How does Multiattack work for Fighters in ToV?

Multiattack lets you make multiple attacks when you take the Attack action. The Fighter gets 2 attacks at 5th level, 3 at 9th, and 4 at 17th, scaling higher than most classes.

Can I use multiple Martial Actions in one turn?

No. The Martial Action feature grants one bonus action per turn, used to perform either a weapon option or one of the listed martial actions (Aim, Guard, Quick Strike, Wind Up). You choose one per turn. Subclasses and talents can add other bonus action options, but you still only have one bonus action.

How does Last Stand work exactly?

When damage would reduce you to less than half your hit point maximum, you can use your reaction to spend up to a number of hit dice equal to your Proficiency Bonus. Roll those dice immediately and add your CON modifier to regain HP. Last Stand can keep you in the fight, but it triggers from the half-HP threshold, not only when you would fall to 0 HP.

Does Divine Smite stack with Turn the Tide from the Epic Boon?

That is a Paladin feature—Fighters get Turn the Tide as their Epic Boon, which adds STR or DEX score (not modifier) to damage once per turn. There is no stacking concern for a single-class Fighter, but the math means you are adding 20+ damage per turn at 20th level assuming maxed stats.

Can a Spell Blade Fighter multiclass into Wizard to get more spells?

Yes, but it dilutes both classes significantly. The Spell Blade's spell list is locked to abjuration and evocation, while Wizard offers the full Arcane list. A 3-level Fighter dip on a Wizard is usually more efficient. Full Spell Blade is best played as a primary class for the Enchant Weapon scaling.

Does The Old Margreve add a Fighter subclass?

No. The Old Margreve does not add a Fighter subclass. Its best Fighter additions are Bearfolk, Piney, Forest Dweller, Stunning Sniper, Relentless Hunter, Spell Blade-compatible Arcane spells, and martial magic items such as Half-Sword of the Margreve Knights, Margreve Fur, and Scorn Pouch.

Does Book of Blades add new Fighter options?

Yes, but mostly through wider martial support rather than a new Fighter subclass. Book of Blades adds Battle Tactician, Poisoner, Tactical Planning, Unarmed Maneuvers, War Dancer, and Weapon Option Specialist, plus Fighter-friendly heritages such as Martial Law, Horse Lord, and Privileged. It also adds mounted support through Fell Rider, mount gear, and mount-focused magic items.

What does Labyrinth Worldbook add for Fighters?

Labyrinth Worldbook adds the Trooper subclass. Troopers gain Conditioning, Guerilla Tactics, Threat Assessment, Backup Plan, and Never Say Die, making them excellent expedition soldiers for hostile terrain, pursuit fights, target-focused combat, and survival-heavy campaigns.

What does Player's Guide 2 add for Fighters?

Player's Guide 2 is a major Fighter expansion. It adds the Scrapper, Stunt Archer, and Twinblade subclasses; seven expanded Martial Actions; new Heroic and Epic Boons; Fighter-friendly backgrounds; weapon-style Martial Talents; and new weapons such as the greatbow, repeating crossbow, spiked gauntlet, bladed whip, chain hook, parrying dagger, and double axe.

Tales of the Valiant Fighter Guide

Introduction

A Tales of the Valiant Fighter decides an encounter by choosing the right turn to attack, defend, reposition, or spend Action Surge. Your weapon and Martial Action establish the default turn. Last Stand and armor give you room to hold the line when that turn gets dangerous.

Build around a job, then choose the rules that reinforce it. Weapon Master is for stunt-led martial play, Spell Blade trades some weapon focus for Arcane tools, Trooper is built for hostile travel, and Player's Guide 2 adds distinct grappling, archery, and dual-wielding paths. Seven Improvements let a Fighter improve a main ability score without ignoring talents, but they do not remove the need for a clear weapon plan.

The Old Margreve does not add a Fighter subclass, but it adds rugged lineages, the Forest Dweller background, ranged-control talents, Spell Blade-friendly Arcane spells, and martial magic items. Every option from that book is marked (The Old Margreve) below.

Book of Blades also does not add a Fighter subclass in the material reviewed for this guide. It does something more important for Fighters: it expands the martial talent pool. Battle Tactician, Tactical Planning, Unarmed Maneuvers, War Dancer, Weapon Option Specialist, and Poisoner are all labeled (Book of Blades) below, alongside Book of Blades heritages, backgrounds, mounted support, and mount-focused magic items.

Labyrinth Worldbook adds a Fighter subclass: Trooper. Trooper is the survival-forward soldier built for hostile worlds, alien terrain, first-wave assaults, and long missions where climbing, swimming, exhaustion management, movement, and target focus matter. Every option from that book is marked (Labyrinth Worldbook) below.

Player's Guide 2 is the biggest Fighter expansion in this guide. It adds Scrapper, Stunt Archer, and Twinblade, plus expanded Martial Actions, new Fighter boons, new martial talents, new backgrounds, and a weapons table that looks like an armory got tired of being polite. Every option from that book is marked (Player's Guide 2) below.

This guide covers core features, subclasses, Martial Actions, talents, equipment, and the additions from The Old Margreve, Book of Blades, Labyrinth Worldbook, and Player's Guide 2. Use the Fighter Stunts Guide for its separate stunt ratings.

Imani uses her spear and square buckler to hold a caravanserai gateway while porters move supplies to safety

Rating Legend

Ratings reflect general effectiveness across a standard campaign. An option with a ● can still fit an unusual build, and a ● can be wrong for your table.

Rating	Meaning
●	Avoid unless a specific campaign condition makes it worthwhile.
●	Useful in a particular build or situation.
●	A reliable choice for the role.
●	An outstanding choice for the role.

Class Features

Hit Points

● d10 Hit Die. Tied with Paladin and Mechanist for second-best HD. You will survive the attrition fights that eat Rogues and Bards alive. With CON investment this goes from good to absurd.

Armor & Weapon Proficiencies

● All armor, shields, and simple and martial weapons. The class has broad equipment access, but its weapon proficiency is specifically simple and martial weapons. The lack of a "best" armor type means you optimize based on build, not class restriction.

Last Stand (1st Level)

● A reaction to spend up to PB hit dice when damage would reduce you below half your HP maximum. You roll all the dice immediately and add your CON modifier. This is an enormous defensive floor, but its trigger is the half-HP threshold rather than a promise that you will never be knocked out. At higher levels (PB 4-6), you can recover 4-6d10+CON HP in a single reaction.

Martial Action (1st Level)

● Bonus action on every turn to use a weapon option or one of four martial actions. Unlike the old Fighting Styles, these scale with Proficiency Bonus and interact with your weapons directly.

● Aim — Doubles your PB on the first ranged attack roll. At level 1 that's +4 total instead of +2. Ranged Fighter's best friend through every tier of play.
● Guard — Shield required. Gives one enemy disadvantage on their first attack against you or an adjacent ally. Great for protecting squishies; competes with offensive options.
● Quick Strike — Two light weapons required. Makes two off-hand attacks instead of one. Falls off hard once Multiattack arrives—two light weapon attacks are weaker than one heavy attack in most scenarios before level 5.
● Wind Up — Heavy or versatile weapon held two-handed. Adds PB damage to your first hit this turn. Pure damage, no conditions required. Straightforward and reliable for melee Fighters.

Martial Actions Expanded (Player's Guide 2)

Player's Guide 2 adds seven more Martial Actions. Fighters get the most from them because they can pair a wide weapon selection with enough Improvements to build around the good ones.

