The Fighter

After reading +James Spahn's blog post about spicing up his fighters for his B/X and Labyrinth Lord games, I've decided to do the same and share my variant Fighter class for Swords and Wizardry Complete.

While I've never had a shortage of fighters in my games over the last 25 years, I do think the fighter needs some extra oomph and a little more variety beyond weapon choice.  The fighting style specializations are my attempt at doing so.

As a side note, "Maximum Weapon Damage" is a rule I use.  Basically, I don't restrict weapon usage by class, but instead have a maximum size on the damage die based on class.  So, a magic-user can wield a longsword, but he's only going to deal 1d6 damage with it.  Fighters and paladins have no such maximum die, and always roll the damage die of the weapon they're using.

The Fighter

Master of Weapons and Armor

As a Fighter, you are trained in the ways of battle.  You know how to use weapons and armor to their full extent.  Whether you’re a medieval knight, a bar-room brawler, or a daring swashbuckler, you’ll likely end up on the front lines fighting toe-to-toe with your enemies while protecting your allies from harm.

Prime Attribute: Strength 13+ (+5% experience bonus)
Hit Dice: 1d8/level (Gains 2 hp/level after 9th)
Armor/Shield Permitted: Any.
Maximum Weapon Damage: As weapon.

Fighter Advancement

Level	XP	HD	BHB	ST
1	0	1d8	+1	14
2	2,000	2d8	+1	13
3	4,000	3d8	+2	12
4	8,000	4d8	+3	11
5	16,000	5d8	+3	10
6	32,000	6d8	+4	9
7	64,000	7d8	+5	8
8	128,000	8d8	+5	7
9	256,000	9d8	+6	6
10	512,000	9d8+2	+7	5

Class Features

Cull the Weak: Against creatures with 1 HD or less, a Fighter makes one attack per level each round.
Weapon Expertise: At first level, the Fighter picks a weapon that he knows better than any other weapon.  When using this weapon, he gains a +1 bonus to attack rolls and a +2 bonus to damage rolls.

Fighting Style Specialization

While a fighter is trained in all manner of fighting styles, he has one favored fighting style above all others.  At first level, pick one of the following style specializations.

Archery: Archers are capable of shooting their bows and crossbows with peerless accuracy.  When firing a bow or crossbow, he may accurately select his target when firing at targets engaged in melee combat.
Brawling: Trained in the bar-room battlefield, Brawlers have learned to use their bodies as effective weapons and deal 1d8 points of damage with unarmed attacks.  They have also been subject to an inordinate amount of physical abuse, and gain a bonus to their Armor Class equal to their Constitution bonus when wearing no armor (can still use shield).
Defending: Defenders are skilled shield wielders who are capable of better defending themselves and their allies.  The Defender adds an additional +1 bonus to his Armor Class when wielding a shield.  On his turn, a Defender may declare that he is protecting an adjacent ally.  Until the Defender’s next turn, the ally is protected by the Defender’s shield, granting an Armor Class bonus equal to the shield’s bonus (including the Defenders +1 from this specialization).
Dueling: Masters of dueling styles that are popular among nobles, Duelists are daring fighters who protect themselves with agility and cunning.  When wearing no armor and not wielding a shield, a Duelist gains a bonus to his Armor Class equal to his Dexterity score – 13.  (So +1 at 14, +2 at 15, etc. to a maximum of +5 at 18).  This bonus is in addition to the standard AC bonus for high Dexterity.
Great Weapon Fighting: These fighters have focused on large weapons during their training and have learned to better use the momentum of the weapons to devastating effect.  The Great Weapon Specialist doubles his Strength bonus to damage when wielding a melee weapon with two hands.
Two-Weapon Fighting: Masters of fighting techniques involving wielding two weapons, Two-Weapon Specialists an an additional +1 bonus to their attack rolls when fighting with two weapons.