Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Playing A Fighter

Everybody things playing a fighter in Advanced Dungeons & Dragons is easy.

Point and click.

Wield the weapon that does the most damage, hit the strength buffs, and stride into combat swinging away.

While at the same time, playing a fighter has the most expectation of the rest of the party.

You are the one expected to get stuck in a deal the damage consistently over every single turn.

So here is how we are going to do that, as playing a fighter is one of the more nuanced classes to play.

Armor class is first…

...and second.

Getting it as low as possible, as quickly as possible is your primary tactica, as in not getting *hit* in the first place.

As a level one fighter after an adventure or two, plate armor is the first purchase as it can get you the best no-magical shield-less AC possible.

Shield is next for the next AC adjustment- two handed weapons a dual wield aside for a moment.

And the as you adventure and level up, magical armor, rings of protections and other adjusting armor classes point to get it into the negative numbers.

Weapon next.

Using the weapon specialization slots to have a variety of weapons depending on the situation- the primary difference between an Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fighting man and a D&D modern fighter.

The modern fighter has one primary weapon, following stacking on strength bonuses and magical bonuses to min-max through the game.

The Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fighter has to get more tactical and can’t rely on volume of dice.

First is your primary weapon- usually a long sword or axe that does D8 damage. One handed to use a shield, a good mix of weapon speed and AC to hit adjustments.

Second weapon is one with reach and damage- usually one of the many pole arms, trading a shield adjustment for damage- a D10 or D12.

Third is a backup weapon for close in fighting like in a narrow passage or when weapon speed is needed. Usually a short sword for D6 damage.

Fourth is a ranged weapon- player’ choice.

Don’t get hit with the low AC, and deal consistent damage based on the range and reach.