Beyond Monks - The Art of the Fight

[Chainmail Bikini]

Here's the complete table of contents. The page numbers aren't in a line because of the font change, and the message forum removes any spaces I put in. There's also an "options index" in the back that allows you to check which options are allowed in your campaign, and serves as a standard index.

Table of Contents
Chapter 1: New Classes ....................................... 3
The Martial Artist .................................................. 4
Prestige Classes.............................................. 10
Armor Pugilist............................................... 10
Blade Artist................................................... 11
Blood Hunter ................................................ 13
Crooked Monk.............................................. 15
Ghost Killer................................................... 17
Ki Blaster...................................................... 19
Psynergist .................................................... 20
Storm Lord ................................................... 22
Sylvan Monk................................................. 23
Tanterist ....................................................... 25
Chapter 2: Martial Art Feats and Styles .............. 27
New Feats........................................................ 28
Style Mastery Feats......................................... 39
Making Your Own ........................................ 39
Style Mastery Feat Benefits ......................... 39
Chapter 3: Building a Master............................... 43
Multiclass Archetypes...................................... 44
Beast Observer ............................................ 44
Mystic Warrior .............................................. 45
Ninja ............................................................. 46
Temple Guardian ......................................... 46
Weapon Master............................................ 47
Customizing the Monk ..................................... 49
Changing Class Abilities .............................. 49
Organizations............................................... 49
Chapter 4: New Options...................................... 51
Cinematic Combat ........................................... 52
Improvising Weapons .................................. 55
Drinking and Fighting....................................... 57
The Effects of Drinking................................. 57
Drunken Boxing ........................................... 57
New Options for Skills ..................................... 58
New Uses for Existing Skills ........................ 58
Speeding Up Jump Checks ......................... 58
High Speed...................................................... 59
Speed Special Effects.................................. 59
New Magic Items ............................................. 60
Appendix: NPC Martial Artists ........................ 63
Options Index................................................... 64

James Garr
Chainmail Bikini Games, Ltd.
http://www.chainmailbikini.com

 

[Chainmail Bikini]

Ah, good, so it will have the martial arts styles? I thought those were cool, from the OA and the Dragon article.

I wonder if someone will do the styles listed in GURPS Martial Arts?

The rules for Style Mastery feats in Beyond Monks aren't exactly like those in OA or the Dragon article, (I couldn't use those rules since they aren't in the SRD) but they are very similar, and were certainly inspired by OA.

I tried to stay away from doing real-world styles in Beyond Monks. (I don't have my GURPs martial arts book anymore, unfortunately, so I can't remember what they were- just assuming they were based on real world styles) But we might do something like that in the future.

James Garr
Chainmail Bikini Games, Ltd.
http://www.chainmailbikini.com

 

[Psion]

PDF Pricing

For a 64 page PDF densely packed with playtested rules content, we feel Beyond Monks is priced appropriately at $8.00. But we're new at this, and could be wrong. Long term sales will tell us for sure.

You'll never see a 64 page printed product for $8.00 though, because it wouldn't be profitable. Even WOTC's 32 page printed products are $9.95, and those are adventures, which require much less playtesting than a rules sourcebook.

A few points:
(1)WotC has recently been putting out 48 page books for $9.95. Further, I do not agree that it necessarily takes less playtesting; I just reviewed a module that I definitely think deserved more playtesting. At any rate, playtesting is often on a volunteer basis, so I am not so sure how big an impact that should have on you botton line. (Playtesting when done correctly usually involves rewriting, so I can sort of see your point, but again, advetures should be doing that too.)

(2)Further, comparing the price of PDF products directly to print products is a false dichotomy. Some people don't have access to laptops convenient for gaming, and even if they do, you can't exactly pass it around the table. Most worthwhile gaming products get printed out, and most people who do so are conscious of the fact that printing things out costs money.

I picked up Bastion of Broken Souls at a discount (NOT hard to get) the day before I picked up Beyond Monks. The fact that they were within a dollar of each other yet I knew I would be paying to print out Beyond Monks led me too feel it was a bit pricey.

(3)Despite the above, the dollar value of PDFs vs. Print Products may be debatable. However, the fact is that compared to your peers, Beyond Monks is pricey. Beyond Monks is a very nice book, being mechanically solid and well written. But I think it is safe to say that Book of Eldritch Might II and Wild Spellcraft are also well written. Both of those books are 64 page books, and both of those books have more artwork than BM and where at least as well laid-out. Yet both of those books are a full dollar cheaper.

Not that I am trying to slam you or anything. I think that point (1) and (2) pertain to the PDF market in general, and I think that the price trend of PDF products in general may make them less of a bargain for d20 consumers than they once were.

Point (3) is probably the most telling point for you. That is the marketplace you live in and is probably something you should consider.

At any rate, to the more pertinent point: I do have Beyond Monks (obviously). I didn't like the approach at first, but it is growing on me. I have trouble seeing shoehorning the Martial Artist core class into a game where the Monk already exists, but it seems like it could be a good baseline for a fresh martial arts oriented game. I also appreciate how the prestige classes are written to use either monks or martial artists. I would have like to have seen a sample character for the crooked monk, though. I am thinking about writing a review of it... when I get time.

 

[Gargoyle]

Thanks for the feedback Psion!

I'll respond below.


1) Writing core classes, prestige classes and feats does take more playtesting (and therefore more development time) than an adventure, if you want to do it right. Adventures certainly need to be playtested, but the DM has more work to do with a poorly playtested sourcebook.

2) I agree somewhat, the only reason I did so was to explain why you'll never see Beyond Monks for $8.00 in print. Wizards of the Coast will sometimes order larger print runs to reduce the price of a product they know will sell; that's why the PHB was so cheap initially. But I was talking about my company. You can compare the costs of PDFs to printed products, but you have to realize that it's a very complex comparison, as you've pointed out.

3) You're right of course, BOEM II and Wild Spellcraft are certainly great products with better interior art and cheaper. And this point is definitely the most valid. I made a business decision to price Beyond Monks at what we thought it was worth, rather than what our competitors are priced at.
Whether it was a bad decision or not, I'm not sure yet. Beyond Monks is at #17 on the rpgnow.com bestseller list. If sales drop off, then probably I've made a mistake. If they continue to be strong, then I have to believe that I've made the right decision and that BOEM II and Wild Spellcraft may be underpriced.

Again, thanks for buying the book and for your comments!

 

[Psion]

As long as I have you attention, a few questions:

1) The sample martial artist has a martial secret, but the martial artist class doesn't apparently get one until 3rd level. Which one is in error.

2) The "stock" NPC martial artist in the back has a speed progression, but as far as I can tell, the martial artist class doesn't have a speed progression. Am I missing something?

 

[Axiomatic Unicorn]

Psion,

Good Eyes.

Looking at my copy of a late draft version, both of the items you caught are abilities that were included in the Martial Artist during earlier play-testing. Final modifications resulted in both the L1 Martial Secret and the built-in speed increase being removed for other options.

 

[Chainmail Bikini]

Psion: Yep, those are mistakes. There should be no martial secret at 1st level, and there shouldn't be a speed column at all for the NPC table. We've already addressed the starting package error in the errata, but you're the first to notice the speed column. I'll update the errata/faq file tonight for the speed column issue.

You can access the errata/faq directly at http://www.chainmailbikini.com/files/bm-errata-faq.pdf , or find it by going to the Products section of our website. I'll see if I can get the file on rpgnow.com this week.

Thanks,

James Garr
Chainmail Bikini Games, Ltd.
http://www.chainmailbikini.com