Fighter (3.5 Class Fix) (I know, I know...) (PEACH)

[Solaris]

Fighter
Fluff is for people who don't make things die by hitting them a lot. The goal of this class is to take the fighter and crank the dial up to about an eight.
Also, I hate hate hate the forum code for the tables.
(Note: I did a similar amp-up for the paladin, ranger, and barbarian. I'll post 'em once I recover from this go-round with the forum code. I think I got enough XP to go up a level.)

Game Rule Information
Fighters have the following game statistics.
Abilities: The physical ability scores are most important for a fighter, but the best fighters also have good mental ability scores.
Alignment: Any.
Hit Die: d10.

Class Skills
The fighter's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (architecture and engineering), Knowledge (dungeoneering), Knowledge (history), Knowledge (local), Knowledge (tactics), Listen (Wis), Profession (Wis), Ride (Cha), Sense Motive (Wis), Spot (Wis), and Swim (Str).
Skill Points at 1st Level: (4 + Int modifier) x 4.
Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier

FIGHTER
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special

1st|

+1

|

+2

|

+0

|

+0

|Combat Specialist

2nd|

+2

|

+3

|

+0

|

+0

|Bonus feat

3rd|

+3

|

+3

|

+1

|

+1

|Track ability 1

4th|

+4

|

+4

|

+1

|

+1

|Bonus feat, nerves of steel

5th|

+5

|

+4

|

+1

|

+1

|Action Recovery 1

6th|

+6

|

+5

|

+2

|

+2

|Bonus feat

7th|

+7

|

+5

|

+2

|

+2

|Track ability 2

8th|

+8

|

+6

|

+2

|

+2

|Bonus feat

9th|

+9

|

+6

|

+3

|

+3

|DR 1/-

10th|

+10

|

+7

|

+3

|

+3

|Bonus feat, Action Recovery 3

11th|

+11

|

+7

|

+3

|

+3

|Track ability 3

12th|

+12

|

+8

|

+4

|

+4

|Bonus feat

13th|

+13

|

+8

|

+4

|

+4

|DR 2/-

14th|

+14

|

+9

|

+4

|

+4

|Bonus feat

15th|

+15

|

+9

|

+5

|

+5

|Action Recovery 5, track ability 4

16th|

+16

|

+10

|

+5

|

+5

|Bonus feat

17th|

+17

|

+10

|

+5

|

+5

|DR 3/-

18th|

+18

|

+11

|

+6

|

+6

|Bonus Feat

19th|

+19

|

+11

|

+6

|

+6

|Track Ability 5

20th|

+20

|

+12

|

+6

|

+6

|Bonus feat, Action Recovery 10[/table]


Class Features
All of the following are class features of the fighter base class.
Starting Feats: Fighters receive Basic Weapon Proficiency and nine feats at 1st level. A character who multiclasses into fighter receives four, but must select proficiencies with them. This is different than other cases where the multiclassing character receives none of the Starting Feats from his new class.
(For standard games, replace this with: Fighters receive proficiency in all Simple and Martial Weapons. They are also proficient in all armors and shields, including tower shields)

Combat Specialist: Beginning at 1st level the fighter adds +1 to the attack roll with every weapon he is proficient with. This bonus increases by +1 every four levels. Beginning at 4th level the fighter adds +2 to the damage roll with every weapon he is proficient in. This bonus increases by +2 every four levels.

Bonus Feat: At every even-numbered level, the fighter receives a bonus feat from the fighter's list (see PHB and most any book ever published with a feat in it).

Track Ability 1: At 3rd level, the fighter selects which combat style track he will follow. Once chosen, this cannot be changed. He gains one of the following abilities, depending on his track:
Defender: The fighter gains a +2 bonus to his AC while wielding a shield. This bonus increases by +2 every four levels.
Dual-Wielder: The fighter gains a +1 competence bonus to damage with each weapon while wielding two weapons. This damage increases by +1 every four levels.
Zweihander: The fighter gains a +2 competence bonus to damage while wielding a melee weapon in two hands. This damage increases by +2 every four levels.
Einhander: The fighter gains a +1 dodge bonus to defense and a +1 competence bonus to the attack roll while wielding a melee weapon in one hand. These bonuses increase by +1 each every four levels.
Ritter: The fighter and his mount gains a +1 dodge bonus to defense while mounted, while the mount gains a +2 bonus to attack with all of its natural weapons. These bonuses increase by +1 each every four levels.
Archer: The fighter gains a +2 competence bonus to damage while wielding a bow. This damage increases by +2 every four levels.
Lockdown: The fighter gains a +2 bonus to hit with all Attacks of Opportunity he makes. This bonus increases by +2 every four levels.

Nerves of Steel (Ex): At 4th level and higher, a fighter gains the ability to keep a cool head where others are panicking. He adds half his fighter levels to saves against fear, and he can take 10 on any fighter class skill check regardless of stress or rushed situation. He can also take 10 on cool checks (if you're using them, that is).

Action Recovery (Ex): At 5th level and higher, a fighter gets almost superhumanly good at staying in the battle. He can spend an action point to gain Fast Healing 1, recovering 1 point of vitality point (but not wound point) damage per round for a number of rounds equal to his 3 + Constitution bonus (minimum 1 round). At 10th level this increases to Fast Healing 3, at 15th it increases to Fast Healing 5, to a maximum of Fast Healing 10 at 20th level.
(In a game that doesn't have action points, this ability is usable 1/day, gaining an additional use per day every five levels. In a game that doesn't use the WP/VP system, this ability restores hit points and doesn't care how many you're at, so long as you have zero or above. In a game that has death at 0 hit points, may God have mercy on your souls.)

Track Ability 2: At 7th level, the fighter receives his second track ability:
Defender: The fighter reduces his overall armor check penalties by 2 and increases his Max Dex by +2. The fighter takes no movement penalties for armor or encumberance.
Dual-Wielder: The fighter can attack with both of his weapons whenever he gets an attack action or uses an attack of opportunity. He no longer needs to make a full attack action to attack with both weapons.
Zweihander: The fighter gains a +4 bonus to bull rush, overrun, and sunder attempts.
Einhander: The fighter can trip an opponent with any weapon wielded in one hand, and can drop the weapon if his trip attempts fail to avoid being tripped himself. He gains a +4 bonus to disarm and resist being disarmed or tripped.
Ritter: The fighter can guide his mount as a free action, representing his ability to fight and undertake other tasks while still communicating his wishes to his mount. In addition, the fighter can add his mount's Strength bonus to his own for calculating melee damage in any round where his mount has moved at least 10 feet.
Archer: The fighter is able to fire off an additional arrow when making an attack or full attack, but if he does all of his attacks until his next action take a -5 penalty.
Lockdown: The fighter gains a +4 bonus to trip and disarm attempts and to resist tripping and disarming. This bonus applies both to the attack rolls and ability checks.

Damage Reduction (Ex): Beginning at 9th level, the fighter gets better at shrugging off damage. He gains DR 1/-. This damage reduction increases by 1 for every four levels in the class the fighter progresses (DR 2/- at 13th level, DR 3/- at 17th, and so on).

