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Rasman
2009-12-25, 04:59 AM
Is the Pole Fighting feat worth it for a monk?

I'm interested in fighting at range, I figure if I can flurry at range, with an Awl Pike or something similar, I'd be pretty set against opponents that I don't want to get too close to, plus if I get rushed in close, I can still use my Unarmed Strikes to melee, so there's no disadvantage there.

I'm mostly looking for a Polearm that is interesting, not necessarly the strongest one.

The Ritiik seems...different, but I'm not sure if it's ability would count as a grapple or not.

The Long Staff's bonus seems interesting, but I'm not sure how useful it is.

Any suggestions as to which polearm would be the most interesting to go with?

Darrin
2009-12-25, 10:54 AM
The Longstaff (Complete Adventurer) isn't a polearm, and it doesn't have reach. It's already considered a special monk weapon so you don't need Pole Fighter to flurry with it. You do still need to spend EWP on it, though. It might be worth it if you have to pick up Combat Expertise for something else... but if you don't want to be flanked, just spend one feat on Shape Soulmeld: Threefold Mask of the Chimera.

Back to Pole Fighter though... well, first you need to be proficient in it, so that's Martial/Exotic Weapon Proficiency, then you need Weapon Focus, then Pole Fighter. Three feats is pretty costly, unless you're picking up proficiency/Weapon Focus via multiclassing.

As far as which polearm, I think Guisarme is the most popular because it has +2 on trip attempts. If you've going to spend a feat on EWP anyway, might as well grab the Ritiik for the free trip attempt (no trip bonus, but free action). Otherwise, the Glaive has just slightly better damage.

However, I think you can get everything you want with just one feat. Unorthodox Flurry allows you to select any light weapon, and you automatically get proficiency with it and can treat it as a special monk weapon. There are two light weapons with reach: Kusari-Gama (DMG) or Drow Scorpion Chain (Secrets of Xen'drik). Roughly the same stats, although the Scorpion Chain has a better crit range (19-20/x2). Either way, you can attack adjacent opponents with it.

Add the Feycraft template (1500 GP, DMGII), and the damage drops one step from 1d6 to 1d4, but you can use your Dex for attack as if you had Weapon Finesse *without* spending a feat on it. Add Strongarm Bracers (6000 GP, MIC), and you can use a larger version to get the damage back up to 1d6. Add the Aptitude property (+1 enhancement, Tome of Battle) and the Shadow Blade feat with a Shadow Hand stance (take Martial Study and Martial Stance if necessary), and you can add your Dex bonus to damage. Add Gloves of the Balanced Hand (8000 GP, MIC) and a second Kusari-Gama/Scorpion Claw for TWF or Imp. TWF.

Rasman
2009-12-25, 09:42 PM
The Longstaff (Complete Adventurer) isn't a polearm, and it doesn't have reach. It's already considered a special monk weapon so you don't need Pole Fighter to flurry with it. You do still need to spend EWP on it, though. It might be worth it if you have to pick up Combat Expertise for something else... but if you don't want to be flanked, just spend one feat on Shape Soulmeld: Threefold Mask of the Chimera.

Back to Pole Fighter though... well, first you need to be proficient in it, so that's Martial/Exotic Weapon Proficiency, then you need Weapon Focus, then Pole Fighter. Three feats is pretty costly, unless you're picking up proficiency/Weapon Focus via multiclassing.

As far as which polearm, I think Guisarme is the most popular because it has +2 on trip attempts. If you've going to spend a feat on EWP anyway, might as well grab the Ritiik for the free trip attempt (no trip bonus, but free action). Otherwise, the Glaive has just slightly better damage.

However, I think you can get everything you want with just one feat. Unorthodox Flurry allows you to select any light weapon, and you automatically get proficiency with it and can treat it as a special monk weapon. There are two light weapons with reach: Kusari-Gama (DMG) or Drow Scorpion Chain (Secrets of Xen'drik). Roughly the same stats, although the Scorpion Chain has a better crit range (19-20/x2). Either way, you can attack adjacent opponents with it.

Add the Feycraft template (1500 GP, DMGII), and the damage drops one step from 1d6 to 1d4, but you can use your Dex for attack as if you had Weapon Finesse *without* spending a feat on it. Add Strongarm Bracers (6000 GP, MIC), and you can use a larger version to get the damage back up to 1d6. Add the Aptitude property (+1 enhancement, Tome of Battle) and the Shadow Blade feat with a Shadow Hand stance (take Martial Study and Martial Stance if necessary), and you can add your Dex bonus to damage. Add Gloves of the Balanced Hand (8000 GP, MIC) and a second Kusari-Gama/Scorpion Claw for TWF or Imp. TWF.

hmm...Unorthodox Flurry sounds pretty damn awesome actually, I might actually go with that and the Kusari-gama, I'll have to find the Drow Scorpion Chain though, see if I like it or not.