"You see this."

(A consolidation of two archived posts on this subject.)

OSR social media spaces frequently host debates on whether the BX/OSE Fighter class is underprivileged, and what features should be added to bolster its potency. Instead, if we adjudicate the Rules As Written carefully, they will correctly limit the other classes so that the Fighter shines.

TL;DR

If you waive these rules, the Fighter becomes less appealing:

• Observe slow weapon rules. Slow crossbows are the only means by which Dwarves and Halflings can hit for Long Bow ranges and bonuses. Stop letting them fire like Fighters.
  
• A pole arm is a normal d6 or d8 weapon at the end of a long stick. They do d10 damage because of that stick. Cutting the stick turns it back into a normal weapon. Stop letting Dwarves and Halflings deal damage like Fighters.
  
• D8 swords are proportionately the size of a 2H sword for Dwarves and Halflings. Fighters can’t use 2H swords one-handed, so don’t let your short PCs do it. Stop letting them use swords like Fighters.
  
• Level limits matter. XP thresholds matter. Minimum Requirements and Prime Requisite bonuses (and penalties), and Strongholding matters. Stop letting other classes progress like Fighters.
  

It is critical to recognize that as rules-lite systems, BX and OSE are written concisely. This means a.) there is an expectation of adjudication because the rules are not explicit, and b.) they are cumulative. Conditions are not re-stated over and over. Once explained, we are expected to carry that understanding throughout.

1. Slow weapon rules matter

Compared to the Dwarf and Halfling, only the Fighter can hit past 200′ with +1 out to 70′ on initiative. Monsters that charge at 120/40′ will face FIVE d6 missile attacks and the Fighter can still set a d10 pike for 2x damage before it arrives. If the short PCs want to hit that far out, they go last, or every other round. That’s the price of the demihuman.

2. Pole Arm Damage

This point should not require much elaboration. All d10 pole arms are normal d6 or d8 weapons attached to the end of a long stick. Truncate the pole and it truncates the damage.

The game clearly tells us how stature matters: Tall PCs can use taller weapons to do more damage. Short PCs can use small and normal weapons, or in the case of Halflings, weapons that are size-appropriate (or cut down to size) at the referee’s discretion. So use your discretion to preserve the gap that makes Fighters special.

3. Sword use

Both BX and OSE state that Dwarves (if not Halflings) may use normal-sized weapons. How they may use them is not explicit, and that’s where we need to use our judgement to preserve the Fighter class.

First, let’s consider the anatomy of a one-handed sword. It’s about 3′ long and has a hilt large enough to grasp with one hand.

Next, let’s consider the proportions of this sword in the hands of short PCs.

For the Dwarf, the d8 sword is proportionately identical to a 2H sword. It absolutely should be treated as such.

For the Halfling, if we scale the PC and the sword together to human proportions, the same sword would be almost 7′ long.

The argument could be made that neither Dwarf nor Halfling could wield a d8 sword at all. To them, it’s a 2-handed weapon with room for just one hand at the hilt. But the RAW tells us that Dwarves may use normal-sized weapons, so to satisfy the rule: Hand-over-hand, as a slow 2H weapon, the Dwarf can use the d8 sword.

As for the Halfling, the RAW plainly leaves the decision to the referee. But if we’re still on a mission to find ways to boost the Fighter’s value, the choice should be clear.

The sum of this is a fantastic power shift: Dwarves and Halflings can now only do d6 damage on their initiative. Short PCs have two options for greater melee damage: Use the Battle Axe or a Normal sword with two hands, no shield, and acting last. (If we forbid the Halfling the sword, the Battle Axe is their only recourse.) This perfectly explains why the Battle Axe exists as a 2H d8 weapon in a game with swords: It’s not RP flavor, it’s a class balance option.

4. Limitations matter

Level limits, XP thresholds, minimum requirements and prime requisites all exist to balance class potency. We can imagine a table where two players have rolled up a Fighter and Magic user. Two more players join and roll 8’s down the line. The referee waives the 9 minimum requirements and the two PCs become a Dwarf and Elf. The ref then says they’ll use the Milestone leveling method, lifting level caps.

That party might be perfectly happy with that inequitable arrangement, but inequitable it remains. Pragmatically, the Fighter and Magic User players might as well have chosen Dwarves or Elves as well, since their scores, thresholds, requirements, XP and primes were going to account for no gain.

5. Be a boss at level one

The ability to stronghold at 1st level is peak! Foot mercenaries are 2gp per month, so for a paltry 200gp/mo, hire 100 guys to patrol and clear the 18 mile circumference around the abandoned fort you cleared out in session two, and start a Barony. The RAW says you need a garrison every 6 miles to hold it down (one in each of the 37 hexes), so ok, hire 100 more (500/mo total) and you’ve got 5 guys per hex. Other PCs can chip in, but a L1 Fighter comes home with at least 1500 in treasure to level up… and every 74gp you spend adds a defender to each hex. Attract followers, specialists, establish a network of rumors, be a boss.

Synopsis

If you’re asking, “Why does the Fighter feel impotent?”, giving away their advantages to the other classes is your answer. Class balancers that accelerate or impede class potency are part of the game for a reason. Don’t let the other martial classes have the Fighter’s zero-requirements, reasonable XP, one-handed sword-and-shield use, d10 damage, or long-range missile fire on initiative. The other classes may each overlap a bit, but no class has them all like the Fighter.

As always, I present these RAW evaluations not to say “The rules say this is the right way to play.” There is no such thing.

Instead, I share these findings to say, “The rules can be read to support this idea, for these justifiable reasons.”

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