Ok, so Fighters in D&D have traditionally been pretty lousy at a wide variety of things, excelling only in pumelling, piercing, or hacking opponents into pulp. The d20 system did a lot to make the Fighter a more appealing character class, largely through the customization allowed by the class’s feat progression. This allows them to closely match the archery or two-weaponed fighting skills of a Ranger, the mounted combat skills of a Cavalier, the brutal attacking power of the Barbarian, or any suitable blend of the above. Alas, the d20 core rules don’t give them a viable means of beating the living snot out of their opponents with their bare hands.

For ease of reference, here are the d20 Modern unarmed combat feats, grouped by “feat tree.” They provide three separate ways that a Fighter could progress in unarmed combat prowess, and while they don’t make a Fighter the equal of a Monk for this purpose, it gives them some room to grow. Consider using them in your fantasy campaign.

• Brawl
  Benefit: When making an unarmed attack, the character receives a +1 competence bonus on attack rolls, and the character deals nonlethal damage equal to 1d6 + his or her Strength modifier.
  Normal: Unarmed attacks normally deal nonlethal damage equal to 1d3 + Strength modifier.
  • Improved Brawl
    Prerequisite: Brawl, base attack bonus +3.
    Benefit: When making an unarmed attack, the character receives a +2 competence bonus on his or her attack roll, and the character deals nonlethal damage equal to 1d8 + the character’s Strength modifier.
    Normal: Unarmed attacks normally deal nonlethal damage equal to 1d3 + Strength modifier.
  • Knockout Punch
    Prerequisite: Brawl, base attack bonus +3.
    Benefit: When making the character’s first unarmed attack against a flat-footed opponent, treat a successful attack as a critical hit. This damage is nonlethal damage.
    Special: Even if the character has the ability to treat unarmed damage as lethal damage, the damage from a knockout punch is always nonlethal.
    • Improved Knockout Punch
      Prerequisite: Brawl, Knockout Punch, base attack bonus +6.
      Benefit: When making the character’s first unarmed attack against a flat-footed opponent, treat a successful attack as a critical hit. This critical hit deals triple damage. The damage is nonlethal damage.
      Special: Even if the character has the ability to treat unarmed damage as lethal damage, the damage from a knockout punch is always nonlethal.
  • Streetfighting
    Prerequisite: Brawl, base attack bonus +2.
    Benefit: Once per round, if the character makes a successful melee attack with an unarmed strike or a light weapon, the character deals an extra 1d4 points of damage.
    • Improved Feint
      Prerequisite: Intelligence 13, Brawl, Streetfighting.
      Benefit: The character can make a Bluff check in combat as a move action. The character receives a +2 bonus on Bluff checks made to feint in melee combat.
      Normal: Feinting in combat requires an attack action.
• Combat Martial Arts
  Prerequisite: Base attack bonus +1.
  Benefit: With an unarmed strike, the character deals lethal or nonlethal damage (the character’s choice) equal to 1d4 + the character’s Strength modifier. The character’s unarmed attacks count as armed, which means that opponents do not get attacks of opportunity when the character attacks them unarmed. The character may make attacks of opportunity against opponents who provoke such attacks.
  Normal: Without this feat, a character deals only 1d3 points of nonlethal damage. Unarmed attacks normally provoke attacks of opportunity, and unarmed combatants cannot normally make attacks of opportunity.
  • Improved Combat Martial Arts
    Prerequisite: Combat Martial Arts, base attack bonus +4.
    Benefit: The character’s threat range on an unarmed strike improves to 19-20.
    Normal: A character without this feat threatens a critical hit with an unarmed strike only on a 20.
    • Advanced Combat Martial Arts
      Prerequisite: Combat Martial Arts, Improved Combat Martial Arts, base attack bonus +8.
      Benefit: When the character scores a critical hit on an opponent with an unarmed strike, the character deals triple damage.
      Normal: An unarmed strike critical hit deals double damage.
• Defensive Martial Arts
  Benefit: The character gains a +1 dodge bonus to Defense against melee attacks.
  Normal: A condition that makes the character lose his or her Dexterity bonus to Defense also makes the character lose dodge bonuses. Also, dodge bonuses stack, unlike most other types of bonuses.
  • Combat Throw
    Prerequisite: Defensive Martial Arts.
    Benefit: The character gains a +2 bonus on opposed Strength and Dexterity checks any time the character attempts trip or grapple attacks, or when the character trys to avoid a trip or grapple attack made against him or her.
    • Improved Combat Throw
      Prerequisite: Defensive Martial Arts, Combat Throw, base attack bonus +3.
      Benefit: In melee combat, if an opponent attacks and misses the character, the character may immediately make a trip attack against the opponent. This counts as an attack of opportunity which the character can make even if they are unarmed.
      Special: This feat doesn’t grant the character more attacks of opportunity than he or she is normally allowed in a round.
  • Elusive Target
    Prerequisite: Dexterity 13, Defensive Martial Arts.
    Benefit: When fighting an opponent or multiple opponents in melee, other opponents attempting to target the character with ranged attacks take a -4 penalty. This penalty is in addition to the normal -4 penalty for firing into melee, making the penalty to target to character -8.
    Special: An opponent with the Precise Shot feat has the penalty lessened to -4 when targeting the character.
  • Unbalance Opponent
    Prerequisite: Defensive Martial Arts, base attack bonus +6.
    Benefit: During the character’s action, the character designates an opponent no more than one size category larger or smaller than the character. That opponent doesn’t get to add his or her Strength modifier to attack rolls when targeting the character. (If the opponent has a Strength penalty, he or she still takes that penalty.) The opponent’s Strength modifier applies to damage, as usual. The character can select a new opponent on any action.