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I've recommended it. Others have as well. I also recommended calling it the Mixed Martial Artist.
Mixed Martial Artist might be a good name, but I think the class will probably already get confused for the fighter archetype, and an archetype that gets confused for a monk archetype would get even more confusing. I can see
Jim:I'm a Mixed Martial Artist Bralwer.
George:Wait, are you a fighter/monk muliclass, or that one weird base class archetype?
Jim:Yes
George:Okay then...wait a sec...What?
I'd recommend a name such as the Style Fighter or the Multistyle Brawler to cut back on some of the confusion.
If the Brawler can attack better than a Monk, then the Brawler should be easier to hit than the Monk. It should be this way on any level.
So the ability to walk up to a dragon without any training in grappling people, and pinning it against the wall successfully (Picking up improved and greater grapple, in game) doesn't sound like something a "brawler" might do? Picking up a shield you have never trained with, smashing it into someone's face, and then using it to block the attacks that follow it (taking shield proficiency and improved shield bash on the fly) doesn't sound like a "Brawler" thing?
Maybe it doesn't seem to fit in your opinion, but I think its a great ability for a brawler both thematically and mechanically (but sadly, with so few uses). YMMV.
As you have described it, yes it is.
Being able to pick up an exotic weapon never seen before and wield it like an expert (taking Exotic Weapon Proficiency and Weapon Focus (whatever weapon)) sounds like something a brawler WOULDN'T be able to do but can, and like something a fighter WOULD be able to do but cannot. I think the problem with this is in part the difference between how an ability is intended to work and what it can actually achieve that is the point here.
Another is that there is no more justification for this ability with the brawler than, say, with the monk or the fighter - it's not that some of this ability is not that which an unarmed expert cannot be expected to do, it's the fact that the other experts in armed and unarmed combat in the game can't do it when there is as much reason for them to be able to as the brawler.
I have the same issue with the "brawler's strike" ability - mechanically, I can see why it's there, but there is no in-world justification for it, and like the maneuvers it breaks the verisimilitude of the game that the brawler just has it. It's essentially saying "Well the brawler's not a mystic like the monk, so he has none of those ki-powers, but he needs to get past DR, so we'll just give him that bit and gloss over why." Mechanically a good decision, but it breaks the "feel" of the game and it leaves the monk with one less unique feature (actually, it takes away his LAST unique feature except running fast at high level).
This ability is rather like the drama point system - there's one in Eberon which allowed access for one round to a feat you didn't have. Which is all cool and good...but it's an ability EVERYONE had, or no-one.
Did a quick search on the thread and couldn't find anything on it, but wondering if this has been clarified already. Namely the question of levels of brawler counting as monk or fighter for traits rather than feats. Specifically the "Bullied" trait (requiring Imp Unarmed and levels of monk). I know the brawler counts as a Monk for purposes of feats, but wondering if that had been answered for traits already.
Did a quick search on the thread and couldn't find anything on it, but wondering if this has been clarified already. Namely the question of levels of brawler counting as monk or fighter for traits rather than feats. Specifically the "Bullied" trait (requiring Imp Unarmed and levels of monk). I know the brawler counts as a Monk for purposes of feats, but wondering if that had been answered for traits already.
I don't believe it requires levels of monk and improved unarmed strike. It looks like it just requires that you have a way of making your unarmed strikes count as you being armed.
Note that this trait does not grant the ability to make attacks of opportunity with your unarmed strikes—you must have a level in monk, the Improved Unarmed Strike feat, or some other similar power to gain the use of this character trait. However, that doesn't prevent you from selecting this trait. You simply cannot make use of it until a later point if you do.
The or is the important part of this sentence. It calls out monk because monks count their unarmed strikes as being armed, and having the improved unarmed strike feat makes you unarmed strike count as being armed.
Being able to pick up an exotic weapon never seen before and wield it like an expert (taking Exotic Weapon Proficiency and Weapon Focus (whatever weapon)) sounds like something a brawler WOULDN'T be able to do but can, and like something a fighter WOULD be able to do but cannot. I think the problem with this is in part the difference between how an ability is intended to work and what it can actually achieve that is the point here.
Personally I'd love to see an archetype of fighter grab the ability.
My dark tactical heart loves the ability and only wants more uses out of it.
That makes sense and doesn't at the same time. I mean the Unarmed Fighter and Tetori are already awesome grapplers so there's no reason for there not be an archetype for the brawler. But on the other hand... the Tetori and Unarmed Fighter are already good at it on their own... But adding grab would make it new, awesome, and mean.
Add sneak attack but call it something else. It follows the rules for sneak attack [requires flanking] plus it can be used against grappled or handicaped enemies [Fear effects, sicken, entangled]. It would up the potential damage and remain situational. Bonus damage scales 1d6/4 levels.
I play tested a level 12 Brawler last night, and here are my notes:
-I worried that Martial Maneuvers were going to have too few uses/day when I initially drew him up (only 6!), but in play it felt OK. I IF I had more, I would have used it more, but I struggled more with the action economy than anything else, never wanting to give up my move or standard actions at that level: I only added one at a time. Having it open to all Combat Feats did make it much more daunting, and slowed down the game when I wanted to look up to see if there was a feat that allowed me to fight while prone without penalty (couldn't find it).
-It also felt like it could push more towards a rage mechanic as an archetype, which I would have welcomed. I started imagining sort of a Brawling pool, which would be a number of rounds per day that you could pick up specific feats, or other abilities while 'Brawling'. I know that adds yet another class mechanic, but it felt like that was something that the class was pointing to, but didn't follow through on.
-I outdamaged the Bloodrager in full Bloodrage, which I didn't expect. A big part was build - I've played a lot of Fighters and Monks, and the skills of optimizing them translated well. Another big portion of it was actually Brawler's Strike. We didn't fight a single thing across four encounters that I didn't bypass its damage reduction. I've never had that experience as a Fighter or Monk. We fought a CR 12 demon, and I dropped it in a round. I think I would have been on-par damage-wise with a smiting Paladin with a cold iron greatsword, which I think is out of balance, to say the least.
-I personally think that Brawler's Strike is thematically against type, but also being able to bypass both Cold Iron and Silver, as well as an alignment of your choosing makes it too good. Fighters, in my experience, rarely carry around 3 versions of their weapon with the same enchantment bonus to be able to bypass all damage reduction. Monks can bypass as Lawful, which is thematically more appropriate, as well as being much less common in my experience, than Good alignment as was in my case, and I would bet: in most cases.
-Particularly combined with a full base attack bonus, and more options to raise damage output than is available to a straight monk (Specialization, Greater Specialization, etc.) Things that I would do as a Fighter would be to pick up Penetrating Strike, which I feel is more appropriate for the Brawler, even if they got it early. I know that the devs have stated that bypassing DR should be on/off, but obviously with that feat and Improved Penetrating Strike, multiples of 5 have precedent. I also struggle to find out how the math on how much damage reduction you bypass would slow the game down more than scrolling through the SRD to find feats that you qualify for that can get you out of the particular pickle you find yourself in (Prone, in front of the herald of Zon-Kuthon, in my case).
-Knowledge: History still feels incredibly out of place skill-wise. We swapped it for Knowledge: Local, and it felt much more appropriate. It's not that there couldn't be a Brawler with Knowledge: History, but it feels it should be in the same way that there would be a Fighter with Knowledge: History. Keep it cross-class, or take a Trait.
Loved the class thematically. Had a lot of fun. Would definitely play it currently, but would expect GMs to house rule things about my character away.
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Being able to pick up an exotic weapon never seen before and wield it like an expert (taking Exotic Weapon Proficiency and Weapon Focus (whatever weapon)) sounds like something a brawler WOULDN'T be able to do but can, and like something a fighter WOULD be able to do but cannot. I think the problem with this is in part the difference between how an ability is intended to work and what it can actually achieve that is the point here.
Another is that there is no more justification for this ability with the brawler than, say, with the monk or the fighter - it's not that some of this ability is not that which an unarmed expert cannot be expected to do, it's the fact that the other experts in armed and unarmed combat in the game can't do it when there is as much reason for them to be able to as the brawler.
