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HammeredWharf
2014-06-12, 04:18 PM
Intro
So, monk. The weird wuxia misfit among classic fantasy classes. The class that needs several ACFs and templates just to be viable. The class that looks great in the eyes of a newbie, but isn't all it's cracked up to be. Unarmed Swordsage is, probably, a good enough monk, but it's not an exact replacement. Since I've got plenty of free time at the moment and my competent fighter fix (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?327872-A-competent-Fighter) got a surprising amount of views and positive feedback, I figured I'd conduct another thought experiment and brew a competent monk. It's a bit easier than the fighter, because unlike fighters monks get a lot of class features and have a distinct flavor. The problem is, of course, that most of those class features suck.

This time, the design goals are following:

1) No new mechanics with extensive lists and no references to non-core materials. This rewrite should be core-only and reasonably backwards compatible with ACFs.
2) The monk is a mobile combatant. She should have the ability to move around the battlefield easily.
3) The monk is a weapon specialist. She uses monk weapons.
4) The monk is a melee debuffer. She uses various special attacks and Stunning Fist to make her enemies' lives miserable.
5) The monk can be a scholar, a diplomat, a scout and an acrobat.
6) The monk is a wuxia character, so she should have some flashy, supernatural moves.
7) The monk is a wise combatant. Wisdom is her secondary stat, so putting points in it should be rewarding.

Like the fighter fix, this monk isn't aimed at a specific tier. However, getting her out of tier 5 and up to high T4 or mid-T3 is preferable. I tried to use precise language, but tell me if there's anything I missed. After all, English isn't my first language, so I can and do make mistakes. There's also a lot of text this time.

Note that while most abilities share their names with the original monk class features, they are functionally different.

Monk

Alignment
Any lawful.
Hit Die
d8.

Class Skills
The monk’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (all skills, taken separately) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Spot (Wis), Swim (Str), and Tumble (Dex).
Skill Points at 1st Level
(6 + Int modifier) ×4.
Skill Points at Each Additional Level
6 + Int modifier.



Levels
Base Attack Bonus
Saving throws:
Special:
Unarmed damage:


1
+0
+2
Bonus feat, flurry of blows, unarmed strike
1d6


2
+1
+3
Bonus feat, evasion, improved special attacks
1d6


3
+2
+3
Mastery of self, still mind
1d6


4
+3
+4
Ki strike, slow fall, wrist snap
1d8


5
+3
+4
Crushing hold, purity of body
1d8


6
+4
+5
Bonus feat, concentrated force
1d8


7
+5
+5
Stunning acrobatics (average), wholeness of body
1d8


8
+6
+6
Devastating fall, patient palm
1d10


9
+6
+6
Improved evasion, stunning acrobatics (good)
1d10


10
+7
+7
Bonus feat, ki strike (lawful), path of destruction
1d10


11
+8
+7
Diamond body, greater flurry
1d10


12
+9
+8
Abundant step
2d6


13
+9
+8
Diamond soul
2d6


14
+10
+9
Bonus feat, stunning acrobatics (perfect)
2d6


15
+11
+9
Quivering palm
2d6


16
+12
+10
Ki strike (adamantine), stunning acrobatics (surface not required)
2d8


17
+12
+10
Timeless body, tongue of the sun and moon
2d8


18
+13
+11
Bonus feat, abundant step (immediate action)
2d8


19
+14
+11
Empty body
2d8


20
+15
+12
Perfect self
2d10




Class Features
All of the following are class features of the monk.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency
Monks are proficient with club, crossbow (light or heavy), dagger, handaxe, javelin, kama, nunchaku, unarmed strikes, quarterstaff, sai, shuriken, siangham, and sling. From here on, unarmed strikes, kama, nunchaku, quarterstaff, sai, shuriken and siangham are referred to as "monk weapons".

Monks are not proficient with any armor or shields.

When wearing armor, using a shield, or carrying a medium or heavy load, a monk loses her AC bonus, as well as her fast movement and flurry of blows abilities.

