12/17/2024

Welcome back to Tabletop Thoughts! Today we will continue our look at the rest of the Fighter-type classes from the Player’s Companion.

Pugilist

“Pugilist are prize fighters that travel from town to town looking to win a purse in a pit fight or pick up a few coins off an unconscious tough guy who started a bar fight.”

Pugilist gets two talents we have already seen with other “classes”: Blooded and Dirty Tricks. The Pugilist can only wear leather armor and use a club and dagger.

A new talent is Brawl. It gives the Pugilist +1 for melee attacks (that’s fine), but +2 AC is wearing leather armor or clothes, so no naked fighting for you, Pugilist!

Again, this is more of a background/concept than a class.

Savage

“Savages are barbarian tribesfolk that have left their homeland in search of fame and fortune. Their long-term goal is often to return home and elevate their people.”

Savages get 3 talents: Brawl (which we just saw with the Pugilist), Tracking, and Wildling. Tracking and Wildling are talents that could have been part of the background/concept and just given Advantage when rolling. A lot of “classes” that deal with wilderness have these talents.

Scout

“Scouts are military-trained experts at finding the enemy.”

Scouts can use all weapons but only leather armor.

Scouts gain four talents: Alertness, Pathfinding, Shadowed, and Tracking.

Again, the Scout and Explorer seem very close to the same class and both are just a fighter with a wilderness background/concept applied as a class.

Soldier

“Soldiers are trained military veterans that have left the service. They may be looking for work as sellswords or seeking fame and fortune. They are strong warriors in small unit engagements.”

Soldiers can use all weapons, armor, and a shield (So a fighter).

The Soldier gets three talents: Formation Fighting, Full Kit, and Weapon Focus.

Formation Fighting gives the Soldier Advantage on ALL COMBAT ACTIONS if 2 allies are within close. This seems a little overpowered but it might be rarely applied since you would need to stand with an ally on both sides of you for it to work. Most parties aren’t going to have 3 fighter types that want to stand toe to toe with the enemy.

Full Kit gives the Soldier 5 extra gear slots if they have a backpack. Again this really is just to skirt the limits on equipment carried.

Weapon Focus is the same as a Fighter’s talent.

Squire

“Squires are young warriors pledged to the service of a noble. They are taught to clean and care for the noble’s armor and weapons. During spare time, the noble provides the squire with individualized combat training. The squire is often given older, but still valuable equipment that the noble is discarding.”

Squire can use all weapons, armor, and a shield. (A Fighter)

They get 4 talents: Full Kit, Torchbearer, Tutelage, and Shield Mastery.

Full Kit is the same as Solder and I really don’t care for it.

Torchbearer is a nice idea. “Once you start using it, a torch does not consume a gear slot. You can start a campfire with only two torches.” I would allow a player to substitute this talent for the initial roll on the Fighter talent table if they wanted to play a Squire concept/background. This plays into the idea of a younger fighter learning from a veteran. The younger fighter would be assigned with carrying the torch, starting the fire, and setting up camp (Medieval boot camp).

Tutelage is similar to Nobility but is only 2 extra dice of starting wealth. Again, this idea fits the concept since some of the Squire’s equipment would be handed down from his master.

Shield Mastery is just a Weapon Focus changed for the shield. It also allows the Squire to hit with the shield for damage and push enemies back. I would allow this for anyone using a shield (why can’t anyone hit someone else with a shield. I bet it would hurt!).

This class is one of the few that I would allow a player to use at the table, but another player would have to be a Fighter who is the master. It doesn’t help to have a Squire without a Master. That would just be another Fighter.

I am moving the Valkyrie to the Priest class for review. While I was reading the class for this post, I saw that they are Priest spellcasters.

Conclusion: Besides maybe the Squire, all of these classes are again just a Fighter class with a cool background/concept. All of the new talents are either overpowered or just there to skirt the core rules. Some talents do fit the “class” but those could have been used with the GM’s permission and just substituted for the initial role on the Fighter Talent table.