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Player's Handbook Rules Supplements #PHBR1
The Complete Fighter's Handbook
Who says fighters are the poor cousins of the AD&D game? No one will say it aloud after reading the Complete Fighter's Handbook: 128 pages of mind-expanding advice on how to make your fighter the leanest, meanest threshing machine for leagues around. New weapons, new proficiencies, new fighting styles, and "Fighter Kits" make this optional AD&D accessory a useful item for players and DMs.
126 pages, Paperback
First published December 23, 1989
1 person is currently reading
136 people want to read
About the author
Aaron Allston
178 books377 followersAaron Dale Allston was an American game designer and author of many science fiction books, notably Star Wars novels. His works as a game designer include game supplements for role-playing games, several of which served to establish the basis for products and subsequent development of TSR's Dungeons & Dragons game setting Mystara. His later works as a novelist include those of the X-Wing series: Wraith Squadron, Iron Fist, Solo Command, Starfighters of Adumar, and Mercy Kill. He wrote two entries in the New Jedi Order series: Enemy Lines I: Rebel Dream and Enemy Lines II: Rebel Stand. Allston wrote three of the nine Legacy of the Force novels: Betrayal, Exile, and Fury, and three of the nine Fate of the Jedi novels: Outcast, Backlash, and Conviction.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 21, 2018
I loved using this book back when I played DnD but they changed the rules and I really don't play anymore so I am going to give this one away.
August 10, 2016
Everything you need to know about fighters (for 2nd Edition that is)
28 August 2013
People seem to be saying under commentaries for this book that fighters are the poor cousins of the AD&D world. I say rubbish. I think fighters are cool. What other class can run around (and I mean run, not hobble, or crawl) in full plate armour waving a whopping great big sword dealing humongous amounts of damage to some poor monster that has just realised that attempting to eat him may not have been a good idea. I guess Terry Pratchett had the right idea when he said that wolves learned to avoid humans because it turned out that they had hard shells and sharp edges.
Seriously, fighters are cool, and this book simply makes them even better. In fact, the stupider the fighter is, the better he becomes, though I must admit that they do become a little boring after a while, and even with adding things like feats, as they did in 3rd edition, they still end up becoming boring. However, at least they are not restricted in the same way that Paladins are restricted. I do realise that other classes do have a bit more character with them, such as rangers being the quintessential woodsman, but still, I loved creating that simple fighter whose only ability was to be able to inflict massive amounts of damage on their opponent.
28 August 2013
People seem to be saying under commentaries for this book that fighters are the poor cousins of the AD&D world. I say rubbish. I think fighters are cool. What other class can run around (and I mean run, not hobble, or crawl) in full plate armour waving a whopping great big sword dealing humongous amounts of damage to some poor monster that has just realised that attempting to eat him may not have been a good idea. I guess Terry Pratchett had the right idea when he said that wolves learned to avoid humans because it turned out that they had hard shells and sharp edges.
Seriously, fighters are cool, and this book simply makes them even better. In fact, the stupider the fighter is, the better he becomes, though I must admit that they do become a little boring after a while, and even with adding things like feats, as they did in 3rd edition, they still end up becoming boring. However, at least they are not restricted in the same way that Paladins are restricted. I do realise that other classes do have a bit more character with them, such as rangers being the quintessential woodsman, but still, I loved creating that simple fighter whose only ability was to be able to inflict massive amounts of damage on their opponent.
November 4, 2009
A pretty good accessory for fighters looking for more options. Fighters are generally underpowered and rather bland to play so this book attempts to spice it up. In my opinion, it didn't really help.
The book starts off with a simplistic analysis of fighter character creation and then jumps into expanded rules on armorer, bowyer/fletcher and weaponsmith proficiencies. Then it goes into the kits. There are 14 kits in total of which only a few are really standalone enough to really warrant a kit. After that is a long chapter on how to roleplay fighters as well how to run fighter-centric or fighter-focused campaigns. The combat rules comes next and it does have lots of goodies in that it provides alternative rules on weapon proficiencies and introduces weapon style specialization, which certainly adds to a fighter's versatility. There's also lots of additional combat actions that can be taken to spice up combat. There's even a section on a jousting tournament. The book ends with an interesting section of new weapons and armor (many specifically for the new kits), including special variant armors, and a couple of useful but not too imaginative magic items.
