Yitzi
2011-07-22, 10:41 AM
The monk is one of the two weak core classes that really needs a boost (fighter being the other). Here's my approach to doing so.
Basic idea: Many of a monk's abilities seem designed to protect him against magic. As such, my goal will be to develop a monk into a full-fledged anti-caster role.
I am assuming that casters have been somewhat weakened, as per the other fixes in my sig.
So here are the added monk abilities:
-level 5: Soulspell. Beginning at 5th level, a monk may designate one beneficial spell affecting her, plus one additional spell for every 4 levels after 5th, as a soulspell. Whenever an attempt is made to dispel the soulspell, the monk is allowed a Will save (with the DC equal to the DC the dispelling effect would normally have if it allowed a save) to negate the dispel.
-level 6: Avoid Impediment (Su): At 6th level, a monk gains the ability to shrug off hindrances to her mobility. Whenever she is affected by a magical effect that would be blocked by Freedom of Movement, she may make a will save once per round as a free action to remove it. If such an effect impedes her movement but she is not the target (such as a web or solid fog spell), she may make a will save once per round; succeeding on the save allows her to move normally for that round.
This does not protect against nonmagical hindrances to movement such as
grappling or being underwater.
-level 8:Purity of Sight (Su): At 8th level, a monk gains the ability to see past illusion effects. Whenever she is aware of the existence of a visual illusion effect (including effects such as Blur, Displacement, or Mirror Image), she may make a Will save once per round as a free action to ignore it, as though affected by a True Seeing spell. Once an effect has been negated in this manner it remains negated, even if the target afterward leaves the monk’s sight and then returns.
-level 9:Inviolate Soul (Ex): At 9th level, a monk gains immunity to possession or mental control, as though protected by a Protection from Evil spell. This effect does not grant any of the other benefits of the spell, such as a bonus to AC or saves or protection from summoned creatures.
-Purity of Form (Su): At 10th level, a monk gains the ability to recover from inimical effects that change her form, such as a Flesh to Stone or Baleful Polymorph spell. Whenever affected by such an effect, she may make one Fortitude save per round as a free action to remove it. If the effect reduces her Fortitude save bonus or would prevent her from making the save, she may roll the save as though not affected by it.
-Diamond Spirit (Ex): At 14th level, a monk gains added resistance to death spells, magical death effects, energy drain, and negative energy effects (including the saving throw necessary 24 hours after gaining a negative level).
Whenever targeted by such an effect, the monk is entitled to a Fortitude save to negate it (even if she normally would not be), and may add her Wisdom bonus to the saving throw.
-Superior Reflexes (Ex): At 16th level, a monk using a delay action may choose to interrupt another character’s action with her turn (as though she had readied the interruption, although she may use a full round’s worth of actions rather than just a single standard or shorter action.) After the interruption is finished, the interrupted character finishes his action if still able to do so. The monk’s new initiative count becomes that of the interrupted character, and she acts immediately ahead of the interrupted character.
-Resolute Strike (Su): At 17th level, when a monk attacks, with an unarmed strike or natural weapon, a target protected by a deflection bonus, she may make a Will save (DC=10+2Xdeflection bonus). If the save is successful, the attack ignores the deflection bonus. (If the save fails, the attack resolves normally.)
-Greater Diamond Soul: At 18th level, a monk's spell resistance increases by 5, to 15+class level.
-Empty Body is improved: While ethereal, the monk may use Abundant Step at will, but each usage counts as an extra round spent ethereal. The ethereal state may be entered or exited as a free action.
The goal is that (especially at higher levels) a monk can easily defeat a wizard of equal level.
Thoughts?
Basic idea: Many of a monk's abilities seem designed to protect him against magic. As such, my goal will be to develop a monk into a full-fledged anti-caster role.
I am assuming that casters have been somewhat weakened, as per the other fixes in my sig.
So here are the added monk abilities:
-level 5: Soulspell. Beginning at 5th level, a monk may designate one beneficial spell affecting her, plus one additional spell for every 4 levels after 5th, as a soulspell. Whenever an attempt is made to dispel the soulspell, the monk is allowed a Will save (with the DC equal to the DC the dispelling effect would normally have if it allowed a save) to negate the dispel.
-level 6: Avoid Impediment (Su): At 6th level, a monk gains the ability to shrug off hindrances to her mobility. Whenever she is affected by a magical effect that would be blocked by Freedom of Movement, she may make a will save once per round as a free action to remove it. If such an effect impedes her movement but she is not the target (such as a web or solid fog spell), she may make a will save once per round; succeeding on the save allows her to move normally for that round.
This does not protect against nonmagical hindrances to movement such as
grappling or being underwater.
-level 8:Purity of Sight (Su): At 8th level, a monk gains the ability to see past illusion effects. Whenever she is aware of the existence of a visual illusion effect (including effects such as Blur, Displacement, or Mirror Image), she may make a Will save once per round as a free action to ignore it, as though affected by a True Seeing spell. Once an effect has been negated in this manner it remains negated, even if the target afterward leaves the monk’s sight and then returns.
-level 9:Inviolate Soul (Ex): At 9th level, a monk gains immunity to possession or mental control, as though protected by a Protection from Evil spell. This effect does not grant any of the other benefits of the spell, such as a bonus to AC or saves or protection from summoned creatures.
-Purity of Form (Su): At 10th level, a monk gains the ability to recover from inimical effects that change her form, such as a Flesh to Stone or Baleful Polymorph spell. Whenever affected by such an effect, she may make one Fortitude save per round as a free action to remove it. If the effect reduces her Fortitude save bonus or would prevent her from making the save, she may roll the save as though not affected by it.
-Diamond Spirit (Ex): At 14th level, a monk gains added resistance to death spells, magical death effects, energy drain, and negative energy effects (including the saving throw necessary 24 hours after gaining a negative level).
Whenever targeted by such an effect, the monk is entitled to a Fortitude save to negate it (even if she normally would not be), and may add her Wisdom bonus to the saving throw.
-Superior Reflexes (Ex): At 16th level, a monk using a delay action may choose to interrupt another character’s action with her turn (as though she had readied the interruption, although she may use a full round’s worth of actions rather than just a single standard or shorter action.) After the interruption is finished, the interrupted character finishes his action if still able to do so. The monk’s new initiative count becomes that of the interrupted character, and she acts immediately ahead of the interrupted character.
-Resolute Strike (Su): At 17th level, when a monk attacks, with an unarmed strike or natural weapon, a target protected by a deflection bonus, she may make a Will save (DC=10+2Xdeflection bonus). If the save is successful, the attack ignores the deflection bonus. (If the save fails, the attack resolves normally.)
-Greater Diamond Soul: At 18th level, a monk's spell resistance increases by 5, to 15+class level.
-Empty Body is improved: While ethereal, the monk may use Abundant Step at will, but each usage counts as an extra round spent ethereal. The ethereal state may be entered or exited as a free action.
The goal is that (especially at higher levels) a monk can easily defeat a wizard of equal level.
Thoughts?