● Focus (Player's Guide 2) — Melee accuracy button. Pick a visible target and double PB on your first melee weapon attack against it this turn. This is Aim for people who prefer eye contact.
● Steady (Player's Guide 2) — Ranged damage button. Pick a target in normal range and add PB damage on your first ranged hit this turn. Great for archers who already hit reliably and want the damage instead of Aim's accuracy.
● Reposition (Player's Guide 2) — Move 10 feet without provoking if you are not wielding a heavy melee weapon. Excellent for duelists, archers, Twinblades, and anyone allergic to standing exactly where the ogre wants them.
● Lunge (Player's Guide 2) — Extend melee reach by 5 feet until your next turn, at the cost of a small AC penalty. Strong for melee control and finishers, weaker if your plan is "please never hit me."
● Riposte (Player's Guide 2) — One-handed melee stance that boosts AC and punishes the first nearby miss with PB damage. Good sword-and-board or duelist tech.
● Unmoving Shield (Player's Guide 2) — Shield stance for resisting forced movement and grapples. Not flashy, but neither is still being on the bridge.
● Destabilizing Blow (Player's Guide 2) — Shield or unarmed setup that can impose disadvantage on a later check or save. Best on Scrappers and shield controllers; too narrow for pure damage Fighters.

Action Surge (2nd Level)

● The signature Fighter feature. It gives you another action on your turn. Before Multiattack arrives this doubles your attacks. After Multiattack scales, this becomes a tactical nuke. It starts at one use per short or long rest, rises to two at 13th level and three at 18th, but you can use it only once on the same turn. There is no better burst damage button in the game for a martial character.

Fighter Subclass (3rd Level)

● See Subclasses section. Both options are playable; neither is bad; Weapon Master has the higher ceiling for pure martial builds.

Improvement (4th, 6th, 8th, 12th, 14th, 16th, 19th)

● Seven improvements. SEVEN. Every other class gets five or fewer. Each is an ability score increase, dual +1s, or +1 to a score plus a martial talent. Max your primary stat first, then harvest talents. The Fighter's improvement schedule is one of the best resource engines in the game.

Multiattack (5th, 9th, 17th)

● Two attacks at 5th, three at 9th, four at 17th. Straightforward multiplication of your per-attack damage. Combined with Action Surge at 17th level, a Fighter can throw eight attacks in one round. No other class reaches this attack ceiling.

Heroic Boon (10th Level)

See Heroic Boon section below.

Action Surge Upgrades (13th, 18th)

● Two uses per rest at 13th, three at 18th. Each upgrade makes your burst window dramatically more dangerous. Plan high-stakes encounters around having these available.

Epic Boon (20th Level)

See Epic Boon section below.

Heroic Boon

Choose one at 10th level.

● Defiant

Once per long rest, turn a failed save into a success. At 13th level this becomes twice; at 17th, three times. Single-use save-negation is quietly one of the strongest defensive options in the game—one Concentration-breaking save, one paralysis attempt, one death effect. It scales gracefully, and Fighters are not naturally proficient in the saves where Defiant matters most (WIS, INT, DEX).

● Unstoppable

Start your turn and end one condition (blinded, charmed, frightened, incapacitated, paralyzed, stunned) affecting you, PB times per long rest. This is proactive condition removal, and at PB 4 you have four uses. In campaigns with heavy crowd control this flips from ● to ●. In cleaner combat environments Defiant is sharper.

● Martial Expert (Player's Guide 2)

Learn three additional Martial Actions, and when you take the Attack action you can replace one attack with a Martial Action. This is the Fighter boon for players who actually use the system's tactical layer. If your turns already involve Aim, Guard, Focus, Steady, Reposition, Lunge, and weapon options, Martial Expert is absurdly flexible.

● Unavoidable (Player's Guide 2)

When you miss a creature with an attack roll, your next attack against that creature before the end of your next turn has advantage. This is quietly excellent on high-value attacks, Stunt Archer shots, heavy weapon swings, and any build that hates wasting Action Surge into bad dice.

Recommendation: Martial Expert if you enjoy tactical turns. Defiant if your GM loves brutal saves. Unavoidable if your build cares about landing one big hit more than collecting buttons.

Epic Boon

● Turn the Tide

Once per turn when you hit with a weapon attack, the attack deals additional damage equal to your STR or DEX score (not modifier) of the same damage type. At 20th level with maxed stats, that is +20 damage per turn, every turn, for free. Over a six-round combat this is +120 damage on top of everything else. No prerequisites, no charges, no concentration. The best damage Epic Boon in the game.

● Clear the Field (Player's Guide 2)

When you drop an enemy to 0 HP, move up to your base speed without provoking and make one attack against a different creature in range. This is the Epic Boon for cleave Fighters, Stunt Archers, Twinblades, and anyone whose combat plan is "there are still enemies, so I am not done."

● Live to Fight (Player's Guide 2)

If you start your turn bloodied but still standing, regain HP equal to PB + CON modifier. You also add CON modifier to death saves. It is less explosive than Turn the Tide, but it makes high-CON frontliners infuriatingly hard to finish. The monster did the paperwork and you still came into the office.

Ability Scores

Score	Point Cost
8	0
9	1
10	2
11	3
12	4
13	5
14	7
15	9
16	11
17	13
18	16

You have 32 points to spend. No score can start above 18 or below 8.

STR Fighter recommended buy:

STR 16 (11 pts), CON 15 (9 pts), DEX 10 (2 pts), WIS 10 (2 pts), INT 8 (0 pts), CHA 8 (0 pts) = 24 pts. Use remaining 8 pts to bring DEX to 12 (4 pts) and CHA/WIS to 10.

Actually: STR 16 (11), CON 15 (9), DEX 12 (4), WIS 10 (2), INT 8 (0), CHA 8 (0) = 26 pts, leaving 6 for WIS 12 (4) and one spare.

Priority order: Primary attack stat → CON → DEX (if STR-based) or STR (if DEX-based, for carrying capacity) → WIS (for saves) → dump INT and CHA.

● STR 16 at level 1 is the baseline. You will hit 20 with your first Improvement at 4th level via +2.

● CON 14–16 at start. Last Stand multiplies CON investment dramatically.

● Spell Blade INT requirement. If playing Spell Blade, you need INT 16 minimum, which strains the 32-point budget badly. Standard Array (16/14/14/13/10/8) handles this better—STR 16, INT 14, CON 14, then improve INT with talents.

Lineage & Heritage

The Fighter has no mechanical lineage requirement—you are not dependent on lineage-granted spellcasting or specific senses. Pick what helps your stats and play concept.

● Any lineage granting +STR or +CON is excellent. The ability score bonuses directly amplify your primary mechanics.

● Darkvision lineages. Fighters see heavy combat in darkness-relevant scenarios. Darkvision eliminates the disadvantage on attack rolls in dim/dark conditions without spending resources.

● Spellcasting lineages (Spell Blade only). If you need a cantrip or ritual for flavor or utility, a lineage that grants one frees up a talent slot.

● Lineages that key off WIS, INT, or CHA. The Fighter gets almost no mechanical benefit from these ability scores (Spell Blade aside). Features that trigger on WIS saves or CHA checks are wasted.

● Bearfolk (The Old Margreve). A natural fit for STR Fighters. Cold resistance, frightened support for nearby allies, and the ability to apply STR or CON to some CHA checks all land on things Fighters already want to do.

● Piney (The Old Margreve). One of the best defensive Fighter lineages in the book. Advantage against several nasty conditions, a PB-times reaction AC boost against melee attacks, and extra short-rest hit dice recovery in natural bright light all stack well with Last Stand and a high-CON chassis.

● Alseid (The Old Margreve). Excellent speed, strong senses, stealth support, and defensive help against exhaustion and frightened. The quadruped limitations around ladders, stairs, and some structures are real, so this is stronger in wilderness campaigns than dungeon-heavy ones.

● Erina (The Old Margreve). Darkvision, burrow speed, poison durability, sharp senses, and spine damage while grappling or being grappled. Small size can complicate heavy-weapon plans, but DEX Fighters and grapplers get real value.

