Hong's Martial Artist Class
- Thread starter novyet
- Start date
Well, _I've_ played it.... 
One thing to remember is that, like the monk, you aren't really a tank. In general, an equal-level fighter will probably dish out more damage than you in a stand-up fight, and they can probably last longer too. This is for the following reasons:
- lack of armour means low AC, at least at low levels
- like the monk, you're more dependent than most other classes on good stats: Dex and Wis for AC, Str and Con for toughness.
You have the advantage of mobility, especially with feats that boost your speed, and general flexibility. Because you're not as dependent on heavy armour, you're not as troubled by attacks that bypass it (touch attacks, area-effect spells, etc). With the right feats, you can also up your buttkicking potential to levels comparable with the tanks -- if that's what you want to do. With other feats, you can be almost as untouchable as the monk.
Note that the class has the potential to be the basis for lots of different character types, not just kung-fu monks or ninja. For example, you could make a classic rapier-wielding swashbuckler with it. Or swap out the Wis bonus to AC for light armour proficiency, and you have a functional "light fighter", who's not as brawny as the classic tank but can kick butt just as well. Or change around the skill list to put more emphasis on outdoor skills, and take the Track feat, and you have a workable alt.ranger. Etcetera.
I've also contacted RangerWickett about submitting the whole shebang (base class, feats, PrCs and styles) to the next issue of Asgard. If anyone has any suggestions on what they'd like to see in the article, feel free to tell me.
One thing to remember is that, like the monk, you aren't really a tank. In general, an equal-level fighter will probably dish out more damage than you in a stand-up fight, and they can probably last longer too. This is for the following reasons:
- lack of armour means low AC, at least at low levels
- like the monk, you're more dependent than most other classes on good stats: Dex and Wis for AC, Str and Con for toughness.
You have the advantage of mobility, especially with feats that boost your speed, and general flexibility. Because you're not as dependent on heavy armour, you're not as troubled by attacks that bypass it (touch attacks, area-effect spells, etc). With the right feats, you can also up your buttkicking potential to levels comparable with the tanks -- if that's what you want to do. With other feats, you can be almost as untouchable as the monk.
Note that the class has the potential to be the basis for lots of different character types, not just kung-fu monks or ninja. For example, you could make a classic rapier-wielding swashbuckler with it. Or swap out the Wis bonus to AC for light armour proficiency, and you have a functional "light fighter", who's not as brawny as the classic tank but can kick butt just as well. Or change around the skill list to put more emphasis on outdoor skills, and take the Track feat, and you have a workable alt.ranger. Etcetera.
I've also contacted RangerWickett about submitting the whole shebang (base class, feats, PrCs and styles) to the next issue of Asgard. If anyone has any suggestions on what they'd like to see in the article, feel free to tell me.
novyet
First Post
Well maybe you could include some sample npc's, showing off the flexibility of the system. I was definitely impressed by the ability to go different ways with the class. It'd be quite nice to see it up in Asgard, so other people get a chance to take a look at it as well. I think I'm going to go ahead and let one of my player's try it out and see how it goes.
Thanks for the answers!
Thanks for the answers!
Desdichado
Hero
Hong, is your monk on your D&D page, I assume?
Anyway, I also have an alt. monk at this location.
The alt.mage I have is very much a work in progress, so feel free to ignore or comment. After that is my alt.monk (a combination of sorts of the PHB monk and the WoT algai'd'siswai: very much non-supernatural) and my alt.ranger, which is almost directly stolen from the WoT Woodsman (eliminated the non-D&D rules like Reputation and Defense and changed the wonky saves.)
Anyway, I also have an alt. monk at this location.
The alt.mage I have is very much a work in progress, so feel free to ignore or comment.
After that is my alt.monk (a combination of sorts of the PHB monk and the WoT algai'd'siswai: very much non-supernatural) and my alt.ranger, which is almost directly stolen from the WoT Woodsman (eliminated the non-D&D rules like Reputation and Defense and changed the wonky saves.)Joshua Dyal said:
Yep. It's one of the six million wuxia-based classes that appeared after Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. It actually predates the Beyond Monks pdf from Chainmail Bikini, but they published first, so I guess they get dibs on the "martial artist" moniker. It's a common refrain in academic circles.
Oy! This is MY pimping thread, if you please. Go start your own thread if you want to pimp your class.
Desdichado
Hero
Haven't seen Beyond Monks from Chainmail Bikini. What's that?
Joshua Dyal said:
It's a pdf featuring a martial artist class, plus several feats, prestige classes and new rules and magic items. It got quite a few good reviews.
http://www.chainmailbikini.com/products.html
Hmm. I need to work on this "pimping" thing, don't I?
Desdichado
Hero
Yeah, you're pimping every martial artist variant out there except your own.
Thanks for the link. I'll have a look at yours as well. Not that I'm unhappy with my own, but it might be a bit focused. If yours is really flexible, that's a good thing.
Then again, I'm not really looking for a wuxia Crouching Tiger type character concept, so I'll have to see.
Thanks for the link. I'll have a look at yours as well. Not that I'm unhappy with my own, but it might be a bit focused. If yours is really flexible, that's a good thing.
Then again, I'm not really looking for a wuxia Crouching Tiger type character concept, so I'll have to see.
WANTED: thesaurus
Digging this thread up, because as said, I really need to practice this pimping thing.
But also because, since Chainmail Bikini has dibs on the "martial artist" name, I'd like to come up with an alternative name for this class, for the Asgard article. And I can't think of anything that isn't dumb, poncy or both.
I need a thesaurus! I need syllables! I need someone with the vocabulary of Col_Pladoh, that's what I need. Anyone out there with any suggestions?
Digging this thread up, because as said, I really need to practice this pimping thing.
But also because, since Chainmail Bikini has dibs on the "martial artist" name, I'd like to come up with an alternative name for this class, for the Asgard article. And I can't think of anything that isn't dumb, poncy or both.
I need a thesaurus! I need syllables! I need someone with the vocabulary of Col_Pladoh, that's what I need. Anyone out there with any suggestions?
