Fighter Fighter was a descriptive term for a warrior skilled with a variety of weapons and trained in the arts of war . A skilled fighter defined the front line of any battle , breaking through enemy ranks and holding the line while their allies maneuvered . All fighters were trained to use virtually any armor or weapon the situation required ; a fighter could use an axe , a rapier , or a greatsword with roughly equivalent skill . As well as being combat generalists , most fighter also specialized in a particular skillset , such as archery or combat magic . Artemis Entreri , Bruenor Battlehammer , Drizzt Do ' Urden and Azoun IV are all well - known fighters from Toril ' s history . Culture . Among the most common adventurers , fighters came from an innumerable set of backgrounds . Some were knight s in the service of a quest or elite foot soldiers whilst others were ambitious would - be overlords or hardened mercenaries . What brought fighters together , however , was their common roots as warriors who put themselves in the thick of battle , between their comrades and harm ' s way ; while many fighters could be called disreputable , few , if any , were true cowards . All fighters drew on a wealth of experience built by others who ' d come before them , though some had more formal training than others . Many fighters came to their profession through membership in a militia or army , while others acquired their skills in military academies . Others were more or less self - educated , their skills hardened through hard - earned experience rather than formal instruction . Some fighters were brought to the ways of martial combat by a threat to their home and others were a part of a long family tradition . These diverse backgrounds and motivations meant most fighters did not see themselves as part of a greater brotherhood or fellowship . Instead , fighters perceived their friends and brothers in those with whom they ' d faced danger together , distinguishing little by profession . Fighters were common in nearly every part of Faerûn and though they were sometimes overlooked due to their widespread nature , truly skilled fighters were well - respected for their abilities . While many fighters operated on their own or as parts of informally organized groups , others held themselves to a higher ideal and were part of knight ly orders . These included such renowned groups as the Purple Dragon s of Cormyr , the Knights Kuldar of Barakmordin , or the Champions Vigilant of Helm . Likewise , fighters came from a wide variety of races . Among human s , dwarves , high elves ( particularly moon elves ) , halfling s ( lightfoot or strongheart halfling s ) , and dragonborn fighters were particularly common , drawing on the military traditions of each race . Half - orc fighters were also common , though less so , and were typically outcasts among both humans and orc s who ' d taken their hardships and channeled it into a force for discipline and martial skill . Among the goblinoid races , hobgoblin s were most commonly fighters , the other races typically lacking the discipline for a strong martial tradition . Drow and duergar fighters were also somewhat common . Abilities . Fighters of all varieties were skilled in the use of the most commonly used weapons and armor , making them highly proficient in the ways of battle . All fighters were adept at both melee and ranged combat , though many fighters put the emphasis of their training on melee . Every fighter had , in addition to their broad knowledge of most weapons , a particular style of fighting that they preferred . Some were specialists in the use of armor or shielding their allies from harm . Others were particularly skilled in the use of great or single - handed weapons . Still others , like ranger s , were specialized in the use of ranged weapons or dual wielding . In addition to their proficiency in the use of particular weapons , fighters had a number of other useful combat abilities . Incredibly durable and courageous , fighters were capable of recovering from blows that might kill other warriors , allowing them to sustain themselves for prolonged stretches of combat . Experienced fighters were likewise more resilient to the effects of poison s , spell s , or other debilitating effects . Additionally , fighters could push themselves beyond their normal limits every few hours in a burst of energy , allowing them to act and move more quickly . Similarly , experienced fighters were capable of attacking more quickly , up to about four times as quickly as other warriors . Many fighters worked best fighting alongside others and were trained to protect the flanks of allies . When an enemy attacked a friend or ally of these fighters , the fighter was prepared to leap to the ally ' s defense and distract the foe , decreasing the effectiveness of their attacks . Fighters were also better able to take advantage of flaws in enemies ' defenses than most other warriors . Fighter archetypes . While all fighters shared a number of generalized combat skills , the direction their abilities took as they gained more experienced varied considerably . Three of the most common archetypes fighters followed are listed below . Battle Master . Similar in many respects to warlord s , Battle Masters were fighters who ' d taken a significant interest in the mastery of strategy and tactics . At their best when supported by other warriors , Battle Masters used their knowledge of history , scientific theory , and artistry to provide themselves an advantage not only on the battlefield , but when facing other challenges as well . As such , Battle Masters were frequently skilled in seemingly unrelated fields , including various forms of crafting . Among the most widely applicable abilities known to Battle Masters was the mastery of maneuver s , martial techniques which allowed them to debilitate enemies or direct allies in order to shift battle conditions to their own advantage . Supporting these maneuvers - which included feints , disarming strikes , and flanking attacks among many other techniques - was the Battle Master ' s ability to perceive the capabilities of their foes , which allowed an experienced Battle Master to correctly identify the condition and experience of an enemy they ' d spent at least a minute fighting . Champion . Champions were the culmination of years of honed physical training , the pinnacles of weapons training and durability among fighters . Trained to the peak of mortal physical perfection , Champions were among the most deadly warriors , able to run faster , jump further , and endure more pain than other fighters . Concerned greatly with accurately striking their opponents , Champions focused on precision weapon training early on in their career . This made Champions considerably more likely to strike an enemy than other fighters and they became only more precise with further training . Champions additionally put an emphasis on versatility and experienced Champions were well - versed in not just one , but two fighting styles . The most powerful Champions were also incredibly resilient , capable of sustaining themselves for great lengths of time in combat , even after suffering a serious blow . Eldritch Knight . Not all fighters focused solely on martial abilities . A few fighters , in addition to their weapons training and athletic ability , also cultivated a proficiency in the use of arcane magic . These fighters , known as eldritch knights , combined their martial skills with spell s from the abjuration and evocation schools of magic to grant themselves magical protection or assault several foes at once . The spells that eldritch knights used were similar or identical to those used by wizard s , whose arcane training they specifically emulated . Combining martial and arcane power gave eldritch knights an edge in some respects over purists of either tradition . Like swordmage s , eldritch knights could forge a magical bond with one or two weapons over an extended period of time , allowing them to summon either weapon to their hands at - will . Eldritch knights were also capable of casting spells and fighting at the same time , an ability not common to wizards . And unlike normal warriors , experienced eldritch knights could teleport short distances or breach an enemy ' s magical resistance to damage . On the other hand , eldritch knights learned spells at a much slower rate than wizards or other pure spellcasters . Fighter traditions . In addition to the more specialized forms of training exemplified by fighter archetypes , many fighters also belonged to a number of less specialized but still unique fighter traditions . Some of the more common ones are listed below . Battlerager fighter . Battlerager fighters were an uncommon variety of fighter who preferred to trust their instincts and the thrill of battle to pull them through danger . Thrill seekers who loved the heat of battle , battleragers seemed to only grow more powerful the more they were injured . More so than other fighters , battleragers relied on their strength , which they used to make powerful strikes with their favored weapons such as axe s or hammer s . However , most also had a strong constitution as well as good instincts , needing both in order to survive the many battles they endured . Most battleragers , instead of focusing their skills on either one - handed or two - weapon fighters like most fighters , had the ability to ride enemy attacks , channeling their pain into a violent fury . This extraordinary vigor not only allowed them to endure heavy blows longer than most fighters , but also could be channeled into their own attacks , particularly when they were wearing chainmail or lighter armor or were using axes , hammers , mace s , or pick s , the favored weapons of most battlerager fighters . Those who devoted themselves to enhancing these skills might become ravager s . Great weapon fighter . Great weapon fighters focused their training on the use of large , two - handed weapons such as greatsword s and were better equipped to deal heavy damage than most fighters . Great weapon fighters were hardier than most other fighters , though they tended to be less nimble . Most exploit s used by great weapon fighters traded finesse for sheer power , with their focus on subduing a foe as quickly as possible before they could do significant harm to a fighter ' s allies . Guardian fighter . Guardian fighters took the oft defensive position of fighters to its extremes , making their shield an integral part of their fighting style . These fighters invariably used one - handed weapons such as longsword s or flail s , leaving their off - hand free for holding a shield . To these fighters , avoiding damage was as important as dealing it and most were more dexterous than other fighters . Guardian fighters also tended to favor exploits that were either more accurate than those of other fighters or which had additional , debilitating effects for the foes they struck . Tempest fighter . While most fighters preferred to use either large , two - handed weapons or a smaller weapon and a shield , tempest fighters were unusual in that they choose to use two smaller weapons together , one in each hand . This made tempest fighters uniquely versatile , able to deal more damage than most guardian fighters but able to defend themselves better than most great weapon fighters . For these individuals strength remained important but quick instincts and battlefield awareness took on a newfound importance , as did speed and maneuverability . As a result , fewer tempest fighters trained their bodies to the same physical limits of endurance that other fighters usually did . While not all tempest fighters abandoned the one - handed or two - handed focus that most fighters embraced , most did , and took on training in the so - called “ tempest technique , ” an expert style of two - weapon fighting . These tempest fighters were adept at defending themselves with dual weapons and found themselves at their best when using chainmail or lighter armor , which gave them a stronger ability to maneuver and deal deadly , two - pronged attacks .