Zorak's page

Robert, hereunder you can read the copy of my post to the tread "rules suggestion - fighter redesign".
I hope it will help you with some new ideas (and some have been inspired by you like slash and dash)

Proposition for a alternative fighter

Level 1 Feat
Level 2 Feat/courage +1
Level 3 Dodge in Armor +1
Level 4 Feat
Level 5 WF+WS
Level 6 Feat/courage +2
Level 7 Dodge in Armor +2
Level 8 Feat
Level 9 combat mastery I
Level 10 Feat/courage +3
Level 11 Dodge in Armor +3
Level 12 Feat
Level 13 GWF+GWS
Level 14 Feat/courage +4
Level 15 Dodge in Armor +4
Level 16 Feat
Level 17 combat mastery II
Level 18 Feat/courage +5
Level 19 Armor mastery
Level 20 Feat/Weapon Mastery

Feat: Nothing different

Courage +#: nothing different, but I think that when a bonus is improving with levels, at each level it increases, it should be indicated (It's in fact a purely esthetical mention)

Dodge in Armor : here the major difference is to consider the bonus given to the fighter a dodge bonus instead of an armor bonus. The reasons are the following
1 - Everybody knows that dodge bonuses stacks, so it is more logical
2 - As Dodge bonuses do not count in flat footed situation it better simulate the fact that an improved mastery of an armor do not help in such situation (you are suprised, so you cannot present the best part of your armor to the blow of your ennemy)
3 - Dodge bonuses improve the touch AC which is always quite low for a fighter; improving a little bit his chance to avoid a touch spell (without unbalancing this)

WF(weapon focus)+WS(weapon spec.) and GWF+GWS: the fighter chooses a weapon category and apply the bonuses to all of its weapons.
From my point of view, as this feats are fighter only feats (at least for WS and GWS) they should have them automatically. This replace the current "Weapon training"

Combat mastery (that is for me the most important modification for this class): at the 9th level the fighter is able to move 5ft between two attacks in case of full round attack and he can use 2 combat feat in the same round, cumulating their effects. At the 17th level he is now able to move 2 times 5ft btween attacks (but not 10 ft at once) and he is able to cumulate 3 combat feats in the same round.

This last capacity is the one IMHO which balances the rage of the barbarian or the talent of the rogue, opening new possibilities of combinations for the fighter
Ex: DEADLY STROKE + SPRING ATTACK (mainly the first round)

Armor mastery: Nothing different

Weapon Mastery: Here the only change I propose is that the critcal should not be automaticaly confirmed but the fighter should receive a +4 to confim (like one of the feats of 3.5)

I've been reading the posts out there and thinking about other possibilities to improve the fighter class and keeping its flexibility.

As Freesword explained (and I agree with him): "the fighter is one of the classes that needs the flexibility to cover the widest variety of concepts. Otherwise you end up needing several new base classes that are all basically specialized fighters."

Therefore here my proposition for a alternative fighter

Level 1 Feat
Level 2 Feat/courage +1
Level 3 Dodge in Armor +1
Level 4 Feat
Level 5 WF+WS
Level 6 Feat/courage +2
Level 7 Dodge in Armor +2
Level 8 Feat
Level 9 combat mastery I
Level 10 Feat/courage +3
Level 11 Dodge in Armor +3
Level 12 Feat
Level 13 GWF+GWS
Level 14 Feat/courage +4
Level 15 Dodge in Armor +4
Level 16 Feat
Level 17 combat mastery II
Level 18 Feat/courage +5
Level 19 Armor mastery
Level 20 Feat/Weapon Mastery

Feat: Nothing different

Courage +#: nothing different, but I think that when a bonus is improving with levels, at each level it increases, it should be indicated (It's in fact a purely esthetical mention)

Dodge in Armor : here the major difference is to consider the bonus given to the fighter a dodge bonus instead of an armor bonus. The reasons are the following
1 - Everybody knows that dodge bonuses stacks, so it is more logical
2 - As Dodge bonuses do not coult in flat footed situation it better simulate the fact that an improved mastery of an armor do not help in such situation (you are suprised, so you cannot present the best part of your armor to the blow of your ennemy)
3 - Dodge bonuses improve the touch AC which is always quite low for a fighter; improving a little bit his chance to avoid a touch spell (without unbalancing this)

WF(weapon focus)+WS(weapon spec.) and GWF+GWS: the fighter chooses a weapon category and apply the bonuses to all of its weapons.
From my point of view, as this feats are fighter only feats (at least for WS and GWS) they should have them automatically. This replace the current "Weapon training"

Combat mastery (that is for me the most important modification for this class): at the 9th level the fighter is able to move 5ft between two attacks in case of full round attack and he can use 2 combat feat in the same round, cumulating their effects. At the 17th level he is now able to move 2 times 5ft btween attacks (but not 10 ft at once) and he is able to cumulate 3 combat feats in the same round.

This last capacity is the one IMHO which balances the rage of the barbarian or the talent of the rogue, opening new possibilities of combinations for the fighter
Ex: DEADLY STROKE + SPRING ATTACK (mainly the first round)

Armor mastery: Nothing different

Weapon Mastery: Here the only change I propose is that the critcal should not be automaticaly confirmed but the fighter should receive a +4 to confim (like one of the feats of 3.5)

What do you think about this ?