6.6 Fighter

Rank (Level)	Combat Discipline	Equipment Training	Martial Mastery	Sentinel	Tactician
1 (1)	Disciplined reaction	Exotic weapon training, weapon training	Martial maneuvers	Protect	Battle tactics
2 (4)	Enduring discipline	Armor expertise	Augmented maneuvers	Threatening influence	Shifting stance
3 (7)	Disciplined blow	Armored crush	Martial maneuvers+	Sentinel’s challenge	Coordinated charge
4 (10)	Cleansing discipline	Equipment efficiency	Augmented maneuvers+	Stalwart sentinel	Battle tactics+
5 (13)	Enduring discipline+		Martial maneuvers+	Protect+	Shifting stance+
6 (16)	Vital discipline	Equipment efficiency+, weapon training+	Augmented maneuvers+	Threatening influence+
7 (19)	Inevitable discipline	Armor expertise+	Martial maneuvers+	Demanding challenger	Battle tactics+, hybrid battle tactics

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.

Attributes

You gain a +1 bonus to your Constitution. In addition, you gain a +1 bonus to either your Strength or your Dexterity.

Hit Points

You have 8 hit points + twice your Constitution, plus 2 hit points per level beyond 1. This increases as your level increases, as indicated below.

• Level 7: 20 hit points + three times your Constitution, plus 3 hit points per level beyond 7.
• Level 13: 40 hit points + six times your Constitution, plus 6 hit points per level beyond 13.
• Level 19: 80 hit points + twelve times your Constitution, plus 12 hit points per level beyond 19.

Defenses

You gain a +1 bonus to your Armor defense.

Resources

You learn three trained skills from among your class skills (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.

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

Whenever you gain a condition, you briefly ignore its effects.

Rank 2 – Enduring Discipline

You gain a +2 bonus to the Endurance skill and to your 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 – Inevitable Discipline

Your strikes get a glancing blow if they miss by 5 or less, rather than only if they miss by 2 or less.

6.6.3 Equipment Training

This archetype improves your combat prowess with weapons and armor.

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 1 – Weapon Training

Rank 2 – 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 land 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, Fortitude, and Mental defenses.

Rank 3 – Armored Crush

Rank 4 – Equipment Efficiency

You gain an additional attunement point. You can only use this attunement point to attune to magic weapons and magic armor.

Rank 6 – Equipment Efficiency+

You can use the item attunement ability to attune to weapons and armor as a minor action (see Item Attunement).

Rank 6 – Weapon Training+

Whenever you use your weapon training ability, you can choose one of the following weapon tags: Impact, Keen, Long, Parrying, Resonating, or Sweeping (1). You treat the weapon you trained with as if it had the chosen weapon tag.

If you use this ability to train with the same weapon again, you can change its weapon tag, but it loses the previous weapon tag. If you would add Sweeping (1) to a weapon that already has the Sweeping weapon tag, you increase its Sweeping value by one instead.

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 Fortitude, Reflex, and Mental defenses, up to a maximum equal to your Armor defense.
• Heavy: Your armor’s bonus to your damage resistance also applies to your hit points. This includes the multiplier from special materials or magic armor, but does not include any enhancement bonuses provided by the armor’s special effects.

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 two combat styles 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. 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 an accuracy penalty equal to 4 - your excess rank but the strike deals double weapon damage. If your excess rank is at least 5, this becomes an accuracy bonus. You can only apply this augment to maneuvers which cause you to make a strike.

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

Rank 3 – Martial Maneuvers+

You learn an additional martial maneuver. In addition, 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 learn an additional martial maneuver. In addition, 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 – Protect

Rank 2 – Threatening Influence

Your 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 – Protect+

The Armor defense bonus increases to +3 on an ally, or +2 on yourself.

Rank 6 – Threatening Influence+

The area affected by this ability increases to a Medium (30 ft.) radius emanation from you.

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 affect yourself and your allies who can either see or hear your efforts.

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 – Shifting Stance

Rank 3 – Coordinated Charge

Rank 4 – Battle Tactics+

You learn an additional battle tactic.

Rank 5 – Shifting Stance+

The bonus for each stance increases to +2.

Rank 7 – Battle Tactics+

You learn an additional battle tactic.

Rank 7 – Hybrid Battle Tactics

You can activate and sustain two different battle tactics simultaneously as part of the same action. Bonuses from multiple battle tactics, such as the bonus to Armor defense from the duck and cover and group up abilities, do not stack. However, each creature can benefit from both battle tactics at once.