RangerWickett
Legend
Okay, let me first start by saying I'd like suggestions, but I prefer liberal interpretation of the rules.
So, I had a PC monk/psion in my game, who was fond of using Claws of the Bear to get bearclaws that do 1d12, and I let him apply his monk damage increase to improve the die two steps. Just a normal fist goes from d3 to d6 for a monk, the bearclaw went from d12 to 3d8. I want to know if that is balanced. Whether it is truthful by the rules is less interesting to me.
Now, the disclaimer at the beginning was there because I know some people will tell me that monk unarmed damage only applies to 'unarmed attacks,' and that these are clearly 'claw attacks.' To such an argument, I would like to say that this character, at 5th level, had a modified attack bonus of +5, and with Strength dealt an average of 16 damage (3d8+3) per hit. A 5th level fighter with the same Strength could use a masterwork greatsword, power attack for 5, have the same attack bonus, and do an average of 23 damage (2d6+16) per hit.
What I'm worried about is high level, with the Monk 12/Psion 4, doing 4d8 damage per hit. With modest Strength enhancers (Str 22), his attack bonus would be +17/+17/+17/+12/+7, but he'd be doing 4d8+6 (avg 24 damage). Compared with a dual-wielding fighter who could get the same number of attacks with Greater TWF, a 16th level twin-longsword fighter* could Power Attack for 4, have +17/+17/+12/+12/+7/+7, doing (d8+10 or d8+7, depending on hand).
Advantage psion/monk.
*with Greater Weapon Focus and Specialization, and let's not even consider magic weapons, so we'll just give him masterwork.
So, I had a PC monk/psion in my game, who was fond of using Claws of the Bear to get bearclaws that do 1d12, and I let him apply his monk damage increase to improve the die two steps. Just a normal fist goes from d3 to d6 for a monk, the bearclaw went from d12 to 3d8. I want to know if that is balanced. Whether it is truthful by the rules is less interesting to me.
Now, the disclaimer at the beginning was there because I know some people will tell me that monk unarmed damage only applies to 'unarmed attacks,' and that these are clearly 'claw attacks.' To such an argument, I would like to say that this character, at 5th level, had a modified attack bonus of +5, and with Strength dealt an average of 16 damage (3d8+3) per hit. A 5th level fighter with the same Strength could use a masterwork greatsword, power attack for 5, have the same attack bonus, and do an average of 23 damage (2d6+16) per hit.
What I'm worried about is high level, with the Monk 12/Psion 4, doing 4d8 damage per hit. With modest Strength enhancers (Str 22), his attack bonus would be +17/+17/+17/+12/+7, but he'd be doing 4d8+6 (avg 24 damage). Compared with a dual-wielding fighter who could get the same number of attacks with Greater TWF, a 16th level twin-longsword fighter* could Power Attack for 4, have +17/+17/+12/+12/+7/+7, doing (d8+10 or d8+7, depending on hand).
Advantage psion/monk.
*with Greater Weapon Focus and Specialization, and let's not even consider magic weapons, so we'll just give him masterwork.
