6.6 Fighter

Rank	Combat Discipline	Equipment Training	Martial Mastery	Sentinel	Tactician
1	Disciplined reaction	Armor expertise, exotic weapon training	Martial maneuvers	Bulwark	Battle tactics
2	Enduring discipline	Armed and ready	Augmented maneuvers	Threatening influence	Reposition
3	Disciplined blow	Adaptive blow	Martial maneuvers+	Sentinel’s challenge	Coordinated charge
4	Cleansing discipline	Armored core	Augmented maneuvers+	Stalwart sentinel	Shifting stance
5	Enduring discipline+	Equipment efficiency	Martial maneuvers+	Specialized bulwark	Strategist
6	Vital discipline	Weapon precision	Augmented maneuvers+	Threatening influence+	Reposition+
7	True discipline	Armor expertise+	Martial maneuvers+	Demanding challenger	Shifting stance+

Fighters are highly disciplined warriors who excel in physical combat of any kind. They have a deep mastery of the implements and strategies of battle thanks to their extensive training. Other martial characters may be physically stronger or capable of strange and improbable tricks, but fighters are unmatched as battlefield champions.

Each fighter has a different area of specialization, but most fighters have some amount of battlefield control. They can guard their allies, impede the movement of their foes, or give battle commands to their allies to guide them. This makes fighters invaluable in large-scale battles, and they are the most common class found in organized military forces. The regimented nature of army life tends to drive away many people used to more freedom, but fighters are often compatible with the discipline found in armed forces.

More broadly, fighters are the most common class in many civilized settings. A fighter’s training requires no secret wisdom, and it can be self-taught or guided by a mentor. Many people undergo some battle training regardless of their ultimate path in life, leading them to discover that they may enjoy it for its own sake.

Monks are closely related to fighters, since both classes use training and discipline to improve themselves. However, monks focus more on mental control and exploring the supernatural powers that come from tapping into the body’s potential. In constrast, fighters have a more grounded approach, and focus more on practical knowledge that can be directly applied to physical combat. A typical monk would consider fighters to be overly limited in their focus on day-to-day combat, while a typical fighter would consider monks to be wasting their training with mysticism and esoteric nonsense.

Alignment: Any.

Archetypes: Fighters have the Combat Discipline, Equipment Training, Martial Mastery, Sentinel, and Tactician archetypes.

6.6.1 Base Class Effects

If you choose fighter as your base class, you gain the following benefits.

Level	Rank	Durability	Bonus1	Special
1	1	+0	x1	—
2	1	+1	x1	—
3	1	+2	x1	+1 to two attributes
4	2	+2	x2	HP: 2x durability
5	2	+3	x2	—
6	2	+4	x2	Legacy item: rank 3
7	3	+4	x3	HP: 3x durability
8	3	+5	x3	—
9	3	+6	x3	+1 to two attributes
10	4	+6	x4	HP: 4x durability
11	4	+7	x4	—
12	4	+8	x4	Legacy item: rank 5
13	5	+8	x6	HP: 6x durability
14	5	+9	x6	—
15	5	+10	x6	+1 to two attributes
16	6	+10	x8	HP: 8x durability
17	6	+11	x8	—
18	6	+12	x8	Legacy item: ranks 7
19	7	+12	x10	HP: 10x durability
20	7	+13	x10	—
21	7	+14	x10	+1 to two attributes

1. This bonus applies to your accuracy, magical ✨ power, mundane power, trained skills, and defenses.  

Defenses

You gain a +3 bonus to your Brawn, Fortitude, Mental, and Reflex defenses. In addition, you gain a +1 bonus to your Armor defense.

Resources

• Attunement points: 3 (see Attunement Points).
• Fatigue tolerance: 3 + your Constitution (see Fatigue).
• Insight points: 1 + your Intelligence (see Insight Points).
• Trained skills: 3 from among your class skills, plus additional trained skills equal to your Intelligence if it is positive (see Skills).

Weapon Proficiencies

You are proficient with simple weapons and all non-exotic weapons.

Armor Proficiencies

You are proficient with light, medium, and heavy armor.

