Unarmed Defender: How Would You Build It?

[ourchair]

Because I am clear, concise and straight to the point, the thread title is exactly what I'm asking.

I'm trying to visualize a character concept that is about tanking and using fists to do it (think The Thing or The Hulk) but has the complete defender functionality of an actual defender, rather than just a striker with a lot of hit points.

Thoughts?

 

[LuckyAdrastus]

Because I am clear, concise and straight to the point, the thread title is exactly what I'm asking.

I'm trying to visualize a character concept that is about tanking and using fists to do it (think The Thing or The Hulk) but has the complete defender functionality of an actual defender, rather than just a striker with a lot of hit points.

Thoughts?

There is a brawler fighter build in Martial Power 2. It envisions you either fighting with a weapon and a fist, or a spiked guantlet and a fist. You could re-fluff the spiked guantlet as a bare fist, or you could even just use a bare fist (it gives a bonus for that).

The build uses lots of grabbing powers, primarily. I've played several sessions were someone was playing a bladeling brawler with two spiked guantlets ("Spike Armstrong"). Very nasty image, and lots of fun. He has an encounter power where he grabs the enemy, drags them several squares, and then bashes them into blocking terrain for bonus damage. Neat!

 

[Shin Okada]

Can you accept unarmed, but armored defender? If so, a Fighter with Brawler Style is the way to go. You can either use your own fists or spiked gauntlets. And you can take Brutal Brawler feat to increase the damage of your attacks.

If you need unarmed and unarmored defender, maybe you should consider using hybrid rule. But that is somewhat hard to achieve in heroic tier.

Only Avenger & Monk have class features which give you high enough AC when unarmored. And only Fighter (brawler style) and Monk have class features to make your fists into truly effective weapons. And unfortunately, all of them are Hybrid Talent options, which means you can have only one in heroic tier (with a feat) and another only when you take the path of Paragon Hybrid.

 

[LuckyAdrastus]

Can you accept unarmed, but armored defender? If so, a Fighter with Brawler Style is the way to go. You can either use your own fists or spiked gauntlet. And you can take Brutal Brawler feat to increase the damage of your attacks.

If you start with an 18 Dex (easy with a dex-boosting race) you can wear hide armor and have the same AC, and faster movement, than scale. Although you can't get rid of the -1 armor check penalty, you can otherwise describe your hide armor as being, say, a thick belt, trunks, and a luchador mask. Take direction from the barbarian pictures, many of which seem nearly naked, but all are meant to be wearing hide.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

Chiming in with the Brawler fighter and powers that knock prone or grapple
Go for inherent bonuses also.

 

[Shin Okada]

I got another idea. By choosing either Warforged or Shardmind as a race, you can give give 15+ Str and Con to a Brawler Style fighter. Then, take Armor Proficiency (Plate) feat and get either Adamantine Plating or Mithral Plating (warforged component). As those "armor" look like a part of your own body, you can create a character looks somewhat like "The Thing".

 

[Kitesh]

There's a good build on the CharOp forums with this concept (uses spiked gauntlets and scale, but you could use it as a starting point if you wanted to remove those- it's more about the grasping action + supporting powers and feats)

Beowulf, Master of Grabs

 

[ourchair]

Great suggestions all.

I had originally been trying to avoid taking the fighter class simply because we already have a half-orc tempest fighter in our party, but I think building a brawler style is a great idea and probably better than trying to create a MCed/Hybridized monk or avenger, especially since the latter two are strikers that might end up compromising their strengths and not be too great at defending.

I'll be honest, this is the same character that was going to be the "tank artificer" but I think with the rolled stats I produced I won't be compromising this character by putting points into INT as a brawler fighter since I already have a pre-racial 17 and 16.

Not to sound shallow, but what kind of DPS will I be putting out with a brawler? Like Adrastus said, I can fluff the gauntlets as fists. Still what matters is not that the fists are equipped or not, so long as the action is going to be fist-based.

Oh and yes, this will be a Warforged.

 

[Klaus]

Because I am clear, concise and straight to the point, the thread title is exactly what I'm asking.

I'm trying to visualize a character concept that is about tanking and using fists to do it (think The Thing or The Hulk) but has the complete defender functionality of an actual defender, rather than just a striker with a lot of hit points.

Thoughts?

Tempest Fighter dual wielding spiked gauntlets? You'll get the most out of your Dexterity, and the Tempest Technique damage bonus for using two off-hand weapons will make up for the lower damage die.

 

[DracoSuave]

====== Created Using Wizards of the Coast D&D Character Builder ======
Fistron, level 2
Warforged, Fighter
Build: Brawling Fighter
Fighter: Combat Agility
Fighter Talents: Brawler Style

FINAL ABILITY SCORES
Str 18, Con 12, Dex 16, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 9.

STARTING ABILITY SCORES
Str 16, Con 10, Dex 16, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 9.


AC: 18 Fort: 17 Reflex: 14 Will: 13
HP: 33 Surges: 10 Surge Value: 8

TRAINED SKILLS
Heal +7, Endurance +9, Athletics +10, Acrobatics +9

UNTRAINED SKILLS
Arcana +1, Bluff, Diplomacy, Dungeoneering +2, History +1, Insight +2, Intimidate +2, Nature +2, Perception +2, Religion +1, Stealth +4, Streetwise, Thievery +4

FEATS
Level 1: Brutal Brawler
Level 2: Monastic Disciple

POWERS
Fighter at-will 1: Grappling Strike
Fighter at-will 1: Slash and Pummel
Monastic Disciple: Centered Flurry of Blows
Fighter encounter 1: Bash and Pinion
Fighter daily 1: Seize and Stab
Fighter utility 2: Forceful Drag

ITEMS
Abduction Ki Focus +1, Scale Armor, Spiked gauntlet (2)
====== Copy to Clipboard and Press the Import Button on the Summary Tab ======

Monastic Disciple gives you:
an extra skill (Athletics in this case)
the ability to use a Ki Focus (negating the need for a magical weapon, allowing one to go truly unarmed)
which in term allows the Abduction Ki Focus (its powers are very well suited to a brawling 'brick' type character)
and Centered Ki Focus which is like having an extra little bit of sliding action once per encounter (defenders like that).