Brawler

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Overview & Creation

A warrior’s relationship with their weapon is often the determinant of life and death during the heat of combat. Those who do not know the capabilities of themselves and their weapons tend to live shorter lives. Brawlers bypass this relationship entirely, becoming weapons themselves. Through experience and training Brawlers fight with the weapons they were born with, their hands and feet. Those that do use weapons view them as extensions of themselves rather than separate entities. Brawlers are fast on their feet and often have no problem closing the distance between themselves and their targets. In worlds where the distance of combatants is growing, Brawlers thrive in being up-close and personal. A Brawler’s fighting style falls in one of three distinct practices: the Monk, the Pugilist, and the Ravager.   The Monk is a trained practitioner of martial arts.They often have a master from which they learn precise techniques which allow them to access a well of potential energy within themselves known as Ki. Monks are also trained to incorporate traditional weapons of their practice into their fighting style. Most Monks need to train for years before being able to find and access their Ki. They use this well of energy to enhance their agility, reflexes, and destructive potential.   The Pugilist shows similarities to the Monk in that they are trained in their fighting style often by a master (or rather, a coach). But rather than being trained through discipline and monotonous practice, Pugilists are trained through experience. Their coach will often match them with other Pugilists by which to be beaten, treating the defeat as an opportunity to improve. They analyze their opponents in search of weaknesses in their form that they could exploit. Pugilists choose when and where to strike discriminately in order to give themselves the competitive advantage.   The Ravager differs greatly from the Monk and the Pugilist in that in most cases they are entirely untrained and have merely developed their fighting style through real-world experience. They have a well of combative Fury which can stem from a multitude of things like an energized love for combat or anger management issues. When Ravagers embrace their Fury, they temporarily enter a trance of increased strength and ferality. In this trance they are able to accomplish feats of strength that they would normally be unable to, but they are also more impulsive and less conscious of their actions. The Ravager’s practical experience has also allowed them to improvise and use objects in their environment as tentative weapons.

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Class Features

Hand to Hand Combat

At 1st level, your practice of melee combat gives you mastery of combat styles that use unarmed strikes and Brawler weapons, which are simple melee weapons and greatclubs. Your unarmed strikes involve using parts of you body (such as your hand, elbows, knees, feet, or head) in order to deal devastating strikes to your opponents. You gain the following benefits while you are unarmed or wielding only Brawler weapons and you aren't wearing armor or wielding a shield: You can rolI a d4 in place of the normal damage of your unarmed strike or Brawler weapon. This die changes as you gain Brawler level, as shown in the Hand to Hand column of the Brawler table.   When you use the Attack action with an unarmed strike or a Brawler weapon on your turn you can make one unarmed strike as a bonus action. For example, if you take the Attack action and attack with a quarterstaff, you can also make an unarmed strike as a bonus action, assuming you haven't already used a bonus action this turn.  

Unarmored Defense

Beginning at 1st level, while you are wearing no armor and not wielding a shield, your AC equals 10 + your Dexterity modifier + your Constitution modifier.  

Combat Style

Brawlers all have multiple distinct combat styles that have been passed from teacher to student. Each combat style gives different advantages when used. The major three styles being the monastic combat style denoting a monk, the pugilistic style denoting a pugilist, and the ravager style denoting a ravager. Each style gives you a feature at 1st, 3rd, 10th, 14th, and 20th level.  

Fleet of Foot

Starting at 2nd level, your speed increases by 10 feet while you are not wearing armor or wielding a shield. This bonus increases when you reach certain Brawler levels, as shown in the Brawler table. At 13th level, you gain the ability to expend no extra movement climbing, swimming, or moving through rough terrain.  

Quick Reflexes

By 3rd level, you have have honed your reflexes and gained more physical agility. You gain proficiency in Dexterity saving throws.  

Ability Score Improvement

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th leveI. you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.  

Extra Attack

Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn. The number of attacks increases to three when you reach 11th level in this class.  

Uncanny Dodge

Starting at 5th level, when an attacker that you can see hits you with an attack, you can use your reaction to halve the attack's damage against you.  

Burning Blood

Starting at 6th level, your unarmed strikes count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.  

Evasion

Beginning at 7th level, you can nimbly dodge out of the way of certain area effects, such as the blast of an explosion or an ice storm spell. When you are subjected to an effect that allows you to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, you instead take no damage if you succeed on the saving throw, and only half damage if you fail.  

