Find Your Path: Brawn

"More fools. I am done speaking, witch. Witness" - Karsa Orlong

In this post, I'll be going over the Path of Brawn for my in-development game, Miasma and Monsters. If you are unfamiliar with the game, please read my post introducing it here.

So you wanna be a bruiser? A formidable wall able to shrug off hits and deliver them right back? Be a blood-thirsty berserker that counts their kills by the score? Then Brawn is the Path for you. Home to Traits and Passive Bonuses that focus on dealing damage in melee, weathering physical damage, and adding tactical choices to any combat encounter, Brawn is meant for players who wish to emulate the classic archetypes of the Fighter, Battlemaster, Barbarian, and anything in between.

Let's start off with the Passive Brawn Bonuses. Your three choices in the Path of Brawn are:

1. +1 to Brawn Saves
2. +1 to melee damage rolls
3. Add a D10 to your Hit Dice pool instead of a D8 for this level

Starting off, we can choose a bonus to Brawn saves. For characters wishing to reliably pull of Stunts, Called Shots, or withstand being subject to the effects of those same Actions from their foes, this is a great PBB. If you combine it with the Shield Master Trait, then at level 1 you can perform Stunts using a shield with advantage AND get a +1 bonus. You'll be knocking your opponents prone left and right, setting up an ally with the Backstab Trait to fish for a juicy critical hit or even reliably pushing enemies off cliffs and bridges frequently.

Next we've got old faithful: +1 to melee damage rolls. It may seem boring at first, but it can really make the difference between an encounter dragging out and maiming party members to wiping the floor with the Flyguys you're fighting at the start of your journey in the first Round of Actions. It really works well with any of the Traits, but stand outs would include Brutal, Frenzy, Furious Retaliation, and Weapon Master. Even with an average Brawn score you could more than likely "one shot" most 1 HD creatures.

Now here's a real recipe for a bruiser of a character. Increasing your average HP gained per level from 4.5 to 5.5 is pretty great. Remember that you get to reroll your entire HD pool at each level up, so not only does this help you out when you first take it, but it definitely increases your max HP potential in the future. Consider pairing it with Bloodlust, Guardian, and Too Dumb to Die if you want to increase your chances of surviving every time you enter the fray.

Traits

Onto the real meat and potatoes of every Path: the Traits! Brawn really has some fun ones.

• Barbarian
• "While not wearing armor, your AC is equal to your Brawn score." 
• Wanna play as a Conan-esque character, charging into battle wielding nothing but your steel and some animal fur? Hell yeah! Note that as your Brawn score increases, so does your AC! Make sure to keep buffing that ability up and not be caught without some Restore Brawn potions in your pocket. Never worry about your armor breaking or weighing you down, but be wary of the undead and their ability draining powers!
• Bloodlust 
• "When you kill a creature, you gain temporary HP equal to your BB. This does not stack and replaces any temporary hit points you may have. Temporary hit points last 6 Turns (1 hour) or until you rest." 
• Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Skull Throne! Milk for the Khorne Flakes! Make sure to take the biggest weapon you can wield and go wild, focusing on those puny creatures first so you can soak up the blows from their bigger comrades. Works well with many of the other Brawn Traits 
• Brutal
• "Reroll 1s and 2s on damage dice, but you must take the second result." 
• One of my play testers got a lot of mileage out of an ability like this during a Curse of Strahd 5E campaign a few years ago, and it became an "in-joke" among our group. It really ups the reliability of doing good damage and players love rolling dice. 
• Cleave
• "When you kill a foe in melee combat you can use your Reaction to immediately make an attack on an adjacent foe." 
• The classic! Cut down an enemy and get some Action economy advantage in the process, what's not to love? 
• Feats of Strength
• "You have Advantage on Brawn Saves to perform feats of strength such as breaking down doors, bending bars, lifting gates, and picking up and throwing objects. Unless encumbered, double your Brawn when calculating jump distances. " 
• Something that's not focused on just combat, the player can use this to help mitigate environmental hazards or brute force themselves through a dungeon or a craven baron's defenses. Plus who couldn't love the idea of a player being able to leap chasms that no average person dare attempt? 
• Frenzy
• "HL times per day, you may enter a rage. When in a rage you can survive down to -L HP instead of 0 before needing to make a death Save and you deal an additional L damage on each successful melee attack. A rage ends when combat does."  
• Turn on Jomsviking by Amon Amarth and charge into battle!
• Furious Retaliation
• "Every time an opponent damages you, you gain a +1 to hit and a +1 on damage rolls until the end of the combat. This caps at +10."
• High risk, high reward play-style coming through. If you can manage to stay alive while taking a beating (hint: combine with Bloodlust!) you can eventually hit like a truck.
• Guardian
• "When an adjacent ally is hit with an attack, you may use a Reaction to take the damage for them. You may make a Brawn Save to reduce the damage you take by your BB, to a minimum of 1. The difficulty is 10 + HD of the attacker."
• Be a big damn hero and block attacks for your allies! Plus the good karma lets you attempt to reduce the damage by your Brawn Bonus. Helps keep the Skill-focused melee characters alive, or protects a squishy Magus from a killing blow. 
• Riposte
• "When a creature misses you with a melee attack, you can use your Reaction to roll a D8. On a 5+, deal that much damage to them."
• If you choose to focus more on withstanding large amounts of damage then dishing it out yourself, then this will allow you to give your foes a taste of their own medicine. Giving yourself a 50% chance to deal 5-8 damage every time a melee attack misses you is pretty powerful, and if you are missed by more than 2 attacks per Round, you'll get a lot of value out of this Trait.
• Shield Master
• "When wielding a shield, you gain a +1 bonus to your AC and have Advantage on any attempt to perform a Stunt that involves your shield."
• Great to take if you have allies who fight alongside you in melee and pairs well with Guardian. Use it to knock enemies prone, push them off high places, or bash them into environmental hazards. 
• Too Dumb to Die
• "When you would roll on the death table, you may instead lose d4 points from an ability score of your choosing and regain d4 HP."
• Really embrace the stereotype of the Fighter being a brick wall. You regain 1 lost point in each ability score that is below its max value every time you get a night's rest, so don't worry too much about the permanent effects of this. Have your other allies brew Restore Ability potions to keep yourself in the fight for even longer!
• Weapon Master 
• "Pick a weapon type (light, medium, etc.) to become a master in. Increase the damage die size for that weapon type (d6 > d8, d10 > d12, d12 > d14, etc.) and you gain a +1 to hit it."
• "By this axe I rule!" Devote yourself to a weapon type and become even more powerful with it. Also yeah, you read that right. Get a d14 for damage dice with a heavy weapon! Worth considering for Skill-focused characters too, as they can master their trusty bow.

