Fighter Feat Chains

In an article I wrote a while ago, I presented some feats designed to help up the options of the fighter. That article presented feats that were specifically limited to fighters, but these feats are oriented in a different way: most of them have too many prerequisites to be reasonable for other classes. The PHB presents a few feat "chains" and a few feats that are more powerful but balanced by hefty prerequisites. Unfortunately, there are not enough of these to sustain the single class fighter into high-level before he inevitably starts branching out. These feats add to the options available to the fighter by adding some new defensive techniques. With some luck, your fighter should be able to take on a room full of katana-wielding guys in Kato masks and come out victorious.


Accidents Happen [General, Fighter]
The more opponents you fight, the more likely they are to injure each other.
Prerequisites: Dex 13+, Wis 13+, Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Interference*, Mobility, base attack bonus +13.
Benefit: If the creature to which you have selected to apply the benefits of the Dodge feat attacks you in melee and misses, you may choose to force it to make an immediate extra attack against any other creature of your choice within its reach that also threatens you. This free attack is at the same attack bonus as the one that missed, and any effects that applied to the original attack against you remain in effect. This feat does not apply if the attack that missed was an attempt to disarm, grapple, sunder, or trip you, nor if it was an attack of opportunity you provoked. This attack counts as one of your attacks of opportunity for the round; you may use this feat no more than once per round, even if entitled to multiple attacks of opportunity per round.

Combat Momentum [General, Fighter]
Your attacks gain in power the as you cut through your enemies' ranks.
Prerequisites:Str 13+, Cleave, Great Cleave, Power Attack, base attack bonus +12
Benefit: If you deal a creature enough damage to drop a creature below 0 hit points in melee combat, you gain a cumulative +1 circumstance bonus to damage for all melee weapon attacks until the end of your current action.

Disarming Expert [General, Fighter]
You are an expert at disarming.
Prerequisites: Int 13+, Combat Expertise, Improved Disarm, base attack bonus +7.
Benefit: If you roll a natural 20 during an attempt to disarm a foe, your disarm attempt succeeds, regardless of the final modified attack roll of your foe. You do not suffer any penalty for using a light weapon when attempting to disarm a foe or when a foe attempts to disarm you.
Normal: Disarm attempts are not automatically successful on a natural roll of 20. Wielders of a light weapon suffer a -4 penalty to make or resist disarm attempts.

Finishing Move [General, Fighter]
You are brutally efficient at making sure your dispatched opponents never get up again.
Prerequisites: Int 13+, Dex 13+, Combat Expertise, Combat Reflexes, base attack bonus +5.
Benefit: If you deal a creature enough damage to drop a creature below 0 hit points in melee combat (but do not kill them), you may, as a free action, twist your weapon in such a way to ensure their death. The opponent suffers additional damage equal to the base damage of your weapon. You may only take one such free action per turn, and you do not gain a Cleave attack (if you are entitled to one) for dropping that foe if you choose to take such an action.

Flipping Attack [General, Fighter]
You may make a powerful somersaulting attack.
Prerequisites: Dex 13+, Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack, Tumble skill, base attack bonus +4.
Benefit: When you take the charge action, you may continue to move after making the attack portion of the charge. The movement must continue in a straight line, up to a maximum total movement of twice your move speed. Moving in this way does not provoke an attack of opportunity from the defender you attack, though it might provoke attacks of opportunity from other creatures if possible.
Normal: Using the Spring Attack feat does not normally gain the benefits of the charge action, namely a +2 bonus to the attack roll and the ability to move twice your speed while attacking.

Interference [General, Fighter]
The more opponents you fight, the more likely they are to get in each other's way.
Prerequisites: Dex 13+, Dodge, Mobility.
Benefit: When you are not flat-footed, you gain a +1 dodge bonus to your Armor Class for every two opponents within 5 feet that are threatening you (maximum bonus of +4 if you are completely surrounded).

Touché [General, Fighter]
You may attack a foe after disarming him.
Prerequisites: Int 13+, Combat Expertise, Disarming Expert*, Improved Disarm, base attack bonus +11.
Benefit: If you make a successful disarm attempt, you immediately get a melee attack against that opponent as if you hadn't used your attack for the disarm attempt, using the same attack bonus. This additional attack may not be a trip, disarm, or sunder attempt.

Whirling Defense [General, Fighter]
You spin so quickly when attacking that you nimbly avoid your enemies' counterattacks.
Prerequisites: Dex 13+, Int 13+, Combat Expertise, Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack, Whirlwind Attack, base attack bonus +11.
Benefit: Whenever you make a whirlwind attack, you gain a +2 dodge bonus to your armor class until the beginning of your next turn.

* Feat is new to this article.


Looking Back…
The idea of providing mid- to high-level fighters with more feats at the end of their existing feat chains—rather than additional individual feats—was the force behind many of the feat choices in later books like Player’s Handbook II. However, none of the feats listed in this article overlap any of the feats given there, so these should still be viable in a 3.5 game. (Also, the reference to Kill Bill, Volume 1 in the introduction text seems dated.)