The book starts off with a simplistic analysis of fighter character creation and then jumps into expanded rules on armorer, bowyer/fletcher and weaponsmith proficiencies. Then it goes into the kits. There are 14 kits in total of which only a few are really standalone enough to really warrant a kit. After that is a long chapter on how to roleplay fighters as well how to run fighter-centric or fighter-focused campaigns. The combat rules comes next and it does have lots of goodies in that it provides alternative rules on weapon proficiencies and introduces weapon style specialization, which certainly adds to a fighter's versatility. There's also lots of additional combat actions that can be taken to spice up combat. There's even a section on a jousting tournament. The book ends with an interesting section of new weapons and armor (many specifically for the new kits), including special variant armors, and a couple of useful but not too imaginative magic items.
March 8, 2010
Working within the boundaries set by you DM these books (this is part of a set of character builder books)will help you build your character and better your game. They are in themselves fun to read and will tell you a lot about the character class you plan to play and choices withing that class.
Not only will it help you be better as a fighter it will also help you decide first what kind of fighter you want to be.
Not only will it help you be better as a fighter it will also help you decide first what kind of fighter you want to be.
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December 8, 2025Review of Fighter, Thief, Priest, Wizard:
How and why now? Got these all as a child. Recently got the very last book I didn't have (Ninja) for a bargain.
Going through them again in logical groups, so today, the first four, the AD&D 2e original classes.
What? I've talked before about how I was attracted to new powers for my characters as a child, adn these books have some of that, which I'll get into; but equally, as a child, I was interested in story-telling, and these books all have something about creating character.
I don't want to say that there was a grand plan for these books, because there doesn't seem to have been, and even AD&D 2e was developing. Like: in the PHB (if I recall correctly), proficiencies (for weapons and non-weapon skills) are optional, yet they increasingly become a non-optional part of the game. (I wonder if, when developed 2nd edition, they didn't want to make such a big change?)
That said, you can still see some plan here, which is something like:
- how to make your character different (kits)
- how to roleplay this character
- how this character type fits in the world (including some campaign stuff that's really for the DM)
- some new rules
- some new equipment or treats for the player
So, for instance, the fighter book includes rules using non-weapon proficiencies to craft and repair weapons and armor; roleplaying archetypes for the warrior (youth, showoff, doomed, etc.); new fighting styles and equipment; rules for hit locations, recovery, tactics.
The thief's handbook likewise has new proficiencies (fast-talk), new equipment for breaking and entering, basic cons (for verisimilitude?), ideas for an all-thief or thief-centered campaign, and almost 40 pages on thieves' guilds.
The priest handbook also has notes about roleplaying and about the role of the priest in society (including all the rites they might have to lead), but a big portion of this book is about the different types of gods there are and the priests that might serve them. This is a slightly odd section because it seems to be both about "role of the character in society" and "new powers for characters."
The wizard book covers the special schools of magic (e.g., necromancy, divination, illusion -- not about the place where you learn magic), and how to create your own, and it has new magic spells, as so many books do, sigh. There's also rules for casting spells in weird locations or under unusual conditions, as well as notes about how to use spells, and research new spells or magic items. This book also ends with a real miscellany of lists, like 5 magical diseases, 4 prerequisites for enrolling in magic school, etc.
What I've skipped so far, in each of these books, is probably the thing that they are most remembered for, which is introducing the idea of a "kit." A kit was a thing that you could use to refine your character concept at creation, and I loved them as a kid, but now I have to admit that they are kind of all over the place, and the idea of balance is thrown out the window here. (The other problem that kits have is a social one: since they could only be taken at creation, and since the books were put out over several years, people picking them up might suddenly, in the middle of a game, want to explore some new character option. In 3rd edition, they avoided this specific issue by trading the idea of "kit" for the idea of a "prestige class": a specific type of character that you basically matriculated into with an existing character.)