Starting Items and Equipment

You can start with the following items and equipment:

• Any one of the following: buff leather, leather lamellar, or breastplate
• Any two of the following: club, dagger, broadsword, two handaxes, or spear
• A buckler or standard shield
• A standard adventuring kit (see Standard Adventuring Kit).
• A rank 0 wealth item (1 gp)

Class Skills

You have the following class skills:

• Strength: Climb, Jump, Swim.

• Dexterity: Balance, Flexibility, Ride.

• Constitution: Endurance.

• Intelligence: Craft, Knowledge (items), Medicine.

• Perception: Awareness, Deception, Persuasion.

• Other: Intimidate.

6.6.2 Combat Discipline

This archetype allows you to improve your defenses and resist conditions.

Rank 1 – Disciplined Reaction

You halve all penalties to your accuracy, defenses, and speed from temporary debuffs on you. This includes the defense and speed penalties from being slowed (-10 speed, -2 Armor and Ref), the accuracy and Mental defense penalty from being frightened (-2 Mental, -2 accuracy vs. source), and so on. It does not include permanent effects, such as if you are intrinsically vulnerable (-4 defenses) to attacks.

Rank 2 – Enduring Discipline

You gain a +2 bonus to your Mental defense and fatigue tolerance.

Rank 3 – Disciplined Blow

Rank 4 – Cleansing Discipline

Rank 5 – Enduring Discipline+

The bonuses increase to +4.

Rank 6 – Vital Discipline

You briefly ignore the vital wound effect of each vital wound you gain. While a vital wound is delayed in this way, you do not suffer any effects from its specific vital wound effect, but you still consider it when calculating your penalties to vital rolls.

Rank 7 – True Discipline

You are immune to conditions.

6.6.3 Equipment Training

This archetype improves your combat prowess with weapons and armor.

Rank 1 – Armor Expertise

You gain a special ability based on the usage class of your body armor.

• Light: You gain a +10 foot bonus to your speed.
• Medium: You add your full Dexterity to your Armor defense, rather than only half your Dexterity like normal for medium armor. However, the maximum Armor defense bonus you can gain from Dexterity is +4. Using a medium armor shield also does not reduce your Dexterity bonus to Armor defense, but using a heavy armor shield still halves it.
• Heavy: You gain a +1 bonus to your Armor, Brawn, and Fortitude defenses.

Rank 1 – Exotic Weapon Training

You can gain proficiency with exotic weapons at the cost of one insight point per weapon group (see Exotic Weapons). You must already be proficient with all non-exotic weapons from that weapon group.

Rank 2 – Armed and Ready

Once per round, you can draw or sheathe any non-shield weapon as a free action. This does not count against your normal one free action object manipulation per round (see Manipulating Objects).

Rank 3 – Adaptive Blow

Rank 4 – Armored Core

While wearing body armor, you gain a +1 bonus to your Armor defense.

Rank 5 – Equipment Efficiency

Whenever you draw a weapon or don a shield, you can attune to it as a free action (see Item Attunement).

Rank 6 – Weapon Precision

You gain a +1 accuracy bonus with strikes.

Rank 7 – Armor Expertise+

You gain an additional special ability based on the usage class of your body armor.

• Light: You take no damage from glancing blows or misses caused by abilities that affect an area and attack your Armor or Reflex defense. This does not protect you from any non-damaging effects of those abilities, or from abilities that affect multiple specific targets without affecting an area.
• Medium: You gain a +2 bonus to your Brawn, Fortitude, and Reflex defenses, up to a maximum equal to your Armor defense.
• Heavy: You double your armor’s durability bonus.

6.6.4 Martial Mastery

This archetype grants you special abilities to use in combat.

Rank 1 – Martial Maneuvers

You can channel your martial prowess into dangerous attacks. You gain access to any combat style of your choice (see Combat Styles). You may spend insight points to gain access to one additional combat style per insight point. You can only learn martial maneuvers from martial combat styles that you have access to.

You learn two rank 1 martial maneuvers. You may spend insight points to learn one additional maneuver per insight point.

When you gain access to a new rank in this archetype, you can exchange any number of maneuvers you know for other maneuvers, including maneuvers of a higher rank.

Advancement: Some martial maneuvers also increase in power in unique ways based on your rank in this archetype, as indicated in their descriptions.

