Heliomance
2007-11-23, 07:56 PM
Brawler
The Brawler is an interesting class. For the most part lacking any sort of honour, at least when it comes to fighting, the Brawler takes any and all advantages that come his way. Good-aligned Brawlers are not unknown, and may be perfectly honourable in most of their life. They merely take an entirely pragmatic view to fighting, their attitude being that the purpose of a fight is to stop the other person hitting you in as short a space of time as possible, and by any means possible. Thus, they have no problem with using underhand tricks to end a fight. Despite this, they usually enjoy fighting, especially when drunk, and two Brawlers in the same tavern are almost guaranteed to have a large furniture bill by the end of the night.
Adventures: Most Brawlers see adventures as a chance to get out into the world, meet new and interesting people, and beat them up. Actually, their motivation is usually twofold - they will adventure both for fun and for profit. After all, they can't get drunk with no money, can they?
Characteristics: Brawlers fight dirty. There is no other way to describe it. Anything to hand becomes a weapon, hair is a useful handhold, the groin is a perfectly legitimate target. Their maneuvers favour functionality over flashiness, as an intricate weave of sword and dagger that results in a small slice on the torso is, to their way of thinking, much less useful than a chair over the head that leaves the opponent unconcious on the floor. Brawlers, other than evil-aligned ones, rarely aim specifically to kill their opponents. If the enemy is unable to fight, they count it as a victory. On the other hand, they probably won't specifically attempt to avoid killing them either. Death is as valid a way as any of taking an opponent out of the fight.
Alignment: Brawlers may be of any alignment, though lawful Brawlers are far rarer than other types.
Races: Humans, Dwarves and Half-Orcs are the races most frequently seen as Brawlers. Gnomes and Halflings seem to lack the cheerful tendency towards violence needed, and Elves and Half-Elves as a rule consider such fighting beneath their dignity.
Role: The Brawler is a melee class, getting stuck into the front lines with glee. They don't tend to go in for ranged combat much, though they will throw projectiles on occasion. Their main strength, however, lies in their ability and willingness to go up close and personal. Unfortunately, the way they fight make them unsuitable for soaking up damage. However, they can be very useful as a secondary damage dealer.
Abilities: Strength is very important for Brawlers to increase how hard they can hit. Dexterity is also important - Brawlers prefer to dodge than to absorb hits wherever possible. Constitution comes in at third, as there are times when it is impossible to didge, and at that point you really want to be able to take a hit.
Alignment: Any
Hit Die: d10
Class Skills: The Brawler's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), and Tumble (Dex).
Skill Points at 1st Level: (2 + Int modifier) × 4.
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 2 + Int modifier.
Class Features
All the following are class features of the Brawler.
Weapon and Armour proficiency: Brawlers are proficient with improvised weapons. Apart from that, they have no other weapon proficiencies. They are not proficient with any shields, but they are proficient with all light and medium armours.
Unarmed Strike: Brawlers have had much experience in using their fists, knees, elbows, and any other body part that can conveniently reach an uncomfortable part of the opponent's anatomy. At 1st level, a Brawler gains Improved Unarmed Strike as a bonus feat. As the Brawler uses any part of his body that might give him an advantage, he can make unarmed strikes with both hands full. In addition, there is no such thing as an offhand strike from an unarmed Brawler.
Sneak Attack: If a Brawler can catch an opponent when he is unable to defend himself effectively from his attack, he can strike a vital spot for extra damage. Basically, the Brawler’s attack deals extra damage any time his target would be denied a Dexterity bonus to AC (whether the target actually has a Dexterity bonus or not), or when the Brawler flanks his target. This extra damage is 1d6 at 1st level, and it increases by 1d6 every two Brawler levels thereafter. Should the Brawler score a critical hit with a sneak attack, this extra damage is not multiplied.
Head Breaker At level 2, a Brawler gains the ability to daze his opponent with a sufficiently powerful blow to the head. A Fort save (DC: tbc) will negate the status effect, but not the damage. At 8th level, this ability can stun for 2d4 rounds, and at 14th level can knock unconcious for 2d4 rounds and stun for an additional 1d4 rounds.
