Many Paths to Enlightenment

DanMcS · Jun 4, 2004

The monk in 3rd edition is a fairly specialized kind of monk. He's cool and all, and fun to play, but there are other things you could do with him.

First, a couple of feats.

Weapon Kata
Choose one type of melee weapon. You have learned a martial art style featuring this weapon.
Prerequisites: BAB +4
Benefit: This type of weapon is treated as a monk weapon for you.

Focused Strike
Benefit: When attempting to break an object (by beating the break DC), you may use a Wisdom check instead of a Strength check.
(Alternate: use a concentration check instead of a strength check?).

DanMcS · Jun 4, 2004

Student of the Five Elements (So5E)

Some monks, once they begin to understand the flow of ki and the makeup of their bodies, turn their attention from spiritual energies to the physical makeup of their bodies, studying the five elements that comprise everything.

Hit Die: d8

Requirements
Skills: Knowledge (arcana) 9 ranks
Special: Purity of Body class feature

Class skills: as monk plus Knowledge (the planes)
Skill points at each level: 4 + Int modifier
BAB: 3/4 progression.
Saves: All good progression.

Table: The Student of the Five Elements
1 Monk abilities, Elemental Shape 1/day
2 Elemental Tongue
3
4 Elemental Shape 2/day
5
6 Elemental Shape (Large)
7 Elemental Shape 3/day
8
9 Elemental Home
10 Elemental Master, Elemental Shape 4/day

Monk abilities: Levels of So5E stack with monk levels for purposes of unarmed attack damage, armor class bonus, flurry of blows progression, and speed bonus.

Elemental Shape (Su): As the druid ability, Wild Shape (elemental). This functions as the polymorph spell, except as noted here. At 1st level, a So5E can turn himself into a Small or Medium elemental (air, earth, fire, water, or wood) and back again once per day, lasting for 1 hour per class level or until she changes back. Changing form is a standard action and doesn’t provoke an attack of opportunity. The So5E can use this more times per day at 4th, 7th, and 10th level, as noted in the table. In addition, she gains the ability to take the shape of a Large elemental at 6th level.

In addition to the normal effects of polymorph, the So5E gains all the elemental’s extraordinary, supernatural, and spell-like abilities. She also gains the elemental’s feats for as long as she maintains the wild shape, but she retains her own creature type.

Elemental Tongue (Ex): At 2nd level, , the So5E gains the ability to speak Aquan, Auran, Ignan, Terran, Sylvan, and Treant.

Elemental Home (Sp): As Plane Shift, 1/day, to an elemental plane or back to the originating plane.

Elemental Master: After attaining 10th level, the So5E becomes a magical creature. She no longer takes aging penalties and cannot be magically aged. Any such penalties that she has already taken, however, remain in place. Bonuses still accrue, and the master still dies of old age when her time is up. She is forevermore treated as an outsider rather than as a humanoid (or whatever her creature type was) for the purpose of spells and magical effects. Additionally, the master gains damage reduction 10/magic. Unlike other outsiders, the master can still be brought back from the dead as if she were a member of her previous creature type.

DanMcS · Jun 4, 2004

Enlightened Dragon

Some monks emulate dragons as the beings most in-tune with their own bodies and spirits. This is a fighting style at heart, for monks who seek excellence in combat.

Hit die: d8

Requirements
Skills: Balance 9 ranks, Jump 9 ranks
Feats: Improved Initiative, Combat Reflexes, Weapon Finesse
Special: Ki strike (magic), must have studied with another monk who is at least a 5th level Enlightened Dragon, or with an actual dragon.

Class skills: as monk.
Skill points at each level: 4 + Int modifier
BAB: 3/4 progression.
Saves: All good progression.

Table: The Enlightened Dragon
1 Monk abilities, Natural Armor +1
2 Tooth and Claw
3 NA +2, Forked Tongue
4 Lashing Tail
5 NA +3, Improved Evasion
6 Coiled Strike
7 NA +4, Dragon's Fire
8 Fang and Talon
9 NA +5
10 Dragon's Soul

Monk abilities: Levels of this class stack with monk levels for purposes of unarmed attack damage, armor class bonus, flurry of blows progression, and speed bonus.

Natural Armor: The ED's skin grows hard and scaly, providing her with natural armor, +1 at first level and an additional point every two levels thereafter.

Tooth and Claw: The ED's trains her fingers to act as claws; her natural weapons can be considered slashing or piercing if she so desires, in addition to blunt, though only one type is used in any attack.

Forked Tongue: At 3rd level, the ED gains the ability to speak Draconic.

Lashing Tail: The Enlightened Dragon style features an exotic weapon few monks know how to use; they refer to it as the "dragon's tail". At 4th level, the ED gains proficiency with this weapon.