I have the same issue with the "brawler's strike" ability - mechanically, I can see why it's there, but there is no in-world justification for it, and like the maneuvers it breaks the verisimilitude of the game that the brawler just has it. It's essentially saying "Well the brawler's not a mystic like the monk, so he has none of those ki-powers, but he needs to get past DR, so we'll just give him that bit and gloss over why." Mechanically a good decision, but it breaks the "feel" of the game and it leaves the monk with one less unique feature (actually, it takes away his LAST unique feature except running fast at high level).
I see where you are coming from, but I disagree.
Martial Maneuvers makes you a master of improvising in combat. It lets you do things like break beer bottles over peoples head as well as you could hit them with a club (catch-off guard), and be able to crack peoples heads against walls to blind them (dirty trick) spontaneously without any formal training. I can easily see why a brawler could have that ability.
Even some rather unthematic feats could fairly easily be explained (barring rather specific, obscure feats of course). For instance, if a brawler were to take Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Temple Sword), Weapon Focus (Temple Sword), and Weapon Specialization (Temple Sword) in a fight, it could be that him immitating the motions he uses when he is using similarly shaped weapons, such as clubs or morningstars, and then refering to his previous training take full advantage of his motions to maximize his momentum, making it easier for him to hit and do damage. Likewise, I could justify picking up Martial Weapon Proficiency (Longbow), Point-Blank Shot, and Precise Shot as the brawler picking up a longbow and immitating the motions he has seen archers use to draw and fire it, and then using his knowledge about close combat to aim between combatants by analyzing what they will do next. Now, an ordinary person in the game (an NPC) couldn't do this, but brawlers are masters of improvising, and since when could your average NPC do anything all that useful other than buff and provide extra targets in combat?
Brawler's Strike on the other hand, is a supernatural ability he gains through his non-mystic unmonastic way of fighting. It makes less sense IMO. I would be just fine justifying it as an Ex ability, which I believe has been discussed, as his training letting him see minor gaps in an enemy's defenses, letting him maximize his damage output to overcome the DR by striking there.
YMMV.
Having it open to all Combat Feats did make it much more daunting, and slowed down the game when I wanted to look up to see if there was a feat that allowed me to fight while prone without penalty (couldn't find it)....Unfortunately proving that I should have kept sesrching until I found it, or been Encyclopedia Featica.
That was the end of it though. =/
Anyway, I'll repost the second part:
What kind of feedback should we be giving here? I think pretty much everything that needs to be said has been said a few times now (and acknowledged, then either discarded or taken under consideration), where should the discussion go from here, since there will be no third iteration to see before it ships?
If you don't have anything else to add about playtest document #2, you're done. :)
Okie dokie. I can't think of anything else really.
To sum up:
-More Martial Maneuvers uses is a must (in the works).
-Fuse Styles would be cool (not gonna happen for the base class, understandably, but maybe an archetype).
-Brawler's Strike is thematically icky. Change to Ex would fix the flavor problem.
-A bit too back loaded. Gets all of its cool stuff (besides Martial Maneuvers) at level 13 or later.
Anything else?
Okie dokie. I can't think of anything else really.
To sum up:
-More Martial Maneuvers uses is a must (in the works).
-Fuse Styles would be cool (not gonna happen for the base class, understandably, but maybe an archetype).
-Brawler's Strike is thematically icky. Change to Ex would fix the flavor problem.
-A bit too back loaded. Gets all of its cool stuff (besides Martial Maneuvers) at level 13 or later.
Anything else?
Class as a whole amounts to a better monk and a worse fighter. Leaves much to be desired and doesn't stack up to the Bloodrager, Swashbuckler, and Slayer for already stated reasons. All classes it should be compared to.
I'm excited to see the final version of this class and I'm going to try out a playtest soon. My only remaining comment is that I'm sad I have to wait until August to get it!
Okie dokie. I can't think of anything else really.
To sum up:
-More Martial Maneuvers uses is a must (in the works).
-Fuse Styles would be cool (not gonna happen for the base class, understandably, but maybe an archetype).
-Brawler's Strike is thematically icky. Change to Ex would fix the flavor problem.
-A bit too back loaded. Gets all of its cool stuff (besides Martial Maneuvers) at level 13 or later.
Anything else?
-There are concerns that the capstone ability could prove impractical in play.
-The Brawler still suffers from a lack of flavorful abilities that give it a unique class identity. Hopefully when the Devs consider the 'too backloaded' problem they can fix this at the same time.
-Someone made the super awesome suggestion to give the Brawler an ability that allows it to make maneuvers without risking attacks of opportunity.
-An archetype that gets a reduced unarmed strike damage applicable to close weapons would be VERY popular.
So the ability to walk up to a dragon without any training in grappling people, and pinning it against the wall successfully (Picking up improved and greater grapple, in game) doesn't sound like something a "brawler" might do? Picking up a shield you have never trained with, smashing it into someone's face, and then using it to block the attacks that follow it (taking shield proficiency and improved shield bash on the fly) doesn't sound like a "Brawler" thing?
Maybe it doesn't seem to fit in your opinion, but I think its a great ability for a brawler both thematically and mechanically (but sadly, with so few uses). YMMV.
As you have described it, yes it is.
Being able to pick up an exotic weapon never seen before and wield it like an expert (taking Exotic Weapon Proficiency and Weapon Focus (whatever weapon)) sounds like something a brawler WOULDN'T be able to do but can, and like something a fighter WOULD be able to do but cannot. I think the problem with this is in part the difference between how an ability is intended to work and what it can actually achieve that is the point here.
Another is that there is no more justification for this ability with the brawler than, say, with the monk or the fighter - it's not that some of this ability is not that which an unarmed expert cannot be expected to do, it's the fact that the other experts in armed and unarmed combat in the game can't do it when there is as much reason for them to be able to as the brawler.
I have the same issue with the "brawler's strike" ability - mechanically, I can see why it's there, but there is no in-world justification for it, and like the maneuvers it breaks the verisimilitude of the game that the brawler just has it. It's essentially saying "Well the brawler's not a mystic like the monk, so he has none of those ki-powers, but he needs to get past DR, so we'll just give him that bit and gloss over why." Mechanically a good decision, but it breaks the "feel" of the game and it...
Perhaps a feat or archetypes for monk and fighter will let them get in on the action, like the said when they announced the book.
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Minor Concern here:There is a bit of a feat tax, figured I'd bring it up. If you want two-weapon rend feat (which is pretty nice for some more damage IMO), you need to take double slice. Which is normally fine because double slice is a decent feat for TWFers if they have a high strength, but with Brawlers, they effectively get double slice+, making the tax kinda harsh. Not a huge deal (it is only one feat in a class practically swimming in bonus feats), but still, feat taxes aren't fun.
Ehhh, it's not really "swimming in Bonus Feats" either, it only gets 7 of them (as compared to a Fighter's 11, and Feat taxes are no friend of even the Fighter) and gets them at some weird levels (a Bonus Feat at 5th makes Brawler a sad panda when a lot of cool Feats don't open up until BaB +6).
Ehhh, it's not really "swimming in Bonus Feats" either, it only gets 7 of them (as compared to a Fighter's 11, and Feat taxes are no friend of even the Fighter) and gets them at some weird levels (a Bonus Feat at 5th makes Brawler a sad panda when a lot of cool Feats don't open up until BaB +6).
To be fair, having fewer feats than Fighters doesn't mean they have few feats... It just means they don't get as many bonus feats as the class that gets nothing but bonus feats...
Brawlers have problems, but "lack of feats" is not one of them...
That said, I agree that getting a bonus feat at 5th level is frustrating.
I've played a Brawler for a few sessions with my group and then switched to GM the next couple of sessions and both myself and my co-GM agree that martial maneuvers needs to have more uses per day. The one complaint I have is the Brawler having instant access to style feats. Personally, I think those should be reserved for an actual feat selection, other than that this class fits very well in any campaign and is a welcome addition at my table.
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I love this class, a bit more fine tuning is necessary but the one thing that this class needs, and I mean needs is the ability to use dirty trick as part of the brawler's flurry. Just because it knows how to fight does not mean it has to fight fair.
I love this class, a bit more fine tuning is necessary but the one thing that this class needs, and I mean needs is the ability to use dirty trick as part of the brawler's flurry. Just because it knows how to fight does not mean it has to fight fair.
This is neat. I'd take this and run miles with it.
I love this class, a bit more fine tuning is necessary but the one thing that this class needs, and I mean needs is the ability to use dirty trick as part of the brawler's flurry. Just because it knows how to fight does not mean it has to fight fair.This is neat. I'd take this and run miles with it.
Exactly, just imagine the possibilities.
It wouldn't even be over powered considering how easy it is to remove dirty trick conditions. It would just be hilarious.
it is two spaces, an extra comma, and 10 letters, I'm sure there is enough word space to fit "dirty trick, " into the allotted space.
Being able to pick up an exotic weapon never seen before and wield it like an expert (taking Exotic Weapon Proficiency and Weapon Focus (whatever weapon)) sounds like something a brawler WOULDN'T be able to do but can, and like something a fighter WOULD be able to do but cannot. I think the problem with this is in part the difference between how an ability is intended to work and what it can actually achieve that is the point here.
Personally I'd love to see an archetype of fighter grab the ability.
My dark tactical heart loves the ability and only wants more uses out of it.
I'm not disagreeing the ability is a great one. I'm pointing out that there is as much justification for other classes to get this ability as there is for the brawler if not more so unless the ability is limited to, say, improvised weapons and unarmed combat.
I see where you are coming from, but I disagree.
Martial Maneuvers makes you a master of improvising in combat. It lets you do things like break beer bottles over peoples head as well as you could hit them with a club (catch-off guard), and be able to crack peoples heads against walls to blind them (dirty trick) spontaneously without any formal training. I can easily see why a brawler could have that ability.
I agree, the brawler is thematically appropriate to have a talent for improvised combat. However, the ability is not limited to improvised combat, it's universal to ANY combat feat.
Even some rather unthematic feats could fairly easily be explained (barring rather specific, obscure feats of course). For instance, if a brawler were to take Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Temple Sword), Weapon Focus (Temple Sword), and Weapon Specialization (Temple Sword) in a fight, it could be that him immitating the motions he uses when he is using similarly shaped weapons, such as clubs or morningstars, and then refering to his previous training take full advantage of his motions to maximize his momentum, making it easier for him to hit and do damage. Likewise, I could justify picking up Martial Weapon Proficiency (Longbow), Point-Blank Shot, and Precise Shot as the brawler picking up a longbow and immitating the motions he has seen archers use to draw and fire it, and then using his knowledge about close combat to aim between combatants by analyzing what they will do next. Now, an ordinary person in the game (an NPC) couldn't do this, but brawlers are masters of improvising, and since when could your average NPC do anything all that useful other than buff and provide extra targets in combat?
The problem here is that you can use exactly the same argument for any martial class to have the exact same ability, and it's just as valid - except the Brawler has the mechanic, and they don't.
Brawler's Strike on the other hand, is a supernatural ability he gains through his non-mystic unmonastic way of fighting.
A supernatural ability gained through perfectly mundane non-supernatural means. You are aware of how silly that sounds?
It makes less sense IMO.
No, it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Supernatural/mystic means gives supernatural ability. Mundane means gives extraordinary ability. That's how it works.
I would be just fine justifying it as an Ex ability, which I believe has been discussed, as his training letting him see minor gaps in an enemy's defenses, letting him maximize his damage output to overcome the DR by striking there.
Which is what the martial artist does with a totally different mechanic. I'm cool with the brawler making use of the same ability to spot weaknesses and bypass DR as the martial artist, with the same justification. I'm not cool with a totally mundane class getting supernatural abilities "just because". This ability is here for mechanical convenience and nothing else.
