Fighting Man (Fighter Rebuild)

Fighting Man

A Base Class for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game

Fighting men are drawn from the pages of myth and history- indomitable warriors without peer who are feared above all others on the battlefield. Fighting men are not inherently the leaders of men, rather they are the salt of the earth, brothers and sisters of the sword whose life is one long battle. They are well versed in the ways of violence, be it with  sword or bow- they can fell a foe. They can beat a man with a switch cut from a tree branch just as easily as with a sword.

Fighting men come from all walks of life but all are rare martial geniuses whose skill is not limited to a narrow band of specialization. They have an intimate understanding of violence and combat in a fundamentally different way that most lack. This tends to give them a very fatalistic and predatory nature- a sort of battle hardened worldliness and animal instinct.

Fighting Man vs Knight vs Paladin

The term “fighting man” originates from the title of “man-at-arms” which referred to a professional, trained, soldier with a full compliment of personally bought and maintained wargear suitable for a heavy cavalryman. This typically included heavy armor (including the gambesons and chain layers under it), a heavy war horse with barding, a lance (and replacements), as well as personal weapons (swords, daggers, bows, javelins, etc) and the proper equipment to maintain it. As this was their vocation, the tools of their trade were a hefty, but necessary price.

One’s status as a fighting man, though politically valuable, did not inherently imply that they were they were knights (or even noble)- although knights were indeed fighting men. Paladins take that one step further- in the same way that all knights were fighting men (though not all fighting men knights), all paladins were knights (and thus fighting men) but not all knights were paladins (assuming that you accept the definition that paladins were knights of a religious order such as the crusaders, templars, or something of that nature).

Fighting men who were not knights or even noble were often from the upper classes (wealthy merchants, non-noble landowners) and found their place in the militaries of Europe during the High Middle Ages and the Renaissance periods. They were often parts of a retinue (the personal units of nobles/knights), part of a local military company, or members of free companies (large, respected, mercenary forces often employed by a lord), or unknighted squires. As it required a large sum of money to purchase the training, gear, and maintenance of this lifestyle they either had money in their own right or a patron paying for it.

Hit Dice: D10.

Inspirations: Achilles, Gilgamesh, Beowulf, Ajax, Samson, Guan Yu, Perseus,Roland, Cu Chulainn, and Sigurd.

Role: Fighting men have one great talent- killing those who try to kill them. They are the very picture of a martial character, wading into the most dangerous parts of a battlefield and living to tell the tale (as well as leaving a few bodies in their wake).

### Sidebar: Fighter vs Fighting Man

The fighting man is a rebuild of the fighter. The fighter class, in its unaltered form from the Pathfinder Core Rulebook, is not comparable with other martial classes and is somewhat lackluster in the scope and the versatility of its abilities. The fighting man is designed to act as a replacement for the fighter in this regard.

Alignment: Any

Starting Wealth: 5d6 × 10 gp (average 175 gp.). In addition, each character begins play with an outfit worth 10 gp or less.

## Class Skills

The class’s class skills are Acrobatics (Dex), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (dungeoneering) (Int), Knowledge (engineering) (Int), Perception (Wis), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Survival (Wis), and Swim (Str).

Skill Ranks per Level: 4 + Int modifier.

Table #-1: The Fighting Man

## Class Features:

The following are the class features of the fighting man.

## Weapon and Armor Proficiency:

The fighting man is proficient with all simple and martial weapons and with all armor (heavy, light, and medium) and shields (including tower shields).

## Man-At-Arms (Ex):

Fighting men count as fighters of equivalent level for the purpose of qualifying for combat feats. Levels fighting man stack with levels of fighter for this purpose as well.

## Fighting Man Talents (Ex):

At 1st level, the fighting man gains a talent from the list below. At 2nd level and every even level thereafter he gains an additional talent from this list. He does not need to meet the prerequisites for any feats granted by a talent.

