Dragon # 309 feats Flying Dragon Kick and Ten Ox Stomp

[Curmudgeon]

Dragon # 309 in the article "New Martial Arts Styles" lists Distant Touch, Flying Dragon Kick, Stone Monkey, and Ten Ox Stomp as new feats to be found at the end of the article; however, only Distant Touch and Stone Monkey are detailed. Ten Ox Stomp is a prerequisite for Koumajutsu Mastery II, and Flying Dragon Kick is a prerequisite for Blue Mountain Mastery II.

To the best of my knowledge these feats were never published. If this is incorrect, please point me in the right direction. If I'm right, I'd appreciate commentary on my attempt at filling in these gaps, or pointers to other attempts at doing the same.
Ten Ox Stomp [General]

You trample your opponent with the force of a herd of oxen.

Prerequisites: BAB +6, STR 17, Improved Trip, Knock-Down.

Benefit: As a full-round action, you can move up to twice your speed and literally run over one opponent of your size or smaller at some point in your movement, which does not provoke attacks of opportunity from that opponent. You deal 10d6 + 1½ times your Strength bonus in damage; the opponent may make a Strength-based Reflex save (10 + ½ your HD + your STR modifier) for half damage. An opponent who fails their save is also knocked prone.

Special: You may use Ten Ox Stomp only once per opponent per encounter.


Flying Dragon Kick [General]

You fly through the air to deliver a mighty unarmed attack.

Prerequisites: STR 15, Jump 8 ranks, Improved Unarmed Strike, Power Attack, Flying Kick.

Benefit: You may fly (average maneuverability) at your land speed as a move action. You may interrupt this move action at any single point to deliver unarmed strike(s) with any actions you have available. If you are not supported at the end of your turn, you fall.

[eggynack]

This post (http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?53350-Dragon-309-Missing-Martial-Arts-Feats&p=939840&viewfull=1#post939840) indicates that you should probably just cut the non-existent requirements, rather than create a new feat.

[Novawurmson]

Ten Ox Stomp being able to deal 10d6 damage seems a bit strong at the level you can first get it, but scales into near-worthlessness. I'd probably have it scale something like Strx1.5+1d6 for every two HD you have.

Regardless, I love your interpretation of Flying Dragon Kick, and it seems strangely visually similar to how wuxia martial artists "fly." I like imagining that all of them are just abusing this feat for effective at-will flight.

[Curmudgeon]

Ten Ox Stomp being able to deal 10d6 damage seems a bit strong at the level you can first get it, but scales into near-worthlessness.
I needed some rationale for the Ten Ox Stomp name. Nimble characters will likely take half damage, and 5d6 isn't out of line at level 9 (earliest a Monk could get this feat). Those who aren't nimble will likely have enough HP to survive, while those with Evasion will be unscathed. At least this is something different than a Charge attack.

Regardless, I love your interpretation of Flying Dragon Kick, and it seems strangely visually similar to how wuxia martial artists "fly." I like imagining that all of them are just abusing this feat for effective at-will flight.
I was thinking of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (though minus the silk curtain panels everywhere).

[Novawurmson]

I needed some rationale for the Ten Ox Stomp name.

Are NPCs/PCs really aware of meta constructs like that in your games? I think it's a fine kung-fu movie name for a trample attack. You wouldn't require someone with the feat Ring the Golden Bell to keep a golden bell on their person at all times or require a PC to fight piranhas in game before taking Piranha Strike.

[StreamOfTheSky]

If they can only "fly" for 1 round, and realistically only as a move action if they want to actually accomplish something, it should be perfect maneuverability so they can go UP without having their speed cut in half. Since pretty much any use of the feat will be to gain altitude and go after a flyer.

[Curmudgeon]

A Monk will have at least a +30' enhancement to their speed by the time they can acquire Flying Dragon Kick. I think this will work as intended against low-flying enemies (probably making dive attacks). If the Monk runs out of flying movement, though, they might actually have a use for Slow Fall.

[Debihuman]

Ten Ox Stomp and Flying Dragon Kick were cut from the article, just remove the prerequisites. They already have enough prerequisites as listed.

[StreamOfTheSky]

A Monk will have at least a +30' enhancement to their speed by the time they can acquire Flying Dragon Kick. I think this will work as intended against low-flying enemies (probably making dive attacks). If the Monk runs out of flying movement, though, they might actually have a use for Slow Fall.

