Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Rath_Robert 07-04-04, 05:39 PM	The Brawler In taverns, on the streets, or just sitting in their houses, brawlers can be a great threat to anyone who underestimates their abilities. Using unorthodox methods of unarmed combat and pure brute strength, the brawler is force to be reckoned with. Brawlers are exceptional athletes and very skilled fighters, relying on grappling and powerful strikes to down their foes. The brawler is an excellent class for those who like unarmed fighters, but do not like the restrictions and difficulty of playing a monk character. While brawlers lack the defence of the monk class, the brawler makes up for it with unmatchable toughness, dirty fighting, and outstanding grappling ability. Brawlers are offensive machines and are very dangerous when within a creatures reach. Adventures: Adventuring can appeal to a brawler simply for the challenge to prove they are toughest fighters in the world. Tough and disciplined, the brawler will go to any length to win a fight. Most brawlers start adventuring as hired mercenaries or just travelling from one location to the next in order to hone their skills. Many venture long distances to enter fighting tournaments or gladiatorial battles. Their thirst for battle will never be quenched, no matter the distance and no matter the danger. Characteristics: Brawlers are very competitive and above all else love to fight, however, they enjoy any type of competitive activities such as wrestling or sprinting. They also enjoy conquering great feats of strength or stamina. A brawler will never back down from a fight, no matter the odds. They live their lives by two main philosophies, first, practice makes perfect and second, you win some you lose some. Brawlers can be very patient fighters, but normally lack tact when it comes to diplomatic issues. Their brash attitude hinders their ability to reason or be tolerated by for an extended period of time. Their competitive spirit and relentless pursuit of greatness is what separates a brawler from other fighters. Religion: Brawlers generally are not normally religious people. They prefer to spend their time practicing more than praying. Some brawlers will worship gods of strength, others will worship gods of stealth, of the few that are religious most will worship a deity of battle. Brawlers have great respect towards most clerics due to their dedication to their religion. Brawlers also enjoy the company of clerics because of their healing abilities. Background: The brawler has been around since the beginning of humanoid life. Long before man wielded his first blade and before the wizard cast his first spell, there where brawlers. Brawlers have branched off into other types of unarmed warriors throughout the years. Some, with great discipline branched off and became monks and martial artists. Others, saw the appeal of blades and bows and forgot their roots of unarmed combat. The few brawlers that remain in this day are much respected by their own kind and by all other unarmed combatants. Devoting all of their time to gaining strength and toughing their bodies. Brawlers have survived in past, and as long as humanoids still have a will to fight, the brawler in them all will still remain. Races: At one time or another, every race has had a brawler or two amongst their ranks. Humans, half-elves and half-orcs are the most common brawlers, due to humans and half-elves diverse ways of life and the half-orcs love of bullying others. Elves can be brawlers, but do not normally fit the mentality of a brawler because of their training with blades and bows in their younger years and snobby and sophisticated attitudes. Gnomes and halflings do not normally become brawlers because their size and lack of strength limits their ability in combat. Game Rule Information Brawlers have the following game statistics: Abilities: Brawlers live and die by toughness, making constitution their most important stat. Dexterity is very important because brawlers may wear only light armour. Charisma can be important for some of the brawler’s skills as well as his ability to intimidate opponents. Intelligence is a brawler’s least important ability because he does not need too many skill points and very few of his skills require intelligence. Alignment: Any non-lawful: Brawlers will do anything to win a fight, including fighting dirty and breaking some laws, so they cannot work within the restraints of a lawful alignment. Hit Die: 1d12 Class Skills: The Brawlers class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are; Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Heal (Wis), Innuendo (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Intuit Direction (Wis), Jump (Str), Knowledge (Fighting Styles) (Int), Perform (Cha), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Swim (Str), Tumble (Dex) See Chapter 4 in the Player’s