TO_Incognito
2007-06-11, 09:31 PM
Note: This class variant was originally designed by Yakk with the idea of increasing the Fighter class's effectiveness by augmenting its impressive feat list and increasing its versatility. I have reformatted the class (into standard base class format), tweaked it further, and reproduced it here with Yakk's permission.
Please, tell me what you think of the variant, and whether or not you would use it in a campaign.
Stance Fighter
The Stance Fighter is a well trained combatant who has mastered a variety of different fighting styles and techniques. To whatever purposes such a Fighter puts his skill in combat, his versatility and adaptability are unmatched.
Game Rules Information
Alignment: Any.
Hit Dice: d10.
Class Skills
Climb, Craft, Handle Animal, Intimidate, Jump, Ride, and Swim.
Skill Points at 1st Level: (2 + Int modifier) X 4.
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 2 + Int modifier.
Class Features
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A Stance Fighter is proficient with all simple and martial weapons, with all armor, and with shields (including tower shields).
Stance Bonus Feats: At 1st and 2nd level, a Stance Fighter receives a bonus feat chosen from the Fighter Bonus Feat list. He receives additional Stance Bonus Feats at every even level after that, choosing one feat for each Stance available to him. He must meet all normal prerequisites for any feats he chooses.
Stances: At 3rd level the Stance Fighter acquires two separate Stances. Stances are sets of feats. When the Fighter gains a Stance Bonus Feat, he picks a different feat for each Stance available to him (or the same feat, if he chooses). Each Stance Bonus Feat is a separate bonus feat for each Stance he possesses (thus, no single bonus feat is active all the time unless the Fighter has chosen it for all of his available Stances). For example, a 4th level Fighter has two Stances, each with 3 separate feats.
A Fighter can only have one Stance active at a time. Changing between Stances is usually a Standard Action -- so a character can change weapons, change Stances, and make a standard move as a Full Round Action starting from level 3. Fighters are encouraged to name their Stances.
The Fighter gains additional Stances at levels 7, 11, and 15. Stances start out as copies of a previous Stance with 1/2 of the Stance Bonus Feats changed. For the Stances gained at 3rd level, treat the two Stance Bonus Feats gained by the Fighter at levels 1 and 2 as one Stance, and give him a second Stance with one bonus feat changed.
Beginning at level 4, every level the Fighter does not gain a new Stance he can pick exactly one feat in exactly one Stance, and change it to a different feat of his choice from the Fighter Bonus Feat list. Usually a Fighter changes the Stance he learned most recently, but he can also change a Stance learned earlier.
Feats gained from being Human, from being a level 1, 3, 6, 9, etc. character, or from other classes are not Stance Bonus Feats, and are treated normally. Feats that are not Stance Bonus Feats are active regardless of what Stance the Fighter is in.
Additional Stance Notes: When building a higher level character, you can assume that Stances before the latest one gained can be completely unlinked, and share as many or as few feats with other Stances as you desire. There are enough chances to change feats around in the levels between gaining Stances.
Out of combat, a Stance Fighter should indicate a default Stance for each of his weapon loads, and should be assumed to be in that Stance unless otherwise mentioned.
For a feat to work, all of the prerequisite feats must be available. So, while it is possible to have Weapon Specialization (Longsword) without Weapon Focus (Longsword) under the above system, it doesn't do the Fighter any good.
Lightning Shift: Starting at level 5, the Stance Fighter gains the ability to change Stances as a Swift Action once per day. At levels 9, 13 and 17, the Fighter gains the ability to do this an additional time each day.
At level 19 the Fighter may change Stances as a Swift Action once per encounter in addition to his allowance each day.
STANCE FIGHTER
{table=head]Level|
BaB|
Fort |
Ref |
Will |Special
1st|
+1|
+2|
+0|
+0|Stance Bonus Feat X 1
2nd|
+2|
+3|
+0|
+0|Stance Bonus Feat X 2
3rd|
+3|
+3|
+1|
+1|Stance X 2
4th|
+4|
+4|
+1|
+1|Stance Bonus Feat X 3
5th|
+5|
+4|
+1|
+1|Lightning Shift (1/day)
6th|
+6/+1|
+5|
+2|
+2|Stance Bonus Feat X 4
7th|
+7/+2|
+5|
+2|
+2|Stance X 3
8th|
+8/+3|
+6|
+2|
+2|Stance Bonus Feat X 5
9th|
+9/+4|
+6|
+3|
+3|Lightning Shift (2/day)
10th|
+10/+5|
+7|
+3|
+3|Stance Bonus Feat X 6
11th|
+11/+6/+1|
+7|
+3|
+3|Stance X 4
12th|
+12/+7/+2|
+8|
+4|
+4|Stance Bonus Feat X 7
13th|
+13/+8/+3|
+8|
+4|
+4|Lightning Shift (3/day)
14th|
+14/+9/+4|
+9|
+4|
+4|Stance Bonus Feat X 8
15th|
+15/+10/+5|
+9|
+5|
+5|Stance X 5
16th|
+16/+11/+6/+1|
+10|
+5|
+5|Stance Bonus Feat X 9
17th|
+17/+12/+7/+2|
+10|
+5|
+5|Lightning Shift (4/day)
18th|
+18/+13/+8/+3|
+11|
+6|
+6|Stance Bonus Feat X 10
19th|
+19/+14/+9/+4|
+11|
+6|
+6|Lightning Shift (1/battle)
20th|
+20/+15/+10/+5|
+12|
+6|
+6|Stance Bonus Feat X 11[/table]
Please, tell me what you think of the variant, and whether or not you would use it in a campaign.
