The Brawler

Level 1. 1d4 Unarmed Damage, Martial Arts, Unarmored Defense
Level 2. Techniques, Unarmored Movement +10 ft.
Level 3. Deflect Missiles, Martial Arts School
Level 4. Ability Score Improvement
Level 5. 1d6 Unarmed Damage, Extra Attacks, Technique
Level 6. Martial Arts School Feature, Unarmored Movement +15 ft.
Level 7. Evasion, Technique
Level 8. Ability Score Improvement
Level 9. Technique
Level 10. Unarmored Movement +20 ft.
Level 11. 1d8 Unarmed Damage, Martial Arts School Feature
Level 12. Ability Score Improvement
Level 13. Technique
Level 14. Extra Attacks (2), Unarmored Movement +25 ft.
Level 15. Technique
Level 16. Ability Score Improvement
Level 17. 1d10 Unarmed Damage, Martial Arts School Feature
Level 18. Technique, Unarmored Movement +30 ft.
Level 19. Ability Score Improvement
Level 20. Adrenaline Rush

As a brawler, you gain the following class features.

HIT POINTS

Hit Dice: 1d10 + your Constitution modifier
Hit Points at 1st Level: 10 + your Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d10 (or 6) + your Constitution modifier per level after 1st.

PROFICIENCIES

Armor: None
Weapons: Simple weapons, short swords
Tools: One gaming set or artisan’s tools
Saving Throws: Strength, Dexterity
Skills: Choose three from Acrobatics, Athletics, History, Insight, Intimidation, and Performance.

As a brawler, you gain the following class features.

Martial Arts

At 1st level, your practice of martial arts gives you mastery of combat styles that use unarmed strikes and brawler weapons, which are shortswords and any simple melee weapons that don’t have the two-handed or heavy property.

You gain the following benefits while you are unarmed or wielding only brawler weapons and you aren’t wearing armor or wielding a shield:

• You can use Dexterity instead of Strength for the attack and damage rolls of your unarmed strikes and brawler weapons.
• You can roll a d4 in place of the normal damage of your unarmed strike or brawler weapon. This die changes as you gain brawler levels.
• When you use the Attack action with an unarmed strike or a brawler weapon on your turn, you can make one unarmed strike as a bonus action. For example, if you take the Attack action and attack with a quarterstaff, you can also make an unarmed strike as a bonus action, assuming you haven’t already taken a bonus action this turn.

Unarmored Defense

This feature functions as the monk’s Unarmored Defense class feature.

Techniques

Starting at 2nd level, your training allows you to harness your physical prowess to use advanced fighting techniques. Your access to this energy is represented by a number of stamina points. You gain 2 stamina points at 2nd level, and gain an additional one at each additional brawler level.

You can spend these points to fuel various brawler techniques. You start knowing three such techniques: Flurry of Blows, Bob and Weave, and Fancy Footwork. You learn more techniques as you gain levels in this class, chosen from the list of techniques listed at the end of the class description.

Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the techniques you know and replace it with another technique you could learn at that level. If a technique has prerequisites, you must meet them to learn it. You can learn the technique at the same time that you meet its prerequisites. A level prerequisite refers to your level in this class.

When you spend a stamina point, it is unavailable until you finish a short or long rest, at the end of which you recover your stamina.

Some of your techniques require your target to make a saving throw to resist the feature’s effects. The saving throw DC is calculated as follows:

Technique save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Strength or Dexterity modifier

Flurry of Blows
Immediately after you take the Attack action on your turn, you can spend 1 stamina point to make two unarmed strikes as a bonus action.

Bob and Weave
You can spend 1 stamina point to take the Dodge action as a bonus action on your turn.

Fancy Footwork
You can spend 1 stamina point to take the Disengage or Dash action as a bonus action on your turn, and your speed is not reduced when moving a creature you are grappling until the end of your turn.

