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Fighter Player's Handbook
This illustration of a dragonborn by William O'Connor introduced the fighter in the Player's Handbook.

Fighter is a martial defender class in 4th edition Dungeons & Dragons.[PH:75][Dr398:CCW1]

Class Traits

Fighter overview

Characteristics: You are extremely tough, with a great Armor Class and lots of hit points. You have extraordinary resilience against physical attack. You don’t have much ability to fight at range, but you excel in melee combat. You have special abilities that make it dangerous for enemies to ignore you, so you can contain foes and keep them away from your friends.

Religion: Fighters naturally favor deities of war, combat, adventure, or valor. Bahamut and Kord are popular, as is Avandra. Many unaligned or evil fighters pay homage to Bane, the god of war.

Races: Fighters come from all races. Dragonborn, dwarves, and humans are the most common fighters.

Class Features

Skills

From the class skills list below, choose three trained skills at 1st level.

Combat Challenge

In combat, it's dangerous to ignore a fighter. Every time you attack an enemy, whether the attack hits or misses, you can choose to mark that target.

  • The mark lasts until the end of your next turn.
  • While a target is marked, it takes a −2 penalty to attack rolls for any attack that doesn’t include you as a target.
  • A creature can be subject to only one mark at a time. A new mark supersedes a mark that was already in place.
  • When a marked enemy is adjacent to the fighter who marked it, and shifts or makes an attack that does not include the fighter who marked it as a target, the fighter who marked it can make a melee basic attack against it as an immediate interrupt action.[U :6/2008]
  • Note: The basic attack granted by Combat Challenge is not an opportunity attack. The PHB contains some errors (such as the Potent Challenge feat's summary wording on page 197) which mix the two up and create confusion, but WOTC has confirmed that Combat Challenge is not an opportunity attack.

Combat Superiority

Fighters are especially vicious with opportunity attacks.

  • You gain a bonus to opportunity attacks equal to your Wisdom modifier.
  • An enemy struck by your opportunity attack stops moving, if a move provoked the attack. If it still has actions remaining, it can use them to resume moving.

Combat Agility

Fighters who select the Combat Agility class feature instead of Combat Superiority gain combat agility as an at-will power which can be used in place of an opportunity attack.[MP2:6]

Fighter Weapon Talent

A fighter who selects the Fighter Weapon Talent class feature chooses either one-handed or two-handed weapons. The fighter gains a +1 bonus to weapon attack rolls with the chosen type of weapon.[PH:76][Dr398:CCW5]

A human fighter with this class feature can take the Versatile Talent feat to gain this class feature's benefits for both one-handed and two-handed weapons.[MP2:140]

Battlerager Vigor

A fighter who selects the Battlerager Vigor class feature instead of Fighter Weapon Talent gains temporary hit points after each time an enemy hits the fighter with a melee or close attack. When the fighter gains temporary hit points by hitting with an invigorating attack, those temporary hit points stack with any existing temporary hit points. While wearing light armor or chainmail and having any temporary hit points, the fighter gains a +1 bonus to damage rolls with melee or close weapon attacks, or a +2 bonus to damage rolls if using an axe, hammer, mace, or pick.[MP:6]

Tempest Technique

A fighter who selects the Tempest Technique class feature instead of Fighter Weapon Talent gains Two-Weapon Defense as a bonus feat, regardless of prerequisites. While wielding two melee weapons, the fighter gains a +1 bonus to attack rolls with off-hand property weapons. While wearing light armor or chainmail and wielding two weapons, the fighter gains a +1 bonus to damage rolls with melee or close weapon attacks, or a +2 bonus to damage rolls if using an off-hand property weapon.[MP:7]

Brawler Style

A fighter who selects the Brawler Style class feature instead of Fighter Weapon Talent gains a +2 proficiency bonus to unarmed attacks, unless attacking with a spiked gauntlet. The fighter receives a +2 bonus to grab attacks, and a +2 bonus to attacks to move a grabbed creature. While wielding a weapon in the primary hand and having the off hand free, the fighter gains a +1 bonus to AC and a +2 bonus to Fortitude.[MP2:6]

Fighter powers

Fighter powers, having a martial power source, are also called exploits.

At-will attack exploits

1st level

Encounter attack exploits Daily attack exploits Utility exploits

1st level

1st level

2nd level

Key
2
Two-handed melee weapon requirement or rider
Bl
Free off hand or grab requirement (brawling style)
Bt
Invigorating keyword or axe/hammer/mace rider (battlerager style)
F
Flail rider
S
Shield requirement
T
Two melee weapons requirement (tempest style)
C
Constitution based effect
D
Dexterity based effect
W
Wisdom based effect

Fighter feats

These feats have the fighter class, or hybrid/multiclass fighter, as a prerequisite. Additional prerequisites are noted. For example, characters who multiclass into fighter do not necessarily gain the Combat Challenge feature, so may not qualify for feats requiring that feature.

Heroic Tier Feats

Fighter paragon paths

Refer to the Fighter section in the Paragon Path page or the Fighter Paragon Paths category.

Multiclass fighters

Multiclassing into Fighter gives the following benefits:

  • Training in a skill of your choice from the Fighter Class Skill list above.
  • Choose either one-handed melee weapons or two-handed melee weapons. Once per encounter as a free action, you can add a +1 bonus to the next attack roll you make with a weapon of that category. Whether the attack hits or misses, you mark the target until the end of your next turn.

Also, and hybrid character can choose the Hybrid Fighter class as one of its selected classes,

Subclasses

A fighter can use the rules for the original fighter class (weaponmaster) or one of the other subclasses.

Weaponmaster

Main article: Weaponmaster

Weaponmaster is the subclass of fighter introduced in the Player's Handbook. Weaponmasters are pure defenders.[PH:75]

The "Class Compendium: Weaponmaster" article in Dragon #398 redefined the original fighter class as the weaponmaster subclass, and in the process, made a few changes. Consequently, Wizards of the Coast made the article available to download without a subscription, as an update to the original fighter class.[Dr398:CCW1]

Knight

Main article: Knight

Knight is a subclass of fighter introduced in Heroes of the Fallen Lands. Knights are pure defenders.[HotFL:123]

Slayer

Main article: Slayer

Slayer is a subclass of fighter introduced in Heroes of the Fallen Lands. Slayers are both strikers and defenders.[HotFL:146]

Development

Fighter

Fighter is one of the oldest classes in Dungeons & Dragons.

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