● Minotaur (Player's Guide 2). The cleanest PG2 lineage for STR Fighters. Big-body melee, battlefield presence, and a natural fit for Scrapper, Weapon Master, Trooper, and heavy-weapon builds.

● Duergar (Player's Guide 2). Durable, underground, and practical. Great for shield Fighters, dungeon soldiers, and anyone who wants the lineage to support endurance instead of a spellcasting gimmick.

● Tosculi (Player's Guide 2). Better for mobile DEX Fighters and skirmishers than plate bruisers. If the campaign supports vertical movement and weird battlefield geometry, this gets more attractive.

● Other strong Player's Guide 2 lineage fits. Dhampir brings mobility and bite-forward durability, Dragonborn brings resistance and breath support, Elemental Scion can support fire, earth, or wind combat identities, Gearforged is an obvious armored-warrior story, Goblin helps mobility and dirty fighting, Sapopova can support jumping and Athletics concepts, and Shade is strong defensive mobility for skirmishers.

Heritage options:

● Cosmopolitan. Extra language and skill proficiency. Good for social campaigns.

● Nomadic. Expertise in a skill plus extra movement-related proficiency. The mobility bonus pairs well with high-speed Fighter builds.

● Grove. Nature-focused bonuses are generically useful but not Fighter-specific.

● Delver Heritage (The Old Margreve). Burrow speed plus a practical skill/tool package. Good for ambushes, scouting, and fighters who want positioning options that do not rely on magic.

● Moonlit Heritage (The Old Margreve). Bonus-action sunlight and advantage against frightened effects are both useful in the right campaign. It is especially good if your table fights shadow, undead, fey, or fear-heavy enemies often.

● Forest Bastion Heritage (The Old Margreve). Animal Handling or Nature, trapper tools, and a social reroll against urban creatures. Fine for a Margreve-native Fighter, but not a power pick.

● Hiveheim Heritage (The Old Margreve). Strongest when hive environments, insect societies, or nature survival are common. Outside that campaign frame, it is mostly flavor.

● Martial Law (Book of Blades). The best Book of Blades heritage for most Fighters. Athletics and Intimidation are on-plan, and Small Unit Tactics gives bonus-action Help PB times per long rest. The armor and weapon proficiencies are redundant, but the tactical identity is perfect.

● Horse Lord (Book of Blades). Strong when the campaign supports mounted combat, chase scenes, travel attrition, or a recurring warhorse. Expert Trainer improves one horse, not every mount, so this is campaign-dependent rather than generally mandatory.

● Privileged (Book of Blades). Better on Fighters than it looks because Passion Project can patch the class's weak skill economy. Take Persuasion for a noble duelist, Insight for a bodyguard, Stealth for a scout, or Investigation for a tactical officer.

● Ironwrought (Player's Guide 2). The most obvious PG2 Fighter heritage if your concept is armored, forged, relentless, or professionally allergic to falling over.

● Conflicted (Player's Guide 2). Good for scarred veterans, rebels, and battlefield survivors. The mechanics are more character-shaping than raw damage, but Fighters can afford that.

● Islander (Player's Guide 2). Stronger in ship, coast, river, jungle, or survival campaigns. Trooper and Stunt Archer both like the mobility and travel-facing identity.

Skills

Fighters choose two skills from: Acrobatics, Animal Handling, Athletics, History, Insight, Intimidation, Perception, Survival.

● Athletics — The grapple, shove, and climb check skill. An STR Fighter who ignores Athletics is leaving tactical options on the table. Controlling enemy positioning with shoves is often more valuable than an extra attack.

● Perception — The most rolled skill in the game. Passive Perception governs whether you get ambushed. Always take this if it is available.

● Intimidation — CHA-based, but Fighters often have middling CHA. If your lineage/heritage or background shores up CHA, this becomes a valuable social tool. Skip it if you dumped CHA entirely.

● Survival — Useful in wilderness campaigns. Skip in urban/dungeon-focused campaigns.

● Acrobatics — DEX-based. Valuable for escape attempts from grapples, but Athletics covers most of what an STR Fighter needs. DEX Fighters prioritize this highly.

● Insight — Situationally important in social-heavy campaigns. Not a priority.

● History — Rarely called for, based on INT which Fighters dump. Pass.

● Animal Handling — Almost never called for outside specific wilderness scenarios. Pass.

Backgrounds

Background grants a skill, a tool, a talent, and starting equipment. The talent is often the most significant choice.

● Soldier — Athletics and Intimidation proficiency (both Fighter-relevant), plus a talent that typically focuses on martial or group tactics. Thematically perfect and mechanically sound.

● Homesteader — Animal Handling and Nature are weak skills, but the talent and starting equipment package is decent. Lower floor than Soldier.

● Outcast — Survival and Intimidation. Survival is useful, Intimidation is decent. The associated talent tends toward adaptability.

● Forest Dweller (The Old Margreve) — Survival, a choice of Animal Handling, Nature, or Stealth, Sylvan, a wilderness tool, and a talent choice of Athletic, Forest Denizen, or Relentless Hunter. This is the best Old Margreve background for Fighters, especially archers, scouts, and anyone playing in a travel-heavy campaign.

● Battle Academician (Book of Blades) — Strong for commander Fighters. History and tactical knowledge matter if you want Tactical Planning, while Aware, Comrade, or Vanguard support the party-coordinator version of the class.

● Conscript (Book of Blades) — The grittier Soldier. Excellent for STR Fighters, shield infantry, and campaign concepts where you learned discipline under pressure. It can point toward martial durability and war-themed talent access.

● Judicial Champion (Book of Blades) — Best for duelist-judges, executioners, and Fighters who want court authority plus combat teeth. Weapon Option Specialist, Scrutinous, and Combat Casting all matter depending on whether you are Weapon Master, commander, or Spell Blade.

● Prodigal (Book of Blades) — Better for DEX Fighters, duelists, and social campaigns than heavy infantry. Covert can patch stealth, and Mental Fortitude is attractive if your table attacks mental saves often.

● Avatar / Ascetic / Grave Keeper (Book of Blades) — These are flavorful but less universally Fighter-facing. Use Avatar for a chosen-warrior concept, Ascetic for a survivalist weapon master, and Grave Keeper for an undead-hunter or executioner. They are more concept picks than optimization defaults.

● Gravedigger (Player's Guide 2) — Athletics access, hardy talent options, and a working-class survival frame make this excellent for STR Fighters, Scrappers, Troopers, and anyone whose backstory already owns a shovel.

● Investigator (Player's Guide 2) — Perception, Insight, Investigation, and Situational Awareness support scout Fighters, Stunt Archers, and bodyguards. This is the "I noticed the ambush before initiative" background.

● Rebel (Player's Guide 2) — Brave, Comrade, and Hard to Kill all fit frontliners. Great for commander Fighters, Troopers, and anyone building around heroic bad decisions with a flag attached.

● Servant / Smuggler (Player's Guide 2) — Better for DEX Fighters than heavy infantry. Servant points toward Quick, Hardy, and Tag Team; Smuggler points toward stealth, mobility, and dirty logistics. Twinblade and Stunt Archer both care.

● Courtier — History and Persuasion. Both are based on INT and CHA that Fighters dump. The talent may be worth it in specific campaign contexts.

● Scholar — History and Arcana. Doubly useless for most Fighters. Skip unless you are building Spell Blade and want the flavor.

Talents

Fighters gain talents exclusively from the Martial Talents list through Improvements. Here are the standouts:

● Combat Conditioning — Increases your HP maximum by 2 per level and gives you an additional hit die for recovery. Combined with Last Stand, your durability becomes intimidating.

