Fighter
You are a mailed knight on a king’s errand, a greedy brigand loyal to no man, a wild bear-skinned wanderer with an empty stomach, or a stout man-at-arms armored by a merchant’s gold.
Of all the classes, warriors have the best attack bonus,
the highest hit points, and the most potential for
extra attack actions.
Hit points: A warrior gains 1d12 hit points at each
level.
Weapon training: A warrior is trained in the use of
these weapons: battleaxe, club, crossbow, dagger,
dart, handaxe, javelin, longbow, longsword, mace,
polearm, shortbow, short sword, sling, spear, staff,
two-handed sword, and warhammer. Warriors wear
whatever armor they can afford.
Alignment: Warriors can follow one of several paths
based on their alignment, which in turn affects their
title. Royal warriors, employed by nobility, are lawful.
Lawless warriors, fighting merely for profit or
carnage, are chaotic. Wild warriors, natives of the
barren steppes or deadly forests, are neutral or chaotic.
Hired warriors, loyal to a cause, a man, or simply
the fattest purse, can be lawful, neutral, or chaotic.
Attack modifier: Unlike other classes, warriors do
not receive a fixed attack modifier at each level. Instead,
they receive a randomized modifier known as
a deed die. At 1st level, this is a d3. The warrior rolls
this d3 on each attack roll and applies it to both his
attack roll and his damage roll. On one attack, the
die may give him a +1 to his attack roll and damage
roll. On the next attack, the die may give him +3! The
deed die advances with the warrior’s level, climbing
to d7 by 5th level, and then higher up to d10+4 at
10th level. The warrior always makes a new roll with
this die in each combat round. When the warrior has
multiple attacks at higher levels, the same deed die
applies to all attacks in the same combat round.
Mighty Deed of Arms: Warriors earn their gold with
pure physical prowess. They swing across chapels on
chandelier chains, bash through iron-banded oaken
doors, and leap over chasms in pursuit of their foes.
When locked in mortal melee, their mighty deeds of
arms turn the course of battle: a brazen bull rush to
push back the enemy lines, a swinging flail to entangle
the beastman’s sword arm, or a well-placed dagger
through the enemy knight’s visor.
Prior to any attack roll, a warrior can declare a Mighty
Deed of Arms, or for short, a Deed. This Deed is a
dramatic combat maneuver within the scope of the
current combat. For example, a warrior may try to
disarm an enemy with his next attack, or trip the opponent,
or smash him backward to open access to a
nearby corridor. The Deed does not increase damage
but could have some other combat effect: pushing
back an enemy, tripping or entangling him, temporarily
blinding him, and so on.
The warrior’s deed die determines the Deed’s success.
This is the same die used for the warrior’s attack
and damage modifier each round. If the deed die is
a 3 or higher, and the attack lands (e.g., the total attack
roll exceeds the target’s AC), the Deed succeeds. If
the deed die is a 2 or less, or the overall attack fails,
the Deed fails as well.
Critical hits: In combat, a warrior is most likely to score a critical hit and tends to get the most destructive effects when he does so. A warrior rolls the highest crit dice and rolls on tables with more devastating effects. In addition, a warrior scores critical hits more often. At 1st through 3rd level, a warrior scores a crit on any natural roll of 19-20. The threat range increases to natural rolls of 17-20 at 9th level. See the Combat section for more information on crits.
Initiative: A warrior adds his class level to his initiative
rolls.
Luck: At first level, a warrior’s Luck modifier applies
to attack rolls with one specific kind of weapon. This
kind of weapon must be chosen at first level and the
modifier is fixed at its starting value – neither the
weapon nor the modifier changes over the course of
the warrior’s career. The weapon type must be specific:
longsword or short sword, not “swords.”
