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Daracaex
2007-04-08, 11:51 PM
I wasn't sure if this should be a feat or just included in the monk class or in a fighting style, but here it is in feat form.

Ki Focus
You can focus your mind in order to perform near-supernatural feats.
Prerequisite: Flurry of Blows
Benefit: You gain the ability to make a concentration check in order to gain Ki Focus. Ki Focus is identical to having your psionic focus in how to obtain it and expend in order to gain the benefits of psionic feats. Characters with this feat are considered to be psionic for the purposes of taking the following feats: Aligned Attack, Deep Impact, Psionic Shot, Fell Shot, Focused Sunder, Ghost Attack, Greater Psionic Fist, Greater Psionic Shot, Greater Psionic Weapon, Inquisitor, Mental Leap, Narrow Mind, Psionic Charge, Psionic Dodge, Psionic Fist, Psionic Meditation, Psionic Shot, Psionic Weapon, Return Shot, Speed of Thought, Unavoidable Strike, Up the Walls, and Wounding Attack. You still have to take these feats separately in order to gain their benefits.
Special: Other feats may qualify for use with Ki Focus. Adding other feats to the list is at the DM's discretion.


So what do you think? It seemed a bit weak to me for a feat, but I didn't think it should be added to the class without the agreement of other people with more balancing and homebrewing experience. I thought of tying it into a Monk Fighting Style as the sixth level bonus ability, but I don't think you should have to wait that long to get the benefits this feat gives. The feat also fits with the Swordsage class in Tome of Battle, so if there's a way to make it available to that class as well, it'd be great. What do you think?

Lord Iames Osari
2007-04-09, 12:03 AM
This feat is kind of pointless, I'm sorry to say. Anyone who can qualify for any of the feats the feat can be used for can already have a psionic focus (since you have to be psionic to take a psionic feat, and all feats requiring a psionic focus are psionic feats).

Daracaex
2007-04-09, 12:11 AM
The Expanded Psionic Handbook specifically says that you can take the feats as long as you meet the prerequisites, but it is rather pointless because you might need to use a psionic focus to gain the benefits. The side note that has this information is "Behind the Curtain: Psionic Feats" on page 40. I wrote this feat so that a monk could do things like run up walls and augment their unarmed strikes even further, things that you see martial artists do in movies all the time. The feat might be underpowered, but it is not worthless. If you read the post, I also asked if there was some other way I could implement this.

As a side note, this also gives a reason for the monk to put ranks in concentration because there aren't really any uses for it if the character is going straight monk.

Douglas
2007-04-09, 12:24 AM
Just take Wild Talent (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/psionicFeats.htm#wildTalent). The reserve of 2 power points from that feat is all you need to be able to gain actual psionic focus rather than this look-alike.

Ki Focus might be useful if you could have psionic focus and ki focus at the same time and spend either one interchangeably, giving you one more use of feats that expend psionic focus before having to refocus, but it would still be underpowered imo.

Daracaex
2007-04-09, 12:36 AM
Woops, I forgot about that feat. But people still aren't getting it. Is it underpowered enough that it could be included in the class itself some way without having to take a feat? Would its inclusion as a class feature at level one or two be unbalancing? Also, taking Wild Talent would bar the monk from taking Closed Mind and other feats that protect against psionics, which the monk might want to take.

Reinboom
2007-04-09, 02:07 AM
You might wish to consider looking at skill tricks to cover these (complete scoundrel).
Skill tricks in it such as Wall Jumper, Walk the Walls, or Corner Perch are of the perfect example.

Lord Iames Osari
2007-04-09, 08:13 AM
I'm not sure I agree with your interpretation of the rules, but just to make it absolutely clear, why not add a line saying: "Characters with this feat are considered to be psionic for the purposes of taking the following feats:
[list]"?

Necromas
2007-04-09, 08:30 AM
Just give monks wild talent as one of their bonus feat options, or give it to them as a class ability, maybe replacing a minor class ability.

Daracaex
2007-04-09, 11:42 AM
Just give monks wild talent as one of their bonus feat options, or give it to them as a class ability, maybe replacing a minor class ability.
*Sigh* Because that would bar them from taking anti-psionic feats that require the character to not have any relation to psionics. Please read the whole thread before throwing things out.

Thanks Lord Iames Osari, I changed the wording there.