Brawler Gear


Advice


My level 2 Brawler has a small pile of gold and he is itching to spend it. The question is where should he begin?

PFS Play
Half Orc, Mutagenic Mauler Archetype
Enforcer--Power Attack--Hurtful feat chain...
Most attacks will be Unarmed, with a Whip to trip. I plan to pick up close fighter masterwork weaponry in Cold Iron, Silver and Adamantine at some point for those situations.

Should I pick up AC Items, my Resist Cloak,or maybe a STR belt? Perhaps the Amulet Of Many Attacks/Flurries/Whateveritscalled?

Any and all help is appreciated.

The Exchange

A light armor with the Brawling enchantment first purchase. +2 to attacks, dmg, and grapples for a +1 bonus.

Grand Lodge

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My 2 bits from my level 7 PFS brawler (not in order of importance):

1) Use Cestus (Cestii!) - not for damage, but for DR bypassing. You'll want 2 of each. When you can afford it, grab at least one adamantine cestus (I only enchanted the adamantine one). You can do unarmed attacks with your legs and elbows, so you can wear them all the time. Further, you're considered armed (beyond a doubt) AND you have open hands, which means you can grapple with no issue, and disarm without any penalty AND take the weapon into hand (for shenanigans and preventing your opponent from picking them up).

2) Ammy of Swarmbane - PFS has swarms, they are a P.I.T.A., and get pretty strong in later games. Always good to be able to thump them with your unarmed attacks because throwables stop being effective.

3) +1 chain shirt of Brawling. +2 to hit, +2 to damage, +2 to CMD/CMB for grappling. Combat maneuvers are your battlefield control, so bonuses are encouraged.

4) As a personal recommendation, I like Snake Style to round out the brawler's horrible defenses, so any items that increase sense motive are great (Ioun Stones for alertness and +2 to a skill!)

5) Cloak of Resistance - gotta shore up that will save.

6) Circlet of Wisdom (or similar item) - more will save.

7) Amulet of Mighty Fists - I prefer to look at this item as a means of adding a weapon enhancement. Ghost Touch is situational (but useful), and Holy works on a good chunk of your opponents. A +1 Holy (expensive!) gives you cold iron and silver attacks against evil creatures, so demons and devils are screwed. It's expensive as hell.

8) Monk's Robe - Increases your unarmed damage and AC/CMD ability.

9) Shirt of Immolation - if you're a grappler, buckets of extra damage.

10) Belt of Strength - I don't think it's worth the gold to go +4, at least not until you get to the 5-11 scenario range where you pull 5k+ a session, but a +2 is nice. Adds to CMD/CMB too.

I'd also suggest taking Combat Expertise so you can dig deep into Combat Maneuver trees easily as a situation warrants.

Scarab Sages

Great list, I'd just add the Deliquescent Gloves. They add corrosive to every attack you make with any weapon, and let you safely unarmed strike any ooze.

Grand Lodge

Cestus are cool and all but I prefer Armor spikes. Auto damage when grappled (even losing the grapple). It is Piercing damage also. SO Adamantine Armor spikes Will allow you to overcome both Piercing and Adamantine DR.

Typically after I buy +1 ring, +2 armor, and a Jingasa of the fortunate Soldier.... I spring for Dusty rose prism to put into my wayfinder. +1 AC and +2 to all CMD & CMD. its 5,000gp and a wayfinder is 500gp. Very cheap investment to improve so many things.

Quote:
I'd also suggest taking Combat Expertise so you can dig deep into Combat Maneuver trees easily as a situation warrants.
OP wrote:
Half Orc, Mutagenic Mauler Archetype

No Martial Flexibility so unless he wants to invest in those feats. But I think he wants to trip with a whip so he doesn't provoke AoO for not having Improved Trip.

Grand Lodge

Armbands of the Brawler are never a bad first grab. They only cost 500 gp and give a +1 competence bonus on grapple checks. This will stack with most other grapple bonuses, including Armour of Brawling, the Bred for War trait, and Dan Bong fighting sticks.


4000+armor cost for a Brawling +1 armor is a steal. Get it as soon as possible.
Quickrunners shirt 1000 gp for little pounce:) and a cloak to boos your saves. Would be my list in that order.

Sczarni

Cap. Darling wrote:

4000+armor cost for a Brawling +1 armor is a steal. Get it as soon as possible.

Quickrunners shirt 1000 gp for little pounce:) and a cloak to boos your saves. Would be my list in that order.

Quick runner's shirt is not PFS legal, sadly. :)


Carla the Profane wrote:
Cap. Darling wrote:

4000+armor cost for a Brawling +1 armor is a steal. Get it as soon as possible.

Quickrunners shirt 1000 gp for little pounce:) and a cloak to boos your saves. Would be my list in that order.
Quick runner's shirt is not PFS legal, sadly. :)

Shame. Dont take that one then.

Sczarni

I definitely agree on brawling armor being worth it's cost, though.

