Not all people of the fist walk the way of enlightenment. Some of the best bare-knuckled fighters are found in your local inn. A pugilist is nothing more than a skilled hand to hand specialist. There are many kinds of pugilists in the world. Some study like black belts, others were born in a world that forced them to acquire the skills they needed to protect what they have. Some others might just be out there testing their own limits. Stubborn by nature, a pugilist is a person who refuses to believe he is outmatched by armed foes. Fighting is their life and pushing past the ability of others of their race is what drives them to become what they are.
The pugilist is an archetype of the black belt class, available only to bangaa black belts.
Archetype Main Ability Scores:
The pugilist mainly focuses on STR/DEX and WIS for martial combat and STR/DEX, CON, and WIS for his class features.
Archetype Feature Replacements:
1st – Tough Skin. 3rd – Maneuver Training. 4th – Master Technique. 5th – Master’s Strike. 8th – Master Technique. 11th – Opportunist. 12th – Master Technique. 16th – Master Technique. 20th – Master Technique.
Prerequisite
The pugilist must have the thick-skinned racial trait for bangaas.
Improved Thick Skinned (Ex)
At 1st level, the physical abuse a pugilist endures in training gives him a improved resistance to attacks from others. A pugilist adds half his Constitution modifier (minimum 1) to his natural armor class (this stacks with his racial trait that adds to his natural armor).
This ability replaces tough skin.
Roll with it (Ex)
At 3rd level, the aggression placed upon the pugilist forces him to learn to roll with the punches or be killed by his armed foes. The pugilist gains damage reduction 1/— and it increases by +1 every four levels (2/— at 7th level, 3/— at 11th level, 4/— at 15th level, and 5/— at 19th level). A pugilist loses this ability if he wears medium or heavy armor or is carrying a medium or heavy load.
This ability replaces maneuver training.
Pugilist Style Mastery (Ex)
Training is key to the pugilist, they do what they can to push the natural ability barriers to achieve effects that seem supernatural. Speed and agility are key to the pugilist abilities. Training all the time even when doing mundane tasks, a pugilist has a one track mind. The pugilist doesn’t often push to make friends, but gets into the habit of helping people over and over again, mainly to test their own abilities. Cold and calculating a pugilist looks past emotions and accounts for the facts.
Insight (Ex): Starting at 4th level, a pugilist shows that hitting the right spot counts for more than random bashing. A pugilist may use his Wisdom bonus in lieu of his Strength or Dexterity on attack rolls and combat maneuver checks with unarmed strikes or monk weapons.
Foresight (Ex): Starting at 8th level, a pugilist can always act in a surprise round even if he does not notice his enemies, though he remains flat-footed until he acts. In addition, a pugilist gains a bonus on initiative rolls equal to half his black belt level. At 20th level, a pugilist’s initiative roll is automatically a natural 20.
Chain Punches (Ex): Starting at 12th level, the speed training a pugilist undergoes shows in the speed of his attacks. While fighting unarmed or wielding monk weapons and using a full attack action, a pugilist can choose to double the attacks he gets but when doing so he cannot add any Strength bonuses to the damage. Chain punches doesn’t double extra attacks gained through haste or any other similar effects that grants additional attacks except for Two-Weapon Fighting feats nor does it stack with any other class feature that doubles a number of attacks.
Quivering Palm (Su): Starting at 16th level, a pugilist can set up vibrations within the body of another creature that can thereafter be fatal if the pugilist so desires. He can use this quivering palm attack once per day, and he must announce his intent before making his attack roll. Creatures immune to critical hits cannot be affected. Otherwise, if the pugilist strikes successfully and the target takes damage from the blow, the quivering palm attack succeeds. Thereafter, the pugilist can try to slay the victim at any later time, as long as the attempt is made within a number of days equal to his pugilist level. To make such an attempt, the pugilist merely wills the target to die (a free action), and unless the target makes a Fortitude saving throw (DC 10 + half of the black belt’s level + his Wisdom modifier), it dies. If the saving throw is successful, the target is no longer in danger from that particular quivering palm attack, but it may still be affected by another one at a later time. A pugilist can have no more than 1 quivering palm in effect at one time. If a pugilist uses quivering palm while another is still in effect, the previous effect is negated.
Battle Calculus (Ex): Starting at 20th level, a pugilist has seen virtually every martial application, and knows how to counter each and every foe effortlessly. As a free action once per round, a pugilist may force one opponent to reroll any one roll and take the lower result. A pugilist can use this ability a number of times per day equal to his Wisdom modifier.
