Supernatural-styled monk : Optimization

[Quietus]

Here's the deal, guys - I'm retooling an old character of mine, a blind monk by the name of Jacob. For various reasons, I can no longer play him with the partner he was with, and I'd like to improve him somewhat. A brief overview of his backstory :


When he was younger (I believe we settled on 8 years old), the small, misty village of Kallen Moor was attacked by a bloodthirsty group of bandits. Jacob has no idea why they came, but he was there when his parents were cut down, and a moment later, a Blindness spell that was meant for someone else struck him instead. In that moment, his world went dark, and very much alone. He was taken in by a local woman, a monk, by the name of Keri, who strived to teach him how to cope with his new disability, as no one in the small town, or any of the neighboring ones, was capable of casting the spell that would fix his eyesight, nor could any of the more mundane doctors that they could reach do anything for him.

It's now been 15 years, and Jacob has been through... well, through hell, with Keri. Not to say that she's been a bad guardian, but she's an extremely unforgiving teacher, demanding in the extreme. She would brook no excuse when Jacob was learning to cope, and trained him the same way she would train any other monk - long hours of combat form practice, followed by equally long hours spent with the two of them out in the wilds, Jacob balancing on a log over a river. Due to his lack of sight, and the slowness that that's brought to him, he's spent a great deal of time under that water, but he's finally reached the point where he's as capable at such things as most of his sighted peers.

Keri, at this point, has decided that she's taught him everything she can, for now. She's told him that if he wants to continue his training, he'll need to come find her at the Glass Spire Monastery, once his instincts have been honed to the next level (Mechanically, the level 5 AC bonus). Now, Jacob is left to fend for himself, to find his way to this monastery, if he dares - and if nothing else, Jacob is stubborn.




Yeah, okay, that was a bit longer than I expected... anyhow, here's what I have to work with. He's second level, and I intend to take him straight Monk - he needs to get that AC bonus, from some source, and then after that he'll need to get the Abundant Step ability once he's sent out beyond the Glass Spire. As a result of this, he'll likely be going straight monk. He's built on 40 point buy, with the explicit requirement of having 8 dex; He was originally rolled-stats, with 7 dex, and I'm trying to keep him as close to the original as possible. As things stand now, he has :

Str : 16
Dex : 8
Con : 14
Int : 14
Wis : 17
Cha 13

This means he has two Monk bonus feats, which have been houseruled to allow him to have both Stunning Fist and Improved Grapple, since neither Combat Reflexes nor Deflect Arrows would make any sense for him at all. In addition, since he's blind, he's been given the feats Blind-Fight and Keen-Eyed Scout (PHB2) to make up for that. He's got two feats, since he's human, and one is Skill Focus (Listen). The other is up for grabs, as I'm removing a homebrewed feat. I've been toying with Ability Focus (Stunning Fist).


Now, what I'm aiming for, fluffwise, is this - a Monk who actually focusses on the idea of ki, taking it to heart and utilizing subtle, but supernatural, talents on the rare occasions he gets into combat. All of the Monks I've seen played so far play up the "I'm so physically awesome, check this out!" angle; with Jacob, I want to play up the fact that he's learned to look beyond the physical, and utilizes that which the physical can't produce. Where most monks I've seen play Stunning Fist as pressure points, or just another strike, Jacob forces his own energy into his foes, which disrupts them for a short period of time.

What I'm looking for from the forums is help in producing this mechanically. I'm thinking of focussing on the Stunning Fist extra options; My thoughts were something along the lines of :

1 : Ability Focus
3 : Pain Touch (Fluff : Strengthening of Jacob's Ki)
6 : Falling Star Srike (From Oriental Adventures, spend a SF attempt to blind the target. Fluff : Turning the magical energy that still keeps him blind against his opponents)
9 : Blindsight, 5-foot radius (Fluff : Jacob's field of awareness has expanded to encompass space outside of just himself)

I'm not worrying TOO much about what happens past there, but I'd certainly be interested to hear ideas. That's what I've got so far, I'd love to hear what you guys think of that series of ideas, and if anyone has a mechanically stronger method of producing this fluff, that would be spectacular. I'm not wholly against multiclassing, but if multiclassing does happen, Jacob needs to gain both a miscellaneous AC bonus which can be fluffed as being "intuition", along with a Dimension-Door-like ability.




((As for his blindness; He's come across a band of higher-level PC's now, fifteen years after he was struck by that errant spell. The cleric cast Remove Blindness on him, and it failed. The spell has been with Jacob for so long that his body has simply accepted it as part of him, and barring some incredibly powerful magic, it will remain in place. Even if it WERE to be lifted, Jacob would likely keep his eyes covered; His worldview no longer includes sight. It would be like if we were to suddenly be capable of perceiving an additional dimension; The revelation, thrilling and incredible as it might be, would leave us confused, at best.))

