The Pugilist is the new (third-party) hotness on D&D Beyond right now. But the Sweet Science subclass is a clear winner, for me.
It’s not every day that you can find a whole new class on D&D Beyond. And with the recent release of the Pugilist class as a full-on third party supplement with updates for the D&D 5.5E ruleset, it seems like more people are getting into the thick of things with bare fists and bruised knuckles.
Little wonder. D&D is starved for new classes – but that’s by design. Most of the time if you find something new for players, it’s in the form of a subclass. Be it a new Warrior type for Monks, a new School of Magic for Wizards, or a new Cleric Domain. But subclasses can only get you so far.
Which is why it’s both exciting and unusual to see a new class brought in to D&D Beyond from a third-party source. I mention this because third-party stuff is homebrew with an asterisk that implies it’s been reviewed, playtested, or balanced. It being on D&D Beyond sort of implies that there’s a stamp of approval, even if it didn’t come from within.
All that to say, I’m excited that there’s a new class. And as a DM, I am always interested whenever a player comes to me with something new. I’m also always skeptical, because balance is a delicate thing. So you’ll want to make sure it’s okay in your game, but let’s take a look at some of the new subclasses. Maybe you can get an idea of if this is right for you or not!
The Sweet Science Pugilist – Bare Knuckle Brawling
Of the various Pugilist subclasses, the Sweet Science is probably the one that feels the most like what people think of when they think of a Pugilist. While the other subclasses, like Dog and Hound or Piss and Vinegar or Street Saint all add an extra wrinkle, be it an animal companion, taunts, or a little bit of lay on hands. Sweet Science is all about punching harder and better.
As the name suggests, the subclass is inspired by boxing – I mean so is the whole core class, but this subclass is how you make your puncher the punchiest. And it starts at level 3 with two core features Bare Knuckle Boxer and Cross Counter. Bare Knuckle Boxer just makes your unarmed strikes crit on a 19 or 20. But Cross Counter is the perfect tool to have in your kit.
It’s a lot like the Monk’s damage reduction, but based off of Strength. So you have to take damage in the first place, and obviously it works better the more you focus on Pugilist, but it still can be a nice way to make you feel tougher, because the core Pugilist probably won’t have a ton of Reactions.
One thing that’s nice about the Sweet Science’s progression is that, because the subclass feels so naturally like an extension of the core class, the features you gain as you level up feel like a natural growth. It’s not like some subclasses, where the identity of the class doesn’t come online until level 6 or whatever.
Higher Level Science – Sweet Combos And Knock Outs
Case in point, at level 6, Combo Maker doesn’t change too much. It just gives you a new option for the Pugilist’s Heavy Hitter ability. Now, instead of choosing to grapple or shove an opponent you can also give yourself advantage on followup attacks.
At level 11, Combo Breaker improves your Cross Counter, letting it potentially restore a Moxie Point. It’s a nice benefit, though I do feel like it’s maybe one that could have just been rolled into the feature. Or maybe if there were multiple things that gave you back a Moxie Point. I don’t know that otherwise it’s enough of a subclass feature on its own. But that’s just my gut feeling.
At level 17 the subclass caps off with Knock Out. This one feature gives you two different abilities. The first is Coldcock, which lets you potentially knock someone out whenever you score a critical hit (which you do on a 19 or 20). And whenever that goes off, it’s going to feel real good. But if you’re worried it’s going to be relatively rare, don’t.
Because the other ability, Uppercut, lets you spend a Moxie Point to transform a hit into a crit once per Rest. So you don’t even have to worry about getting a natural 20 anymore.
All that to say, I think the Pugilist is a cool new class, and one worth at least considering when looking at your next campaign. You can see it in action in Cloudward Ho! from Dimension 20.
Check out the Pugilist and five more subclasses at the link below!
Don’t Miss:
Read more at this site