A dragon's tail is a monk weapon, a multipart staff or nunchuku, often 7 to 8 feet long. It is finessable, and has identical statistics to a spiked chain, except it is blunt.

Improved Evasion: At 5th level the ED gains this ability.

Coiled Strike: At 6th level, the ED gains a +4 bonus to initiative (this stacks with improved initiative).

Dragon's Fire: At 7th level, the ED's unarmed attacks and any dragon's tail she uses are considered flaming weapons.

Fang and Talon: The ED's unarmed attacks continue to become more effective; at 8th level, when making a piercing or slashing unarmed attack, its critical hit damage multiplier is x3.

Dragon's Soul: The ED has attuned her body, becoming like the wise creatures she studies. She becomes a magical creature- her type changes to dragon. She no longer takes aging penalties and cannot be magically aged. Any such penalties that she has already taken, however, remain in place. Bonuses still accrue, and she still dies of old age when her time is up. She gains DR 10/magic, and her dragon's fire improves from flaming to flaming burst.

DanMcS · Jun 4, 2004

Pillar of the Rising Sun

Good monks who emulate the life-giving properties of the sun.

Hit Die: d8

Prerequisites
Skills: Spot (9 ranks)
Alignment: LG
Special: Wholeness of Body class ability.

Class skills, skill points, BAB, and saves as monk.

Table: The Pillar
1 Monk abilities (unarmed damage, flurry, AC, speed, wholeness of body)
2 Light
3 Sun's touch
4 Ki strike (good)
5 Sun's Fist
6 Healing Light
7 Daylight
8 Ki strike (radient)
9 Searing Light
10 Blazing Soul

Light (Sp): At 2nd level, by expending 1 point of wholeness of body, the Pillar can cast Light as a cleric of her class level.

Sun's touch (Su): At 3rd level, the Pillar can use wholeness of body on others, with a touch, as a standard action.

Ki Strike: at 4th level, the Pillar's unarmed attacks are considered good weapons. At 8th level, the Pillar's unarmed attacks can be used as though they are brilliant energy weapons.

Sun's Fist (Su): At 5th level, the Pillar can make unarmed attacks at range, as bolts of light shoot out of his fists. This is considered a thrown weapon with a 10' range increment.

Healing Light (Su): At 6th level, the Pillar gains fast healing 1 when she is in direct sunlight.

Daylight (Sp): At 7th level, the Pillar can cast Daylight as a cleric of her class level, by expending 5 points of wholeness of body.

Searing Light (Sp): At 9th level, the Pillar can cast Searing Light as a cleric of her class level, by expending 10 points of wholeness of body.

Pillar of Light: At 10th level, the Pillar becomes a magical creature. She become a native outsider, is immune to penalties due to aging (though she still dies when her time is up), and gains DR 10/ (magic and evil).

monkofmirth · Jun 4, 2004

Some questions

So5E
seems to be too powerful from the start. You can start taking this PrC @ lvl 7 and turn into elementals immediatly, an ability druids only get @ lvl 16. Maybe bump up the lvl of the PrC so that they can turn into an elemental at a comperable lvl.
Both
Both of these PrCs allow one to become an ageless outside type by lvl 17...monks are the only base class that can do this...and it's a lvl 20 ability, maybe raise the lvls req. to a similar lvl.

DanMcS · Jun 4, 2004

monkofmirth said:
So5E
seems to be too powerful from the start. You can start taking this PrC @ lvl 7 and turn into elementals immediatly, an ability druids only get @ lvl 16. Maybe bump up the lvl of the PrC so that they can turn into an elemental at a comperable lvl.

A small or medium elemental is pretty weak, look at their stats. A medium elemental is CR 3. It looks neat, but ends up being useful for mobility- you can turn into an air elemental and fly, or an earth elemental and burrow.

As a large elemental, you get better damage, since you're now a large monk, and get size bonuses to trip, grapple, etc. I'll ponder that one. This is the prestige class I'm actually working towards as a player, and I've run the numbers; as a medium elemental, I gain some AC from natural armor typically, but tend to lose both dex and strength, or if I go earth elemental, get good strength but miserable dex.

Both of these PrCs allow one to become an ageless outside type by lvl 17...monks are the only base class that can do this...and it's a lvl 20 ability, maybe raise the lvls req. to a similar lvl.

Yeah. I based this on the transformational prestige classes like Alienist, Dragon Disciple, etc. No aging penalties hardly matters, because campaigns tend to not last that long in game-time. DR penetrated by magic protects your from mooks, typically, because the worthwhile villains will have magic weapons.

Many Paths to Enlightenment

DanMcS

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