● Weapon Discipline — Accuracy, damage, crit, and kill-temporary-HP benefits for your chosen weapon. For Fighters this is mostly about making the weapon you already use hit harder and more reliably.

● Combat Casting (Spell Blade only) — Allows you to maintain concentration spells even when you take damage. Essential for Spell Blade. Irrelevant for Weapon Master.

● Shield Mastery — Adds shield-related defensive benefits. Excellent for Guard-focused Fighters.

● Stunning Sniper (The Old Margreve, Martial Talent) — Fantastic for archers. Choose a ranged weapon you are proficient with, score critical hits on 19-20, and when you crit you can trade the damage for a stun until the end of the target's next turn. Weapon Master already gets expanded crits on mastered weapons, but non-Weapon Master archers love this, and the stun option is worth building around.

● Relentless Hunter (The Old Margreve, Technical Talent / Forest Dweller) — Excellent wilderness utility with a combat rider. Tracking bonuses, longer pursuit, ambush support, and PB extra damage on your first hit against a chosen quarry make it much better than a generic exploration talent.

● Forest Denizen (The Old Margreve, Technical Talent / Forest Dweller) — Climb and swim help, poison-condition resilience, safe-forage information, and better chances to avoid or escape plant-based grapples and restraints. It is campaign-dependent, but the defensive pieces matter in the Margreve.

● Teleporting Harrier (The Old Margreve, Magic Talent) — Requires a reliable teleport from a spell, trait, or feature. Spell Blade can eventually make use of it, but most Fighters need outside support. After teleporting, your next attack can gain advantage, PB extra damage, or a frighten rider.

● Battle Tactician (Book of Blades) — The closest thing the Fighter gets to a warlord package. Convergent Onslaught, Guardian's Glare, Endure Pain, and Masterful Rally turn your martial talent slot into party action economy and rescue buttons. The catch is CHA: if you dumped it to 8, hostile-save tactics are weaker. If you are building a commander Fighter, this is the Book of Blades headline.

● Tactical Planning (Book of Blades) — Excellent when the campaign gives you visible fights, scouting, sieges, heists, monster hunts, or military set pieces. Ambush loves Action Surge because acting early with advantage lets you delete a priority target before they move. Defensive Action is the safer pick for shield lines. Rush the Line is party positioning.

● Weapon Option Specialist (Book of Blades) — Strong if your table actually uses weapon options. Fighters already have Martial Action and enough attacks to mix control into their turn without giving up their whole identity. If your GM rarely calls for weapon options, take Weapon Discipline or Combat Conditioning instead.

● Unarmed Maneuvers (Book of Blades) — The control upgrade for Hand to Hand and grappler Fighters. Chin Strike is anti-caster tech, Eye Rake and Leg Sweep set up allies, and Stumbling Strike moves enemies around. It costs damage, so use it when the condition is worth more than another weapon hit.

● War Dancer (Book of Blades) — Good for DEX melee Fighters, rapier duelists, and light-armored skirmishers who move every round. Bad for plate greatsword Fighters who plant their feet and trade hits.

● Poisoner (Book of Blades) — Campaign-dependent. Immunity to poison damage and poisoned is excellent when it matters, and bonus-action poison application helps assassin-style Fighters. But poison supply, enemy immunity, and your already-crowded bonus action decide whether this is a build or a gimmick.

● Cleaver (Player's Guide 2) — Excellent for heavy melee Fighters who expect clustered enemies. Extra adjacent pressure and overkill spill damage reward exactly the kind of "I hit it too hard" problem Fighters enjoy having.

● Polearm Mastery (Player's Guide 2) — The PG2 reach-controller headline. It can punish multiple creatures moving through your reach, which makes hallway fights, bridge fights, and "please walk into the blender" plans much nastier.

● Hurler (Player's Guide 2) — Finally gives thrown-weapon Fighters a serious plan: better thrown damage, cleaner weapon draws, and enough scaling to make axes and javelins feel intentional instead of like backup cutlery.

● Two Weapon Defense (Player's Guide 2) — The obvious Twinblade support talent. Spending a bonus action for AC is real competition, but a dual-wielder who survives the enemy turn gets to keep being stylish at them.

● Staggering Strikes (Player's Guide 2) — No-reaction weapon hits are simple and brutal. Great against skirmishers, casters, and enemies whose whole personality is "I leave before you can punish me."

● Tactical Teamwork (Player's Guide 2) — Reaction PB to an ally's missed weapon attack is exactly the kind of small math swing that wins fights without looking flashy. Commander Fighters should look hard at this.

● Self Defense (Player's Guide 2) — A strong reaction AC patch for lightly armored Fighters, Stunt Archers who get caught, and Twinblades who occasionally discover that "mobile" does not mean "untouchable."

● Juggernaut (Player's Guide 2) — Strong shove and forced-movement support for shield Fighters, Scrappers, and STR controllers. Take this when you want enemy positioning to become a customer service issue.

● Hard to Kill (Player's Guide 2) — Dramatic, useful, and dangerous. It helps you act at 0 HP, but it is not healing. Pair with a party that has an actual recovery plan, not vibes and one remaining potion.

● Whip Expert (Player's Guide 2) — Great if you are truly building around whips, bladed whips, or reach-control tricks. Ignore it if you just like the idea of a whip and secretly plan to use a longsword all campaign.

● Aware — Initiative rolls of 9 or lower treated as 10, immune to surprise while conscious, hidden attackers lose advantage against you. Great in any campaign where ambushes are frequent; skippable in linear dungeon crawls.

● Athletic — Enhances Athletics checks and jumping. Useful for grapple builds.

● Friend of the Fey (The Old Margreve, Technical Talent) — Sylvan, a once-per-long-rest social advantage with Fey or Sylvan speakers, and PB-per-long-rest advantage on saves against charmed or frightened. Useful in a fey-heavy campaign, but not a default Fighter pick.

● Friend of the Forest (The Old Margreve, Technical Talent) — Better Animal Handling, druidcraft, and a defensive rider against lower-CR Beasts and Animal-tagged creatures. Flavorful, but it asks Fighters to care about a WIS skill they usually ignore.

● Performance — CHA-based, Fighters dump CHA. Pass.

Fighter Talent Shortlist with Expansion Support

Fighter Concept	Best Linked Picks	Why It Matters
Commander	Battle Tactician, Tactical Planning, Tactical Teamwork (Player's Guide 2), Vanguard	Turns the Fighter into a party-force multiplier.
Weapon-option duelist	Weapon Option Specialist, Weapon Discipline, Critical Training, Staggering Strikes (Player's Guide 2)	Makes tactical weapon options hit harder and land more reliably.
Scrapper / grappler	Hand to Hand, Wrestling Mastery, Unarmed Maneuvers, Juggernaut (Player's Guide 2)	Adds shove, grapple, prone, verbal shutdown, and forced movement.
DEX skirmisher	War Dancer, Two Weapon Mastery, Two Weapon Defense (Player's Guide 2), Self Defense (Player's Guide 2)	Rewards movement and keeps light melee builds alive.
Stunt Archer	Weapon Discipline, Critical Training, Self Defense (Player's Guide 2), Situational Awareness (Player's Guide 2)	Supports the ranged subclass without stealing every bonus action.
Heavy cleaver	Cleaver (Player's Guide 2), Heavy Weapon Mastery, Polearm Mastery (Player's Guide 2), Combat Conditioning	Converts clustered enemies into extra damage and control.
Mounted STR Fighter	Horse Lord, Fell Rider, Tactical Planning	Only build this when the campaign has room for mounted combat.
Poison duelist	Poisoner, Noxious Apothecary, Covert	Strong only if poison access and enemy types support the concept.

Spells

For Spell Blade spell picks and Arcane spell ratings, use the Wizard spell guide, Cantrips guide, and circle-by-circle spell guides.

