The Pressure Boxer (WIP)

From pressuring to Oki-Zeme, the Pressuring Boxer has capabilities to frustrate and lock down opponents for deadly mix-ups and getting help from allies. There are deadly combos and knock downs and more contained within this class! It does have a lot of tools and a high skill ceiling, so it's recommended either fans of fighting games or intellects of Dungeons and Dragons pick up the class to give it a drive! (I do not claim to be a professional subclass developer and I do know this might be a little wild, so feedback is preferred!)

Pressuring, Mix-Ups, and Ki Generation.

As a boxer, you have to get in close to do any real damage, but your capabilities don't just end there. Your blinding fists are effective in keeping the enemies busy, mix up their defense, and generate Ki to burn!

Ki Generation

For the start of this level up, you earn the ability to generate ki in battle. Every turn that you do not use a ki ability, you earn a ki point that stops at max ki. This upgrades by one point at 6th, 11th, 17th, and 20th monk levels. It upgrades to a max of 5 ki points per turn.

Pressuring

When you miss an opponent but get enough for them to block or get grazed (their AC - your final roll = 5 or lower), you can spend a ki point and your bonus action to start pressuring your opponent (if you can hit, you can choose to not and put the opponent in the Pressured state). With this, they lose the ability to do attacks of opportunities, their movement is reduced to 0, they can't concentrate on spells, they can't attack, and they can't do much other than withstand the pressure. With them being in the Pressured state, their AC gets a momentary +2. They have to make a strength saving through, the DC to escape is the monk's 8+proficiency+Strength/Dexterity (whichever is higher) and their roll increases once for each turn they are stuck in the Pressured state, where they can use their reaction for a free, instant hit melee attack on the Pressure Boxer. Enemies use strength for their saving throw with those with spell slots having to expend said spell slots to escape more easily (level of spell slot is equal to the boost). Other enemies can interrupt the Pressure Boxer to save their friends by hitting them. However, the Pressure Boxer can expend ki points for each point the enemy has to remove it over time for them to build it up (+3 strength, two turns, remove the +5 to rolls with 5 ki points). The Pressure Boxer has to expend their action to keep the enemy in the Pressured State and the enemy loses the +2 AC when the Pressure Boxer leaves.

Mix Ups

When you're pressuring the opponent, you have to stick there to keep them there or stick very close. However, you have some ways to get around their defenses in the following ways:

• Straight Punch
  • Costs no ki points but removes the +2 AC before you make an attack roll.
• Sweep
  
  • Costs one ki point, removes the +2 AC, and removes 1 AC from the opponent. Safe if you miss and can lead into pressure again at the cost of two ki points if you meet the magic five roll threshold.
• Overhead Slam
  • Costs three ki points, removes the +2 AC, and removes 3 AC from the opponent. The opponent can make a instant hit, reaction melee attack if you miss.
    • Supercharged: Five ki points, safe if you miss and can pressure again if you meet the magic five roll threshold for two points.

This costs an action to do and you have to be pressuring the opponent in order to do this.

Flurry of Combos, Knock Down, Oki-Zeme, and Ki Limit.

Flurry of Combos

When you hit an opponent with flurry of blows, you can spend 2 ki points to do another two attacks stop that if you miss the first one. You can chain this combo into itself for an extra ki point each time (Flurry of Blows(1), Combos x1(2), Combos x2(3)), this continues on until you either miss one of the two attacks, run out of ki, or decide to cut it off. In Flurry of Combos, you remove your damage modifier on the end and, reduce the damage by one for each use past the first (x2 is -1, x3 is -2).

Knock Down

Whenever you use the Sweep mix-up option and hit or use Flurry of Combos, you can decide to spend a ki point in order to try to knock the opponent down to the ground. They need to make a dexterity saving throw against your DC (8+proficiency+Dexterity or Strength). If they fail, they are knocked prone.

Oki-zeme

Just because you knocked the opponent down doesn't mean that it isn't over for them. Whenever they get up, you can spend your reaction and three ki points to freely put them into the Pressured state.

Ki Limit

Your max ki points are doubled, making them 12 at this level, 14 at the next, and so on. However, whenever you make a short rest, you only recover half, but a long rest recovers them all. Your max ki points become tripled at 17 with only a third being recovered in a short rest.

Finishers

While you flourish your blows and feel like a pretty tough customer when it comes to dealing heavy amounts of damage, you aren't done just yet. Your capabilities soar with your newest acquisition in power. At 11th level, you get the capability to add finishers onto the end of your attacks that grow stronger in accordance to how much ki you put into them:

1-2 Punch
3 points, uses a d4.

Gut Punch
5 points, uses a d6.

Uppercut
7 points, uses a d8.

Unearthly Slam
9 points, uses a d10.

With the amount of dice being how many individual attacks you have landed in a row, in a single turn with your action, Flurry of Blows, and Flurry of Combos (if you do not get at least two attacks to land in a row, you cannot use the Finisher). Also, the negative modifier you have accrued through your Flurry of Combos is made into a positive modifier for your Finisher of choice. This damage is affected by Ki-Empowered Strikes. Any finisher that uses six dice or more naturally knocks the opponent prone.

Burst.

Your mastery of ki has lead to this moment, to the point that it channels so much power into you means that you are capable of using the ultimate technique: the Ki Burst. At level 17, you can spend 30 of your ki points and your reaction to cause a burst of ki around you. There are two ways to do this kind of burst:

Defensively
The opponents have to make a dexterity saving throw against your standard DC using wisdom. If they succeed, they get to make an attack of opportunity. However, if they fail, they are knocked back 100 ft and are knocked prone

Offensively
This can only be done after landing a blow. This spins opponents around and resets the negative modifier of Flurry of Combos. This lets you continue using Flurry of Combos with reset damage scaling.