[3.5] Kung Fu Fighting!

[Human Paragon 3]

I'm running a session in a shao-lin temple-like dungeon this weekend. Most of the monks have been posessed by evil spirits of a sort, and the PCs need to secure 4 holy ancestor idols located throughout the temple to break the spell.

Looking for tips for running kick-ass, memorable kung fu battles (especially since the PCs don't kung fu fight themselves). The party is a blasty wizard, a warblade, a barbarian paladlin, and a dwarf fighter, all level 6.

[Reynard]

Setting Sun Unarmed Swordsages.

Lots.

[Human Paragon 3]

To specify, I'm not looking for build advice on how to construct the monks (unless you have a really cool, specific trick in mind), more actual encounter building ideas.

[DragonOfUndeath]

make them immune to AoO and have them jump around on walls and blast you guys backwards, forwards and sideways.

[Ilmryn]

Setting Sun Unarmed Swordsages.

Lots.

This would probably work pretty well, as many of the Setting Sun maneuvers revolver around throwing enemies...sometimes at other enemies

Unarmed Swordsage probably makes for cooler battles than using the monk class.

[Akal Saris]

Have one fight involve tall pillars over spikes (or lava, etc), with champions jumping towards the PCs and balancing with poles, etc.

[Gavinfoxx]

Have one fight involve tall pillars over spikes (or lava, etc), with champions jumping towards the PCs and balancing with poles, etc.

Look at that training room in Kung Fu Panda. Have it happen basically in that, with lots of 3D levels and stuff where balance checks are needed, and make the monks use any of the monk patches out there (setting sun unarmed swordsage, a few tashalatora builds, etc.)...

[Human Paragon 3]

I'm using homebrewed monk fixes, so no need for the swordsagery. I've never seen Kung Fu Panda - what is the training room like?

[Ernir]

What are the levels of the party members? Having them fight someone who can cut a raindrop in ten might be a bit overkill if they are all level 2...

[LOTRfan]

What are the levels of the party members? Having them fight someone who can cut a raindrop in ten might be a bit overkill if they are all level 2...

OP states that they are level 6.

[Ryu_Bonkosi]

Ugh. Kung Fu is so impractial compared to other martial arts. But if flashy and uneffective is what you want, Monk is the right choice. Personally I would make it so that they aren't flashy but deadly (monk? deadly? yeah right.). Have them get into grapple then make a dex check. Why? So they can switch positions and get the PC's into crazy moves like Uchi Mata, Sangaku or Osoto Gari. Then against the Wizard have them arm-bar him and snap his arm on a dex check. He won't be able to cast spells unless he has still spell./judo fighter

[Human Paragon 3]

Yeah, my player will love that- removing his class features through fiat...

[The Big Dice]

Ugh. Kung Fu is so impractial compared to other martial arts.

That depends. Wushu isn't practical, but there are practical applications of Shaolin. Wing Chun is all about getting in close, shutting your opponent down and breaking his limbs. Hsing-i was developed by convicts to allow them to fight in manacles, concentrating on short, brutal hand work. T'ai Chi Chuan is a martial form of T'ai Chi. It it all about deceptive, soft movements that use momentum and explosive movement to throw people round.

There are other, more fighting than performance oriented styles. But D&D doesn't really do hard close combat styles or soft martial arts very well.

[Human Paragon 3]

It's D&D. I think we can all agree that we're using the term "kung fu" pretty loosely here.

[AtomicKitKat]

Karmic Strike, Roundabout Kick. Check Oriental Adventures for ideas(be sure to get Great Throw from the web enhancement/errata, it was accidentally left out of printing).

[Grendus]

Yeah, my player will love that- removing his class features through fiat...

That was my first thought when reading that. Guys... remember the party is supposed to survive this. Incapacitating the wizard by forcing a save or die check on a dump stat is a way to go for a TPK.

I'd try something like the training simulator in the Matrix where Neo spars with Morpheus. Something like a dojo with weapons lining the walls, each one does something different (spiked chains, flails, reach weapons, whips - weapons that alter combat), and all the monks having proficiency with them. Giving them spring attack will allow them to get into and out of combat quickly, and quick draw and a little fiat will let them switch out weapons on the fly. To prevent wealth accumulation, have them be normal weapons, not even masterwork. You can fiat them the attack needed to overcome the lack of power. Should make for a frustrating but memorable fight.

