D&D 3E/3.5 Question on D&D 3.5 Monk

[Sojigo]

So I'm rolling up a level 16 human monk for a high level campaign I play in once or twice a month (previous character got smacked upside the head a few times by a pit fiend's chain while unconscious... hard to roll the coup de grace fort save vs a 66) and I've been trying to decide on how I'm going to be attacking and doing damage. The monks best weapon is his/her fists, but I need to find a way to add a bit more kick. I was considering wearing a pair of gauntlets that I could have enchanted, but then I realized that I would no longer be 'unarmed' if I'm wearing gauntlets (or so I'm assuming, although it's kind of a fine line between the two). So what I'm wondering is if anyone has thought of making a wonderous item like this:
1 pair of gloves + 1 firey burst enchantment + 1 truestrike enchantment + however much plain ol' magical enhancement I can fit on

Would that even work? You can really enchant your fists with firey burst, but a monk's fists are supposed to be their weapons, so how else would you do it?

As for the cost of such an item... I mentioned that this is a fairly high level campaign. I can afford quite a bit.

 

[Impeesa]

Amulet of Natural Weapons (I think) in Savage Species does what you're looking for. Easy enough to call it a set of monk's gloves instead of an amulet. I believe it's priced the same as any magic weapon, but I could be wrong.

--Impeesa--

 

[Sojigo]

Just looked it up. Seems to be EXACTLY what I wanted, however, it brings up another question... To determine the cost of the item, you add up the enhancements like normal, then multiply by the number of natural weapons affected. How many natural weapons would a monk be considered to have? Fists, feet, knees, elbows? Or would these all fall under 1 category because they're all the same basic type (no difference in type or die for damage).

It'd be kinda neat to describe an attack as going in for a punch, following through with a quick knee that comes out into a side kick followed by an arching wheel kick, all of which are trailing flames.

 

[James McMurray]

The Amulet of Mighty Fists in the DMG sets the precedent that a monk's body counts as three natural weapons, by costing the same as three weapons.

 

[TracerBullet42]

Just an idea I had once, and I don't know if you're up for a PrC, but I was going to take on a Monk/Kensai from the Complete Warrior. A Kensai can enchant his weapon depending on his level. I don't remember all the details, but it seemed like a cool idea. You may want to give that a look-see.

Hope that helps!

 

[Sojigo]

"This amulet grants an enhancment bonus of +1 to +5 to attack and dmage rolls with unarmed attacks and natural weapons.
Faint evocation; CL 5th; Craft Wonderous Item, greater magic fang, creator's caster level must be at least 3 times the amulet's bonus; Price 6,000gp (+1),..., 150,000 (+5)"

Nothing in there about a monk being considered to have 3 natural weapons. Am I missing something?

 

[James McMurray]

A normal +1 weapon costs 2,000gp. A +1 amulet costs 6,000gp (3x the cost of a single weapon). A +2 weapon costs 8,000gp and the amulet is 24,000gp (again 3x). The trend continues all the way up to +5 weapons (50,000gp) and amulets (150,000gp).

Thus it appears that in order to apply weapon enhancement bonuses to a monk's natural attacks requires paying the price for three weapons.

 

[CRGreathouse]

"This amulet grants an enhancment bonus of +1 to +5 to attack and dmage rolls with unarmed attacks and natural weapons.
Faint evocation; CL 5th; Craft Wonderous Item, greater magic fang, creator's caster level must be at least 3 times the amulet's bonus; Price 6,000gp (+1),..., 150,000 (+5)"

Nothing in there about a monk being considered to have 3 natural weapons. Am I missing something?

A +1 weapon costs 2000 gp and a +1 amulet cost 6000 gp. 2000 x 3 = 6000.
A +2 weapon costs 8000 gp and a +2 amulet cost 24 000 gp. 8000 x 3 = 24 000.

etc.

 

[Sojigo]

That doesn't seem to be a precedent t all... there's nothing stopping a character with 5 natual weapons from equipping that item. It does not specifically mention monk at all. Just unarmed attack, which when a monk uses, may be from any part of their body. What if a character with only 1 or 2 natural weapons bought the item? Would it cost less?

 

[Destil]

I just went with the quarterstaff last time I played a monk. You get all of the power attack and str bonuses of a 2 handed weapon and all the extra attacks of a monk weapon, and you have two heads to ehnahce for varity.