Grand Lodge

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Fruian Thistlefoot wrote:
Cestus are cool and all but I prefer Armor spikes. Auto damage when grappled (even losing the grapple). It is Piercing damage also. SO Adamantine Armor spikes Will allow you to overcome both Piercing and Adamantine DR.

Unfortunately if you read grapple closely, you can only choose to "attack" with them as part of an attack option after confirming the grapple for the round. As a brawler, you can do a lot more damage with an unarmed attack.

Still, you can use both either way.

Quote:
Typically after I buy +1 ring, +2 armor, and a Jingasa of the fortunate Soldier.... I spring for Dusty rose prism to put into my wayfinder. +1 AC and +2 to all CMB & CMD. its 5,000gp and a wayfinder is 500gp. Very cheap investment to improve so many things.

Holy crap, I had no idea that was the resonate power on that one. Augh, I was going to get the one that gave me Alertness so I didn't have to take the feat. (I use snake style)

Quote:
Quote:
I'd also suggest taking Combat Expertise so you can dig deep into Combat Maneuver trees easily as a situation warrants.
OP wrote:
Half Orc, Mutagenic Mauler Archetype
No Martial Flexibility so unless he wants to invest in those feats. But I think he wants to trip with a whip so he doesn't provoke AoO for not having Improved Trip.

Crap, I forgot about that. I play an standard brawler and never went for any of the archtypes. Should have double-checked it before I mentioned the feat.


I have a couple questions regarding two suggestions here.

#1. Monk's Robe - Increases your unarmed damage and AC/CMD ability.

The text mentions that it affects a Monk with the AC/Unarmed damage 5 levels higher. Since I am a Brawler, do I qualify for that? Also, since as a Mutagenic Mauler I give up my AC bonus, I imagine I also give up the AC bonus acquired through the Robe?

#2. Dusty rose prism to put into my wayfinder. +1 AC and +2 to all CMD & CMD. its 5,000gp and a wayfinder is 500gp.

First, I thought Wayfinders were only 250gp? Where do I find the stats on the Dusty Rose Prism? Those bonuses sound wonderful and this will be one of the first 4 items I pick up.

Thanks for the suggestions; I plan on picking up +2 Armor with the Brawling enchant on it as my first purchase. Assuming I select the Breastplate (+4 AC) that would give me a total AC bonus of +6 with the magical +2 bonus correct? I get confused whether or not when you purchase the enchant that it gives you the chant ability plus the +1 effect, or is the enchant in place of the +1?

Grand Lodge

Wayfinder is 250 to make (you can't in PFS). Its 500 at regular price.

IF you play the confirmation scenario you can get a wayfinder for free and you can play the confirmation on every one of your characters after the first free one you can then pick one Up for 1 Prestige point.

It is an amazing item for classes who want to resonate Ioun stones (should be everyone) and doubly useful for providing light to Dark visionless races.

For the Monks robes:

Martial training wrote:
At 1st level, a brawler counts her total brawler levels as both fighter levels and monk levels for the purpose of qualifying for feats. She also counts as both a fighter and a monk for feats and magic items that have different effects based on whether the character has levels in those classes (such as Stunning Fist and a monk's robe).

Basically the Brawlers Unarmed damage dice goes up 5 levels. The robes also will give the Brawler +1 to AC and to CMD. (the brawler gains the AC of a 5th level monk.

Summed up: It adds +5 levels to your Unarmed Strike progression, +1 Untyped bonus to your AC and CMD, and Gives you an extra stunning fist (if you have it).

Now I personally like to Dip 2 levels of Master of many styles on my Brawler so I get to use stunning fist and knock out as well as cheesing in the Whole Pummeling charge+dragon style. I try to get to my target and put hurt on them. Hell even with a low DC for stunning fist they can roll a 1 and fail. There is always a shot in the dark with that ability.


Breastplate is +6 without magic but it needs to be Mithral to be ligth. Pehaps you meen chainshirt?


Skullcrusher Gauntlets are pretty rad, and not just for the name.

Grand Lodge

A +1 Chain shirt of Brawling is: +5 and +4 dex (mithral: +5 and +6 dex).

A +1 Mithral Breastplate of Brawling is: +7 and +5 dex with a Armor check penalty of -1. Because a brawler is not proficient with medium armor he takes a -1 to attacks which hurts. If you have the trait Armor Master you then would take no negatives.


Fruian Thistlefoot wrote:

A +1 Chain shirt of Brawling is: +5 and +4 dex (mithral: +5 and +6 dex).

A +1 Mithral Breastplate of Brawling is: +7 and +5 dex with a Armor check penalty of -1. Because a brawler is not proficient with medium armor he takes a -1 to attacks which hurts. If you have the trait Armor Master you then would take no negatives.

isn't and extra -1 acp cause it is MW?

so it would be -4 acp?

Grand Lodge

no all mithral gear lowers the ACP -3 and is already considered masterwork. That extra -1 would need to be covered somewhere.

Silver Crusade

Just a note, according to page 23 of the PFS Guide to organized play every Pathfinder can buy a Wayfinder for 250 GP.


Fruian Thistlefoot wrote:

For the Monks robes:

Martial training wrote:
At 1st level, a brawler counts her total brawler levels as both fighter levels and monk levels for the purpose of qualifying for feats. She also counts as both a fighter and a monk for feats and magic items that have different effects based on whether the character has levels in those classes (such as Stunning Fist and a monk's robe).

Basically the Brawlers Unarmed damage dice goes up 5 levels. The robes also will give the Brawler +1 to AC and to CMD. (the brawler gains the AC of a 5th level monk.

Summed up: It adds +5 levels to your Unarmed Strike progression, +1 Untyped bonus to your AC and CMD, and Gives you an extra stunning fist (if you have it).

Now I personally like to Dip 2 levels of Master of many styles on my Brawler so I get to use stunning fist and knock out as well as cheesing in the Whole Pummeling charge+dragon style. I try to get to my target and put hurt on them. Hell even with a low DC for stunning fist they can roll a 1 and fail. There is always a shot in the dark with that ability.

While his damage dice go up, I'm pretty sure items like these don't grant you early access to class features, so no AC bonus at his current level even if it is being treated as higher. Once he's high enough level to get the AC bonus naturally, then it will be treated as the higher level to get a bigger bonus quicker.

Grand Lodge

Thats not what i was saying. He gets the +1 ac and CMD as a 5th level monk. But they do get the bonus. A monk recieved the +1 @4.


buildwise, improved sunder and/or imp overrun and charge through, very nasty if you already have imp overrun, and use your swap to get charge through. You won't need the whip to keep your enemy on the ground, and you'll proc AoO's every time they stand up (good luck trying to use acrobatics to escape the brawler standing over you, his CMD is huge, more often than not)

Get some kind of item with featherstep so you don't have difficulty with difficult terrain. Customized gear is always up to the GM, but it's a level 1 spell, so a constant effect item of that is 6000g standard.

Optimize your mobilty by hampering your enemies: get an item that creates terrain roughage, like entangle, or stone call. Even if it costs you a standard action, it'll allow you to control an area of the field, and also cause mischief to softer people who wanna run from you.

Brawler can be placed on bracers at only a +1 enchantment cost, so on top of the armor bonus, you get +2 attack and damge, as stated above. at 4000g, +1 brawling bracers of armor are cheap. Must-have for monks and brawlers, and if your gm allows it, upgradeable.

Obviously anything that adds to str or dex is good, sheerly for cmb and cmd, and consider pummeling style if you intend to also build for improved criticals.

That said, I prefer buying defensive items; constant effect/ uses per day shield? very nice. Rings/amulets/cloaks of resistance, must have.

anything that gives you better saves and ac is great, but I have to agree that snake style is a hugely easy way to boost your AC - skill bonus items are really cheap. +5 sense motive for 2500g? Even without gear, it may be worth it to pay into Skill focus: sense motive, as a combo. level 3 brawler, (sense motive 3 ranks req), skill focus, wis 14, snake style: as an immediate action, you can make a sense motive check (at +2 just for buying snake style, the feat which allows this) and use the result as your AC vs that melee or ranged attack. If I understand it, this includes touch attacks as well. roll: d20 + 13. that's your new ac.

Shadow Lodge

You cannot place the brawling enchant on Bracers of Armor.


Fruian Thistlefoot wrote:

Wayfinder is 250 to make (you can't in PFS). Its 500 at regular price.

IF you play the confirmation scenario you can get a wayfinder for free and you can play the confirmation on every one of your characters after the first free one you can then pick one Up for 1 Prestige point.

It is an amazing item for classes who want to resonate Ioun stones (should be everyone) and doubly useful for providing light to Dark visionless races.

For the Monks robes:

Martial training wrote:
At 1st level, a brawler counts her total brawler levels as both fighter levels and monk levels for the purpose of qualifying for feats. She also counts as both a fighter and a monk for feats and magic items that have different effects based on whether the character has levels in those classes (such as Stunning Fist and a monk's robe).

Basically the Brawlers Unarmed damage dice goes up 5 levels. The robes also will give the Brawler +1 to AC and to CMD. (the brawler gains the AC of a 5th level monk.

Summed up: It adds +5 levels to your Unarmed Strike progression, +1 Untyped bonus to your AC and CMD, and Gives you an extra stunning fist (if you have it).

Now I personally like to Dip 2 levels of Master of many styles on my Brawler so I get to use stunning fist and knock out as well as cheesing in the Whole Pummeling charge+dragon style. I try to get to my target and put hurt on them. Hell even with a low DC for stunning fist they can roll a 1 and fail. There is always a shot in the dark with that ability.

Actually, since he's a Brawler class, they treat their levels as Monk and Fighter levels for feats as well as for magic items like Monk's Robe. If he's lvl 2, with Monk's robe, he's a lvl 7 monk. not a level 5 monk.

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