AC Bonus (Ex)
When unarmored and unencumbered, the monk adds her Wisdom bonus (if any) to her AC. In addition, a monk gains a +1 bonus to AC at 3rd level. This bonus increases by 1 for every three monk levels thereafter (+2 at 6th, +3 at 9th, +4 at 12th, +5 at 15 and +6 at 18 level).

These bonuses to AC apply even against touch attacks or when the monk is flat-footed. She loses these bonuses when she is immobilized or helpless, when she wears any armor, when she carries a shield, or when she carries a medium or heavy load.

Flurry of Blows (Ex)
When unarmored, a monk may strike with a flurry of blows. When making a melee attack with one or more monk weapons, she can make an additional attack with that weapon at her highest attack bonus. When using weapons as part of a flurry of blows, a monk applies her Strength bonus (not Str bonus × 1½ or ×½) to her damage rolls for all successful attacks, whether she wields a weapon in one or both hands.

Unarmed Strike (Ex)
At 1st level, a monk gains Improved Unarmed Strike as a bonus feat. A monk’s attacks may be with either fist interchangeably or even from elbows, knees, and feet. This means that a monk may even make unarmed strikes with her hands full. A monk can use her unarmed strikes as both main-hand and off-hand attacks. She applies her full Strength bonus on damage rolls for all her unarmed strikes.

Usually a monk’s unarmed strikes deal lethal damage, but she can choose to deal nonlethal damage instead with no penalty on her attack roll. She has the same choice to deal lethal or nonlethal damage while grappling.

A monk’s unarmed strike is treated both as a manufactured weapon and a natural weapon for the purpose of spells, effects and feats that enhance or improve either manufactured weapons or natural weapons.

Monk Weapon Damage (Ex)
A monk also deals more damage with her monk weapons than a normal person would, as shown on Table: The Monk. The damage on Table: The Monk is for Medium monks. A Small monk deals less damage than the amount given there with her attacks, while a Large monk deals more damage; see Table: Small or Large Monk Weapon Damage.

Bonus Feat
At 1st level, you gain a bonus feat from the list given below. You must meet the prerequisite for the feat you select. At 2nd level and every four levels thereafter (at 6th, 10th, 14 and 18th level), you choose another bonus feat from the list.

Bonus Feat List: Blind-Fight, Combat Expertise, Combat Reflexes, Deflect Arrows, Dodge, Greater Two-Weapon Fighting, Great Fortitude, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Disarm, Improved Grapple, Improved Initiative, Improved Trip, Improved Two-Weapon Fighting, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Mobility, Run, Skill Focus, Snatch Arrows, Spring Attack, Stunning Fist, Two-Weapon Fighting, Weapon Finesse, Quick Draw

Fast Movement (Ex)
A monk gains a bonus to her speed of 5 feet per class level. A monk in armor or carrying a medium or heavy load loses this extra speed.

Evasion (Ex)
At 2nd level or higher if a monk makes a successful Reflex saving throw against an attack that normally deals half damage on a successful save, she instead takes no damage. Evasion can be used only if a monk is wearing light armor or no armor. A helpless monk does not gain the benefit of evasion.

Improved Special Attacks (Ex)
A monk of 2nd level or higher can bull rush, disarm, grapple and trip without provoking attacks of opportunity.

Mastery of Self (Ex)
Starting at 3rd level, a monk gains her Wisdom bonus as a modifier on Strength checks, Dexterity checks and checks involving skills based on Strength or Dexterity.

Still Mind (Ex)
A monk of 3rd level or higher can roll her will saves twice and use the higher result.

Ki Strike (Su)
At 4th level, a monk gains an amount of ki pool points equal to her monk level / 4 (1 at 4th level, 2 at 8th level, 3 at 12th level, 4 at 16th level and 5 at 20th level). As a standard action, she may spend these points to imbue any nonmagical weapon she holds, including her unarmed strikes, with her ki energy, giving that weapon an enchantment bonus and/or special abilities equal in enchantment value to the ki points spent. She may divide her ki power between multiple weapons.

