Dungeons & Delvers: Meet the (Dwarf) Fighter

I've made a few posts talking about what monsters look like and how they work in Dungeons & Delvers, but it's been nearly a year since I even touched on the character side of things, so I figure it's time to go into more detail.

Like most fantasy role-playing games, characters in Dungeons & Delvers are largely defined by your class, with some added bits from your race.

Flavor-wise, your race provides you with some questions to ask yourself to help flesh out your character. On the mechanics side of things they also give you a talent.

This lets you, for example, choose if your dwarf is tougher than everyone else, skilled with axes and hammers, or good at noticing things about stonework (such as traps and hazards).

As with races from A Sundered World, when you level up you can choose more options from your race instead of your class (and I could very easily see races-as-class in this game).

Like race, your class gives you one or more talents at the start of the game, and it also determines your starting stats, skills, and gear. Character generation is a breeze: you choose a stat array, a couple skills, a talent, a bit of gear, flesh out some character details (and maybe answer some questions), and you're on your way.

For this post, we're going to take a closer look at what the fighter brings to the table.

Stats

For the most part fighters are melee oriented, so two of their arrays give you Might at a d8 (which is a step above average). The third one has an Agility of 1d8 and a Might of 1d6, in case you want to be a more agile or ranged fighter. At 5 Wounds they're tougher than most other classes (currently the barbarian is the only other match).

Skills

You start with Melee and Athletics at 1d6, and you get to choose any other two skills you want. This is mostly on par with other classes, which have anywhere from 4-6 skills. Each time you level up you get to bump up a skill by one die, or choose a new skill to have at 1d6.

Gear

In addition to an adventuring kit (which everyone starts with), you also get medium armor (adds 1d8 to your Defense, which you describe as whatever you want within reason) and one of the following:

• A one-handed weapon and a shield (for tanks)
• Two one-handed weapons (for dual-wielders)
• A two-handed weapon (for slayers)
• A one-handed melee weapon, and either a one- or two-handed ranged weapon (for archer/ranged types)

Talents

Currently 1st-level fighters get to choose Defender (shields add 1d6 instead of 1d4), Slayer (two-handed weapons add 1d6 instead of 1d4), Two-Weapon Fighting (re-roll your Melee die once when using two melee weapons), or Archer (add 1d4 when using a ranged weapon if the target is 5 spaces or closer).

At Higher Levels

Fighter talents focus on making you better with other weapons, allow you to specialize in a particular weapon, deal additional damage if your Attack roll exceeds the enemy's Defense by a certain amount, make multiple attacks, ignore a Defense penalty when charging, make yourself resistant to or immune to certain conditions, use your Might for initiative, protect allies from harm (even take hits for them), and more.

Announcements

A Sundered World is out!

The Fighter is geared up and ready to go! Unlike the default Dungeon World fighter, your skills matter more than your special "can sometimes be lost but not really" weapon. There are a variety of fighting styles to choose from, including the ability make a DEX-based fighter.

Grave Goods is the latest magic item compilation in our 10+ Treasures line. If you want nearly 30 undead-themed magic items, some monsters, and advice on how to make your own, pick it up!

Lichfield is available for public consumption. If you want a concise adventure with a Silent Hill feel, be sure to check it out! Primordial Machine is also out, so if you want to catch a glimpse of A Sundered World, now's your chance! Finally, we've updated If These Stones Could Scream.