Why are kits all over the place? Many of the kits are backgrounds, like the noble or peasant. (There is a noble or peasant kit in every of these books.) Some of the kits are about the society, like barbarian or savage. (There is, again, a savage/barbarian in almost every of these books. Want to play a priest of a "savage" tribe? There's a kit for that.) Some of the kits are about what you do, like professional military (fighter and wizard option) or gladiator or scholar (priest, wizard options). And then there's "here's some stuff for the people who miss the old Oriental Adventures book" (samurai, wu jen).
I really like the idea of a way to distinguish different fighters and thieves, but this way is both very AD&D 2e (everything has to be mechanized and specifically for combat) and also so generic. (They would later put out handbooks specifically for the Forgotten Realms, but I think those are not loved at all.)
Yeah, so? Honestly, these books still kind of kick ass, and the metric I use here is the classic: does this spark ideas for play? Yeah, when I was young, I made up a character for every kit to see how they were different, but today I am thrilled by the idea of putting together your backstory and thinking about how you act in combat vs. non-combat situations. It's a little crude and simplistic in many places, but I bet a lot of really interesting game design was inspired by these four books, both published and just played between friends.
How and why now? Got these all as a child. Recently got the very last book I didn't have (Ninja) for a bargain.
Going through them again in logical groups, so today, the first four, the AD&D 2e original classes.
What? I've talked before about how I was attracted to new powers for my characters as a child, adn these books have some of that, which I'll get into; but equally, as a child, I was interested in story-telling, and these books all have something about creating character.
I don't want to say that there was a grand plan for these books, because there doesn't seem to have been, and even AD&D 2e was developing. Like: in the PHB (if I recall correctly), proficiencies (for weapons and non-weapon skills) are optional, yet they increasingly become a non-optional part of the game. (I wonder if, when developed 2nd edition, they didn't want to make such a big change?)
That said, you can still see some plan here, which is something like:
- how to make your character different (kits)
- how to roleplay this character
- how this character type fits in the world (including some campaign stuff that's really for the DM)
- some new rules
- some new equipment or treats for the player
So, for instance, the fighter book includes rules using non-weapon proficiencies to craft and repair weapons and armor; roleplaying archetypes for the warrior (youth, showoff, doomed, etc.); new fighting styles and equipment; rules for hit locations, recovery, tactics.
The thief's handbook likewise has new proficiencies (fast-talk), new equipment for breaking and entering, basic cons (for verisimilitude?), ideas for an all-thief or thief-centered campaign, and almost 40 pages on thieves' guilds.
The priest handbook also has notes about roleplaying and about the role of the priest in society (including all the rites they might have to lead), but a big portion of this book is about the different types of gods there are and the priests that might serve them. This is a slightly odd section because it seems to be both about "role of the character in society" and "new powers for characters."
The wizard book covers the special schools of magic (e.g., necromancy, divination, illusion -- not about the place where you learn magic), and how to create your own, and it has new magic spells, as so many books do, sigh. There's also rules for casting spells in weird locations or under unusual conditions, as well as notes about how to use spells, and research new spells or magic items. This book also ends with a real miscellany of lists, like 5 magical diseases, 4 prerequisites for enrolling in magic school, etc.
What I've skipped so far, in each of these books, is probably the thing that they are most remembered for, which is introducing the idea of a "kit." A kit was a thing that you could use to refine your character concept at creation, and I loved them as a kid, but now I have to admit that they are kind of all over the place, and the idea of balance is thrown out the window here. (The other problem that kits have is a social one: since they could only be taken at creation, and since the books were put out over several years, people picking them up might suddenly, in the middle of a game, want to explore some new character option. In 3rd edition, they avoided this specific issue by trading the idea of "kit" for the idea of a "prestige class": a specific type of character that you basically matriculated into with an existing character.)