Class as a whole amounts to a better monk and a worse fighter. Leaves much to be desired and doesn't stack up to the Bloodrager, Swashbuckler, and Slayer for already stated reasons. All classes it should be compared to.
Yet another better unarmed fighter than the monk, and still not good enough to play with the big boys? That's just sad.
The brawler strike class feature feels too much like the ki strike monk class feature (and therefore adding mysticism back into the class). Why not use the Penetrating Strike and Greater Penetrating Strike feats (or some variation of those feats) to bring more of the Fighter feel to the class?
The brawler strike class feature feels too much like the ki strike monk class feature (and therefore adding mysticism back into the class). Why not use the Penetrating Strike and Greater Penetrating Strike feats (or some variation of those feats) to bring more of the Fighter feel to the class?
If brawler's strike is (Ex), there's no mysticism involved.
Penetrating Strike is available at fighter level 12.
* If you don't give brawlers access to it until level 12, their unarmed strikes can't get through DR from level 4–11 when DR starts to become quite common.
* If you do give brawlers access to it before level 12, you're taking a fighter-only ability and giving it to another class, for free, before fighters gain access to it.
The brawler strike class feature feels too much like the ki strike monk class feature (and therefore adding mysticism back into the class). Why not use the Penetrating Strike and Greater Penetrating Strike feats (or some variation of those feats) to bring more of the Fighter feel to the class?
Mentioned this already. Glad you agree.
The brawler strike class feature feels too much like the ki strike monk class feature (and therefore adding mysticism back into the class). Why not use the Penetrating Strike and Greater Penetrating Strike feats (or some variation of those feats) to bring more of the Fighter feel to the class?If brawler's strike is (Ex), there's no mysticism involved.
Penetrating Strike is available at fighter level 12.
* If you don't give brawlers access to it until level 12, their unarmed strikes can't get through DR from level 4–11 when DR starts to become quite common.
* If you do give brawlers access to it before level 12, you're taking a fighter-only ability and giving it to another class, for free, before fighters gain access to it.
It makes sense for a class that's half fighter half monk though. Not as good at penetrating Dr as the monk but better than the fighter.
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The brawler strike class feature feels too much like the ki strike monk class feature (and therefore adding mysticism back into the class). Why not use the Penetrating Strike and Greater Penetrating Strike feats (or some variation of those feats) to bring more of the Fighter feel to the class?If brawler's strike is (Ex), there's no mysticism involved.
Hooray! Though if I may, these are the reasons why many of us like the idea of a Clustered Shots mechanic.
-Thematic, A Brawler battering at the same place, weakening it with it's first blow as more punches rain in.
-Brawler Strike is still just a copy paste of Ki Strike.
-Requires less words.
Brutal Blows: At 6th level, when making a Full Attack or Flurry of Blows to make multiple Unarmed Strikes against the same opponent, total the damage from all the hits before applying that opponent's damage reduction.
EDIT: Had a cool image of a Brawler smashing a Golem by just punching it in the same place over and over again.
It makes sense for a class that's half fighter half monk though. Not as good at penetrating Dr as the monk but better than the fighter.The brawler strike class feature feels too much like the ki strike monk class feature (and therefore adding mysticism back into the class). Why not use the Penetrating Strike and Greater Penetrating Strike feats (or some variation of those feats) to bring more of the Fighter feel to the class?If brawler's strike is (Ex), there's no mysticism involved.
Penetrating Strike is available at fighter level 12.
* If you don't give brawlers access to it until level 12, their unarmed strikes can't get through DR from level 4–11 when DR starts to become quite common.
* If you do give brawlers access to it before level 12, you're taking a fighter-only ability and giving it to another class, for free, before fighters gain access to it.
@Sean - I don't agree. The brawler is a hybrid fighter/monk. So you are taking a fighter ability and giving it to a fighter before other fighters would gain access to it (which various archetypes already do). Also, while it is labelled as an (Ex) ability, it still feels mystic because of what it is mimicking.
If brawler's strike is (Ex), there's no mysticism involved.
Penetrating Strike is available at fighter level 12.
* If you don't give brawlers access to it until level 12, their unarmed strikes can't get through DR from level 4–11 when DR starts to become quite common.