<more crunch to come, but later. Too tired now to think about it.>
<In the meantime, feedback on what I have so far would be appreciated>
<On second thoughts, more not coming. I'll let this fade into obscurity as having looked through the From the Playground index, I find that someone else has made this exact class already, far better than I would have done. C'est la vie.>
The Brawler is an interesting class. For the most part lacking any sort of honour, at least when it comes to fighting, the Brawler takes any and all advantages that come his way. Good-aligned Brawlers are not unknown, and may be perfectly honourable in most of their life. They merely take an entirely pragmatic view to fighting, their attitude being that the purpose of a fight is to stop the other person hitting you in as short a space of time as possible, and by any means possible. Thus, they have no problem with using underhand tricks to end a fight. Despite this, they usually enjoy fighting, especially when drunk, and two Brawlers in the same tavern are almost guaranteed to have a large furniture bill by the end of the night.
Adventures: Most Brawlers see adventures as a chance to get out into the world, meet new and interesting people, and beat them up. Actually, their motivation is usually twofold - they will adventure both for fun and for profit. After all, they can't get drunk with no money, can they?
Characteristics: Brawlers fight dirty. There is no other way to describe it. Anything to hand becomes a weapon, hair is a useful handhold, the groin is a perfectly legitimate target. Their maneuvers favour functionality over flashiness, as an intricate weave of sword and dagger that results in a small slice on the torso is, to their way of thinking, much less useful than a chair over the head that leaves the opponent unconcious on the floor. Brawlers, other than evil-aligned ones, rarely aim specifically to kill their opponents. If the enemy is unable to fight, they count it as a victory. On the other hand, they probably won't specifically attempt to avoid killing them either. Death is as valid a way as any of taking an opponent out of the fight.
Alignment: Brawlers may be of any alignment, though lawful Brawlers are far rarer than other types.
Races: Humans, Dwarves and Half-Orcs are the races most frequently seen as Brawlers. Gnomes and Halflings seem to lack the cheerful tendency towards violence needed, and Elves and Half-Elves as a rule consider such fighting beneath their dignity.
Role: The Brawler is a melee class, getting stuck into the front lines with glee. They don't tend to go in for ranged combat much, though they will throw projectiles on occasion. Their main strength, however, lies in their ability and willingness to go up close and personal. Unfortunately, the way they fight make them unsuitable for soaking up damage. However, they can be very useful as a secondary damage dealer.
Abilities: Strength is very important for Brawlers to increase how hard they can hit. Dexterity is also important - Brawlers prefer to dodge than to absorb hits wherever possible. Constitution comes in at third, as there are times when it is impossible to didge, and at that point you really want to be able to take a hit.
Alignment: Any
Hit Die: d10
Class Skills: The Brawler's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), and Tumble (Dex).
Skill Points at 1st Level: (2 + Int modifier) × 4.
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 2 + Int modifier.
Class Features
All the following are class features of the Brawler.
Weapon and Armour proficiency: Brawlers are proficient with improvised weapons. Apart from that, they have no other weapon proficiencies. They are not proficient with any shields, but they are proficient with all light and medium armours.
Unarmed Strike: Brawlers have had much experience in using their fists, knees, elbows, and any other body part that can conveniently reach an uncomfortable part of the opponent's anatomy. At 1st level, a Brawler gains Improved Unarmed Strike as a bonus feat. As the Brawler uses any part of his body that might give him an advantage, he can make unarmed strikes with both hands full. In addition, there is no such thing as an offhand strike from an unarmed Brawler.
Sneak Attack: If a Brawler can catch an opponent when he is unable to defend himself effectively from his attack, he can strike a vital spot for extra damage. Basically, the Brawler’s attack deals extra damage any time his target would be denied a Dexterity bonus to AC (whether the target actually has a Dexterity bonus or not), or when the Brawler flanks his target. This extra damage is 1d6 at 1st level, and it increases by 1d6 every two Brawler levels thereafter. Should the Brawler score a critical hit with a sneak attack, this extra damage is not multiplied.
Head Breaker At level 2, a Brawler gains the ability to daze his opponent with a sufficiently powerful blow to the head. A Fort save (DC: tbc) will negate the status effect, but not the damage. At 8th level, this ability can stun for 2d4 rounds, and at 14th level can knock unconcious for 2d4 rounds and stun for an additional 1d4 rounds.
<more crunch to come, but later. Too tired now to think about it.>
<In the meantime, feedback on what I have so far would be appreciated>
<On second thoughts, more not coming. I'll let this fade into obscurity as having looked through the From the Playground index, I find that someone else has made this exact class already, far better than I would have done. C'est la vie.>