Bit rusty w/ Flurry of Blows

[Rickenbacker]

I was always a little unclear on the FoB rules for Monks.

We have a 3rd level monk here. (13 Str, 14 Wis, 16 Dex)

If I got this right, when this monk chooses to do FoB, he gets 2 attacks & rolls a d20 straight? No pluses or minuses? (cause I see "+0/+0")

Help!

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

Is this 3.0 or 3.5? Because that makes a difference.

I have to make some assumptions here for an example. Assuming no Weapon Finesse (so Strength bonus to hit is +1) and no weapons, Amulet of Mighty Fists, or Weapon Focus feats, this character's attack bonus is:

+2 (BAB), -2 (Flurry of Blows modifier), +1 (Strength) = +1 bonus to hit. Weapon Finesse would let you use +3 Dex instead of Strength, so +3 bonus to hit. Yes, that's quite weak.

Why the -2? WotC put in that Flurry of Blows attack bonus in an effort to make things simpler, so you could just look at the chart and use that instead of BAB. At that level, the monk takes a -2 penalty to attacks rolls when using Flurry of Blows compared to regular attacks. (It would just be easier to state that modifier at that level, though, but at higher levels the modifier goes away, and you get extra attacks, which just increases the confusion.)

 

[Rickenbacker]

Ooops. 3.5

No Weapon Finesse. (but he does have a masterwork Quarterstaff handy)

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

I... recommend Weapon Finesse. As fast as possible!

 

[Rickenbacker]

Yes! Will do! Thx!
Just for the sake of checking, is my math right for this "To Hit" with that masterwork quarterstaff? +6 To Hit (if using it to hit once) & d20+2/ d20+0 To Hit if using it for 2 attacks? ( I looked on p. 160 of PHB on that Two-Handed Weapon table)

Now, with regards to FoB, just to be sure I fully grasp- if said monk (with Weapon Finesse) chooses to use FoB & combine a blow with the staff & an unarmed strike, he'll do so with a +3 to hit for each?

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

You can't finesse a quarterstaff.

Yes! Will do! Thx!
Just for the sake of checking, is my math right for this "To Hit" with that masterwork quarterstaff? +6 To Hit (if using it to hit once) & d20+2/ d20+0 To Hit if using it for 2 attacks? ( I looked on p. 160 of PHB on that Two-Handed Weapon table)

No flurry: +1 hit (masterwork), +1 hit (Strength), +2 hit (BAB) - I'm only getting a +4 bonus to hit.
Flurr: +1 hit (masterwork), +1 hit (Strength), +2 hit (BAB), -2 hit (flurry penalty) - +2 bonus to hit.

Now, with regards to FoB, just to be sure I fully grasp- if said monk (with Weapon Finesse) chooses to use FoB & combine a blow with the staff & an unarmed strike, he'll do so with a +3 to hit for each?

They won't have the same attack bonuses. You can't finesse a quarterstaff, and the q-staff can be made masterwork whereas a fist or other unarmed strike cannot.

I believe you'd be looking at +3 to hit (fist with finesse) and +2 to hit (quarterstaff without finesse). It gets even more confusing in Pathfinder

 

[Rickenbacker]

Holy crap.
So he's not *allowed* to use W. Finesse with the Q-staff?? I figured that was legit & counted the Finesse (Dex bonus here), with BAB + Masterwork, giving me +6 to hit. Damn.

Ok, now with the part where you wrote - Flurr: +1 hit (masterwork), +1 hit (Strength), +2 hit (BAB), -2 hit (flurry penalty) - +2 bonus to hit.

*I* thought since he's 3rd level, that those "+0/+0"s meant that zero is my "Flurry BAB". (& *not* the normal +2)

*head spinning*

 

[Rickenbacker]

OH wait...A Q-staff isn't a *light* weapon. Oops. *That's* why no Finesse for him.

Ok, so he could only use the staff to hit either once (+4 to hit) or use as a double weapon. (at -1/ -5 to hit?)

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

Holy crap.
So he's not *allowed* to use W. Finesse with the Q-staff?? I figured that was legit & counted the Finesse (Dex bonus here), with BAB + Masterwork, giving me +6 to hit. Damn.

Ok, now with the part where you wrote - Flurr: +1 hit (masterwork), +1 hit (Strength), +2 hit (BAB), -2 hit (flurry penalty) - +2 bonus to hit.

*I* thought since he's 3rd level, that those "+0/+0"s meant that zero is my "Flurry BAB". (& *not* the normal +2)

Yes, it amounts to the same thing (at that level). You could think of your Flurry BAB as +0 (then add +1 to hit for Strength and +1 to hit for masterwork) giving you +2 to hit. Or you could use your actual BAB plus modifier (-2, the gap between flurry BAB and actual BAB).

Both are confusing in their own way.

 

[Rickenbacker]

Ok. Whew. I'm actually originally a 1st e. player who moved on to 3.5 cause I liked the updated mechanics, but *damn*...some of it is ridiculously tricky to get. (even in "simpler" Pathfinder)

Combat; That's one thing I keep hoping they streamline & simplify with every new edition. (though I totally skipped over 4e.)
Thanks a million for your patience, bruh!