You’re the first one into the breach, and the last one out. Protect the wizard. Get me to the cleric. Buy me some time.But you know what you rarely hear at the table? Hey, jump in front of that red dragon and take one in the face, will you? Because that’s just assumed.

It’s tough, being the hero.

But someone’s gotta do it.

Racial Variations

The variety of races in Dragonfire are most severely felt in the Fighter Class, each one potentially changing how the class must be played. Aggressively precise; as a Sun Elf looking for a quick kill. Brute force tactics; as a Half-Orc trading life for time. On the defensive; as a Halfling ready to slip out of the way. Common to all of them, however, you are still the hero. When things aren’t going well, others look to you to take the big hit.

General Play

As the Fighter, you’re not just in charge of managing your health, but the health of the entire party. Not with healing spells. Do you look like a nursemaid of a Cleric? With raw damage. Focus your attacks on vulnerable encounters facing other players. You have the greatest pool of hit points, so don’t be afraid of taking damage. However, don’t become a face-down hero either. It’s easy for Fighters to overspend their health helping other Classes (hence Grapple). Pace yourself, and keep a sufficient reserve of health for the final scene. Keeping the Wizard up is important, but sometimes you need to let that whiny Rogue take another shot for the team.

Offsetting this martial strength is the Fighter’s “natural” aversion to wealth. Except for those tree-hugging Druids, Fighters will most always start a game of Dragonfire with the lowest amount of gold. That’s okay. Fighters have the cheapest, most cost-efficient Market cards. They also have strong off-color strategies, shoring up a party’s weakness. Pay attention to low-cost assists like Bless, Magic Missile and of course Javelin, and consider what can be done with Feint. Buy early and buy cheap, but try not to “shotgun it.” Plan for strong combinations. Spells like Confusion will help you accomplish your core mission and cover for the slacker Wizard who just can’t be bothered to pull some decent armor over that nightshirt thing they wear.

Also as the Fighter, you are the master of low-cost Feature stickers.  Pick a Fighting Style that matches your play style. It doesn’t cost a Feature slot, it customizes your use of basic Glory cards, and it’s an unmatched value proposition. Continue to maximize your early XP with low cost Features like Training or Action Surge.  Once you’ve built up enough extra points, upgrade a weaker sticker with the exceptional Extra Attack Feature chain.

With Martial Characters, simple is often stronger.

In the end, Dragonfire is a game of continued momentum and tempo. This gives Martial Classes a solid advantage. Above-average hit points allows you to build momentum, and sword icons allow you to maintain it with powerful cards like Command Presence and Tower Shield. The Extra Attack Feature provides the core of your higher-level strategy, extending your staying power as you watch for weakened encounters. Few Classes can afford to take another hit from their own encounters while finishing off someone else’s (and grabbing that extra gold piece!).

The Rogue might whine about it, but that weakling of a Wizard better thank you. And the Cleric appears useful by having someone to heal.

Everyone wins!