The best non-monk unarmed combatant

[atomn]

Using just the PHB and Complete books, how would you make an non-monk (due to the Lawful restriction) unarmed fighter (a streetfighter type)?

I was thinking a Dwarven Barbarian (and maybe some fighter to get some feats) into the Reaping Mauler with Improved Unarmed Strike, Clever Wrestling and Greater Resiliency. Perhaps Extend Rage, Extra Rage, Flying Kick or the Two Weapon Fighting tree?

Or is there no way to make a decent non-monk unarmed combatant?

 

[mikebr99]

Using just the PHB and Complete books, how would you make an non-monk (due to the Lawful restriction) unarmed fighter (a streetfighter type)?

I was thinking a Dwarven Barbarian (and maybe some fighter to get some feats) into the Reaping Mauler with Improved Unarmed Strike, Clever Wrestling and Greater Resiliency. Perhaps Extend Rage, Extra Rage, Flying Kick or the Two Weapon Fighting tree?

Or is there no way to make a decent non-monk unarmed combatant?

Or maybe Goliath... for the Powerful Build benefits to being a grapple master??

Mike

 

[Hawkeye]

There was 3.0 monk book by a publisher that had a non monk unarmed fighter. I can't remember what it was off of the top of my head. I have it as a PDF. I'll see if I can find it.

Edit: The book was called Beyond Monks: The Art of The Fight by Chainmail Bikini Games and the class was called a Martial Artist. Here is the first paragraph describing the class:

"A martial artist is a character devoted to mastering
combat, much like a fighter or a monk. Unlike the
fighter, the martial artist avoids heavy weapons or
armor and relies more on precision, knowledge, and
skill than brute force. Unlike the monk, the martial
artist is focused purely on combat techniques, and
doesn’t seek spiritual enlightenment or gain much in
the way of supernatural powers."

Maybe that is what you are looking for?

Hawkeye

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Ignoring the benefits of multiclassing:

PsiWar: Medium BAB, d10HD, and almost as many Feats as a Fighter. Powers include psionic Enlarge (boosts size 2 categories) and a variety of "Claw" or Touch powers.

Besides IUC, you gain access to feats that can resolve melee attacks as touch attacks, add to damage, increase speed, and so forth.

Factor in PrCls, and you can take levels in one of the "Kineticists"- the Pyrokineticist was expanded with Frostburn & online to include variants for each of the elemental energy types. Assuming you take the original PrCl, that would allow you to add Hands Afire to your martial arts attack with only a couple of levels, followed by Firebolts, allowing you to do ranged damage.

If you expand your book choices to Dragon Compendium volume 1, you gain access to the Feat Ring the Golden Bell, letting you use your unarmed attacks at range (dependent upon Wis).

Of course, expanding to the DCv1 also gives you the BattleDancer class.

 

[Pinotage]

Monks gain both Improved Unarmed Strike and Improved Grapple as bonus feats, so that automatically makes them unarmed fighters and grapplers.

But a fighter gains a lot more feats than a monk does, so should be able to best a monk at least in grappling, although the lack of improved damage output with level means it always lags behind. Adding a level in barbarian with Extra Rage is going to help to get the damage output up, as well as increasing your strength score. I think if you're going to do it, a barbarian 1/fighter x would do the job nicely.

Pinotage

 

[Kae'Yoss]

Defender from Midnight. Basically, a desupernaturalized version without the mystic parts.

 

[atomn]

...although the lack of improved damage output with level means it always lags behind.

Yeah, that was one of my biggest concerns. And a non-monk missing out on Flurry of Blows is a disappointment too. And the monk bonuses to AC (I can't see a streetfighter running around in plate armor).

Thanks for the suggestions, all!

 

[Pinotage]

Yeah, that was one of my biggest concerns. And a non-monk missing out on Flurry of Blows is a disappointment too. And the monk bonuses to AC (I can't see a streetfighter running around in plate armor).

Thanks for the suggestions, all!

You damage output per attack might be lower, but given that you have higher BAB and can blow feats on Weapon Focus (Unarmed Strike) and Weapon Specialization (Unarmed Strike), you're going to hit more than a monk will which evens out the damage over time.

Pinotage

 

[Kae'Yoss]

And the greater focus/spec feats. And you can get improved crit. And you can get that one feat that increases your damage. And you can use some power attack (due to the better BAB and the focus, you can put more into it than the monk and still hit as often as him).

And the lack of wis can work for you, too: You will have a higher str score than that monk, as you don't have to pay attention to wis.

The AC loss will be somewhat offset from your light armour.

Alternately, try multiclassing into rogue or ninja, or use those classes straight. (Ninja will give you the dex bonus). Your techniques are more misdirection and tactics than brute force, but if they hit, they are punishing.

You could even make some Tome of Battle Chars work.

Right now, I'm playing a swordsage, with a "shadow warrior" (read: ninja without the Ninja Burger Experience) theme to it. I'm sure you can do the same for fist fighter (read: monk without the monastery part).

 

[pawsplay]

A fighter. Their AC is comparable, and up through 12th level or so, their damage output is equivalent. You lose extra stunnings attacks, Wis bonus to AC, and flurry. You gain hit points, a nice BAB, the option to use Combat Expertise to close the AC gap, and more feats.

At 12th level, a monk with weapon focus (unarmed strike) has +10/+10/+10/+5 doing 2d6 (avg 7). A fighter with weapon focus, greater w focus, weapon specialization, and greater weapon specialization has +14/+9/+4 doing 1d4+4 (avg 6.5). A monk has 5 feats, a fighter has 12. That means improved grapple, flying kick, improved critical (improved strike), whatever you want.

A fighter is not precisely optimized for unarmed combat, but they can be even more effective than monks purely in the realm of beating and grappling people.