Rank 2 – Augmented Maneuvers

You gain the ability to customize your martial maneuvers. For each rank 1 martial maneuver you know, choose one augment from the list below and apply it to that maneuver. The augment permanently changes the maneuver, so you can’t use an unaugmented version of the maneuver. However, you can learn the same maneuver more than once and apply different augments to each version.

Augments scale in power with your “excess rank”. Your excess rank with a maneuver is equal to your rank in this archetype minus the rank of the maneuver.

Whenever you increase your rank in this archetype, you can change your augments. However, you must still apply them to rank 1 martial maneuvers.

Counter Maneuver: You gain an accuracy bonus equal to twice your excess rank against creatures who made a strike against you during the previous round. You can only apply this augment to maneuvers which cause you to make a strike.

Debilitating Maneuver: You gain an accuracy bonus equal to twice your excess rank. However, you cannot get a critical hit. You can only apply this augment to maneuvers which deal damage and can inflict a condition.

Defensive Maneuver: You gain a bonus to your Armor defense equal to half your excess rank (minimum 1) when you use the maneuver. This is an Swift effect, so it protects you from attacks against you during the current phase. You can only apply this augment to maneuvers which cause you to make a strike.

Mighty Maneuver: You take a -1 accuracy penalty, but you deal extra damage equal to twice your excess rank.

Precise Maneuver: You gain an accuracy bonus equal to your excess rank.

Rank 3 – Martial Maneuvers+

You gain access to rank 3 martial maneuvers.

Rank 4 – Augmented Maneuvers+

You can also choose an augment for each of your rank 3 martial maneuvers.

Rank 5 – Martial Maneuvers+

You gain access to rank 5 martial maneuvers.

Rank 6 – Augmented Maneuvers+

You can also choose an augment for each of your rank 5 martial maneuvers.

Rank 7 – Martial Maneuvers+

You gain access to rank 7 martial maneuvers.

6.6.5 Sentinel

This archetype improves your ability to protect your allies in combat and control the battlefield.

Rank 1 – Bulwark

You gain a +1 bonus to all defenses.

Rank 2 – Threatening Influence

Your Huge or smaller enemies move at half speed while within a Small (15 ft.) radius emanation from you. This does not affect creatures who are moving in a straight line directly towards you. It also has no effect on enemies that are able to move through your space freely, such as incorporeal or very large creatures.

Rank 3 – Sentinel’s Challenge

Rank 4 – Stalwart Sentinel

You gain a +1 bonus to your Constitution.

Rank 5 – Specialized Bulwark

You gain a +1 bonus to your Armor defense and one other defense of your choice.

Rank 6 – Threatening Influence+

The area affected by this ability increases to a Medium (30 ft.) radius emanation from you, and the maximum size category increases to Gargantuan.

Rank 7 – Demanding Challenger

Each creature that is suffering penalties for being goaded (-2 accuracy vs. non-goading creatures) by you takes an additional -2 accuracy penalty against creatures other than you.

6.6.6 Tactician

This archetype helps you lead your allies in combat with tactical abilities that allow you to adapt to different circumstances.

Rank 1 – Battle Tactics

You can lead your allies using tactics appropriate for the situation. Choose two battle tactics from the list below. You can also spend insight points to learn one additional battle tactic per insight point.

You can initiate a battle tactic as a minor action. When you initiate a battle tactic, you choose whether to use visual cues like gestures, auditory cues like shouts, or both to communicate your tactic with your allies. Your battle tactics can affect yourself and your allies who can either see or hear your efforts. Most battle tactics will only affect a limited number of targets. You choose the targets whenever you initiate or sustain the battle tactic.

All battle tactics have the Sustain (free) tag, so they last as long as you sustain them (see Sustained Abilities). You cannot sustain multiple battle tactics simultaneously, and any existing battle tactics end as soon as you activate another battle tactic.

Rank 2 – Reposition

If you have speed remaining after the movement phase, you may use some of that movement during the action phase as a free action once per round. You cannot carry over more than five feet of movement in this way.

Rank 3 – Coordinated Charge

Rank 4 – Shifting Stance

Rank 5 – Strategist

You gain a +1 bonus to your Intelligence.

Rank 6 – Reposition+

The maximum movement speed that you can carry over with this ability increases to fifteen feet.

Rank 7 – Shifting Stance+

The bonus for each stance increases to +2.