Player's Guide 2 adds more Arcane spells, but Spell Blade access is still constrained by circle, school, and the subclass's limited spell progression. Treat PG2 options such as Electric Jolt, Arc Burst, and Redirect Missile as candidates only if they fit the Spell Blade's normal restrictions or your one freer spell pick. Weapon-spell fantasies are fun, but this subclass still has to obey the homework.

Subclasses

The Old Margreve does not add a Fighter subclass. The book changes Fighters through lineages, heritages, backgrounds, talents, spells, and magic items instead.

Book of Blades also does not add a Fighter subclass in the material reviewed here. Its subclass impact is indirect: Weapon Masters get more martial talent toys, Spell Blades get cleaner origin access to Combat Casting through Judicial Champion, and commander Fighters get Battle Tactician plus Tactical Planning as a full party-support shell.

Labyrinth Worldbook adds Trooper, so Fighter subclass choice expands beyond the core pair. Trooper is the least flashy and most practical of the pre-PG2 options: it gives movement, endurance, target focus, defensive backup, and a brutal 0-HP refusal button.

Player's Guide 2 adds Scrapper, Stunt Archer, and Twinblade. Scrapper is the dedicated unarmed/grapple chassis, Stunt Archer is the bow and crossbow specialist with its own Stunt Shot resource, and Twinblade is the dual-weapon skirmisher that makes light melee actually feel like a plan.

Spell Blade

● The Spell Blade is a gish—a fighter who supplements martial damage with Arcane spells. INT-based. Restricted to abjuration and evocation spells (with one free non-restricted pick at 3rd level). The spell list limitation is real: you will not be casting powerful crowd control or utility spells. What you get is shield, absorb elements, counterspell, and fireball/lightning bolt as the pillars.

Arcane Spellcasting (3rd): ● Two cantrips and three spells at level 3. Useful but limited. The abjuration/evocation lock means your utility is combat-facing almost exclusively. Shield (+5 AC as a reaction) is an auto-include.

Enchant Weapon (3rd): ● One hour to grant your weapon +1 to attack and damage rolls. Scales to +2 at 11th and +3 at 15th. Summon it as a bonus action. This effectively gives you a free magic weapon upgrade that scales with you—significant in a campaign that is stingy with magic items.

Expanded Talent List (3rd): ● Access to both magic and martial talent lists. More options is always better.

Book of Blades matters here because Spell Blade is the Fighter subclass most likely to care about non-martial access. Combat Casting via Judicial Champion (Book of Blades) protects concentration, while Tactical Planning and Weapon Option Specialist still support the weapon half of the build.

Spell Multiattack (7th): ● Replace one Multiattack attack with a cantrip you know that has a 1-action casting time. You can replace only one attack this way in an Attack action. Fire Bolt as one of your three attacks is fine. Not exceptional, but it adds damage variety.

Follow Through (11th): ● Cast a spell as your action AND make a weapon attack as part of that action. This is the combo enabler—lead with a big evocation, follow with a weapon strike.

Charged Strike (15th): ● Add INT modifier to melee damage, and all weapon damage becomes magical. At INT 18+, that is +4 damage per hit in addition to STR. More importantly, bypassing nonmagical damage resistance is often worth more than the raw number.

Overall Spell Blade rating: ● Strong in optimized hands. Demands a three-stat spread (STR/DEX + INT + CON) that taxes the 32-point buy. Rewards players who enjoy resource management and reactive spellcasting.

Weapon Master

● Pure martial mastery. High damage, strong action economy, and an escalating toolkit that makes you the most dangerous single-target combatant in the game by mid-levels.

Mastery (3rd): ● Choose three simple or martial weapon types. Once per turn, reroll a mastered weapon's damage dice and use either result. Alternatively, once per turn, a weapon option used with a mastered weapon can roll damage when that option normally would not. This is quietly massive: over 20 attacks per combat, reroll variance adds up to significant average damage improvement.

Stunts (3rd): ● Access to eight special maneuvers. PB+1 uses per short rest. Key picks:

Need the full stunt rankings? The Fighter Stunts Guide covers every stunt, Advanced Stunt, and when each one is worth spending a limited use.

● Parry — Reduce incoming weapon damage by 1d10+PB as a reaction. At PB 6, you are absorbing 1d10+6 (avg 11.5) damage per hit. Stacks beautifully with heavy armor.
● Riposte — When a creature you can see in range misses you with a weapon attack, make a melee weapon attack back as a reaction.
● Make It Count — Single attack at +10 to hit, deals extra damage equal to Fighter level. Burn it on high-AC targets you would otherwise miss.
● Tactical Retreat — Hit and move half your speed without provoking opportunity attacks. Skirmisher's dream.
● Arcing Strike — Deal half your damage to a second target within reach when you hit with a heavy weapon. AoE on demand.
● Cheap Shot — After a melee weapon hit in your Attack action, make an unarmed strike against that target as part of the same action. Underwhelming compared to your other options.
● Redirect — Miss and reroll targeting someone else. Situational but occasionally saves a turn.
● Straight Through — Ranged equivalent of Arcing Strike. Decent for archer builds.

Deadly Flourish (7th): ● Critical hits on 19–20 with mastered weapons. AND when you crit, use your reaction to either make ranged attacks against creatures equal to your PB within 15 feet, or make a melee attack against each creature within 5 feet. A critical hit just became a potential multi-target turn.

Advanced Stunts (11th): ● Four more powerful stunts become available:

● Felling Sweep — Single melee attack against EVERY creature in reach, using one attack and damage roll. The Fighter's answer to AoE.
● Assassin's Ambush — Double damage dice when attacking from hidden. Great for ambush setups.
● Bulwark — Reduce spell/ability damage by your AC as a reaction. Situational but can save your life against fireball.
● Wrestler's Clutch — Grapple on hit, free stunts against grappled target. Niche but fun in grapple builds.

Grand Finale (15th): ● Roll initiative with no Stunt uses? Regain 3 for free. This ensures you enter every combat with resources, which smooths out the short rest dependency somewhat.

Book of Blades is excellent for Weapon Master because it adds specialized knobs to a subclass that already attacks often. Battle Tactician gives a party-leader build real buttons, Tactical Planning makes ambush and siege turns nastier, and Weapon Option Specialist lets you lean into the weapon-option side of Martial Action.

Overall Weapon Master rating: ● The stronger subclass for pure combat. Mastery's reroll feature is always on. Stunts provide flexible tactical options. Deadly Flourish makes criticals matter. If you are here to deal damage, this is the path.

Scrapper (Player's Guide 2)

● The Scrapper is the full unarmed and grappling Fighter. Weapon Master can dabble in grapples through Wrestler's Clutch; Scrapper moves into the apartment, hangs pictures, and starts charging rent.

Grappling Superiority (3rd): ● Athletics support plus the ability to turn an opportunity attack into a grapple attempt gives the subclass a real control identity immediately. This is excellent in chokepoints and against enemies that need movement to matter.

Mighty Fists (3rd): ● Your unarmed strike damage scales over time, becomes magical at 7th level, and eventually threatens improved criticals. It is not heavy-weapon damage, but it lets the build function without pretending a punch is a greataxe.

Grappling Maneuvers (7th): ● Chokehold, Makeshift Shield, and Pin are the subclass's reason to exist. Verbal shutdown, cover from a grabbed target, and restrained control are all worth more than another ordinary hit when the target matters.

Expert Grappler (11th): ● Grappling larger creatures, moving without the usual slowdown, and adding damage to successful grapple plays turns the Scrapper from funny tavern brawler into legitimate battlefield problem.

Knockout Punch (15th): ● Stun riders are always dangerous, especially when tied to crits or repeated unarmed hits. Bosses will save sometimes. When they do not, the whole table will suddenly respect the person who brought fists to a sword fight.

