[PF] All-Monk Campaign

[Mahou]

So I'm planning on running an all-monk campaign for some friends of mine because monks are awesome. Since you all likely know much more about Pathfinder than I do, I figure I'll throw up a thread asking for suggestions and whatnot.

The basic concept I have so far is there's going to be a man messing with the elemental balance in China, so the new trainees of the monastery are tasked with finding out what's wrong and stopping him. They'll need to travel around China finding the four elemental temples and try to stop the big bad from upsetting the natural balance and making himself an evil god. It's still taking shape, of course, but that's the skeleton I'm building around. It's a 1-20 campaign, so probably gonna have them starting off fighting corrupted monkeys and whatnot, later have them fighting ninja ambushes and going to Japan to fight Samurai, ending with them fighting major elementals and such.

House rules currently are that monks get a full BAB and all style feats are considered to be monk feats. Also looking to have them all be lawful good, but they'll probably find compelling reasons to backstory their way out of that. Or not, we'll see.

Thoughts? Comments? Suggestions? I'd love some hints on what kind of monsters to include and avoid based on monk strengths and weaknesses.

[stack]

Can they multi-class or is it straight monk? With straight monk you have ranged (zena archer) tripping (maneuver master or flowing monk) and a few ways to be okay in melee, plus some minor casting (quingong on top of anything else), but you will be seriously deficient in healing/buffing/non-tripping BFC/etc.

[Mahou]

I'd probably be okay with some multi-classing, but most likely we're going pure monk. Monks do get the ability to heal themselves at level 7, so I'll probably just be liberal with the healing shops they can find before then. I'd also let a drunken monk take Brew Potion and make healing beer.

[Chained Birds]

Do they all have to be of the Monk class, or monk-like? Like an Unarmed Fighter or a Domain Striking Cleric, or even Deadly Fist Soulknife.

[Mahou]

I'd probably be okay if they wanted to play other kung-fu classes that aren't mechanically monk, but they most likely will all want to play monks. The appeal of the campaign is thematic, and that theme is monks doing monk-y things.

[AttilaTheGeek]

Basically, if they're powerfully optimized, they'll be able to put out huge damage numbers in combat, but there will come a point when four monks won't be able to maningfully affect the battlefield. For example, what can four Monk 20s do against a CR 20 Pit Fiend who has Persistent Image, Greater Dispel Magic, Blasphemy, and Greater Teleport at will? Or a CR 20 Wyrm Red Dragon's Prismatic Wall, Greater Invisibility, 22d10 breath weapon, and 250-foot fly speed? I'd suggest going only up to levels 8-10, where monsters don't have such silly abilities.

[avr]

Elder elementals are CR 11, so 8-10 does look like a good place to stop if you want to end the campaign with them 'fighting major elementals and such.'

Even then they might have serious problems with an elder air elemental kiting them, DR 10/-, fly 100' (perfect) and Flyby Attack might be difficult for monks to answer if they're not decent at D&D tactics.

[Mahou]

Which is why I'm asking people for ideas and suggestions. I can also always come up with macguffins and such to make too-hard enemies easier.

[Blyte]

dibs on gnome (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/general-feats/bewildering-koan-general) ninja/monk

[Arbane]

Well, in a kung-fu game, I'd think the main enemies should be other kung-fu fighters. So go easy on the monsters, use a lot of monks, ninjas, fighters, rogues, etc, all with memorable names, and weird signature weapons and attacks. And the occasional evil priest or wizard to keep things weird....

It's a pity DragonFist never got redone for 3.0. (It was a hack of AD&D for wuxia-style play, and it looked like a blast.)

[Krazzman]

In PF I know of one way to get around the Lawful need. Martial Artist Monk.

For a bit more wuxia style you could give them all, next to their "lesser featherfall" an ability to run on walls (Up the Walls, a 3.5 feat) or something similar.

And maybe give them other class features as quest rewards. Rage for the "brutal brawler", Lay on Hands for the more Gentle healing focused monk.

Such stuff. Minor to Good Bonusfeatures that both fit and make them more complete.

[Mahou]

Yeah, I was thinking of giving them some bonus skill points in areas that make sense. Like the drunken monk will have been taught by the monastery's chef, so he'll have some free points in crafts: food/drink. The master of many styles monk would have bonus performance maybe due to his performing awesome looking styles. Something to give them a bit more personality and differentiate them early on.

[Daftendirekt]

Some monk PRCs really aren't that bad. Assassin, Drunken Master, Tattooed Monk, Enlightened Fist, the Pscionic Fist thing, and even unarmed swordsage. Definitely consider allowing Tome of battle, it's pretty martial-artsy, and generally fits in with the monk mentality.

Yeah, too bad this is PATHFINDER.

One of them should definitely make a Zen Archer. One would not go amiss making a Maneuver Master Monk 2/Lore Warden Fighter 18. They should ALL take a look at the Qinggong archetype.

[Larkas]

If you're basing this on China proper, you might want to use the Chinese classic elements (http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_element#China): Fire, Earth, Metal, Water and Wood. I also second using the ToB. Maybe give the monks progression in a discipline or two of their choice? This even makes the relationship to the elements clearer in the setting: Desert Wind is related to Fire, Iron Heart to Metal and Stone Dragon to Earth. I'm sure you can also find parallels to Water's flowing style and Wood's "bent but not broken" philosophy. It would make for a very interesting game.

[AttilaTheGeek]

Actually, I'd third the suggestion to use the Tome of Battle. ToB is to my campaign as a certain old third-party sourcebook (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0390.html) is to the life of Julio Scoundrel. There's even a conversion to Pathfinder (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1s7GQLBeyEP1FitOMikP_Kh8oRmKnzG_AKvaOPqjHqWk/edit)!