Overkill_Engine
First Post
A friend of mine recently decided to run a no-magic campaign in order to help teach basic combat mechanics without the distractions of spell or magic items, and he asked me to help him out by making some variants of classes so that we aren't just using barbarians, fighters, and rogues.
So I took the monk, ninja, and ranger classes and ripped out their (Sp) and (Su) features, and considered replacing each one with a bonus feat, but this made a fighter look a tad lackluster in comparison. I went with attempting to replace the original abilities with non-magical ones instead. Sources for some alterations: Complete Warrior, Complete Adventurer, Unearthed Arcana.
Here they are, input/suggestions for tweaking appreciated:
Altered Monk
[sblock]Alignment: Any lawful.
Hit Die: d8.
Class Skills:
Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Knowledge (arcana/religion) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Spot (Wis), Swim (Str), and Tumble (Dex).
Skill Points at 1st Level: (4 + Int modifier) x 4.
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 4 + Int modifier.
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the monk.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Monks are proficient with club, crossbow (light or heavy), dagger, handaxe, javelin, kama, nunchaku, quarterstaff, sai, shuriken, siangham, and sling. Monks are not proficient with any armor or shields. When wearing armor, using a shield, or carrying a medium or heavy load, a monk loses her AC bonus, as well as her fast movement and flurry of blows abilities.
AC Bonus (Ex): When unarmored and unencumbered, the monk adds her Wisdom bonus (if any) to her AC. In addition, a monk gains a +1 bonus to AC at 5th level. This bonus increases by 1 for every five monk levels thereafter (+2 at 10th, +3 at 15th, and +4 at 20th level).
These bonuses to AC apply even against touch attacks or when the monk is flat-footed. She loses these bonuses when she is immobilized or helpless, when she wears any armor, when she carries a shield, or when she carries a medium or heavy load.
Flurry of Blows (Ex): When unarmored, a monk may strike with a flurry of blows at the expense of accuracy. When doing so, she may make one extra attack in a round at her highest base attack bonus, but this attack takes a –2 penalty, as does each other attack made that round. The resulting modified base attack bonuses are shown in the Flurry of Blows Attack Bonus column on Table: The Monk. This penalty applies for 1 round, so it also affects attacks of opportunity the monk might make before her next action. When a monk reaches 5th level, the penalty lessens to –1, and at 9th level it disappears. A monk must use a full attack action to strike with a flurry of blows.
When using flurry of blows, a monk may attack only with unarmed strikes or with special monk weapons (kama, nunchaku, quarterstaff, sai, shuriken, and siangham). She may attack with unarmed strikes and special monk weapons interchangeably as desired. When using weapons as part of a flurry of blows, a monk applies her Strength bonus (not Str bonus x 1-1/2 or x 1/2) to her damage rolls for all successful attacks, whether she wields a weapon in one or both hands. The monk can’t use any weapon other than a special monk weapon as part of a flurry of blows.
In the case of the quarterstaff, each end counts as a separate weapon for the purpose of using the flurry of blows ability. Even though the quarterstaff requires two hands to use, a monk may still intersperse unarmed strikes with quarterstaff strikes, assuming that she has enough attacks in her flurry of blows routine to do so.
When a monk reaches 11th level, her flurry of blows ability improves. In addition to the standard single extra attack she gets from flurry of blows, she gets a second extra attack at her full base attack bonus.
Unarmed Strike: At 1st level, a monk gains Improved Unarmed Strike as a bonus feat. A monk’s attacks may be with either fist interchangeably or even from elbows, knees, and feet. This means that a monk may even make unarmed strikes with her hands full. There is no such thing as an off-hand attack for a monk striking unarmed. A monk may thus apply her full Strength bonus on damage rolls for all her unarmed strikes.
Usually a monk’s unarmed strikes deal lethal damage, but she can choose to deal nonlethal damage instead with no penalty on her attack roll. She has the same choice to deal lethal or nonlethal damage while grappling.
A monk’s unarmed strike is treated both as a manufactured weapon and a natural weapon for the purpose of spells and effects that enhance or improve either manufactured weapons or natural weapons.
Bonus Feat: At 1st level, a monk may select either Improved Grapple or Stunning Fist as a bonus feat. At 2nd level, she may select either Combat Reflexes or Deflect Arrows as a bonus feat. At 6th level, she may select either Improved Disarm or Improved Trip as a bonus feat. A monk need not have any of the prerequisites normally required for these feats to select them.
Evasion (Ex): At 2nd level or higher if a monk makes a successful Reflex saving throw against an attack that normally deals half damage on a successful save, she instead takes no damage. Evasion can be used only if a monk is wearing light armor or no armor. A helpless monk does not gain the benefit of evasion.
Fast Movement (Ex): At 3rd level, a monk gains an enhancement bonus to her speed, as shown on Table: The Monk. A monk in armor or carrying a medium or heavy load loses this extra speed.