* Bang Out the Dents (Ex): The fighting man can restore hit points equal to his fighting man level (minimum 5) to a weapon or armor he is proficient in if he spends 1 minute attempting to repair it (no check required). He may only do this if the amount of hit points restored would restore it to its full value. If he has the appropriate Craft skill, the amount of hit points he can restore to the weapon or armor equals his total bonus in that Craft skill. A given piece of equipment may repaired in this fashion once per day.
* Battlefield Defender (Ex): The fighting man gains Lunge as a bonus feat. He may use his parry ability on behalf of any creature within the threatened area of the fighting man. The fighting man must have Parry before selecting this talent. If he has the Counterattack talent he may use that talent if the creature misses the target he parried on behalf of.
* Battle-Wizened (Ex): The fighting man gains a +4 bonus on all aid another attempts. In addition, when he does so with a class skill he has ranks in he grants a bonus equal to 1/2 the ranks he has in the skill rather than the typical +2 (minimum +2).
* Begrudging Respect (Ex): When mercenaries, men-at-arms, guards or other creatures of a soldierly persuasion witness a fighting man in combat they automatically have their attitude towards the fighting man improved by 1 step. This is a mind affecting effect and can only impact a creature once in a 24 hour period and impacts the creature for 6 hours. This also imparts a sense of respect or admiration for the fighting man’s prowess, though this may influence different creatures in different ways. Some may see the fighting man as a worthy opponent and the creature affected by this may be compelled to seek him out on the battlefield. Others may be intimidated by him, but still respect his skill.
* Brave Juggernaut (Ex): The fighting man gains a +2 competence bonus on Will saves. This bonus increases by +1 for every 4 levels he has attained. In addition, whenever he makes a Will save against an ability that has a partial effect on a successful save, he takes no effect from that ability on a successful save.
* Canny Attacker (Ex): The fighting man may use his BAB in place of his ranks in Bluff when making a feint attempt. If he has the Weapon Finesse feat then he may use his Dexterity in place of his Charisma modifier when making feint attempts. If the fighting man successfully feints a creature he gains a bonus on attack and damage rolls against that creature equal to his weapon mastery bonus. This extra damage is precision damage and isn’t multiplied on a critical hit.
* Canny Defender (Ex): The fighting man gains Combat Expertise as a bonus feat. When using that feat or fighting defensively he may add his Intelligence modifier to his AC and Reflex saves against effects that he is aware of.
* Carpe Punga (Ex): The fighting-man gains Improved Initiative as a bonus feat. In addition he gains Uncanny Dodge as though he were a barbarian of equal level.
* Combat Feat (Ex): A fighting man may take a combat feat in place of a talent. He may select this talent multiple times, each time he does he selects a new combat feat.
* Combat Medic (Ex): The fighting man gains Heal as a class skill and does not take the -4 penalty to attack rolls when dealing nonlethal damage. In addition he may deal nonlethal damage with ranged weapons as well. When the fighting man uses the Heal skill to successfully treat deadly wounds or provide that creature with long term care, the creature gains an additional amount of hitpoints equal to three times the fighting man’s level. For every 5 the fighting man beats the DC by he adds another multiple of his fighting man level to the amount of hit points restored.
* Comin’ at Ya’ (Ex): The fighting man gains Step Up and Following Step as bonus feats. He may use those feats when an opponent takes a withdraw action while within his threatened area. In addition, when using those feats he may expend attacks of opportunity to move an extra 5 feet per attack of opportunity expended.
* Counterattack (Ex): When a creature that the fighting man can see makes a melee attack against him the fighting man may spend an immediate action to make an attack against that creature.
* Cunning Strike (Ex): The fighting man gains Penetrating Strike as a bonus feat. He may apply that feats benefit to any weapon with which he is proficient. He may add his Strength modifier to the amount of damage reduction he ignores with that feat. If he has the Weapon Finesse feat then he may use his Dexterity modifier in place of his Strength modifier for this purpose.
* Flipping Dodge (Ex): The fighting man gains Dodge as a bonus feat. In addition, whenever an attack misses the fighting man or he successfully makes a Reflex save he may move up to half his speed by expending an attack of opportunity. This movement provokes attacks of opportunity of normal.
* Flourishing Fighter (Ex): The fighting man gains Two Weapon Fighting as a bonus feat. In addition, the fighting man never takes the two-weapon attack roll penalty from attacking with his primary hand while fighting with two weapons.
* Free Handing Guard (Ex): A fighting man can make a free Disarm or feint attempt after successfully hitting with a melee attack with only one hand occupied and at least one free arm or by an opponent missing you. This free Disarm attempt is made using the fighting man’s full BAB but may only be done once per round.
* Graceful Fighter (Ex): The fighting man gains a +2 competence bonus on Reflex saves. This bonus increases by +1 for every 4 levels he has attained. In addition, whenever he makes a Reflex save against an ability that has a partial effect on a successful save, he takes no effect from that ability on a successful save.
* Impressive Prowess (Ex): The fighting man may substitute his BAB for ranks in the Acrobatics, Climb, and Swim skills for the purposes of skill checks and qualifying for feats.
* Improved Flourishing Fighter (Ex): The fighting man gains Double Slice as a bonus feat. In addition, the fighting man never takes the two-weapon attack roll penalty from attacking with his offhand while fighting with two weapons. The fighting man must have Flourishing Fighter before selecting this talent.
* Kip Up (Ex): The fighting man may stand from prone as an immediate action. He may choose to not provoke an attack of opportunity while doing so.
