Path of the Iron Warrior

Fighting is only about who is stronger than the other for amateurs; mastery beyond that is done in the mind, in the soul, and in the spirit. Someone who does not understand this can never begin to embark on the path for iron warriors. It is said that once a generation, iron warriors from all corners of the cosmos meet to fight, and that only one gets the ultimate prize; the true nature of which eludes all who seek it, in what can only be described as a great irony. 

Level 3: Opportunistic Fighter

You have a certain fighting style, dictated by your sense of martial arts. Regardless of what weapon you are or are not wielding, when making any melee attacks, treat the attack as if it were an unarmed strike using strength. Your unarmed strikes cannot gain (base) damage dice, only doing the static amount of damage regardless of racial or class features that give other options. Instead, iron warriors take advantage of the circumstances that make their enemy weak. When hitting a creature with a melee attack, you deal an extra 1d8 damage for each condition afflicted on the target (such as prone, deafened, or custom conditions used by this subclass). 

Level 3: Wrath Meter

Your Rage is unique, not being accessible the moment you decide to fight. Instead, you can only use your rage feature if you are bloodied or critical (HP at half or lower). While in this unique rage, the flat damage of your strikes, and your rage damage bonus, is doubled. While raging, you can use a bonus action to perform the shove or grapple action, adding your rage damage bonus to any check or save DC for these actions

 

Wrath Meter

Your Rage is unique, not being accessible the moment you decide to fight. Instead, you can only use your rage feature if you are bloodied or critical (HP at half or lower). While in this unique rage, the flat damage of your strikes, and your rage damage bonus, is doubled. While raging, you can use a bonus action to perform the shove or grapple action, adding your rage damage bonus to any check or save DC for these actions

Level 6: Fighter's Flow

Landing a faster punch requires muscle, skill and technique. But after you've gained those things, landing an even faster punch requires you to do something simple; punch sooner. This kind of prediction is the basis for all masters of martial arts. When you end your turn with either your action or bonus action, as well as your reaction remaining, you enter a ready state. When you enter this state, choose one of the three below, which you have access to until the end of your next turn

Read a Punch: When a creature attacks you, you can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on that attack, and all attacks that share a name with it, until the end of your next turn. * You have advantage on attack rolls against the creature who triggered this reaction

Read a Throw: When a creature uses the shove or grapple action (or something else that imposes a condition that impacts your speed), you can use a reaction to add your proficiency bonus to any related check or save, if it is not already added from another source. This bonus persists to any similar attempts of the same name, until the start of your next turn.       * When you attack a creature this triggered this reaction, you can impose one of the following conditions on them: prone, deafened, blinded. Or, you can choose to push them 5ft

Read a Block: When you or another creature within 5ft of you misses an attack on a creature, you can use a reaction to grapple that creature.           * You can use a bonus action to attack a creature you are grappling three times. The grapple then ends early

If you successfully use the reaction listed, during your next turn, you can use the ability that appears after the *

Level 10: Third Axis

A fight does not happen in one dimension, nor two, but three at the least. When fighting another creature, you can make use of this fact to great effect: allowing you to potentially slip attacks entirely. 

Void: Once per turn, when a creature enters your melee reach, you may take a quick step back (5ft). 

Slip: Once per round, when a creature would deal damage in a defined area (such as using an area of effect), you can move 15ft in a direction of your choosing. This cannot make the distance between you and the creature greater or smaller, such as moving towards or away from them. 

Press: Once per turn, when a creature misses you with an attack roll while they are not within your melee reach, you may move up to 20ft directly towards them in the shortest distance possible. If this makes you enter melee reach, make a melee attack.

Power of the Ultimate Iron Fist

Whenever you are inside of your rage, you can end it early using a bonus action to perform a massive burst combo, meant to destroy any opponent who stands before you. Make 10 unarmed strikes against the creature, and then, make a grapple check against the creature. If they fail the saving throw, make 10 more unarmed strikes against that creature. After these attacks are made, your rage ends. You cannot use an action before this feature (this turn), and cannot use actions this turn after using it. 

Whenever you are not in your rage, you can focus on building up your attack - all of your strikes either knock the target prone, or shove them 5ft away from you. Each time you strike a creature after having shoved them, deal your strength modifier in additional damage to them. If this shove is stopped by an object such as a wall, instead of doing a flat amount of damage, do that damage in d6s, instead. 

At level 20, you learn the ultimate strike to begin a combo. If you make an unarmed strike without it being your turn, and then the next turn is yours, you can unleash this ultimate strike on your next unarmed attack roll. On a hit, the creature takes an additional 8d6 lightning damage, is electrified (condition), knocked prone, and is knocked 10ft into the air. An electrified creature cannot take reactions until the start of their next turn. After hitting this ultimate strike, you enter a state called the zone until the end of your turn. Each time you successfully hit an attack after this ultimate strike, it too, gains the benefits of the ultimate strike.

Level 14: Power of the Ultimate Iron Fist

Whenever you are inside of your rage, you can end it early using a bonus action to perform a massive burst combo, meant to destroy any opponent who stands before you. Make 10 unarmed strikes against the creature, and then, make a grapple check against the creature. If they fail the saving throw, make 10 more unarmed strikes against that creature. After these attacks are made, your rage ends.  After these attacks are made, your rage ends. You cannot use an action before this feature (this turn), and cannot use actions this turn after using it. 

Whenever you are not in your rage, you can focus on building up your attack - all of your strikes either knock the target prone, or shove them 5ft away from you. Each time you strike a creature after having shoved them, deal your strength modifier in additional damage to them. If this shove is stopped by an object such as a wall, instead of doing a flat amount of damage, do that damage in d6s, instead. 

At level 20, you learn the ultimate strike to begin a combo. If you make an unarmed strike without it being your turn, and then the next turn is yours, you can unleash this ultimate strike on your next unarmed attack roll. On a hit, the creature takes an additional 8d6 lightning damage, is knocked prone, and is knocked 10ft into the air. After hitting this ultimate strike, you enter a state called the zone until the end of your turn. Each time you successfully hit an attack after this ultimate strike, it too, gains the benefits of the ultimate strike.