Fighter Bonuses

[Omegastick]

Hey there,

I'm new to these forums, but I have been using BF for a campaign and have come across something that really gets at me. The thing is, MUs and clerics have extra spells every level, which are wild and varied, thieves get bonuses to all their thief abilities and such, but fighters don't get anything unique; they just get more hitpoints than everyone else and a slightly better AB. This makes fighters rather boring to play at high levels, as the way you play doesn't change at all in the whole game, you just run in and keep attacking while soaking up damage.

Perhaps fighters should get special attacks or something similar as they level up (I think that's how it works in D&D, but I never played D&D properly and as such I don't have much experience with it). Say, at level two they get a defensive stance, giving them +4 to their AB while they don't move or attack, at level five they get an all-round attack that hits everyone adjacent, at level ten they get a power attack that can be used once per turn, doing double damage but can only be used while standing still.

I reckon a whole supplement could be done on this idea.

[SmootRK]

There is a really good supplement called "Combat Options" which covers weapon specialization, two-handed weapon use, and more.

[Omegastick]

Okies, I'll take a look at it.

EDIT: Ah, yes, I've seen that before. Although it has some nice things, it wasn't really what I was looking for. I'll throw together some rules and playtest them. If I get something useful back then I'll post them here.

[Joe the Rat]

Something else to play with: rather than a static progression of abilities, give them a pool of 'maneuvers' or 'tactics' they can choose from as they advance. This would add a bit more diversity in ability between fighters, and allow you to specialize in a style of fighting or some aspect of warfare.

Ideas and Examples: feint (bonus to hit after a missed attack), shield bash, power attack, shield/armor optimizing, sweep (that 1hd multi-attack thing), flurry (forgo BAB/STR bonuses for multiple strike attempts), threaten (forgo attack/AB to maneuver opponent), guard/interpose (AC bonus to adjacent ally/ change target to you), throw and strike (hurl weapon, draw/switch hands, hit in melee), throw and strike charge, group defense (AC bonus for hirelings/soldiers under your command), group strike/volley (attack bonus to hirelings/soldiers under your command), beast fighter (coordinate/cover with your attack dog/ war horse/ pet owl bear), handful of sand, harrier (strike and withdraw)... pretty much all of the stuff you'd describe yourself doing anyways, only with a mechanical effect because fighters actually train and practice these things the way a Magic User studies arcane lore, or a Thief fiddles with locks and mechanisms.

Progressions within maneuvers (Look at the Specialization section of Backgrounds & Specializations for examples), 'tactics trees' , and/or level requirements would be something to flesh out as well. The Specializations may be worth a look for if you'd rather have specific style progressions rather than letting players go entirely grab-bag.

[Omegastick]

That sounds good. I don't think I could come up with enough abilities to form a tree system, but having a 'pool' of abilities that you pick one from every few levels sounds doable. I'll post the material I have here in a bit.

[Omegastick]

Fighter House-Rules

Every few levels, the fighter may choose one of the abilities listed below. The minimum level requirement is listed next to the name of the abilities. EXP requirements have been increased by about 10% for these abilities.

Defensive Stance: 3
If the fighter chooses not to attack (excluding shield bash) and move at half speed, they can add +4 to their AC for the turn. This is regardless of initiative, and may be chosen once an attack is launched at them, but not ocne the to-hit dice has been rolled. Requires a shield.

Flurry: 5
Usable once per turn. The fighter gets two attacks against the same opponent in one turn. These may only be regular attacks, not special attacks. Must be declared before the first attack is launched.

Power Attack: 3
Usable once per turn. The fighter may do double damage for one attack, must be declared before attack is launched.

All Round Sweep: 8
Usable once per turn. The fighter may attack everyone and everything in the adjacent squares to them. Must be at least 5' away from all walls. Hits friendlies as well as enemies. Must be declared before the attack is launched.

Figthing Finesse: 10
Permanant +2 bonus to AC.

Charge: 5
The fighter can charge with any weapon.

Weapon Finesse: 10
Permanant +2 bonus to AB.

Feint: 13
+4 to AB against one target next round.

Shield Bash: 5
Make one subduing attack. Usable in defensive stance. Requires a shield.

Dual Wielding: 15
The fighter may wield two weapons, one in the main hand and one in the off hand. The one in the main hand may be of medium size or smaller and the one in the off hand may be small size (both are small for Halflings). The fighter gets one attack per turn with each weapon, with the weapon in the off-hand getting a -4 penalty to hit. Flurries performed with two weapons get two attacks per weapon.

Shield Finnesse: 5
Extra +1 bonus to AC while using a shield (+2 total).

Guard: 13
Usable once per turn. The fighter may perform no attacks for one turn while an adjacent ally gets +4 to AC for the turn.

Interpose: 18
Usable once per turn. The fighter may force all enemies attacking an ally within 20' of the himself to attack him, if they are unable to attack him for any reason then they may not attack at all.

Fighting Mastery: 20
Permanant +2 to AB (stacks with finnesse).

Weapon Mastery: 20
Permanant +2 to AC (stacks with finnesse).

Shield Mastery: 10
Permanant +1 to AC while using a shield (stacks with finnesse).

Throw and Strike: 18
Usable once per turn. The fighter may throw their weapon at an enemy, draw another one, charge into range and strike in close combat, all in one round.

Group Defense: 10
Everyone under the fighter's direct command (only PCs if they agree to follow the fighter's instructions) gets +1 to their AC while the fighter is leading them.

Group Defense Mastery: 20
Everyone under the fighter's direct command (only PCs if they agree to follow the fighter's instructions) gets +1 to their AC while the fighter is leading them. Stacks with Group Defense.

Group Strike/Volley: 15
Usable once per turn. The fighter will give this order during his round. If three or more people under the fighter's direct command (only PCs if they agree to follow the fighter's instructions) attack the same enemy before the fighter's round comes again, they all get +2 to AB for that round.

Beast Fighter: 8
If the fighter and his animal/familiar attack the same enemy at the same time (usually requires someone to hold) they both get +2 to AB for that round.

Harrier: 3
Usable once per turn. The fighter may make a full move into combat, attack, then make a full move back out without provoking an AoO from the defender and all in one round. Still provokes AoOs from other characters.

EXP Progression:
1. 0
2. 2,200
3. 4,400*
4. 8,800
5. 17,600*
6. 35,200
7. 70,400
8. 132,000*
9. 286,000
10. 396,000*
11. 528,000
12. 660,000
13. 790,000*
14. 924,000
15. 1,056,000*
16. 1,188,000
17. 1,320,000
18. 1,450,000*
19. 1,580,000
20. 1,710,000*

* Level at which you get to choose an ability

I think these may be overpowered and require the EXP requirements to go up even more, but hey, that's what playtesting is for.