How the BX Fighter got a raw deal (and what to do about it)

 Allow me to preface this post with the (probably needless) statement that I truly love B/X D&D. It was the edition which introduced me to the game, and still the one I consider the most perfect in its RAW form as well as the most customizable. 

But it does have a few glaring flaws. They don't make it unplayable by any means, but they make certain elements perhaps less enjoyable than they might be (but see above about the ease of customization via house rules!) One of those flaws is the design of the fighter class relative to the other classes.

In the rules as written, the fighter has three advantages over other classes: a d8 Hit Die, the ability to use any weapon, and the ability to wear any armor. You could add a fourth, better attack probabilities, but that doesn't kick in until 4th level, so for the first three levels, arguably some of the most fun to play through as well as the most vulnerable of a character's career, it doesn't count. Excepting Strength bonuses, the fighter class at level 1-3 has no better chance to succeed at an attack roll than does any other class. That leaves the first three.

The third one, the ability to use any armor, is the most consequential of the three. Most characters can afford mail armor, if not plate, with their starting gold, and having an Armor Class of 5 or 3 (or 4 or 2 with a shield) makes survival much more likely than having an AC of 9 or 7. AC 5 makes a character 20% less likely to be harmed by an attack in combat than one with AC 9, and with AC 2, that character is 35% less likely to be injured by any given attack. So, yes, using any armor is an advantage. But, there are four other classes who can use any armor: the cleric, elf, dwarf, and halfling, and each of those classes has special abilities above and beyond the fighter's simple schtick.

The second one, the ability to use any weapon, comes in handy when the party finds magical weapons, but until then, it's not that big. The fighter has access to weapons that do d8 damage, and some that do d10, but one of the d8s and all the d10s are two-handed, which prohibit the use of a shield, and which by the rules always lose initiative, a pretty big hindrance. So, while the fighter can use those, the only one that makes sense is the normal sword, a one-handed d8 weapon. Now, a few other classes can use any weapon (thief and elf) and every class but the magic-user may use a wide selection of d6 weapons. So, a couple of classes are equal to the fighter in damage potential, and all but the lowly M-U are at least in the ballpark, only inferior by a maximum of two points, and by an average of one. (And that's assuming the player gives in to the incentive to choose a sword over all other possible weapons for their fighters.) So, any weapon is neither exclusive to the fighter class, nor all that impactful at low levels.

The first advantage I mentioned is the d8 Hit Die, which is potentially a big one when compared to classes who only get a d4. Notice I said potentially. A d8 produces a higher average roll, but any individual roll will be below average half the time, and the probability of rolling a 1 is exactly the same as that of rolling an 8. If the DM is merciful and applies the optional rule of re-rolling 1s and 2s at 1st level, the character is assured of being at least on a par with the party magic-user and thief, but could still quite possibly be outdone by d6 HD classes who roll well. And that only applies to the first Hit Die. That d8 for rolling hit points is cold comfort indeed to the player who rolls a 1-3 for three levels in a row (assuming the character survives that long)! 

In summation, the fighter is almost certain to be superior to the magic-user in terms of survivability (woo-freakin'-hoo!) and damage potential. With decent rolls for hit points and starting gold (big ifs!) has a decent chance to be tougher than the thief. The cleric and the demihuman classes, however, are quite likely to outclass him. Some dubious measures have been taken to balance the demihumans (level limits, and in the case of the elf, higher XP requirements) but the cleric in particular stacks up very favorably to the fighter at low levels. Not only does the cleric (as every other class) use the exact same line in the attack matrix as the fighter at low level, he has the next most favorable Hit Die, can use any armor or shield, and has a very respectable damage potential too. In addition, he can turn undead monsters from 1st level, gains his first spell at 2nd level, and has a more rapid XP advancement table. Meanwhile, the fighter doesn't gain his first real perk until level 4, when he gets an additional +2 to his attacks. (Demihumans get that bump at the same level, and clerics and thieves need only wait one more level to catch up!) 

So yeah, the fighter gets a bit of a raw deal. What can we do about it, while still preserving the essential feel and flavor of B/X D&D? I have a few thoughts.

1. Fighters use the next higher die when rolling for damage; thus a fighter uses a d6 for weapons that normally call for a d4, d8 for d6 weapons, and d10 for d8 weapons. (I'd strongly recommend tweaking weapons so the normal sword does 1d6, to put it back in balance with all other medium-sized one-handed weapons, and all two-handed weapons do d8 normally.) That gives fighters a stronger edge in damage right from level one.

2. Port in the AD&D rule by which fighters can make one attack per level of experience against enemies with less than 1 HD. This gives the fighter a real heroic feel when facing mobs of goblins and kobolds, starting at level two. For a bit more oomph, make the extra attacks against opponents that have HD of less than half the fighter's level, giving the fighter a strong boost of heroism at higher levels, too. Thus, at level 3, the fighter can make multiple attacks against opponents of one full HD to 1+, at level 4 to any opponents less than 2 full HD, at level 5 to opponents up to 2+1 HD, level 6 opponents less than 3 full HD, and so on.

3. Reconfigure the fighter attack tables to spread out the jumps of +2 into more frequent +1s. The easiest way to do this is to apply a +1 at every level except those at which a +2 occurs in the rules-as-written. Thus, +1 at levels 2 and 3, nothing at level 4, +1 again and levels 5 and 6, and so on. 

4. With a successful attack, a fighter can neutralize one opposing attack for that round, instead of doing damage. This may be useful, for instance, to tie up a special attack like poison or energy drain, or to allow a wounded ally to retreat without being subjected to a parting attack at his back.

 

Those are my musings on the subject. Any others out there? Let me know in the comments.