Monk Variant- Martial Artist

[TheCrazyMuffinMan]

Gains-
All alignments available, Full attack progression, Intimidate as a class skill, can multiclass without being barred from further advancement as a Martial Artist, can progress as any alignment.
Can attack with both fists as a full attack action without taking off-hand penalties.

Dodge at 1st level

(Offensive or Defensive)

Power Attack or Improved Initiative at 4th level
Improved Critical or Combat Expertise at 7th level
Improved Feint or Mobility at 10th level
Counterattack at 12th level (attacking you at melee range provokes an attack of opportunity, after the attack. This can only be performed via an unarmed strike. You do not provoke an attack of opportunity by counterattacking.)
Spring Attack or Diehard at 13th level
Knockout Blow 15th level (Stunning fists can max out nonlethal damage on a critical, if they manage to stun the defender)
Whirlwind Attack or Snatch Arrows at 16th level
20th level- Concussive Blow (Stunning fists can now do 1d4 Intelligence and Wisdom damage on a critical hit, if they manage to stun the defender.) or Damage Reduction 20/magic

Loses-

All (Su) class goodies, all weapon proficiencies except for unarmed strikes, Timeless Body, Tongue of the Sun and Moon, Diamond Soul, Good Will Save, Purity of Body, Still Mind, Perfect Self, Fast Movement.

Martial Artist feats only work via unarmed combat.

This essentially makes him more of a pure physical unarmed combatant, like real-world martial artists. Does this idea work well?

Edit 6pm, Aug 8: (If there is a way hit die d10 can work without this class being strictly better than the fighter, I may reinstate the d10.)
Edit 7pm, Aug 8: (If this last attempt doesn't balance well, I'll discontinue it officially.)

 

[Wednesday Boy]

Would you dump some of the Extraordinary Abilities that are mystical, like Timeless Body, Tongue of the Sun and Moon or Purity of Body? Or just Supernatural Abilities? Thematically it seems like some of the Ex Abilities would go with the Su Abilities.

 

[TheCrazyMuffinMan]

Would you dump some of the Extraordinary Abilities that are mystical, like Timeless Body, Tongue of the Sun and Moon or Purity of Body? Or just Supernatural Abilities? Thematically it seems like some of the Ex Abilities would go with the Su Abilities.

Good point. Diamond Soul can get hosed too if you want to do that.

 

[Wednesday Boy]

I think losing all of the mystical powers (whether Ex or Su) isn't balanced by the addition of the d10 hit die and full attack BAB. Maybe throw a few more martial artist Bonus Feats in?

 

[TheCrazyMuffinMan]

I think losing all of the mystical powers (whether Ex or Su) isn't balanced by the addition of the d10 hit die and full attack BAB. Maybe throw a few more martial artist Bonus Feats in?

Done and done.

 

[TheLe]

Seems a bit generic to me -- is it supposed to be?

Pop Culture martial artists tend to focus on a specific style of fighting, rather than a hodge-podge of everything.

For example, why would he get blind fight?

`Le

 

[TheCrazyMuffinMan]

Seems a bit generic to me -- is it supposed to be?

Pop Culture martial artists tend to focus on a specific style of fighting, rather than a hodge-podge of everything.

For example, why would he get blind fight?

`Le

I was looking for something that was appropriate to fill the void at that level. This guy loses a lot of (Su) and other goodies, and I needed to plug the hole. Perhaps Improved Feint would be better? I think that's workable.

Also, it is meant to be relatively generic: A monk variant for those who prefer the strictly combative (and practical) aspects of the monk to the particularly exotic ones, working from the SRD and PHB as opposed to a series of splatbooks. It's essentially a crossbreed of the monk and the fighter.

New appropriate feats-

Knockout Blow

Prerequisite: Str 13+, Stunning Fist, Improved Critical

Whenever you score a critical hit using the Stunning Fist, its recipient must make a fortitude save (DC 10 + ½ your character level + your Wis modifier) or fall unconscious, with nonlethal damage equal to its maximum HP + 1.

Improved Knockout Blow [Epic?]

Prerequisite: Str 15+, Dex 15+, Wis 15+, Knockout Blow

As Knockout blow, but on a critical hit with the Stunning Fist, the recipient is instantly brought to -1 hp on a failed save. That recipient is stable. The Save DC is increased to 10 + your character level + your Wis modifier + your Str modifier.

In addition, your regular unarmed strikes have a chance of causing unconsciousness without the use of the stunning fist, on a critical hit.

 

[TheLe]

Knockout Blow

Improved Knockout Blow [Epic?]


In addition, your regular unarmed strikes have a chance of causing unconsciousness without the use of the stunning fist, on a critical hit.

Looks interesting. I think you are better off just giving your class those abilities at certain levels, for free, rather than giving them the original feat choices.

`Le

 

[TheCrazyMuffinMan]

Looks interesting. I think you are better off just giving your class those abilities at certain levels, for free, rather than giving them the original feat choices.

`Le

So instead of binary bonus feat choices, I just guarantee all the goodies at different levels? Does this include the ones that were binary for the monk?

 

[Arkhandus]

Gains-
All alignments available, Hit Die d10, Full attack progression, Intimidate as a class skill, can multiclass without being barred from further advancement as a Martial Artist, can progress as any alignment. Still Mind works because it is possible to keep one's focus without going mystical.

Dodge at 1st level

(Offensive or Defensive)

Power Attack or Improved Initiative at 4th level
Improved Critical or Combat Expertise at 7th level
Counterattack at 9th level (attacking you provokes an attack of opportunity, after the attack. You do not provoke an attack of opportunity by counterattacking.)
Improved Feint or Mobility at 10th level
Spring Attack or Diehard at 13th level
Whirlwind Attack or Snatch Arrows at 16th level
Improved Counterattack at 18th level (attacking you provokes an attack of opportunity, before the attack. You do not provoke an attack of opportunity by counterattacking.)

20th level- If you chose five or more offensive bonus feats (1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 10, 13, 16), you get Overwhelming Critical. If you chose five or more defensive bonus feats, you get Epic Dodge. If you chose exactly four of both feat categories, you may choose one of these feats, but not the other, for your 20th level bonus feat.

Loses-

All (Su) class goodies, all weapon proficiencies except for unarmed strikes, Timeless Body, Tongue of the Sun and Moon, Diamond Soul, Good Will Save, Purity of Body.

This essentially makes him more of a pure physical unarmed combatant, like real-world martial artists. Does this idea work well?

Soooo....... Your Monk is a Fighter+ with better Reflex saves, more skill points, more class skills, a few extraordinary abilities, a very effective counterattack ability (and one that does not mention any limit to melee combat, so we can assume that a Monk who takes Martial Weapon Proficiency - Composite Longbow can also take a free shot at anyone who shoots him first), unarmed combat prowess, rapid unarmed attacks, some skill at evading harm without using clunky, heavy, movement-constraining armor, an Epic feat at 20th-level in place of a normal, non-Epic feat at that level, more-limited but still very useful bonus feat choices, and no armor or weapon proficiencies unless they spend a normal feat or dip 1 level into Fighter.........

I dunno if you've beefed up Fighters in your game, but otherwise I'd call this "Monk" just a Fighter+ or Fighter++. If you're intending to go that route, why not just convert a few monkish class features into feats and add those to the list of bonus feats a Fighter can choose?