The questing knight, the conquering overlord, the king’s champion, the elite foot soldier, the hardened mercenary, and the bandit king— all are fighters. Fighters can be stalwart defenders of those in need, cruel marauders, or gutsy adventurers. Some are among the land’s best souls, willing to face death for the greater good. Others are among the worst, with no qualms about killing for private gain, or even for sport. Fighters who are not actively adventuring may be soldiers, guards, bodyguards, champions, or criminal enforcers. An adventuring fighter might call himself a warrior, a mercenary, a thug, or simply an adventurer.
Adventures: Most fighters see adventures, raids, and dangerous missions as their job. Some have patrons who pay them regularly. Others prefer to live like prospectors, taking great risks in hopes of the big haul. Some fighters are more civic-minded and use their combat skills to protect endangered people who cannot defend themselves. Whatever their initial motivations, however, fighters often wind up living for the thrill of combat and adventure.
Characteristics: Of all classes, fighters have the best all-around fighting capabilities (hence the name). Fighters are familiar with all the standard weapons and armors. In addition to general fighting prowess, each fighter develops particular specialties of his own. A given fighter may be especially capable with certain weapons, another might be trained to execute specific fancy maneuvers. As fighters gain experience, they get more opportunities to develop their fighting skills. Thanks to their focus on combat maneuvers, they can master the most difficult ones relatively quickly.
Alignment: Fighters may be of any alignment. Good fighters are often crusading types who seek out and fight evil. Lawful fighters may be champions who protect the land and its people. Chaotic fighters may be wandering mercenaries. Evil fighters tend to be bullies and petty villains who simply take what they want by brute force.
Religion: Fighters often worship Heironeous (god of valor), Kord (god of strength), St. Cuthbert (god of retribution), Hextor (god of tyranny), or Erythnul (god of slaughter). A fighter may style himself as a crusader in the service of his god, or he may just want someone to pray to before putting his life on the line yet another time.
Background: Fighters come to their profession in many ways. Most have had formal training in a noble’s army or at least in the local militia. Some have trained in formal academies. Others are self-taught—unpolished but well tested. A fighter may have taken up the sword as a way to escape the limits of life on the farm, or he may be following a proud family tradition. Fighters share no special identity. They do not see themselves as a group or brotherhood. Those who hail from a particular academy, mercenary company, or lord’s regiment, however, share a certain camaraderie.
Races: Human fighters are usually veterans of some military service, typically from more mundane parents. Dwarf fighters are commonly former members of the well-trained strike teams that protect the underground dwarven kingdoms. They are typically members of warrior families that can trace their lineages back for millennia, and they may have rivalries or alliances with other dwarf fighters of a different lineage. Elf fighters are typically skilled with the longsword. They are proud of their ability at swordplay and eager to demonstrate or test it.
Half-orc fighters are often selftaught outcasts who have achieved enough skill to earn recognition and something akin to respect. Gnome and halfling fighters usually stay in their own communities as part of the area militia rather than adventuring. Half-elves are rarely fighters, but they may take up swordplay in honor of the elven tradition. Among the brutal humanoids, few can manage the discipline it takes to be a true fighter. The militaristic hobgoblins, however, produce quite a number of strong and skilled fighters.
Other Classes: The fighter excels in a straight fight, but he relies on others for magical support, healing, and scouting. On a team, it is his job to man the front lines, protect the other party members, and bring the tough opponents down. Fighters might not understand the arcane ways of wizards or share the faith of clerics, but they recognize the value of teamwork.
Role: In most adventuring parties, the fighter serves as a melee combatant, charging into the fray while his comrades support him with spells, ranged attacks, and other effects. Fighters who favor ranged combat can prove very deadly, though without other melee support, they can find themselves in front-line combat more often than they might prefer.
Fighters in Eberron
Fighters fill a number of combat-oriented roles in the world of Eberron. The Last War produced a number of veterans, from simple grunts who learned to fi ght and survive in the trenches along the Karrnath–Cyre front to extensively trained commandos and warband squad leaders.
All of these fighters seek ways to use the skills they acquired during the war in this new age of peace. Other fighters might serve as part of a chivalric order, such as the Knights of Thrane, or have come up through a city watch or mercantile house guardian force.
Fighter Options: Fighters in an EBERRON campaign stand to gain the greatest benefit by choosing feats that grant them new uses for their action points in combat. A new prestige class is well suited for warforged fighters.
Feats: Action Boost, Action Surge, Greater Powerful Charge, Heroic Spirit, Powerful Charge, Precise Swing, Pursue.
Prestige Class: Warforged juggernaut.
AZM THE FIGHTER
The portal opened onto a great stone staircase that descended even deeper into the ruins buried beneath the secret continent of Xen’drik. Azm stepped forward, taking his place at the head of the marching order.
“Are you sure there are artifacts waiting for us below?” the warforged asked Thondred, his artificer companion.
“As sure as I am that we survived the Chamber of a Thousand Perils,” Thondred replied, replacing his wand into the brace at his side.
“I do not like it down here,” Sarav the elf ranger said from behind them. “I am not sure that any treasure is worth angering the ancient spirits of this place.”
Azm shrugged. “I don’t care who gets angry at me, as long as I can hit something.” Before Sarav or Thondred could resume their usual argument, Azm pounded down the stairs, his powerful limbs of obsidian and steel striking each step like a hammer hitting an anvil. As much as he might try to deny it, he was built for battle. It was in his blood, so to speak, though Thondred would be quick to point out that a warforged didn’t exactly have blood. He rounded the curve of the stair and stopped, not quite sure what it was that blocked his way. The creature reared back and screeched an angry cry, its spiked tentacles slicing through the air like barbed whips. Azm flexed his massive fingers, listening for the satisfying pop of the joints that indicated he was ready, and the battle began.
