Mutagenic Mauler and a monk's robe

[Kahlendrrari]

How does a mutagenic mauler interact with a monk's robe?

A brawler counts their total brawler levels as both fighter levels and monk levels for the purpose of qualifying for feats. A brawler also counts as both a fighter and a monk for feats and magic items that have different effects based on whether the character has levels in those classes (such as Stunning Fist and a monk's robe).

Mutagenic maulers give up their AC bonus as part of the Archetype trade off.

1: Mutagenic mauler levels +5 for unarmed damage and gain the monk's AC bonus as a monk of the same level? Due to the way Monk's Robe is worded.
IE: mutagenic mauler 3 = monk level 8 for unarmed strike damage and AC bonus (+2).

2: Mutagenic Mauler levels +5 for unarmed damage only, and +1 monk AC bonus?
IE: mutagenic mauler 3 = monk level 8 for unarmed damage with monk level 5 AC bonus.

3: Something else that hasn't occurred to me?


I have google-fu'd the question in as many different ways as I could think of, but I kept getting the same single search result.

[Lormador]

I'd say it can go either way, or some other way, depending on the nature of the campaign. Like everything, it's a party and game balance issue, and I don't think RAW matters.

If the Mutagenic Mauler in question belonged to a newer player who was having trouble keeping up with the others in combat, feeling irrelevant, and generally not that satisfied with the situation, I'd very happily give the guy the most liberal possible interpretation. The party would be better balanced, the new player more likely to continue, etc.

Were this one of my own characters, I'd probably suggest to the DM myself that he take approach #2.

[stanprollyright]

I would rule option 2. Monk's Belt gives you 5 levels of monk progression. If you were to multiclass 5 levels of monk, what would happen? Well, your unarmed damages are the same and explicitly stack, so you would use your character level to determine your unarmed damage. AC, being a flat number, stacks like BAB or base saves. You would get the AC bonus from your 5 levels of monk, which stacks with the AC bonus from your brawler levels. Your Brawler AC bonus is +0.

[Kahlendrrari]

A brawler also counts as both a fighter and a monk for feats and magic items that have different effects based on whether the character has levels in those classes (such as Stunning Fist and a monk's robe).

I think if a mutagenic mauler were to wear a monk's robe, then they would get the unarmed damage of a monk 5 levels higher.... since they give up their brawler AC bonus (hence not having one at all) for the archetype trade off, then they would still get the AC bonus from the robe due to it keying off of effective monk levels, and maybe even possibly getting to put Wis into AC as well. The third clause of the monk's robe states that if the wearer isn't a monk then they don't get to add their wisdom bonus, but martial flexibility stating they count as monks, means that they "technically are" monks and a monk of even first level adds their Wis bonus to AC if not wearing any armor and are not encumbered.