Overall Scrapper rating (Player's Guide 2): ● Strong if your table runs grapples cleanly and uses maps where restraint, cover, and forced positioning matter. Weaker in open fights against huge monsters, flyers, and enemies immune to your control plan.

Stunt Archer (Player's Guide 2)

● Stunt Archer is not Weapon Master with a bow. It is a bow/crossbow subclass with a parallel Stunt Shot resource, Ricochet Shot support, range scaling, and ranged-only tricks. If Weapon Master is the tactical melee toolbox, Stunt Archer is the person solving geometry with arrows.

Bow Mastery (3rd): ● No close-range disadvantage with bows or crossbows, once-per-turn damage rerolls, and Ricochet Shot access give the subclass a strong floor before the trick shots even start.

Stunt Shots (3rd): ● PB + 1 uses per rest, one per turn, and a DEX-based save DC. Double Shot, Intercepting Shot, Known Target, Parting Shot, Rapid Release, Straight Through, Surprise Shot, and Toppling Shot cover multi-target pressure, defense, ambushes, mobility, and anti-positioning.

Keen Eye (7th): ● Better range, a second mastered bow or crossbow, expanded crit range with mastered weapons, and Loading relief make this the level where the subclass stops feeling like an archer and starts feeling like a ranged weapon platform.

Advanced Stunt Shots (11th): ● Bouncing Shot, Fusillade, Overcrank, Penetrating Shot, Quick Load, and Unexpected Shot add the late-game burst and specialist tricks. Crossbow users especially care because several upgrades clean up the action tax.

Absolute Mastery (15th): ● Massive long-range scaling, universal Ricochet Shot across bows and crossbows, and an emergency Stunt Shot refill make the subclass reliable across long adventuring days.

Overall Stunt Archer rating (Player's Guide 2): ● The best dedicated ranged Fighter. Weapon Master can shoot; Stunt Archer specializes. If the map has sightlines, cover, flyers, balconies, or enemies who think distance is a personality, this is the subclass that punishes them.

Twinblade (Player's Guide 2)

● Twinblade is the PG2 answer to "what if dual-wielding was a whole subclass instead of an apology?" It wants two melee weapons, no medium or heavy armor, movement every round, and enough DEX to make the defensive math work.

Blade Dance (3rd): ● A one-minute skirmisher state with mobility, escape support, opportunity-attack immunity while moving, and speed. The concentration/casting restriction is real, but most Twinblades are not here to maintain spells.

Deadly Grace (3rd): ● Acrobatics or Performance plus a PB-based AC formula while dual-wielding and mobile. This lets the subclass survive without plate, which is required because plate Twinblade would be both illegal and very funny.

Double Edged (7th): ● Adds DEX modifier to bonus action attacks from two-weapon play or Quick Strike, and lets Blade Dance come online as part of the same bonus action. This is the point where the subclass stops paying a tax for dual-wielding.

One Thousand Cuts (11th): ● A short-rest area attack mode for enemies surrounding you. It is not always the best button, but when the room fills with small enemies, it turns the Twinblade into a blender with opinions.

Moving Target (15th): ● Passive immunity to grapple, restrain, and speed reduction while active, plus reaction movement when enemies enter your space. The whole subclass is about not being pinned down; this feature makes that statement legally binding.

Overall Twinblade rating (Player's Guide 2): ● Strong for DEX melee players who want movement, multiple attacks, and defensive agility. It is not a plate tank and it is not a heavy-weapon damage build. Do not ask it to be those things; that is how we get sad spreadsheets.

Trooper (Labyrinth Worldbook)

● The Trooper is the Fighter subclass for hostile terrain, long missions, shock assaults, and target-focused combat. It does not have Weapon Master's stunt ceiling or Spell Blade's magic, but it is extremely consistent in campaigns where movement, exhaustion, survival, and marked-target pressure matter.

Trooper Progression:

Level	Features
3rd	Conditioning, Guerilla Tactics
7th	Guerilla Tactics (2d6), Threat Assessment
11th	Backup Plan, Guerilla Tactics (3d6), Threat Assessment (d6)
15th	Guerilla Tactics (4d6), Never Say Die, Threat Assessment (d8)

Conditioning (3rd): ● Choose a climbing speed or swimming speed equal to your walking speed. If you already have both, both increase by 10 feet. You also treat exhaustion as one level lower for its effects, and your carrying capacity becomes STR score x 20, with push/drag/lift at twice that amount without speed reduction. This is campaign tech, but it is excellent campaign tech. Labyrinth play, ship travel, hostile wilderness, siege logistics, and exploration-heavy games all make this better than a pure combat rating implies.

Guerilla Tactics (3rd): ● Once per turn, if you moved at least 10 feet on that turn, one weapon hit deals extra damage. It starts at 1d6 and scales to 2d6 at 7th, 3d6 at 11th, and 4d6 at 15th. This is the subclass's main damage rider, and it strongly rewards active positioning. It is much easier to trigger than most conditional damage features because Fighters usually want to move into lanes, around cover, or between targets anyway.

Threat Assessment (7th): ● When you or an ally you can see takes damage from a creature you can see, you can use your reaction to mark that attacker as your primary target for 1 minute. Against that target, your speed increases by 10 feet and you add a die to ability checks and attack rolls. The die starts at d4, improves to d6 at 11th, and d8 at 15th. You can shift the mark on your next turn if the target drops to 0 HP, and uses equal PB return on a long rest.

This is accuracy, chase pressure, and target discipline in one feature. It is especially good against mobile priority enemies: enemy casters, snipers, flyers that land, lieutenants, and boss monsters that punish allies.

Backup Plan (11th): ● When you use Last Stand, choose one damage type. You gain resistance to that damage type for 1 minute or until you use the feature again. This makes Last Stand more than emergency healing; it becomes a defensive adaptation. If the thing that nearly dropped you was fire, necrotic, slashing, or lightning, you now have a better chance to survive the follow-up.

Never Say Die (15th): ● When reduced to 0 HP but not killed outright, you can use your reaction to keep fighting for 1 minute. You still make death saves, still suffer death save failures from taking damage, and you can still be in danger when the effect ends, but failed death saves do not kill you while the feature is active. Once used, it returns on a long rest.

This is not immortality. It is a last mission button. It is strongest when the party can heal you, end the fight quickly, or use your remaining actions to secure the objective before the bill comes due.

Overall Trooper rating (Labyrinth Worldbook): ● Strong, practical, and campaign-sensitive. In static arena fights, Weapon Master usually wins. In Labyrinth-style exploration, hostile terrain, pursuits, and attrition missions, Trooper is the Fighter subclass that keeps functioning when the map and the environment are trying to kill everyone else.

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Weapons

● Greatsword / Greataxe (Heavy, Two-Handed) — The big damage weapons. Combine with Wind Up for PB damage bonus. Arcing Strike (Weapon Master) turns every heavy weapon hit into a mini-cleave. Best raw damage per action.

● Longsword / Warhammer (Versatile) — Two-handed deals almost as much as heavy weapons, but you can drop to one hand for Shield+Guard. Wind Up works with versatile two-handed. Flexibility at moderate damage cost.

● Rapier (Finesse) — DEX Fighter's melee weapon of choice. d8 damage, finesse, no drawback. Combine with Dex for ranged/melee hybrid builds.

● Hand Crossbow / Longbow — Aim doubles PB on the first attack. Ranged Fighter's core weapon pair (hand crossbow for bonus action reload tricks, longbow for raw range).

● Shortsword (Light, Finesse) — Quick Strike enables two off-hand attacks. Falls behind other options once Multiattack arrives, but functional in a dual-weapon build.

● Club / Dagger (Low damage) — Fighters have no reason to use low-damage simple weapons. You paid for All Weapons proficiency—use it.

