House Rules Etc

Bows are uncommon in the region and most ranged weapons are crossbows.

I use the "Armor as Damage Reduction" rule from Unearthed Arcana. This means that instead of armor making you less likely to be hit, it reduces the amount of dmg you take when you are hit.

Everyone starts with 1 standard Attack of Opportunity per round like normal. These will be called "Reactions" and can be used to Block or Parry an incomming attack as well as their normal use. The number of Reactions you have per round can be increased in the same way the number of maximum Attacks of Opportunity can be increased with the Combat Reflexes feat. The Shield Proficiency feat gives a +4 to your chance to block in addition to removing the armor check penalty to attack rolls. Because blocking is an reactive ability, instead of a passive bonus to AC it completely blocks the attack. Blocking or parrying can and will cause "wear and tear" on your shield/weapon.
There are some new feats -
Parry Proficiency: Requires 13 dex - Removes the -4 penalty to your attack rolls on a combat round after you parry;
Improved Parry: Requires 13 dex, Parry Proficiency - Gain a +4 bonus to parry attempts with a chosen weapon. May be taken multiple times, its effects do not stack but may be applied to an additional weapon.
Improved Counterattack: Requires 13 dex, Parry Proficiency, Improved Parry - After successfully parrying an attack, may immediately use another Reaction to attack the opponent. The opponent cannot attempt to parry this attack, but is otherwise treated as a normal attack at the attackers highest attack bonus. Must be using a weapon that was chosen with the Improved Parry feat.
All these feats are available to be selected as fighter bonus feats.

You may pick any class from any official book (except psionic) when you first make your character. You may also progress in any class you have at least one level in without seeking special training. However, after initial character creation, you must find someone of sufficient level (3 lvls in that specific class) to train you in order to take the first level in a different class. You must also convince them to train you (completing tasks, paying them, impressing them, etc.). At the start of the campaign, trainers for all standard classes from the Player's Handbook are reasonably available, but other classes might not be available, or might be difficult to find/convince to train.

Initial ability scores are created using the Standard Point Buy method (25 points) from the DMG.