Over the years of development of the
AD&D® game, much has been done to
expand the many and varied spell-casting
classes. Magic-users, illusionists, clerics,
and druids have all had their spells extensively
expanded in Unearthed Arcana.
New spell-casting classes (such as the
witch) have appeared in past issues of
DRAGON® Magazine. In general, there has
been a considerable orientation in the
AD&D game toward spell-casters and
away from fighter-types. The following
special abilities go far to set straight this
inequality.

Fighters are hereby given a number of
combat maneuvers that add to their options
in a round of melee. Cavaliers, paladins,
clerics, and all other classes (except for the
bard class, as fighter levels are initially
obtained) do not gain the use of these abilities.
Rangers and barbarians may, at the
DM's option, gain these abilities as well,
unless it is felt that they have enough special
abilities of their own. These combat
maneuvers were developed from skilled
practice in the fighting profession?s major
strength: fighting. Table 1 lists the number
of combat maneuvers gained initially and
per level beyond the first.

All combat maneuvers performed by a
fighter, ranger, or barbarian require a
level check to be successful. A level check
requires 1d30 to be rolled, the result of
which is compared to the character's level.
A roll equal to or less than the character?s
level indicates success. The character's
effective level for the purpose of this level
check is increased or decreased by subtracting
the character's dexterity-based
Defensive Adjustment (reflecting battle
reactions) and adding the character's Magical
Attack Adjustment (representing judgment
in battle); see the Players Handbook,
page 11, for both adjustments. No other
modifications, magical or otherwise, are
applicable. Thus, a 12th-level fighter with
both an 18 dexterity and wisdom rolls a 20
or less on 1d30 to be successful.

Only one combat maneuver may be used
at a time (except for the Target maneuver);
other than that, these combat maneuvers
may be used as often as allowed. The
intent to use a specific combat maneuver
must be declared at the start of a melee
round, before any attacks are declared or
rolled. The combat maneuver is then made
when appropriate during the round. If the
combat situation changes during the
round (e.g., a fighter planning to use the
Feign Death maneuver suddenly sees his
foe slain by another warrior), the maneuver
may be discarded if it has not already
been performed. Just because a maneuver
turns out to be harmful is not sufficient
reason to discard it after the maneuver
has been made (e.g., if a fighter uses the
Feint maneuver on an orc who is smarter
than the fighter is).

Furthermore, these combat maneuvers
are largely meant to be used against
armed, humanlike opponents. The DM
must decide in all cases whether a particular
combat maneuver can be used against
an opponent (one cannot disarm a ghoul,
for instance, nor stun a brontosaurus).

If a 30-sided die is not available, the use
of 1d6 and 1d10 can produce numbers
from 1 to 30. Roll 1d6 and 1d10. If the ld6
roll is 1 or 2, the number generated is 1-10
as rolled on the 1d10. If the 1d6 roll is 3 or
4, the number generated is 11-20, determined
by adding 10 to the result of the
1d10. If the ld6 roll is 5 or 6, the number
generated is 21-30, determined by adding
20 to the roll of the 1dl0.

Combat maneuvers
The various combat maneuvers are
described below. Again, note that they
cannot all be acquired at once, but must
be learned according to Table 1.

Parry: Parrying normally involves
applying a character's strength-based ?to
hit? bonus to his opponent?s ?to hit? roll (as
per the Players Handbook, page 104).
However, fighters with this combat
maneuver may make a level check on
1d30; if successful, all ?to hit? bonuses
(with an additional +2 bonus) may be
added to the fighter?s parrying ability. This
combat maneuver substitutes for a single
melee attack unless the character?s dexterity
or less is rolled on 3d10, in which case
the character is allowed an attack at - 2 to
hit immediately afterward. Thus, a 13th.
level fighter may parry once and attack
once in a melee round, and might even
gain another attack if his dexterity check
is made. Two or more parrying attempts
may be made in a round only if the parrying
fighter has the ability to make two or
more normal attacks with a melee weapon
in a round, and if he is fighting either an
opponent with two or more weapon
attacks, or two or more opponents.

Parrying is best used against an opponent
with an especially dangerous weapon
or melee ability (weapons that decapitate
or sever a limb, attacks that can immediately
cripple or kill, etc.). Parrying can
only be used against opponents of ogresize
or smaller which lack giant strength
(19 + ) and which are using melee (nonmissile)
weapons. No attack roll is required to
use the Parry maneuver; the action is
simply declared.