Track Ability 3: At 11th level, the fighter receives his third track ability:
Defender: The fighter increases the armor bonus and damage reduction of any armor system he wears by +4.
Dual-Wielder: The fighter uses his full Strength bonus for his off-hand and suffers no penalty for not wielding a light weapon in his off-hand - he is fully ambidextrous and can use both hands with equal proficiency.
Zweihander: The fighter can wield weapons for creatures one size larger than him with no penalty (so he can wield a greatsword sized for a Large creature without penalty). He doubles his Strength bonus to damage for two-handed weapons.
Einhander: Any time an opponent attacks the fighter in melee, he can use an attack of opportunity to parry that attack with an opposed attack roll. If the fighter wins the opposed attack roll, he parries that attack harmlessly. The opponent loses the rest of his attack actions and is off-balance (becoming flat-footed) until his next turn.
Ritter: The fighter and mount are considered one creature (typically of the same size as the mount) in terms of bull rushes, grapples, swallow whole, and other effects. An effect that affects one must also succeed against the other, otherwise it fails.
Archer: The fighter reduces the penalties for range increment by 1.
Lockdown: The fighter increases the reach of all two-handed weapons he wields by 5 feet, 10 feet if he's Huge or larger.

Track Ability 4: At 15th level, the fighter receives his fourth track ability:
Defender: The fighter gains a +10 competence bonus to resist trip, bull rush, and overrun attempts provided he did not move more than 5 feet the previous round. When braced against a charge, he can choose to immediately execute a bull rush attempt against the enemy with a +2 bonus for every 10 feet of movement in the charge.
Dual-Wielder: The fighter's critical threat range while dual-wielding increases by 1. This stacks with other abilities that affect critical threat range. He gains a +4 competence bonus to confirm a critical hit while dual-wielding.
Zweihander: The fighter can wield weapons for creatures two sizes larger than him with no penalty (so a Medium-sized fighter can wield a greatsword sized for a Huge creature without penalty). He triples his strength bonus to damage for two-handed weapons.
Einhander: The fighter's critical threat range with a one-handed weapon increases by 1. This stacks with other abilities that affect critical threat range. He gains a +4 competence bonus to confirm a critical hit.
Ritter: The fighter can wield any two-handed weapon as though it had an extra 5 feet of reach so long as he is mounted. He retains the ability to strike adjacent foes with the weapon, but does not gain the ability if his weapon did not already have it.
Archer: The fighter gets a second additional attack whenever he makes a full attack with a bow, but if he does all of his attacks until his next action take an additional -5 penalty.
Lockdown: The fighter gains a second attack with each Attack of Opportunity, albeit at a -5 penalty.

Track Ability 5: At 19th level, the fighter receives his final track ability:
Defender: The defender has no limit to the number of attacks of opportunity he can make in a single round, provided he does not move more than 5 feet in the previous round. In addition, he can make an attack of opportunity against a creature leaving his threatened area as well as entering it.
Dual-Wielder: The fighter is able to take a full attack action as only a standard attack action. He can thus execute all of his attacks and move his full speed in a round, but he cannot take any other actions that are the equivalent of a full attack action aside from attacking.
Zweihander: Any weapon the fighter wields in two hands gains the ability to sever (or crush, or maim) the head (or similar vital spot) of those he strikes. Upon a roll of natural 20 (followed by a successful roll to confirm the critical hit), the weapon severs the opponent's head (or similarly fatal effect). Some creatures, such as oozes, constructs, and undead are not affected by such attacks. Most other creatures, though, die when decapitated or stabbed through the heart. The DM may have to make judgment calls about this effect. This is an extraordinary ability of the wielder, and as such the ability still functions even in an antimagic field.
Einhander: The einhander fighter gains a single additional attack at his highest attack bonus every time he makes an attack roll. This means he makes two attacks every time he gets an attack of opportunity, but he only gets one additional attack when he takes a full attack action (or a standard attack action). This ability is cumulative with haste and the speed weapon ability.
Ritter: The fighter is so skilled at riding a beast in combat that he can all but become one with his mount. It adds his Ride bonus as a bonus to saving throws and Armor Class, and the mount gains bonus VP equal to one-half the fighter's total VP so long as he is mounted. If one has evasion, improved evasion, uncanny dodge 1, uncanny dodge 2, or similar ability, then the other benefits from it as well.
Archer: The additional attacks the fighter gained from previous track abilities reduce their penalties to -2 each, not -5.
Lockdown: The fighter can make as many Attacks of Opportunity against a target as he likes, up to a maximum of half his Dexterity modifier (minimum 1). In any event, he cannot exceed his normal maximum of Attacks of Opportunity per round.

[Zaydos]

I like the idea of fixing fighter and I assume due to some of your abilities you are using the VP/WP and armor as DR systems from Unearthed Arcana. The main complaint I've actually heard about fighter is his inability to do anything outside of combat or outside of a full-attack. While your level 19 ability for the Two-Weapon Fighting Track helps with the 2nd it's rather limited in the types that can use it and high level and you have nothing for the other (which is the harder one since what SHOULD a fighter have that is directly outside of combat?). I'd say add Spot and Listen to the skill list too.

[Temotei]

Mmm...Zweihander power attack + pounce + high strength + magic items + buffs... I might have missed something in there. Oh yeah. Greater Weapon Specialization with a whole bunch of weapons. And Weapon Specialization. Along with the [Greater] Weapon Focus bonuses. I may still have missed something though. Haha

You should add a ranged combat track. Fighters can use bows, too.

[Solaris]

I like the idea of fixing fighter and I assume due to some of your abilities you are using the VP/WP and armor as DR systems from Unearthed Arcana. The main complaint I've actually heard about fighter is his inability to do anything outside of combat or outside of a full-attack. While your level 19 ability for the Two-Weapon Fighting Track helps with the 2nd it's rather limited in the types that can use it and high level and you have nothing for the other (which is the harder one since what SHOULD a fighter have that is directly outside of combat?). I'd say add Spot and Listen to the skill list too.

I do. Forgot to mention that - I blame the late hour. I also use the Weapon Group Proficiencies, and in most of my games "Armor Proficiency" covers all forms of armor.

I added in several more skills I think are useful for a military man.

Mmm...Zweihander power attack + pounce + high strength + magic items + buffs... I might have missed something in there. Oh yeah. Greater Weapon Specialization with a whole bunch of weapons. And Weapon Specialization. Along with the [Greater] Weapon Focus bonuses. I may still have missed something though. Haha

You should add a ranged combat track. Fighters can use bows, too.

Hee. You've hit upon the purpose of the class, I see. "Kill it dead." All else is pretty much secondary, but he's got more sophistication than a berserker.

I thought about that, but I made rangers specializing in ranged combat with medieval ranged weapons (particularly bows) and a separate rifleman class for firearms. Still, I see no harm in coming up with a ranged track anyways.

[Temotei]

The goal of this class is to take the fighter and crank the dial up to about a eight.

Should be "an."

[Solaris]

Should be "an."

>_>
<_<
I'll let that one go unedited, 'cause it's not part of the class's "Real" fluff, just some filler so people looking at the thread know what I'm going for.

