While I do love B/X's simplicity and class balance, there are a few things I can find fault with. The first is that fighters are a bit underpowered, at least for their experience point requirements. The second is that there's really no reason for a fighter to use anything other than a sword or two-handed sword unless charging (with a lance) or receiving a charge (with a spear).
You don't really notice the underpowered nature of the fighter unless you compare experience point to experience point rather than level-to-level. Fighters may get better attack rolls every three levels while clerics only get them every four, but between 12,000 and 16,000 XPs, the cleric is fighting just as well as his fighter ally--and using the same armor, and an only-slightly inferior weapon. To be honest, I've often wondered why the fighter doesn't have the cleric's XP tables and vice-versa.
I found the answer while doing a bit of study of D&D's original "little brown books" in light of Chainmail. It was basically just a bit of digging to see if using Chainmail's original rules instead of the "alternative combat system" which later came to dominate D&D made a difference.
Hoo-boy, yes it did.
Just to start with, a 1st level fighter fights as a "Man+1" on Chainmail's man-to-man combat tables, where clerics and magic-users fight as normal men. Now this is particularly important because Chainmail's man-to-man charts (and indeed, all of its mechanics) use 2d6 to resolve combat instead of a d20. This makes a +1 bonus in Chainmail worth at least a +2 bonus in D&D. This is why OD&D didn't include any strength bonuses for combat--a fighter was automatically assumed to be much stronger and more dangerous than his fellows, with a bonus equal to a B/X fighter with a 16 strength!
It gets better. By 2nd level, an OD&D/Chainmail fighter fights as "2 Men +1." That literally means he fights as two men, getting two attacks per round with a +1 bonus to each. At third level, he can either fight as three men or as a "Hero -1." A Hero fights as four men in Chainmail, so a 3rd level fighter can either attack three times without a bonus or four times at -1. He can also (presumably) use the "man vs. monsters" chart, but that's a whole other subject.
Moreover, by 8th Level ("Superhero"), a fighter not only gets to attack eight times per round, but also causes lesser foes to have to instantly check morale just for the fact that he's attacking them!
Those are some huge perks, though not without their own parallels for the magic-user who achieves the level of Wizard. (Clerics don't appear in Chainmail.)
So here then are my own house-rules for the fighter: An 8th-level fighter is known as a Weapon-master
(or Sword-master) rather than a “Superhero.” (Sorry, but "Superhero" sounds pretty dumb.) Opponents of 2 Hit
Dice or less facing a known weapon-master must make a morale check or
fall back before him. (Here I'm thinking of a scene in the first Wheel of Time book where Queen Morgase's guard are terrified at facing Rand Al'Thor--who nobody even knows can channel yet, let alone that he is the Dragon Reborn--just because he carries a "heron-mark sword," which only the most skill warriors in Jordan's world bear.)
Fighters
(including dwarves, elves, and halflings) may make additional attacks
per round as follows: A fighter may divide his attacks so as to
attack one Hit Dice of opponent per level of the fighter. The highest
HD opponent must be taken into account first, since
more powerful or skilled opponents by necessity require the fighter's
attention.
For example, a
Weaponmaster (8th-level fighter) may attack an ogre (4+1 HD) twice,
or two ogres once each. If the ogre is accompanied by ten
orcs (1HD each), the fighter may attack any five opponents (4HD +
4x1HD) or attack the ogre twice. He may choose to focus on the orcs
five times so as to thin out their numbers or may attack the ogre
twice, but the presence of the ogre in striking range diverts enough
of his attention that he cannot attack the orcs eight times—as he
could without the higher-level monster nearby.
This should serve to give the fighter a nice edge in fights against swarms of lesser opponents without making other classes useless--everyone still gets just one attack per round on a giant or dragon, for example, but the fighter can mow through the orcs nearly as fast as the magic-user can fireball them.
Now on to weapons and tactics:
Two-weapon Fighting: Any character can use a dagger or hand-axe in their off-hand, in which case they can use their dexterity missile bonus in place of their strength bonus to attack (not damage) rolls. Obviously this is only a benefit to characters with a 13 or greater dexterity.
Flanking: If two opponents manage to get on opposite sides of an enemy, each gets a +2 to their attack. This increases to +4 for four opponents working at 90 degree angles and +6 for six opponents working together. Creatures larger or smaller than man-sized may find it relatively easy to escape such flanking maneuvers (stepping over or under one of the attackers) at the DM's discretion, but a knight might want to avoid letting himself get completely surrounded by the angry mob of peasants. Putting one's back to a wall or that of a companion means that the maximum bonus to attack is +2.
Such flanking maneuvers always assume that the attackers are attempting to trip up, throw down, or otherwise immobilize their opponent in addition to making their basic attacks.
"Light" Blades: Characters wielding short swords, rapiers, or other such "light" weapons may also use their dexterity missile bonus in place of their strength bonus to attack (not damage) rolls.
Spears and Pole-arms: In addition to being usable from the second rank of a formation and being able to be set to receive a charge (doing double-damage on a hit), a person wielding a spear or pole-arm automatically gets the initiative in the first round of combat with a given foe using a shorter weapon, reflecting that weapon's greater reach.
Rapid-fire: Bows can be fired twice per round. A fighter using a bow can fire it either twice per round or the same number of times he can against lesser enemies, as explained above.
Missiles in Active Combat: Missile weapons cannot safely be fired into active combat, but if someone wants to try, the attack roll is made at -4, and a miss means an automatic attack against the ally engaging the target. This attack rolls as if a 1st level character, but any bonuses for strength (but not dexterity) or magic are still applicable.
Grappling: (Note: These rules are rough, and subject to changing on the fly depending on the actual situation.) Any character may attempt to grapple another simply by rolling to hit, though doing so automatically loses initiative. If the hit is successful, the target cannot move or attack for one round, and cannot do so in subsequent rounds unless he makes a saving throw vs. paralyzation. The attacker can attack barehanded (for 1d3 damage) or with a dagger (1d4) each round without breaking his grip.
I'm sure I'll have more entries here eventually, but these are the ones that have come up in my years of actual play.
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