Fighter

Description

Fighters all share an unparalleled mastery of weapons and armor. Intense expertise in the arts of combat. Anyone from Knights, Overlords, Royal Champions, Elite Soldiers, Mercenaries, and even Bandit Kings had to start somewhere.
As a fighter, you will be focused on one-handed blades of many types, along with the optional use of shields. Armor is like a second skin to you and you wear it well.
Among fighters, there are Barbarians, the embodiment of unbridled, unquenchable, and unthinking rage. More than mere emotion, their anger is the ferocity of a cornered predator, the unrelenting assault of a storm, or even defined by the turmoil of the sea. As a barbarian, you’ll focus on primarily two-handed weapons and soaking up damage as if it is your friend as opposed to sporting the finest armor.

Indrid's Information

Traits
Two-Handed Specialization
Barbarian
Leap Attack
Tactics
Spellcaster
Epic Toughness
Swiftness
Taunt

Level 100 Quest Reward
Bullstrength

A Closer Look at Fighters

A human in clanging plate armor holds her shield before her as she runs toward the massed goblins. An elf behind her, clad in studded leather armor, peppers the goblins with arrows loosed from his exquisite bow. The half-orc nearby shouts orders, helping the two combatants coordinate their assault to the best advantage.


A dwarf in chain mail interposes his shield between the ogre’s club and his companion, knocking the deadly blow aside. His companion, a half-elf in scale armor, swings two scimitars in a blinding whirl as she circles the ogre, looking for a blind spot in its defenses.


A gladiator fights for sport in an arena, a master with his trident and net, skilled at toppling foes and moving them around for the crowd’s delight—and his own tactical advantage. His opponent’s sword flares with blue light an instant before she sends lightning flashing forth to smite him.

All of these heroes are fighters, perhaps the most diverse class of characters in the world Thuria. Questing knights, conquering overlords, royal champions, elite foot soldiers, hardened mercenaries, and bandit kings—as fighters, they all share an unparalleled mastery of 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.

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.

Culture

Among the most common adventurers, fighters came from an innumerable set of backgrounds. Some were knights in the service of a quest or elite foot soldiers whilst others were ambitious would-be overlords or hardened mercenaries. What brought fighters together, however, was their common roots as warriors who put themselves in the thick of battle, between their comrades and harm's way; while many fighters could be called disreputable, few, if any, were true cowards.

All fighters drew on a wealth of experience built by others who'd come before them, though some had more formal training than others. Many fighters came to their profession through membership in a militia or army, while others acquired their skills in military academies. Others were more or less self-educated, their skills hardened through hard-earned experience rather than formal instruction. Some fighters were brought to the ways of martial combat by a threat to their home and others were a part of a long family tradition. These diverse backgrounds and motivations meant most fighters did not see themselves as part of a greater brotherhood or fellowship. Instead, fighters perceived their friends and brothers in those with whom they'd faced danger together, distinguishing little by profession.

Fighters were common in nearly every part of Thuria and though they were sometimes overlooked due to their widespread nature, truly skilled fighters were well-respected for their abilities. While many fighters operated on their own or as part of informally organized groups, others held themselves to a higher ideal and were part of knightly orders. These included such renowned groups as the Black Dragons of Aquilonia, the Asshuri of Shem, and the Kshatriya of Vendhya.

Likewise, fighters came from a wide variety of races. Among humans, dwarves, high elves, halflings, and orcs fighters were particularly common, drawing on the military traditions of each race. Half-orc fighters were also common, though less so, and were typically outcasts among both humans and orcs who'd taken their hardships and channeled them into a force for discipline and martial skill. Among the goblinoid races, hobgoblins were most commonly fighters, the other races typically lacking the discipline for a strong martial tradition. Drow and Duergar fighters were also somewhat common.

Abilities

Fighters of all varieties were skilled in the use of the most commonly used weapons and armor, making them highly proficient in the ways of battle. All fighters were adept at both melee and ranged combat, though many fighters put the emphasis of their training on melee. Every fighter had, in addition to their broad knowledge of most weapons, a particular style of fighting that they preferred. Some were specialists in the use of armor or shielding their allies from harm. Others were particularly skilled in the use of great or single-handed weapons. Still others, like rangers, specialized in the use of ranged weapons or dual wielding.

In addition to their proficiency in the use of particular weapons, fighters had a number of other useful combat abilities. Incredibly durable and courageous, fighters were capable of recovering from blows that might kill other warriors, allowing them to sustain themselves for prolonged stretches of combat. Experienced fighters were likewise more resilient to the effects of poisons, spells, or other debilitating effects. Additionally, fighters could push themselves beyond their normal limits every few hours in a burst of energy, allowing them to act and move more quickly. Similarly, experienced fighters were capable of attacking more quickly, up to about four times as quickly as other warriors.

Many fighters worked best fighting alongside others and were trained to protect the flanks of allies. When an enemy attacked a friend or ally of these fighters, the fighter was prepared to leap to the ally's defense and distract the foe, decreasing the effectiveness of their attacks. Fighters were also better able to take advantage of flaws in enemies' defenses than most other warriors.

Fighter