[Anonymouswizard]

This looks good, i'm going to nick this and add a couple of new styles for my setting. (however, i'm thinking of changing the ranger and paladin to make them slightly more powerful). This is a realy good rewrite, maybe the legion of homebrewers here should calaborate and make their own version of D&D: one with funtioning melee classes!!
Yes, I do think its brilliant. You should make a fix for the wizard!
On a serious note, all sword and board fighters need now is a way to get enemies to fight them, they are much better than they are in vanilla (I think you have made the triple chocolate fighter!).

[Oslecamo]

You still don't give it anyway to deal with the special abilities of monsters. Just bigger numbers is very far away from the answer.

Giving 9 feats at 1st level is just screaming TAKE FIGHTER AT 1st level when you're not playing a caster, then multiclass into something else on all the other levels. Horrible idea, specialy because the fighter won't be able to qualify for a lot of good feats right at 1st level.

Also any "fighter fix" wich assumes fighters should give a run for his money from the rogue in the skill department automaticaly fails by my standards. Fighters are not freaking talkers!

[Solaris]

This looks good, i'm going to nick this and add a couple of new styles for my setting. (however, i'm thinking of changing the ranger and paladin to make them slightly more powerful). This is a realy good rewrite, maybe the legion of homebrewers here should collaborate and make their own version of D&D: one with functioning melee classes!!
Yes, I do think its brilliant. You should make a fix for the wizard!
On a serious note, all sword and board fighters need now is a way to get enemies to fight them, they are much better than they are in vanilla (I think you have made the triple chocolate fighter!).

Awesome. Post those styles, will ya? I might have to nick 'em myself. (I've already done the ranger and paladin - I'll post 'em up pretty soon).
I did. It amounted to a nerfbat that left the poor wizard broken and crying.
That was a major goal, to make sword-and-board just as good as two-stick or two-handed. I'm a traditionalist, y'see.

You still don't give it any way to deal with the special abilities of monsters. Just bigger numbers is very far away from the answer.

Aside from fear? No, I really don't. I'm trying to keep the fighter in his niche of "Non-magic and kills it dead".

Giving 9 feats at 1st level is just screaming TAKE FIGHTER AT 1st level when you're not playing a caster, then multiclass into something else on all the other levels. Horrible idea, specialy because the fighter won't be able to qualify for a lot of good feats right at 1st level.

That's why it's got the note in parenthesis. The one about how you shouldn't use this in standard games, but instead just go with the normal proficiency system. It is a horrible idea - in standard games. If you're using a game with weapon group proficiencies and where all the other classes basically do the same thing (but to a lesser extent, the others get two to seven), those feats get eaten up quick with weapon, shield, and armor proficiencies. I don't think any of my players have ever used more than one or two of these feats for something not a proficiency.
If someone in the 9-feat version wants to waste a level of their rogue progression to pick up fighter feats and skill with all their weapons? Power to 'em. I've never been that vehemently opposed to one- or two-level dips, and I've used the fighter that way an awful lot.

Also any "fighter fix" which assumes fighters should give a run for his money from the rogue in the skill department automatically fails by my standards. Fighters are not freaking talkers!

Why? Why shouldn't a fighter have social/knowledge skills? They make sense for those fighters who're trained in a fancy academy, but the vanilla class doesn't represent that at all. It's even worse for a fighter who's supposedly a noble knight and has spent most of his life either training for war or training to lead.

[Oslecamo]

Why? Why shouldn't a fighter have social/knowledge skills? They make sense for those fighters who're trained in a fancy academy, but the vanilla class doesn't represent that at all. It's even worse for a fighter who's supposedly a noble knight and has spent most of his life either training for war or training to lead.

That's for what multiclassing is for. Noble knights were suposed to train in a lot of stuff, with fighting being actualy only a small part. If you really want that, you should just rename the class "Noble" or something.


Or, you know, take points as a cross-class skill. Just because a skill isn't in your class doesn't mean you cannot take points for it.

Anyway, from your line of reasoning, one should give all those skills to barbarians! They're also leaders many times! And wizards! They study in fancy academies and start guilds and everything!

[Solaris]

That's for what multiclassing is for. Noble knights were suposed to train in a lot of stuff, with fighting being actualy only a small part. If you really want that, you should just rename the class "Noble" or something.


Or, you know, take points as a cross-class skill. Just because a skill isn't in your class doesn't mean you cannot take points for it.

Anyway, from your line of reasoning, one should give all those skills to barbarians! They're also leaders many times! And wizards! They study in fancy academies and start guilds and everything!

I believe what we've run into here is a "Difference of opinion". See, it happens sometimes. The good news is, being that it's a homebrew class I've written up for my personal campaign, you don't have to use it. If all you've got to gripe about is the fact that I made the fighter not suck for skills, then you really don't have anything.

[Anonymouswizard]

At the moment i'm thinking about beefing the ranger and paladin up by giving them the bard spells known and spells per day, and then making them spontaneous casters. So i'll whip up three quick tracks: a non caster paladin and ranger, as well as a generic swashbuckler type. I'd like sugestions for how to make them equal.
Track ability 1:
paladin: the fighter gains the paladin ability to smite evil, useable once per day. he gains an additional use of this ability every four levels.
Ranger: the ranger gains a +2 competence bonus to attack rolls with ranged weapons, which increases by +2 every 4 levels.
Swashbuckler: the swashbuckler gains a +2 compatance bonus to AC and attack rolls whenever he does not wear armour or use a shield. this ability improves by two every four levels.
track ability 2:
paladin: the fighter gains the benifit of a paladins warhorse, with an effective paladin level equal to his fighter level-2.
ranger: the ranger gains the benifit of an animal companion, with an effective druid level of (his fighter level-3)/2.
swashbuckler: the swashbuckler gains a +2 bonus one bonus to reflex saves when wearing no armour and not using a shield.
track ability 3:
paladin: the paladin gains +2 bonus to AC and grants this bonus to his allies as long as at least two allies with an alignment within one step of his are concious and within 60ft.
ranger: the fighter gains a +3 bonus on damage rolls with bows against any creature a ranger of his alignment could select as a favoured enemy.
swashbuckler: the swashbuckler gains preciese strike 1d6 (whenever he attacks with a light or one handed peircing weapon he deals an extra d6 damage).
track ability 4:
paladin: the fighter gains a +2 bonus to attack rolls when using a one handed weapon on his warhorse.
ranger: the fighter gains?
swashbuckler: the swashbuckler gains evasion. If he has evasion from a different source he gains improved evasion.
track ability 5:
paladin: the paladin gains a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls when fighting from his warhorse. this stacks with the +2 bonus to attack rolls from his track 4 ability.
ranger: the fighter?
swashbuckler: the swash buckler adds +2 to trip attempts with a light or one handed weapon.

To take the paladin track you must be lawful good. A blackguard track would gain the blackguards fiendish servant instead of the war horse, can cause desiase, and causes damage with lay on hands.