Acrobatics (Ex): Starting at 3rd level, a monk gains a +2 competance bonus to Climb, Jump, and Tumble checks. This bonus increases to +4 at 5th level.
Slow Fall (Ex): At 4th level or higher, a monk within arm’s reach of a wall can use it to slow her descent. When first using this ability, she takes damage as if the fall were 20 feet shorter than it actually is. The monk’s ability to slow her fall (that is, to reduce the effective distance of the fall when next to a wall) improves with her monk level until at 20th level she can use a nearby wall to slow her descent and fall any distance without harm.
Uncanny Dodge (Ex): At 7th level, a monk retains his Dexterity bonus to AC (if any) even if he is caught flat-footed or struck by an invisible attacker. However, he still loses his Dexterity bonus to AC if immobilized. If a monk already has uncanny dodge from a different class, he automatically gains improved uncanny dodge (see below) instead.
Improved Evasion (Ex): At 9th level, a monk’s evasion ability improves. She still takes no damage on a successful Reflex saving throw against attacks, but henceforth she takes only half damage on a failed save. A helpless monk does not gain the benefit of improved evasion.
Improved Uncanny Dodge (Ex): At 13th level and higher, a monk can no longer be flanked. This defense denies a rogue or ninja the ability to sneak attack the monk by flanking him, unless the attacker has at least four more rogue or ninja levels than the target has barbarian levels. If a character already has uncanny dodge (see above) from a second class, the character automatically gains improved uncanny dodge instead, and the levels from the classes that grant uncanny dodge stack to determine the minimum level a rogue or ninja must be to flank the character.
Damage Reduction (Ex): At 11th level, a monk gains Damage Reduction. Damage reduction can reduce damage to 0 but not below 0.
Timeless Body (Ex): Upon attaining 17th level, a monk no longer takes penalties to her ability scores for aging and cannot be magically aged. Any such penalties that she has already taken, however, remain in place. Bonuses still accrue, and the monk still dies of old age when her time is up.
Tongue of the Sun and Moon (Ex): A monk of 17th level or higher can speak with any living creature.[/sblock]
So I took the monk, ninja, and ranger classes and ripped out their (Sp) and (Su) features, and considered replacing each one with a bonus feat, but this made a fighter look a tad lackluster in comparison. I went with attempting to replace the original abilities with non-magical ones instead. Sources for some alterations: Complete Warrior, Complete Adventurer, Unearthed Arcana.
Here they are, input/suggestions for tweaking appreciated:
Altered Monk
[sblock]Alignment: Any lawful.
Hit Die: d8.
Class Skills:
Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Knowledge (arcana/religion) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Spot (Wis), Swim (Str), and Tumble (Dex).
Skill Points at 1st Level: (4 + Int modifier) x 4.
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 4 + Int modifier.
Code:
Level BAB Fort Refl Will Special Flurry Damage AC Speed
1st +0 +2 +2 +2 Bonus feat, flurry of blows, –2/–2 1d6 +0 +0 ft.
Unarmed strike, AC bonus
2nd +1 +3 +3 +3 Bonus feat, evasion –1/–1 1d6 +0 +0 ft.
3rd +2 +3 +3 +3 Acrobatics +2 +0/+0 1d6 +0 +10 ft
4th +3 +4 +4 +4 Slow fall 20 ft. +1/+1 1d8 +0 +10 ft.
5th +3 +4 +4 +4 Acrobatics +4 +2/+2 1d8 +1 +10 ft.
6th +4 +5 +5 +5 Bonus feat, slow fall 30 ft. +3/+3 1d8 +1 +20 ft.
7th +5 +5 +5 +5 Uncanny dodge +4/+4 1d8 +1 +20 ft.
8th +6/+1 +6 +6 +6 Slow fall 40 ft. +5/+5/+0 1d10 +1 +20 ft.
9th +6/+1 +6 +6 +6 Improved evasion +6/+6/+1 1d10 +1 +30 ft.
10th +7/+2 +7 +7 +7 Slow fall 50 ft. +7/+7/+2 1d10 +2 +30 ft.
11th +8/+3 +7 +7 +7 Greater flurry +8/+8/+8/+3 1d10 +2 +30 ft.
damage reduction 2/-
12th +9/+4 +8 +8 +8 slow fall 60 ft. +9/+9/+9/+4 2d6 +2 +40 ft.
13th +9/+4 +8 +8 +8 Improved uncanny dodge +9/+9/+9/+4 2d6 +2 +40 ft.
14th +10/+5 +9 +9 +9 Slow fall 70 ft. +10/+10/+10/+5 2d6 +2 +40 ft.
15th +11/+6/+1 +9 +9 +9 Damage reduction 4/- +11/+11/+11/+6/+1 2d6 +3 +50 ft.
16th +12/+7/+2 +10 +10 +10 Slow fall 80 ft. +12/+12/+12/+7/+2 2d8 +3 +50 ft.
17th +12/+7/+2 +10 +10 +10 Timeless body, +12/+12/+12/+7/+2 2d8 +3 +50 ft.
