Fighter

Overview

Questing knights, conquering overlords, royal champions, elite foot soldiers, hardened mercenaries, and bandit kings - as fighters, they all share an unparalleled mastery with weapons and armor, and a thorough knowledge of the skills of combat. And they are well acquainted with death, both meting it out and staring it defiantly in the face.
Of all the adventurers in Faerûn, the fighter is perhaps the greatest paradox. On the one hand, no two fighters ply their craft in quite the same way; their weapons, armor, and tactics differ across a vast spectrum. On the other hand, regardless of the tools and methods one uses, at the heart of every fighter's motivation lies the same basic truth: it is better to wound than to be wounded.
Although some adventuring fighters risk their lives fighting for glory or treasure, others are primarily concerned with the welfare of others. They put more value on the well-being of the society, the village, or the group than on their own safety. Even if there's gold in the offing, the true reward for most fighters comes from sending enemies to their doom.
Whether doughty warriors, idealistic young soldiers, or hard-bitten mercenaries, fighters are found everywhere in Faerûn. Even the most peaceful lands have militia for protection against their enemies, and many great rulers in the past were fighters of some sort. There are always opportunities for those who know how to handle themselves in a fight.
Able-bodied folk in many parts of Faerûn learn at least the rudiments of combat as part of a local militia, serving in times of need, while a few go on to become professional soldiers, guards, or the like. Officers tend to come from the nobility, although there are opportunities for capable leaders to demonstrate their skills and rise through the ranks.
Fighters who don't make a career of soldiering find other ways to demonstrate their prowess. Mercenaries find employment with those who need skilled warriors but who lack the time or means to train them. Such employers include adventuring companies, which are almost always in need of a reliable fighter.
Merchants and guilds hire guards to protect caravans, ships, and their warehouses and guildhalls. Such work affords the opportunity for frequent travel and danger.
A good deal of danger comes from fighters who abandon legitimate employment to become bandits - raiding caravans, robbing travelers, and pillaging isolated homesteads, manors, and villages. Out-of-luck fighters might also take part in gladiatorial fights or similar blood sports to make a living off their skills, although such matches are virtually unknown on the Sword Coast, as compared to southern nations like Amn and Calimshan.

Well-Rounded Specialists

Fighters learn the basics of all combat styles. Every fighter can swing an axe, fence with a rapier, wield a longsword or a greatsword, use a bow, and even trap foes in a net with some degree of skill. Likewise, a fighter is adept with shields and every form of armor. Beyond that basic degree of familiarity, each fighter specializes in a certain style of combat. Some concentrate on archery, some on fighting with two weapons at once, and some on augmenting their martial skills with magic. This combination of broad general ability and extensive specialization makes fighters superior combatants on battlefields and in dungeons alike.

Trained for Danger

Not every member of the city watch, the village militia, or the queen's army is a fighter. Most of these troops are relatively untrained soldiers with only the most basic combat knowledge. Veteran soldiers, military officers, trained bodyguards, dedicated knights, and similar figures are fighters.
Some fighters feel drawn to use their training as adventurers. The dungeon delving, monster-slaying, and other dangerous work common among adventurers is second nature for a fighter, not all that different from the life he or she left behind. There are greater risks, perhaps, but also much greater rewards - few fighters in the city watch have the opportunity to discover a magic flame tongue sword, for example.

Heraldic Sign

Fighters typically do battle for a cause. Some fight on behalf of kingdoms besieged by monsters, while others quest only for personal glory. In either case, a fighter often displays a heraldic sign that represents that cause, either adopting the symbol of a nation or a royal line, or creating a crest to represent one's self-interest.

Instuctor

Some fighters are natural-born combatants who have a talent for surviving in battle. Others learned the basics of their combat prowess in their formative years from spending time in a military or some other martial organization, when they were taught by the leaders of the group.
A third type of fighter comes from the ranks of those who received one-on-one instruction from an accomplished veteran of the craft. That instructor was, or perhaps still is, well versed in a certain aspect of combat that relates to the student's background.

Signiture Style

Many fighters distinguish themselves from their peers by adopting and perfecting a particular style or method of waging combat. Although this style might be a natural outgrowth of a fighter's personality, that's not always the case - someone's approach to the world in general does not necessarily dictate how that person operates when lives are on the line.

Features

As a fighter, you gain the following class features.

