Drunken Master

Martial arts students face a bewildering array of martial arts schools, each with its own adherents and detractors. However, few schools are as unusual—or as controversial—as drunken boxing. By weaving and staggering about as if inebriated, drunken boxers avoid many blows. Likewise, their stumbling, lurching attacks catch their opponents off guard. Moreover, when they actually imbibe alcohol, drunken masters can perform truly prodigious feats of strength and bravery.

This ability garners a drunken master little respect among adherents of other martial arts schools, because drunken boxing exacts a toll on its users. Drunken masters may remain intoxicated for hours after a fight, and they are often found half-asleep in taverns, mumbling incoherently. This flies in the face of other schools’ ascetic principles. Members of rival schools must be wary⁠—​they never know when the tipsy lout at the bar is just a harmless thug, and when he is a nigh-unstoppable drunken master.

Monks form the backbone of the drunken boxing school. A monk loses some face with his original school or monastery for becoming a drunken master, but a brilliant display of drunken fighting can sometimes silence critics in one’s former school. Members of other classes become drunken masters only rarely, although students often tell the tale of a barbarian from the north who became a phenomenal drunken master.

Prospective students are studied at a distance by other drunken masters, then treated to a display of the power of drunken boxing. If the student expresses enthusiasm for learning the new techniques, a group of drunken masters takes him or her from tavern to tavern, getting rip-roaring drunk, causing trouble, and passing along the first secrets of the technique. Those who survive the revelry are welcomed as new drunken masters.

NPC drunken masters are often found in taverns and bars. They rarely pick fights there, but are quick to come to the aid of someone overmatched in a tavern brawl. Most keep a low profile, although some are famous—or infamous—for the deeds they have performed while under the influence.

Hit Die: d8.

Requirements

To qualify to become a drunken master, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.

Skills: Tumble 8 ranks.

Feats: Dodge, Great Fortitude, Improved Unarmed Strike (or the monk’s unarmed strike ability).

Special: Flurry of blows ability; evasion ability; must be chosen by existing drunken masters and survive a night of revelry among them without being incarcerated, poisoned, or extraordinarily embarrassed.

Class Skills

The drunken master’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Escape Artist (Dex), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Swim (Str), and Tumble (Dex).

Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the drunken master prestige class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Drunken masters gain no proficiency with any weapon or armor.

Drink Like a Demon (Ex): A drunken master’s body handles alcohol differently from other people’s. He can drink a large tankard of ale, a bottle of wine, or a corresponding amount of stronger alcohol as a move action. Every bottle or tankard of alcohol he consumes during combat reduces his Wisdom and Intelligence by 2 points each, but increases his Strength or Constitution (character’s choice) by 2 points. A drunken master may benefit from a number of drinks equal to his class level. The duration of both the penalty and the bonus is a number of rounds equal to the character’s drunken master level + 3.

Improvised Weapons (Ex): While bottles and tankards are a drunken master’s preferred improvised weapons, he can use furniture, farm implements, or nearly anything else at hand to attack his foes. A drunken master’s improvised weapon deals as much damage as his unarmed strike plus an extra 1d4 points. Most improvised weapons deal bludgeoning damage, although some (a broken glass bottle, for example) would deal piercing or slashing damage. When a drunken master rolls a natural 1 on an attack roll while using an improvised weapon, that weapon breaks apart and becomes useless.

Stagger (Ex): By tripping, stumbling, and staggering, a drunken master of 2nd level or higher can make a charge attack that surprises his opponents. This ability has two beneficial aspects: First, the charge need not be in a straight line, even though the character can still move up to twice his speed. Second, if a drunken master makes a DC 15 Tumble check before beginning a charge, his movement through threatened squares provokes no attacks of opportunity.

Swaying Waist (Ex): At 3rd level, a drunken master knows how to weave and bob during an attack, making him more difficult to hit. The character gains a +2 dodge bonus to Armor Class against any one opponent he chooses during his turn.

AC Bonus (Ex): At 4th level, a drunken master gains a +1 bonus to Armor Class. This bonus improves to +2 at 9th level.

Improved Improvised Weapons (Ex): A drunken master of 4th level or higher can use long improvised weapons (such as ladders) as reach weapons according to their length, and improvised weapons with many protrusions (such as chairs) provide a +2 bonus on opponents’ disarm attempts. Finally, large objects with broad, flat surfaces (such as tables) can be upended to become improvised tower shields.

Greater Improvised Weapons (Ex): At 5th level and higher, a drunken master wielding an improvised weapon deals an extra 1d8 points of damage instead of 1d4.

Improved Feint (Ex): A drunken master who attains 6th level gains Improved Feint as a bonus feat even if he does not meet the prerequisites.

Improved Grapple (Ex): A drunken master who attains 7th level gains Improved Grapple as a bonus feat even if he does not meet the prerequisites.

For Medicinal Purposes (Sp): At 8th level, a drunken master gains the ability to convert a single alcoholic drink he has ingested into a single potion of cure moderate wounds, as if he had just drunk a dose of the potion. To use this ability, the character must be under the effect of an alcoholic drink (see Drink Like a Demon, above). When he converts one drink of alcohol into one dose of the potion, his ability scores change (+2 to Intelligence and Wisdom, −⁠2 to Strength or Constitution) as if the duration of the alcohol’s effect had expired. This ability can be used up to three times per day. It is a standard action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity.

