Ruffian

As tempting as the prospect of wealth and power might be, there will always be those who seek to take it from you. Influential people therefore often employ bodyguards to ensure their protection. These ruffians don't follow military procedures other guards might hold sacred. For them, there is only one goal: to protect those they have either sworn to or are being payed to protect. To do so, they aren't afraid to play dirty. After all, honor doesn't pay for anything, if the source of the payment died for it.

At 3rd level, you will give your life to shield others from harm. When a creature within 5ft. of you gets hit with an attack roll, you can use your Grit feature on them. You reduce the damage, but the creature still takes any excessive damage. You still get a Grit Point when using your feature like this.

At 3rd level, the shield you carry can be both a defensive and an offensive tool. While carrying a shield, you can use your bonus action to make an attack roll with it. You can target a creature within 5ft. of you. You add your proficiency bonus and your strength modifier to the attack roll. On a hit, the target must succeed on a dexterity saving throw with a DC that equals 8 + your proficiency bonus + your strength modifier. On a fail, it falls prone.

You can use this feature without a shield, but you will make the attack roll with disadvantage.

At 6th level, you know how to get your allies out of harm's way. On your turn, you can expend half your movement to touch a willing creature and swap places with them (no action required). As with any forced movement, this doesn't provoke any opportunity attacks against either of you.

At 10th level, you can fully shield a creature from harm. As a bonus action on your turn, you can expend four Grit Points to touch a creature. Until the start of your next turn and only if the creature remains within 5ft. of you, you grant the creature three-quarters cover.

At 14th level, you can try to draw attention away from the creatures you have sworn to protect, by leaving yourself open to attacks. At the end of your turn, you can force all creatures that are fixated on you, to make a wisdom saving throw against your Daunting Pressence Save DC.

On a fail, a creature must use its Action on its next turn, to try to damage you. Any attack rolls they make against you are made with advantage and you have disadvantage on all saving throws they force you to make.

At 18th level, you are willing to sacrifice yourself for those you have sworn to protect. When a creature within 30ft. of you is reduced to 0 Hit Points, you can use your reaction to rush to their side.

You can spend your entire movement towards the creature. They regain Hit Points equal to your current Grit Points x 10. You then lose the same amount of Hit Points.

While most Ruffians know how to yield a weapon, not all of them prefer to do so. Sometimes a good old right hook can get you places. Brawlers are often involved in bar and street fights. There is something honorable about meeting your foe eye to eye with no weapons to determine the outcome of a fight, but the pure strength of your arms. Brawlers are also often employed by crime lords to intimidate rivals and to make sure that debts are payed. When the fist of a Brawler hits your jaw and an unsettling crack can be heard, you'll think twice about angering them again.

At 3rd level, your left and right hook are feared everywhere. You can roll a 1d6|d6 in place of the normal damage of your unarmed strike. You can add your proficiency bonus to your damage roll. When you use the Attack action with an unarmed strike on your turn,you can make one unarmed strike as a bonus action.

At 6th level, you can try to force a creature into a duel. As a bonus action, you can force a creature within 60ft. of you, that can see you, to make an intelligence saving throw against your Daunting Pressence Save DC. A creature that is fixated on you, makes this saving throw with disadvantage. On a fail, you and the creature both get disadvantage on all attack rolls that don't target each other. In addition, every creature - other than the two of you - get advantage on saving throws you force them to make. The Duel lasts for one minute or until one of you is reduced to 0 hit points. If you reduce a creature you are having a duel with to 0 hit points, you can choose to expend any number of your Hit Dice and heal for the amount without adding your constitution modifier.

At 6th level, your unarmed strikes count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistances.

At 10th level, your punches can leave a creature dizzy. After hitting a creature with an attack roll, you can expend two Grit Points to lay a lot of weight into the punch. The creature musst succeed on a constitution saving throw with a DC that equals 8 + your proficiency bonus + your strength modifier. On a fail, the creature can't use any Reactions until the start of your next turn.

At 14th level, you can decide to swarm an opponent, making sure they have no time to recover. When making an attack roll, you can choose to expend three Grit Points. If your attack hits, the targeted creature must make a dexterity saving throw with a DC that equals 8 + your proficiency bonus + your strength modifier. On a fail, it must use its reaction to take the Dodge action. On its next turn, it must use its action to take the Dodge action.

At 18th level, the damage you deal isn't easily brushed off. Your unarmed strikes now reduce a creatures maximum hit points by the damage they deal. If a creatures maximum Hit Points are reduced to 0 via this feature, the creature dies. The effects of this feature remain until the creature has finished a long rest.

Fighting the good (or bad) fight might lead to a lot of kinship. Some Ruffians form tight bonds with their companions, even if it is just the lust or the need for money that brings them all together. These Sentrys are hellbent on making sure, that none of their allies get hurt. And their resilience and determination inspires those around them to never give up. Even - or perhaps especially - if the odds are against them.

At 3rd level, your perseverance in the face of pain encourages your allies to fight harder. Whenever you expend grit points you may give Encouragement to one ally within 30ft that can see you. For the next round, they gain a bonus equal to half your Charisma modifier (rounded up) to either their saving throws, Armor Class, or attack rolls. They choose the effect when you activate this ability.

At 3rd level, you can be knocked down 10 times, but stand up 11! When you make death saving throws a 19 or better counts as if you had rolled a natural 20. Additionally, each time you make a death saving throw - prior to rolling - you may expend any number of Grit points and add this number to the roll.

At 6th level, You hate to see your friends get hurt. When you see a creature or ally take damage, you can expend 3 grit points and your reaction to move up to your full movement toward the aggressor and use your Counter ability as if you had been attacked.

At 10th level, creatures benefitting from your Encouragement feature now add your full Charisma modifier instead of half. Additionally they may instead use the bonus to apply it to any save DC they force other creatures to make or to their death saving throws.

At 14th level, whenever you utilize your Grand Entrance feature you may grant Encouragement to any number of allies within range of the effect. Additionally, you may use this feature again any time you regain consciousness as the result of a Death saving thrown.

At 18th level, you can use your Last Stand feature once per short rest without expending any Grit Points. Additionally, when an ally within 60ft. of you would drop to 0 hit points, you may use your reaction to let them use your Last Stand feature instead of you.