Why are kits all over the place? Many of the kits are backgrounds, like the noble or peasant. (There is a noble or peasant kit in every of these books.) Some of the kits are about the society, like barbarian or savage. (There is, again, a savage/barbarian in almost every of these books. Want to play a priest of a "savage" tribe? There's a kit for that.) Some of the kits are about what you do, like professional military (fighter and wizard option) or gladiator or scholar (priest, wizard options). And then there's "here's some stuff for the people who miss the old Oriental Adventures book" (samurai, wu jen).
I really like the idea of a way to distinguish different fighters and thieves, but this way is both very AD&D 2e (everything has to be mechanized and specifically for combat) and also so generic. (They would later put out handbooks specifically for the Forgotten Realms, but I think those are not loved at all.)
Yeah, so? Honestly, these books still kind of kick ass, and the metric I use here is the classic: does this spark ideas for play? Yeah, when I was young, I made up a character for every kit to see how they were different, but today I am thrilled by the idea of putting together your backstory and thinking about how you act in combat vs. non-combat situations. It's a little crude and simplistic in many places, but I bet a lot of really interesting game design was inspired by these four books, both published and just played between friends.
August 5, 2015
Considering what this is, for what it was intended and such, this is a fairly helpful resource. It's not "literature," so giving it 3 stars doesn't mean I think it's a better "book" than others I've given 2 stars (necessarily), but for a supplement on making your AD&D fighters more interesting, experienced, and "realistic," it's a very good resource. Obviously if you are not interested in playing AD&D you aren't going to look for this, and obviously if you are not playing as a fighter in your AD&D experiences you aren't going to look for this either, but if you fit the (rather small) niche, this is for you. Likely you already have it or had it, so it's not going to be a surprise to you in that sense, either. Among the more helpful aspects of this are the additions of fighting style proficiencies, weapons and armor for geographic fighters (such as samurai), and fighting techniques and specialization ideas (especially helpful for those actually role-playing as a fighter, not just silently soloing modules like I do inside my imagination).
I was pleasantly surprised by the affability of the author/narrator/voice whomever who is occasionally directly addressing the reader, in that so many times we are encouraged "if you don't like this part, don't use it; if you like it, use it." I suspected it would have a stricter attitude to some things like "if you want to use this, you have to then add this, that, and this," but there's none of that. It's really a collection of potentially helpful/interesting ideas to make the gaming experience better for those who want it.
I may be somewhat chronologically mistaken about this, but I believe this originally came out toward the beginning of the 2E resource glut (from that magic time of around '89 to '97 or so), so the proofreading/editing attention did not seem a high priority, especially toward the end of the handbook (which certainly doesn't help the general perception of the public toward AD&D players), but these things happen (especially in the 2E resources glut). On the whole, though, it's a fine resource for pre-3E AD&D fighters.
I was pleasantly surprised by the affability of the author/narrator/voice whomever who is occasionally directly addressing the reader, in that so many times we are encouraged "if you don't like this part, don't use it; if you like it, use it." I suspected it would have a stricter attitude to some things like "if you want to use this, you have to then add this, that, and this," but there's none of that. It's really a collection of potentially helpful/interesting ideas to make the gaming experience better for those who want it.
I may be somewhat chronologically mistaken about this, but I believe this originally came out toward the beginning of the 2E resource glut (from that magic time of around '89 to '97 or so), so the proofreading/editing attention did not seem a high priority, especially toward the end of the handbook (which certainly doesn't help the general perception of the public toward AD&D players), but these things happen (especially in the 2E resources glut). On the whole, though, it's a fine resource for pre-3E AD&D fighters.
December 20, 2011
i loved this book but I lost my copy somehow. That is why my current 2nd Edition character is a Conjurer.
February 20, 2012
wow another blast from the past. I bought this book to look at the kits and optional rules this of course was ages ago.
March 16, 2012
I OWN this book!
February 7, 2013
A good addition to your collection if you are a fighter focused kind of player. With this and the Combat and Tactics book you should be able to get creative with the fighter class.
October 24, 2021
Un libro de lectura obligatoria, ajeno a la edición que se juegue.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews