I’ve been told that most of the people who fight like me were trained differently, more structured and disciplined. If that’s the case, then I’m extra thankful to my mentor. I was orphaned when I was quite young, and because of my size I was attractive to various organizations. Eventually I was taken in by a group of slavers and sold to a gladiator circuit. There an elderly fighter named Emki took a shine to me and kept me safe while teaching me how to fight. I wasn’t trusted with any weapons yet, so he taught me how to fight using my body as a weapon. My fists cracked and bled constantly, but they were reforged into granite under his tutelage. I used the skills he taught me to keep myself alive in the ring when they finally decided that I was worth putting into a game. I continued to fight for my life for years. Eventually I won it.
It was a cruel twist of fate. I was forced to face down my mentor with the promise that the survivor would win their freedom. I’m proud to say that Emki did not make it easy on my, but my strength eventually overcame his patient defenses, and I tearfully bid the man that had become a father to me before I broke his neck with my bare hands.
So now I’m free. But the funny thing about being raised as a fighter is that it becomes the only thing you’re good at. It becomes the only thing that you crave. Luckily over the years I’ve managed to focus some of my energy into other pursuits, applying the same focus and determination to it that Emki taught me in regards to fighting. But I’ve earned my way in the world by selling the one thing that was ever worth anything to anyone – my size, and my fists.
In the tradition of taking a look at classes that I tend to eschew for more “traditional” characters, I decided to take a look at the Monk class. I’ve long had an idea for a “boxer” type of character and decided that the combination of Way of the Open Hand Monk and Battle Master Fighter was the best way to represent that “sweet science” in the fantasy world. Unfortunately, most of the monk’s abilities require them to wear no armor and wield only monk weapons, so he’s not quite as survivable as a pure fighter, but he’s more survivable than a pure monk. His ability to shrug off a d12 of damage each rest helps that, along with his second wind. He won’t get much use out of his fighting style, but he does have the war pick to fall back on should he need to boost his per hit damage. However, he can wear down most regular opponents with repeated fist strikes. His combat maneuvers were chosen with an eye towards making him more survivable, with Evasive Footwork to boost his AC and Parry to further help him reduce damage. Feinting Attack just seemed too fitting.
Obviously this is a higher level character build, but for a game starting past first level, this can be a solid option, or adapted for use as an NPC by your DM.
Ben Erickson
