Way of the Pugilist

"Scarred, trembling, and bloody, that fighter stood back up, ready to finish what he had started,... and in his eyes I saw a fire that let me know he wasn't planning on losing this bout."

- Maxwell Broadhurst: 'Tenured Adventure Novelist'

The Pugilist is the name given to a strange and off-book monastic tradition. Seeing as this martial art style is not found in the mountain temples or archives, the question comes of how it was discovered. With this question the Pugilist brings you to the back-alleys of the city. This tradition was learned through grit, moxie, and sheer willpower in the face of dire circumstances. These monks are even more brilliant in hand to hand combat, steeling their nerves, disabling their opponents, and seemingly growing in tenacity as they find themselves backed into a corner.  Many who’ve trained as a Pugilist don’t even realize their honing of Ki, yet they ever so efficiently build their art to a masterful degree. As one learns and trains to better face their foes in hand to hand combat, they further push the boundaries of mortal ability. A pugilist trains in their idiosyncratic way due to terrible circumstances, but through these circumstances the world creates some of the strongest and focused fighters on the material plane. 

(Yes I am aware that many of these abilities are modified versions of Pugilist abilities from Benjamin Huffman's Pugilist class. I am quite a fan of that class and would desire to play a similar character on DnDbeyond. All credit where it's due for Benjamin's amazing homebrew work.)

Pugilist’s Technique

Starting when you choose this tradition at 3rd level, your fighting prowess is shown when you harness you dig deep and show off some moxie. Whenever you hit a creature with one of the attacks granted by your Flurry of Blows, you can impose one of the following effects on that target:

• It must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or be knocked prone.
• It must make a Strength saving throw. If it fails, you can push it up to 15 feet away from you.
• It can’t take reactions until the end of your next turn.

In addition to this, You can Cross Counter a melee attack. When a creature misses you with a melee attack, you may use your reaction and expend a ki point to make an unarmed strike, or monk weapon attack within range against the source of the attack.

Reading the Floor

At 6th level, you are a master of one on one combat, and can outthink and out-punch nearly any opponent you face. You can use a bonus action and expend 2 Ki points to hone in on the idiosyncrasies and weak spots of an enemy you can see within 30 feet. When you do, you may add your proficiency bonus to damage rolls made against this creature. Additionally, you may Cross Counter the target's melee attacks without expending Ki points.

These effects continue for 1 minute or until you use this feature again.

Enhanced Combatant

By 11th level, your grit and moxie are near mastered, granting athleticism and a fighting spirit that are a major cut above those around you. You gain the following benefits: 

• When you use your bonus action to use Flurry of Blows and hit the same creature with both attacks, you can spend 1 Ki point to make an additional unarmed strike against that creature as part of the same bonus action. You make this additional attack before imposing your target to one of the effects of Pugilist’s Technique. 
• You have advantage on all dexterity(Acrobatics) checks and strength(Athletics) checks. 
• You no longer need a running start for your high and long jump. 

Furious Recovery

At 17th level, you’ve mastered yourself and know your limits; more specifically how to push past them. When you are reduced to 0 Hit points but not killed outright, at the start of your next turn you regain half of your maximum hit points, as well as half of your Ki point maximum. For the next minute, you gain the following benefits:

• Resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage.
• When using Enhanced Combatant’s additional attack feature, you may make 2 additional Unarmed Strikes rather than 1.
• Advantage on Dexterity and Strength saving throws

At the end of this minute, you gain a level of exhaustion and cannot use this feature again until you finish a Long Rest.