A monk can retrieve her ki energy as a standard action. In doing so, she regains the ki points she spent and any weapons affected by this ability lose the special properties they gained from it. If a weapon's distance from the monk grows longer than 100 feet, any ki energy stored in that weapon disperses automatically and the weapon loses any bonuses it received from this ability.

A monk can focus her ki energy on herself instead of a specific weapon. In that case, all of her attacks are empowered with ki, including any attacks she makes with thrown weapons.

At 10th level, any weapons imbued with the monk's ki are also treated as lawful weapons for the purpose of dealing damage to creatures with damage reduction. At 16th level, they are treated as adamantine weapons for the purpose of dealing damage to creatures with damage reduction and bypassing hardness.

Slow Fall (Ex)
At 4th level or higher, a monk within arm’s reach of a wall can use it to slow her descent. When using this ability, she can use a nearby wall to slow her descent and fall any distance without harm.

Wrist snap (Ex)
At 4th level or higher, whenever a monk successfully disarms an opponent with a monk weapon, she can snap the opponent's wrist, causing the victim to be unable to use items with the targeted appendage until she receives a DC 15 Heal check. Making that check is a standard action.

Crushing hold (Ex)
At 5th level, a monk's gains the ability to attack in grapple without penalty and constrict for 2d6 points of damage + 2 times her Strength bonus (if any). She can constrict an opponent that she grapples by making a successful grapple check.

Purity of Body (Ex)
At 5th level, a monk gains immunity to all diseases and poisons.

Concentrated Force (Ex)
At 6th level or higher, whenever a monk successfully hits an opponent with a monk weapon, she can perform a bull rush attempt as a free action. Unlike standard bull rush attempts, this bull rush attempt doesn't move the target right away. Instead, the distance the target would have travelled is added to the target's delayed bull rush distance pool. Until the end of the monk's turn, the monk can choose to empty that pool after any successful attack, pushing the target backward. The monk doesn't have to move with the target she knocks back this way.

Stunning Acrobatics (Su)
At 7th level, a monk gains a fly speed equal to her land speed with average maneuverability whenever she starts her turn on a surface that can support her. At 9th level, her maneuverability improves to good. At 14th level, her maneuverability improves to perfect. At 16th level, she no longer has to start her turn on a surface that can support her.

Wholeness of Body (Su)
At 7th level or higher, a monk can heal her own wounds as a swift action. She can heal a number of hit points of damage equal to five times her current monk level each day, and she can spread this healing out among several uses.

Devastating Fall (Ex)
At 8th level or higher, whenever a monk successfully trips an opponent with a monk weapon, the victim is nauseated for 1 round.

Patient Palm (Ex)
Starting at 8th level, a monk can set up vibrations within the body of another creature that can thereafter be fatal if the monk so desires. She must announce her intent to use this ability before making an attack with a monk weapon. If the attack hits, the victim takes no damage from the blow. Instead, the strike's damage is added to the victim's delayed damage pool. Thereafter the monk can deal all the damage stored in the victim's delayed damage pool at any time she touches the victim with a monk weapon within a number of days equal to her monk level.

Improved Evasion (Ex)
At 9th level, a monk’s evasion ability improves. She still takes no damage on a successful Reflex saving throw against attacks, but henceforth she takes only half damage on a failed save. A helpless monk does not gain the benefit of improved evasion.

Path of Destruction (Ex)
Starting at 10th level, a monk can take a full attack action and still move up to her speed. The monk is subject to attacks of opportunity during this movement, but may tumble normally as part of her move. A monk prevented from completing her move is also prevented from finishing her full attack.

Diamond Body (Su)
At 11th level, a monk gains immunity to paralysis, death effects, fatigue, exhaustion, ability damage, ability drain, energy drain and death from massive damage.

