Monk Preview

[yesnomu]

It'd be hard to distinguish an Earth Defender from the Warden, and a Fire Striker from the Sorcerer, though. A Water-themed class would be pretty awesome.

On-topic: Monk looks cool! I'll add to the people wondering about its damage output (FoB ought to improve over tiers like the Sorc, I think), but I'm really interested to see them in play now. Throw it onto the pile!

 

[RefinedBean]

Those too! Some of those playtest powers are all: "You get to make a save!"

Heh, I had to reread the article; you're quite right, a good amount of powers granting saving throws.

Warden|Monk hybrid = Unstoppable! (maybe)

 

[webrunner]

Dynamic Monk Unarmed Strikes: Your hands transform into weapons!

Adamantine Monk Unarmed Strikes: The Immortal Adamantine Fist!

Cloaked Monk Unarmed Strikes: People think you have no hands.

Paired weapon: You get an extra hand to wield in your off hand

 

[mach1.9pants]

Have we made it 8 pages without anyone mentioning the return of Dragon's Tail Cut?

LOL that is great they got that in there, shows they have a sense of humour. However it is a great name for a monk power, NOT a fighter power, so it ended up for the best.

Does it bother anyone else that Religion isn't on the monk's class skill list?

Nope I am glad (for most monks) religion is gone, my monks are focused on their bodies not on histroy/religion/arcana etc...that is for not-cloistered people who pray and learn, i.e. NOCs

I'm also not a fan of the fact that the weapon enhancements on a monk's fists will almost always be lower than the rest of the party because you can't find magic fists as treasure, and have to spend the actual money to enchant them.

That is so a non problem, transfer magic enchantment ritual sorts that out. I always give the PCs something that is thematically good (for the baddie) as treasure, they then transfer the enchantment to their equipment. Cost a tiny bit more but not much.
And I like the idea of the monk unlocking a enhancement bonus as one of the treasure parcels...great!

Does it bug anyone else a little bit that Psionics were always powers of the mind and now they call it Psionic Magic (with magic being wielded through powers of the mind) yet the PRIMARY is a physical skill with DEX and one of the two builds SECONDARY is also a physical trait with STR? I have a hard time imagining a psionic character with mental dump stats.

Umm isn't the monk WIS primary? Only the secondary stats are physical, which makes sense. Your mind is what gives you power over your body but you still improve your body through exercises etc.

 

[Cadfan]

That is so a non problem, transfer magic enchantment ritual sorts that out.

Doesn't apply to monks. The Unarmed Combatant entry doesn't say that a monk's unarmed attack counts as a weapon for the purpose of rituals, it says that it counts as a weapon for the purpose of the specific ritual Enchant Magic Item. This is going in the list for my eventual feedback response.

 

[Grydan]

Umm isn't the monk WIS primary? Only the secondary stats are physical, which makes sense. Your mind is what gives you power over your body but you still improve your body through exercises etc.

No, DEX is primary for all monks, according to the article.

 

[mach1.9pants]

whoops back to reading for me, I read it late last night, obviously hasn't stuck in my head properly til lunch time today, as to the rituals that is just common sense that both will apply.

 

[Ethalias]

Umm isn't the monk WIS primary? Only the secondary stats are physical, which makes sense. Your mind is what gives you power over your body but you still improve your body through exercises etc.

Nope, Dex primary, Wis is secondary along with strength for another build (as yet unpublished).

I like it a lot. I like that the powers don't seem tied to one build through bonuses but just use stat mods for secondary benefits, meaning one can choose to be balanced down the line in terms of power selection and even statpoint distribution.

Surprised at how infrequently Githzerai have been mentioned.. I for one also thought the chances of them being a PH3 race have shot up. I know nothing of Dark Sun; are Githzerai any more prominant in that setting? Githyanki are if I've picked that up right..

I have no problem with Monks being Psionic, especially as they've avoiding going to far in that direction for the sake of it. It seems like a convenient and most applicable catagory (given Ki's disappearance, which personally I welcome).

The only issue that struck me is that of the enchanting of a monks fists.. I remembered the transfer enchantment ritual, and there are lots of good story ways to work around it (as demonstrated by the ever-creative ENWorld crowd) but despite that it still doesn't sit easily with me. Instinctively I prefer the idea of some form of object, though I have no suggestions as to what.. But it strikes me as a little fiddly having to go through rituals to make the treasure applicable to a character every time.

Still, that withstanding, I'm very happy.