[Armads]

Serpent Fang. This basically lets him strike with extended reach (projecting ki as an extension of his body?)

Also, Shadow Sun Ninja (from ToB) progresses Monk abilities, Flurry, and at level 6, gives you a bonus to attack and damage against blinded opponents as long as you're blinded yourself (and lets you ignore the penalties of blindness against them). It might be good combined with Falling Star Strike

[Sstoopidtallkid]

Spend some of that money you're not spending on swords and buy an eversmoking bottle and a couple of scrolls of darkness. Those are what will really help in the long run.

[lord_khaine]

i would recomend getting a blindfold of true darkness as the very first thing you get, for some decent blindsight, besides that i will also agree taking the shadow sun ninja pc is a very good idea.

[Sstoopidtallkid]

Just found, there is a prestige class in "The Quintessential Monk" called "The Blind Master". You may want to look into it, maybe as fluff you say that is what your master teaches you when you reach her.

[McMindflayer]

I'm not sure how well this works for a blind Monk, but it works well with the "In tune with Ki" Fluff

Ring the Golden Bell
Prereq: Wis 13, imp. unarmed strike, stunning fist, Weapon Focus (Unarmed STrike) BAB +5
Benifit: A number of times per day 1+Wis modifier, you may deal unarmed strike damage witha successful ranged attack. THis attack's range Increment is 5 feet +5 feet per point of wisdom bonus. Normal cover modifiers apply. This attack can deliver any effect your unarmed strike can nomrally deliver, such as stunning fist.
(Dragon magazine #319, Patrick Younts. (Dragon Compendium))

I don't think the 6th level one works with the idea. using your blindness to blind others? Mainly it doesn't fit with "It's become part of him." sense.

I would suggest the "Fiery fist" set of feats. (Fluff: Essentially you manipulate your Ki to manifest as fire around your fists. Eventually it froms a fiery shield around your entire body. Even later on, you can throw the fiery ki at others, dealing damage.)

You could try the Riposte Feats. Essentially If someone strikes at him, he automatically strikes back. It fits with the blindness, as I see it, blind people wait for someone to attack them, so they know here that person is.

[Quietus]

Hmmm... let's see.

Serpent Fang and Ring the Golden Bell both look pretty interesting, but the problem with Ring the Golden Bell is that it makes my attacks ranged, at which point Blind-Fight doesn't work any longer. Serpent Fang, however, could be of use... it's a stronger option when you can make AoO's, of course, but if I can somehow get blindsense beyond 5 feet, it's definitely something I'll have to see about getting.

I've taken a look at the Shadow Sun Ninja prestige class, and while it does look incredibly useful, it's got two minor potential problems; One, it doesn't gain the Abundant Step-type class feature that is going to be necessary, story-wise, for this character, and two, the PbP that Jacob will be in doesn't allow Tome of Battle. I suppose I could try and work out something that doesn't involve maneuvers that does similar things, but that's getting close to the realm of homebrew.

Regarding the Fiery Fist/Defense/Ki Blast feats; They certainly are neat, and I've considered them, but I'm not sure whether I want to give up the subtlety of Stunning Fist in exchange for the obviousness of them. I DO like the "Eat Ki, punk!" aspect of them... but I'd also have to choose between Ki Defense and Ki Blast, because if memory serves, all three have dex requirements, and I don't meet them. My only option would be to drop Improved Grapple and instead pick up Fiery Fists at second and the other at sixth as my bonus feats.

Riposte feats; I'm not immediately familiar with them, which feats are you referring to and where are they found?


And as for the items... the eversmoking bottle is an AWESOME item for Jacob! With that, I wouldn't even necessarily need to pick up Falling Star Strike; The only problem with it is that his friends might not appreciate being stripped of their vision. Still, it's a great way to open up a fight. As for the blindfold of true darkness, I know I've heard about it somewhere... it gives Blindsight in a 30 foot radius or something, doesn't it? What book is it from?

[Armads]

The Blindfold of True Darkness is in MIC (and Underdark, I think) and costs 9k.

[Stam]

The Pain Touch feat...?

There's a couple of nice/nasty stunning fist usage feats in Sandstorm. One lets you poison your foe, while the other lets you stun multiple foes with one attack.

[Hecore]

I think that it might fit your character better not to use any blindness inducing skills or abilities - while he has come to laccept his loss of sight, he wouldn't wish it upon his enemies.

[Tengu]

How is blinding them worse than killing them? He obviously won't use these of those abilities that work permanently (if any of them do) against those enemies who he does not want dead.

[Quietus]

The Pain Touch feat...?

There's a couple of nice/nasty stunning fist usage feats in Sandstorm. One lets you poison your foe, while the other lets you stun multiple foes with one attack.

Ueh? Interesting... Sandstorm isn't among the "Any feats/PrC's from these books" list, but it isn't in the denied, either. My co-DM and I have considered putting the environmental books to use, actually. Looks like I'll have to get my hands on another copy of Sandstorm.

Pain Touch is a feat from Complete Warrior that makes it so that anyone who fails a save vs stunning fist is nauseated for one round following being stunned. Double my pleasure, double my fun type thing.

I think that it might fit your character better not to use any blindness inducing skills or abilities - while he has come to laccept his loss of sight, he wouldn't wish it upon his enemies.

That's entirely untrue, actually. He's come to accept it, because he's forced to live with it. He has no other choice. Kind of like how I personally accept that I wear glasses. Doesn't mean I like it, but what'm I going to do?

Besides, this is the result of a curse from someone who attacked his hometown, murdered his family, and left the town in shambles. Jacob is Lawful Neutral; He is extremely structured and orderly in the way he approaches things, but when it comes to good vs evil, he's really only looking out for himself. He understands the idea of "looking out for number one", and while he would never do anything EVIL, he has no objections to using anything that he has available to him to protect himself. If something starts a fight with him, he's more than willing to hit it with blindness. After all, it evens the playing field.

How is blinding them worse than killing them? He obviously won't use these of those abilities that work permanently (if any of them do) against those enemies who he does not want dead.

Precisely. And, for that matter, NONE of his abilities work permanently. Pain Touch extends the effects of his stunning for one round, sort of. Falling Star Strike's blindness lasts only 1 round per level. It's not like he's forcing others to live forever the way he does, he's just temporarily evening the playing field.




Anyhow, I've decided to drop one of the houserules; Rather than Stunning Fist and Improved Grapple as his bonus feats, I'm going to drop Improved Grapple and instead get Fiery Fist, and later, likely Fiery Ki Defense, unless I've found a more permanent way to see, in which case I might get Ki Blast. I'm still trying to decide how to refluff it; Flames around his hands just don't work. I'm thinking wisps of pale blue energy that flow off of him while he attacks to give just the barest of visual cues to the fact that he's doing *something* that's going to make his target's day suck just a little more.

[Stam]

(From Sandstorm)

Pharaoh's Fist: Spend a stunning fist attempt to force the struck opponent and every creature adjacent to that opponent to make a save (same DC) or be Stunned.

Rattlesnake Strike: Spend a stunning fist attempt, imbuing your next unarmed strike with disruptive ki that mimics the effect of mild viper venom. Deals 1d3 Con/1d3 Con, Fort save DC calculation equal to Stunning Fist DC.

Serpent Fang: Spend a stunning attack to grant one attack an additional 5' reach beyond your normal. Deals regular damage, can also use a monk weapon and deal its regular damage.

[Quietus]

(From Sandstorm)

Pharaoh's Fist: Spend a stunning fist attempt to force the struck opponent and every creature adjacent to that opponent to make a save (same DC) or be Stunned.

Rattlesnake Strike: Spend a stunning fist attempt, imbuing your next unarmed strike with disruptive ki that mimics the effect of mild viper venom. Deals 1d3 Con/1d3 Con, Fort save DC calculation equal to Stunning Fist DC.

Serpent Fang: Spend a stunning attack to grant one attack an additional 5' reach beyond your normal. Deals regular damage, can also use a monk weapon and deal its regular damage.

Well, I doubt I'd pick up the rattlesnake one; con damage, nice as it is, doesn't seem to fit Jacob. Pharoah's Fist, however, seems... well, awesome. If I go straight monk, about what level do you figure I could be picking it up at?

[Stam]

I'd have to check the prereqs, but...I don't believe there really were many? You might even be able to get it at 1st.

[Indon]

If being Exalted would be in-character for Jacob, you could look into Touch of Golden Ice as a feat.

[Stam]

Prereqs for Pharaoh's Fist: Str 15, Imp. Unarmed Strike, Stunning Fist.

That's it.

Of course, you're going to want your DM to rule on whether or not it also affects you, since the wording of the ability is questionable at best.

[Armads]

Pharaoh's Fist hurts your allies, though, especially a rogue who is flanking with you.

[Stam]

True, but combine that with a Dwarven monk, the Hammerfist feat, the Knock-Down feat...?

"I hit him...hard enough to slam him into the ground...hard enough that everyone else around him just stops and gapes at the impact."

[Quietus]

If being Exalted would be in-character for Jacob, you could look into Touch of Golden Ice as a feat.

