The Fighter class is the most versitile and easy to use in AD&D. The amount of possibilities open to the figter at high to medium levels are huge. It seems to be the ambition of most fighters to get some land and clear out the Orcs, build a castle, marry a maiden and become a lordling. Or at least this is the traditional view of a fighters future. But what else is there? Even for the power hungry PC the options are wide open. Just consider some of these possibilities, some of them I shall expand upon because they encompass alot of territory. Many of these are of course open to other PC classes and most require proficiency slots in order to be good at them .

General. This job is one which may a regent will give to a powerful lord or knight. One must asume that the PC must become knighted in order to take this posting. If working for a lesser noble the title of knight may not be necessary. The duties of a general are as many in peace time as in war. As a member of a regent or lords court the general has to maintain his interests and lobby on behalf of the army. His enemies may try to undermine him by taking away resources vital to the running of a campaign in order to embarrass him if a war should suddenly start or just make his job more diffficult. So every general is in part politician. In peace time the generals duties include the organisation of patrols, fighting pitch battles against bandits and raiders, gathering information on potential enemies strenghts and look after he army. The General assures that his army is paid on time and moral is kept high, gaining popularity with the army is a good way of maintaining position and getting battlefield results. He will be incharge of quelling civilian riots and unrest in the general populace using the ironfist of the army to back up diplomacy. He may also be called upon to bring rouge lords into line who are plotting rebellion, the use of a general in these circumstances insures that bitterness is not furthewr furmented between royal houses and gives the king the luxury of not having to test his lords lyalty in tough domestic situations. It is Generally asssumed in Greyhawk that countries have standing armies, although this was not a historical fact until the mid-renaissance. This trait of countries militaries implies automatically that generals are in wide employment. Also remember that many lords are magic user or other non-military classes and hence will rely on a general to lead their forces into battle and maintain them in peace time.

Mercenary Captain. Once you have a stack of gps and really itch for advanture the position of mercenary is open to any who apply. A mercenary leader must have a political base, i.e. a country where he allowed to raise and train a sizable force of troops. the cost of this is bourne by the Captain. In return for this tollerance the captain must aide the kingdom in time of conflict, not for free I might add, but the leige lord will have the option of picking up the Captains contract. The Captain is also debarred from working for the kingdoms enemies. If the captain holds office within the Kingdom he must first ask the leiges permission to take up a contract with a forgn power, if the contract permission is refused compension will be forth comming from the regent to the value of 15% - 25% depending on how much in favour the captain is. A mercenary captain negioates a contract on the basis os a proven record. He will recieve 25% to 50% of the contracts valus up front with the remainder being held by an agreed third party. Mercenaries are used to guard borders where they may have to fight bush wars against roving Orc bands, Fight wars for the employer ( the role being determined by the quality and quantity of troops ).

Fighting wars for employers is a tricky business. A captain will not allow more than half his number of troops to be committed to a battle unless the outcome is guarenteed. He must keep troops in reserve in order to keep his claim for the remainder of his pay upmost in his employers mind. The captain is in charge of paying officers, knights and elite units in his employ. The employer must pay monthly the other troops via the Captain. For handling large contracts a Captain relies on his reputation to gain offers. For this reason he must try to control looting and show competance and loyalty to his employer. He trades on his good name and fame as much as his steel to land contracts. On occassion a Captain may be called upon to fight a minor conflict, usually with the goal being to plunder and raze the enemies lands. These minor wars may be entrusted to a captsin with a large bonusbeing paid upon victory over the enemy or success within the period of the contract.

Not all employers may be kings or lords. merchants may hire mercenaries aid a king with whom they wish to win favour, or they may need them to run protection against bandits or pirates. A captain will always have a few small contracts with merchants like this that he entrusts to aides to run. In this way their is a steady income.

A king may call upon a Captain ( sometimes through a third party ) to intervene in a forign war. If a king wishes to sway the outcome of a civil conflict in favour of an usurper to the crown than mercenaries are ideal as personal loyalties and anamosities do not come into play... and even if the usurper looses the king has the satisfaction of knowing that the mercenaries may have razed a city or two and killed some nobles. A mercenary Captain will never enter any campaign without an escape route being planned, on other occassions the mercenary contingent in an army may sway the balance of power within a kingdoms army if rivalries crop up.

A Mercenary Captain will only start to raise an army once a deposit is recieved. At all times his officers will be close or directly in his employment, so stopping them working for rivals and having them on hand to help raise and lead a force.

