Boxing

Boxers specialize in fighting with their fists, using their punches and upper bodies to batter their way across the battlefield. Boxing practitioners are unarmed fighters who deal additional damage with their unarmed strikes as described in the unarmed strike practitioner table. Associated Feat: Improved Unarmed Strike.

All practitioners of the Boxing sphere gain the following ability:

Counter Punch

You may ready an action to make an attack with a light melee weapon against the next enemy who makes a melee attack roll against you before the beginning of your next round; this attack is treated as an attack action for the purposes of talents as well as the Vital Strike feat and occurs before the attack that triggers it, gaining a +2 competence bonus to damage rolls. For every 4 points of base attack bonus you possess, this bonus increases by +2. Using this ability does not change your place in the initiative order.

You can apply a single talent with the (counter) tag to a counter punch.

Whenever you ready a counter punch, you can decide on an additional trigger for your prepared attack from the following list; if the trigger is met, the readied attack qualifies as a counter punch (if an action would also provoke an attack of opportunity, you may choose in which order you wish to resolve your attacks):

• A hostile creature making an attack roll
• A hostile creature attempting a combat maneuver
• A hostile creature moving from their square
• A hostile creature using a spell or a spell-like ability
• A hostile creature drawing a weapon
• A hostile creature speaking

For every 5 points of base attack bonus you possess, you may select an additional trigger from this list.

Boxing Talents

Corkscrew Set Up

As a part of readying an action to perform a counter punch, you can make an attack roll against one creature within your reach. If this attack hits, it deals no damage, but until the start of your next turn, the target of this attack can move only in such a way that the space it occupies is adjacent to you after their movement. Alternatively, it can attempt a combat maneuver check (against your CMD) on their turn as a swift action to ignore this talent’s effect. If your base attack bonus is +10 or higher, this attack deals damage equal to your practitioner modifier + your base attack bonus instead of no damage.

Cross Counter

Whenever a creature within your reach makes an attack of opportunity against you, you can expend your martial focus as an immediate action to make an attack against them dealing damage as normal; if your attack is successful, the creature must roll their attack roll twice, taking the worse result.

Dug In Blow

Whenever you successfully make an attack with your counter punch, you gain DR 2/- until the beginning of your next turn, although this damage reduction is lost if you move more than 5 ft. during your turn. For every 3 points of base attack bonus you possess, this damage reduction increases by 1.

Gazelle Punch

Whenever you ready a counter punch, you treat your reach as though it was 5 ft. further for the purposes of being able to make a counter punch. If the triggering action was taken by a creature that is outside of your normal reach, you may move to a square that places the creature within your reach (this movement does provoke attacks of opportunity) before making the attack. At +10 base attack bonus, your effective reach increases by an additional 5 ft. (up to your speed).

Headfake

As long as you have martial focus, whenever a creature attempts to make an attack of opportunity against you, they must roll their attack roll twice, taking the worse result. Creatures capable of making multiple attacks of opportunity per round may instead expend two attacks of opportunity instead of one to make an attack of opportunity as normal.

Heavy Counter

You may use a counter punch with a one or two-handed melee weapon.

KO Focus

Whenever you successfully deal damage to a target with your counter punch, you may spend an immediate action to regain your martial focus. The creature must have a CR of at least half your character level (rounded down, minimum 1/2).

Overhead Smash

As long as you have martial focus, whenever you use your counter punch, you may spend an immediate action before the attack roll to roll your attack roll and damage roll twice, taking whichever set of results you desire.

Raging Bull

Whenever you ready a counter punch, you can instead ready a charge, although you may only move up to your speed with this charge (the attack granted by this charge is still treated as an attack action). You may not use this with the pounce ability. Associated Feat: Rhino Charge.

Read the Rhythm

As a move action, you can select one creature within 40 ft. of yourself; you gain a +2 competence bonus on all opposed skill checks you make against that creature for 1 minute. You can only gain this bonus against a single creature at a time, and you can only use this talent against a particular creature once per day. For every 4 points of base attack bonus you possess, this bonus increases by +2.

Rope a Dope

Once per round, when a creature makes a melee attack against you, you spend an immediate action to force them to make a Fortitude save at the end of their turn or be fatigued for 1 round; in addition, the creature takes a -2 penalty to this saving throw for each attack they make that round. This fatigue last for 1 additional round for each 4 points of base attack bonus you possess. If your base attack bonus is +10 or higher, that creature is instead exhausted instead of fatigued.

Shadowboxing

You can use your total Perform (dance) bonus in place of your Acrobatics or Intimidate bonuses. Any creature which watches you make a Perform (dance) check outside of combat must make a Will save (using the result of your Perform (dance) check to determine the save DC) or be fascinated for up to 1 minute. Once a creature has been affected by this talent, they cannot be affected by it again for 1 day.

Shoulder Roll

Once per round when a creature declares a melee attack against you, you may spend an attack of opportunity to add a +1 dodge bonus to your AC against that attack. This bonus increases by +1 for every 4 points of base attack bonus you possess. If the attack misses you, you may immediately make an attack against that creature with a light weapon. If you possess the Heavy Counter talent, you may instead make this attack with a one or two-handed weapon.

