Tuesday May 04, 2004

The brawler is a chaotic, dirty fighter who prefers bare knuckles to steel.  “Let’s take it out back,” is his motto.  His keen sense of the “rumble” gives him various advantages in melee situations.  Plus, his special moves make him one of the wildest warrior types around.  Brawlers are often found living off their talents as pit fighters, or putting their talents to use as bodyguards or tavern bouncers.  To tangle with a brawler is to find yourself flat on your back being pummeled into oblivion.  He’s quick, he’s mean, and frankly, Scarlet…he don’t give a damn.

Perhaps the most dangerous aspect of a brawler is that he can go where weapons are forbidden and still have all the weaponry he ever needs—a righty, a lefty, and two quick feet.  As weapons, the brawler inflicts real (not subdual) damage with any body part he deems necessary to use (fists, feet, elbows, knees, head butts, etc.), increasing this damage as he gains levels.

Adventures:  The brawler is probably in it for the money.  He’s a scrapper, and likely has lived hand-to-mouth most of his days.  Any chance to gain some quick riches, even if it means a few brushes with death, is worth getting away from a meager lifestyle.  He’s no stranger to pain and has probably had a few broken bones and/or missing teeth over his career as a paid fighter.  A few are brawlers of necessity; that is, they scrap because they must in order to survive.  These will adventure for escape rather than solely for gold.

Characteristics:  The brawler is a lean, mean fighting machine.  Humanoids are favored targets for the brawler and stand little chance against the mockery he makes of their weapon fighting.  With brass knuckles, he’s pure nastiness, and his temper usually goes along with that description.  Brawlers are not usually nice guys.  That doesn’t mean they’re evil; they just aren’t nice.  They’re rough and tough, pell-mell, tumble-bumble, and don’t give a crap how you feel.  But get a brawler on your side, and you have one sweet ally.  Many want to pick fights as a form of entertainment; they enjoy the rumble, and will often wager they can win.

Alignment:  Brawlers tend toward chaos rather than law.  They live by the moment, for the moment, and many are outright lawbreakers.  As to morals, those who actually can tell the difference between good and evil usually could care less.  They don’t fight for a cause, unless it’s to satisfy a grudge, but the plight of the downtrodden is often enough to get up a brawler’s dander sufficiently that he wants to rip limb from limb those @#$% perpetrators.

Religion:  If a brawler worships at all, he worships the god of strength, primarily, and possibly also the god of battle.  An evil brawler might worship the god of revenge.  Most are either too outcast or too independent to give much more than a tacit acknowledgment to any deity.

Background:  Most brawlers live in the worst parts of large cities, the slums, and have learned to survive by pure instinctive scrapping for what they want.  As such, they are a temperamental lot who act more than a little selfish.  Some are thrust into a life of adventure by running away from the result of some crime they committed, but others strike out simply because they long for the good life.

Races:  Half-orcs, dwarves and humans make the best brawlers, in that order.  The natural resilience of these races is perfect for a scrapping style of fighting.  Elves, halflings, and gnomes are generally too weak to make good brawlers.

Other Classes:  A brawler is a good addition to any party, supplementing the fighters with a fighting style that many opponents are ill prepared for.  The other fighting classes are usually glad to have a brawler in their midst, even if he is a little too eager to pick a fight at times.  The subtler classes—rangers, druids, bards & rogues—generally disdain the brawler’s in-your-face style, and especially his quickness to rush into battle.  Wizards and sorcerers view the brawler as little more than another fighter who needs their support.  Clerics often begin counting the extra trips they make to the brawler’s side for healing, but most count the blessings he dealt in the fallen enemies lying around.

Abilities:  Certainly strength is a major consideration for the brawler.  Dexterity is also very important to supplement the brawler’s light armor restrictions as well as helping gain the advantage of striking first in melee.  Charisma is an unusually critical ability for its effect on the brawler’s ability to bluff his foe into a compromised position.

Hit Die:  d10

Restrictions/Requirements:  none

Skill Points/Level: At first level: (2+INT mod) x4 (+4).  Thereafter: 2+INT mod (+1) per level.

Skills:  Bluff, Climb, Craft, Intimidate, Jump, Sense Motive, Swim and Tumble.