Player's Guide 2 Weapons and Materials

Player's Guide 2 adds enough martial gear that Fighters should actually care. The short version: pick the weapon that matches your subclass and talent plan, not the one with the coolest name. The coolest name is still allowed. We are not monsters.

● Greatbow / Repeating Crossbow (Player's Guide 2) — The headliners for Stunt Archer. Greatbow supports the high-impact archer fantasy; repeating crossbow supports crossbow builds that want magazine-style pressure.

● Gauntlet / Spiked Gauntlet (Player's Guide 2) — Scrapper-friendly weapons that make fist-forward builds feel supported by the equipment chapter instead of tolerated by it.

● Parrying Dagger / Joining Dirks / Wrist Knife (Player's Guide 2) — DEX and Twinblade tools. These are best when your build values light weapons, hidden backups, or defensive sidearm play.

● Bladed Whip / Chain Hook / Whip Expert (Player's Guide 2) — Reach-control toys for duelists, controllers, and grappling weirdos. Great if the table uses positioning rigorously; less important if every fight is a polite semicircle.

● Double Axe / Axespear / Club Shield (Player's Guide 2) — Heavy or defensive oddballs for Fighters who want their weapon to do a job beyond "big number." Double Axe likes cleave builds, Axespear likes reach identity, and Club Shield is exactly as subtle as it sounds.

● Masterwork / Mithral / Cold Iron / Obsidian (Player's Guide 2) — Material choices matter more for Fighters than most classes because every attack roll uses the weapon. Masterwork is the clean accuracy/damage floor, mithral can enable lighter weapon plans, cold iron is monster-type tech, and obsidian is high-risk damage spice.

Armor

● Plate Armor (AC 18) — The endgame. 1,500 gp and worth every coin. A Fighter in plate with a shield is sitting at AC 20 before buffs. Attacks bounce off you regularly.

● Half Plate (AC 15 + DEX mod, max 2) — Strong mid-tier option while saving for plate. Stealthable if your campaign requires it.

● Chain Mail (AC 16) — Standard early Fighter armor. No DEX needed. Starting equipment option.

● Leather + DEX (AC 11 + DEX mod) — Viable only for pure DEX Fighters who plan to never get hit (wrong game for that fantasy). The ceiling on leather is around AC 16 with DEX 20.

● Light armor for Twinblade (Player's Guide 2) — Not every Fighter wants plate. Twinblade specifically wants to avoid medium and heavy armor so Deadly Grace and Blade Dance can do their work. This is one of the rare Fighter builds where lighter armor is not a cry for help.

● Kite Shield / Manica / Stonesteel gear (Player's Guide 2) — Defensive gear from PG2 is worth checking for shield Fighters, Scrappers, and Troopers. If your table allows the expanded equipment list, your armor plan has more knobs than "save for plate."

● No armor (Unarmored) — You are not a Barbarian or Monk. You have no Unarmored Defense feature. Wearing no armor as a Fighter is actively self-destructive.

On Shields: ● A shield is +2 AC all the time. In a two-handed build you cannot use one. In a one-handed build, the AC gain plus Guard synergy often outweighs the damage loss from two-handing. Run the math for your specific build.

Magic Items

● Half-Sword of the Margreve Knights (The Old Margreve) — A rare +1 longsword with finesse and critical hits on 19-20. This is excellent for DEX Fighters, sword-and-board Fighters, and Weapon Masters who want a high-quality one-handed weapon.

● Margreve Fur (The Old Margreve) — Advantage on smell-based Perception and initiative rolls, plus limited invisibility in plant terrain. Initiative advantage is always valuable on a Fighter because acting first means deleting a threat before it gets a turn.

● Scorn Pouch (The Old Margreve) — Prevents surprise from hostile creatures within 30 feet. Surprise prevention is hard to price, and Fighters with Action Surge benefit enormously from not losing the first round.

● Goblin Shield (The Old Margreve) — A rare shield that can bite as a bonus action using charges. Good on shield Fighters, but the bonus action competes with Guard, Wind Up, Aim, Hobble, and other Fighter tools.

● Sand Arrow (The Old Margreve) — A utility arrow that slows armored targets and can briefly blind them. Great for archers who already planned to carry specialty ammunition.

● Moon Through the Trees (The Old Margreve) — Terrain-dependent invisibility and a reveal burst that can blind nearby creatures. Strong ambush item if your campaign spends real time around living trees.

● Living Stake (The Old Margreve) — Anti-vampire tech. Excellent when the campaign needs it, dead weight when it does not.

● Sickle of Thorns (The Old Margreve) — A +1 sickle with plant-cutting utility and extra damage against Plant creatures. Too narrow for most Fighters, but useful in a heavily forested campaign.

● Worg Salve (The Old Margreve) — Short-duration darkvision, scent, speed, and bite benefits, with a wolf-form rider if you take all three doses. Better as a scouting or chase consumable than a core combat plan.

Book of Blades Mounted and Tactical Items

Book of Blades magic items matter most for mounted Fighters, commander Fighters, and tables that run open-field battles. For the full mount list, use the Animal Allies and Summons guide.

● Armor of the Paired Heart (Book of Blades) — One of the strongest mounted Fighter items because it protects the mount, not just the rider. A Fighter can survive almost anything; the horse usually cannot. This fixes the weak link.

● Saddle of Flying (Book of Blades) — Turns a mounted STR Fighter's biggest weakness into a temporary strength: vertical mobility. Excellent in open terrain, chase scenes, and battlefield-command encounters. Much weaker in low-ceiling dungeons.

● Bridle of Handling / Bridle of Calling (Book of Blades) — Mount logistics items. Good when you actually rely on a mount across multiple sessions instead of buying a replacement horse every town.

● Banner of the Horse Lord (Book of Blades) — Strong when the party or allied force is mounted. Overkill if you are the only rider.

● Right-Sizing Saddle, Aerial Saddle, Bubble Saddle, Howdah, Signal Flags, Smoke Bombs (Book of Blades) — Campaign-structure gear. These are excellent in a cavalry, scouting, airship, sea, or war campaign and nearly irrelevant in a ten-foot-corridor dungeon.

Player's Guide 2 Martial Magic Items

Player's Guide 2 adds several magic items that read like they were designed by someone who has watched a Fighter ask, "Can I solve this with a weapon?" and decided the answer should be "yes, but with thunder."

● Bracers of Throwing / Bow of Arrow Splitting (Player's Guide 2) — Excellent for Hurler builds and Stunt Archers. These support fighting styles that historically needed more item help.

● Dreadnought Plate / Armor of Thorns (Player's Guide 2) — Frontline armor that rewards being exactly where the enemy does not want you. Strong on Troopers, shield Fighters, and heavy Weapon Masters.

● Flicker Glaive / Flourishing Blade / Giant-Headed Flail / Impaling Weapon / Reverberating Hammer / Seismic Maul (Player's Guide 2) — Weapon-specific toys for reach, dueling, control, and big-hit builds. They are not automatic best-in-slot, but they make weapon identity matter, which is exactly what Fighters want from magic gear.

Multiclassing

Multiclassing Prerequisites: STR 13 or DEX 13.

● Fighter 2 → X — Two levels of Fighter for Action Surge is one of the best dips in the game. Virtually every STR/DEX-based class benefits from Action Surge + martial weapon proficiencies.

● Paladin 2 → Fighter X — Two Paladin levels give Divine Smite (once per turn) and Lay on Hands. The Paladin dip adds burst damage and self-healing to a Fighter chassis. Best for STR/CHA builds.

● Barbarian 3 → Fighter X — Rage resistance to physical damage and Reckless Attack (advantage on attacks). The Barbarian-Fighter multiclass hits hard but cannot wear heavy armor while raging, which undermines the Fighter's armor investment.