Monks are not the only ones who might take this feat. And nerfing things meant for monks to counter-balance the benefits of their class features is a large part of why the monk sucks. The goal always seems to be to have its class features bring it up to par to a guy who lacks them but isn't trying to fight in such an unoptimized way to begin with, rather than having them be actual....features.
Or for another example, "this feat is meant for fighters, and fighters get lots of feats, so let's add a bunch of awful pre-requisite feats to counter-balance that fact."

Slow Fall a) sucks and doesn't give much vertical distance compared to your class level; b) relies on having walls within reach to actually use at all; and most critically, c) only makes the fall hurt less, it doesn't let you scale higher, so how does having slow fall help make up for the fact the monk can only attain a 30 ft vertical fly height (and at a 60 degree angle, not even straight up) before attacking when his foe is 40 ft up?

Also, a Monk could have this feat by level 6 with your requirements, so +20 ft enhancement to speed and a vertical flight speed of 25.

Letting it be perfect maneuverability still won't let the monk punch someone hundreds of feet up, but it will make it useful in a room with a high ceiling, at least. The 1 round and you fall part is already limiting enough.


Ten Ox Stomp and Flying Dragon Kick were cut from the article, just remove the prerequisites. They already have enough prerequisites as listed.

Also, this. That's a hell of a lot of feat requirements, many of them not even on the monk bonus feat list. You can homebrew them if you want, but there's no need to add so many feat requirements to the existing feats.

[Sagetim]

Dragon # 309 in the article "New Martial Arts Styles" lists Distant Touch, Flying Dragon Kick, Stone Monkey, and Ten Ox Stomp as new feats to be found at the end of the article; however, only Distant Touch and Stone Monkey are detailed. Ten Ox Stomp is a prerequisite for Koumajutsu Mastery II, and Flying Dragon Kick is a prerequisite for Blue Mountain Mastery II.

To the best of my knowledge these feats were never published. If this is incorrect, please point me in the right direction. If I'm right, I'd appreciate commentary on my attempt at filling in these gaps, or pointers to other attempts at doing the same.
Ten Ox Stomp [General]

You trample your opponent with the force of a herd of oxen.

Prerequisites: BAB +6, STR 17, Improved Trip, Knock-Down.

Benefit: As a full-round action, you can move up to twice your speed and literally run over one opponent of your size or smaller at some point in your movement, which does not provoke attacks of opportunity from that opponent. You deal 10d6 + 1½ times your Strength bonus in damage; the opponent may make a Strength-based Reflex save (10 + ½ your HD + your STR modifier) for half damage. An opponent who fails their save is also knocked prone.

Special: You may use Ten Ox Stomp only once per opponent per encounter.


Flying Dragon Kick [General]

You fly through the air to deliver a mighty unarmed attack.

Prerequisites: STR 15, Jump 8 ranks, Improved Unarmed Strike, Power Attack, Flying Kick.

Benefit: You may fly (average maneuverability) at your land speed as a move action. You may interrupt this move action at any single point to deliver unarmed strike(s) with any actions you have available. If you are not supported at the end of your turn, you fall.


I would adjust flying dragon kick to allow monks who have it to apply their slow fall as long as they are in contact with something (including the air itself). Which basically means 'only if you're fighting in space do you not apply slow fall'.

If you adjusted 10 ox stomp to only deal 1/2hit die in d6's +1.5x str it becomes even worse than the non scaling one, because it takes you until level 20 to get to the 10d6. 10d6 is pretty decent at level 6, but it's not actually all that and a bag of chips. Even if you had it at level 6 with minimum required strength that's 10d6+3. A range of 9 to 63. Also known as a range of jack **** to 'maybe one shotting a beefy enemy if they failed their save and I got lucky on the damage roll'. At higher level a fighter is going to just take their attacks per round and outdo the damage, while it remains useful for a monk as a funny means of marioing around the battlefield.

I would probably adjust 10 ox stomp to deal damage based on your unarmed strike damage. 10xnormal unarmed strike damage + 1.5x str mod. It admittedly would get to something like 20d10+1.5x str mod at high monk level, and also point and laugh at fighters (and everyone else) with their piddling 10d3+1.5x str mod. Which is why I think it works well as a fix.

[Curmudgeon]

I would probably adjust 10 ox stomp to deal damage based on your unarmed strike damage. 10xnormal unarmed strike damage + 1.5x str mod. It admittedly would get to something like 20d10+1.5x str mod at high monk level ...
The number would be much higher for most Monks. A Small level 20 Monk with a party Sorcerer/Wizard casting Greater Mighty Wallop (Races of the Dragon, page 115) on them once a day would deal 12d8 per hit, or 16d8 with Improved Natural Attack (unarmed strike). Ten times that would involve rolling 160 d8s.