Ok, what exactly can I do in a flurry?

[myradale]

Alright, I've got a lot of different opinions on this one, so I thought I'd throw it open once more and just tally opinions.

If you are a monk with the flurry of blows ability, what all can you do while flurrying. It gives you an extra attack when you take a penalty to your attack roll..but what can you do with the attack?
Can you make a disarm, trip, etc attack?
Can you used ranged weapons? Ie Shurikan, sling?
Anything else tricky?
I'm playing a single class monk which is quickly being outclassed in our campaign by the paladins, wizards and rogues. Help me get my edge back.

 

[Loki_wolf]

Alright, I've got a lot of different opinions on this one, so I thought I'd throw it open once more and just tally opinions.

If you are a monk with the flurry of blows ability, what all can you do while flurrying. It gives you an extra attack when you take a penalty to your attack roll..but what can you do with the attack?
Can you make a disarm, trip, etc attack?
Can you used ranged weapons? Ie Shurikan, sling?
Anything else tricky?
I'm playing a single class monk which is quickly being outclassed in our campaign by the paladins, wizards and rogues. Help me get my edge back.

With flurry of blows, a full attack option, you get an extra attack(depending on level) for a small penalty. with this you can attack unarmed, or with a "monk weapon" if so armed. With enough attacks with the flurry, you can use unarmed and monk weapons (i.e. both ends of the quarterstaff and a kick). you cannot make a disarm or trip attack since both of those are also full attack options. I don't think you can use flurry with ranged attacks (can anyone answer that?).

One thing to keep in mind, is that in the low levels, the monk is out-classed by other classes, but in the higher levels, an unarmed monk w/ a high wisdom is a force to be reckoned with. don't give up on the monk. it is a great class to play if you know how to role-play it properly.

 

[silentspace]

you cannot make a disarm or trip attack since both of those are also full attack options.

They are?

 

[DanMcS]

If you are a monk with the flurry of blows ability, what all can you do while flurrying. It gives you an extra attack when you take a penalty to your attack roll..but what can you do with the attack?
Can you make a disarm, trip, etc attack?
Can you used ranged weapons? Ie Shurikan, sling?
Anything else tricky?
I'm playing a single class monk which is quickly being outclassed in our campaign by the paladins, wizards and rogues. Help me get my edge back.

Yes, you can make special attacks, like disarming or tripping. They take the place of regular attacks.

You cannot use a sling, it's not a special monk weapon, and so cannot be used as part of a flurry. You can throw a shuriken or a sai. Shuriken count as ammunition, so you can throw as many as you can make attacks. Sais do not, so you need the quick-draw feat to throw more than one in a round.

A useful monk trick is to pick up improved grapple. Touch attack, opposed check to enter, and then opposed checks to do unarmed damage. Very useful when you can get ahold of an enemy spellcaster- they can't cast any spells with somatic components, and you can beat them into unconsciousness because your BAB + strength bonus +4 for improved grapple is likely better than their grapple bonus, and you do a lot of damage unarmed. For more fun, get a spellcaster to cast Silence on you before you go grapple

Oh yeah, if you go the "improved trip" route, get a reach weapon that you can trip with, like a guisarme or a spiked chain. You don't even need to be proficient with it, because tripping is a touch attack, and it lets you control a large portion of a typical battlefield because with your attacks of opportunity (you took combat reflexes, right?) you can keep people from moving around.

For extra monk fun, get a wand of enlarge person for the party spellcaster, and have him use it on you when you get a chance. Large monks do good damage, and get bonuses to grapple, reach, that kind of thing, from their size.

 

[Hypersmurf]

As noted above, you can make ranged attacks, as long as they are attacks with unarmed strikes or special monk weapons. That restricts you to shuriken or sai.

You can make Disarm attemts, as long as they are performed with unarmed strikes or special monk weapons.

You can make Trip attacks, as long as you fulfil the conditions of:
a. Trip: A Trip attack can be made with a tripping weapon. If you are not using a Tripping weapon, a Trip is instead an unarmed melee touch attack.
b. Flurry: You can attack with unarmed strikes or special monk weapons.

The only weapon that fits both conditions is the kama. Neither an unarmed strike nor any of the other special monk weapons can be used to trip. (Note that while a Disarm attempt with no weapon in hand is made with an unarmed strike, a Trip attempt without a Trip weapon is not. It's an unarmed attack, but it doesn't use an unarmed strike to deliver it... so a weaponless Trip cannot be performed as part of a Flurry of Blows.)

According to the Feats section, Weapon Focus: Unarmed Strike, and Weapon Focus: Grapple are two separate feats. Thus, we know that a grapple is also not performed 'with an unarmed strike'. We cannot initiate a grapple as part of a Flurry (since 'Grapple' is neither an unarmed strike, nor on the list of special monk weapons), nor can we perform most of the Grappling options that take the place of an attack (Damage Opponent, Escape Grapple, Pin, and the like.)

We can, while grappling, use the 'Attack opponent with light weapon' option, as long as we use an unarmed strike or special monk weapon. Arguably, if the opponent is wielding a special monk weapon, we could also use the 'Use opponent's weapon' option.

-Hyp.

 

[Ezieer]

I'm playing a single class monk which is quickly being outclassed in our campaign by the paladins, wizards and rogues. Help me get my edge back.

Prance around and state very Taoish/Yoda sayings in a monotone voice.

"Those that choose to do violence on others finds others that do violence on them."
"One cannot know what one does not know about."
"The arrow flies true for one who has a steady hand."

As for making your monk better in combat and have a better AC... you are screwed.