[PF] Fighter Revision [PEACH] (We Can Never Have Enough of Those!)

[Lemmy]

You can find the updated version of this homebrew right here.

Hello, Playground, how you doing?

I recently started homebrewing, but decided to start with something simple. A Fighter revision for Pathfinder. It's the simplest class to modify, as it sadly doesn't have many class features besides bonus feats. Also, while there are a variety of 3.5 fighter remix, I don't remember seeing many for Pathfinder.
My goal here was to increase the Fighter's options both in and outside of combat, increase his defenses against magic, reduce his item dependency (even if just a little) and allow the creation of more unique (and viable) builds.

Now, I post it here to be judged by the Playground's wisdom. I added some notes about the stuff I added/changed.
Note that this Fighter probably overshadows most Tier 4 classes. That's intended, as I think pretty much every Tier 4 class could get some buffs.

When creating this homebrew, I tried to approach the issues listed in this thread, I highly recomend reading at least its 1st post to anyone interested in creating/using Fighter (or any other tier 4 class, really) homebrews.

Lemmy's Revised Fighter for Pathfinder

Alignment: Any
Hit Die: d10
Class Skills: The fighter's class skills and their key ability scores are Appraise (Int), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Handle Animals (Cha), Heal (Wis) Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge(Dungeoneering) (Int),
Knowledge(Engineering) (Int), Knowledge(Geography) (Int), Knowledge(Nobility) (Int), Perception (Wis), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Survival (Wis) and Swim (Str), plus one other skill of his choice.
Skill Ranks per level: 4 + Int modifier.

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More skill ranks and a better selection of class skills are the most obvius changes to any fighter revision. I added the "plus one other skill of his choice" so the fighter becomes more versatile and its builds more unique, representing the many different trainings and specializations they can have.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A Fighter is proficient with all simple and martial weapon and with all armor and shields (including tower shields). Furthermore, he either gains proficiency with an exotic weapon of his choice or gains Improved Unarmed Strike as a bonus feat.

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The fighter is a master of weapons. An exotic weapon of his choosing is a good way to represent this and allows the player to wield cool weapons that are not worth taking EWP. Improved Unarmed Strike allows the player to make a fist-fighter without spending a feat.

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special
1	+1	+2	+2	+2	Stuff
2	+2	+3	+2	+3	Stuff
3	+3	+3	+2	+3	Stuff
4	+4	+4	+2	+4	Stuff
5	+5	+4	+2	+4	Stuff
6	+6/+1	+5	+2	+5	Stuff
7	+7/+2	+5	+2	+5	Stuff
8	+8/+3	+6	+2	+6	Stuff
9	+9/+4	+6	+2	+6	Stuff
10	+10/+5	+7	+2	+7	Stuff
11	+11/+6/+1	+7	+2	+7	Stuff
12	+12/+7/+2	+8	+2	+8	Stuff
13	+13/+8/+3	+8	+2	+8	Stuff
14	+14/+9/+4	+9	+2	+9	Stuff
15	+15/+10/+5	+9	+2	+9	Stuff
16	+16/+11/+6/+1	+10	+2	+10	Stuff
17	+17/+12/+7/+2	+10	+10	+5	Stuff
18	+18/+13/+8/+3	+11	+11	+6	Stuff
19	+19/+14/+9/+4	+11	+11	+6	Stuff
20	+20/+15/+10/+5	+12	+12	+6	Capstone

*WiP - Going to remake this homebrew and finish this table later*

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Fighters need good Reflex saves. Barbarians have a gazillion hit points, DR and a few supernatural abilities, they just take it. Paladins are blessed and protected by their gods. Fighters can only count on their own skills. How come they have poor Reflex saves? A warrior who is not quick on his feet would probably die in his first real combat.