* Know Thy Enemy (Ex): The fighting man gains all Knowledge skills as class skills. Whenever he attacks a creature he has successfully identified, he increases his critical multiplier by one against that creature, to a maximum of x4. If his weapon already has a x4 multiplier then he instead gains a bonus on confirming critical hits equal to his weapon mastery bonus.
* Lethal Shots (Ex): The fighting man gains Deadly Aim as a bonus feat. Critical hits made while using this feat ignore an opponent's damage reduction.
* Military Living (Ex): The fighting man may sleep in any sort of armor and not suffer any sort of fatigue. In addition, he may attempt a Survival check (DC 15) to locate weapons and armor suitable as being classified as non-improvised weapons and providing an AC bonus (respectively). These weapons and armor may be crude (possibly possessing the fragile quality) and may not necessarily hold value depending on the location they are found in- but they can always be found with at least 10 minutes of searching. The fighting man must have at least 3 ranks in Survival to select this talent.
* Mobile Combatant (Ex): The fighting man gains Mobility as a bonus feat. In addition he may move an additional 5 feet whenever he takes a 5 foot step.
* Night Sentry (Ex): The fighting man gains darkvision 30 feet or his darkvision improves by 30 feet if he already has it. In addition, he gains a +4 bonus on Perception checks to spot creatures using Stealth to hide. The fighting man must have at least 3 ranks in Perception to select this talent.
* Parry (Ex): The fighting man can interpose his weapon between himself and a foe's attack. He may expend an attack of opportunity to grant himself a shield bonus to his AC; light weapons grant a +1 shield bonus, while one and two handed weapons grant a +2 bonus. The fighting man adds his bonus from his martial mastery class feature to this shield bonus.
* Pugilist (Ex): The fighting man gains Improved Unarmed Strike as a bonus feat. In addition, he gains the unarmed damage of a monk of equal to his fighting man level.
* Quartermaster (Ex): The fighting man becomes proficient with all weapons (including all exotic weapons) and gains the Improvised Weapon Mastery feat.
* Razor Reflexes (Ex): The fighting man gains Combat Reflexes a bonus feat. While fighting defensively or using Combat Expertise he may make an additional attack of opportunity each round, at 4th level and every 4 levels thereafter he may make an additional attack of opportunity each round.
* Savage Attacker (Ex): The fighting man gains Power Attack as a bonus feat. In addition he may take that feat’s attack roll penalty to his AC instead of to attack rolls.
* Setup Strike (Ex): The fighting man gains Critical Focus as a bonus feat. In addition whenever he confirms a critical hit a creature adjacent to that target (including the fighting man) may make an attack against that creature as a immediate action.
* Sharpshooter (Ex): The fighting man gains Precise Shot as a bonus feat. In addition he increases the range increment of any weapon he attacks with by 10 feet. At 4th level and every 4 levels thereafter this improves by an additional 10 feet. At 11th level the fighting man also gains Improved Precise Shot, and the bonus to his weapons range increments  double.
* Spin Attack (Ex): The fighting man gains Whirlwind Attack as a bonus feat. He makes a single attack roll and applies the result against each opponent within reach when using that feat.
* Sprinter (Ex): The fighting man gains Run as a bonus feat. In addition he increases his move speed by 10 feet. At 4th level and every 4 levels thereafter he increases his bonus to move speed by 10 feet.
* Stalwart Soldier (Ex): The fighting man gains Toughness as a bonus feat. In addition he gains an additional hit point per fighting man level he possesses. This improves to 2 additional hit points per fighting man level at 8th level and to 4 per fighting man level at 16th level. Finally, whenever he makes a Fortitude save against an ability that has a partial effect on a successful save, he takes no effect from that ability on a successful save.
* Stay the Line (Ex): As a standard action the fighting man can quell any fear in his heart as well as that of his allies a number of times per day equal to 3 + his Charisma bonus. All allied creatures who can see and hear him gain an immediate save against any ongoing fear effects at a +2 morale bonus and they all gain a morale bonus against any new fear equal to 1/3rd the fighting man’s level (minimum +1) effects for 3 rounds.
* Storm of Blades (Ex): The fighting man gains the Cleave and Cleaving Finish feat. The fighting man may use cleave after making a full attack action against an enemy.
* Take Aim (Ex): The fighting man gains Point Blank Shot as a bonus feat. In addition he may designate one target he can see in his weapons first range increment as a swift action. If he does then he improves the benefits of that feat by +1 for every 4 levels he has attained when attacking the chosen target.
* Trick Shot (Ex): The fighting man can choose one of the following combat maneuvers or actions: disarm, trip, dirty trick, reposition or sunder. He can perform this action with a ranged attack against any target within his first range increment, with a -4 penalty to his CMB. He may select this talent multiple times; each time he may select an additional maneuver.
* Vital Striker (Ex): The fighting man gains Vital Strike as a bonus feat and may use that feat on one attack granted at the end of a charge. When he uses Vital Strike with a weapon he is proficient in he adds double his Strength modifier on the attack. At 12th level he gains Improved Vital Strike and adds 3 times his Strength modifier to that attack. At 16th level he gains Greater Vital Strike and adds 4 times his Strength modifier to that attack. The fighting man must be at least 6th level to select this talent.
* Warrior’s Bastion (Ex): The fighting man gains the Improved Shield Bash and Shield Master as bonus feats. The shield bonus granted from the shield they are wielding also applies to any Reflex saves.
* Weapon Finesse (Ex): The fighting man gains Weapon Finesse as a bonus feat. In addition, he may add his Dexterity to damage rolls in place of his Strength with finessable weapons. He does not increase this damage when two-handing a weapon and does not decrease this damage for off-handing a weapon.