* If you do give brawlers access to it before level 12, you're taking a fighter-only ability and giving it to another class, for free, before fighters gain access to it.
Ehhh...that's more an argument FOR it than against it.
It sets a good precedent by loosening the Fighter's death grip on some good Feats that other classes should have access to. Making a bunch of unique Fighter only Feats (unique as in "Lets you do new things" not Weapon Specialization) was a neat experiment to try and balance the Fighter, but it hasn't worked and it's currently doing more harm than good.
@Sean - I don't agree. The brawler is a hybrid fighter/monk. So you are taking a fighter ability and giving it to a fighter before other fighters would gain access to it (which various archetypes already do). Also, while it is labelled as an (Ex) ability, it still feels mystic because of what it is mimicking.
* We'd have to give it to the brawler at 5th level for the class to be viable, which is 7 levels before the fighter could get it, which isn't reasonable. By comparison, no archetype should give a 5th-level wizard the ability to use dimension door, and that would only be 3 levels early. Likewise, no archetype should give a non-fighter (even a hybrid fighter class like the brawler) Penatrating Strike at 5th level, which would be 7 levels early.
* There is no difference between
Magic Fists (Su) Your fists bypass DR/magic and DR/silver.
and
Bruce Lee Fists (Ex) Your fists bypass DR/magic and DR/silver.
Any "feels" difference between the two is in your head, and I don't have the power to control your thoughts, so... :)
Ehhh...that's more an argument FOR it than against it.
"The fighter has some really nice toys that only it can play with (because there's so little it otherwise gets), we should let others play with the fighter toys" is actually a really, really bad argument.
Do I think the fighter has access to some things that really should be available to other classes? Yes.
Do I think the way to solve this is to take two high-level fighter feats and give them to the brawler for free at low level? No way.
I am fine with them having the monk's ability to bypass DR in fact the monk and maybe to a lesser extend Brawler should have an enhancement bonus to there unarmed strike based on there level. It would a +1 at level 4 and an additional +1 for every for levels to a max of +5 at level 20. This enhancement bonus should not count for what DR they can bypass. Also the monk should have the ability to spend Ki to add weapon special abilities to it's unarmed strike like flaming, disruption, shocking, axiomatic, brilliant energy, flaming burst, and shocking burst. The max enhancement cost they can spend would be equal to there based enhancement bonus and the duration would be a minute. The ki cost would be equal to the enhancement bonus cost of the weapon's special ability for example disruption would cost two ki points.
The brawler strike class feature feels too much like the ki strike monk class feature (and therefore adding mysticism back into the class). Why not use the Penetrating Strike and Greater Penetrating Strike feats (or some variation of those feats) to bring more of the Fighter feel to the class?If brawler's strike is (Ex), there's no mysticism involved.
Penetrating Strike is available at fighter level 12.
* If you don't give brawlers access to it until level 12, their unarmed strikes can't get through DR from level 4–11 when DR starts to become quite common.
* If you do give brawlers access to it before level 12, you're taking a fighter-only ability and giving it to another class, for free, before fighters gain access to it.
You are comparing apples to oranges.
If we, say, give Brawlers Penetrating Strike for unarmed strikes at 5th level, and then Greater Penetrating Strike for unarmed strikes at say 9th level (when cold iron/silver kicks in), or 12th level (when alignment kicks in), then that would compare to a Fighter (or even another Brawler) using a weapon made with another material or blessed with an alignment, at the right stages that DR comes into play (I checked the bestiary by CR, and the 5/10 DRs kick in at around those times).
It would make the Brawler better than the Fighter at unarmed strikes only, which he already is now, and gets it from his Monk side. And it would compare to his Monk side adequately without making him better than the monk (especially if you hold off on the greater penetrating strike until 12th level, since that's when alignment kicks in for Monks).
I'm vying for "getting something more unique" rather than any concerns about mysticism. But I do understand that there's likely little to change at this point.
I just wanted to point out that it could be done without invalidating the Fighter (or even the Brawler picking up the feats later for normal weapon use).