Handbook for skill descriptions. Skill Points at 1st Level: (4 + Int Modifier) X 4 Skill Points at each additional Level: 4 + Int modifier Class Features All of the following are class features of the brawler: Weapon and Armour Proficiency: A Brawler is proficient with all simple weapons and with light armour and shields. Note that wearing armour heavier than leather imposes a penalty to the ranger skills Climb, Hide, Jump, and Move Silently. Swim checks also suffer a –1 penalty for every 5 lbs. of armour or equipment carried. Unarmed Strike: Brawlers are experts of unarmed combat, giving them the edge over most classes when fighting unarmed. They deal more damage when using their unarmed strike than other classes using 1d6 for their damage instead of the normal 1d3. Brawlers also gains the Improved Unarmed Strike feat which means that they do not provoke an attack of opportunity when attacking unarmed. A brawler may use any part of his body to strike an opponent including their elbows, feet, or even a head butt. Undying: Because of the brawlers special training and ability to resist pain, at 1st level the brawler is able to ignore pain and damage when at death’s door. With this ability the brawler is able to act normally when disabled. When dying, the brawler has a 15% chance per round of spontaneously stabilizing and others gain a +4 bonus on rolls to stabilize a brawler. Improved Grappling: At 2nd level the brawler gains a +4 proficiency bonus when attempting to grapple an opponent or to prevent from being grappled. Superb Athletics: At 3rd level, the brawler is a prime physical athlete and gains a +1 bonus to both Strength and Dexterity scores. Wrestling Move: Starting at 4th level, and every 4 levels thereafter, the brawler is able to select a custom move that he may use in combat. Each one is slightly different and each provides different methods of disposing of opponents. The list of what he can pick is as follows: Bearhug: Grabbing your opponent and squeezing the air out of him can be a very successful method of attack. The brawler who selects the bearhug move must first succeed at a grapple check on his opponent. The following round (if he is still grappling his opponent) he will automatically deal 3d4 (plus strength bonus) subdual damage to his enemy per round that he retains the grapple. Backbreaker: The backbreaker is a move in which the brawler picks his opponent up over his head and slams him down against his waiting knee, causing severe pain to his foe. In order to do this manoeuvre the target must be of the same size as the brawler or one size smaller. The brawler must succeed at a grapple check. The next round (if he retains his grapple action), the brawler will pick up his opponent and bring him crashing down on his knee causing 2d4 (plus 1 ½ strength bonus) damage to his foe. The damage to the spine, will make his opponent writhe in pain and loose his next action. Body Slam: A brawler who uses the body-slam action will pick his opponent up over his head, provided of course the brawler has a high enough strength score to lift the opponent, and throw him impressively to the ground. This requires the brawler to succeed at a grapple check, if he retains the grapple, he may drop his opponent to the ground for 2d6 (plus 1 ½ strength bonus). The body slam can only be done to creatures the same size or one size smaller than the brawler. Crippling Lunge: Taking out the legs of your enemy can be super effective especially if the enemy is much faster than you. If the brawler can get behind an enemy and flank him, he can lunge at the back of the opponent’s knee, causing severe ligament damage. The creature must be bipedal and not immune to critical damage (construct, undead etc) and the brawler must give up any additional attacks he may receive to attempt the crippling lunge. If he succeeds at the attack the strike deals 2d4+1/2 strength bonus and his enemy may only move at ½ his base speed and is considered flat-footed for 24 hours. The target can resist this attack by making a Fortitude save (DC 10 + Damage Dealt). The target must make a Fortitude save every time this attack is successful. Spear Attack: During a charge action, the brawler may choose to lunge at his opponent causing 2d6 + ½ strength damage. The brawler must succeed in a melee attack during the charge, if he misses the attack or his opponent makes a Reflex save (DC 13 + Brawler’s Dex Modifier) the brawler deals 1d6 subdual damage to himself due to the impact of hitting the ground. If the brawler succeeds in the spear attack, he not only deals damage, but automatically grapples his opponent on the ground and may automatically deal unarmed damage for as long as he retains the grapple. Haymaker: If the brawler takes a full attack option, he may attempt a authoritative strike dealing additional damage to his enemy. If the brawler succeeds in this attack, he deals double his