Items to increase Monk Unarmed Damage?

[Elboxo]

Hello forum! For a build I'm making an unarmed melee character, with 4 levels in monk, superior unarmed strike and improved natural attack to boost up my UA damage, all I need now is an item to help me boost this higher.

I've decided on my build and the party is all level 8, my build is Sleeping Tiger Monk 4/SwordSage 1/Swashbuckler 3 halfing

Going with Shadow Blade for Dex to damage, halfing for dex boost and small size, I know I could increase my damage by being Rilkan or something, but I'm set on small size :)

We are using normal WBL ( 27k ) so I can buy a monk's belt, by the way if my normal Unarmed Damage is 2d6 and I get a Monk's Belt ( Which shifts monk 4 UA damage to monk 9 UA damage, 1d8-1d0 ) Does my damage change to 2d8, or 3d6?

EDIT: If it's 2d8, then if I was medium sized would it become 3d6? Because that could convince me

So please! Any items you can think of, preferably not daily uses, that boost UA damage!

Thanks

[Drelua]

There's Greater Mighty Wallop (Dragon Magic? Races of the Dragon? Whatever it was from, I'm pretty sure it had dragon in the title)for size increases to any bludgeoning weapon, and then there's Greater Magic Fang at CL 20 and Permanency, which costs 8,650 gold to make your unarmed attacks +5 weapons, paying 5 times the experience component in gold.

[Keld Denar]

Its not really an item to boost your effective size, but a nice damage boost item is the Gauntlets of War in Complete Champion. If you worship a god with the War domain, you get +3 damage per hit with his favored weapon. Zuoken, god of mental perfection and gith yanki and other monkly things has the War domain, and his favored weapon is the Unarmed Strike.

Its static damage, so it multiplies on a crit, or if you have something else that multiplies damage. Pretty cheap too. I think they are only about 4000g.

EDIT: According to most size charts, 2d8 scales up to 3d8, then to 4d8, then to 6d8.

[Elboxo]

Oh, awesome thanks!

But back to the monk's belt now, I'm small sized and my UA damage is 2d6 at the moment, with 4 levels in monk, the monk's belt takes me from 1d6 to 1d8 ( By the size rules ) does this equate to 2d8 or 3d6, with my Superior Unarmed Strike and Improved Natural Attack?

If it's 2d8, would it be 3d6 if I was medium sized?

[Siosilvar]

SUS for monks adds 4 monk levels.

Level 4 monk + SUS = level 8 monk. Base damage for small 1d8. INA +1 size = 2d6. (Alternate method: Small + 1 size* = medium, level 8 monk = 1d10)

The Monk's Belt would add 5 levels (assuming it stacks with SUS), to level 13 monk. Base damage for small 1d10. INA +1 size = 2d8. (alternate: 2d6)

If you were Medium, those numbers would be 2d6 and 3d6, respectively. (2d8 and 3d6 using the alternate method)

*I'm not convinced the alternate method is rules-legal, because monk levels change the base damage, then you'd apply the damage dice increase.

[Elboxo]

SUS for monks adds 4 monk levels.

Level 4 monk + SUS = level 8 monk. Base damage 1d10, small size -1 size = 1d8. INA +1 size = 2d6.

The Monk's Belt would add 5 levels (assuming it stacks with SUS), to level 13 monk. 2d6 damage -1 size = 1d8. INA +1 size = 2d6.

The Monk's Belt, surprisingly, does nothing for your unarmed damage at this level. This is because 1d10 and 2d6 damage both go down to 1d8 when they go down a size, then Improved Natural Attack brings that up to 2d6 again.

If you were Medium, those numbers would be 2d6 and 3d6, respectively, so the Monk's Belt would have an effect.


Right I was about to clear up the levels edit! Thanks! I might go Hadozee now :D

[Keld Denar]

Small Monk has a seperate table though, it doesn't follow the standard sizing conventions.

Small Monk 8 is 1d8, as indicated, but small Monk 13 (with SUAS and Belt, assuming they stack) is 1d10, not 1d8.

Monkz iz wierdz.

[Drelua]

SUS for monks adds 4 monk levels.

Level 4 monk + SUS = level 8 monk. Base damage 1d10, small size -1 size = 1d8. INA +1 size = 2d6.

The Monk's Belt would add 5 levels (assuming it stacks with SUS), to level 13 monk. 2d6 damage -1 size = 1d8. INA +1 size = 2d6.

The Monk's Belt, surprisingly, does nothing for your unarmed damage at this level. This is because 1d10 and 2d6 damage both go down to 1d8 when they go down a size, then Improved Natural Attack brings that up to 2d6 again.

If you were Medium, those numbers would be 2d6 and 3d6, respectively, so the Monk's Belt would have an effect.

Isn't there a rule somewhere that says you can apply size changes to damage in the most favourable way for the player? If so, would there be any more beneficial way to calculate the damage die? I'm not good at figuring this stuff out, so can anyone else see a preferable order on which to apply the size changes?

[Siosilvar]

Small Monk has a seperate table though, it doesn't follow the standard sizing conventions.

