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Icewalker
2008-05-02, 07:45 PM
Brawler

"I'll kill a man in a fair fight... Or if I think he's gonna start a fair fight, or if he bothers me, or there's a woman."
-Jayne Cobb, Brawler

Brawlers have the following game statistics:
Abilities: Brawlers are solely physical warriors. They focus especially on Dexterity and Strength, which they use for attacking and for using various abilities, and Constitution is useful for taking blows. The mental stats offer little advantage to a Brawler.
Alignment: Any
Starting gold: 4d6 x 5 (75 gp)
Hit dice: d10

{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Unarmed Damage|Special

1st|
+1|
+2|
+2|
+0|1d6|Class Ability

2nd|
+2|
+3|
+3|
+0|1d6|Class Ability

3rd|
+3|
+3|
+3|
+1|1d6|Class Ability

4th|
+4|
+4|
+4|
+1|1d8|Class Ability

5th|
+5|
+4|
+4|
+1|1d8|Class Ability

6th|
+6/+1|
+5|
+5|
+2|1d8|Class Ability

7th|
+7/+2|
+5|
+5|
+2|1d8|Class Ability

8th|
+8/+3|
+6|
+6|
+2|1d10|Class Ability

9th|
+9/+4|
+6|
+6|
+3|1d10|Class Ability

10th|
+10/+5|
+7|
+7|
+3|1d10|Class Ability

11th|
+11/+6/+1|
+7|
+7|
+3|1d10|Class Ability

12th|
+12/+7/+2|
+8|
+8|
+4|2d6|Class Ability

13th|
+13/+8/+3|
+8|
+8|
+4|2d6|Class Ability

14th|
+14/+9/+4|
+9|
+9|
+4|2d6|Class Ability

15th|
+15/+10/+5|
+9|
+9|
+5||2d6|Class Ability

16th|
+16/+11/+6/+1|
+10|
+10|
+5|2d8|Class Ability

17th|
+17/+12/+7/+2|
+10|
+10|
+5|2d8|Class Ability

18th|
+18/+13/+8/+3|
+11|
+11|
+6||2d8|Class Ability

19th|
+19/+14/+9/+4|
+11|
+11|
+6|2d8|Class Ability

20th|
+20/+15/+10/+5|
+12|
+12|
+6|2d10|Class Ability[/table]

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Brawlers are proficient with all simple melee weapons.

Improvised Weapon Proficiency: Brawlers are apt at using whatever they can pick up to beat the crap out of their opponent. They are considered proficient in any improvised weapon. (When improvising with a real weapon they are not proficient with, such as an exotic weapon, the Brawler takes -2 to damage dealt from the written damage)

Unarmed Strike: Brawlers are practiced in fighting unarmed, giving them advantages when doing so. At 1st level, a brawler gains Improved Unarmed Strike as a bonus feat. A brawler's attacks may be with either fist interchangeably or even from elbows, knees, and feet. This means that a brawler may even make unarmed strikes with his hands full. There is no such thing as an off-hand attack for a brawler striking unarmed. A brawler may thus apply his full Strength bonus on damage rolls for all his unarmed strikes.

A brawler's unarmed strike is treated both as a manufactured weapon and a natural weapon for the purpose of spells and effects that enhance or improve either manufactured weapons or natural weapons.

A brawler also deals more damage with his unarmed strikes than a normal person would, as shown on the table.

That Guy's Tough...: Starting at second level, a brawler may add his Strength or Dexterity score to his Intimidate checks against any who have seen him fight.

Shot to the Face: Starting at third level and once per day per brawler level, a brawler may make a savage blow to his opponents face, or any other weak point. You must declare that you are using this ability before you make your attack roll (thus, a failed attack roll ruins the attempt). If the attack is successful, the target takes damage as normal and must succeed on a Fortitude save DC equal to the damage dealt or be stunned for one round: a stunned character can't act, drops anything held, loses any Dexterity bonus to AC, and takes a -2 penalty to AC.

