How much damage do Brawlers deal with Improvised Weapons?

Question

Looking at the UA 2023 Playtest 7 article, one of the new Fighter subclasses introduced is the Brawler.

At 3rd level, they get a feature called Improvised Expert that enhances improvised weapons. However, it does not mention damage die, unlike the Unarmed Expert feature, which does explicitly mention the damage die you can use for unarmed strikes.

I'm only familiar with the old 5e rules, not "5.5e" rules (by which I mean the new 2024 stuff), so I would assume it is still the case that improvised weapons deal 1d4+STR damage like in 5e.

At level 15, they then get a feature called Improvised Specialist, which explicitly mentions that two-handed improvised weapons now use a d12 die. A jump from d4 to d12 seems quite dramatic, which further convinces me that I must have missed something.

Are there new improvised weapons rules that this subclass assumes that I should be aware of? Or is it really still just 1d4 like it used to be?

Answer 1

d4 damage (or damage of a similar weapon)

The playtest materials state on p. 1:

The material here the rules in the 2014 Player’s Handbook, except where noted.

As there is no note of the damage for improvised weapons being changed anywhere in the document, other than the level 15 Improvised Specialist feature you mention, that means improvised weapons deal the damage listed in the 2014 PHB, p. 147f:

In many cases, an improvised weapon is similar to an actual weapon and can be treated as such. For example, a table leg is akin to a club. At the DM’s option, a character proficient with a weapon can use a similar object as if it were that weapon and use his or her proficiency bonus.
An object that bears no resemblance to a weapon deals 1d4 damage (the DM assigns a damage type appropriate to the object).

That is, they deal the damage of a similar weapon, or 1d4.

For what it's worth, Improvised weapons for the 2024 rules are listed in the Rules Glossary (p. 369, PHB), which says:

Damage. On a hit, the weapon deals 1d4 damage of a type the DM thinks is appropriate for the object.
Weapon equivalents. If an improvised weapon resembles a Simple or Martial weapon, the DM may say it functions as that weapon and uses that weapon's rules. (...)

So, same same. The 2024 rules include Tavern Brawler as an Origin feat that you can access by choosing the Sailor background. It allows you to use your proficiency bonus on improvised weapons, but does not change their damage die either.

Answer 2

An object that bears no resemblance to a weapon deals 1d4 damage.

That does not include things that do resemble weapons. Guidance for that is 1 paragraph earlier:

Often, an improvised weapon is similiar to an actual weapon and can be treated as such.

So, DM can decide that table leg is similiar to mace and thus has 1d6 damage die. Improvised Specialist ensures that you get 1d12 die for 2h weapons without relying on DM Fiat.