Crafted during the final years of the Last War by artificers of House Cannith, Azm was commissioned by the Breland militia. For a year, Azm fought alongside Brelish troops and earned great distinction—at least, as great as any army would award to a warforged.
After the war, the warforged went to Sharn in search of his creator, the dwarf artificer Thondred. Thondred gave Azm his name, and the two put their skills to use as
adventurers in the City of Towers. They eventually teamed up with another pair of adventurers and formed an adventuring company.
Thondred convinced the company that they could earn a fortune by exploring the secret continent of Xen’drik—a place where Thondred had spent a little time in the past and always hoped to return to in search of knowledge he could apply to his artifi cer experiments. Their exploits in Xen’drik have brought Azm and his fellow adventurers
great wealth and more than a bit of notoriety.
Azm, now a 6th-level fighter, has learned that he can embed magic items in his body. He has also discovered ancient items in Xen’drik that seem designed to attach to his immense frame, a discovery that suggests that something like the modern warforged existed in Xen’drik in the ancient past. Learning more about these ancient constructs has become an obsession for the mighty warforged fighter.
GAME RULE INFORMATION
Fighters have the following game statistics.
Abilities: Strength is especially important for fighters because it improves their melee attack and damage rolls. Constitution is important for giving fighters lots of hit points, which they need in their many battles. Dexterity is important for fighters who want to be good archers or who want access to certain Dexterityoriented feats, but the heavy armor that fighters usually wear reduces the benefit of a very high Dexterity
score.
Alignment: Any.
Starting Age: Moderate.
Table: The Fighter
Hit Die: d10
| Level | BAB | Fort | Ref | Will | Special |
| 1st | +1 | +2 | +0 | +0 | Bonus Feat |
| 2nd | +2 | +3 | +0 | +0 | Bonus Feat |
| 3rd | +3 | +3 | +1 | +1 | |
| 4th | +4 | +4 | +1 | +1 | Bonus Feat |
| 5th | +5 | +4 | +1 | +1 | |
| 6th | +6/+1 | +5 | +2 | +2 | Bonus Feat |
| 7th | +7/+2 | +5 | +2 | +2 | |
| 8th | +8/+3 | +6 | +2 | +2 | Bonus Feat |
| 9th | +9/+4 | +6 | +3 | +3 | |
| 10th | +10/+5 | +7 | +3 | +3 | Bonus Feat |
| 11th | +11/+6/+1 | +7 | +3 | +3 | |
| 12th | +12/+7/+2 | +8 | +4 | +4 | Bonus Feat |
| 13th | +13/+8/+3 | +8 | +4 | +4 | |
| 14th | +14/+9/+4 | +9 | +4 | +4 | Bonus Feat |
| 15th | +15/+10/+5 | +9 | +5 | +5 | |
| 16th | +16/+11/+6/+1 | +10 | +5 | +5 | Bonus Feat |
| 17th | +17/+12/+7/+2 | +10 | +5 | +5 | |
| 18th | +18/+13/+8/+3 | +11 | +6 | +6 | Bonus Feat |
| 19th | +19/+14/+9/+4 | +11 | +6 | +6 | |
| 20th | +20/+15/+10/+5 | +12 | +6 | +6 | Bonus Feat |
Class Skills (2 + Int modifier per level, ×4 at 1st level)
Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Ride (Dex), Swim (Str).
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the fighter.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A fighter is proficient with all simple and martial weapons and with all armor (heavy, medium, and light) and shields (including tower shields).
Bonus Feats: At 1st level, a fighter gets a bonus combat-oriented feat in addition to the feat that any 1st-level character gets and the bonus feat granted to a human character. The fighter gains an additional bonus feat at 2nd level and every two fighter levels thereafter (4th, 6th, 8th, 10th, 12th, 14th, 16th, 18th, and 20th). These bonus feats must be drawn from the feats noted as fighter bonus feats. A fighter must still meet all prerequisites for a bonus feat, including ability score and base attack bonus minimums.
These bonus feats are in addition to the feat that a character of any class gets from advancing levels. A fighter is not limited to the list of fighter bonus feats when choosing these feats.
Epic Fighter
Table: The Epic Fighter
Hit Die: d10
| Level | Special |
| 21st | |
| 22nd | Bonus Feat |
| 23rd | |
| 24th | Bonus Feat |
| 25th | |
| 26th | Bonus Feat |
| 27th | |
| 28th | Bonus Feat |
| 29th | |
| 30th | Bonus Feat |
2 + Int modifier skill points per level.
Bonus Feats: The epic fighter gains a bonus feat (selected from the list of epic fighter bonus feats) every two levels after 20th.
Epic Fighter Bonus Feat List: Armor Skin, Combat Archery, Damage Reduction, Devastating Critical, Dire Charge, Distant Shot, Energy Resistance, Epic Endurance, Epic Leadership, Epic Prowess, Epic Toughness, Epic Weapon Focus, Epic Weapon Specialization, Exceptional Deflection, Improved Combat Reflexes, Improved Manyshot, Improved Stunning Fist, Improved Whirlwind Attack, Infinite Deflection, Instant Reload, Legendary Commander, Legendary Rider, Legendary Wrestler, Overwhelming Critical, Penetrate Damage Reduction, Perfect Two-Weapon Fighting, Reflect Arrows, Spellcasting Harrier, Storm of Throws, Superior Initiative, Swarm of Arrows, Two-Weapon Rend, Uncanny Accuracy. In addition to the feats on this list, the fighter may treat any feat designated as a Fighter Bonus Feat, but not listed here, as being on his or her bonus feat list.