Catch and Toss: Starting at fifth level, a brawler may attempt to catch an opposing foe and throw him over his shoulder once per day per two brawler levels. To do this, the brawler makes an attack roll, using Dexterity instead of Strength. If the brawler's roll beats the attackers attack roll, then the brawler successfully stops the attack, and the opponent is thrown to the square on the opposite side of the brawler and lands prone, taking 1d4 damage. If another creature is in the square already, it takes the damage as well and both are knocked prone. This ability can only be used against creatures of equal size or one size category smaller than the brawler. At 8th level and every 3rd level after the target grabbed is thrown an extra square of distance, taking an additional 1d4 damage per square thrown. At 10th level, brawler's can Catch and Toss creatures one size category larger than them.

Improvised Weapon Proficiency, Large: At 9th level, brawlers learn to use larger objects as improvised weapons even so as to hit multiple enemies at once. When wielding a larger improvised weapon, such as a chair or a small table, a brawler may make an attack against two foes who are adjacent to one another and within the brawler's reach simultaneously as one attack.




...CRAP! I ran out of ideas!

Anybody have suggestions? So far it has mostly turned out as a Monk+, but I want to give it a bit of it's own style. Brawlers fight with a kind of savage grace, smoothly tearing up their opponents with very brutal attacks.

UglyPanda
2008-05-02, 08:07 PM
Shot to the face is too good at mid level. The saving throw is much too high. Power attack chair to the head, he's stunned and can't do anything about the next one, or the next, or the next, until dead. At high levels, everyone has fortification or something similar.

I'm not sure, but being able to use improvised weapons might make the unarmed damage worthless. I'm not sure about the exact damage of improvised weapons, but you can at least power attack with a chair. Fists are light and have little use. Also, how do you feel about masterwork table legs or +1 pitchforks?

Being proficient with any weapon in exchange for doing two less damage...I need to think that one over.

How does large improvised weapon proficiency work exactly? Is it like a war mind's sweeping strike, or is it that each weapon has a different ability based off of shape?

Icewalker
2008-05-02, 09:32 PM
I put in the -2 for real weapons because technically you could pick up any real weapon and 'improvise' with it. So I had to put that in so it wasn't universal weapon proficiency. Not sure how well it works.

Improvised weapons vary. You are supposed to compare it to stuff in the equipment, ie table leg = small club etc.

The large improvised weapon proficiency is just supposed to be you can swing or push with something larger and hit two people who are in front of you. (See: beginning of Firefly, The Train Job, Jayne beats on two people with chair :smallbiggrin:)

Partysan
2008-05-03, 03:01 AM
a brawler may add his Strength or Dexterity score to his Intimidate checks
This surely should say "Strength or Dexterity modifier", shouldn't it?

As far as for ideas, you could give him abilities to inflict some other conditions, such as nauseated (stomach or groin attack) etc. going up from less dangerous to very hindering conditions. However he would need something useable against undead or oozes too.
And give him some ability against casters^^

Kenori
2008-05-03, 09:13 AM
I was actually working on a class with the same name. What I was doing, and it sounds like something like this, would be to use a style system, similar to the ranger. The three styles I was working on were Dance Fist (Capoeia), Fast Feet (Kickboxer) and Brute Fighter (Boxer/Strong Arm type). They get bonus feats based on their style as well.

Icewalker
2008-05-04, 02:08 AM
@2^: Yes, yes it should. :smallbiggrin:

@^: I'm basically going for the third one there. Brute fighter. Jayne inspired this class, really. If you watch the choreography in the Firefly fight scenes, he is really quite smooth in his vicious attacks. It's really awesome.

Chokuto
2008-05-10, 10:49 AM
You might wish to take a peek at the "Drunken Master" Prestige Class, this sounds similar to that. I believe that was in Complete Warrior.

You should make you Improvised Weapon Prof. ability read something more like this...

