the fighter

i know what you're thinking: fighter "fixes" are a dime a dozen. does anyone ever really wonder why? perhaps they do. it should be obvious though: most everyone can fight better than our poor fighter. i had plans to remove the fighter entirely and have him replaced with the NPC warrior class instead. my reasoning? what's so heroic about a dude in chain mail, swinging a sword? however, last minute compassion and this article from wizards.com made me give him a second chance. it worked out fairly well too.

Physical Prowess

Starting at 1st level, a fighter gets a bonus to some aspect of his ability checks that makes him a better warrior. The fighter gains an additional bonus at 3rd level and every two fighter levels thereafter (5th, 7th, 9th, 11th, 13th, 15th, 17th, and 19th). The bonus must be drawn from the following list.

• Applied Force (Ex): A fighter can administer force to the weakest points of inanimate objects effectively, giving the character a +1 bonus on Strength checks to break or burst items. Rules for breaking objects are here.

• Combat Bearing (Ex): A fighter can steady himself to fight in precarious situations, giving the character a +1 bonus on Dexterity checks to avoid falling when damaged while balancing or moving quickly across difficult surfaces. Rules for balancing are here.

• Stamina Reserve (Ex): A fighter can push his body more than normal, giving the character a +1 bonus on Constitution checks to continue running. Rules for marching are here.

• Weapon Aptitude (Ex): At 3rd level, a fighter has become proficient enough to adjust his weapon training. Each morning, you can spend 1 hour in weapon practice to change the designated weapon of any feat that has a designated weapon (such as Weapon Focus or Weapon Specialization). You must have the weapon to practice with.

• Martial Expertise (Ex): At 6th level, a fighter (and only a fighter) may use a swift action in order to turn a full-attack into a standard action, rather than a full-round action.

• The Fighter’s 6th level bonus feat is now given at 5th level, as normal feat progression already gives a feat at 6th level, causing this level to be somewhat over-weighted.

I found that, once all was said and done - especially in light of the new martial expertise ability - people were really, really excited to roll up a fighter. they were more door-bashy, and more sword-swingy. dare i suggest more fight-y? let me know how the changes worked in your neck of the woods.

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p.s. ah yes, knew i forgot something! one last thing, i made the following change to my game and everyone readily agreed that it was a solid - if not inventive - rule, greatly benefiting the fighter:

Improved Toughness (Fighter): This feat now works as follows - for every feat of the fighter-type that a character possesses, he gains 2 additional hit points. This works in a very similar manner to the psionic body feat.