unarmed damage to his foe and if his foe cannot make a Fortitude saving throw (DC 10 + damage dealt) his opponent will fall unconscious for 1d4 + 1 rounds. After throwing this wild punch, the brawler will not be able to defend as well the following round, making him suffer a -2 penalty to AC for the following round. Reverse Grapple: Not all grapplers rely on brute strength alone, some are also very skilful and able to avoid being grappled by other creatures. If a creature attempts to grapple the brawler and does not succeed, then the brawler may make his own grapple attempt and if it succeeds and he retains the grapple for a round, he may automatically deal unarmed damage to his foe as long as he holds the grapple. DDT: In an instant, the brawler can lift his opponent off the ground, provided of course the brawler has a high enough strength score to light the opponent, and plant his foe’s head into the dirt. The successfully make this attack, the brawler must succeed at a grapple check and maintain the grapple until his next turn. On his following turn, he will drop his opponent to the ground on his head possibly stunning or knocking out his foe. This attack deals 2d6+1/2 the brawler’s strength bonus. The target must then make a Fortitude save (DC 10+Damage Dealt) or be prone and stunned for 2 rounds. If the target misses the save by more than 5, he is immediately rendered unconscious for 1d4+1 rounds. Gut Buster: This attack is very similar to the backbreaker, except instead of the target’s back crashing onto the brawler’s knee, the brawler drops him face down, making the target’s abdomen take the damage. The brawler must succeed at a grapple check. The next round (if he retains his grapple action), the brawler will pick up his opponent and bring him crashing down on his knee causing 2d4 (plus 1 ½ strength bonus) damage to his foe. After the damage is dealt, and the target does not make a Fortitude Save (DC 10 + Damage Dealt), he will be considered Shaken (-2 Attack, Saves, and Skills Checks). Choke Out: Using leverage to constrict the air supply to the brain, the brawler master can subdue his opponent by simply rendering him unconscious. After the opponent is grappled, the brawler must make an additional grapple check. If this check succeeds, he deals 1d6 (plus Strength bonus) points of damage to an enemy and the target must succeed a fortitude save (DC 15 + Number of rounds grappled) or pass out for 1d4+1 rounds. Dirty Fighting: At 5th level, the brawler’s training allows him to know the brutal and effective fighting tactics of the streets and back alleys. When performing a full attack action, the brawler deals an additional +1d4 points of damage on a successful hit. Hardened Body: The brawler’s body becomes finely chiselled and is much thicker and harder than the average characters. This ability grants the brawler a natural AC bonus equal to the number on the chart below. Shock Resistant: At 6th level, the brawler’s toughness make them unlikely to die from a single attack. With this ability, the brawler is treated as if he were one size class larger for the purposes of “Death from Massive Damage”. Scoff at the Blow: At 7th level, the brawler’s tough body is able to shrug off some damage dealt by physical attacks. He gains Damage Reduction according to the amount listed on the table below. Increasing Toughness: At 9th level, the brawler’s athleticism and toughness continues to increase. At this level, he gains a +2 bonus to his Constitution score. Tough as Nails: At 10th level, the brawler’s body is so tough it can break lesser weapons that are used to attack him. When a weapon strikes the body of a brawler, the weapon takes damage equal to half the damage it inflicts after it damages the brawler unless it succeeds at a fortitude save of 10+ ½ damage dealt. Weapon Hardeness still applies to the weapon. Evasion: At 13th level A brawler can avoid even magical and unusual attacks with great agility. If a brawler makes a successful Reflex saving throw against an attack that normally deals half damage on a successful save (such as a red dragon’s fiery breath or a fireball spell), the brawler instead takes no damage. Evasion can only be used if the brawler is wearing light armour or no armour. It is an extraordinary ability. Prime Conditioning: By 15th level, the brawler is in prime physical condition, outmatching most other classes in strength, agility, and toughness. This ability grants the brawler a +1 ability bonus to Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution and does stack with any previous ability score raises. Table The Brawler Level BAB Fort Ref Will Special 1 +1 +2 +0 +0 Undying, Unarmed Strike 2 +2 +3 +0 +0 Improved Grapple 3 +3 +3 +1 +1 Superb Athletics 4 +4 +4 +1 +1 Wrestling Move 5 +5 +4 +1 +1 Dirty Fighting, Hardened Body +1 6 +6/+1 +5 +2 +2 Shock Resistant 7 +7/+2 +5 +2 +2 Scoff at the Blow 1/- 8 +8/+3 +6 +2 +2 Wrestling Move 9 +9/+4 +6 +3 +3 Increasing Toughness 10 +10/+5 +7 +3 +3 Tough As Nails, Hardened Body +2 11 +11/+6/+1 +7 +3 +3 Scoff at the Blow 2/- 12 +12/+7/+2 +8 +4 +4 Wrestling Move 13 +13/+8/+3 +8 +4 +4 Evasion 14 +14/+9/+4 +9 +4 +4 Scoff at the Blow 3/- 15 +15/+10/+5 +9 +5 +5 Prime Conditioning, Hardened Body +3 16 +16/+11/+6/+1 +10 +5 +5 Wrestling Move 17 +17/+12/+7/+2 +10 +5 +5 Scoff at the Blow 4/- 18 +18/+13/+8/+3 +11 +6 +6 Hardened Body +4 19 +19/+14/+9/+4 +11 +6 +6 Scoff at the Blow 5/- 20 +20/+15/+10/+5 +12 +6 +6 Wrestling Move