Feint: This combat maneuver is a measure
of the character?s intelligence, as he is
attempting to fool his opponent by making
a mock attack at one place merely as a
distraction from the real attack, which is
made immediately afterward. If the fighter
?s intelligence is higher than his opponent
?s, a successful level check grants the
fighter a + 1 to hit for each point of difference
between the intelligence scores. If
there is no difference in the score, there is
no modification. If the opponent is of a
higher intelligence than the character ?
or if the character failed his level check ?
a - 2 is applied to the character?s ?to hit?
chance. This ability must be used in conjunction
with an attack; it does not replace
an attack. It can be used once per round at
most ? but beware of intelligent orcs and
goblins!

Dodge: A successful level check grants
a +4 to the AC of the fighter in
situations where the Defensive Adjustment
due to dexterity would also add to either
AC or to a saving throw against
spells which can be dodged. Failure on the
initial level check results in a -4 to hit on
the character's next melee attack in that
round. Furthermore, if a character who
has been successful on his level check also
rolls his DEX or less on 2d12, he may
make his melee attacks as he normally
would. Failure on this DEX check
causes a loss of one attack in a round. The
Dodge maneuver stays in effect for the
whole round in which it is attempted
(assuming the character remains in melee
with his opponent). It can be used but
once per round against a single attacker; it
is useless against multiple attackers.

Target: A successful level check (with
the appropriate modifier shown on Table 2
applied to the die roll) allows the character
to select an exact area of his opponent?s
body where his blow is to be directed. Of
course, the part of the opponent?s body
targeted must be within range of the
character?s attack. This is useful against
creatures that have more than one armor
class (beholders, bulettes, etc.), or if a
critical hit is rolled (assuming the DM uses
such a system). This is the only ability that
may be used in conjunction with any other
combat maneuver, with cumulative
bonuses and penalties. Failure on the level
check indicates that the blow may hit, but
it has a -2 to hit penalty and cannot be
targeted.

Body Bash: On a successful level
check, the fighter forces an opponent to
make a STR check on 1d30 or be
knocked to the ground, using the following
modifications: -2 for every 2? of
defender?s height above attacker, +2 for
every 2? of attacker?s height above
defender, + 2 if a shield is used to bash the
opponent, and - 1 for each of the opponent
?s magical armor bonuses (not including
a shield). Prayer spells, rings of
protection, and the like do not have any
effect on the save. A natural roll of 1 is
always a save, and a natural roll of 20
always results in the defender being
bashed. This maneuver only applies to
humanlike opponents of ogre-size or
smaller.

The effects of a successful Body Bash
maneuver are found by rolling 1d4 and
consulting the following list:

1. Knocked to one knee. If the bashed
opponent has not made all of his attacks
when he is bashed, he loses one of those
attacks this round. A bashed opponent
with multiple attacks by virtue of his class
or by magic (not because 2 weapons are
being used) may take the remainder of his
attacks, made at - 1 to hit, but not until all
other melee attacks are completed against
him. Additional attacks by the person who
scored the knockdown, and any others
who are fighting the bashed opponent, are
at + 1 to hit against the bashed opponent
until the end of the round, when the opponent
is assumed to get up.

2. Knocked to both knees. The bashed
opponent loses all further attacks for 1
round (the current round unless initiative
has already been taken, in which case the
next round is lost), and is at +2 to be hit
for the remainder of that time, after
which he gets up.

3. Knocked to sitting position. The
bashed individual loses 1 round, as
above, and all remaining attacks against
him are at + 3 to hit. In addition, on the
round following the lost round, the bashed
individual automatically loses initiative
while he gets up.

4. Knocked down flat. The bashed individual
loses 1 round, as in #2 above. All
opponents are allowed an additional attack
during the round the person is knocked
down; these attacks are at +4 to hit. The
additional attack applies only to hand-to-hand
attacks, though the bonus to hit still
applies for missile weapons.

The attacking character may still make a
normal melee attack if he rolls his dexterity
or less on 3d10. Otherwise, this combat
maneuver replaces one attack in a melee
round. At the DM?s option, modifiers for
opponent height may be added to the 1d4
results roll above ( + 1 to the roll for every
2? in height the attacker has over the
defender, and - 1 for every 2? the
defender has over the attacker).

Back Out: This combat maneuver
allows a character to back out of melee
range and have a chance at a parting
attack as he exits. The character must roll
his DEX score or less on 3d8 to obtain
the parting blow, once the level check has
been rolled to determine if the character
will be allowed to back out. The Back Out
maneuver normally replaces 1 attack in
a round.

For example, a 13th-level fighter who
has 2 blows per round chooses to attack
normally with his first blow, but decides
on his second blow that he would like to
be out of melee range at the beginning of
the next round (he wants to charge a
different opponent without allowing his
current opponent an additional attack
routine against him when he flees melee
range). If he successfully makes a level
check, the fighter is able to back out of
range this round. Furthermore, if he rolls
his dexterity or less on 2d12, he gets a
parting blow at his opponent.