Nerves of Steel

At 9th level, you have mentally trained yourself to be able remain cognizant even in situations that normal people would run away from or run towards without a second thought. You have advantage on saving throws against being frightened or charmed. At 17th level this changes so that you have immunity to the charmed and frightened conditions.  

Unending Endurance

Starting at 15th level, when you are reduced to 0 hit points and are not killed outright, you can choose to drop to 1 hit point instead. Once you use this ability, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.   You also gain some resistance to exhaustion, you now count as having 1 less level of exhaustion than you would normally have. For example, if you were to gain one level of exhaustion you would have zero levels of exhaustion, if you were to gain two levels of exhaustion you would have one level of exhaustion.  

Battle Senses

Beginning at 18th level, you gain an uncanny sense of when things nearby aren't as they should be, giving you an edge when you dodge away from danger. You have advantage on Dexterity saving throws against effects that you can see, such as traps and spells and no attack rolls made against you have advantage. To gain this benefit, you can't be blinded, deafened, or incapacitated.  
 

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Starting Equipment

You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:

• (a) a great club (b) shortsword, or (c) any simple weapon

• (a) a dungeoneer’s pack or (b) an explorer’s pack 10 darts

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Subclass Options

Combat Styles

Brawlers all rely on the same basic principles when developing their combat skills. Their combat styles are the thing that sets them apart. The combat styles they choose reflect the areas they seek to most develop and how they will choose to combat their enemies.

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Monk

Master of the physical self  

Monastic Training

At 1st level you gain quite a few benefits from your monastic training: For use of Unarmored Defense; instead of using constitution modifier you use your wisdom modifier. For the Hand to Hand feature; you may use your Dexterity modifier on attack rolls and damage rolls on any Brawler weapons. You also gain proficiency with shortswords and for the purposes of Hand to Hand they are now considered Brawler weapons  

Ki

At 3rd level you gain the ability to use and manipulate the energy that your body produces to push your body further than it would normally be able to go. You gain a number of Ki points equal to your Brawler level and you can spend these points to fuel various Ki features: You start knowing four such features: Deflect Missiles, Flurry of Blows, Patient Defense, and Step of the Wind. You learn more ki features as you gain levels in this class. When you spend Ki points, those points are expended until you finish a short or long rest, at the end of which you recover alI of your expended Ki points. You must spend at least 30 minutes of the rest meditating to regain your Ki points. Some of your Ki features require your target to make a saving throw to resist the features effects: The saving throw DC is calculated as follows:   Ki Save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier.   Deflect Missiles When a creature makes a ranged weapon attack against you may expend 1 Ki point to reduce that attack's damage by 1d10 + your Dexterity modifier + your Brawler level. If you reduce the damage to 0, you can catch the missile if it is smalI enough for you to hold in one hand and you have at least one hand free. If you catch a missile in this way, you can spend 1 Ki point to make a ranged attack with the weapon or piece of ammunition you just caught. You make this attack with proficiency, regardless of your weapon proficiencies, and the missile is considered a monk weapon for the attack.   Flurry of Blows Immediately after you take the Attack action on your turn, you can spend 1 ki point to make two unarmed strikes as a bonus action.   Patient Defense You can spend 1 Ki point to take the Dodge action as a bonus action on your turn.   Step of the Wind You can spend 1 Ki point to take the Disengage or Dash action as a bonus action on your turn, and your jump distance is doubled for the turn.   At 10th level, you gain additional ways to use your ki points such as: Slow Fall, Stunning Strike, Unerring Resistance, and Wholeness of Body.   Slow Fall You may expend 1 Ki point and your reaction to reduce any fall damage you take to 0.   Stunning Strike When you hit another creature with a melee weapon attack. you can spend 1 Ki point to attempt a stunning strike. The target must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or be stunned until the end of your next turn.   Unerring Resistance Whenever you make a saving throw and fail, you can spend 1 Ki point to reroll it and you must use the second result.   Wholeness of Body You may spend 2 Ki points to regain hit points equal to two times your monk level as a bonus action.  

Unparallelled Movement

At 10th level, you gain the ability to move along vertical surfaces and across liquids on your turn without falling during the movement.  

Quivering Palm

At 14th level, you gain the ability to set up lethal vibrations in someone's body. When you hit a creature with an unarmed strike, you can spend 2 Ki points to start these imperceptible vibrations, which lasts for a number of days equal your monk level. The vibrations are harmless unless you use your action to end them. To do so, you and the target must be on the same plane of existence. When you use this action. the creature must make a Constitution saving throw. If it fails it takes 10d10 necrotic damage and on a success they take half damage. You can have only one creature under the effect of this feature at a time. You can choose to end the vibrations harmlessly without using an action.  