Starting Gold:  5d4.

Armor & Weapon Proficiency:  The brawler fights exactly like any other fighter with weapons in hand, but is proficient with only simple weapons.  While using a weapon, all class features relating to unarmed attacks are negated, for the brawler cannot mix these two distinct fighting styles.  The brawler is proficient with only light armor and is not proficient with shields.  If using medium or heavy armor or a shield, the brawler loses all class features related to movement, besides the normal penalties for using armor without proficiencies.

The Brawler’s Table

SPECIAL MOVES

The brawler’s trademark fighting style includes many unique maneuvers that often catch his foes completely by surprise, dealing damage and knocking them senseless.  The four levels of Special Moves are gained as per the table.

Level One – Grappling Moves (must first succeed at a grapple) – d6 damage +2d6 non-lethal damage

Battering Ram – Put opponent in a standard headlock (his body behind yours) and drive his head into a wall.

Body Slam – Pick opponent up above your head and throw him to the ground.

DDT – Put opponent in a reverse headlock (his body in front of yours) and fall back, his head into the ground.

Piledriver – Put opponent’s head between your legs, grab his waist and sit down, his head hitting the ground.

Sleeper Hold – Grapple around neck and put pressure behind head.

Level Two – Bull Rushing Moves (must first succeed at a bull rush) – d8 damage +2d8 non-lethal damage

Clothesline – Run at opponent with arm extended, taking him off his feet.

Death from Above – Drop down on opponent from higher level.

Flying Kick – Land both feet on opponent’s upper body, knocking him down.

Flying Leap – Run and jump into opponent, slamming his body into the ground under yours.

Shoulder Crunch – Drive shoulders into opponent’s body, pushing him back into a wall.

Level Three – Striking Moves (full-round action) – normal damage +d10 damage +2d10 non-lethal damage

Gutwrencher – Successful hit/kick causes opponent to double over.

Jawbreaker – Successful hit rattles opponent’s jaw and causes him to lose his next turn.

Kneecracker – Successful kick drops opponent to his knees.

Pacemaker – Successful hit/kick knocks wind out of opponent and causes him to lose his next turn.

Pudthumper – Successful hit stuns opponent for d4 rounds.

Level Four – Destructive Moves (full-round action + save) – 2d10 damage+4d10 non-lethal damage+special

Break Yer Freakin’ Neck – Successful hit to head breaks opponent’s neck (Fort DC 15 to negate, but fall unconscious).

Cost Ya an Arm – Successful grapple rips off a limb or appendage (Ref DC 15 to negate, but broken or dislocated).

See Ya! – Successful bull rush sends opponent hurtling, dealing 15d6 damage (Ref DC 15 for half).

Damage Dice – The brawler inflicts 1d6 hit points damage with any body part he deems necessary for use (fist, foot, elbow, knee, head butt, etc), increasing the damage dealt by one die size every fourth level.  As the monk, the brawler may enact a flurry of blows and take one extra attack each round at his highest base attack bonus, but each attack in that round suffers a –2 penalty to hit.  Unlike the monk, the brawler’s flurry of blows does not improve with levels since the brawler is not as concerned with fine-tuning his style as he is dishing it out.

Improved Unarmed Strike:  At 1^st level, the brawler may strike without any weapons, inflicting real damage (not non-lethal damage) and does not provoke an attack of opportunity from a foe with a weapon, as is normally the case.

Jukes:  Like no other warrior class, the brawler makes full use of the feint in combat.  All fighting types may try to “juke” their foe, but the brawler specializes in this maneuver.  He gains +1 to Bluff at 1^st level, increasing to +2 at 4^th level, and further increasing by +2 every three levels thereafter.  The target must have at least a base intelligence of 3 to be juked in this manner.

Bonus Feat:  Beginning at 2^nd level, and every five levels thereafter, the brawler picks up a unique combat maneuver.  Choose from the following list:

Dirty Fighting:  The brawler knows the brutal and effective fighting tactics of the streets and back alleys.  When the brawler successfully hits with a normal attack, he inflicts an additional d4 points of damage.  Using this feat requires the full attack action.