Failure to make the level check forces
the fighter to stay in melee range unless
he wishes his opponent to get a free attack
routine against him as he flees, and he will
also not obtain a blow unless he makes the
dexterity check on 3d8. (Note that if the
fighter failed his level check, he cannot
choose to make his dexterity check and
then flee melee range, allowing his opponent
a bonus attack routine. He would, in
this case, need to choose to flee melee
range before the dexterity check is made,
and he would not obtain a parting blow if
this was his choice. Clearly, he would be
better off staying in range this round and
trying to make the dexterity check, then
simply charging out of range toward his
new opponent at the beginning of the next
round -- assuming he gets the initiative!

Feign Death: By successfully making a
level check at - 6 on the die roll when
struck by a blow, this ability allows the
fighter to fake his death from the blow. A
successful level check made at -6 on the
die roll indicates that all viewing the character
believe the character was slain,
unless a percentage equal to or less than
each viewer?s intelligence is rolled. Only
viewers of the Feign Death maneuver are
allowed this intelligence check, although
anyone feeling for the ?dead? PC?s pulse
will, of course, find one. If the character is
attacked while on the ground, he is at +4
to be hit, and damage inflicted upon him
will be the maximum possible for each
blow struck. Whether successful or not,
an attack on the character upon the
ground reveals the ruse.

Failing to make the level check results in
a free blow from the primary weapon or
melee attack of all opponents in range.
Thus, a lion or a character with two weapons
could each make only a single attack
not a complete attack routine. Players
should be prohibited from attacking an
opposing fighter, ranger, or barbarian who
has successfully made a level check to
feign death, unless the character either
views the Feign Death maneuver and
makes the successful percentage die roll
based upon intelligence or the character
has a compelling reason to investigate
further.

Stun: A character who scores a hit in
melee with a blunt or flat-sided weapon
(excluding spiked weapons like morning
stars, flexible weapons like whips or garrots,
or missile weapons) may use this
ability to attempt to stun his opponent.
After a successful ?to hit? roll is made, a
successful level check indicates that the
opponent of the character is stunned,
leaving him at +2 to be hit and making
him unable to concentrate enough to use
psionics or cast spells. A stunned opponent
may attack and defend himself using regular
melee weapons and a shield, with a -1
to hit and a -1 on armor class. The opponent
remains stunned for 1-3 rounds. No
hit-point damage is done to an opponent
who has been stunned. An opponent who
is currently stunned when struck and
stunned a second time must save vs. paralysis
or fall unconscious for 1-6 rounds;
subsequent stunning attacks, if the opponent
remains conscious, each offer a
cumulative ?1 penalty on this save, as
well as ?1 penalties on attack rolls and
armor class. No penalties can exceed -4.

When using the Stun maneuver, the
guidelines in the DMG concerning attacks
against helmetless opponents (page 28)
should be considered.

Disarm: Unearthed Arcana outlines a
system for disarming opponents on page
109. If a fighter makes his level check,
however, he gains a +2 bonus to hit on
the Disarm maneuver, and his opponent
suffers ?2 on his saving throw vs. petri-
fication to avoid losing his weapon. This
maneuver replaces one of the fighter?s
attacks in a melee round. Failure to make
the level check when attempting a Disarm
maneuver still allows the maneuver to go
through, but with a ?2 penalty ?to hit?
and normal saving?throw chances for the
opponent to retain his weapon. No damage
is done to the opponent in any event, and
the guidelines in Unearthed Arcana must
be followed.

Final thoughts
Only 1 combat maneuver may be used
during or in place of a blow, with the
exception of the Target maneuver. With
the addition of the above abilities, fighters
(along with rangers and barbarians) will
become more interesting to play. Players
who have fighters for characters will have
more to decide than which opponent to
attack. It may very well be more critical
for a fighter to choose the correct combat
maneuver than for a spell?caster to choose
the correct spell. Undoubtedly, the above
combat maneuvers add a wide range of
choices to players whose characters like to
settle their differences in an ?up close and
personal? manner.

Table 1
Combat Maneuver Acquisition for Fighters

Class	Initial number	Additional number
Fighter	2	1 per 3 levels
Ranger	1	1 per 4 levels
Barbarian	1	1 per 4 levels

Table 2
Target Maneuver Modifications

Body region	Modifier to die roll
Foot	+2
Leg	-
Groin	+3
Spine	+3
Chest	+1
Hand	+2
Arm	+2
Shoulder	+2
Arm or shoulder (50% either)	-
Neck	+3
Face	+3
Head	+3
Face or head (50% either)	+2
Special monster parts	DM's discretion