Bonus Feat: At 1st level, and at every even level thereafter, a Fighter gains a bonus feat in addition to those gained from normal advancement (meaning that the fighter gains a feat at every level). These bonus feats must be selected from those listed as Combat Feats (sometimes also called “Fighter bonus feats") or Teamwork Feats.
Upon reaching 4th level, and every four levels thereafter (8th, 12th, and so on), a Fighter can choose to learn a new bonus feat in place of a bonus feat he has already learned. In effect, the fighter loses the bonus feat in exchange for the new one. The old feat cannot be one that was used as a prerequisite for another feat, prestige class, or other ability. A Fighter can only change one feat at any given level and must choose whether or not to swap the feat at the time he gains a new bonus feat for the level.

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Same as always, except now the Fighter can pick Teamwork feats as his bonus feats. So a Fighter who wants to be a leader or tactical expert can do it better.

Braveheart (Ex): Starting at 1st level, a Fighter gains a +1 bonus on Will saves made to resist all fear, possession and mind-control effects. This bonus increases by +1 at 6th level and every 3 fighter levels thereafter.

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The Fighter's bad Will save progression is a classic weakness of the class, and IMHO, should not be removed. But that doesn't mean a fighter should be unable to resist most spells. Bravery was a step in the right direction, but it was too situational to be actually useful. I expanded its usefulness increasing its bonus and making it help against mind-control. Now, the next time you kill your allies, it'll be your choice!

Armor Training (Ex): Starting at 2nd level, a fighter learns to be more maneuverable while wearing armor. Whenever he is wearing armor or wielding a shield, he reduces the armor check penalty by 1 and increases the armor maximum Dexterity bonus allowed by his armor by 1. These bonus increases by +1, at 4th level and every even numbered level thereafter. Fighters with this ability can sleep in armor without penalty, as if they had the Endurance feat and add their shield bonus to touch AC as well.
Obviously, armor check penalty cannot go lower than 0.

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Mostly the same as before, but the fighter gets it earlier. It also lets the fighter add his shield bonus to touch AC (which s something that should be the standard rule, actually) and sleep in armor (hey, if he so comfortable in armor as to reduce its penalty so much, why can't a fighter sleep in it?)

Solo Tactics (Ex): At 2nd level, all of the Fighter's allies are treated as if they possessed the same teamwork feats as the fighter for the purpose of determining if the Fighter receives a bonus from his teamwork feats. His allies do not receive any bonuses from these feats unless they actually possess the feats themselves. The allies' positioning and actions must still meet the prerequisites listed in the teamwork feat for the fighter to receive the listed bonus.

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Stolen directly from the Inquisitor. This class feature is a much better fit for the Fighter than the Inquisitor. The only reason I see for this not to be a fighter class feature is that there were no Teamwork feats in Core. Honestly, I don't think it'll hurt any Inquisitor's feelings that this is not exclusively theirs anymore. They get a whole bunch of unique cool stuff.

Practice Overcomes Talent (Ex): Starting at 3rd level, the Fighter compensates his lack of academic training with hours and hours of practice. For the purpose of fulfilling requirements for Combat and Teamwork feats and entering Prestige classes with no spell casting progression, he may use his Constitution score instead of his Intelligence and Wisdom scores. If the feat or prestige classes requires both minimum Intelligence and Wisdom scores, the Fighter can substitute both, but in this case, his Constitution score is considered to be 3 points lower.

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Maybe the Fighter is not the brightest guy around, but when it comes to fighting, his stamina and endurance allow him to learn better than anyone else! Note that this applies only to Combat and Teamwork feats. Taking Combat Expertise is not that much of a pain anymore (If you only want it for the Improved/Greater Maneuver feats, check out the "Maneuver Mastery" Fighting Prowess).

Fighting Prowess (Ex): At 3rd level and every odd numbered level thereafter, a fighter gains a Fighting Prowess of his choice. It must be chosen from the Fighter's Fighting Prowess list. At first, a Fighter can only learn basic Fighting Prowess', but he eventually becomes able to learn more powerful ones.

There are 4 types of fighting prowess: basic, advanced, greater and legendary. Every even numbered level, the Fighter can choose to substitute one of his known Fighting Prowess' for a new one of the same type.

Unless otherwise noted, no Fighting Prowess may be selected more than once.

Basic Fighting Prowess' can be picked by any fighter.
Advanced Fighting Prowess' can only be selected by fighters at 9th level or higher,.
Greater Fighting Prowess can be chosen by fighters at 15th level or higher.
Legendary Fighting Prowess may only be selected by fighters at 20th level or higher.

Instead of learning a Fighting Prowess of his highest level, he may instead select two other fighting prowess' of a lower level. (e.g.: a 15th level fighter may select 2 Basic or Advanced fighting prowess' instead of a Greater one.)

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This is what this revision boils down to. I wanted to give the fighter a toy of his own, and it had to be awesome and highly customizable, just like the fighter. So I created Fighting Prowess'. This way, every fighter can choose his own class features.

Man-at-Arms (Ex): Starting at 4th level, a Fighter is so well trained in combat and warfare that his discipline and devotion actually affect his weapons, armor and shields. The effects are cumulative and dependent on how many levels a character has in the fighter class.
- At 4th level whenever a fighter is donning armor or wielding a weapon or shield, these items and any projectiles they shoot, are considered magic for the purpose of bypassing DR and affecting creatures that are only affected by magic. Additionally, the Fighter can wield a fragile weapon without the risk of breaking it on a natural 1.
- At 10th level all weapons the Fighter wields can fully affect incorporeal creatures (as if they had the Ghost Touch enhancement).
- At 16th level, they are also treated as aligned weapons. The weapon's alignment may not be opposed to the fighter's own alignment (e.g.: a Lawful Good fighter cannot make his weapon Evil or Chaotic), but it may be modified as a swift action.
Weapons and shields that are already aligned, such as a sword with the Holy enhancement, cannot be modified to have an opposed alignment by this ability (e.g.: A Fighter cannot use this ability to make an Axiomatic weapon chaotic, but he can make it be Axiomatic and either good or evil-aligned.)

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This helps to reduce the golf club syndrome. No need to buy a dozen different weapons just so you can do your job. A 20th level Fighter shouldn't need a magic sword to defeat a CR3 ghost.
Note that the Fighter's equipment does not actually become magical, it's just that the Fighter is so good at fighting that he can even use mundane equipment to harm supernatural beings. Who cares if that wraith is incorporeal? If the Fighter attacks it, the Fighter hurts it!

I'm considering changing this class feature's name. Suggestions?

Weapon Training (Ex): Starting at 4th level, a Fighter can select one group of weapons, as noted below. Whenever he attacks with a weapon from this group, he gains a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls.
Every four levels thereafter (8th, 12th, and 16th), a Fighter becomes further trained in another group of weapons. He gains a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls when using a weapon from this group. In addition, the bonuses granted by previous weapon groups increase by +1 each. For example, when a fighter reaches 8th level, he receives a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls with one weapon group and a +2 bonus on attack and damage rolls with the weapon group selected at 4th level. Bonuses granted from overlapping groups do not stack. Take the highest bonus granted for a weapon if it resides in two or more groups.
A Fighter also adds this bonus to any combat maneuver checks made with weapons from this group. This bonus also applies to the fighter's Combat Maneuver Defense when defending against disarm and sunder attempts made against weapons from this group.

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Also unchanged, but the Fighter gets it 1 level earlier. Also, I didn't add the actual weapon groups to save space, but they can all be found in the Fighter entries in the Core Rulebook and in the Pathfinder SRD.
I'm considering making the same bonus apply to all selected weapon groups. Easier to keep track of, and increases the Fighter's raw power a bit.

Promptitude (Ex): Starting at 6th level, the fighter may draw or sheath any weapon that belongs to a weapon group selected for his Weapon Training class feature as a free action.

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A great warrior must be able to quickly react to danger. With some luck, Fighters can act before their enemies turn them into squirrels.

Weapon Aptitude (Ex) Starting at 6th level, the Fighter has the flexibility to adjust his weapon training. Each morning, he can spend 1 hour in weapon practice to change the designated weapon for any feat he has that applies only to a single weapon (such as Weapon Focus). He must have the newly designated weapon available during his practice session to make this change. For example, if he wishes to change the designated weapon for his Weapon Focus feat from greatsword to longsword, he must have a longsword available to practice with during your practice session.

He can adjust any number of your feats in this way, and does not have to adjust them all in the same way. However, he can't change the weapon choices in such a way that you no longer meet the prerequisite for some other feat he possesses. For instance, if he has both Weapon Focus (longsword) and Weapon Specialization (longsword), you can't change the designated weapon for Weapon Focus unless you also change the weapon for Weapon Specialization in the same way

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Thanks to Kane0 for the great suggestion of adding Weapon Aptitude. This is a very useful (and flavorful) ability for any fighter. I thought about making it come into play sooner, but 6th level is good to avoid dippers and still be useful for a long time, and is another step to reduce the golf club syndrome.

Strategist (Ex): Starting at 10th level, a Fighter becomes extremely good at understanding the subtleties of war. He can now thoroughly analyze the battlefield, his allies and opponents, and figure out the most effective strategy. As a move action, the Fighter may grant himself a +2 insight bonus to attack and damage rolls, as well as a +2 dodge bonus to AC. Alternatively, the fighter may grant to all his allies, himself included, a +1 insight bonus to attack and damage rolls and a +1 dodge bonus to AC. These bonuses last for 3 rounds, but the fighter can use a swift action to extend the duration for 1 round. These bonuses (but not their duration) are doubled at 16th level.

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This was mostly added as to give Fighters something to do with their swift actions and give them more options other than full attacking every round.

Pounce (Ex): Starting at 11th level, a Fighter can make a full attack after a charge.

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If Wizards get to move 30ft and still make reality cry (twice!), then Fighters get to run in a straight line and hit things with his pointy stick. Also, Barbarians get Pounce at 10th level, Summoners can take it at 1st level. Fighters should be at least as mobile as them on the battlefield.

Awe-Inspiring Strike (Ex): Starting at 14th level, whenever confirms a critical hit, all opponents who can see him must succeed on Fortitude Save (DC = 10 + 1/2 fighter level + the Fighter's Strength* modifier) or be Shaken for 1d4 round. The target of the critical hit is not allowed a saving throw.
*If the Fighter uses Dexterity on his attack roll (such as when using the Weapon Finesse feat), he also substitutes his Strength with Dexterity when calculating this DC.

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Because a 14th-level Fighter's combat abilities should truly be something to behold and stand in awe. Who wouldn't be terrified when they see the enemy warrior decapitates a dragon with a single strike?

Armor Mastery (Ex): At 18th level, a Fighter gains DR 5/- whenever he is wearing any armor or wielding a shield. A Fighter with this ability can use any armor without any difficulty at all, completely ignoring skill check and movement penalties caused by armor, as well as maximum Dexterity bonus limitations.

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Mostly the same, just expanded it to be the capstone of the Armor Training class feature.

Weapon Mastery (Ex): At 19th level, a Fighter chooses one weapon, such as the longsword, greataxe, or longbow. Any attacks made with that weapon automatically confirm all critical threats and have their damage multiplier increased by 1 (×2 becomes ×3, for example). In addition, he cannot be disarmed while wielding a weapon of this type.

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Same as before, but now you get it one level earlier!

Warbound (Ex): At 20th level, a Fighter is so experienced at war that it becomes triviality at best and a nuisance at worst. He becomes immune to fear, possession and mind-control effects and is now able to use his Strategist ability as a swift action. Additionally He can make a Full Attack as a standard action. He can also use the Whirlwind Attack feat as a standard action.

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Honestly, this is the least one should expect from a 20th level Fighter. Such character should be able to defeat dragons, demons and lesser gods. At this point, he is an utter badass, the ultimate martial combatant! Nothing should be capable of intimidating him or taking control of his battle-forged mind, and a few steps shouldn't stop him from crushing the skull of whoever is foolish enough to face him!

Legendary Fighting Prowess: At 20th level, the Fighter gains one Legendary Fighting Prowess of his choice.

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I can't believe I forgot to add something to actually give Fighter their a Legendary Fighting Prowess at 20th level. . Thanks to Morph Bark for pointing it out for me!