[Solaris]

At the moment i'm thinking about beefing the ranger and paladin up by giving them the bard spells known and spells per day, and then making them spontaneous casters. So i'll whip up three quick tracks: a non caster paladin and ranger, as well as a generic swashbuckler type. I'd like sugestions for how to make them equal.
Track ability 1:
paladin: the fighter gains the paladin ability to smite evil, useable once per day. he gains an additional use of this ability every four levels.
Ranger: the ranger gains the track feat for free if he doesn't have it.
Swashbuckler: the swashbuckler gains a +2 competence bonus to AC and attack rolls whenever he does not wear armour or use a shield. this ability improves by two every four levels.

Hmm... You're thinking about doing this as a track for a fighter? Alrighty. The Paladin track at this level seems fairly evened out. Ranger... Doesn't really scale up, and that's the major thing about the Track 1 abilities. I'd recommend giving him an improvement to ranged weapons, +2 competence and +2/4 levels. Swashbuckler... Hm. I think that works.

track ability 2:
paladin: the fighter gains the benifit of a paladins warhorse.
ranger: the ranger gains the benifit of an animal companion.
swashbuckler: the swashbuckler gains a +1 bonus one bonus to reflex saves when wearing no armour and not using a shield.

Paladin and Ranger tracks should have levels listed. I'm thinking the Swashbuckler track's ability could stand to be a little bit higher.

track ability 3:
paladin: the paladin+2 bonus to AC as long as at least two allies with an alignment within one step of his are conscious.
ranger: the fighter gains the benifits of one of the ranger combat styles.
swashbuckler: the swashbuckler gains preciese strike 1d6 (whenever he attacks with a light or one handed peircing weapon he deals an extra d6 damage).

Give the Paladin a range on that ability, and I'd recommend giving the allies a boost to their AC. I'd also recommend changing the Ranger's ability, as he already gets plenty of feats.

track ability 4:
paladin: the paladin can use lay on hands to cure a character of a number of any hit points, with the maximum number he can heal equal to his class levelxhis charisma modifier.
ranger: the ranger gets improved combat style.
swashbuckler: the swashbuckler gains evasion. If he has evasion from a different source he gains improved evasion.

The Paladin gets this at level 15. I'm thinking he could stand to get something a little more... impressive than that.
Same as above for the Ranger.

track ability 5:
paladin: the paladin gains a +1 bonus on attack rolls.
ranger: the ranger gains combat style mastery.
swashbuckler: the swash buckler adds +2 to trip attempts with a light or one handed weapon.

Same as above for the Paladin.
Same as above for the Ranger.
The Einhander gets the same ability as the Swashbuckler, only better, twelve levels earlier.

Honestly, I've always figured the Paladin and Ranger deserved their own classes - but I can see where you'd want nonspellcasting versions of 'em. Maybe focus the Paladin into a rider, while the Ranger becomes more of a ranged fighter? I did develop the Einhander with something like the Swashbuckler in mind.

[JKTrickster]

Wow this is a great class fix! It seems reasonably competent now and even offers opportunities for different character options. I like it!

For another Track suggestion, have you considered doing one for a Lockdown fighter? It's not "essiential" but many people play those and they could be greatly enchanced with this fix.

[Anonymouswizard]

If you can give me more ideas for the ranger and paladin abilities i'll be happy to incllude them. The swashbuckler is the unarmoured einhander: for this reason he gains a few bonuses to movement and the like. I'll change the ranger so he's the ranged fighter track, but the bonuses only apply to bows (will need something for crossbows)

[Solaris]

Wow this is a great class fix! It seems reasonably competent now and even offers opportunities for different character options. I like it!

For another Track suggestion, have you considered doing one for a Lockdown fighter? It's not "essiential" but many people play those and they could be greatly enchanced with this fix.

Thank you. 'S pretty much what I was trying to do.

Hmm. The Defender does a little bit of that - at nineteenth level. I do believe it could be handy for me to write up something designed to do the Lockdown role at levels more people see play. Basically, getting the attention of lots of monsters and keeping it by means of being annoying with AoOs, right? I think I can work something out.
Oh, definitely gotta 'short-haft' polearms. Maybe something to increase reach with two-handed weapons that don't have it at the same level.

If you can give me more ideas for the ranger and paladin abilities i'll be happy to incllude them. The swashbuckler is the unarmoured einhander: for this reason he gains a few bonuses to movement and the like. I'll change the ranger so he's the ranged fighter track, but the bonuses only apply to bows (will need something for crossbows)

I know, I'm trying to think of some too.

Hmm. Perhaps skill with bows increases rate of fire and provides an even boost to both damage and accuracy, while skill with X-bows increases close-ranged accuracy, damage, and combat prowess. Maybe even a ranged AoO as the Track 5 for X-bows while within point-blank range. For those of us who use firearms, I'm looking to have X-bows and firearms use the same track.

[JKTrickster]

Well when I was looking at the Fighter Tracks, I mentally broke it down into what common fighter build it would fit:

Defender: The Huge Tank. Literally in the sense that this guy won't be sporting anything less than Heavy Armor and Shield. The main difference this is from most Lockdown builds: it focuses more on making the Defender hard to take down, while Lockdown creates a zone around them (normally via reach weapons) which no one can access without difficulty.

So I figured that a Lockdown build would be different enough machanically and definetly different enough flavor wise. For some possible track abilities (I'm rather new to homebrewing in general, so this might not be that great)

Track #1: Lockdown: A +1 bonus (or should this be +2) to all Attack of Opportunity. A +1 bonus every 4 levels after.

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Note: All the other Track 1 abilities were a flat bonus that scaled every 4 levels, so I made this the same. The bonus for AoOs apply to anything you use the AoO with (trip, disarm, attack, etc.). Is that bad?

Track #2: Lockdown: Treated as one size larger for tripping and your weapon(s) count as two handed for disarm.

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Note: I tried comparing to the other Track 2 abilities: they mainly gave advantages to let the fighter fit better in his role, by mitigating some small weakness. Well lockdown normally works through tripping (and a little disarming) so I made it more a Lockdown fighter trip and disarm easier. I'm not sure how well this actually is; should there be an added bonus as well?

Track #3: Lockdown: Your Reach is as large as a creature one size larger.

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Note: Your Track # abilities remove even larger difficulties (dual weilders get to apply full strength bonus to both and becomes ambidexterous) so I guess this was the cloest equivalent. Basically, by now the fighter is LIKE a creature one size larger, but only for reach, tripping, and disarm. Am I missing anything?

Track #4: Lockdown: Can make 2 attacks with 1 AoO

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Note: This probably doesn't scale well, but I was just putting something here for now. Might change it later. If you really want to know my logic behing it, this was to make Lockdown build deal a little more damage, since most Lockdown builds are actually quite weak that way.

Track #5: Lockdown: Can make as many AoOs on any target as they wish.

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Note: Probably the biggest benefit you could give to a Lockdown. I was going to add, unlimited AoOs but Defender already had that. It's your discretion if you think different Tracks can have smiliar benefits.
Anyway, this allows the Lockdown build to really shine and actually use all those AoOs at higher levels (I mean, after a while you just don't need 9+ AoOs if you are playing it right). I might add a cap, like you can't do more than 2 or 3 to one, because Track 4 gets an extra attack anyway.

Read the spoilers, for they contain notes on why I choose certain things.