## Warrior’s Versatility (Ex):

At 1st level a fighting man can take a move action to gain the benefit of a fighting man talent he doesn't possess. This effect lasts for 1 minute. The fighting man must meet all the fighting man talent’s prerequisites. He may use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + 1/2 his fighting man level (minimum 1).

The fighting man can use this ability again before the duration expires in order to replace the previous fighting man talent with another choice.

If a fighting man talent has a daily use limitation (such as Stay the Line), any uses of that fighting man talent while using this ability count toward that feat's daily limit. If the fighting man talent gives him a feat (or feats) he is considered to have those feats for the duration of this ability.

At 6th level, a fighting man can use this ability to gain the benefit of two fighting man talents at the same time. He may select one fighting man talent as a swift action or two fighting man talents as a move action. He may use one of these fighting man talents to meet a prerequisite of the second talent; doing so means that he cannot replace a feat currently fulfilling another's prerequisite without also replacing those fighting man talent that require it. Each individual fighting man talent selected counts toward his daily uses of this ability.

At 10th level, a fighting man can use this ability to gain the benefit of three fighting man talents at the same time. He may select one fighting man talent as a free action, two fighting man talents as a swift action, or three fighting man talents as a move action. He may use one of the fighting man talents to meet a prerequisite of the second and third fighting man talents, and use the second fighting man talents to meet a prerequisite of the third talent. Each individual fighting man talent selected counts toward his daily uses of this ability.

At 12th level, a fighting man can use this ability to gain the benefit of one fighting man talent as an immediate action or three combat fighting man talents as a swift action. Each individual fighting man talent selected counts toward his daily uses of this ability.

At 20th level, a fighting man can use this ability to gain the benefit of any number of fighting man talents as a swift action. Each fighting man talent selected counts toward his daily uses of this ability.

### Sidebar: Fighting “Man” vs Fighting “Woman”

This class uses male pronouns and is referred to as the “fighting man”. This is a reference to the way the class was presented in first iteration of Dungeons and Dragons. Female fighting men are typically referred to as “fighting women” or just “fighting men”.

## Martial Mastery (Ex):

At 3rd level the fighting man gains a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls while wielding a  weapon he is proficient with. At 7th level and every 4 levels thereafter this bonus improves by 1 to a maximum of +5 at 19th level.

## Armor Training (Ex):

Starting at 5th level, a fighting man learns to be more maneuverable while wearing armor. Whenever he is wearing armor, he reduces the armor check penalty by 1 (to a minimum of 0) and increases the maximum Dexterity bonus allowed by his armor by 1. Every 4 levels thereafter (9th, 13th, and 17th), these bonuses increase by +1 each time, to a maximum -4 reduction of the armor check penalty and a +4 increase of the maximum Dexterity bonus allowed.