[Salanmander]

make them immune to AoO and have them jump around on walls and blast you guys backwards, forwards and sideways.

I would actually /really/ advise against AoO immune people. One of the things that makes it hard for D&D to feel like a stereotypical kung fu battle is the lack of interplay between characters' actions. Eliminating AoOs would make it feel even more like it could be run just as well by putting everyone in a circle and having them pick who to attack each round.

Instead I would do as much as possible to make any given enemy's turn involve most of the players. Provoke AoOs deliberately and use karmic strike. Give someone a gimped dervish dance. Give someone else a swift action telekinetic thrust, and then describe them using it while wailing on someone else.

[BenInHB]

I would use different rooms (or wings) with different masters and styles

Maybe do a Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western thing and/or Earth, Fire, Wind, Water.

[Scarlet-Devil]

Karmic Strike, Roundabout Kick. Check Oriental Adventures for ideas(be sure to get Great Throw from the web enhancement/errata, it was accidentally left out of printing).

I definitely second this; Oriental Adventures has some great feats to make monks more powerful/interesting, some of which are updated in Complete Warrior, so make sure you check there too. Player's Handbook 2 has a few awesome supernatural feats if you want it to feel more like Street Fighter, and Tome of Battle has a couple feats to make them a little more powerful, as well as providing Setting Sun maneuvers, which are pretty cool and might be gained with that one feat that allows anyone to learn a maneuver.

Basically I would include a lot of movement, monks are crazy fast after all, and have them all do different things; in a single round one guy might be doing some throws, another is striking people's vitals with stunning fist while spring attacking, one's grappling/tripping/disarming/etc, and maybe another is just wailing on them with flurry of blows.

Of course, if you aren't playing it super stone-faced, then you may want to set the scene: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhUkGIsKvn0

[Zonugal]

I would use different rooms (or wings) with different masters and styles

Maybe do a Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western thing and/or Earth, Fire, Wind, Water.

I second this, you want to instill a sense of thematic comparability and yet offer up a distinct difference between each of these encounters.

Environmental ideas that jump off my mind are:

• A progressive battle throughout terrain. Through a river to a mountain side to the inside of a volcano. This can present a sort of 'race' mentality between the monks and the players.
  
• The infamous tower of doom where each level is more powerful as ascended.
  
• Have the monks offer up the chance for the ancestral icons through a one-on-one duel. The monks select one of their own as does the party. This allows for some more cinematic fights focusing on a single player (who may not have expected such a challenge.)

In addition a way to spice up the monks while presenting memorable opposition might be:

• Have an elemental theme throughout the monks, with each element corresponding to a particular fighting method/special ability. Earth (damage reduction/grapple), water (extreme mobility/defense), fire (any aura of fire ability or ability to cover hands in fire/pure offense) and air (stunning fist/immobilization).
  
• Have a monk (or a couple) enchanted to see/act in the dark and ready to throw shurikens right and left.
  
• Have one monk be super big and throw/bull rush people through walls.
  
• Have one monk be a drunken master waiting in a room heavily magnetized. The players have to discard any metal armor/weapons to face off against a guy who will be slamming tables and seats their way.

Those are just a some of the stuff off the top of my head.

[woodenbandman]

The best way to make this encounter memorable is to describe their attacks in great detail, and stage the battle over a pit of fire on burning hot metal dowels.

[AtomicKitKat]

[*]Have an elemental theme throughout the monks, with each element corresponding to a particular fighting method/special ability. Earth (damage reduction/grapple), water (extreme mobility/defense), fire (any aura of fire ability or ability to cover hands in fire/pure offense) and air (stunning fist/immobilization).

Switch Air and Water. Stunning=Immobilise the Lifeblood(water), while Air is better suited to high mobility. Water would be more about flowing with the opponent, Taichi/Aikido-esque(Karmic Strike, in a way).

[Ingus]

I concur with the thematic four elements or north-south etc.
You should also move alot from frenzy action to silence.
For example: a first, bloody fight between the four PCs and a lot of low level monks, which are defeated in a mass of blood. Then silence. They advance in complete silence for a while, then a trap/silent assassin (monk/ninja with shurikens) breaks it again.
Make every big challenge memorable, introducing it with the surroundings. Giant pillars of pure, uncut stone in the dojo of earth; a zen garden inside the dojo of water (have you seen Kill Bill 1?); a net of ropes, stairs, suspended platforms and an unnatural ventilation in the dojo of air; a little pool of lava in the dojo of fire...
Then, build an encounter around this features. For example, in the dojo of air put someone with high ranks in jump, balance, climb and make him throw around things.