That's something I might consider at higher levels; For the time being, he's Lawful Neutral, and depending on how things go he might tip to one side or the other. Probably Good... because I have Good tendencies myself, and it just comes naturally. It'd take a fairly minor push to go from "Lawful Nice" to "Lawful Good", but it'll take something significant to make him go Exalted or Evil.

Yeah, regarding that Pharoah's Fist feat... it really does sound pretty cool. I'm very tempted to pick it up if my DM allows it (it seems like a "Why wouldn't you?" feat, which is the definition of overpowered... even if it is just a Monk boost..), which of course begs the question... when? My 9th level feat, should I ever get there, will definitely be blindsight, 5-foot radius, but I could play with my 3rd and 6th. I think I'd like to pick up Sun School at some point, but I might leave that for 12th, when the "Abundant Step Slam" comes into play... hahaha, I do so love the mental image of a monk stepping out of nowhere and slapping one guy in the middle of a mook squad with (Pharoah's) stunning fist.

Of course, then you're still surrounded by mooks.

[Accersitus]

If you have a nice DM, and access to "The Quintessential monk"(old 3.0 book), there is a monk Prestige Class Blind Master that focuses on a blind monk using concentration and hearing to compensate for blindness. It's not very powerful, but grants blind sight at lvl3, and some other small abilities.

[Quietus]

If you have a nice DM, and access to "The Quintessential monk"(old 3.0 book), there is a monk Prestige Class Blind Master that focuses on a blind monk using concentration and hearing to compensate for blindness. It's not very powerful, but grants blind sight at lvl3, and some other small abilities.

Blind sight at level 3 would be nice... I suppose I should look into it. I don't have ranks in Concentration, though... but that doesn't mean I can't. Right now, Jacob's got 7 skills per level, so he's maxed :

Balance
Climb
Escape Artist
Listen
Jump
Tumble
Swim


I've been considering dumping Escape Artist in favor of two cross-class Survival ranks (to identify plants by feel to see if they're edible or not, taking ten would give me 10, which would be enough to feed myself), and three Perform ranks, or something to that effect. I could just as easily switch Perform into Concentration, though.

The problem with "The Quintessential Monk" is that it's not WotC, it's Mongoose. Jacob's going to be used in Vethedar, which is the link in my signature; Vethedar is run by myself with assistance from a co-DM friend of mine. It took a lot of convincing for us to come to an agreement of "Allow the feats/prestige classes from the Complete series", because he seems to consider the entire Complete series of books to be the 'Complete Cheater' series. It's really quite annoying. Even if we look at this Blind Master class and it seems fine, I doubt that it'd be allowed simply on the basis of it being third-party and thus automatically not balanced.

[Accersitus]

The problem with "The Quintessential Monk" is that it's not WotC, it's Mongoose. Jacob's going to be used in Vethedar, which is the link in my signature; Vethedar is run by myself with assistance from a co-DM friend of mine. It took a lot of convincing for us to come to an agreement of "Allow the feats/prestige classes from the Complete series", because he seems to consider the entire Complete series of books to be the 'Complete Cheater' series. It's really quite annoying. Even if we look at this Blind Master class and it seems fine, I doubt that it'd be allowed simply on the basis of it being third-party and thus automatically not balanced.

While a lot of things in the book are quite badly balanced, Blind Master is in my opinion not too bad
(if you just do something about the lvl1/4 ability )
Your biggest problems would most likely be skill and feat requirements,
and convincing the DM to use something from a book this badly balanced.

[Quietus]

While a lot of things in the book are quite badly balanced, Blind Master is in my opinion not too bad
(if you just do something about the lvl1/4 ability )
Your biggest problems would most likely be skill and feat requirements,
and convincing the DM to use something from a book this badly balanced.

In all honesty, I don't think it'll be too difficult to function as a blind character, even without blindsight. The miss chance is an inconvenience, and Silence zones will be horrible, but with having +11 listen and I believe it's Keen Eared Scout (I always mix it up with Hear the Unseen), I should be able to locate most targets while in combat, and anything not sneaky will have a hard time even outside of it.

With Keen-Eared Scout, I need to beat the Listen DC by 10 to pinpoint a creature's location. With +11, the lowest I can get is 12, and I'm willing to bet that while in combat, most things are going to be making enough noise to be below DC 0. Hell, if they're wearing armor that lowers that, I'll also get information on what armor and items they're carrying (By beating the DC by 15) and if I can beat the DC by 20 I'll know what type and subtype they are, which will be fun, as it'll lead to conversations like :

Jacob : "Something's sneaking up on us. It's carrying <item list>, wearing no armor, and is a chaotic, evil, and fire-based outsider. .... What's an outsider?"

[Artanis]

You could look at Psionic Fist. It definitely has the whole "using my personal energy" thing going, and Synesthete would be handy for a blind character.

*shrug* Just my 2cp