Ding! Ding! Ding!

That’s the sound of the bell, contenders, and that can only mean one thing: Round 2. After slogging through a straight up deluge of readers and reader responses, the Pugilist is back and better than ever.

For those who are curious, here are a few of the concerns addressed with the revisions:

Counterpunch: A lot of people had a lot of balance concerns about this feature so I took it out. Well, I kind of took it out. You’ll see what I mean.

A lot of people had a lot of balance concerns about this feature so I took it out. Well, I kind of took it out. You’ll see what I mean. Iron Chin: If I’m going to take out Counterpunch I need to give Pugilists a little something extra to stay on their feet and Iron Chin feels that role. It also scales with Pugilist levels somewhat mirroring the Unarmored Movement feature that monk’s get.

If I’m going to take out Counterpunch I need to give Pugilists a little something extra to stay on their feet and Iron Chin feels that role. It also scales with Pugilist levels somewhat mirroring the Unarmored Movement feature that monk’s get. Fight Clubs: While I heard a lot of people enjoying the way Fight Clubs worked, particularly with the stance and signature move mechanic, a great deal of readers felt that the Pugilist deserved to have its own full archetypes. In the revised draft, they do. Currently the two Fight Clubs available to the Pugilist are the Squared Circle and the Sweet Science but you can expect more in the final draft in the future.

While I heard a lot of people enjoying the way Fight Clubs worked, particularly with the stance and signature move mechanic, a great deal of readers felt that the Pugilist deserved to have its own full archetypes. In the revised draft, they do. Currently the two Fight Clubs available to the Pugilist are the Squared Circle and the Sweet Science but you can expect more in the final draft in the future. Freerunning & the People’s Champion: Many people weren’t really big fans of these fluff features so I came back at them again and I think the Rabble Rouser and Herculean features are huge improvements.

Many people weren’t really big fans of these fluff features so I came back at them again and I think the and features are huge improvements. Prizefighter: Was just kind of weird. It’s been replaced by Fighting Spirit. The actual mechanics of Fighting Spirit is very close to a suggestion made by one of the readers so keep on leaving comments and you never know when I might include something you suggest in a revision or future draft!

And now that all those pre-bout formalities are out of the way, let’s get to swinging…

Hey there! If you’re just reading this for the first time, or you’re reading it again, you will be happy to know that the full version of the Pugilist class is now available as a Pay What You Want product on DM’s Guild! Older versions of the class have been removed from the blog to comply with the rules regarding content posted to the DM’s Guild – you can find the full class here!

the Pugilist, Final Version

The one thing that hasn’t changed since the early draft, that I really hope we can change together, is the art is all still borrowed. In order to make the final draft of the Pugilist (and other Sterling Vermin content) available on the DM’s Guild, we need the funds to pay for artists to create original artwork to go with our original content. If you are a fan of the Pugilist and the Sterling Vermin in general, I hope you’ll consider making a pledge at our Patreon page. As a backer, you’ll even get to see future revisions to the Pugilist long before they become public! So what do you say, be our cornerman? Patreon backers will also get to vote on the next (and final?) three pugilist archetypes starting today!

the Sterling Vermin Adventuring Co. Patreon campaign