Rath_Robert 07-05-04, 05:59 PM	Could use some comments
Zolgar 07-05-04, 06:36 PM	Mine is cooler, and I had the name before you did so nyah :p Okay.. uhm seriously let's see. I honestly think it's got too much power under it. 1d12 hd bonus to str, dex and con (totaling +2, +2, +3) 4+int skills Natural armor Damage reduction Evasion Much lower chance of dying than anyone else. Damaging weapons when they hit him Light armor proffiency Look at the power a 20th level Brawler will have: base stats of say: 15 14 15 10 8 8 from the bonuses they become: 17 16 18 And we'll assume that he distributed points thus: 18 16 22 So he gets:20d12+120 hp, coming out to around 270 (I just rolled it), assuming ofcourse, not con increasing items. We'll assume he gets gloves of dex +6, an Amulet of Mighty Fists +5, a ring of protection +5 and, belt of giant strength +6 And we're just getting started with being at 272K out of 760K gold 24 22 22 And +5 mithril chain shirt. That makes his AC: 10+6(dex)+9(armor)+3 natural +5 ring, totaling a 33 AC. So harder to hit than most, with a goodly number of HP and damage reduction to boot. and a decent chance of taking no damage from a spell like fireball. All the while dealing 1d6+12 damage. Basicaly, he has alot of strengths, and no weaknesses.
Rath_Robert 07-05-04, 06:44 PM	I can agree with some of what you said, I'm more worried about the wrestling moves (as far as balance) I can reduce a lot of the other stuff without grumbling too much, but as far as the wrestling moves, I thought I'd see what you all thought of those.
Rath_Robert 07-05-04, 06:45 PM	Plus as far as damaging weapons goes... The weapon hardiness still applies, so unless they do massive damage, they are not going to take damage. This ability will basically break staffs and weapons like that.
Zolgar 07-05-04, 07:08 PM	Wrestling moved then.. okay let's see: Bearhug: Grabbing your opponent and squeezing the air out of him can be a very successful method of attack. The brawler who selects the bearhug move must first succeed at a grapple check on his opponent. The following round (if he is still grappling his opponent) he will automatically deal 3d4 (plus strength bonus) subdual damage to his enemy per round that he retains the grapple. Seems abit tough with the automatic subdual damage every round the grapple is held. There should be a chance to resist it. Backbreaker: The backbreaker is a move in which the brawler picks his opponent up over his head and slams him down against his waiting knee, causing severe pain to his foe. In order to do this manoeuvre the target must be of the same size as the brawler or one size smaller. The brawler must succeed at a grapple check. The next round (if he retains his grapple action), the brawler will pick up his opponent and bring him crashing down on his knee causing 2d4 (plus 1 ½ strength bonus) damage to his foe. The damage to the spine, will make his opponent writhe in pain and loose his next action. Again, no save. If the grapple is maintained it's an automatic hit.. this demands a fort save, at very least. Body Slam: A brawler who uses the body-slam action will pick his opponent up over his head, provided of course the brawler has a high enough strength score to lift the opponent, and throw him impressively to the ground. This requires the brawler to succeed at a grapple check, if he retains the grapple, he may drop his opponent to the ground for 2d6 (plus 1 ½ strength bonus). The body slam can only be done to creatures the same size or one size smaller than the brawler. *whistles idely* Another automatic hit with a sucsessfull grapple. At very least a reflex save to lad properly from the fall and take less damage. Crippling Lunge: Taking out the legs of your enemy can be super effective especially if the enemy is much faster than you. If the brawler can get behind an enemy and flank him, he can lunge at the back of the opponent’s knee, causing severe ligament damage. The creature must be bipedal and not immune to critical damage (construct, undead etc) and the brawler must give up any additional attacks he may receive to attempt the crippling lunge. If he succeeds at the attack the strike deals 2d4+1/2 strength bonus and his enemy may only move at ½ his base speed and is considered flat-footed for 24 hours. The target can resist this attack by making a Fortitude save (DC 10 + Damage Dealt). The