Greater Flurry (Ex)
When a monk reaches 11th level, her flurry of blows ability improves. In addition to the standard single extra attack she gets from flurry of blows, she gets a second extra attack at her full base attack bonus.

Abundant Step (Su)
At 12th level or higher, a monk can slip magically between spaces, as if using the spell dimension door. Her caster level for this effect is her monk level. She can use this ability a number of times equal to her Wisdom modifier or half her monk level, whichever is lower.

Starting at 18th level, the monk can use this ability as as immediate action.

Diamond Soul (Su)
At 13th level, a monk gains spell resistance equal to her current monk level + 12. A monk can activate and deactivate this ability as a free action, even if it's not her turn.

Quivering Palm (Su)
Starting at 15th level, a monk can perform a devastating attack that has the additional effect of possibly either paralyzing or killing the target instantly. She can use this quivering palm attack once per day and she must announce her intent before making her attack roll. If the monk strikes successfully and the target takes damage from the blow, the target must make a Fortitude saving throw (DC 10 + ½ the monk’s level + the monk’s Wisdom modifier). If the saving throw fails, the target dies or is paralyzed for 2d6 minutes (monk’s choice). Even if the saving throw succeeds, the target is blinded, deafened, exhausted and confused for 2d6 rounds.

Timeless Body (Ex)
Upon attaining 17th level, a monk no longer takes penalties to her ability scores for aging and cannot be magically aged. Any such penalties that she has already taken, however, remain in place. Bonuses still accrue, and the monk still dies of old age when her time is up.

Tongue of the Sun and Moon (Su)
A monk of 17th level or higher can speak with any intelligent creature.

Empty Body (Su)
At 19th level, a monk gains the ability to assume an ethereal state for 1 round per monk level per day, as though using the spell etherealness. She may go ethereal on a number of different occasions during any single day, as long as the total number of rounds spent in an ethereal state does not exceed her monk level.

Activating and deactivating this ability is a free action. Each round during which a monk uses this ability counts as a round towards the total number of rounds spent per day, even if the monk only stays ethreal for a short moment.

Perfect Self (Ex)
At 20th level, a monk becomes a magical creature. She is forevermore treated as a native outsider for the purpose of spells and magical effects. Additionally, the monk gains the ability to roll all attack rolls, saving throws, skill checks and ability checks twice and use the higher result.

Ex-Monks
A monk who becomes nonlawful cannot gain new levels as a monk but retains all monk abilities.

1pwny
2014-06-12, 08:20 PM
Okay, here I am. I'm a 8th level monk. There's this person I want to kill. I go invisible, Flurry him once from behind. get bored and Flurry his entire family, decide to have fun and Flurry the ENTIRE TOWN, whilst declaring, silently to myself, that it was all with a Patient Palm.

I leave the town, in my invisible state, and high-five my wizard-friend that kept me nice and invisible.

8 days later, I snap my fingers, and the entire town of level whatever commoners keel over instantly. YAYYYYY!

Level 8 Monks for the win!


:smallbiggrin::smallbiggrin::smallbiggrin::smallbi ggrin::smallbiggrin::smallbiggrin::smallbiggrin::s mallbiggrin::smallbiggrin::smallbiggrin::smallbigg rin::smallbiggrin::smallbiggrin::smallbiggrin::sma llbiggrin::smallbiggrin::smallbiggrin::smallbiggri n::smallbiggrin::smallbiggrin::smallbiggrin::small biggrin::smallbiggrin::smallbiggrin::smallbiggrin: :smallbiggrin::smallbiggrin::smallbiggrin::smallbi ggrin::smallbiggrin::smallbiggrin::smallbiggrin::s mallbiggrin::smallbiggrin::smallbiggrin::smallbigg rin::smallbiggrin::smallbiggrin::smallbiggrin::sma llbiggrin::smallbiggrin::smallbiggrin::smallbiggri n::smallbiggrin::smallbiggrin::smallbiggrin::small biggrin::smallbiggrin:

HammeredWharf
2014-06-13, 01:58 AM
Doesn't actually work that way, because attacking someone ends your invisibility even if you deal no damage and Patient Palm requires touching the target. But yes, I bet it could be used in some amusing ways.

