Making a slayer into a monk

[RangerWickett]

How feasible do you think this would be (particularly if one were to pitch it as an article to Dragon)?

New slayer mode. You lose proficiency in military weapons, but your unarmed strikes are +3 proficiency and d8 damage. You can use ki foci. You add your focus's enhancement bonus to grab attempts too.

You can keep armor proficiency, but if you're wearing cloth or no armor, you get a +2 bonus to AC. (Some brawlers would want to wear scale, and what's the harm in that?)

Add Acrobatics as a class skill.

Instead of the 'add your Dex bonus to attacks' most slayers get, you get flurry of blows.

Add some new stance options. Most of these would be mobility based, to recreate the 'full discipline' movement options.

Keep power strike as is.

At 7th level, instead of axe, heavy blade, or staff, you can choose an unarmed strike option. If you power strike unarmed, . . . what? Should you grab the enemy? Doesn't really fit a 'mobile warrior' idea.


I'm just pondering. Would you be interested in a build like this?

 

[Peraion Graufalke]

(Some brawlers would want to wear scale, and what's the harm in that?)

Mobility issues with scale armor aside, I don't think it's really necessary for a class that relies heavily on Dex. Unless you'd like to have a monk variant that uses Str and Wis, that is.

At 7th level, instead of axe, heavy blade, or staff, you can choose an unarmed strike option. If you power strike unarmed, . . . what? Should you grab the enemy? Doesn't really fit a 'mobile warrior' idea.

How about dazing the enemy? It certainly fits the genre.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

I would make a monk based on slayer and thief and monk...

Unarmed strike is 2 attacks punch +3 1d6 off hand and kick +2 1d10 high crit

Then power strike from slayer and mobility at wills from thief

Give a water down sneak attack 1d6 per tier

Let them use dex or wis for basic attacks (both range nd melee)

Give monk weapon and ki focus prof

Cloth armor only

 

[OnlineDM]

Well, what are you trying to change or fix about the existing Monk class? How would this Slayer-Monk be different from a regular Monk, aside from the armor proficiency? Are you looking to build a non-AEDU "Essentialized" Monk? If so, what compensates this version of the Monk for the absence of daily powers?

Honestly, it doesn't sound especially interesting to me, but perhaps there are players out there who want a simpler-to-run class like the Slayer but prefer the unarmed strike flavor of the Monk. If that's the case, I'd probably just house-rule the Monk Unarmed Strike as being available for a feat (or maybe just for free) and use inherent bonuses.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

First I think slayer is the best designed e class, second I have wanted a martial monk since the beginning


I think I will put some real thought into this...

 

[Dice4Hire]

First I think slayer is the best designed e class, second I have wanted a martial monk since the beginning


I think I will put some real thought into this...

I've always thought the way to make a martial monk was to erase the psionic from all the powers and cut and paste in martial.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

I've always thought the way to make a martial monk was to erase the psionic from all the powers and cut and paste in martial.

I have done that sort retouching and sometimes it works sometimes not... A real rework takes only a little more front loaded of work especially with e design so I don't see why not

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

How feasible do you think this would be (particularly if one were to pitch it as an article to Dragon)?

New slayer mode. You lose proficiency in military weapons, but your unarmed strikes are +3 proficiency and d8 damage. You can use ki foci. You add your focus's enhancement bonus to grab attempts too.

You can keep armor proficiency, but if you're wearing cloth or no armor, you get a +2 bonus to AC. (Some brawlers would want to wear scale, and what's the harm in that?)

Add Acrobatics as a class skill.

Instead of the 'add your Dex bonus to attacks' most slayers get, you get flurry of blows.

Add some new stance options. Most of these would be mobility based, to recreate the 'full discipline' movement options.

Keep power strike as is.

At 7th level, instead of axe, heavy blade, or staff, you can choose an unarmed strike option. If you power strike unarmed, . . . what? Should you grab the enemy? Doesn't really fit a 'mobile warrior' idea.


I'm just pondering. Would you be interested in a build like this?

Without getting too much into the mechanics, the dexterous armored monk is a concept that pops up from time to time. In general, I like the concept. 3.X had them in the Shou Disciple PrCl, for instance. Or the Casseline Brotherhood from Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel series.

In most cases, though, the monks master weapons- daggers, 2-hand swords, polearms- of some kind. In 4Ed terms, they're close to being Avengers...but they come across as purely Martial characters. They are ascetic warriors (Strikers? Defenders? Controllers?) who don't have mystic powers beyond their ability to fight.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Double post

 

[Dice4Hire]

I have done that sort retouching and sometimes it works sometimes not... A real rework takes only a little more front loaded of work especially with e design so I don't see why not

Well, if I were making an Emonk, I would probably make all the level 1 at-wills movement powers that work off MBAs. Perhaps have them also add a flurry-type effect on a hit with an MBA.

For the encounter, I would have them be more damage, like a super-flurry of some sort, and skip the dailies totally.