Sucker Punch

Whenever you make an attack of opportunity with a weapon with which you could use to make a counter punch, once per round you may expend your martial focus to treat that attack of opportunity as though it was a counter punch. If you use this talent, you become staggered for 1 round.

Tight Guard

Whenever you ready an action, take a total defense action, or use the attack action to attack with a light weapon, you gain a +1 shield bonus to your armor class and combat maneuver defense until the start of your next turn. For every 4 points of base attack bonus you possess, this shield bonus and bonus to your combat maneuver defense increases by 1.

Violent Pressure

Whenever you ready a counter punch, you may spend a swift action to select one creature within 30 ft. of yourself; that creature must make a successful Will save or be shaken for 1 round. For every 5 points of base attack bonus you possess, the duration of this condition increase by 1 round. You may only target an individual creature once per day with this talent.

Counter Talents

Clinch (counter)

Whenever you successfully attack with your counter punch, you may attempt to grapple that creature as a free action (even if it is not your turn) that does not provoke attacks of opportunity.

Haymaker (counter)

Whenever you attack with a counter punch, you may aim for the target’s mouth or equivalent orifice impeding their ability to speak. If your attack is successful the target must succeed on a concentration check to cast any spell with a verbal or equivalent component, adding 1/4 your base attack bonus (minimum 1) to the DC of the check. This effect can be ended as a standard action by a Heal check with a DC equal to the concentration DC, or when the target receives at least 1 point of magical healing.

Jolt Counter (counter)

Whenever you attempt to attack a creature with your counter punch, you may expend your martial focus as a free action that can be taken even when it is not your turn to treat the target of your attack as being flat-footed until the end of that turn and give the creature the battered condition until the end of your next turn on a successful hit.

Launching Uppercut (counter)

Whenever you successfully attack with your counter punch, you may expend your martial focus to attempt a bull rush against the creature as a free action even while it is not your turn without provoking an attack of opportunity. A successful bull rush forces the creature an additional 5 ft. further than normal, and you may choose to force the creature to move vertically rather than horizontally (this movement does not provoke attacks of opportunity). If you choose to force the creature vertically, that creature begins to descend on the end of their current turn (creatures that can fly may attempt to do so); upon landing, they must make a successful Reflex save or fall prone, taking falling damage as appropriate (on a successful Reflex save, they take 1/2 the total amount of falling damage and do not fall prone).

You may use this talent on a willing ally other than yourself without expending your martial focus, dealing no damage to them and automatically hitting them. A willing ally treats their CMD as 10, adjusted for size. Willing allies can control their descent as though they could glide (until they reach the same elevation at which they started, falling as normal after that) and make an attack at any point during their descent; for every 10 ft. your ally descends before making this attack, they gain a +2 circumstance bonus to its damage roll. For every 4 points of base attack bonus you possess, you may launch a creature 10 ft. further into the air.

Liver Shot (counter)

Whenever you successfully make an attack with your counter punch, you may force the creature hit by your counter punch to make a successful Fortitude save or be sickened and have all of their movement speeds reduced by 1/2 for 1 round. For every 5 points of base attack bonus you possess, the duration of this talent is increased by 1 round.

Terrifying Hook (counter)

Whenever you use your counter punch, you can make an Intimidate check to demoralize that creature as a free action, even when it isn’t your turn.

Legendary Talents

Chasing Assault

Prerequisite(s): Boxing sphere, counter punch ability, Launching Uppercut.

Whenever you launch a hostile creature into the air with your Launching Uppercut talent, you may make an Acrobatics check to jump into the air next to them as an immediate action (this movement does not provoke attacks of opportunity). If you manage to jump at least as high as the target was launched, you may make an attack of opportunity against that creature, knocking them back to the ground immediately where they suffer falling damage and are not allowed a saving throw to avoid falling prone.

You descend back to the ground at the end of the target’s turn, and do not suffer falling damage for the distance you jumped.

Intense Conditioning (counter)

Prerequisite(s): Boxing sphere, counter punch ability, base attack bonus +5.

Whenever you land a successful counter punch, you may expend your martial focus as a free action to make the creature damaged by your counter punch make a Will save; if this save is unsuccessful, for 1 minute, whenever the creature attempts the action which triggered your counter punch, they must make a successful Will save or lose that action. This is a mind-affecting effect.

Cutting Comeback (counter)

Prerequisite(s): Boxing sphere, counter punch ability, Diplomacy or Intimidate or Bluff 5 ranks.

Your comebacks are so potent they can literally cause targets pain. You may ready the demoralization action from the Intimidate skill, a shout from the Warleader sphere that affects enemies, or (if you possess Verbal Feint from the Fencing sphere) a feint, as if they were counterpunches. If successful, one afflicted target of your choice within 30 ft. of you suffers twice the bonus damage from your counterpunch as nonlethal damage in addition to the effects of the readied action itself. This is a language-based, mind-altering effect.