(Phew! Sorry to ramble, someone should put me back in my box!)

 

[Hawke]

Weights of the Flaming Fist +1
These heavy weights appear to be made out of an unknown stone and have runes inscribed on them describing a training routine. As the monk makes the motions described the runes slowly wear and the understanding of the Form of the Flaming Fist solidifies in the Monk's mind.

After an hour of training, the Monk's fists are now treated as Flaming +1 and any other magical enhancement is lost. The weights no longer bear the runes and cannot be used again.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

I'm betting the the other Monastic Tradition will be called Iron Fist. Vaguely inspired by the "Hard" traditions of martial arts as opposed to the "Soft" traditions that the Centered Breath is.

Also it's obvious that the Centered Breath tradition is the build with the minor in Controller. I think that since the "Iron Fist" is the strength build, it's going to be more of a pure striker. I wouldn't be surprised if they do higher damage output against single targets, since they aren't minoring in Controller.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

I find it amusing that we were all speculating that the Monk would be psionic back in the start of 4e until the PHB came out and disproved it. But now they've reversed that decision.

 

[FireLance]

Instinctively I prefer the idea of some form of object, though I have no suggestions as to what.. But it strikes me as a little fiddly having to go through rituals to make the treasure applicable to a character every time.

Well, martial arts exponents in the source literature are always chasing after manuals that describe secret techniques and skills, so perhaps it could be a book or scroll of some kind? In a way, this also ties in neatly with the 4e idea of ritual scrolls which anyone can use to cast a ritual. However, instead of a generic enchant item ritual, it applies a specific weapon enchantment to a monk's unarmed strike. Ideally, of course, a monk would never lose any of these enhancements, and can switch between them either as a minor action (the same as any other weapon user) or during a minor rest (spent practicing the katas of the new technique/enhancement he wants to adopt).

 

[darjr]

Weights of the Flaming Fist +1

Arrggg! Gotta come back and give you XP... but...

yoink!

That is really cool.

 

[Mentat55]

Can anyone identify the race of the monk in the front, on the first page of the playtest article? The one to the right and back is clearly a female githzerai. Is the lead one supposed to be an earthsoul genasi, or a funny looking deva?

 

[Lojaan]

I'd say earthsoul genasi most definitely.

I'm so loving this class.

 

[Vyvyan Basterd]

This development by WotC brings back the 1st Edition nostalgia for me!

My friend's favorite PC back then was a Psionic Monk from the pages of Dragon Magazine. It seemed like a good fit then and continues to now.

As for having a psionic character without a primary mental stat I think to another one of my favorite RPGs. Shadowrun had Physical Adepts which were very similar in concept. They used magic to become better warriors.

The only things that I agree need to be clarified are the Transfer Enchantment Ritual (although that will be available in my games no matter WotC's response) and more importantly whether implement enhancement bonuses add to the Flurry of Blows damage.

 

[Flobby]

The manuscripts!

They should have secret manuscripts for monk magic items! (I don't think there is a Kung Fu movie that doesn't have them). If the monk has a manuscript with a secret technique (magic item power) it gives a magic bonus to their unarmed attack.

Note: I haven't seen the actually playtest as I don't have a subscription...

 

[rowport]

Ahhh, I knew it didn't sound right to add the enhancement bonus to flurry of blows.

I disagree; Flurry of Blows has both the "Implement, Psionic" keywords. That means it adds implement bonuses. Very straightforward.

 

[Cadfan]

I disagree; Flurry of Blows has both the "Implement, Psionic" keywords. That means it adds implement bonuses. Very straightforward.

No, that only applies to damage rolls. This isn't a roll, so it doesn't apply. PHB pg 55, 225, 275, 276, etc. Enhancement bonuses apply to damage rolls, not to all assignments of damage.

The PHB says this by just saying "damage rolls" every time it talks about adding enhancement to damage, but I believe that WotC has further clarified for those who don't find this sufficiently convincing.

 

[rowport]

No, that only applies to damage rolls. This isn't a roll, so it doesn't apply. PHB pg 55, 225, 275, 276, etc. Enhancement bonuses apply to damage rolls, not to all assignments of damage.

The PHB says this by just saying "damage rolls" every time it talks about adding enhancement to damage, but I believe that WotC has further clarified for those who don't find this sufficiently convincing.

D'OH! I am convinced. And, now being convinced, I also agree with the several folks here who are skeptical about why the Monk striker damage adder does not scale with level. (I thought it was just expecting the increase of enchantment bonuses.)