To tell the truth that was my very first homebrew attempt. Please be nice and forgive any glaring mistakes

*Also, I believe the fighter should have some kind of ability that lets them fight certain types of monsters better (eg flyers, caster, etc.) to reflect their experience with dealing with such opponents. Just my two cents, take them as you will.

For the range weapon track, I think distance/sniping is one way you could do it (or should that be a different track?). Theoretically speaking, if you really wanted to optimize ranged damage, it would be too hard to compete with magic users. So perhaphs you could just beat them on distance?

On the other hand, ranged weapons have a lack of feats that really give them a big damage boost (like Power Attack for melee) so perhaphs you could just try and solve that....

Or since the Tracks are 5 abilities long, we could always just have everything

[Rettu Skcollob]

Wow... I'd hate to play anything but a fighter in one of your games. I'm a Method Actor myself when it comes to playing D&D, but from what I can see this would be instantly the most powerful class in game... And you say you nerfed the Wizard as well? Just... Wow. Personally I haven't even noticed a significant power gap between wizards and fighters over the long run in my games, (since my group contains 0 powergamers) but this fix seems insane to me. You said PEACH, and like I said I'm a hardcore roleplayer myself, but... Wow. Is the fighter really that bad?

[JKTrickster]

Well actually unlike others, I actually quite like the fighter class. But yes, it definetly needs some tuning up, REGARDLESS of how great the magic classes might be. That's a secondary issue for me.

I personally have three problems with fighters:
1. High amount of "dead levels"
2. Features don't scale nicely with level.
3. Lack of versatility

Explanation:
1. The fighter class has 10 dead levels: as in there are 10 levels in the class where the fighter is not significantly changed at all, aside from the +1 BAB, HD, etc. Why is this a problem? Examining most other classes (spellcasters in particular) every level up should present new possibilities. The only reason you would ever take say, the 7th level, is because you want to get to the 8th. Otherwise, there are plenty of full BAB classes out there that would certainly outweigh.

2. Feats DON'T scale with level. Not at all, espicially since fighters are restricted with their bonus feats. Unless you're using the most optimized set possible, a lot of your early feats would not matter when you're level 20. That also brings me into the next point:

3. Because of the problem in 2, fighters come up short of what is expected of them. With current feats, fighters lack the ability to be versatile, noticed espicially in situations that don't suit them. And even then, they do minimally compared to others. And when in situations that should play to their style, there is always other factors that "cramp their style".

Also, I commonly see very few "working" builds of fighters that are heavily optimized for power. After a while, it becomes extremely uncreative.

And of course, compared to magic users, they are much less powerful. But I don't think that's a fair comparison (but to avoid thread derailing, let's not talk about that ).

I think this class fix is also quite just, because it allows the fighter to be much better in roles that it should have been this strong anyway.

Oh and actually most people don't really need to fear this "inbalance" between fighters and wizards for several reasons:
1. Most people don't play at high levels (where it is most noticable)
2. Most DMs have enough common sense to limit things.
3. Most people don't heavily powergame, to the extent where it affects others.

As of lower level games, fighter isn't actually a bad choice! But at higher levels, the abilites just don't scale appropriately (compared to say, a 9th level spell).

EDIT: Wow that turned out to be more rantish than I thought it was. Sorry if this ends up starting something.....

[Solaris]

I've got some Archer and Ritter abilities here.
Track 1:
Ritter: The fighter and his mount gains a +1 dodge bonus to defense while mounted, while the mount gains a +2 bonus to attack with all of its natural weapons. These bonuses increase by +1 each every four levels.
Archer: The fighter gains a +2 competence bonus to damage while wielding a bow. This damage increases by +2 every four levels.

Track 2:
Ritter: The fighter can guide his mount as a free action, representing his ability to fight and undertake other tasks while still communicating his wishes to his mount. In addition, the fighter can add his mount's Strength bonus to his own for calculating melee damage in any round where his mount has moved at least 10 feet.
Archer: The fighter is able to fire off an additional arrow when making an attack or full attack, but if he does all of his attacks until his next action take a -5 penalty.

Track 3:
Ritter: The fighter and mount are considered one creature (typically of the same size as the mount) in terms of bull rushes, grapples, swallow whole, and other effects. An effect that affects one must also succeed against the other, otherwise it fails.
Archer: The fighter reduces the penalties for range increment by 1.

Track 4:
Ritter: The fighter can wield any two-handed weapon as though it had an extra 5 feet of reach so long as he is mounted. He retains the ability to strike adjacent foes with the weapon.
Archer: The fighter gets a second additional attack whenever he makes a full attack with a bow, but if he does all of his attacks until his next action take an additional -5 penalty.

Track 5:
Ritter: I'unno, haven't worked anything out.
Archer: The additional attacks the fighter gained from previous track abilities reduce their penalties to -2 each, not -5.

Well when I was looking at the Fighter Tracks, I mentally broke it down into what common fighter build it would fit:

Defender: The Huge Tank. Literally in the sense that this guy won't be sporting anything less than Heavy Armor and Shield. The main difference this is from most Lockdown builds: it focuses more on making the Defender hard to take down, while Lockdown creates a zone around them (normally via reach weapons) which no one can access without difficulty.

So I figured that a Lockdown build would be different enough machanically and definetly different enough flavor wise. For some possible track abilities (I'm rather new to homebrewing in general, so this might not be that great)

Well, I happen to like 'em. Mind if I incorporate the Lockdown into the class (with a few modifications I list below)?

Track #1: Lockdown: A +1 bonus (or should this be +2) to all Attack of Opportunity. A +1 bonus every 4 levels after.

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Note: All the other Track 1 abilities were a flat bonus that scaled every 4 levels, so I made this the same. The bonus for AoOs apply to anything you use the AoO with (trip, disarm, attack, etc.). Is that bad?

I'm torn - AoOs are kind of limited, but the right Lockdown build really opens them up. It could go either way. It's good, I'm just torn about whether +1 or +2. I'd say go with what most of 'em are and say +2.

Track #2: Lockdown: Treated as one size larger for tripping and your weapon(s) count as two handed for disarm.

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Note: I tried comparing to the other Track 2 abilities: they mainly gave advantages to let the fighter fit better in his role, by mitigating some small weakness. Well lockdown normally works through tripping (and a little disarming) so I made it more a Lockdown fighter trip and disarm easier. I'm not sure how well this actually is; should there be an added bonus as well?

I think this works. We should go with weapons counting as one set larger to a maximum of two-handed - so lights count as one-handed weapons, while one-handed weapons count as two-handed. Or maybe we could just go with a flat +4 to trip/stability and +4 to disarm/resist disarm.

Track #3: Lockdown: Your Reach is as large as a creature one size larger.

Spoiler

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Note: Your Track # abilities remove even larger difficulties (dual weilders get to apply full strength bonus to both and becomes ambidexterous) so I guess this was the cloest equivalent. Basically, by now the fighter is LIKE a creature one size larger, but only for reach, tripping, and disarm. Am I missing anything?

I was actually ruminating on something similar to this. I figured on doing something like considering all two-handed weapons to have reach, but also the ability to strike adjacent targets (making 'em all like the spiked chain in that regard).

