Atlas   Rules   Resources   Adventures   Stories       FAQ   Search   Links



Fighter features

by paladinn

So most (or at least many) will agree that "plain" fighters need somewhat of a boost in Classic, especially B/X. I'm sure that was one of the things that factored into the Mentzer Companion and Master sets. The "fighter combat options" kick in about L9, and extra attack at L12. That's kind of a long time to wait, especially for front-line fighters.

Outside of weapon mastery, much of which I dislike RAW (mainly because it limits basic weapon proficiencies by class), what are some things that could supplement or replace what's there in the rules?

Here are a few:
1. Combat Dominance, aka the "mook rule." This was in D&D in Chainmail, 1e and 2e (as an option), but somehow got left out of BXECMI. When facing foes of 1HD or less (or <1HD), a fighter can attack a number of times up to his/her level. In BECMI, that is basically how "extra attack" works, only against foes that can be hit with a rolling a 2.

I would make it based on half the fighter's HD, round down, both for the applicable foes and the number of attacks, starting at L4. If you run out of attacks or attack a foe with higher HD, it ends.

2. Weapon Expertise. For "plain" fighters only, weapons do the next higher die in damage: d4 > d6, d6 > d8, etc. Not sure what level this would kick in.

3. Martial Prominence. This allows a fighter to take a penalty of however much to his/her attack roles and apply to either damage or AC. It's a lower-level version of Smash and Parry combined. Again, not sure what level to start this.

4. "Real" Extra Attacks. As promised in B/X, at higher levels, fighters would get full extra attacks regardless of the foe's HD. Cook/Marsh suggested to start at L15 and add an attack every 5 levels. I'd likely start this at L10.

5. Weapon Specialization. I'd use the 2e or C&C version of this. Starting at Lwhatever, a fighter can choose One weapon type to specialize with. S/he gets a +1 attack and damage every X levels, either to an existing weapon or a new one. +4 total max. This would obviously replace Weapon Mastery.

Any impressions?