Unarmored Movement

Starting at 2nd level, your speed increases by 10 feet while you are not wearing armor or wielding a shield. This bonus increases when you reach certain brawler levels.

Deflect Missiles

This feature functions as the monk’s Unarmored Defense class feature., with the exception that it uses stamina points instead of ki points.

Martial Arts School

When you reach 3rd level, you focus your training on a particular martial arts school, detailed at the end of the class description or one from another source. Your tradition grants you features at 3rd level and again at 6th, 11th, and 17th level.

Ability Score Improvement

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

Using the optional feats rule, you can forgo taking this feature to take a feat of your choice instead.

Extra Attack

Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

The number of attacks increases to three when you reach 14th level in this class.

Evasion

At 7th level, your instinctive agility lets you dodge out of the way of certain area effects, such as a blue dragon’s lightning breath or a fireball spell. When you are subjected to an effect that allows you to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, you instead take no damage if you succeed on the saving throw, and only half damage if you fail.

Adrenaline Rush

At 20th level, when you roll for initiative and have no stamina points remaining, you regain 4 stamina points.

As a brawler, you can select techniques from the following list.

Circle Throw
When you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack granted by your Flurry of Blows, it must make a Strength saving throw or be pushed up to 15 feet away from you.

Clawed Strikes
When you make an unarmed strike, you can decide whether to deal bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage.

Counter
When a creature makes a melee attack against you and misses, you can use your reaction and spend 1 stamina point to make a melee weapon attack against the attacking creature.

Crushing Pin
Prerequisite: 9th level
When you make a successful grapple attempt, you can spend 1 stamina point to cause the creature you are grappling to be restrained until the grapple ends. While restrained, the creature automatically takes your unarmed strike damage at the start of its turn.

Eldritch Strikes
Prerequisite: 5th level
Your unarmed strikes count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to magical attacks and damage.

Grapple Mastery
Prerequisite: 5th level
When you make a grapple attempt or attempt to escape a grapple, you can spend 1 stamina point gain advantage on the check.

Grappling Strike
Your training in grappling and wrestling has quickened your reflexes. When you hit another creature with an unarmed strike, you can spend 1 stamina point to make a grapple attempt as part of the same attack.

Haymaker
Prerequisite: 5th level
You have learned how to wallop enemies with powerful strikes. When you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack, you can spend 1 stamina point to attempt a haymaker. The target must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or be stunned until the end of your next turn.

Improvised Mastery
You are proficient with improvised weapons, and improvised weapons are treated as brawler weapons unless they would have the two-handed or heavy properties.

Mettle
Prerequisite: 9th level
You gain proficiency in Constitution saving throws. Additionally, whenever you make a Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution saving throw and fail, you can spend 1 stamina point to reroll it and take the second result.

Slow Fall
Prerequisite: 5th Level
This feature functions as the monk’s Slow Fall class feature.

Sweep the Leg
When you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack granted by your Flurry of Blows, it must make a Dexterity saving throw or be knocked prone.

At 3rd level, a brawler gains the Martial Arts School feature. The following options are available to a brawler.

Drunken Boxing

The Drunken Boxing School functions as the monk’s Way of the Drunken Master Monastic Tradition, with the exception that its features are powered by stamina points instead of ki points.

Elemental Fist

The Elemental Fist School functions as the monk’s redux Way of the Four Elements Monastic Tradition (viewable here), with the exception that its features are powered by stamina points instead of ki points.

Radiant Spirit

The Radiant Spirit School functions as the monk’s Way of the Sun Soul Monastic Tradition, with the following exceptions:

• Radiant Sun Bolt may be used as a bonus action if you made the Attack action on your turn.
• Searing Arc Strike deals radiant damage.
• Searing Sunburst requires a Dexterity saving throw, instead of a Constitution saving throw.
• Sun Shield automatically deals damage when struck, instead of requiring a reaction. While Sun Shield is active, you gain a fly speed equal to your walking speed and can hover.