Track #4: Lockdown: Can make 2 attacks with 1 AoO

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Note: This probably doesn't scale well, but I was just putting something here for now. Might change it later. If you really want to know my logic behing it, this was to make Lockdown build deal a little more damage, since most Lockdown builds are actually quite weak that way.

Hmm. Maybe to help limit this, add an additional attack to each AoO rather than two attacks per AoO? Does the same thing, but with the #5 it helps from getting way too high.

Track #5: Lockdown: Can make as many AoOs on any target as they wish.

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Note: Probably the biggest benefit you could give to a Lockdown. I was going to add, unlimited AoOs but Defender already had that. It's your discretion if you think different Tracks can have smiliar benefits.
Anyway, this allows the Lockdown build to really shine and actually use all those AoOs at higher levels (I mean, after a while you just don't need 9+ AoOs if you are playing it right). I might add a cap, like you can't do more than 2 or 3 to one, because Track 4 gets an extra attack anyway.

We need to reword this, if I'm getting at what you're driving for. Restate it to say that the fighter can make multiple AoOs against a target, so long as he doesn't exceed his maximum for that round (plus the one from Track 4).

Read the spoilers, for they contain notes on why I choose certain things.

To tell the truth that was my very first homebrew attempt. Please be nice and forgive any glaring mistakes

*Also, I believe the fighter should have some kind of ability that lets them fight certain types of monsters better (eg flyers, caster, etc.) to reflect their experience with dealing with such opponents. Just my two cents, take them as you will.

For the range weapon track, I think distance/sniping is one way you could do it (or should that be a different track?). Theoretically speaking, if you really wanted to optimize ranged damage, it would be too hard to compete with magic users. So perhaphs you could just beat them on distance?

On the other hand, ranged weapons have a lack of feats that really give them a big damage boost (like Power Attack for melee) so perhaphs you could just try and solve that....

Or since the Tracks are 5 abilities long, we could always just have everything

I didn't want to do something like favored enemy, and I always figured a bow and/or the ability to fly yourself made for a good counter to flyers.

I've done the archer up above. Lemme know what you think - it mostly focuses on shooting faster, which was the longbowman's major advantage over the crossbowman. I ought to make the crossbowman a sniper-type. Maybe. I dunno - we're starting to overrun with tracks.

Wow... I'd hate to play anything but a fighter in one of your games. I'm a Method Actor myself when it comes to playing D&D, but from what I can see this would be instantly the most powerful class in game... And you say you nerfed the Wizard as well? Just... Wow. Personally I haven't even noticed a significant power gap between wizards and fighters over the long run in my games, (since my group contains 0 powergamers) but this fix seems insane to me. You said PEACH, and like I said I'm a hardcore roleplayer myself, but... Wow. Is the fighter really that bad?

I'm inclined to disagree (and not just because I gave similar treatments to pretty much all of the nonspellcaster classes). Pretty much the only thing the fighter has that he can do now that he couldn't do to begin with is socialize, detect, and know stuff (that was a primarily roleplay-related reason - I never liked the fighter being unable to contribute off the battlefield). I added sensory skills because, being the rough equivalent to a real-world Fighter myself, I know firsthand how important they are to the line of work. He's just better at doing everything he used to do, but he still has a lot of his old weaknesses: Range (unless he's a ranged fighter, then melee is likely to hurt him) and special effects (especially those targeting the Reflex and Will saves). A dominate person is still going to make everyone regret the fighter standing there - they're just going to regret it a lot more.

The Fast Healing... well, heck. It keeps him in the game longer (if you aren't using WP/VP, I'd recommend reducing it) and less reliant on the cleric as a healbot.

Two skill points is just low. I give spellcasters 4 per level, too. It'll go up even more for casters once I finally get around to making the skill-based magic.

That said, because I'd progressed my game further along in the presumed timeline towards around the Industrial Revolution, one of my design intents was to up everyone and make spellcasters lower in comparison.

[Anonymouswizard]

*Also, I believe the fighter should have some kind of ability that lets them fight certain types of monsters better (eg flyers, caster, etc.) to reflect their experience with dealing with such opponents should be a ranger. Just my two cents, take them as you will.

There, fixed
/if you want that make a set of feats like mage slayer (C Arc).
Yes, that is fixed
Also, can you post up your fixed set of casters, maybe then we can decide if this is also balanced against them.

[JKTrickster]

Yeah that's true. It would be too similiar to a ranger then, huh?

And I second Anonymous - post up your caster fixes!

As for the lockdown abilities, of course you can use them! Modify them as you will- I more or less made them for that purpose anyway.

Just running by what you said,

Lockdown 1: No problem. A +2 bonus isn't all together game breaking.

Lockdown 2: Hmm.. although weapons counting as one set larger is nice, this wouldn't neccessary benefit two handed weapons, unless we had something else. But counting as one size larger for purposes of trip is nice though and doesn't need to be changed.

Lockdown 3: Hmm...but what if it is already a reach weapon? Or even a spiked chain? Your change wouldn't add anything to it....We could actually phrase it like this:
If your weapon isn't a reach weapon, treat it as so. If it already is a reach weapon, give it the ability to attack adjacent targets. If it already can do that as well, treat your reach as that of a creature one size larger. (the wording is awkard, but I hope you get my point).

Lockdown 4: Your change was actually what I was aiming for, but couldn't quite put down. it's great!

Lockdown 5: Yep. So how about:
The fighter may make as many AoOs agianst a target as they wish, as long as they do not exceed the maximum amount they are allowed to have.

But this may be too strong...should we cap it? E.g. the fighter can make as many as 2 (or 3?) AoOs agianst a target, as long as they do not exceed the maximum they are allowed to have.

For you Ritter track (which I assume is a Rider) I was thinking that one of the abilities should grant a mount (maybe 4th?). Otherwise, it would just be a "normal" warhorse, which doesn't quite scale with other classes which get their own special mounts.

[Solaris]

Yeah that's true. It would be too similiar to a ranger then, huh?

And I second Anonymous - post up your caster fixes!

I'll post the rune magician after work. That's one that could stand to get some more input, too. I just haven't on account of forum code.

As for the lockdown abilities, of course you can use them! Modify them as you will- I more or less made them for that purpose anyway.

Just running by what you said,

Lockdown 2: Hmm.. although weapons counting as one set larger is nice, this wouldn't neccessary benefit two handed weapons, unless we had something else. But counting as one size larger for purposes of trip is nice though and doesn't need to be changed.

I'd say a straight +4 bonus, as most of the others fall into that pattern at this level.

Lockdown 3: Hmm...but what if it is already a reach weapon? Or even a spiked chain? Your change wouldn't add anything to it....We could actually phrase it like this:
If your weapon isn't a reach weapon, treat it as so. If it already is a reach weapon, give it the ability to attack adjacent targets. If it already can do that as well, treat your reach as that of a creature one size larger. (the wording is awkard, but I hope you get my point).

Hmm. It is wordy, but I can see what you're going for. It don't seem quite fair to not give something to the spiked chain when all the other two-handed weapons are getting something, especially as the spiked chain is such an ideal weapon for the Lockdown fighter.