● Rogue 1 → Fighter X — Expertise in two skills and Sneak Attack once per turn. Adds skill versatility, but Rogue levels are expensive for a Fighter who wants to reach 5th level (Multiattack) quickly.

● Wizard X → Fighter Y — The Spell Blade subclass already gives you the gish fantasy. Full Wizard multiclassing delays your Multiattack and Action Surge upgrades significantly. The math rarely works out.

Example Build: The Plate Destroyer (Strength / Weapon Master)

Level	Class	Key Gain	Improvement
1	Fighter	Last Stand, Martial Action (Wind Up)	—
2	Fighter	Action Surge	—
3	Fighter	Subclass: Weapon Master (Mastery: Greatsword/Longsword/Handaxe, Stunts)	—
4	Fighter	Improvement	STR 16→18
5	Fighter	Multiattack (2)	—
6	Fighter	Improvement	STR 18→20
7	Fighter	Deadly Flourish (crit 19-20, reaction crit attack burst)	—
8	Fighter	Improvement	CON 15→16, +Martial Talent (Combat Conditioning)
9	Fighter	Multiattack (3)	—
10	Fighter	Heroic Boon: Defiant	—
11	Fighter	Advanced Stunts (Felling Sweep)	—
12	Fighter	Improvement	CON 16→18
13	Fighter	Action Surge (2)	—
14	Fighter	Improvement	+Martial Talent (Combat Conditioning)
15	Fighter	Grand Finale	—
16	Fighter	Improvement	+Technical Talent (Aware)
17	Fighter	Multiattack (4)	—
18	Fighter	Action Surge (3)	—
19	Fighter	Improvement	+Martial Talent (Shield Mastery)
20	Fighter	Epic Boon: Turn the Tide	—

Tactics: Open combat with Wind Up as a bonus action, then make your Attack action with a greatsword. At level 7, fish for a 19-20 critical to trigger Deadly Flourish's reaction cascade. Use Action Surge on rounds where you have set up Wind Up; it gives a second action, but only one Action Surge can be used on that turn. At level 17, that can mean four attacks plus four more attacks, while Wind Up applies its PB damage only to the first qualifying hit. At level 20, Turn the Tide adds your STR or DEX score to one weapon hit on each of your turns. Save Parry for attacks from the enemy's heaviest hitter. Defiant saves your life when the enemy wizard lands a Dominate Person.

Hot Takes

Hot Take: Book of Blades is more important for Fighters than for most classes because Fighters actually have the Improvement budget to use the new martial toys. Seven Improvements means you can max STR or DEX and still build into Battle Tactician, Tactical Planning, Weapon Option Specialist, or War Dancer without feeling starved.

Hot Take: Battle Tactician (Book of Blades) is not a damage talent, and that is why it matters. A great Fighter already deals damage. A commander Fighter with Convergent Onslaught, Endure Pain, Guardian's Glare, and Masterful Rally changes what the whole party can do.

Hot Take: Tactical Planning (Book of Blades) is better than it reads if your table scouts. Ambush plus Action Surge is exactly how a Fighter deletes the dangerous caster before the encounter becomes fair.

Hot Take: Weapon Option Specialist (Book of Blades) is either green or red depending on your table. If weapon options are part of every fight, it is real. If everyone forgets weapon options exist, it is a wasted slot.

Hot Take: War Dancer (Book of Blades) is not for the iconic plate Fighter. It is for rapier duelists, DEX skirmishers, and mobile melee builds that move every turn.

Hot Take: Horse Lord and Fell Rider (Book of Blades) are not generic Fighter upgrades. They are mounted-campaign upgrades. If your GM runs open battlefields, they can define your build. If your GM runs crypts and tavern basements, spend those choices elsewhere.

Hot Take: Trooper (Labyrinth Worldbook) is the Fighter subclass for campaigns that actually punish travel, terrain, pursuit, and attrition. If your GM runs flat rooms with enemies already inside them, Weapon Master will look better. If the fight starts after three failed climbs, a swim, a chase, and a level of exhaustion, Trooper is the one still operating at full speed.

Hot Take: Never Say Die (Labyrinth Worldbook) is not immortality. It is a one-minute objective timer. The Trooper still needs healing, a finished encounter, or a retreat plan before the effect ends, which makes it dramatic without turning 0 HP into a joke.

Hot Take: Martial Expert (Player's Guide 2) is the Heroic Boon for players who actually use Martial Actions. If your Fighter turn is just "I attack until the table stops listening," Defiant is cleaner. If your turn involves Aim, Focus, Steady, Reposition, Lunge, Guard, and weapon options, Martial Expert is where the class starts feeling like a tactics engine.

Hot Take: Stunt Archer (Player's Guide 2) is not a ranged Weapon Master reskin. It is cleaner and narrower, which is exactly why it works. Weapon Master is a toolbox. Stunt Archer is a tool designed to put an arrow through the problem from across the map.

Hot Take: Scrapper (Player's Guide 2) is only as good as your table's grapple clarity. If your group tracks position, size, cover, verbal components, and restraint, Scrapper is excellent. If grapples are hand-waved until everyone gets bored, the subclass loses teeth fast.

Hot Take: Twinblade (Player's Guide 2) finally makes the dual-wield Fighter feel intentional. It still does not want to be a plate tank or a heavy-weapon math machine. Let it move, let it spend bonus actions, and let it make enemies regret forming a neat little cluster.

Final Notes

The Fighter is the class for players who believe the best answer to most problems is a well-placed sword strike, and Tales of the Valiant fully validates that belief with one of the cleanest martial designs in modern TTRPG. Seven improvements are not a small thing—you have room to max your primary stat and build a talent suite that addresses your weaknesses. Action Surge scaling into three uses is a late-game power spike that nothing else in the martial classes matches.

Weapon Master is the safer, higher-ceiling subclass for players who want stunt-heavy combat dominance. Spell Blade is the correct choice for players who want versatility and are willing to pay a stat tax for it. Trooper is the expedition soldier. Scrapper is the grappler. Stunt Archer is the ranged specialist. Twinblade is the dual-weapon skirmisher. The Fighter subclass list finally covers most martial fantasies without needing to borrow another class's homework.

The Old Margreve does not change the subclass math, but it does give Fighters better build pieces. Bearfolk and Piney are the easiest lineage wins, Forest Dweller is the standout background, Stunning Sniper upgrades ranged Fighters, and Half-Sword of the Margreve Knights, Margreve Fur, and Scorn Pouch are all worth chasing.

Book of Blades does the same thing from a martial-specialist angle. It gives Fighters the best access to commander play, weapon-option play, unarmed control, DEX skirmishing, poison dueling, and mounted cavalry support. You do not need all of it. The correct Book of Blades Fighter picks are the ones that match how your table actually stages fights.

Labyrinth Worldbook gives Fighters a true expedition subclass in Trooper. It does not replace Weapon Master for stunt-heavy optimization or Spell Blade for magic utility, but it is the best Fighter pick here when the campaign is about hostile terrain, extended missions, target pursuit, and refusing to drop during the worst minute of the fight.

Player's Guide 2 gives Fighters the strongest overall expansion package in this guide. Cleaver, Polearm Mastery, Hurler, Two Weapon Defense, Scrapper, Stunt Archer, Twinblade, and expanded Martial Actions all push Fighters toward specific weapon identities instead of generic "person with sword" optimization.

The single thing that will make you a better Fighter than your mechanical choices is positioning. Use Wind Up on the turn before you need the damage. Use Guard when the Cleric is at 4 HP. Use Action Surge when the enemy is within 5 feet of the downed Barbarian who needs one more round. This class rewards players who read the board.

Class Guides

Best Fighter Stunts in Tales of the Valiant

Talent Guides

Book of Blades Support

Player's Guide 2 Support

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