[The Realm] What You Need To Know As a Fighter

Here's the Cheat Sheet I've worked up for Fighters in the Realm:

WHAT IS A FIGHTER?
A fighter is a warrior, barbarian, thug, gladiator, knight, mercenary, soldier, bully, veteran, swordmaster, swashbuckler, brawler, myrmidon, and all-around hero with a sword (or axe, or hammer, etc.) He’s the guy who wears the best armor and wields the best weapons, goes in and fights hand-to-hand with the bad guys. Sometimes, he stands back and peppers them with arrows or crossbow bolts.

EXAMPLES
Conan, Bran Mac Morn, Cormac Mac Art, Kull, John Carter, Gimli, Legolas, Boromir, Faramir, Ash, Genghis Khan, Julius Caesar, Beowulf, Hengist and Horsa, Hercules, Perseus, Jason, Hector, Odysseus, and Achilles.

HIT DICE
You use 8-sided dice for Hit Dice. You get one HD per level up to and including level 9; you add your Constitution modifier to each die roll. At level 10 and above, you only gain 3 hit points per level (Constitution modifier no longer applies).

EXPERIENCE POINT BONUS
You get +5% XP if your Strength score is 13 to 15; you get +10% if your Strength score is 16 to 19.

ALIGNMENT
A fighter can be of any alignment; most are Neutral. Some follow the Gods of Law, others follow the Gods of Chaos. The ability to fight is well-regarded by both sides of the Cosmic Struggle, but you need not align yourself with either side to be a mighty warrior.

WHAT KIND OF ARMOR CAN I WEAR?
A fighter can wear any kind of armor. Heavier armor slows you down, and means you can carry less treasure, but it protects you better. You can also use a any form of shield and helmet.

WHAT KIND OF WEAPONS CAN I USE?
You can use any weapon you like. You deal different damage with certain kinds of weapons:

Light Weapons: d6
Medium Weapons: d8
Heavy Weapons: d10

As a fighter, you are the only class that gets all the benefits of using magical swords, especially sentient magical swords, as they are unwilling to be used by namby-pamby thieves, magic-users, or clerics… they want a mighty-thewed warrior wielding them in battle! Just be careful of sentient swords with different alignments… they won’t like you even if you are a fighter!

WEAPON SPECIALIZATION
At 1st level you must choose one weapon to specialize in. You get a bonus with this weapon of +1 to hit and to damage OR a +1 to your Armor Class. You must choose which bonus you wish to use before initiative is rolled each round. If you do not state your choice before the initiative roll, it is assumed you are using the bonus to hit and damage. The bonus increases to +2 at 3rd level, +3 at 6th level, +4 at 9th level, and +5 at 12th level (the maximum bonus).

CLEAVE
When you reduce a melee opponent to 0 hit points and “drop” him, you may make another attack on a second opponent who is adjacent to both you and the opponent you dropped. You may continue to do so as long as you drop opponents and have another opponent adjacent to you and the dropped opponent.

SHIELDS SHALL BE SPLINTERED
You have the special ability to sacrifice your shield, helmet, weapon, or armor when you take damage. You may choose to do so after the damage has been rolled, but not after you have written the damage on your character sheet. If you do so, you take no damage, but your shield, helmet, or weapon is destroyed or damaged. A small shield, helmet, or non-magical weapon is automatically destroyed. A large shield is reduced to a +1 AC bonus on the first such “splintering,” and destroyed on the second such splintering. A magical weapon or shield loses a magical bonus PERMANENTLY when you use it this way, and when all bonuses are gone, it is reduced to a normal weapon or shield. Armor is reduced in value by one point per die of damage dealt by the attack. Thus if you are hit by a frost giant (4d6 damage) and you don’t want to take the 20 points of damage rolled, you can reduce the damage to zero by taking four points off the value of your armor. You can do this even if you have an armor type that only grants two or three points of protection. When armor AC value is effectively reduced to 9, it is destroyed. Otherwise, it can be repaired by an armorer (cost varies).

SEIZE INITIATIVE
Once per battle, when your side has lost initiative against a foe, you may attempt to seize the initiative, provided your action is to make an attack (whether stand and fight, move and attack, or charge). You must first declare the target of your attack. If you then make a successful saving throw versus Death you and you alone may act before the opposing side gets to act for that one round; otherwise you must wait your turn as normal, and your attempt to seize initiative for that battle has been used. If your target is another fighter or monster that saves as a fighter of higher level or hit dice, your saving throw is penalized the difference between your level and their level or HD