The Brawler [PEACH]

[gothtaku]

I could use some feedback on this idea for a class, as well as thoughts on balance. I tried to avoid "dead levels", while keeping it from being too overpowered and remaining true to the flavor.

Essentially I tried to come up with a monk/fighter hybrid, with a modified version of the rogue's sneak attack.

BRAWLER

In a world of powerful magic and knights, there are those who eschew traditional martial training in favor of a simpler style. One that involves their fists, their wits and the sheer tenacity to never say die. These men and women are Brawlers.

Adventurers: Brawlers love to fight and many live for the thrill of battle. They can be found in all walks of life, from military soldiers to bar owners. Most are self-taught and from cities, where it pays to know how to fight without a weapon.

Characteristics: Brawlers are usually a rowdy bunch, quick to violence. They believe that most any problem can be solved with a few quick punches and a round of drinks afterwards. They excel at being able to hold their own in a one on one fight, though as many a Brawler has learned the hard way, odds are against them if they're fighting a group by themselves.

Alignment: Brawlers can be of any alignment, though many are chaotic. There exist an equal amount of good and evil Brawlers in the world, and probably just as many who are somewhere in between.

Religion: Many, if not all Brawlers pay homage to Kord in one way or another, usually with a tattoo of the god's symbol. Brawlers may worship whomever they wish however.

Background: Brawlers are almost entirely born of large sprawling cities. In the back alleyways and underground pit fights, this is where you'll find them. Some savage tribes have Brawlers, though they're rare.

Races: Half-Orcs and Dwarves make the best Brawlers. Their respective strength and toughness make them naturals and people from both races enjoy a good throw down. Humans also make good Brawlers. Halflings occasionally practice at it, though few follow through. Gnomes, Elves and Half-Elves rarely take up the lifestyle.

Other Classes: Brawlers work well with any class who can either appreciate what they do or compliment it. Primary on this list is Barbarians, Fighters and Rogues. They usually chafe with Paladins and even some Monks, who view Brawlers as pale imitators of the martial prowess they spend years attaining through meditation and training.

Role: Brawlers can be front line combatants, though their limitation to light armor means they can't take hits as well as a Fighter or Barbarian. However, they can dish out damage just as well as the other melee classes.



GAME RULE INFORMATION
Brawlers have the following game statistics.

Abilities: Strength is paramount for Brawlers, followed by either Constitution for hit points or Dexterity for a higher AC. A high Wisdom can help with their poor will saves.

Alignment: Any, though usually chaotic.

Hit Die: d10

Starting Gold: 5d4 x 10

CLASS SKILLS
A Brawler's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are:
Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Gather Information (Cha), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge [Local] (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Tumble (Dex), Use Rope (Dex)

Skill Points at 1st Level: (4 + Int modifer) x4
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 4 + Int modifier

CLASS FEATURES
All of the following are class features of the Brawler.

Weapons & Armor Proficiency: Brawlers are proficient with all simple weapons, however many of their abilities are dependant on being unarmed. They are proficient with light armor, but not shields.

Unarmed Damage: Brawlers deal damage while unarmed with the same progression as Monks.

Brutal Strike (Ex): At 1st level, a Brawler gains the ability to make an attack with all of his force behind it. This ability can only be used on a full attack action and the Brawler may add Str + ½ to his damage. This ability can only be used with an unarmed attack and requires both hands to be empty. The Brawler takes a -2 to attack when using this ability. At 5th level the penalty becomes -1 and at 9th level it disappears. At 15th level the Brawler gains a +1 to this attack and at 20th level it becomes a +2.

Dedication (Ex): Brawlers love the feeling of besting another warrior with only their bare hands. At 1st Level they receive Weapon Focus: Unarmed Strike as a bonus feat. At 4th, 8th, 12th and 18th level they gain Weapon Specialization, Greater Weapon Focus, Greater Weapon Specialization and Weapon Supremacy as a Fighter would.

Always Armed: At 1st level, a Brawler receives Improved Unarmed Strike as a bonus feat.

Evasion (Ex): Brawlers gain the Evasion ability at 3rd level. At 11th level this becomes Improved Evasion.

Dirty Fighting: At 2nd level Brawlers gain the ability to hit their enemies where it hurts, and can add an additional 1d4 to their damage any time their opponent would be denied their dexterity bonus to AC or when flanking. This damage increase by an additional 1d4 at 6th, 10th, 14th, and 19th level.

Never Say Die: At 7th level Brawlers gain Diehard as a bonus feat, even if he does not meet the prerequisites.

Kiss the Pavement: At 13th level Brawlers gain Improved Trip as a bonus feat.

Smash you good: At 16th level Brawlers gain Crushing Strike as a bonus feat, even if he does not meet the prerequisites.

Refuse to Fall (Ex): At 17th level a Brawler can attempt to remain standing no matter how grievous his wounds are. Each round that he is past -10 hit points, the Brawler must make a fortitude save (DC 20) to remain alive. Each round after the first save, the DC increases by 2. During this time, the Brawler is limited to a single move action.

Base Attack Bonus: +15/+10/+5 Progression
Base Save Bonus: 12/12/6 Progression

 

[FreeXenon]

I like your base idea - ALOT.