[Bakkan]

Have some of your monks have psionic classes or Wild Talent so that they can take the Up the Walls feat, which would allow for some very Matrix-esque battle scenes.

In addition, some of the monks should have a selection of skill tricks from Complete Scoundrel, particularly Hidden Blade, Shrouded Dance, Sudden Draw, and just about all of the movement tricks.

[Gryndle]

Ugh. Kung Fu is so impractial compared to other martial arts. But if flashy and uneffective is what you want, Monk is the right choice. Personally I would make it so that they aren't flashy but deadly (monk? deadly? yeah right.). Have them get into grapple then make a dex check. Why? So they can switch positions and get the PC's into crazy moves like Uchi Mata, Sangaku or Osoto Gari. Then against the Wizard have them arm-bar him and snap his arm on a dex check. He won't be able to cast spells unless he has still spell./judo fighter

tangent here: kung fu means a lot of different things to many different people, and tends to be a term used to encompass all Chinese martial arts, which is grossly inaccurate.

I hold sho-dan ranks or equivalent in both muratomo ryu jiujitsu and mizuong luohan kung fu and the "judo-esque" style you describe fits my kung fu better than "impractical" or"flashy" (which is how I would describe most Wu Shu I ahve seen).

And to be perfectly honest, I find the kung fu I studied and teach to be MUCH more practical than the particular style of jujitsu I studied when I was younger.

[IcarusWings]

If you're gonna use elemental associations, then go with the chinese elements. Earth (Mobility/Fly-by attacks (focus on sand not stone)), Fire (multiple attack barrages/TWF), Water (Adaptable defense/Mobility), Wood (Exploiting weaknesses like roots find cracks in rock), and metal (DR/Unmoving).

[Yora]

I suggest a very large hall with lots of wide pillars, that is poorly lit. The players have to reach the door at the other side, but there's a number of monks in the room who specialize in speed and stealth.
To make it even more interesting, equip them with alechemist fire and custom grenades that create a fog cloud effect. Then lock the exit door with a complex lock, that requires the rogue to work on it for a few rounds. So if they just try to get with their backs against the door and goinf full defence, the monks can flush them out with thrown weapons from the shadows of the pillars.

[monkeysammich]

I would have a battle while climbing... like up the side of a wall of the temple as a chase... or if you can, put the temple on the edge of a cliff that the PCs scale to get there... and are subsequently chased up it by climbing monks... or rappelling monks.

Other fights while Balancing... or while Jumping... would all be good. Skills that players generally take for granted... but can SERIOUSLY add to encounters. Can you imagine the Paladin trying to fight while climbing... in his armor?

[BenInHB]

A "Water" Monk passive trip build could be fun. Build it with feats like Dodge, Combat Expertise, Combat Reflexes, Improved Trip, Elusive Target (Tactical feat in CWar) ,Defensive Throw (CWar, gives you a free trip attempt on anyone who attacks you and misses)

Have them fight in a knee high river of running water and the Monk can "enlighten" them as they fight, pointing out how important it is to have a strong firm stance but not so rigid that they cannot flow and move with the current. Have some stepping stones or posts that are up out of the water as well for the character to use. Have the water and the posts each require a Skill check like Balance or the character suffers either falling or becomes flat footed or some other type of penalty.

I would also give him a reach/trip weapon. A chain fits the style and the theme but the build is already feat starved so i don't think EWP is on the menu. Does OA have a Manriki or a Kusari-gama or anything like that as a monk weapon??

[BenInHB]

For a Wind Monk use Spring attack and Stunning Fists and ranged weapons (flurries of shuriken with contact poison are no joke and monks gain immunity). Have him talk about how you can't fight if you can't breath every time he dashes by and tags a PC in the solar-plexus or hits them with a Liver/Kidney shot. Remember too, when stunned a character drops whatever they were holding. So that's a move action to pick it back up. This makes it much harder for characters to follow him and attack since they can't move and attack or charge to attack the same turn they pick up there weapon.

Give him feats like Stunning Fist, Pain Touch, Extra Stunning, Expeditious Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack.