Legacy Item - Hands of the Grand Master

[schreier]

I used the "Building a Weapon of Legacy for Dummies" on the other forums archive (http://bg-archive.minmaxforum.com/index.php?topic=5907.0) to come up with what I feel is a very nice monk item - want to see if you guys 1. like it, and 2. if I did it right

I took a lot of the baseline from the Bones of Li-Ping and the Bullybasher's Gauntlets. From there, I took powers that felt like they would be useful fighting (particularly against the Imaskari)

Hands of the Grand Master
Base Item:
Gloves of Arrow Snaring

Omen: The gloves, and the wearer, radiate a tangible aura of tranquility and calm.

Monk’s Cunning: You must overcome an encounter with a hostile creature whose Challenge Rating is at least equal to your character level. You can accomplish this through intimidation, trickery, stealth, or any other appropriate method. Cost: 2,000 gp. Feat Granted: Least Legacy (Hands of the Grand Master).

Martial Whirlwind: In contrast to the previous ritual, you have to defeat a group of three or more opponents with a total Encounter Level at least equal to your character level. You must engage the enemies alone but can use any weapons or tools at your disposal. Cost: 12,000 gp. Feat Granted: Lesser Legacy (Hands of the Grand Master).

Lair of the Tiger: You are required to travel to the legendary Monastery the Tiger's Nest in the hordelands and spend 24 hours in prayer and meditation with the Invisible Tigers there. Cost: 40,000 gp.
Feat Granted: Greater Legacy (Hands of the Grand Master).

Requirements:
Wisdom 13
Base attack bonus +2
Concentration 6 ranks
Any nonchaotic alignment

These leather hand wraps fit snugly once secured, seeming to meld into the wearer's hands so closely that they cannot be seem unless someone is within five feet.



Wielder Level
Skill Check Penalty
Hit Point Loss
Abilities


5th
-
-
Sturdy Grip (source: Bullybasher's Gauntlets (+4 to establish grapple, WoL pg.44)


6th
-
2
Protection from Evil (source: Crimson Ruination, WoL pg. 62)


7th
-1
-
Faithful Strike (+1/+1 attack and damage vs opposed align, gain access to Devoted Spirit) (source: Faithful Avenger, pg. 134)


8th
-
2
Sneak Attack +1d6 (Source: Umbral Awn, Bo9S pg. 141)


9th
-
2
-


10th
-
2
Crush the Weak (Crit range doubled vs smaller, stacks) (Source: Stormchaser's Cudgel, WoL pg 164)


11th
-
-
Giant Bearing (Gain some size-related bonuses) (Source: Bullybasher's Gauntlets, WoL pg. 44-45)


12th
-
2
Cunning (never flatfooted) (Source: Mau-Jehe, WoL pg. 116)


13th
-2
-
Stone Gathering (Can catch and throw stones like a giant) (Source: Bullybasher's Gauntlets, WoL pg. 45)


14th
-
2
Wolf's Cunning (+5 untyped init bonus) (Source: Ur, WoL pg. 175)


15th
-
-
Sneak Attack +2d6 (Source: Umbral Awn, Bo9S pg. 141)


16th
-
2
Uncanny Dodge (Source: Supernal Clarity, Bo9S, pg 137)


17th
-
-
Frightful Presence (as Dragon) (Source: Bullybasher's Gauntlets WoL, pg. 45)


18th
-3
2
Sneak Attack +3d6 (Source: Umbral Awn, Bo9S pg. 141)


19th
-
2
Fast Movement (+10' as Barbarian) (Source: Bow of the Black Archer WoL pg. 38)


20th
-
2
Mantle of Sacred Protection (Spell Resistance 5+ Character level) (Source: Exordius, WoL pg 82)

[TristanS]

Looks like a solid weapon of legacy. I generally don't like them because of the cost, but the penalties you picked were relatively light.

The giant size/Bullybasher abilities combine well with the Crush the Weak, but I'm not sure the "Giant size" would trigger crush the weak.

The faithful strike and sneak attack both seem very useful, but not sure they fit a monk perfectly. That being said, precision strikes could be somewhat kung-fu like so I can see it ... and faithful strike/protection from evil works well for a Lawful good monk

[smetzger]

Looks like a solid weapon of legacy. I generally don't like them because of the cost, but the penalties you picked were relatively light.

Ditto.

Not sure how focused the campaign is on Imaskari, so take the below with a grain of salt.

1) If this item was dropped in a general pile of treasure, I would expect the rogue to pick it up and not the monk.
- maybe wall off behind using unarmed attack and monk weapons?

2) Monk has a lot of weaknesses, I think shoring up those weaknesses and adding some cool maneuvers/special abilities would make this more interesting.
- maybe drop the sneak attack for some of these abilities
- maybe a favored enemy Imaskari
- something specific to fighting Imaskari (Dispel Magic, Mage Killer, spell drain ability etc. - upon successful stunning strike?)
- the 19th level bump to speed - Monk will already have a +60ft movement, so eh...
- How about adding additional Ki strike abilities? (silver, cold iron, get standard ones sooner etc)
- take a look at the unchained monk from PF1 and take some of those abilities
- Provide actual bonuses to hit,
- provide energy damage along with the unarmed strikes
- increased reach (combined with Mage Killer this could be nice)
- increase DC for stunning fist, 1/week ability to Stun creatures that normally can't be stunned
- something to decrease MAD. Allow Wis to be used in place of Str

Monks are among the least powerful classes. So, you could go really wild here and the character would not be OP.

[Elves]

Did you build this with the ability menu rules from Weapons of Legacy or just compile abilities from existing items?

Nothing wrong with the latter but this seems like too many different abilities to keep track of

[schreier]

For powers - I generally used the dummy's guide referenced in my post, which effectively looks at all powers of all items listed (it missed some of Bullybasher's which was weird, but I just included them)

I like the suggestions to remove the sneak attack for those abilities smetzger - thank you! Trying to figure out their relative "value" is difficult to a degree since they are new, but that is not an impassable wall. One of the abilities (I think a 2 cost lesser) is effectively a monk's belt which could be useful (bones of li-peng). The detect magic and dispel magic ideas are great too and are in the hammer of witches.

I wasn't sure how easy it would be to add damage and attack bonuses, since it is not a weapon. If it had those abilities, would it still be usable with a necklace of natural attacks? (for example, +5 attack and damage, but then have the necklace with wounding or other similar abilities)