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
19+	12	11	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2

Table 14: Fighter Base Weapon Damage

Melee – Small	Melee – Medium	Melee – Large	Arrows & Bolts	Darts & Bullets
1d6	1d8	1d10	1d6	1d4

Notes: I'm using Akrasia's Class Based Weapon Damage, which can be found in Knockspell #1, as well as at the Author's blog. D101 Games is getting ready to release Crypts & Things, an S&W variant which makes use of several of Akrasia's houserules. A definite plus, in my opinion, though I still don't care for Sanity Rules in my D&D. :)

The Saves are a slightly stretched out version of the S&W single save. 

The Fighter Combat Chart is close to that of LL, differing in a few particulars. A 1st level Fighter has a Thaco of 20 instead of 19 and the two other places on the LL charts, where the Fighter's progression pauses, has been moved to match the levels where the class gains additional attacks. When combined with the ability score bonuses I'm using and the specialization options, the Fighter's combat prowess is comparable to pre-UA AD&D.  

I know some folks have an issue with the AD&D mid-levels # of attacks, namely 3/2 rounds. I've always liked it myself. Of course, I also prefer giving Fighter's multiple chances of striking a telling blow, during the round, once they get to mid and high levels. 

Regarding Hit Dice. I like the idea of the d6+n, as my games tend to be rather combat heavy and I prefer to give the players a little break, in this area. For the Fighter, d6+3 is utilized, with levels above 9th receiving 3 per level. I maintained the same symmetry for all the classes, so for instance, the Thief's HD is d4+2 and after 9th level, the class receives 2 hp per level.