Edit: Patient Palm is meant to, among other thing, make DR easier to bypass for a monk. I don't think the original wording supported that, so I edited it a bit.

toapat
2014-06-13, 08:45 AM
hey, its definitely superior and mostly functional. I cant really see any dysfunctions

not sure its relevant vs the Swordsage but definitely a functional monk, expecially because the swordsage actually does know kung-fu

Andion Isurand
2014-06-14, 01:14 AM
Some early ideas.

The Mastery of Self ability drafted below, similar to a Factotum's Brains over Brawn ability, would cover your combat maneuvers such as tripping, disarming, bull rushing and grappling. If you want to keep the part of not provoking attacks of opportunity when doing any of those things, perhaps that could be an ability that comes later on.

A scaling bonus to saving throws against poison and disease instead of outright immunity, would allow a monk to make use of alchemical substances to alter his or her state of being. The Purity of Body ability below, would click in at level 3.

I revised Still Mind to offer something to undead who take it, for whatever that's worth.

====================================

Mastery of Self (Ex): A monk may add her Wisdom bonus (if any) to strength-based and dexterity-based checks (ability checks and skill checks), up to a maximum equal to her class level.

Purity of Body (Ex): For every 2 class levels beyond the first, a monk gains a +1 bonus on saves against poison and disease.

Still Mind (Ex): By 5th level, a monk may roll her saving throw twice against any mind-affecting attack or effect, and take the better result. Monks with a natural immunity to mind-affecting effects instead gain +1 turn resistance for every five class levels.

Hanuman
2014-06-15, 06:13 PM
... Delayed pools!

That's actually a really interesting concept, storing up bullrush power in enemies, or rather any form of storage in enemies is quite inspiring.

BasketOfPuppies
2014-06-15, 07:09 PM
... Delayed pools!

That's actually a really interesting concept, storing up bullrush power in enemies, or rather any form of storage in enemies is quite inspiring.

I too like the idea of being able to wail on someone and then having them flying off.

Hanuman
2014-06-16, 02:23 AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5REaBFp6n-o

Victory by delayed bullrush :smallwink:

HammeredWharf
2014-06-16, 02:55 AM
hey, its definitely superior and mostly functional. I cant really see any dysfunctions

not sure its relevant vs the Swordsage but definitely a functional monk, expecially because the swordsage actually does know kung-fu

Well, this monk can do some neat things a swordsage can't, like nauseating on trip or disabling equipment slots. She also gets some very powerful passives, like the immunities from Diamond Body. Swordsage is a more versatile class, of course, but it's a whole subsystem.


Mastery of Self (Ex): A monk may add her Wisdom bonus (if any) to strength-based and dexterity-based checks (ability checks and skill checks), up to a maximum equal to her class level.

Purity of Body (Ex): For every 2 class levels beyond the first, a monk gains a +1 bonus on saves against poison and disease.

Still Mind (Ex): By 5th level, a monk may roll her saving throw twice against any mind-affecting attack or effect, and take the better result. Monks with a natural immunity to mind-affecting effects instead gain +1 turn resistance for every five class levels.

Special Attack Mastery is mostly meant to make every monk-y special attack a viable move in combat, because usually it makes no sense to use (for example) bull rush without Improved Bull Rush. It wouldn't work without removing the AoO, but reducing the MAD this class still has by letting them add Wisdom to ability/skill checks sounds like a good idea and Mastery of Self is a more stylish name. I don't think immunity to poisons makes you immune to alchemical substances. It would make sense, but this is D&D we're talking about and poisons are a very specific category of effects. As for Still Mind, I don't think catering to undead is necessary in this case. They aren't even an option in Core and don't need many of the class features, so an undead-friendly version would work better as a bunch of racial sub levels.