d10 Random Mercenary Table

1 - 4d6 unarmored pygmy short-bow archers mounted upon muscular blind & deaf slaves; these mounts are directed by their riders via the agency of a variety of leg- and toe- clutches.
2 - 3d4 veiled, shirtless death-fanatics armed with poisoned scimitars and spiked shields.
3 - 4d6 stodgy, grumbling heavy footmen in mail hauberks and iron helms, armed with spears, maces and round-shields.
4 - 2d4 athletic, dashing charioteer-lancers clad in brass-scaled cuirass and lion-helms, with attendant squire-drivers.
5 - 3d6 sneering, fearless tribal nomad pony skirmishers, armed with javelins, lances and sword-knives; clad in studded furs and hides.
6 - 2d8 unemployed toughs and labourers armed with cudgels and hatchets.
7 - 3d4 towering barbarian maul-wielders clad in banded mail and full helms, also carries javelins and short-swords; trained in breaking enemy-formations.
8 - 6d4 pikemen in colorful quilted silk armor, secondary weapons are a mixture of war-hammers, shortswords, light maces and hand axes.
9 - 4d4 hard-bitten halabardiers in black-enameled scale mail and helms; also carry kite shields and broad swords.
10 - 6d6 adolescent spear-men from the hill clans, full of bravado yet inexperienced; also carrying round shields, javelins and axes or short swords.

OD&D/AD&D Fighter Houserule - Gun Them Down!

Gun Them Down Houserule
When playing a D&D variant, clone, or simulacrum, that has allowances for fighters making multiple attacks against multiple 1 HD and/or less opponents; and are playing in a campaign where guns are somewhat 'normal-ish'; and the fighter is using an automatic, semi-automatic, or bolt, lever, pump action or equivalent firearm or energy weapon; and the fighter is not currently engaged in melee; allow the fighter to use their multiple attacks against multiple 1 HD and/or less foes with missile attacks with the aforementioned gun, limited by the ammunition capacity of said gun.

I'd probably let a high level fighter with a good dexterity score use two pistols with this houserule.

High Level Fighter Option - Superhero

"For extra silliness whenever a Superhero comes up on the chart, model the character on someone like Batman or Spider-man. "Welcome to stately Wayne Castle. I am Sir Bruce." - Jeff's Gameblog

Ordinarily (According to a mash-up of AD&D & B/XD&D), when a Fighter character reaches the ninth level, they acquire the level title "Lord" or "Lady," and are somehow entitled to build a castle; kick the monstrous squatters out of the region; attract a private army of loyal goons who patrol this area; and become a Baron or Baroness with their own private Barony that they collect tax revenue from.

Optionally, Lawful (or Good) aligned Fighter PCs who attains the 8th level of experience may choose to forgo the aforementioned benefits (title; attracting men-at-arms; building a castle; controlling land and collecting taxes) and instead become a Superhero.

A Superhero gains the ability to use the combination of a Distinctive Costume and a Dramatic Pseudonym to serve as a Super-Heroic Persona, with the benefit of successfully concealing their true identity while so disguised.

Superheroes may also choose to benefit from the following abilities:

- They may build a Secret Headquarters, in a hidden wilderness, rural, or urban location. This has the same costs are ordinary excavations and construction, but will be performed in secret with attracting attention, especially from the authorities. Under ordinary circumstances this Secret Headquarters will not be found.

- They may choose to attract a Sidekick, an utterly loyal, Lawful (or Good) aligned follower (d%: 01-40 4th level; 41-95 5th level; 96-00 6th level). This sidekick will utilize a costume and pseudonym to the same effect as the Superhero character.

Superheroes who become evil become Supervillain (reversed Superheroes).

The Class Name "Fighting-Man" and Dune...

Dungeons and Dragons originally used the term "Fighting-man" for the adventuring warrior character class. In later editions it was changed to "Fighter," presumably in order to resolve the matter of female characters who were "Fighting-Men."

I've seen a lot of scorn heaped upon the term Fighting-Man, which is usually roundly mocked and snickered at. I'm presuming those who denigrate the term are unfamiliar with the source literature...

I'm sure many of us internet-OSR types have made the same pilgrimage, but a few years ago I made a point of reading as many books from the AD&D DMG "Appendix N" as I could get my hands on. This was greatly facilitated by an excellent local bookstore, Pulp Fiction Books, which I highly recommend.

In this literature the term "fighting-man" is used almost universally to designate soldiers, warriors, mercenaries, etc. "He had the cold eyes and savage scars that marked him as an experienced fighting-man," "We have fifty fighting-men available Lord Tyrant, with ten-score arrived on the morrow!"

Frank Herbert's Dune uses the term "Fighting-Man"...

Some say the appellation Fighting-Man is clunky, and crude. I say it's a rough word for a rough job. And honestly, I've always found the name "Fighter" to be kind of stupid, and far more dumb-sounding than Fighting-Man whenever I thought about it. I preferred "Warrior."

I presume the clunky issue was the reasoning for changing "Magic-User" to "Mage" and than "Wizard." I used to be down with Mage, nowadays I'm all about calling them "Sorcerers." A much more cool name that is far more evocative of the source literature that influences my campaign.

Some, rightfully so, point out the issue of female characters. It seems obvious to me, in my old age, that using the name "Fighting-Woman," or even "Amazon," "Valkyrie," "Shield Maiden," "Sword Bride," "Knightrix" or whatever else seems appropriate and acceptable to the player and DM. This strikes me as the sort of thing that, if he was questioned about, it would get the late Mr. Gygax to tut-tut about how the rules were never meant to be followed to the letter and so forth.

So when I started my old-school AD&D campaign, Fighters became Fighting-Men and Magic-Users were relabeled Sorcerers. And I love it. However, if someone prefers to use the term Fighter instead due to concerns about gender bias and so forth, I can understand and sympathize with their position.