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jdrich
2006-08-03, 10:26 PM
Monk

Alignment

Any lawful

Hit Die

d8

Class Skills

The monk’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Escape Artist (Dex), Heal (Wis), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Spot (Wis), Swim (Str), and Tumble (Dex).

Skill Points at 1st Level

(4 + Int modifier) ×4.

Skill Points at Each Additional Level

4 + Int modifier.

Table: The Monk


Level Base Attack Bonus Fort Ref Will Special

1st +1 +2 +2 +2 Fast Movement, Improved Unarmed Strike, Insight, Insightful Strike
2nd +2 +3 +3 +3 Evasion, Path of Enlightenment
3rd +3 +3 +3 +3 Purity of Mind
4th +4 +4 +4 +4 Improved Unarmed Strike
5th +5 +4 +4 +4 Ki Strike [Magical]
6th +6/+1 +5 +5 +5 Mastery of Form
7th +7/+2 +5 +5 +5 Improved Path of Enlightenment
8th +8/+3 +6 +6 +6 Improved Unarmed Strike, Purity of Body
9th +9/+4 +6 +6 +6
10th +10/+5 +7 +7 +7 Improved Evasion, Mastery of Form
11th +11/+6/+1 +7 +7 +7 Empowered Strike
12th +12/+7/+2 +8 +8 +8 Greater Path of Enlightenment, Improved Unarmed Strike
13th +13/+8/+3 +8 +8 +8 Purity of Soul
14th +14/+9/+4 +9 +9 +9 Mastery of Form
15th +15/+10/+5 +9 +9 +9 Ki Strike [Adamantine]
16th +16/+11/+6/+1 +10 +10 +10 Improved Unarmed Strike
17th +17/+12/+7/+2 +10 +10 +10 Supreme Path of Enlightenment
18th +18/+13/+8/+3 +11 +11 +11 Mastery of Form
19th +19/+14/+9/+4 +11 +11 +11
20th +20/+15/+10/+5 +12 +12 +12 Improved Unarmed Strike, Mastery of Form

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the monk.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency

Monks are proficient with all simple weapons.

Monks are not proficient with any armor or shields.

Fast Movement (Ex)

A monk’s land speed is faster than the norm for her race by +10 feet. This benefit applies only when she is wearing no armor and not carrying a heavy load. Apply this bonus before modifying the monk’s speed because of any load carried or armor worn.

Improved Unarmed Strike (Ex)

A monk receives Improved Unarmed Strike as a bonus feat at 1st level. In addition, at 4th level and every four levels thereafter, the monk is treated as though she was one size category larger for the purpose of determining weapon damage for her unarmed strike. For all other intents and purposes, the monk is still her normal size.

Insight (Ex)

When unarmored and unencumbered, the monk adds her Wisdom modifier (if any) as an insight bonus to her AC.

These bonuses to AC apply even against touch attacks or when the monk is flat-footed. She loses these bonuses when she is immobilized or helpless, when she wears any armor, when she carries a shield, or when she carries a medium or heavy load.

Insightful Strike (Ex)

Once per day per level of monk, the monk may add her Wisdom bonus to her damage for a single attack roll. The monk must declare that she is using this ability before she makes her attack roll, and if the attack misses the attempt is lost.

Evasion (Ex)

At 2nd level and higher, a monk can avoid even magical and unusual attacks with great agility. If she makes a successful Reflex saving throw against an attack that normally deals half damage on a successful save, she instead takes no damage. Evasion can be used only if the monk is wearing light armor or no armor. A helpless monk does not gain the benefit of evasion.

Path of Enlightenment

At 2nd level, the monk must choose one of several paths to follow. These paths grant special abilities at 2nd, 7th, 12th, and 17th levels.

Path of the Martyr

2nd: The monk gains damage reduction 2/-.
7th: The monk gains damage reduction 4/-.
12th: The monk gains damage reduction 6/-.
17th: The monk gains damage reduction 8/-.

Path of the Fifth Wind

2nd: The monk gains an insight bonus to her Jump skill equal to her monk level.
7th: The monk's fast movement increases by 10'.
12th: The monk's fast movement increases by an additional 10'.
17th: The monk can Fly as the spell 5 rounds per day.

Path of Redemption - Insight

2nd: Whenever the monk uses her Insightful Strike ability, the bonuses is added to both the attack roll and damage.
7th: The monk's insight bonus to AC increases by +2.
12th: The monk's insight bonus to AC increases by an additional +2.
17th: The monk can resolve her insightful strikes as touch attacks a number of times per day equal to her 3 + her Wisdom modifier.

Path of Unburdened Will

2nd: The monk can move at full speed even while carrying a medium or heavy load.
7th: The monk's size increases by one category.
12th: The monk no longer needs to eat or sleep.
17th: The monk automatically succeeds at all Constitution checks and Fortitude saves.

Path of Dominance - Grappling, Tripping

2nd: The monk gains Improved Grapple as a bonus feat.
7th: The monk gains Improved Trip as a bonus feat.
12th: The monk is treated as being one size category larger for the purpose of determining grapple checks, trip attempts, and unarmed damage.
17th: The monk can attempt to trip and grapple creatures of any size.

