Fighter

Fighters include soldiers, guardsmen, barbarian warriors, and anyone else for whom fighting is a way of life. They train in combat, and they generally approach problems head on, weapon drawn.
Not surprisingly, Fighters are best at fighting of all the classes. They are also the hardiest, able to take more punishment than any other class. Although they are not skilled in the ways of magic, Fighters can nonetheless use many magic items, including but not limited to magical weapons and armor.

FIGHTER LEVEL	ATTACK BONUS
NM	+0
1	+1
2-3	+2
4	+3
5-6	+4
7	+5
8-10	+6
11-12	+7
13-15	+8
16-17	+9
18-20	+10

SUPPLEMENTS

Weapon Specialization
The player of a Fighter may choose a weapon in which the character is especially skilled.
At first level, the player applies one rank of specialization to the chosen weapon. This choice must be quite specific; for instance, a specialization in the longsword will give no bonuses when using a shortsword.
Every third level after first (that is, 4th, 7th, 10th, etc.) the player applies another rank of specialization. Each new rank may be applied to an existing specialization, or to a new specialization. For instance, at first level Darion's player assigns a rank to longsword. Darion gains a bonus of +1 on attack rolls when using a longsword. At 4th level, the player may assign the new rank to longsword, giving a bonus of +1 on attack rolls and +1 on damage; or, the rank may be applied to a new weapon, such as the longbow, in which case both weapons have +1 on attack rolls but no bonus to damage.
As indicated in the Attacks Per Round column, at higher ranks of specialization the Fighter is allowed to attack more than one time per round. 3/2 means that the character may attack three time in every two rounds, once in the odd-numbered round and twice in the even-numbered round. At 2/1 the Fighter is allowed to attack with the specialized weapon two times per round.
Additional attacks always come after all other attacks are resolved; that is, the Fighter attacks once on his or her Initiative number, then again after all “first” attacks are done. If more than one weapon specialist is involved in a battle, count Initiative down twice, once for “first” attacks and again for “second” attacks.

RANK	COMBAT BONUS (ATTACK/DAMAGE)	ATTACKS PER ROUND
1	+1 / +0	1 / 1
2	+1 / +1	1 / 1
3	+2 / +1	3 / 2
4	+2 / +2	3 / 2
5	+3 / +2	2 / 1
6	+3 / +3	2 / 1

Shield Specialist
A fighter character may spend a specialization rank to specialize with shields. The character must acquire specialization in each such type. A shield specialist receives an additional +1 bonus to AC while wielding the shield.
Armor Specialist
A fighter character may spend a specialization rank to consider a type of armor of his choice one step lighter in regards of movement rates. A fighter can only apply one rank of specialization to each type of armor.

Career

Qualifications

The Prime Requisite for Fighters is Strength; a character must have a Strength score of 9 or higher to become a Fighter. Members of this class may wear any armor and use any weapon.

Career Progression

Advancement
A fighter with enough money may build himself a home, even a castle, before he reaches 9th experience level. However, this home has no official sanction; even if it is a castle, the character is not a ruler or a nobleman.
When a fighter reaches Name level (9th level), the character is, owing to his great abilities and reputation, addressed as Lord (if male) or Lady (if female). This is status within his community even if it is not a formal title; it is for the DM to decide whether or not it is a formal title bestowed upon the fighter by the nation's rulers.
At Name level, the fighter will have to decide whether he intends to be a "land-owning fighter" (i.e., a ruler in his own right, and lord of a region of land) or a "traveling fighter" (one who may own homes but not rule land, and has no especially strong responsibilities to the nation's rulers). Don't be confused by these names. A land-owning fighter may spend a lot of time traveling and adventuring, and a traveling fighter may spend a lot of his time at home.
Land-Owning Fighters
There are two ways for a fighter to become a land-owning fighter: independently or in fealty to a greater ruler. The DM decides on what sort of government is used in his campaign. Assuming that it's based on medieval Europe, as is the case with many D&D game campaigns, a nation's government consists in part of a king and queen ruling a strong court of dukes, counts and barons, each of whom rules a smaller territory or fiefdom.
In order to become a ruler within an existing country, he will have to petition the country's rulers for a grant of land. If he has already done them great services in the past, they may give it to him immediately and gratefully, but if he is not already their friend or ally, they may send him on a difficult quest so that he can prove himself to them. Once he has been granted the land, he may build his castle upon it (at his own expense). The land may be occupied or not; if it is unoccupied, the prospective ruler had best try to lure settlers there soon, so that his dominion will begin receiving tax revenues.
At the very least, a land-owning fighter within an existing country will be granted the title of Baron (if male) or Baroness (if female), or the equivalent. If he continues to expand his land within the nation's laws and to make his dominion an increasingly strong and rich one, he may receive greater titles, such as Count/Countess and Duke /Duchess.
If the fighter wishes to make his dominion in a wilderness which is not within an existing country, he may call himself anything he wants— baron, duke, king, emperor. However, be aware that a too-glorious title will make others laugh at him. If he takes a title, it should be appropriate to the size and strength of the dominion he is ruling; he may wish to change his title as it increases in size and prosperity.
Traveling Fighters
If, at 9th level, a fighter does not decide to make a dominion for himself, he chooses to become a traveling fighter (you can use the term even if he really doesn't do a lot of traveling). Traveling fighters don't usually have the political power that land-owning fighters do, but they can receive special abilities to help compensate for that. (Note that we said can. They don't receive these abilities automatically.)
The alignment of a traveling fighter determines special abilities and other characteristics.