Small Monk 8 is 1d8, as indicated, but small Monk 13 (with SUAS and Belt, assuming they stack) is 1d10, not 1d8.

Monkz iz wierdz.

Whoops, I didn't notice that. I'll edit my post.

As for Dreula, there's a monk level that modifies your base damage based on your base size, and then you get a size increase after that. I don't think there's another way to stack it. EDIT: Did the math anyway. It hurts the small monk and only helps the medium monk without the belt.

[The Reverend]

I can't remember the name of the feat but its in one of the monster manuals. It increases natural weapon damage by one die size. Very nice.

[Rubik]

Psionic Tattoos of Expansion are cheap, easy to activate, don't require you to be humanoid, don't require being drawn, and can boost you by 2 size categories for about 1400 gp or so, IIRC.

[Siosilvar]

I can't remember the name of the feat but its in one of the monster manuals. It increases natural weapon damage by one die size. Very nice.

Improved Natural Attack. He's already got it.

[Elboxo]

Okay well I've changed race to Hadozee ( Medium sized )

I'm a bit confused by the debate here, so for medium sized with Belt + SUS + INA it's 3d6 base damage? Or was it 2d8?

[Keld Denar]

Assuming they stack, it would be 2d6 base, stepped up one size to 3d6.

EDIT: Its worth noting that a bite is not a special monk weapon, and thus can't be combined with a Flurry of Blows. You can flurry, or you can make your normal UASs and add a secondary natural bite. Its probably better to do the latter at lower levels and the former at higher levels (about 6-8 is the break point, I'd say, assuming straight monk).

[darkdragoon]

Fanged Ring- gives you Improved Natural Attack.

Monk's Tattoo-way too expensive for you at this point.

Gauntlets of the Talon- it's a relic, so you'll have to burn a feat on True Believer and it doesn't stack with Monk's Belt. It does have a couple perks over a generic item booster, and the MIC version is at least cheap to buy.

(Shard of) Ectoplasmic Fist-requires being a Kalashtar

Battlefist-requires being a Warforged

[Elboxo]

Assuming they stack, it would be 2d6 base, stepped up one size to 3d6.

EDIT: Its worth noting that a bite is not a special monk weapon, and thus can't be combined with a Flurry of Blows. You can flurry, or you can make your normal UASs and add a secondary natural bite. Its probably better to do the latter at lower levels and the former at higher levels (about 6-8 is the break point, I'd say, assuming straight monk).

Yeah, Hadozee are the gliding Orangutans, so no bite anyways :C, I'm mostly rolling off flurry an snapkick full attacks for 3d6 + dex + int per attack :D Also my DM is allowing me to enchant Gloves of Dexterity to give them the shocking enchantment so 4d6 + stats per attack and 4 attacks on a full attack :D

Thanks guys

[Keld Denar]

Ah, my bad. I confused them with another Stormwrack race, the Darfellen.

Um...you need for your Hadozee Monk to wear a fez hat. DO EET!

[Darrin]

Yeah, Hadozee are the gliding Orangutans, so no bite anyways
[QUOTE]

Make sure you get Dodge as a bonus feat. This was left off the description on page 41, but it's listed in the monster write-up on page 152. Granted, it's one of the lousiest feats in Core, but it's one of the most common prereq feats for more interesting stuff.

[QUOTE=Elboxo;12294005]
I'm mostly rolling off flurry an snapkick full attacks for 3d6 + dex + int per attack :D Also my DM is allowing me to enchant Gloves of Dexterity to give them the shocking enchantment so 4d6 + stats per attack and 4 attacks on a full attack :D


Your DM is a true gentleman. The go-to item for enchanting unarmed strikes is a Necklace of Natural Weapons in Savage Species (it was reprinted in this online article (www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/fc/20060707a) as the Necklace of Natural Attacks). There's also the Dragonfang Gauntlets and Scorpion Kama in the Magic Item Compendium. But if you can enchant your Gauntlets of Dexterity, then you can skip all that.

See if he'll also let you attach an augment crystal (or two... two gloves) to your gauntlets. Lesser Crystal of Acid Assault (3000 GP) and/or Lesser Crystal of Cold Assault (3000 GP) helps buff your damage and deal with DR.

After that... I'd recommend saving up for a Phylactery of Change (11200 GP, A&EG p. 135). This gives you all-day polymorph into any creature up to 7HD (check out the Remorhaz in Core... then add your monk's unarmed strikes to it). So you have access to larger sizes, different movement modes, and a smorgasborg of various (Ex) abilities you can pick up.

Most of the best buffs for unarmed damage are soulmelds, though. Is Magic of Incarnum available? Sphynx Claws = Pouce with natural weapons, Girallon Arms = 4 claw attacks on top of your unarmed strikes, Totem Avater = natural weapons do damage as if one size larger, Crystal Helm = all melee attacks gain [force] descriptor, Heart of Fire = +1d4 fire damage/essentia to all your natural attacks, Mauling Gauntlets = 2 + 2/essentia bonus damage on unarmed strikes.