Path of the Prepared Mind

2nd: The monk gains Uncanny Dodge.
7th: The monk's unarmored bonus to AC becomes a deflection bonus instead of an insight bonus.
12th: The monk gains Improved Uncanny Dodge.
17th: The monk is never flat-footed.

Path of the Mighty Fists

2nd: The monk gains Two-Weapon Fighting as a bonus feat.
7th: The monk gains Improved Two-Weapon Fighting as a bonus feat.
12th: The monk gains Greater Two-Weapon Fighting as a bonus feat.
17th: The monk gains Whirlwind Attack as a bonus feat.

Path of the Diamond Soul

2nd: The monk gains a bonus equal to her Wisdom bonus on all saving throws.
7th: The monk gains immunity to all magical and nonmagical poisons.
12th: The monk gains imminity to all magical and nonmagical diseases.
17th: The monk no longer takes penalties to her ability scores for aging and cannot be magically aged.

Purity of Mind (Ex)

A monk of 3rd level or higher gains a +4 bonus on saving throws against spells and effects from the school of enchantment.

Mastery of Form (Ex)

At monk of 6th level or higher can choose one skill from the following list:

Balance, Climb, Jump, Swim, or Tumble.

From thereafter, the monk may take a 10 on all checks with the selected skill. At 10th, 14th, 18th, and 20th level a monk may choose one additional skill from the above list.

Purity of Body (Ex)

A monk of 8th level or higher gains a +4 bonus on saving throws against all magical and nonmagical poisons.

Empowered Strike (Ex)

At 11th level, whenever a monk uses her Insightful Strike ability the attack bypasses all forms of damage reduction.

Purity of Soul (Ex)

A monk of 13th level or higher gains a +4 bonus on saving throws against all magical and nonmagical diseases.

Beelzebub1111
2006-08-03, 10:31 PM
I reccomend changing the BAB to as cleric but that's just me

Fax Celestis
2006-08-03, 10:48 PM
17th: The monk automatically succeeds at all Constitution checks and Fortitude saves.
So so terribly broken it's not even funny. Poison? Nope. Finger of Death? Nope. How about Slay Living? Nope. Uh...gaze attacks? Nope. Getting drunk? No. Fortitude/Constitution checks for long-distance running/marching? Nope.

Why don't you just give them Mettle while you're at it and make them invincible.

jdrich
2006-08-03, 10:54 PM
So so terribly broken it's not even funny.

Have you seen the core monk class?

Edit:

What I mean, is, the core monk class, at first glance, seems as 'broken,' but in reality is less than imbalanced

What I was looking for was a way for the Monk of the Unburdened Will to be a sort of semi-deific Forrest Gump - Can run as far as he likes without stopping, never tires, never stumbles, etc.

Without a block of rules text the size of War and Peace, what would you suggest?

Gyrfalcon
2006-08-03, 11:09 PM
The damage progression is a little bit odd. You're basically useless with just unarmed strikes until level 12 to 16, when your damage progression finally picks up and you start delivering decent damage.

Levels 1-3 - 1d3 damage
Levels 4-7 - 1d4 damage
levels 8-11 - 1d6 damage
levels 12-15 - 1d8 damage
levels 16-19 - 2d6 damage
level 20 - 3d6 damage
level 20* (path of Dominance): 4d6

Thus, the monk will normally be using any of a number of simple weapons, or spending a feat on martial or exotic weapon proficency on a weapon he'll like.

Hm... overall, I think the class is decent, but perhaps a little underpowered compared to the regular monk. As above, your unarmed strikes are near useless until level 16, when they pick up dramatically, but in low levels, you barely do damage. In addition, a number of monk abilites are split up among different paths, and you lose some AC due to the loss of the untyped bonus AC monk's recieved.

Some of the paths also seem more useful then others - Path of the Mighty Fists gives you four free feats and Path of Dominance helps you with battlefield control. In comparison, Path of Diamond Soul focuses on poison, disease and aging immunity, something any good party doesn't care much about because they have a cleric for the first two, and I doubt they'll adventure long enough or live long enough to care about the last.

Random thoughts:

Path of Unburdened Will:
As Fax Celestis said, automatic success on all Constitution and Fortitude checks is overpowered.

Path of the Prepared Mind:
I'd call changing the bonus from insight to deflection a nerf rather then helpful. As far as I know, the only difference is that the deflection bonus applies to touch attacks, but fail to stack with each other, preventing the monk from using a ring of protection for the very same thing. In contrast, items that provide insight bonuses are hard to find unless you custom make one.

Fax Celestis
2006-08-03, 11:36 PM
Without a block of rules text the size of War and Peace, what would you suggest?
"Upon failing either a saving throw against an effect that allows for half or no damage on a successful save (regardless of the original save type), the monk may make a second saving throw against the same DC--this one a fortitude save. If they succeed, they receive the less damaging effect as if they had successfully made the original save."

In addition, swap the 7th and 12th level abilities out of that one, and add to the not-eating-or-sleeping-one that the monk is immune to fatigue.