Perfect Self

By 20th level your Ki has perfected your body and soul, you suffer none of the frailty of old age, and you can't be aged magically (you can still die of old age). In addition, you no longer need food or water, you gain proficiency in all saving throws, and you become immune to disease and poison.  

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Pugilist

Kingpin of fisticuffs  

No Guard

At 1st level, you’ve learned how to attack enemies much easier but at the expense of the guard you would put up against other melee combatants. When you make your first attack on your turn and you do so using a Brawler weapon or Hand to Hand, you can decide to drop your guard. Doing so gives you advantage on melee weapon attack rolls using Brawler weapons during this turn, but melee attack rolls against you have advantage until the start of your next turn.  

Counterpunch

At 3rd level, you’ve learned to seize an opportunity when your opponent presents it. When a creature within melee range of you misses you with an attack, you may use your reaction to make a Hand to Hand attack against them.  

Against the Ropes

Starting at 10th level, you’re at your combative best when you are up against the ropes. When your current Hit Points are equal to or lower that a quarter of your Hit Point total, melee attacks against you have disadvantage.  

Audacious Strikes

At 14th level, you are most destructive when you are concentrated on one target. Whenever you have advantage on a Hand to Hand attack roll and successfully hit, you deal an extra 1d6 bludgeoning damage. Additionally, when you successful hit a creature with a Hand to Hand attack, all subsequent Hand to Hand attacks against that creature deal an extra 1d6 bludgeoning damage until the end of your turn.  

Unstoppable Force

By 20th level, you have undeniably become an unstoppable force. You gain advantage on saving throws against being grappled, incapacitated, knocked prone, pushed back, or restrained. You also gain the ability to ignore resistance to bludgeoning damage and if a foe has immunity to bludgeoning damage you can treat that foe as if it instead had resistance to bludgeoning damage.  

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Ravager

Unpredictable fighting machine  

Improvised Attacker

By 1st level, you’ve grown accustomed to attacking enemies with improvised weapons when you battle, to point where it has become instinct. You can add your proficiency modifier when you use an improvised weapon to attack. Improvised weapons are now also considered Brawler weapons. When you successfully make an attack using a Brawler weapon you may use your bonus action to attempt to grapple the opponent you attacked.  

Furiosity

At 3rd level, you’ve learned to harness your Fury and use it to strengthen yourself in battle. You can become furious as a bonus action. You can use your Fury a number of times equal to your constitution modifier, you regain all uses of your Fury after a long rest. While in your Fury, you gain the following benefits as long as you aren’t wearing any armor or a shield:  

• You have advantage on Strength checks and Strength saving throws.

• When you make a Brawler weapon attack using Strength, you can add double your strength modifier to the damage roll instead of your normal strength modifier

• You can jump double the distance you’d normally be able to

• If you drop a creature’s health to 0 when in Fury you may move half of your movement towards a hostile creature immediately

If you are able to cast spells, you can't cast them or concentrate on them while in Fury. Your Fury lasts for 1 minute. All damage you do while in Fury is considered lethal damage. lt ends early if you are knocked unconscious or if your turn ends and you haven't attacked a hostile creature since your last turn or taken damage since then. You can also end your Fury on your turn as a bonus action.  

Terrifying Strength

Beginning at 10th level, you can use your action to frighten someone with your terrifying strength. When you do so, choose one creature that you can see within 30 feet of you. lf the creature can see or hear you, it must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw (DC equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Strength modifier) or be frightened of you until the end of your next turn. On subsequent turns, you can use your action to extend the duration of this effect on the frightened creature.  

Iron Grip

By 14th level, you’ve learned how to tighten your grip to the point where next to nothing can escape from your grasp. When a creature attempts to break free from a grapple you’ve already established they must use Athletics to do so. You also can not be disarmed from any weapons or anything you're holding in your hand unless you’re incapacitated.  

Relentless Fury

By 20th level you’ve learned how to extend your Fury beyond its perceived limits but doing so takes a toll on your body. When you enter a Fury you may extend it past the 1 minute duration. When you do, you gain a level of exhaustion for each minute you stay in Fury past the initial minute. When you take a short rest you may reduce exhaustion levels gained by this feature by half those accumulated (minimum of 1). Additionally, while in your Fury if any Strength ability checks are lower than your Strength score you may use your Strength score in place of that total.