Lockdown 4: Your change was actually what I was aiming for, but couldn't quite put down. it's great!

Awesome.

Lockdown 5: Yep. So how about:
The fighter may make as many AoOs agianst a target as they wish, as long as they do not exceed the maximum amount they are allowed to have.

But this may be too strong...should we cap it? E.g. the fighter can make as many as 2 (or 3?) AoOs agianst a target, as long as they do not exceed the maximum they are allowed to have.

A number equal to half his Dex mod? #4 already gives him two attacks, even if it's a buy-one-get-one. I agree with the capping - your gut is telling you to do it, and wise your gut is.

For you Ritter track (which I assume is a Rider) I was thinking that one of the abilities should grant a mount (maybe 4th?). Otherwise, it would just be a "normal" warhorse, which doesn't quite scale with other classes which get their own special mounts.

Ehh. #4 is rather late-game. I always thought that more a flaw in the game itself rather than a flaw in the class - and came up with the following:

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All of these are the standards of their breed, but exceptional animals are sometimes available for sale. It's possible to train up an animal to get better statistics, but that takes time and Handle Animal checks.
- HD increase: 100 gp per Hit Die (DC 30 + HD Handle Animal check and a month to train).
- Feat training: 1000 gp (they usually require a DC 30 - 35 Handle Animal check and a month to train). An animal can gain one extra feat through training.
- Ability score increase: 100 gp per ability score point (DC 25 + ability modifier Handle Animal check and two weeks to train).
- Speed increase: 500 gp per 5 ft (DC 25 + speed/5 Handle Animal check and two weeks to train). This only trains one speed type at a time, and an animal can increase its speed by up to twice its original.
- Natural armor increase: 500 gp per 1 point increase (DC 30 + natural armor bonus and one month to train). The animal can increase its natural armor only once.

[JKTrickster]

Rune Magician? Sounds interesting! Can't wait to see it!

Lockdown 2: Hmm.. although weapons counting as one set larger is nice, this wouldn't neccessary benefit two handed weapons, unless we had something else. But counting as one size larger for purposes of trip is nice though and doesn't need to be changed.

I'd say a straight +4 bonus, as most of the others fall into that pattern at this level.

Hmm....yep. Much simpler and doesn't require anything else but adding numbers. So it would look like:

Lockdown 2: The fighter gets a +4 bonus on trip and disarm attempts, and a +4 bonus to resist trip and disarm.

Lockdown 3: Hmm...but what if it is already a reach weapon? Or even a spiked chain? Your change wouldn't add anything to it....We could actually phrase it like this:
If your weapon isn't a reach weapon, treat it as so. If it already is a reach weapon, give it the ability to attack adjacent targets. If it already can do that as well, treat your reach as that of a creature one size larger. (the wording is awkard, but I hope you get my point).

Hmm. It is wordy, but I can see what you're going for. It don't seem quite fair to not give something to the spiked chain when all the other two-handed weapons are getting something, especially as the spiked chain is such an ideal weapon for the Lockdown fighter.

Hmm.....but do you agree with what I'm trying to go for? How about:

Lockdown 3: The fighter treats all non-reach weapons as reach weapons, with no adjacent attack. When weilding reach weapons, the fighter gains the ability to make adjacent attacks and treats their reach as a creature of one size category larger.

Is that more concise? This is kind of hard to put down in words... (Note: from the wording above, technically all reach weapons get the reach bonus, not just the spiked chain. Is that good?)

Lockdown 5: Yep. So how about:
The fighter may make as many AoOs agianst a target as they wish, as long as they do not exceed the maximum amount they are allowed to have.

But this may be too strong...should we cap it? E.g. the fighter can make as many as 2 (or 3?) AoOs agianst a target, as long as they do not exceed the maximum they are allowed to have.

A number equal to half his Dex mod? #4 already gives him two attacks, even if it's a buy-one-get-one. I agree with the capping - your gut is telling you to do it, and wise your gut is.

Okay! So it should be:

Lockdown 5: The fighter may make up to half their Dex mod (rounded down) of AoOs agianst a target as they wish, as long as they do not exceed their normal maximum of AoOs.

Was that what you were looking for?

Ehh. #4 is rather late-game. I always thought that more a flaw in the game itself rather than a flaw in the class - and came up with the following:

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All of these are the standards of their breed, but exceptional animals are sometimes available for sale. It's possible to train up an animal to get better statistics, but that takes time and Handle Animal checks.
- HD increase: 100 gp per Hit Die (DC 30 + HD Handle Animal check and a month to train).
- Feat training: 1000 gp (they usually require a DC 30 - 35 Handle Animal check and a month to train). An animal can gain one extra feat through training.
- Ability score increase: 100 gp per ability score point (DC 25 + ability modifier Handle Animal check and two weeks to train).
- Speed increase: 500 gp per 5 ft (DC 25 + speed/5 Handle Animal check and two weeks to train). This only trains one speed type at a time, and an animal can increase its speed by up to twice its original.
- Natural armor increase: 500 gp per 1 point increase (DC 30 + natural armor bonus and one month to train). The animal can increase its natural armor only once.

Well.....then the mount suddenly becomes much more expensive. I mean, in order to catch up with special mounts provided by other classes (which are completely FREE) the fighter would have to spend a lot. How does it compete effectively?

[ziegspade]

You know, i originally thought it was almost impossible to do, but you just broke fighter beyond all recognition...now i know that the fighter is in desperate need of a revamping, and pathfinder actually did a good job at that, but starting with nine feats as well as receiving all of his regular bonus feats? Its just broken now...

[JKTrickster]

You know, i originally thought it was almost impossible to do, but you just broke fighter beyond all recognition...now i know that the fighter is in desperate need of a revamping, and pathfinder actually did a good job at that, but starting with nine feats as well as receiving all of his regular bonus feats? Its just broken now...

Actually those nine feats are for weapon proficiencies and armor proficiencies and the like. It's under the weapon group variant (I think).

In fact, he even lists underneath that, in a normal campaign they would just get simple and martial proficiencies, along with proficiencies with all armor and shields.


Anyway, on something that might need fixing. For the lockdown track, we assume that they will automatically take Combat Reflexes. Otherwise, everything about Track 3 is weird and useless (kind of....moreso of Track 5 than Track 4 really). Is that a problem?

Also on Lockdown 2: the +4 bonus to trip. Was type of bonus is this? Is it to the Strength check, attack roll, etc. (It should the Strength check; a +4 bonus to a touch attack is quite weak and useless...)

[Solaris]

Rune Magician? Sounds interesting! Can't wait to see it!

Sounds interesting, has an interesting concept, but I don't think I quite put enough into it to really follow through on its promise. I did make use of a lot of UA's specialist variants, but... Here.
It's a different location on account of I seriously hate the forum code.

Hmm.....but do you agree with what I'm trying to go for? How about:

Lockdown 3: The fighter treats all non-reach weapons as reach weapons, with no adjacent attack. When weilding reach weapons, the fighter gains the ability to make adjacent attacks and treats their reach as a creature of one size category larger.

