Well my time as a DM is almost up with my group, which means that soon I get to play again!! And one class that caught my eye in the ACG was the brawler, anyone have any suggestions on a good build? Or how viable the assorted archetypes are? Assume core races and 20 point buy.
Shield Chsmpion and Mutagenic Mauler are a couple of my favorite archetypes. Both are incredibly solid if you want a tough mundane melee fighter. I have a Hobgoblin Mutagenic Mauler I like to play with, and getting Greater Mutagen on a race like that makes you feel really strong.
But for core races, you can never go wrong with Human. But if you plan on Multi-Classing, the Half-Orc racial favored class bonus isn't TOO bad.
Depending on ability scores and such, the Brawler is in a great position to exploit Shaitan Style/Skin with a weapon. You would want to put in a strong wisdom (maybe even Dual Talent Human for tons of wisdom), but by 9 you can throw 1d6+WIS acid damage and reflex save or staggered onto one attack per round with a weapon and do it 11 times a day.
Now Brawlers can use shields so a big part of the AC issues is ameliorated.