Drunken Master
Description
Martial arts students face a bewildering array of martial arts schools, each with its own adherents and detractors. But few schools are as unusual - or as controversial - as Drunken Boxing. By weaving and staggering about as if inebriated, drunken boxers avoid many blows. Likewise, their stumbling, lurching attacks catch their opponents off guard. Moreover, when they actually imbibe alcohol, drunken masters can perform truly prodigious feats of strength and bravery.
None of this garners them much respect among other martial arts schools, because drunken boxing exacts a toll on its users. Drunken masters remain intoxicated for hours after a fight, and they are often found half asleep in taverns, mumbling incoherently. This flies in the face of other schools' ascetic principles. But rival schools must be wary - they never know when the tipsy lout at the bar is just a harmless thug, and when it is a nigh-unstoppable drunken master.
Monks form the backbone of the drunken boxing school. They lose some face with their original school or monastery for becoming a drunken master, but a brilliant display of drunken fighting can sometimes silence critics in one's former school. Prospective students are studied at a distance by drunken masters, then treated to a display of drunken boxing's power. If the student expresses enthusiasm for learning the new techniques, a group of drunken masters take him or her from tavern to tavern, getting rip-roaring drunk, causing trouble, and passing along the first secrets of the technique. Those who survive the revelry are new drunken masters.
Drunken masters are often found in taverns and bars. They rarely pick fights there, but are quick to come to the aid of someone overmatched in a tavern brawl. Most keep a low profile, although some are famous - or infamous - for the deeds they have performed while under the influence.
Requirements
Feats: Dodge, Great Fortitude, Flurry of Blows
Skills: Tumble 8 ranks
Class Features
| Hit die: d8 |
| Proficiencies: None |
| Skill points: 4 + Int modifier |
| Class skills: Acrobatics, Athletics, Bluff, Concentration, Diplomacy, Escape Artist, Hide, Listen, Lore: Arcana, Lore: Local, Lore: Religion, Move Silently, Parry, and Perform |
| Base attack bonus progression: High |
| Saving throws | high: | Fortitude, Reflex |
| low: | Will |
Class Progression
| Level | Features Gained |
|---|---|
| 1 | Drink Like a Demon |
| 2 | Improvised Weapons |
| 3 | |
| 4 | Swaying Waist 1 |
| 5 | Breath of Flame |
| 6 | Feint |
| 7 | Swaying Waist 2 |
| 8 | For Medicinal Purposes |
| 9 | Corkscrew Rush |
| 10 | Improvised Flaming Weapon, Swaying Waist 3 |
Note: This class does not progress any monk abilities or unarmed damage.
Drink Like a Demon
From level 1 a drunken master's body handles alcohol differently from other people's. He can drink a large tankard of ale, a bottle of wine, or a corresponding amount of stronger alcohol in a single round. Every bottle or tankard of alcohol he consumes reduces his Wisdom by 1-3 points, and increases his Strength by 1-3 points, depending on the strength of the alcohol. A drunken master may benefit from a level of drunkenness equal to his class level (max +10 strength), but he is not allowed to go lower than 6 wisdom. The duration of both the penalty and the bonus is 5 minutes. The duration is renewed with every bottle drunk, but the master will gradually sober up as the alcohol leaves his body. (If the drunken master is immune to ability loss then the drinks have no effect). This effect doesn't stack with Strength bonus from consumables or magical items.
Improvised Weapons
While bottles and tankards are a Drunken Master's preferred improvised weapons, from 2nd level he can use furniture, farm implements, or nearly anything else at hand to attack his foes. When using this ability the Drunken Master will randomly find and equip one of: broken bottle (dagger), discarded tool (kama), torn off table-leg or root (club), piece of plank or long branch (quarterstaff). He gains extra attacks even with improvised weapons that cannot be used with flurry of blows. A Drunken Master's improvised weapons deal bonus damage depending on how great their unarmed damage is (up to a max damage bonus of 2d10), and have an attack bonus of 1 per 2 Drunken Master levels. Most improvised weapons deal bludgeoning damage, although some would deal piercing or slashing damage. Only Monk, Drunken Master, and Fist of the Forest levels count for the bonus damage. The weapons that the Drunken Master improvises typically last for 13-20 rounds. Cooldown 20 rounds.
Swaying Waist
A drunken master knows how to weave and bob during an attack, making him more difficult to hit. He gains +1 dodge AC at level 4, +2 at level 7 and +3 at level 10. Only works when not wearing armor.
Breath of Flame
A 5th-level drunken master can ignite some of the alcohol within his body and spew it forth from his mouth. This breath of flame deals 8d12 points of fire damage to all within the 30-foot cone, or half damage to those who make a Reflex save (DC 15 + the drunken master's class level + the drunken master's Con modifier). Each time a drunken master uses breath of flame, it consumes one drink's worth of alcohol from within his body, lessening the penalty to his Wisdom score and reducing the bonus to his Strength score. Cooldown 2 minutes.
For Medicinal Purposes
At 8th level, a drunken master gains the ability to convert a single alcoholic drink he has ingested into a single potion of cure critical wounds, as if he had just drunk a dose of the potion (4d8 + 20 in healing). To use this ability, the character must be under the effect of an alcoholic drink (see Drink Like a Demon). When he converts one drink of alcohol into one dose of the potion, his ability scores change (+1 to Wisdom, -1 to Strength) as if the duration of the alcohol's effect had expired. 5 minute cooldown.
Corkscrew Rush
A drunken master of 9th level or higher can perform this maneuver, leaping forward and twisting his body in midair as he attempts to head-butt or kick an opponent. He charges his opponent in a bull rush and if it succeeds, the opponent is stunned for 1 round. However, if the bull rush attempt fails, the drunken master lands prone in front of the opponent. Does not work while wearing armor. Cooldown 30 seconds.
Improvised Flaming Weapons
At 10th level the Drunken Master can use the alcohol in his blood to set fire to his improvised weapons for an extra 1d6 fire damage.
Gameplay
The improvised weapon bonus damage follows the progression of monk fist damage. This means that a level 10 Drunken Master / level 10 Monk will have the full 2d10 bonus damage.
When improvising a club or a dagger the master gains bonus attacks as if they were flurried. That means 2 attacks with flurry of blows (buggy attack counted) and 3 attacks with greater flurry.
A gnome or halfling won't get the improvised quarterstaff unless they have the monkey grip feat.
Corkscrew Rush rolls 1d20 + Strength Modifier + Size Modifier VS the same for your target. Success on equal or higher roll.