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Manave_E_Sulanul
2007-04-22, 06:33 PM
I just joined a game were I am playing a Samurai Jack-esque bastard sword wielder (this means no armor) and I was wondering if I could get some feat suggestions for the build. Right now I am a level 1 Monk with Combat Expertise, Dodge, Improved Unarmed Strike and Flurry of Swords [Bastard Sword]. (House-ruled feat so I can flurry with my bastard sword/have proficiency with it 2 handed in place of my usual level 1 bonus feat and my sap prof.)

I am planning on taking at least 4 levels of monk so I can get the slow fall and deflect arrows but I am not sure about after. I want to focus on defensive feats so I can not wear armor but beyond Defense Strike (CW), Combat Reflexes (PHB) and Improved Combat Expertise (CW) I am not sure what levels/feats to go for after.

Stats are as follows:
Str 14/+2
Dex 16/+3
Con 10/+0
Int 14/+2
Wis 14/+2
Cha 10/+0

And What I am thinking of looks like this.

Mnk 1: Improved Unarmed Strike; Dodge; Combat Expertise; Flurry of Swords [Bastard Sword] (see above)
Mnk 2: Deflect Arrows
Mnk 3: Defensive Strike
Mnk 4:
Fgt?5:
Fgt?6: Exotic Weapons Proficiency (Bastard Sword)

Tellah
2007-04-22, 07:04 PM
If you have access to the Tomb of Battle, you want a Swordsage to cover this one.

Manave_E_Sulanul
2007-04-22, 07:12 PM
I am bit bereft on the use of ToB unfortunately.

Person_Man
2007-04-23, 10:13 AM
Huge fan of SJ. It sucks that you can't use ToB, since it pretty much lets you do exactly what you want to do.

I would look at Leap of Heavens (PHBII) and Battle Jump (Unapproachable East). Leap of Heavens gives you huge Jump ability. Battle Jump gives you double damage on a charge when you drop from at least 10 feet (DC 40 Jump check, which is actually quite easy for a mid-level Monk with Leap of Heavens, a Ring of Improved Jumping, and decent Fast Movement).


In terms of class, I suggest:

1) Psychic Warrior/Psychic Weapon Master (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20020927a)
2) Paladin 5/Kensai 10
3) Monk/Shou Disciple
4) Monk/Psionic Fist
5) Monk/Paladin

Psychic Warrior would give you some very, very useful powers that sorta mimic some of the cinematic stuff SJ does. Then you could head into Psychic Weapon Master if you wanted to.

I think your best bet is actually Paladin/Kensai. It gives you the uber sword you're looking for, and there are a ton of useful Paladin alternatives where you give up your Mount and get something else. And in my mind, Paladin is closer to Samurai then Monk.

If you're wedded to being unarmored, strait Monk is your best bet. If you have access to Unapproachable East, head into the Shou Disciple PrC. It's a full BAB class that stacks with Flurry. If not, some sort of Monk/PrC or Monk/Paladin is your best bet (use the Serenity feat, it sets your Paladin bonuses to your Wis instead of Cha).

Its highly suboptimal to use the Bastard Sword or spend a feat so that you can use it with Flurry. Your unarmed damage + magic gauntlets will soon surpass your Bastard Sword damage. And if you're not a Monk, a Greatsword or a reach weapon is superior. But if you're going to do it for fluff reasons, I suggest just using it two handed. There's no reason to use it one handed unless you're using Two Weapon Fighting, and there's no reason to use Two Weapon Fighting unless you have a source of non-Power Attack extra damage (usually Sneak Attack).

Perhaps you could use a Greatsword or Falcion or Elven Courtblade, and just call it a Katana?

elliott20
2007-04-23, 11:06 AM
this could require some houseruling but if you're GM is leneant enough, you could always go Duelist for the int dodge bonus and try to apply to apply finesse to your bastard sword. You also might want to load up on the dodge feats.

Runolfr
2007-04-23, 11:16 AM
Lessee...

As a Monk 1, you're going to have to take Exotic WP (Bastard Sword) if you want to be able to wield the thing effectively. You'll get Improved Unarmed Strike as a freebie, along with either Stunning Fist or Improved Grapple, which leaves one more (if you're human). Dodge will let you get a bit of extra AC right away, Combat Expertise will be more helpful later, and you could take Flurry of Swords to get the bastard sword into action; which one you choose depends on which feat path you want to pursue, I suppose.

At Monk 2, you'll get Deflect Arrows as a freebie.

When you hit level 5, I'd probably pursue the Fighter path to pile up feats as fast as possible until you've got all you want. From there, you might look into prestige classes.

Manave_E_Sulanul
2007-04-23, 03:58 PM
Thank you my good people! I do have a few more questions though, and I'll post what I decide soon. Where can I find the Elven Courtblade? Sounds familiar but I can't put my finger on it.

Also is Unapproachable East 3.0? I do not have it but I might have some 3.0 hold outs around I can ask. I spoke with my DM and I might be able to do some ToB stuff but I am unfamiliar with it for the most part. I am not sure I would be too into me using the actual class for a bit, until I my DM and myself are more familiar with it (and I already started as the modified monk) but I think I can convince him to let me use the feat that lets me gain individual maneuvers. Suggestions for that?

Person_Man
2007-04-23, 04:26 PM
Thank you my good people! I do have a few more questions though, and I'll post what I decide soon. Where can I find the Elven Courtblade? Sounds familiar but I can't put my finger on it.

Also is Unapproachable East 3.0? I do not have it but I might have some 3.0 hold outs around I can ask. I spoke with my DM and I might be able to do some ToB stuff but I am unfamiliar with it for the most part. I am not sure I would be too into me using the actual class for a bit, until I my DM and myself are more familiar with it (and I already started as the modified monk) but I think I can convince him to let me use the feat that lets me gain individual maneuvers. Suggestions for that?

Elven Courtblade is on Crystalkeep or Races of the Wild. d10, 18-20*2, two handed, Finesse-able. Requires EWP.

Un East is 3.0 and Forgotten Realms specific, but along with Oriental Adventures, its the main D&D Asian themed supplement, so most DMs I know allow it for Monks.

I suggest you buy ToB used off the internet. Read it, figure out exactly what you want to do, tell your DM exactly what you want to do, and then loan it to your DM so he can read through it. Seriously, its perfect for a Samurai Jack build. If your DM reads it, he'll either fall in love with it and let everyone use it, or he'll be deathly afraid that it will break combat, depending on how long he's played D&D and how many supplements he generally plays with. I have no useful advice for how you might be able to convince him to use a specific maneuver, except to say that melee builds tend to be much less powerful then full casters, and Monks are weak melee builds, so why not give them the best possible feat options available?

Manave_E_Sulanul
2007-04-23, 04:41 PM
I definitely plan on buying ToB when I get the chance. The thing is excellent, and I shall have to include it in my next campaign. I think I might grab the Elven Courtblade, too. Suffice it to say with all this flurrying I am quite fond of large threat ranges.

Many thanks!