The Knight. A fighter of any level can become knight though it should be only granted when a highter level ( min 8th ) is reached. The title of Knighthood is a great honour and comes with great responsibilies. In peacetime the knight may be called upon to lead expedition of exploration or security. he may be called upon to quest for relics or other famed objects which will raise a kings status and that of his kingdom. He may travel far to tournamnets to fly in kings colours in combat and joust, having advantures along the way. At hhome he must defeat all commers in his kings own royal tournamnet and protect his king in times of peace and war from violent atttack. His sword is always ready to defend a lady of the realms name from insult and challange those who insult the King or his Queen to trial by combat.

In return for his selfless service he recieves fame and honour for his prowess. Also a baronet, or tract of land over which he rules, usually a couple of square miles and a large dwelling. He is paid 250gp - 500gp per month to keep himself in equipment and horses.

When a kingdom is a war the knight form the Kings and lords bodyguard on the battle field. The are committed to combat when the enemy is vunerable or a breakthrough is needed to carry the day. They form the irno fist of a kingdom on any battlefield and now unit can stand against them without massively superior numbers. Glory is the greatest honour a knight can recieve.

Robber Knights or Knights without leige are common and wander from tournamnet to tournament seeking prize money or fighting as mercenaries selling their considerable battlefield prowess to the highest bidder. They are free agents because they have dishonoured themselves, through failing a quest or something more sinister, killed without honour or their leige may be dead.

Bandit King. The role of the fighter a criminal is not uncommon. Thugs ir roughs who waylay travellers and people on the street are usually fighters, not thiefs. The Bandit however is in a league of his own. If he can find a secure base of operations ,either a city in a friendly or lawless state or string of villages who prosper from his business and gererosity, he can expand is lawlass group into a miniature army. Bandit kings with substantial forces can hold kingdoms to ransom by blockading trade routes (merchants will also pay hefty protection), raiding their fertile lands and kidknapping populace and nobles. A Bandit king may be persuaded, usually with a substantial gift to turn his attentions towards a certain kingdom in tomes of war. Bandits do not as a rule act as mercenaries, but the temptation of plunder without reprisal is often irresissable (although they do not act as an army or in unison with them).

A bandit force can ransack a sizable town and destroy its garrison if they are strong enough but will never push their luck. Their numbers comprise of army deserters, common criminals and professional robbers. They are mainly fighters and always numerous. many bandit groupings will identify themselves via a tatoo and some item of clothing (a coloured scarf or sash is common).

Admiral. The command of a maritime nations fleet is the most important job in that Kingdom. An Admiral is charged in wartime with the defence of his nationa waters, blockading enemy poets and hunting down abd engaging the enemies fleets. The outcome of such conflicts can affact the prosterity or territorial integrity of a nation for decades to come. The importance of this position is all to clear when one considers the cost and time involved in building and maintaining a navy. An admiral must tread carefully in order not to waste these presious and expensive resources in eother wartime or peacetime. In peace time the Admiral is charged with hunting priates, protecting shipping lanes, transporting the king and other nobles and intercepting raiders before they make land fall. In either peace or war time captured ships earn money for the captain that captures them. The ships are sold to the leige for about half their worth, the supplies thay carry likewise. The profit gained a Captain may divide with his crew to boost their moral, or keep it himself. It is the Admirals job to petition and lobby the king for resources such as extra ship yards, docks and of course ships. The Admiral is also charged with maintaining the coastal defences, defences which are manned by royal troops but commanded by the navy. An Admiral has his own offices in a coastal port where the Admiralty is based. He will have an extensive staff there and great influence with all maritime interests in the kingdom. The Admiralty will also maintain a small quota of coastal vessels under the command of customs officers, and may be called upon to aid them in co-ordinated operations. All ships of the fleet and their captains are the long arm of the kings law in times of peace and the iron fist of the king in times of war.

Pirate. Like the bandit a clever or daring pirate has a profitable future to look forward to. In times of war he may be persuaded to turn privateer in order to gain legitimate riches and a pardon, and in times of peace he can do as he pleases. Over time a pirate can amass and man an fleet of pirate vessles with which to raid or challange a navies authority over the sea lanes ( an hence demand a ransom for keeping away). This is short lived and as a rule a Pirate ( of any class ) should be able to collect the number of ships equel to half the PCs level. These ships may desert at a rate of one ever so often, calculate the period in Seafaring proficiency X 1 week. After a major campaign the Pirate should start to sell the ships quickly in order to keep the men happy. Large targets include ships carrieing large amounts of tribute/taxes, noble passangers (or even royal) and treasure ships collecting gold and silver from mines abroad or on islands. For more in depth information on this see the sea faring section here in Wise Lantern and especially in Castle Wolf Gate.

At higher levels of success a bandit king may extort taxes from swathes of land within weak kingdoms and run many different units of bandits to protect his interests.