Improvised Weapon Proficiency: Brawlers can wield improvised weapons (i.e. objects not intended to be used as weapons. Chairs, ladders, etc.) at no penalty provided they are of equivalent size to the weapons a brawler could typically wield.

Or something along those lines. I would also consider scaling down the brawlers unarmed damage progression. Since brawler has no alignment restriction, you don't want to make a class that is "Monk+". You still want monk to be a viable player option. Since Brawler's gain improvised weapon abilities, and thus more versatility, maybe cease the unarmed damage at 2d8 or even 2d6.

Another few things... Maybe give the Brawler the "Illiteracy" ability like Barbarians, fits the flavor of the class I think, and could help separate it from Monk. I'd give them "Improved Initiative" at 2nd or 3rd level, since I believe a Brawler would typically on his toes. "Improved Grapple" would be another bonus feat I can't imagine the class without. Restrict their armor prof. to Light and allow them to add their Int bonus to AC, since a smart brawler would be able to guess an opponents attacks before through careful study.

These are just some ideas, I'll post more if I can think of any. Overall like the idea alot. Oh, and Jayne is the MAN!!! So sad that the show'll never be finished.... :smallfrown:

SoD
2008-05-10, 01:30 PM
*snip* You still want monk to be a viable player option. *snip*

...heh. Quoted for nothing but pure and unadultered truth (QFNBPAUT).

chiasaur11
2008-05-10, 01:54 PM
These are just some ideas, I'll post more if I can think of any. Overall like the idea alot. Oh, and Jayne is the MAN!!! So sad that the show'll never be finished.... :smallfrown:

Well, to be fair to the @$$%# SONS OF GORRAM RUTTIN' !##$^%^%^ at Fox, the movie does wrap up the plot fairly well, all in all.

Still, yeah. Really good show, really, really stupid network.

SurlySeraph
2008-05-10, 03:10 PM
I wouldn't limit the number of times per day the Brawler can use his combat abilities. There's no reason to.

Icewalker
2008-05-11, 09:00 PM
As to not making a monk+...I don't really see a problem. Then it might be on par with the other character classes... :smallsigh:

I do want it to be significantly separate from monk thematically though. I like the improved initiative/grapple stuff, and I'll look at complete warrior.


@SS: I did. Note:

once per day per brawler level

once per day per two brawler levels

Flickerdart
2008-05-11, 09:13 PM
Give him Monkey Grip as a free feat? Dual-wielding wagons is a sight to behold.

Icewalker
2008-05-11, 10:02 PM
Monkey Grip does not work that way?

I don't actually know how it does, I never figured it out.

Marbit Muncher
2008-06-03, 12:58 AM
I think Monkey Grip is just a better grapple check? Or dual-weilding or somthing like that.

Zavule
2008-06-03, 06:42 PM
I like it so far. Its more powerful than the monk, but then again the monk had problems and wasn't such a great class. I'd like to see a set of class skills and how many per level. The one thing that jumps out at me is this guy would actually make two weapon fighting worth while. No off hand penalties? Full strength on all your attacks? Get a spiked chain. that'll be str and a half on your regular hits and the improved unarmed strike gets you extra attacks with no penalties and full strength. Huzzah. He's more powerful than your standard melee classes, but he's still no caster. I'd like to see him finished out though.

Sir Conkey
2008-06-03, 11:56 PM
Perfect!!! Please continue, is just what one guy I'm DMing wanted. As for other abilities how about some kind of die hard ability, so that he is that much harder to take down.
Firefly was the best show ever, but was sadly cut down in its prime.
two by two hands of blue. Never made it fully into the show **** it!

Sir Conkey
2008-06-03, 11:57 PM
I've always thought you should be able to use people as improvised weapons, I'm talking about when they are still alive and awake, maybe a grapple option?

13379\/\/4R
2008-06-25, 12:39 PM
Start at the part where Jayne gets knocked out by a 90 pound girl, 'cause I don't think thats's ever gettin' old!