13th Age 2e Pregenerated Character Builds: Flexible Vanguard Fighter

By Jay Godden

In this series, I’m presenting two different pregenerated builds for every 13th Age Heroes Handbook character class, at all levels. My goal is to present complete mechanical builds using only standard elements and rules from the Heroes Handbook, ready for you to apply your own backgrounds, icon relationships, and One Unique Things onto.

In this pair of articles, we look at two potential builds for the Fighter.

The Fighter is a classic addition to any party, and combines front-line survivability with excellent reliable damage. As a result, they can be the lynchpin of many parties, filling different roles depending on the wider group’s needs, whether protecting feeble mages, holding the centre line to allow skirmishers to flank, or taking down dangerous monsters while receiving buffs from Clerics and Bards.

The Fighter is a primarily melee based class, which has powerful limited use talents to either do more or take less damage. On top of this they have access to maneuevers, which can be used on demand to add effects to your fighter basic melee attack, and range from at-will to per arc uses. Unlike the Fighter in 1e, these attacks don’t rely on your natural (ie unmodified) attack roll. If you liked these flexible attacks in 1e, or like the idea of choosing your powers after rolling your attack, then you can take the Flexible Attack talent – like this build does – for access to a host of extra abilities.

An important mechanic to keep track of is whether or not your Fighter has Momentum, this is generated at the end of each of your turns (so you won’t have it on your first turn unless you have the relevant champion tier feat). You keep Momentum until a monster successfully hits you with an attack or you drop below 1 hit point. The first attack you make while having Momentum lets you roll 2d20s for your attack, and pick whichever die you prefer. This drastically increases your chances to hit, to critically hit, and increases your options if you are a flexible fighter.

The Fighter is a middlingly complicated class to play, juggling multiple powers with variable use frequencies.

Flexible Vanguard Fighter

Download the Flexible Vanguard Fighter character sheets here. These sheets make use of the class specific character sheets designed for second edition by Miguel Friginal.

This Vanguard Fighter is flexible in both party role and in mechanics. You will have the Flexible Attack talent, giving you flexible attacks that rely on your natural attack roll to trigger that are exclusive with your normal maneuvers, so you will have more choices available to you to respond to battlefield circumstances (and increasing this builds complexity to play well). You will balance offense and defence evenly, able to adapt to the needs of each situation.

The Flexible Vanguard Fighter is so adaptable that they might carry different weapons to swap for different situations, but by default they use a shield and a one handed weapon, which happens to increase the bonus of your defensive fighting flexible attack too. When you take this build’s Zenith Feat at 10th level, you’ll be best off sticking with whichever magic weapon you have bonded to.

On top of magic weapons, the Flexible Vanguard makes great use of magic shields to force rerolls on attacks that threaten your Momentum. Similarly having higher defences due to magic cloaks, helmets, and armour will help you maintain this benefit. Normally magic item choices are left out of these character sheets, though this build’s Zenith level character sheet assumes you have found an epic Spiked Flail of Greater Striking in order to take the True Bond feat. As usual you should ask your GM if you will be getting any other items, and all other levels will have no magic items selected.

Talents

Flexible Attack

Flexible Attack comes with a whole new set of abilities and rules, explained on page 118 of the Heroes’ Handbook. In short, you have access to a bunch of additional powers that require specific natural d20 rolls to trigger. There are some drawbacks though, this reduces your maneuvers known by one, and making one flexible attack locks you into making another one with your next standard action.

Heavy Warrior

This talent halves the damage from an incoming attack vs AC once per battle, and is especially useful against errant crits, attacks from double or triple strength monsters, or attacks that would otherwise leave you unconscious.

Counter Attack

When you are missed by an enemy who made an odd attack roll, you get an extra attack against them.

Kin Power

Aasimar’s Halo provides you with an obvious defensive buff, increasing your AC at the start of battle until you are hit. Less obviously, Halo keeps you from being hit early on, thus helping you to maintain Momentum during those important early rounds and land more hits.

Attributes

Strength drives your accuracy in melee, and Constitution determines your hit points and the penalty applied by your Threatening feature, Wisdom will be your AC stat rather than Dex since our highest mental stat is used in some important maneuvers: Str 19 (+4) Dex 13 (+1) Con 16 (+3) Wis 15 (+2) Int 12 (+1) Cha 10 (+0).

1st level

Attributes: Str 19 (+4) Dex 13 (+1) Con 16 (+3) Wis 15 (+2) Int 12 (+1) Cha 10 (+0).

Kin Power: Halo

Class Features: Extra Tough, Fighter Maneuvers, Momentum, Threatening

Talents: Flexible Attack, Heavy Warrior, Counter Attack

Maneuvers: Melee Footwork, Big Swing

Flexible Attacks: Defensive Fighting, Hack & Slash, Steady Iron

Feat: A: Counter Attack

2nd level

New maneuver (Grit & Scrap), new feat (A: Melee Footwork).

3rd level

New feat (A: Grit & Scrap), new flexible attack (Slice an Opening).

4th level

+1 to three attributes (Strength, Dexterity, Wisdom), new maneuver (Battle Drill), new feat (A: Battle Drill).

5th level

New talent (Comeback Strike), new feat (C: Heavy Warrior), new flexible attack (Heavy Blow).

6th level

New maneuver (Combat Surge), new feat (C: Momentum).

7th level

+1 to four attributes (Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Wisdom), new feat (C: Comeback Strike), new flexible attack (Press the Assault).

8th level

New maneuver (Chop Bludgeon Stab), new feat (E: Battle Drill).

9th level

New feat (E: Momentum), new flexible attack (Gauging Style).

10th level

+1 to five attributes (Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Wisdom, Intelligence), new maneuver (Inescapable Strike), new feat (E: Inescapable Strike).

Zenith feat

New feat (Z: True Bond: Weapon)