Stance Fighter
The Stance Fighter is a well trained combatant who has mastered a variety of different fighting styles and techniques. To whatever purposes such a Fighter puts his skill in combat, his versatility and adaptability are unmatched.
Game Rules Information
Alignment: Any.
Hit Dice: d10.
Class Skills
Climb, Craft, Handle Animal, Intimidate, Jump, Ride, and Swim.
Skill Points at 1st Level: (2 + Int modifier) X 4.
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 2 + Int modifier.
Class Features
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A Stance Fighter is proficient with all simple and martial weapons, with all armor, and with shields (including tower shields).
Stance Bonus Feats: At 1st and 2nd level, a Stance Fighter receives a bonus feat chosen from the Fighter Bonus Feat list. He receives additional Stance Bonus Feats at every even level after that, choosing one feat for each Stance available to him. He must meet all normal prerequisites for any feats he chooses.
Stances: At 3rd level the Stance Fighter acquires two separate Stances. Stances are sets of feats. When the Fighter gains a Stance Bonus Feat, he picks a different feat for each Stance available to him (or the same feat, if he chooses). Each Stance Bonus Feat is a separate bonus feat for each Stance he possesses (thus, no single bonus feat is active all the time unless the Fighter has chosen it for all of his available Stances). For example, a 4th level Fighter has two Stances, each with 3 separate feats.
A Fighter can only have one Stance active at a time. Changing between Stances is usually a Standard Action -- so a character can change weapons, change Stances, and make a standard move as a Full Round Action starting from level 3. Fighters are encouraged to name their Stances.
The Fighter gains additional Stances at levels 7, 11, and 15. Stances start out as copies of a previous Stance with 1/2 of the Stance Bonus Feats changed. For the Stances gained at 3rd level, treat the two Stance Bonus Feats gained by the Fighter at levels 1 and 2 as one Stance, and give him a second Stance with one bonus feat changed.
Beginning at level 4, every level the Fighter does not gain a new Stance he can pick exactly one feat in exactly one Stance, and change it to a different feat of his choice from the Fighter Bonus Feat list. Usually a Fighter changes the Stance he learned most recently, but he can also change a Stance learned earlier.
Feats gained from being Human, from being a level 1, 3, 6, 9, etc. character, or from other classes are not Stance Bonus Feats, and are treated normally. Feats that are not Stance Bonus Feats are active regardless of what Stance the Fighter is in.
Additional Stance Notes: When building a higher level character, you can assume that Stances before the latest one gained can be completely unlinked, and share as many or as few feats with other Stances as you desire. There are enough chances to change feats around in the levels between gaining Stances.
Out of combat, a Stance Fighter should indicate a default Stance for each of his weapon loads, and should be assumed to be in that Stance unless otherwise mentioned.
For a feat to work, all of the prerequisite feats must be available. So, while it is possible to have Weapon Specialization (Longsword) without Weapon Focus (Longsword) under the above system, it doesn't do the Fighter any good.
Lightning Shift: Starting at level 5, the Stance Fighter gains the ability to change Stances as a Swift Action once per day. At levels 9, 13 and 17, the Fighter gains the ability to do this an additional time each day.
At level 19 the Fighter may change Stances as a Swift Action once per encounter in addition to his allowance each day.
STANCE FIGHTER
{table=head]Level|
BaB|
Fort |
Ref |
Will |Special
1st|
+1|
+2|
+0|
+0|Stance Bonus Feat X 1
2nd|
+2|
+3|
+0|
+0|Stance Bonus Feat X 2
3rd|
+3|
+3|
+1|
+1|Stance X 2
4th|
+4|
+4|
+1|
+1|Stance Bonus Feat X 3
5th|
+5|
+4|
+1|
+1|Lightning Shift (1/day)
6th|
+6/+1|
+5|
+2|
+2|Stance Bonus Feat X 4
7th|
+7/+2|
+5|
+2|
+2|Stance X 3
8th|
+8/+3|
+6|
+2|
+2|Stance Bonus Feat X 5
9th|
+9/+4|
+6|
+3|
+3|Lightning Shift (2/day)
10th|
+10/+5|
+7|
+3|
+3|Stance Bonus Feat X 6
11th|
+11/+6/+1|
+7|
+3|
+3|Stance X 4
12th|
+12/+7/+2|
+8|
+4|
+4|Stance Bonus Feat X 7
13th|
+13/+8/+3|
+8|
+4|
+4|Lightning Shift (3/day)
14th|
+14/+9/+4|
+9|
+4|
+4|Stance Bonus Feat X 8
15th|
+15/+10/+5|
+9|
+5|
+5|Stance X 5
16th|
+16/+11/+6/+1|
+10|
+5|
+5|Stance Bonus Feat X 9
17th|
+17/+12/+7/+2|
+10|
+5|
+5|Lightning Shift (4/day)
18th|
+18/+13/+8/+3|
+11|
+6|
+6|Stance Bonus Feat X 10
19th|
+19/+14/+9/+4|
+11|
+6|
+6|Lightning Shift (1/battle)
20th|
+20/+15/+10/+5|
+12|
+6|
+6|Stance Bonus Feat X 11[/table]