Hit Points

• Hit Dice: 1d10 per fighter level
• Hit Points at 1st Level: 10 + your Constitution modifier
• Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d10 (or 6) + your Constitution modifier per fighter level after 1st

Proficiencies

• Armor: All armor, shields
• Weapons: Simple weapons, martial weapons
• Tools: None
• Saving Throws: Strength, Constitution
• Skills: Choose two skills from Acrobatics, Animal Handling, Athletics, History, Insight, Intimidation, Perception, and Survival

Equipment

• Chain mail or leather armor, a longbow, 20 arrows, and a quiver
• Two martial weapons or a martial weapon and a shield
• Two handaxes or a light crossbow, 20 crossbow bolts, and a crossbow bolt case
• A dungeoneer’s pack or an explorer’s pack

1st Level - Fighting Style

You adopt a particular style of fighting as your specialty. Choose one of the following options. You can’t take a Fighting Style option more than once, even if you later get to choose again.

Archery

You gain a +2 bonus to attack rolls you make with ranged weapons.

Blind Fighting

You have blindsight with a range of 10 feet. Within that range, you can effectively see anything that isn't behind total cover, even if you're blinded or in darkness. Moreover, you can see an invisible creature within that range, unless the creature successfully hides from you.

Defense

While you are wearing armor, you gain a +1 bonus to AC.

Dueling

When you are wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapons, you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with that weapon.

Great Weapon Fighting

When you roll a 1 or 2 on a damage die for an attack you make with a melee weapon that you are wielding with two hands, you can reroll the die and must use the new roll, even if the new roll is a 1 or a 2. The weapon must have the two-handed or versatile property for you to gain this benefit.

Interception

When a creature you can see hits a target, other than you, within 5 feet of you with an attack, you can use your reaction to reduce the damage the target takes by 1d10 + your proficiency bonus (to a minimum of 0 damage). You must be wielding a shield or a simple or martial weapon to use this reaction.

Protection

When a creature you can see attacks a target other than you that is within 5 feet of you, you can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on the attack roll. You must be wielding a shield.

Superior Technique

You learn one maneuver of your choice from among those available to the Battle Master archetype. If a maneuver you use requires your target to make a saving throw to resist the maneuver's effects, the saving throw DC equals 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Strength or Dexterity modifier (your choice).
You gain one superiority die, which is a d6 (this die is added to any superiority dice you have from another source). This die is used to fuel your maneuvers. A superiority die is expended when you use it. You regain your expended superiority dice when you finish a short or long rest.

Thrown Weapon Fighting

You can draw a weapon that has the thrown property as part of the attack you make with the weapon.
In addition, when you hit with a ranged attack using a thrown weapon, you gain a +2 bonus to the damage roll.

Two-Weapon Fighting

When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the second attack.

Unarmed Fighting

Your unarmed strikes can deal bludgeoning damage equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier on a hit. If you aren't wielding any weapons or a shield when you make the attack roll, the d6 becomes a d8.
At the start of each of your turns, you can deal 1d4 bludgeoning damage to one creature grappled by you.

1st Level - Second Wind

You have a limited well of stamina that you can draw on to protect yourself from harm. On your turn, you can use a bonus action to regain hit points equal to 1d10 + your fighter level. Once you use this feature, you must finish a short or long rest before you can use it again.

2nd Level - Action Surge

You can push yourself beyond your normal limits for a moment. On your turn, you can take one additional action.
Once you use this feature, you must finish a short or long rest before you can use it again. Starting at 17th level, you can use it twice before a rest, but only once on the same turn.

3rd Level - Martial Archetype

Different fighters choose different approaches to perfecting their fighting prowess. The martial archetype you choose to emulate reflects your approach.
You choose an archetype that you strive to emulate in your combat styles and techniques. The archetype you choose grants you features at 3rd level and again at 7th, 10th, 15th, and 18th level.

4th Level - Ability Score Improvement

When you reach 4th level, and again at 6th, 8th, 12th, 14th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

4th Level - Martial Versatility

When you reach 4th level, and again at 6th, 8th, 12th, 14th, 16th, and 19th level, you can do one of the following, as you shift the focus of your martial practice: Replace a fighting style you know with another fighting style available to fighters. If you know any maneuvers from the Battle Master archetype, you can replace one maneuver you know with a different maneuver.

5th Level - Extra Attack

You can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.
The number of attacks increases to three when you reach 11th level in this class and to four when you reach 20th level in this class.

9th Level - Indomitable

You can reroll a saving throw that you fail. If you do so, you must use the new roll, and you can’t use this feature again until you finish a long rest.
You can use this feature twice between long rests starting at 13th level and three times between long rests starting at 17th level.