Legend has it the first practitioner of the Broken Blade style was a powerful swordsman who in the middle of a life-or-death duel with an old enemy found his sword broken by his opponent and had to toss it aside. Disheartened by his lack of weapons, he quickly realized that his years of training, exercise, and conditioning had made his body a weapon all on its own. Using only his fists and his nerve, this long-forgotten swordsman became the first to develop this discipline’s techniques, and he passed his experience on to others. Disciples of the Broken Blade teach these methods in monasteries, to cloistered warrior-monks who learn to operate without the use of traditional weapons of combat. Others learn from parents or individual mentors, haphazard or otherwise, and scrap their way through as it suits them.

Iron Fist Technique

Starting when you choose this tradition at 3rd level, you can manipulate your ki to strengthen your skin and root your stance. As an action, you can spend one ki point to gain one of the following benefits at the start of your next turn:

• Iron Hand Stance: Your skin hardens, and your stance solidifies. Increase your AC by +2. This increases by +1 at level 6, level 11, and level 17.
• Your body briefly hardens at the point of impact. For one minute, once per turn on a hit you can choose to deal an additional 1d4 damage.

Both can be active at the same time, but neither can be stacked.

Counter Step

When an an opponent hits you with a melee attack, you can use your reaction to make an opposed acrobatics check against the attack roll. On a success, you can spend 5 ft. of movement to move to an adjacent square in the attacker's melee range to avoid the damage of the attack.

Breaking Blade Attack

As an enemy goes to attack you, your body instinctively moves to defend. Your arm extends out to deflect the enemy's attack, folding inward to parry. As it does, your hand grabs their arm/weapon, allowing your elbow to rocket towards the enemy with the speed of an arrow. Once per round when you take the attack action, you can declare this as your first attack. If you successfully hit, you can forgo damage to gain advantage on your next attack. If you hit, the target suffers disadvantage on its next saving throw.

Flat Iron Riposte

When a target misses a melee attack against you, and is one size class larger than you or smaller, you can use your reaction to make an opposed athletics check against the attack roll. On a success, the target is thrown up to 10 ft. away and must succeed a strength saving throw or fall prone.

Iron Axe Kick

At 6th level, you gain the ability to empower your attacks with force that of a weapon. When you make an unarmed attack, you can spend one ki point to add an extra 1d6 damage to the attack.

Iron Breaking Palm

Beginning at 11th level, you can target the weaknesses in your enemies tools. When you make an unarmed attack against a single target and hit, you can choose to target their non-magical weapon or shield. If you do, you can expend two ki points to deal double damage to the item.

Steel Axe Kick

Like following a slashing sword with the jab of a dagger, you've mastered the use of combo-attacks. When you hit a target with an unarmed attack immediately after hitting them with an Iron Axe Kick, you can spend 2 ki points to deal an additional 3d6 damage to the attack.

Adamantine Knuckle

When you take an action to activate Bronze Knuckle, in addition to your attacks dealing an additional 1d4 damage, they also score a critical hit on a 19 and 20.

Finishing Kick

You've discovered the ultimate ending move to your combo attacks. When you attack with Iron Axe Kick and Steel Axe kick in the same action, you can summon the strength within you to end with n all-powerful finisher. If you spend 1 ki point to do Flurry of Blows immediately after the two previous attacks, you can make an unarmed attack with this maneuver instead. Upon a hit, spend 3 ki points to deal an additional 8d6 damage. If all three attacks hit in a row, increase the damage to 10d6.

Iron Catapult

When a target misses you with a melee attack, instead of using Flat Iron Riposte you can use your reaction to use this maneuver. Make an opposed athletics check against the attack roll, and on a success you can choose to throw the target up to 15 ft. towards another enemy. If they make contact, both take 3d6 damage and must each make strength saving throws or fall prone.

Shards of Steel

At 17th level, you gain the ability to create a deadly burst of force with that of a broken blade's shrapnel. When you hit a creature with an unarmed strike, you can spend 3 ki points to make the creature make a Constitution saving throw. If it fails, it takes 10d8 necrotic damage, and half as much at the start of their next turn. If it succeeds, it takes half damage and no bleed damage.