This ability replaces a master technique gained at 4th, 8th, 12th, 16th, and 20th level.
Style Strike (Ex)
At 5th level, a pugilist can learn one type of style strike. Whenever she makes a master’s flurry, she can designate one of her unarmed strikes as a style strike. This attack is resolved as normal, but it has an additional effect depending on the type of strike chosen. At 10th level, and every five levels thereafter, a pugilist learns an additional style strike. She must choose which style strike to apply before the attack roll is made. At 15th level, she can designate up to two of her unarmed strikes each round as a style strike, and each one can be a different type. The pugilist can choose from any of the following strikes.
Defensive Spin: The pugilist spins about, confounding her foe. If the attack hits, the pugilist gains a +4 dodge bonus to AC against any attacks made by the target of the style strike until the start of her next turn. This bonus does not stack with itself.
Elbow Smash: The pugilist follows up a punch with a strike from her elbow. If the attack hits, the pugilist can make an additional attack using the same attack bonus as the punch at a –5 penalty. If this second attack hits, it deals damage as normal, but all of the damage is nonlethal.
Flying Kick: The pugilist leaps through the air to strike a foe with a kick. Before the attack, the pugilist can move a distance equal to double her movement. This movement is made as part of the pugilist’s master’s flurry attack and does not require an additional action. At the end of this movement, the pugilist must make an attack against an adjacent foe. This movement may be between attacks. This movement provokes an attack of opportunity as normal.
Foot Stomp: The pugilist stomps on a foe’s foot, preventing the opponent from escaping. If the attack hits and the pugilist ends her turn adjacent to that foe, the foe’s movement is restricted. Until the start of the pugilist’s next turn, the target of this attack can move only in such a way that the space it occupies is adjacent to the pugilist. Alternatively, it can attempt a combat maneuver check (against the pugilist’s CMD) as a standard action to break free. This strike does not work against foes that cannot be tripped.
Hammerblow: The pugilist links her hands together, swinging both arms like a club and dealing tremendous damage. If the attack hits, the pugilist rolls her unarmed strike damage twice, adding both rolls together before applying Strength and other modifiers to the damage. This bonus damage is not multiplied on a critical hit. The pugilist must have both hands free to use this ability.
Head-Butt: The pugilist slams her head into her enemy’s head, leaving her foe reeling. If the attack hits and the foe is of the same size or one size smaller than the pugilist, the pugilist can make a free combat maneuver check against the target of this strike (using the base attack bonus of the attack used to hit the foe). If the foe is not of the same creature type as the pugilist, the pugilist takes a –8 penalty on this check. If the check is successful, the target is staggered for 1 round. Creatures without a discernible head are not affected by this style strike (subject to GM discretion).
Knockback Kick: The pugilist attempts to knock her foe back with a powerful kick. If the attack hits, the pugilist can attempt a free combat maneuver check against the foe (using the base attack bonus of the attack used to hit the foe). If the check is successful, the foe is knocked 10 feet directly away from the pugilist. This distance increases by 10 feet for every 5 by which the check exceeds the foe’s CMD, to a maximum distance equal to the pugilist’s base movement speed. This movement does not provoke an attack of opportunity. The foe stops moving if it strikes another creature, barrier, or otherwise solid object. The creature is not knocked prone by this movement.
Leg Sweep: The pugilist attempts to sweep her foe’s leg, knocking the opponent down. If the attack hits, the pugilist can make a free trip attempt against the target of this strike (using the base attack bonus of the attack used to hit the foe). This trip attempt does not provoke an attack of opportunity.
Shattering Punch: The pugilist delivers a brutal punch that can penetrate defenses. If the attack hits, it bypasses any damage reduction or hardness possessed by the target of that attack.
Spin Kick: The pugilist spins about, delivering a kick her foe did not expect. The pugilist makes her attack against the foe’s flat-footed AC. Creatures with the uncanny dodge class feature or a similar effect cannot be caught flat-footed by this style strike.
This ability replaces master’s strike.
Tempered (Ex)
At 11th level, a pugilist can use physical resilience to avoid certain attacks. If the pugilist makes a Fortitude saving throw against an attack that has a reduced effect on a successful save, he instead avoids the effect entirely. Tempered can be used only if a pugilist is not wearing medium or heavy armor or carrying a medium or heavy load.
This ability replaces opportunist.
