Fighter Build — Ruins of Myth Drannor

What does a Fighter do in your six-member party?

The Fighter is the straightforward martial anchor: simple and martial weapons, armor, and shields, with no built-in spell list (Original 2001 manual). In the standard launch lineup—Fighter, Cleric, Rogue, and Sorcerer—you are the character who walks into contact first, holds flanks, and soaks hits while the Cleric heals and turns undead and the Sorcerer spends slots on control and burst (Remaster guide, GameTruth 2026-11-06).

Fighters also interact with Combat Options opened with C, the same menu used for Turn Undead and other class actions (Original 2001, AIssil walkthrough). Power Attack, Cleave-style toggles, and similar martial options live there per the FAQ examples—not on a separate feats-only hotbar (Sorcerer’s Place FAQ, Original 2001).

Dwarf Fighter is the manual’s poster child for favored class: Dwarf → Fighter means a 7 Fighter / low Cleric / Rogue dip can avoid the −20% XP penalty called out in the multiclass chapter (Manualzz Table 1-1, Original 2001).

Which race and attributes should you buy? (editorial)

Creation uses 25-point buy from a base of 8 in every ability. Costs step from 8→14 at 1 point per +1, 15–16 cost 2 each, and 17–18 cost 3 each (Remaster, GameTruth 2026-11-06).

Example — Human Fighter (pure single-class plan):

Three points remain for +1 Dexterity (13), +1 Wisdom (11), or a 15 Strength bump (+2 cost → 24 spent). This is editorial math checked against the published buy table, not an in-game preset.

Dwarf Fighter fits the favored-class rule: Dwarf favored class is Fighter, which can soften multiclass XP penalties when you eventually add a second class (Original 2001 manual). Applying +2 Con / −2 Cha racial shifts:

Point spend: Str 16 (10) + Con 13 (5) + Dex 12 (4) + Wis 12 (4) + Cha 10 (2) = 25.

Heavy armor often negates Dexterity to hit with bows; investing Dex mainly helps initiative and occasional light-armor side trips (Original manual tip).

What can Fighters actually do in combat?

Verified from the manual and walkthrough layer:

• Hit Die d10; level 1 HP includes full die + Con modifier (Original 2001).
• Proficiency with simple and martial weapons and with armor/shields (Original 2001).
• Power Attack and similar toggles under Combat Options (Original 2001, AIssil).

Do not assume every 3E Fighter ability from the tabletop Player’s Handbook appears—Flurry of Blows and other monk/fighter cross features are not Fighter concerns, and tabletop-only feats should be labeled 3E tabletop rule; game implementation unverified if you mention them.

At total character levels 4, 8, 12, and 16 you may add +1 to one ability score; that counts all classes combined and can push stats above what pure point buy allowed (Original 2001 manual).

Leveling, skills, and feats on the 2026 remaster

The 2001 design included 3E-style feats on even levels (manual text), but Steam Demo discussion (Valandryl, 2025-10-21) states that clicking a class icon levels you with random HP and automatic feats and skills (Community report → treat as Unverified in the remaster until you see the UI yourself).

Your practical “build” is therefore:

1. Start with the right Strength and Constitution.
2. Keep class levels even with your primary plan to avoid the −20% XP penalty when any two classes differ by 2+ levels (Original 2001 manual).
3. Upgrade the Fighter class when you want more martial BAB and HP—level-ups are player-chosen per class, not round-robin (Original 2001 manual).

Fighter class skills in the manual include Heal, Hide, Listen, Move Silently, Search, and Spot—not Open Lock or Disable Device (leave those to the Rogue).

Multiclassing and companion synergy

Human and Half-Elf use your highest-level class as favored class, so a pure 16-level Fighter Human avoids XP drama (Original 2001). Dwarf Fighter favored-class status is why 7 Fighter / low Cleric examples appear in the manual’s multiclass section.

Pairings that mesh with Fighter:

• Cleric for healing and anti-undead duty (/classes/cleric-build/).
• Sorcerer for arcane damage while you trade blows (/classes/best-class/ for role comparison).
• Fighter/Cleric or Fighter/Barbarian appear in legacy forum posts when players want more BAB or Rage (Original community).

For broader graphs read /classes/multiclass-guide/ and /guides/best-party/.

Common mistakes

1. Dumping Constitution because “armor fixes everything”—Fighters still fail saves and eat crits; Con feeds HP every level.
2. Planning a tabletop feat chain (Cleave trees, weapon focus swaps) that the remaster may never offer you to pick manually (Unverified in the remaster).
3. Letting Rogue fall two levels behind while power-leveling Fighter, triggering XP penalties on the Rogue’s class.
4. Ignoring Combat Options and forgetting Power Attack when you have action points left (Original 2001 UI).
5. Stacking two identical +STR items—duplicate bonuses do not stack; keep the higher (Original 2001, AIssil Hints).

Sources and what we haven’t verified

Sources: Steam store features (2026-11-07); GameTruth party guide (2026-11-06); Manualzz OCR manual (class tables, multiclass XP); GameFAQs AIssil walkthrough (Combat Options); Sorcerer’s Place FAQ (level caps).

Unverified: Remaster feat/skill automation details; Legacy Mode changes to Fighter progression; any 2026 balance edits to BAB or weapon tables; experimental confirmation that XP −20% matches 2001 patch 1.4 on modern builds.