The Fighter character class is a staple of class-based
role-playing games such as
Dungeons and Dragons. In
Basic D&D, and in 1st Edition
Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, the fighter was a strong but uninteresting class, whose abilties consisted principally of being able to hand out more injury per experience point earned than any other.
Paladins,
Rangers,
Cavaliers, and sundry other additional classes were better level-for-level, but required more
XP for levels. This system, incidentally, destroyed any hope of level-balanced adventuring at higher levels.
In
AD&D's Second Edition, the Fighter was a sub-class of the
warrior group, which also included Paladins and Rangers. There were a few fighter-only benefits, such as
weapon specialisation, but they remained essentially a quirk-free benchmark class. Additionally, an optional rule was introduced allowing them even more XP for kills than before.
In the new Third Edition, there are no class groups, and the fighter's attack progression is matched by
Paladins,
Rangers,
Barbarians and (in
Oriental Adventures)
Samurai. However, the fighter's interest is increased by the class's wide access to combat-oriented
feats. This gives a well-designed Fighter as much variety as a
Wizard or
Rogue, and has certainly led me to consider the class as serious role-playing material for the first time. Fighters gain more options from the
sourcebook Sword and Fist.
In all editions, fighters have at least equal best attack progression, range of weapons and armour, and combat-friendly skill selection.