Capstone Traits

When a character reaches 9th level, they get to choose a Capstone Trait. To choose one of these, one must have at least three Traits from the same Path, demonstrating their devotion to it. 

• Combat Veteran
• "When you consume rations, you gain 1d6+BB HP. When you roll the maximum amount on your damage dice (two 6s on 2d6, 12 on d12, etc.), you can roll your damage dice again and add it to the result. Repeat this process until you stop rolling the maximum amount. When using an Action to attack, you can perform a Stunt for free."
• Exploding damage dice, more HP regained when resting, and a free Stunt every time you Attack! You'll feel comfortable fighting multiple enemies at once and you'll be performing Stunts and Called Shots left and right! As a Combat Veteran, your experience fighting has helped you identify weak points, causing you to dish out even more damage than before.
  

• Dreadnought
• "All your hit dice become D12. Reroll your entire HP pool. If you upgraded any of your hit dice to D10s, they now become D16s. When wearing armor, you take less damage from melee and ranged attacks equal to half its Quality, rounded down, to a minimum of 1."
• Become a veritable lump of iron. You'll likely forget how to roll a Death save, due to your HP shooting up upon taking this Capstone Trait. Make sure to keep your armor well upgraded with Quality improvements and that you Field Repair it often to make good use of the Damage Reduction!

•  Meat Dabbler

• "Your melee attacks deal an additional HL damage. HL times per day, when you miss with a melee attack, you can make a melee basic attack against the same target as a free action. If you miss with this bonus attack, you may use this trait again, provided you have uses of it remaining."
• Hit like a freight train, and if you miss, try to hit again for free! With the right combination of PBBs and Traits, you can easily get your damage bonus over 10 when you qualify for this Capstone Trait.

Stronghold 

So, you've made it to level 12? You actually survived the front lines? You deserve to make a permanent mark upon the world. You now have the ability to retire your character and convert all their wealth and resources into constructing a Stronghold. You'll have to first clear out an area on the map or use an existing safe area to do so. You hold will attract followers and you'll be able to muster up your own army. Maybe your next character will be a pupil of your former one, or perhaps someone who aims to usurp the newfound throne and take the stronghold for themselves? Regardless, your character will bear the burden of leadership upon a troubled brow. 

Sample Character Progress

Below is a sample character progressing from 1st to 12th level. Each ability score increase was put into Brawn and Skill and they were able to reach the cap of 25 in Brawn by level 12. 

 

• Level 1 
• HP 3, Brawn 14, Skill 10, Mind 7, Charm 8 PBB: +1 to melee damage rolls Trait: Bloodlust
• Level 2
• HP 11, Brawn 15, Skill 11, Mind 7, Charm 8 PBB: +1 to melee damage rolls Trait: Weapon Master
  
• Level 3
• HP 18, Brawn 16, Skill 12, Mind 7, Charm 8 PBB: +1 to melee damage rolls Trait: Cleave
• Level 4
• HP 25, Brawn 17, Skill 13, Mind 7, Charm 8 PBB: +1 to melee damage rolls Trait: Too Dumb to Die
  
• Level 5
• HP 40, Brawn 18, Skill 14, Mind 7, Charm 8 PBB: +1 to melee damage rolls Trait: Furious Retaliation
  
• Level 6
• HP 55, Brawn 19, Skill 15, Mind 7, Charm 8 PBB: +1 to melee damage roll
• Level 7
• HP 56, Brawn 20, Skill 16, Mind 7, Charm 8 PBB: +1 to Brawn Saves
  
• Level 8
  
• HP 76, Brawn 21, Skill 17, Mind 7, Charm 8 PBB: +1 to Brawn Saves
• Level 9
• HP 99, Brawn 22, Skill 18, Mind 7, Charm 8 PBB: +1 to Brawn Saves Capstone Trait: Meat Dabbler
  
• Level 10
• HP 132, Brawn 23, Skill 19, Mind 7, Charm 8 PBB: +1 to Brawn Saves
• Level 11
• HP 133, Brawn 24, Skill 20, Mind 7, Charm 8 PBB: +1 to Brawn Saves
• Level 12
  
• HP 134, Brawn 25, Skill 21, Mind 7, Charm 8 PBB: +1 to Brawn Saves

You've read up on how the Path of Brawn works, so now go forth and conquer!