Microlite20: Fighter Specialist Advances

Each of these represents a Fighter with a narrower focus than usual - and I have more in the works!

The Myrmidon is a professional soldier. She is trained in small-unit tactics, the use of several weapons designed for the battlefield, and maintains an air of authority and professional stoicism at all times.

Myrmidon
Fighter Specialist Advance

Phalanx Fighter - you gain +1 AC for each ally with a shield who stands beside you (max +2 AC).
Spear-Carrier - you gain +1 to-hit with javelin, polearms, and bows.
Skirmisher - you gain a bonus of 10ft to your Speed while wearing light or medium armour.
Professional - you gain a +2 bonus to your Communication skill when talking to those who respect martial prowess.
Hold The Line - you gain a +2 bonus to saving throws against Fear effects.

The Brawler, on the other hand, is a dirty Fighter - he uses his bare hands and any objects he can lay his hands on as weapons, and can roll with the punches better than most.

Brawler
Fighter Specialist Advance

Meaty Fists - your Unarmed attack does 1d6 damage at 1st level, and increases by a dice size every 3 levels (so 1-2 1d6, 3-5 1d8, 6-8 1d10, 9-11 1d12, 12-14 2d6 etc).
Smash - a number of times per day equal to your Strength Bonus, you can add extra damage equal to your Physical skill to any successful melee attack.
Combat Pragmatist - you suffer no penalties for using Improvised Weapons.
Take a Punch - you gain DR1/4 levels vs Bludgeoning damage (so 1-3 DR1, 4-7 DR2, 8-11 DR3, etc).
Terrifying - you gain a +2 bonus to any rolls to Intimidate others.

Microlite20: Upcoming Advances

So, I'll list out what I'm currently working on (as I might have a few days of radio silence)...

• Elite Advances for the Fighter: The Myrmidion (Shield + Spear specialist), The Bladesinger (Elf only), The Brawler (unarmed specialist).
• Elite Advances for the Paladin: The Cavalier
• Races: Kobolds, maybe Goliaths and Hobgoblins

I'm currently scouring some older books for inspiration - specifically, 2e's Complete series for Kits which might help expand certian classes.

An Awesome Free Resource (That I Forgot About Until Now)

Wizards of The Coast has kept its D&D 3.5 Archive online, HERE. My personal favourite set of resources are the Art Galleries from the various books, showing a good sample of the artists who worked on the line.

There are also a huge selection of PC Portraits for your perusal, most of which make great NPCs, Hirelings, and inspiration as well.

Here's my favourites!

 

Clearly, this one comes from the "Let's Trace A Fashion Magazine" School.

















This chick exudes a sense of confidence and kick-ass-ness that you just can't beat in a lady adventurer.

Eberron's Changelings were an interesting addition to a cool setting. The artwork simply made them all the more interesting to me.











This guy could be a villain, a hero, or just another town guard - the helm could go either way. Even better - he's a masked vigilante! The Helm could go either way...

 

This guy would make a great Warrior Chief, or maybe a pit-fighter or Gladiator.

 This Half-Dragon could be a great NPC for a more "varied" campaigns, like a Planescape game - he has a look of the merchant about him, to me.

Another Changeling - a Wizard this time. There's something about his expression of disdain and boredom that makes me love this picture so much.

Microlite20: Specialist Advances: The Undead Hunter

Sometimes, you want your character to be more specialised than the lite constraints of Microlite20 can afford. If that's the case, and your DM allows you to use the Advances I've posted up when making your character, you can also take a third set of Advances to choose from - your Specialist Advances (to lift a term from FFG).

The first one I'll throw out would be for Clerics who specialise in hunting the Undead, whether they follow a God who despises them (like 4e's Raven Queen, a Death God to whom Undead are heresy), or follow a God who opposes another Deity who creates Undead, or some other justification. These Clerics gain a few unusual abilities to help serve their cause.

The Undead Hunter
Cleric Specialist Advance
Unholy Presence - you gain Detect Undead as an at-will ability, with no HP cost.
Know Thy Enemy - you gain a +3 bonus to your Knowledge skill when remembering facts about the Undead (including weaknesses, origins, etc).
Radiant Soul - you gain extra Turning attempts equal to your Charisma Bonus (so you may now Turn Undead 2+Level+MIND bonus+CHA bonus times per day).
Aim For The Head - you gain the ability to make Critical Hits on Undead (on a roll of natural 20, as per usual). If you have also acquired the ability to make Sneak Attacks or Death Attacks, you may also use those on Undead, despite their immunity.
Specialist Weapon Training - you gain a +1 bonus to-hit with any two of crossbows, bludgeoning weapons, whips, and stakes.

And, only suitable for some campaigns...

Vampire Killer - you may channel any touch spells through a weapon, so long as it has been blessed, and is of Masterwork quality or better. Striking with the weapon will cause the usual damage and effects as well as those caused by the spell. (Some Hunters use whips for these attacks...)

New Weapon

Stake
Damage: 1d4
Type: Piercing
Cost: 5gp/Free
Notes: while prepared stakes cost 5gp, players may make a MIND+Knowledge roll to create a suitable piece of wood immediately, or may spend half an hour carving one from wood.

Stakes made from special wood, or blessed by holy men, cost up to 100gp each, and vary from +1 (for a very well-made stake) to +3 (obviously magical).

Microlite20: Advances Overview

One of the cool things about the Advances I've been working on is how easy they are to make.

Each Race and Class gets 5 Advances, and I've been following a formula:

• +1 to-hit with a weapon iconic to the Race or Class (Fighters get a few of these, to represent their broader martial training).
• +1 to a Skill that typifies the Class
• +2 to a skill in certain situations (like the Assassin's bonus to Subterfuge for Disguise, or the Dwarf's bonus to resisting poisons).
• A Spell-like Ability (like the Elf's Detect Magic, or the Tiefling's Darkness) - these are either 0-th Level or situational, for at-will abilities, or tied to an ability bonus, for 1st level spells (other might be too powerful).
• Another ability (the Tiefling's Prehensile Tail, or the Druid's Elemental Wildshape).

Unless noted, these bonuses stack - so a Dwarf Fighter, who takes the Weapon Focus (Hammer) and Smith at Heart Advances could gain a +2 to-hit with hammers. The DM is the final arbitrator of what stacks and what doesn't.

This is just a guideline - add whichever abilities you wish when making an Advance scheme, although be careful not to make them too powerful. They can be used to represent Feats, Class Features, whatever you want - just try and make sure they are in-keeping with the Class.

Next, I'll be looking at tailoring an Advance Scheme to a certain specialisation of a Class - in this case, making a Cleric who specialises in hunting down Undead.