CHEAP BROKEN monk weaponry

[Zimri]

Except for epic weapons aren't you limited to +10 total (+5 is max for hit/damage and then 5 in abilities) enhancements ?

And yes you can do slashing damage with an unarmed strike pre epic. Level 2 of mysteries of the dragon initiate (or something similar) from the draconomicon allows unarmed strike to be slashing.

 

[Impeesa]

Actually, that wouldn't work. Just because the Bracers have +10's worth of abilities on them doesn't mean that it applies to your fists. According to the DMG, NO Weapon can have an effective enhancement bonus higher than +10. This therefore comes down to an issue of whether the effective enhancements stack- just as if you wore a cloak of Charisma +6 and a Ring of Charisma +4. So sure, the Bracers of Striking can have an effective +10 on them- but most of it would go to waste, as only +5 of it would be able to be applied to your fists.

You're not gonna find anything in the rules to defend against that, so don't even try.

Except for Epic weapons. And, say, a +5 bow firing +1 arrows with another +9 worth of special abilities. The bonuses overlap (as of 3.5e), but you effectively get +14 worth of benefits. This is a very definite precedent.

--Impeesa--

 

[UltimaGabe]

what i meant, was that the amulet would give you the +5 enhancement bonus to hit/dam as opposed to putting it on the bracers of striking. then, you could dump MORE abilities into the bracers than just +5 worth. and yes, they would ALL apply to your fists; thats the whole point of bracers of striking-so that monks can enchant their fists with magical abilities..

No, I got exactly what you mean, and I stand by my claim that it wouldn't work. Bracers of Striking are there so that you can give your Fists magical abilities- they are NOT there so that you can break the non-Epic rules of the game. If something allows you to permanently get an Epic ability for a Non-Epic price, it's priced wrong. I don't care what your reasoning is- by the rules in the DMG, NO WEAPON- allow me to repeat- NO WEAPON may have more than an effective +10 enhancement bonus. By your item combination, the Monk's fists would thus have more than an effective +10 enhancement bonus, and therefore break the rule in the DMG. And thus, it wouldn't work.

 

[UltimaGabe]

Except for Epic weapons. And, say, a +5 bow firing +1 arrows with another +9 worth of special abilities. The bonuses overlap (as of 3.5e), but you effectively get +14 worth of benefits. This is a very definite precedent.

--Impeesa--

That's quite true. However, after 50 shots, all of the extra enhancements are gone, as are the 200,000 gp arrows you just spent. That's the limiting factor. With Bracers of Striking and an Amulet of Mighty Fists, a Monk can continue to pound out that +15 enhancement for as long as he wants- and THAT is why it's broken.

 

[Elder-Basilisk]

It's more efficient to have the +10 worth of bonusses on a +1 bow and then fire +5 arrows (Greater Magic Weapon) with Flame Arrow cast on them.

A similar (if slightly less efficient) trick is possible for melee weapons:
Get a +1 weapon with +9 worth of abilities. Then cast Greater Magic Weapon on it. When you can get +5 weapons out of Greater Magic Weapon, the melee weapon will function like a +14 equivalent weapon.

Except for Epic weapons. And, say, a +5 bow firing +1 arrows with another +9 worth of special abilities. The bonuses overlap (as of 3.5e), but you effectively get +14 worth of benefits. This is a very definite precedent.

--Impeesa--

 

[UltimaGabe]

A similar (if slightly less efficient) trick is possible for melee weapons:
Get a +1 weapon with +9 worth of abilities. Then cast Greater Magic Weapon on it. When you can get +5 weapons out of Greater Magic Weapon, the melee weapon will function like a +14 equivalent weapon.

James McMurray already suggested that. However, the reason that I have no problem with that method (considering it's perfectly doable by the rules) is that it's not permanent. Once it becomes a permanent enhancement higher than +10, it's Epic.