Improved Trip:  The brawler gains use of the Improved Trip feat for free.  This ability allows him to make a trip attack to upend his opponent (see the trip rules in the Player’s Handbook), gaining a free attack at the same bonus on his prone target if successful.  With this feat, attempting to trip his foe does not grant an attack of opportunity, nor does it allow his foe to retaliate with a trip attack should the brawler’s attempt fail.

Feign Weakness:  The brawler begins to capitalize on his foe’s perceptions of his unarmed status.  He makes a Bluff check to “juke” his foe into attempting an attack of opportunity because he thinks the brawler is unarmed.  But of course, the brawler is armed with his righty and lefty, and makes his attack as normal against his drawn-out opponent who is caught flat-footed, before his foe can react.  Note: a feint in combat of this sort does provoke an attack of opportunity, but if the brawler hits, the hit negates the attack of opportunity his foe otherwise would have taken.  Should the brawler miss, his foe still has the opportunity.

Improved Bull Rush:  The brawler gains use of the Improved Bull Rush feat for free.

Prone Attack:  The brawler may attack from a prone position without penalty to his attack roll.  If his attack roll is successful, he may regain his feet immediately as a move action without provoking an attack of opportunity.

Knock-down:  The brawler’s blows can knock foes off their feet.  Whenever he deals 10 or more points of damage to his opponent in melee, he makes a trip attack as a free action against the same target.  Because of the brawler’s Improved Trip feat, the foe gains no attack of opportunity, and if his trip attack succeeds, he may immediately make another standard attack on his prone foe.

Close-quarters Fighting:  The brawler becomes adept at fighting at close range and at resisting grapple attacks.  When an enemy attempts to grapple the brawler, any damage he inflicts with a successful attack of opportunity provoked by the grapple attempt is added to his ensuing grapple check to avoid being grappled.  He is also entitled to make an attack of opportunity even if the attacking creature has the Improved Grab ability.  Further, he is no longer penalized for fighting in “close quarters” (q.v.).

Power Lunge:  The brawler’s ferocious attack may catch an opponent unprepared.  A successful attack roll during a charge allows the brawler to inflict double his normal Strength modifier in addition to the attack’s damage.  This form of power lunge does not provoke an attack of opportunity from the opponent he charged.

Remain Conscious:  The brawler develops a tenacity of will that supports him even when things look bleak.  Whenever his hit points are reduced to 0 or below, he does not fall unconscious, but may continue to take one partial action on his turn every round until his hit points reach the negative value of his Constitution score.

Natural Defense:  As the brawler gains in experience, he masters the art of ducking, dodging and weaving, becoming harder to hit at higher levels.  He gains +1 to AC beginning at 4^th level, and again at each level divisible by four.

Weapon Focus, Unarmed Attack:  At 4^th level, the brawler focuses his fighting prowess in his unarmed attack (any body part), gaining a +1 bonus to attack.

Improved Critical, Unarmed Attack:  At 6^th level, the brawler’s critical threat range for his unarmed attacks doubles, raising to x2 on a 19-20.

Weapon Specialization, Unarmed Attack:  At 7^th level, the brawler is so adept at knowing where to hit and how to make it hurt that he inflicts an additional 2 hit points of damage with each successful hit.

Greater Weapon Focus, Unarmed Attack:  At 10^th level, the brawler further improves his fighting prowess with his body parts, gaining an additional +1 to attack.

Greater Critical, Unarmed Attack:  Starting at 11^th level, the brawler’s critical threat range for his unarmed attack increases by an additional +1, becoming x2 on an 18-20.

Greater Weapon Specialization, Unarmed Attack:  By 12^th level, the brawler’s keen sense of the dirty fight is so improved that he gains an additional +2 to damage.

Empowered Fists:  The brawler’s hands and feet become quasi-magical in their ability to strike, becoming empowered with the essence of his soul.  At 14^th level he strikes unarmed as if wielding a silvered weapon for purposes of what creature types he is able to hit (bypassing damage reduction), and for bypassing hardness.  At 17^th level, he strikes as if wielding a magic weapon, and at 20^th level, he strikes as if wielding an adamantine weapon.

Superior Critical, Unarmed Attack: Starting at 16^th level, the brawler’s critical threat range for his unarmed attack increases by an additional +1, becoming x2 on a 17-20.