Corkscrew Rush (Ex): A drunken master of 9th level or higher can perform this maneuver, leaping forward and twisting his body in midair as he attempts to head-butt an opponent. When making a charge attack he can, in addition to dealing normal damage, initiate a bull rush (without provoking an attack of opportunity). If the bull rush attempt succeeds, the opponent is stunned unless she makes a Will save (DC 10 + the drunken master’s class level + the drunken master’s Wis modifier). However, if the bull rush attempt fails, the drunken master lands prone in front of the opponent.

Superior Improvised Weapons (Ex): At 9th level and higher, a drunken master wielding an improvised weapon deals an extra 1d12 points of damage instead of 1d8.

Breath of Flame (Sp): A 10th-level drunken master can ignite some of the alcohol within his body and spew it forth from his mouth as a free action. This breath of flame deals 3d12 points of fire damage to all within the 20-foot cone, or half damage to those who make a Reflex save (DC 10 + the drunken master’s class level + the drunken master’s Con modifier). Each time a drunken master uses breath of flame, it consumes one drink’s worth of alcohol from within his body, lessening the penalty to his Wisdom and Intelligence scores and reducing the bonus to his Strength or Constitution score (character’s choice).

Multiclass Note: A monk who becomes a drunken master may continue advancing as a monk.

Sample Drunken Master

Kirin Kotellos: Human monk 5/drunken master 8: CR 13; Medium humanoid; HD 5d8+5 plus 8d8+8; hp 72; Init +2; Spd 40 ft., AC 20, touch 17, flat-footed 18; Base Atk +9; Grp +17; Atk +14 melee (1d10+4/19–20, unarmed strike) or +14 melee (1d6+7, rod of the python) or +12 ranged (1d8/19–20, +1 light crossbow); Full Atk +14/+9 melee (1d10+4/19–20, unarmed strike); or +13/+13/+8 melee (1d10+4/19–20, unarmed strike); or +13/+8 melee (1d6+5, rod of the python) and +13 melee (1d6+3, rod of the python); or +12 ranged (1d8/19–20, +1 light crossbow); SA flurry of blows, ki strike (magic); SQ drink like a demon, evasion, purity of body, slow fall 20 ft., still mind; AL LG; Fort +15, Ref +14, Will +10; Str 19, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 8.

Skills and Feats: Balance +20, Bluff +7, Climb +20, Diplomacy +1, Intimidate +1, Jump +26, Tumble +20; Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Great Fortitude, Improved Critical (unarmed strike), Improved Feint, Improved Grapple, Mobility, Spring Attack, Stunning Fist, Weapon Focus (unarmed strike).

Flurry of Blows (Ex): Kirin may use a full attack action to make one extra attack per round with an unarmed strike or a special monk weapon at his highest base attack bonus, but this attack and each other attack made in that round take a −⁠1 penalty apiece. This penalty applies for 1 round, so it affects attacks of opportunity Kirin might make before his next action. If armed with a kama, nunchaku, or siangham, Kirin can make the extra attack either with that weapon or unarmed. If armed with two such weapons, he uses one for his regular attack(s) and the other for the extra attack. In any case, his damage bonus on the attack with his off hand is not reduced.

Ki Strike (Su): Kirin’s unarmed strike can deal damage to a creature with damage reduction as if the blow were made with a magic weapon.

Drink Like a Demon (Ex): Each drink Kirin takes during combat reduces his Wisdom and Intelligence by 2 points but increases either his Strength or his Constitution by 2 points for 11 rounds.

Evasion (Ex): If Kirin is exposed to any effect that normally allows him to attempt a Reflex saving throw for half damage, he takes no damage with a successful saving throw.

For Medicinal Purposes (Sp): Kirin can convert an alcoholic drink to a potion of cure moderate wounds three times per day.

Improvised Weapons (Ex): Kirin can use almost anything at hand to attack his foes. An improvised weapon deals 1d6 points of damage (type of damage depends on the weapon’s shape). Long items have reach, and items with many protrusions give Kirin a +2 bonus on disarm attempts.

Purity of Body (Ex): Kirin has immunity to all diseases except for magical diseases such as mummy rot and lycanthropy.

Slow Fall (Ex): When within arm’s reach of a wall, Kirin can use it to slow his descent while falling. He takes damage as if the fall were 20 feet shorter than it actually is.

Stagger (Ex): Kirin doesn’t need to move in a straight line when making a charge, and he can tumble through threatened squares to avoid attacks of opportunity during a charge.

Still Mind (Ex): +2 bonus on saving throws against spells and effects from the enchantment school.

Swaying Waist (Ex): Kirin gains a +2 dodge bonus against any one opponent he chooses during his turn. This benefit does not stack with the benefit of the Dodge feat.

Possessions: Rod of the python, +1 light crossbow, gauntlets of ogre power +2, ring of protection +1, cloak of resistance +2, bracers of armor +3, potion of good hope, 4 bottles of liquor, 10 bolts.

Source: Complete Warrior, page 27.