In addition, a fighting man of 5th level can also move at his normal speed while wearing any armor.

## Battlefield Maneuvers (Ex):

At 5th level a fighting man gains the following feats: Improved Grapple, Improved Reposition, Improved Sunder, Improved Trip, Improved Dirty Trick, Improved Disarm, Improved Overrun, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Drag, Improved Feint and Improved Steal.

In summary, this effectively means that fighting men:

* Receive a +2 bonus on all combat maneuvers (note: feint is not a combat maneuver).
* Do not provoke an attack of opportunity when performing any combat maneuver.
* If the fighting man makes an overrun attempt, his target may not attempt may not chose to avoid him.
* The fighting man can make a feint check as a move action rather than a standard.

## Spontaneous Maneuvers (Ex):

At 7th level, when a fighting man takes a full attack action he may replace any attack rolls with combat maneuvers, regardless of whether the maneuver normally replaces a melee attack or requires a standard action. This allows him to make as many combat maneuvers per round, as a full attack action, as he has number of attacks he can make as part of a full attack action. When doing this he uses the current attack’s BAB rather than his full BAB when determining his CMB for the maneuver. He may mix and match attack rolls and combat maneuvers as part of the full attack action.

Maneuvers must still meet any range or movement type requirements normally associated with them (examples: a fighting man cannot use this with overrun unless he is moving as part of the full attack action, a fighting man must be able to reach the target to steal, etc).

## Warlord (Ex):

At 20th level, when a fighting man threatens a critical hit with a weapon he is proficient with he automatically confirms the critical hit.

Table: Alternate Favored Class Bonuses

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

• Open Game License v 1.0a Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc. • System Reference Document. Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, based on material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. • Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook. Copyright 2009, Paizo Inc.; Author: Jason Bulmahn, based on material by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, and Skip Williams. • The Book of Experimental Might. Copyright 2008, Monte J. Cook. All rights reserved. • Tome of Horrors. Copyright 2002, Necromancer Games, Inc.; Authors: Scott Greene, with Clark Peterson, Erica Balsley, Kevin Baase, Casey Christofferson, Lance Hawvermale, Travis Hawvermale, Patrick Lawinger, and Bill Webb; Based on original content from TSR. • Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Reference Document. © 2011, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Author: Paizo Publishing, LLC. Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook. © 2009, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Author: Jason Bulmahn, based on material by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, and Skip Williams. • Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Advanced Player’s Guide. © 2010, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Author: Jason Bulmahn • Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Advanced Race Guide. © 2012, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Authors: Dennis Baker, Jesse Benner, Benjamin Bruck, Jason Bulmahn, Adam Daigle, Jim Groves, Tim Hitchcock, Hal MacLean, Jason Nelson, Stephen Radney-MacFarland, Owen K.C. Stephens, Todd Stewart, and Russ Taylor. • Little Red Goblin Games Racial Guide 4: Nontraditional Races © 2015, Little Red Goblin Games LLC; Author: Scott Gladstein, Eidam, Wojciech Gruchała, Kayley Flanegin, Ian Sisson, Christos Gurd, Dayton Johnson, and Caleb Aylsworth. • Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Ultimate Magic. © 2011, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Authors: Jason Bulmahn, Tim Hitchcock, Colin McComb, Rob McCreary, Jason Nelson, Stephen Radney-MacFarland, Sean K Reynolds, Owen K.C. Stephens, and Russ Taylor. • Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Ultimate Combat. © 2011, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Authors: Dennis Baker, Jesse Benner, Benjamin Bruck, Jason Bulmahn, Brian J. Cortijo, Jim Groves, Tim Hitchcock, Richard A. Hunt, Colin McComb, Jason Nelson, Tom Phillips, Patrick Renie, Sean K Reynolds, and Russ Taylor. • Dragon Tiger Ox © 2014, Little Red Goblin Games LLC; Authors: Dayton Johnson, Scott Gladstein, Caleb Alysworth, and Jeremiah Zerby. • Little Red Goblin Games Racial Guide 4: Nontraditional Races © 2015, Little Red Goblin Games LLC; Author: Scott Gladstein, Eidam, Wojciech Gruchała, Kayley Flanegin, Ian Sisson, Christos Gurd, Dayton Johnson, and Caleb Aylsworth.

• Fighting Man © 2016, Little Red Goblin Games LLC; Authors: Scott Gladstein, Dayton Johnson, Ian Sisson, and Christos Gurd