ADVANCED

KNIGHT: A Neutral traveling fighter may become a KNIGHT. To gain knighthood, a fighter must swear fealty to a prince, king, or emperor. In return, the ruler will declare the character a knight; that ruler then becomes the knight's "liege." In most campaigns, knights are the most common sort of traveling fighters. The following rules apply to knights:

1. If summoned by his liege the knight must report to him as quickly as possible, and must serve as the liege orders.
2. If the knight ever refuses to obey the liege, or ever swears fealty to any other liege, the knight loses three levels of experience. (The DM may increase this penalty if the offense warrants it.) The previous liege may even order the offender slain for his treachery. In addition, rumors and tales of the "traitorous knight" may haunt the character forever after; the character may find it difficult to find help in places where his reputation is known. If his liege dies, the knight is free to choose another. Additional benefits (lands, money, etc.) may be awarded to knights who swear fealty to the successor of a liege who dies. A knight may petition the liege for a peaceful end to his oath; however rarely granted. The knight would be banished, at the least, and could be stripped of all possessions as well.
3. A knight may visit any castle, of any territory, and request sanctuary. The castle owner must, by the customs of the land, give the knight a place to stay for up to three days, along with food and drink. He does not have to be friendly to the knight, but, according to this custom, may not challenge, attack, or refuse sanctuary to the knight. (Note that the knight cannot challenge or attack his host or members of his host's court or family, either. Should he do so, his sanctuary is at an end, and his host is now free to punish him.) In campaigns modeled after medieval Europe, this custom is nearly universal, but the DM is free to indicate that the custom is not present if his nations are not similar to Europe's.
4. If a call to arms sounds (a call for knights to battle for justice), the knight must respond. This declaration can only be issued by the ruler of a large town (Mayor) or territory (Archduke or greater status), and the knight need only respond if it sounds in the area through which he is passing or if it is called by his liege. When the call to arms sounds, the knight must immediately travel as fast as possible to the ruling castle of the one who made the call to arms, and fight as ordered by the ruler—within the constraints of any knightly oaths he took in the course of the campaign. (If the ruler who made the call to arms orders him to kill innocents or helpless prisoners, the knight may choose to refuse, but he will make an enemy of that ruler.) The knight is entitled to compensation for this service; the ruler issuing the call to arms must grant the knight a gift appropriate to the value of the knight's services. (Many rulers will offer the gift out of gratitude; some will not. The knight has the right to demand the gift; he does not have to demand it if he does not wish to.) There are two notable exceptions to the custom of the call to arms. In lands where the civilization is very different from medieval Europe, this custom might not be used (in wilderness areas where there are no rulers, it would naturally be unknown). If the knight is within a territory that has declared itself hostile to the knight's liege, the knight need not respond—if the call to arms is against the land of his liege, he must not respond. In fact, the knight would be in great danger when the call to arms sounds.

"If it bleeds we can kill it!"

FIGHTER CHARTS