[SWSE] Star Wars 'Monk'

[Appleman]

Hey guys! Long-time lurker here, finally decided to make an account even though I'm rather wary of getting involved in most forums (they suck my life away! -hissssss-), but I have a burning curiosity that I must have quenched.

There are a lot of feats/talents throughout the SWSE rulebooks (and really only one prestige class) that address the idea of a melee class that uses its fists (and other body parts) to be its primary source of damage. This has piqued my interest since I first had thoughts (some naughty) about a character in star wars running up to stormtroopers (or other period-appropriate canned enemy) and beating them into submission with his fists.

SO! Opportunity knocks when a good friend of mine decides he's gonna run SWSE, and let me play with him, to boot! I really want to try this star wars monk idea, and wanted to know what the playground thought as far as character builds, talents, classes, feats, etc.

Stats are as follows:

arrange the following scores as you see fit (before race adjustments)
16
15
14
13
12
10

starting level 3

No race restrictions that I've ran into yet, though the Zygerrian seems a fine choice, what with the free martial arts I feat, subbing CHA to will defense (which makes wisdom a dump stat, as it only effects 3 skills), and the added CON modifier helps with durability of surviving melee encounters with (relative) ease.

Anyhow, just wanted everyone's thoughts on this topic, expect to see more of me out and about.

Thanks in advance!

[Sith_Happens]

No race restrictions that I've ran into yet, though the Zygerrian seems a fine choice, what with the free martial arts I feat, subbing CHA to will defense (which makes wisdom a dump stat, as it only effects 3 skills), and the added CON modifier helps with durability of surviving melee encounters with (relative) ease.

Dude, you have to be an Echani for this. It just wouldn't be right otherwise.

[Beelzebub1111]

Dude, you have to be an Echani for this. It just wouldn't be right otherwise.

Dude...Anzat. They have the whiskers of a kung-fu (Teräs Käsi?) MASTER!

[Sith_Happens]

Dude...Anzat. They have the whiskers of a kung-fu (Teräs Käsi?) MASTER!

:smalleek:



:eek:



KUNG-FU MIND FLAYERS! EVERYBODY RUN!!!

[Appleman]

Echani looks promising for what I had in mind, sent a request for its usability to my DM. May be a better choice. Thanks for the input. Any ideas on feats/whatnot?

[Binks]

Probably the best Martial Artist species in the game is (ironically enough) Gamorreans, assuming you have access to the Rebellion Era Campaign Guide. There's a species feat in there that gives them +1 die of damage with simple weapons, and your fists are light simple weapon by the rules (clarified by a developer at some point I recall).

Assuming you don't want to go that way (though it can be a lot of fun) you need to consider what level your game will probably go it. If you expect to make it to 10 or so then it's very much worth getting the pre-reqs for the Martial Arts Master prestige class (from Galaxy at War I believe). If not, then you can worry more about being a good martial artist a low levels.

Martial Arts 1 and possible 2 are fantastic and should be high on your list of feats to grab. You'll probably want to be a soldier for class. If you're going for a more dexterous martial artist (echani style) then you'll probably want Dex as your best stat and weapon finesse (your fists are light simple weapons, so they're finessable).

[Thalnawr]

You may also want to take the Teräs Käsi Training feat, combine it with Echani Training to facilitate moving enemies down the condition track faster with single punches (while also possibly knocking them prone). Nothing in the books says you have to be only trained in one Martial Arts style...

[mabriss lethe]

There's also a Droid feat for unarmed combat. I'm AFB right now, but I think it was in Scavenger's Guide. I don't remember the exact wording, but I think it did something to attack the condition track. I remember it looked pretty nasty, but I've never used it.

[Thalnawr]

There's also a Droid feat for unarmed combat. I'm AFB right now, but I think it was in Scavenger's Guide. I don't remember the exact wording, but I think it did something to attack the condition track. I remember it looked pretty nasty, but I've never used it.
Mechanical Martial Arts. Basically allows a droid martial artist to apply a penalty to attack and damage rolls against a living target it hits until the start of its next turn.

... You could be a Rock'em Sock'em Robot!

[IdleMuse]

The Master of Teras Kasi talent tree is in Threats of the Galaxy, and is very good for unarmed fighters. The Flurry feat in KOTOR can also qualify you for the Elite Trooper PrC (nice if you want some things you can't get from the martial arts master PrC) without taking any ranged feats.

[chaotician375]

If your allowed to be a force user then force adept into force warrior is a pretty good path for a monk like character. if memory serves they get class features that are geared towards fist-to-whatever your fighting, fighting.

[Binks]

If your allowed to be a force user then force adept into force warrior is a pretty good path for a monk like character. if memory serves they get class features that are geared towards fist-to-whatever your fighting, fighting.
The Force Adept base class and Force Warrior PrC are from d20 Star Wars, not Saga Edition (I assume that's what you're talking about since Force Warrior doesn't exist in Saga).

[chaotician375]

The Force Adept base class and Force Warrior PrC are from d20 Star Wars, not Saga Edition (I assume that's what you're talking about since Force Warrior doesn't exist in Saga).

Oh, I did not know that, I haven't seen the new edition yet.

[Alchemistmerlin]

Just throwing this out there: I'm currently in a meatspace SWSE game where I play a mad-as-a-hatter Wookiee martial artist.

Teras Kasi tree for the Martial Arts master is fantastic.

For lower levels Bantha Rush is useful. I'm sure he could be a lot more optimized than he is, but damn if he isn't fun as hell.

[IdleMuse]

Another couple of talents that come to mind are from the Legacy Era sourcebook; Soldier talents, since you'll almost definitely be starting with levels of soldier; Hammerblow, from the Brawler tree, means you can two-hand-wield your unarmed strike for extra damage, and Melee Assault, from the Brute Squad tree, which can pretty easily add a die of damage to your attacks if you have another melee fighter in the party (aka the party jedi), as well as knocking your target prone.

It's pretty easy to ramp your unarmed strikes up to d12s in Saga, much easier than for pistol fighters or lightsaber users.

[TheCountAlucard]

Droids make great martial artists; not only can you do more damage off the bat with claw-limbs and such, but you can reprogram their skills and talents. Want to start out with Bantha Rush, and feel like you're never going to use that rifle proficiency? Swap it out. That armor-wearing talent tree starting to look nice now that you can afford to wear a starship hull? Plug it in.

That, and the customizability is crazy-awesome, and allows for fun ideas. If you can't think of ways to be creative with jump servos and magnetic feet, you're doing it wrong.

[The_Snark]

Hammerblow, from the Brawler tree, means you can two-hand-wield your unarmed strike for extra damage...

Actually, Hammerblow allows you to double your Strength bonus to attack rolls, not damage. (For the latter, look at Echani Training.) Which I personally think is more valuable, since big boosts to attack rolls are hard to get in Saga; it's an excellent choice for any unarmed fighter, except the ones who use Weapon Finesse.

And while it's not for everyone, a character who focuses on the Pin line of feats can be very powerful, especially if you pick a Large-sized race. It requires a lot of investment, but a well-built one can lock down just about anything it can hit.

[IdleMuse]

Actually, Hammerblow allows you to double your Strength bonus to attack rolls, not damage. (For the latter, look at Echani Training.)

Derp, getting the two mixed up while AFB :smallbiggrin: Fairly obviously, the best thing to do, if you have a high STR character, is take both. I figured the OP was aware of the Echani stuff.