I would recommend possibly giving them a Warrior BAB but reduce their HD to d8. I really like the Class Skills and skill points.

Instead of the D4 sneak attack give them the standard d6 sneak attack at a reduced rate. We can reduce the need to add custom abilities. If we make a Brawler equal to both a Monk and a Fighter through out then the class would be too powerful. if they lag behind both but have elements of each it should not get too out of hand.

I have reworked it a little bit below. It is not perfect especially with empty levels, but allows the Brawler to be more versatile and work toward many different hand-to-hand archetypes instead of being shoehorned into one type. I have only posted below what I have changed. I hope I have not wrecked your vision of the Brawler.

There is no Uber-20th Level ability - A Brawler-Apotheosis, if you will, which may be something you might want to look into. I hope what I propose helps and doesn't step on your toes too much.

[SIZE=4][U][B]The Brawler (Base Class)[/B][/U][/SIZE]

[U][B]GAME RULE INFORMATION[/B][/U]
Brawlers have the following game statistics.
[B]Hit Die: [/B]d8

1st    +1                 +2    +2    +0           Improved Unarmed Strike, WF     d6
2nd    +2                +3    +3    +0           Brawler Technique (any)
3rd    +3                +3    +3    +1            Sneak Attack (1d6), Evasion
4th    +4                +4    +4    +1            Wpn Spec                                 
5th    +5                +4    +4    +1           Brawler Technique (Offense)          d8
6th    +6/+1            +5    +5    +2          Brawler Technique (Defense)
7th    +7/+2            +5    +5    +2          Sneak Attack (2d6) 
8th    +8/+3            +6    +6    +2          Imp Wpn Focus                             
9th    +9/+4            +6    +6    +3                                                            d10 
10th    +10/+5         +7    +7    +3          Brawler Technique (Any)              
11th    +11/+6/+1    +7    +7    +3          Imp Evasion, Sneak Attack (3d6)
12th    +12/+7/+2    +8    +8    +4                                                     
13th    +13/+8/+3    +8    +8    +4           Greater Weapons Spcl                    2d6
14th    +14/+9/+4    +9    +9    +4           Sneak Attack (4d6), Brawler Technique (Offense)
15th    +15/+10/+5      +9    +9    +5        Technique (Offense)
16th    +16/+11/+6/+1    +10    +10    +5                                                    
17th    +17/+12/+7/+2    +10    +10    +5                                                  2d6
18th    +18/+13/+8/+3    +11    +11    +6   Sneak Attack (5d6)
19th    +19/+14/+9/+4    +11    +11    +6   Wpn Suprm, Brawler Technique (Any)
20th    +20/+15/+10/+5    +12    +12    +6   Brawler Apotheosis

[B]CLASS FEATURES[/B]

[B]Brawler Technique: [/B]Choose a feat or ability from the following: a bunch of  monk 
related abilities and feats all of which will be dependent on light or no armor :imp trip, imp grapple, Ki Strike (Magic), Improved Feint, Uncanny Dodge, and so on but with 
requirements), Cheeta Palm (Extra attack at highest base with all attacks at a -2) , Dodge, Mobility, Combat Expertise, Wisdom Bonus to AC, Increased Speed (10'), Imp Intiative etc, 
Armor Training (medium - if they are proficient  in wearing medium armor they may wear medium armor and have their feats and stuff function). Set requisites for monk based abilities 
equal to a Brawler of the same level (ie Ki Strike (Magic)  - Brawler Level 4;). These are just 
a bunch of things from the top of my head.

You could alternatively organize these into trees like the Monk or Ranger - possibly one for 
Defense and one for Offense, or a path that selects all of them. The problem with that is 
that whatever path or tree you define will not make everyone happy. It might be safer to 
just give them a pool of abilities to select from that are appropriate for the class and then 
let the player select from that to define the archetype they want to play.

    [B]Offensive[/B]
        [I]Brutal Strike (Ex): [/I]At 1st level, a Brawler gains the ability to make an attack with all of his force behind it. This ability can only be used on a full attack action and the Brawler may         add    Str + ½ to his damage. This ability can only be used with an unarmed attack and requires both hands to be empty. The Brawler takes a -2 to attack when using this ability.         At 5th level the penalty becomes -1 and at 9th level it disappears. At 15th level the Brawler gains a +1 to this attack and at 20th level it becomes a +2.

        Smash you good: At 16th level Brawlers gain Crushing Strike as a bonus feat, even if he does not meet the prerequisites.

    [B]Defensive: [/B]
        [I]Never Say Die:[/I] At 7th level Brawlers gain Diehard as a bonus feat, even if he does not meet the prerequisites.
    [B]Esoteric: [/B] perhaps add a third level of abilities which define supernatural abilities 
          such as Ki Strike and Increased Movement (10'), Wisdom to AC, and so on. This
          might take care of your dead levels. They might only be able to take these on 'Any' 
          levels.
     

        [I]Refuse to Fall (Ex):[/I] At 17th level a Brawler can attempt to remain standing no matter how grievous his wounds are. Each round that he is past -10 hit points, the Brawler must             make a fortitude save (DC 20) to remain alive. Each round after the first save, the DC increases by 2. During this time, the Brawler is limited to a single move action.