target must make a Fortitude save every time this attack is successful. I like the ability and I like the idea.. But "flatfooted for 24 hours" do you realize that this is the bane of any DM? I mean you do that to the BBEG in a 10> game and the rogue is going to finish him in the next few rounds. I believe it's better to just say that only for the purposes of AC they are denied their dex mod. (thus no freak sneak attacks) Spear Attack: During a charge action, the brawler may choose to lunge at his opponent causing 2d6 + ½ strength damage. The brawler must succeed in a melee attack during the charge, if he misses the attack or his opponent makes a Reflex save (DC 13 + Brawler’s Dex Modifier) the brawler deals 1d6 subdual damage to himself due to the impact of hitting the ground. If the brawler succeeds in the spear attack, he not only deals damage, but automatically grapples his opponent on the ground and may automatically deal unarmed damage for as long as he retains the grapple. Far too good. Automatic grapple if it hits, and automatic damage every round the grapple is held. Haymaker: If the brawler takes a full attack option, he may attempt a authoritative strike dealing additional damage to his enemy. If the brawler succeeds in this attack, he deals double his unarmed damage to his foe and if his foe cannot make a Fortitude saving throw (DC 10 + damage dealt) his opponent will fall unconscious for 1d4 + 1 rounds. After throwing this wild punch, the brawler will not be able to defend as well the following round, making him suffer a -2 penalty to AC for the following round. Pretty good. The DC might be abit low though, maybe make it a level based DC? Reverse Grapple: Not all grapplers rely on brute strength alone, some are also very skilful and able to avoid being grappled by other creatures. If a creature attempts to grapple the brawler and does not succeed, then the brawler may make his own grapple attempt and if it succeeds and he retains the grapple for a round, he may automatically deal unarmed damage to his foe as long as he holds the grapple. Not too bad. DDT: In an instant, the brawler can lift his opponent off the ground, provided of course the brawler has a high enough strength score to light the opponent, and plant his foe’s head into the dirt. The successfully make this attack, the brawler must succeed at a grapple check and maintain the grapple until his next turn. On his following turn, he will drop his opponent to the ground on his head possibly stunning or knocking out his foe. This attack deals 2d6+1/2 the brawler’s strength bonus. The target must then make a Fortitude save (DC 10+Damage Dealt) or be prone and stunned for 2 rounds. If the target misses the save by more than 5, he is immediately rendered unconscious for 1d4+1 rounds. Grant a reflex save to avoid fallin on ones head. Gut Buster: This attack is very similar to the backbreaker, except instead of the target’s back crashing onto the brawler’s knee, the brawler drops him face down, making the target’s abdomen take the damage. The brawler must succeed at a grapple check. The next round (if he retains his grapple action), the brawler will pick up his opponent and bring him crashing down on his knee causing 2d4 (plus 1 ½ strength bonus) damage to his foe. After the damage is dealt, and the target does not make a Fortitude Save (DC 10 + Damage Dealt), he will be considered Shaken (-2 Attack, Saves, and Skills Checks). There's that auto-damage thing going again.... Choke Out: Using leverage to constrict the air supply to the brain, the brawler master can subdue his opponent by simply rendering him unconscious. After the opponent is grappled, the brawler must make an additional grapple check. If this check succeeds, he deals 1d6 (plus Strength bonus) points of damage to an enemy and the target must succeed a fortitude save (DC 15 + Number of rounds grappled) or pass out for 1d4+1 rounds. This is pretty good, but if you check out my brawler, his ability that's simular to this one, it's got slightly better mechanics, the DC is based off the brawlers ability, not just how long they're held pinned.. It comes from Dragon Magazine, issue 303 :) and as a final note that just on all of them: Many need level requrements and/or prerequsites. Some are just way too powerfull to have in the first few levels.
Rath_Robert 07-05-04, 07:18 PM	Well they only get one every 4 levels, so I don't really think they are that bad.
Zolgar 07-05-04, 07:38 PM	Originally posted by Rath_Robert Well they only get one every 4 levels, so I don't really think they are that bad. It's not the number they get, it's just how early they can get some.. That's what I'm saying. Crippling Lunge, for example, to me seems much too good for a 4th level character to have.
Rath_Robert 07-07-04, 10:05 PM	So what can I fix?
Rath_Robert 07-07-04, 10:05 PM	So what can I fix?
Rath_Robert 07-07-04, 10:05 PM	So what can I fix?