Is that more concise? This is kind of hard to put down in words... (Note: from the wording above, technically all reach weapons get the reach bonus, not just the spiked chain. Is that good?)

I agree, ja, but I think that wording's worse because it takes the adjacent attack off of non-reach weapons. Lemme think here...
"The fighter treats all two-handed melee weapons as though they have reach and the ability to strike an adjacent target. If the weapon already has reach, that reach increases as though the fighter were one size larger."
I had the restriction of two-handed only because it's difficult to imagine someone taking a dagger and whacking a guy ten feet away with it.
What you think of it? It's pretty much a rewording of what you had, I think, just fixing the adjacent thing. I want to avoid having to make the fighter take an action or something to shift his grip - just more complexity.

Lockdown 5: The fighter may make up to half their Dex mod (rounded down) of AoOs agianst a target as they wish, as long as they do not exceed their normal maximum of AoOs.

Was that what you were looking for?

Yep.

Well.....then the mount suddenly becomes much more expensive. I mean, in order to catch up with special mounts provided by other classes (which are completely FREE) the fighter would have to spend a lot. How does it compete effectively?

Hmm. You're right, it really doesn't - especially considering that a ranger or paladin who does the same thing with his mount is just as far ahead. Maybe writing up a feat (or feat tree) that lets the fighter get access to something like a ranger's animal companion could do the trick. I want there to be some kind of an investment because the fighter has a bunch of abilities that aren't taking into account the fact that he has a special mount/animal companion.

You know, i originally thought it was almost impossible to do, but you just broke fighter beyond all recognition...now i know that the fighter is in desperate need of a revamping, and pathfinder actually did a good job at that, but starting with nine feats as well as receiving all of his regular bonus feats? Its just broken now...

Or, y'know, you could read that parenthetical note below it. For crying out loud, it tells you that the nine feats thing is for my game (where everyone else gets between two to seven feats depending on their role), and in every other game it has just the regular proficiencies.
You're the second guy who's said that, by the way, without bothering to look at the parenthetical note. I got nothing against people critiquing - it's why I put the PEACH label there - but please bother to read it thoroughly. If you can't be bothered to read the class thoroughly, then please don't be bothered to say the same stuff that's already been said.

Anyway, on something that might need fixing. For the lockdown track, we assume that they will automatically take Combat Reflexes. Otherwise, everything about Track 3 is weird and useless (kind of....moreso of Track 5 than Track 4 really). Is that a problem?

Also on Lockdown 2: the +4 bonus to trip. Was type of bonus is this? Is it to the Strength check, attack roll, etc. (It should the Strength check; a +4 bonus to a touch attack is quite weak and useless...)

Nah. We won't give 'em Combat Reflexes automatically, but if they're making an AoO-based fighter who doesn't take it...

Untyped bonus to all d20 rolls involved - both the attack roll and Strength check.

[JKTrickster]

Yeah, making a list of feats is definetly better. Would make more sense too, than just dumping money have having the mount suddenly become better.

"The fighter treats all two-handed melee weapons as though they have reach and the ability to strike an adjacent target. If the weapon already has reach, that reach increases as though the fighter were one size larger."
I had the restriction of two-handed only because it's difficult to imagine someone taking a dagger and whacking a guy ten feet away with it.
What you think of it? It's pretty much a rewording of what you had, I think, just fixing the adjacent thing. I want to avoid having to make the fighter take an action or something to shift his grip - just more complexity.

That's actually pretty great! But I caught something....technically normal reach weapons CAN'T make adjacent attacks....that makes them slightly inferior to normal two handed weapons who become reach weapons (the reason why the spiked chain was so useful was because it had BOTH reach and adjacent attacks...)

So how about just adding a clause? It'll look like:
"The fighter treats all two-handed melee weapons as though they have reach and the ability to strike an adjacent target. If the weapon already has reach, that reach increases as though the fighter were one size larger AND the fighter gains the ability to make adjacent attacks with it."

Is that good?

Nah. We won't give 'em Combat Reflexes automatically, but if they're making an AoO-based fighter who doesn't take it...

Untyped bonus to all d20 rolls involved - both the attack roll and Strength check

Yeah I figured that would be the case (halariously, that line works as a response for both of them at the same time...).

On your rune magician...I haven't looked over everything, but right off the bat it's REALLY MAD. It requires a good Wis for DC on its spells, high Cha for spellpoints, and high Int to cast spells, spellcraft, and the number of spells they are allowed. Seems extremely vulnearble to me...

For example, the Shadowcaster in ToM is another MAD caster. Completely ruined its spellcasting (well, that and it was inherently flawed anyway but you get my point, right?)

[Mythestopheles]

"The fighter treats all two-handed melee weapons as though they have reach and the ability to strike an adjacent target. If the weapon already has reach, that reach increases as though the fighter were one size larger AND the fighter gains the ability to make adjacent attacks with it."

Is that good?

You could probably just keep reach weapons not able to make adjacent attacks, this would make fighters who took a feat for spiked chains not feel bad about it. Here's the phrasing:
"When wielding a two-handed weapon, the fighter gains an additional 5 feet of base reach"

Just my two cents.

[Solaris]

Yeah, making a list of feats is definetly better. Would make more sense too, than just dumping money have having the mount suddenly become better.

Well, I disagree about the sense-making. With the little mock-up I had there, the Fighter (or someone he hired) had to dump money and time to improve the mount. Unless the feat specifically requires time, it starts sliding into the realm of the supernatural - something I wanted to keep the fighter out of.
Even so, I'll start think-thinketying on the Mount feats. Feel free to throw out any ideas you have.

That's actually pretty great! But I caught something....technically normal reach weapons CAN'T make adjacent attacks....that makes them slightly inferior to normal two handed weapons who become reach weapons (the reason why the spiked chain was so useful was because it had BOTH reach and adjacent attacks...)

So how about just adding a clause? It'll look like:
"The fighter treats all two-handed melee weapons as though they have reach and the ability to strike an adjacent target. If the weapon already has reach, that reach increases as though the fighter were one size larger AND the fighter gains the ability to make adjacent attacks with it."

Is that good?

Sure, but it does say 'all' two-handed melee weapons - so I think that means all of the weapons with reach have reach and the ability to strike an adjacent target... unless there's a one-handed reach weapon out there. I have no problems with legalese (well, aside from the moral ones, but who uses morals anymore?).

On your rune magician...I haven't looked over everything, but right off the bat it's REALLY MAD. It requires a good Wis for DC on its spells, high Cha for spellpoints, and high Int to cast spells, spellcraft, and the number of spells they are allowed. Seems extremely vulnearble to me...

For example, the Shadowcaster in ToM is another MAD caster. Completely ruined its spellcasting (well, that and it was inherently flawed anyway but you get my point, right?)

I know, that's something I did on purpose. I'd even considered making the MP it gets from high levels based on Constitution. You could do all of those things based on Intelligence, but where's the fun in that?

You could probably just keep reach weapons not able to make adjacent attacks, this would make fighters who took a feat for spiked chains not feel bad about it. Here's the phrasing:
"When wielding a two-handed weapon, the fighter gains an additional 5 feet of base reach"

Just my two cents.

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... Who likes things simple, anyways?