Tongue of sun and moon
18th +13/+8/+3 +11 +11 +11 Slow fall 90 ft. +13/+13/+13/+8/+3 2d8 +3 +60 ft.
19th +14/+9/+4 +11 +11 +11 Damage reduction 6/- +14/+14/+14/+9/+4 2d8 +3 +60 ft.
20th +15/+10/+5 +12 +12 +12 Slow fall any distance +15/+15/+15/+10/+5 2d10 +4 +60 ft.Class Features
All of the following are class features of the monk.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Monks are proficient with club, crossbow (light or heavy), dagger, handaxe, javelin, kama, nunchaku, quarterstaff, sai, shuriken, siangham, and sling. Monks are not proficient with any armor or shields. When wearing armor, using a shield, or carrying a medium or heavy load, a monk loses her AC bonus, as well as her fast movement and flurry of blows abilities.
AC Bonus (Ex): When unarmored and unencumbered, the monk adds her Wisdom bonus (if any) to her AC. In addition, a monk gains a +1 bonus to AC at 5th level. This bonus increases by 1 for every five monk levels thereafter (+2 at 10th, +3 at 15th, and +4 at 20th level).
These bonuses to AC apply even against touch attacks or when the monk is flat-footed. She loses these bonuses when she is immobilized or helpless, when she wears any armor, when she carries a shield, or when she carries a medium or heavy load.
Flurry of Blows (Ex): When unarmored, a monk may strike with a flurry of blows at the expense of accuracy. When doing so, she may make one extra attack in a round at her highest base attack bonus, but this attack takes a –2 penalty, as does each other attack made that round. The resulting modified base attack bonuses are shown in the Flurry of Blows Attack Bonus column on Table: The Monk. This penalty applies for 1 round, so it also affects attacks of opportunity the monk might make before her next action. When a monk reaches 5th level, the penalty lessens to –1, and at 9th level it disappears. A monk must use a full attack action to strike with a flurry of blows.
When using flurry of blows, a monk may attack only with unarmed strikes or with special monk weapons (kama, nunchaku, quarterstaff, sai, shuriken, and siangham). She may attack with unarmed strikes and special monk weapons interchangeably as desired. When using weapons as part of a flurry of blows, a monk applies her Strength bonus (not Str bonus x 1-1/2 or x 1/2) to her damage rolls for all successful attacks, whether she wields a weapon in one or both hands. The monk can’t use any weapon other than a special monk weapon as part of a flurry of blows.
In the case of the quarterstaff, each end counts as a separate weapon for the purpose of using the flurry of blows ability. Even though the quarterstaff requires two hands to use, a monk may still intersperse unarmed strikes with quarterstaff strikes, assuming that she has enough attacks in her flurry of blows routine to do so.
When a monk reaches 11th level, her flurry of blows ability improves. In addition to the standard single extra attack she gets from flurry of blows, she gets a second extra attack at her full base attack bonus.
Unarmed Strike: At 1st level, a monk gains Improved Unarmed Strike as a bonus feat. A monk’s attacks may be with either fist interchangeably or even from elbows, knees, and feet. This means that a monk may even make unarmed strikes with her hands full. There is no such thing as an off-hand attack for a monk striking unarmed. A monk may thus apply her full Strength bonus on damage rolls for all her unarmed strikes.
Usually a monk’s unarmed strikes deal lethal damage, but she can choose to deal nonlethal damage instead with no penalty on her attack roll. She has the same choice to deal lethal or nonlethal damage while grappling.
A monk’s unarmed strike is treated both as a manufactured weapon and a natural weapon for the purpose of spells and effects that enhance or improve either manufactured weapons or natural weapons.
Bonus Feat: At 1st level, a monk may select either Improved Grapple or Stunning Fist as a bonus feat. At 2nd level, she may select either Combat Reflexes or Deflect Arrows as a bonus feat. At 6th level, she may select either Improved Disarm or Improved Trip as a bonus feat. A monk need not have any of the prerequisites normally required for these feats to select them.
Evasion (Ex): At 2nd level or higher if a monk makes a successful Reflex saving throw against an attack that normally deals half damage on a successful save, she instead takes no damage. Evasion can be used only if a monk is wearing light armor or no armor. A helpless monk does not gain the benefit of evasion.
Fast Movement (Ex): At 3rd level, a monk gains an enhancement bonus to her speed, as shown on Table: The Monk. A monk in armor or carrying a medium or heavy load loses this extra speed.
Acrobatics (Ex): Starting at 3rd level, a monk gains a +2 competance bonus to Climb, Jump, and Tumble checks. This bonus increases to +4 at 5th level.
Slow Fall (Ex): At 4th level or higher, a monk within arm’s reach of a wall can use it to slow her descent. When first using this ability, she takes damage as if the fall were 20 feet shorter than it actually is. The monk’s ability to slow her fall (that is, to reduce the effective distance of the fall when next to a wall) improves with her monk level until at 20th level she can use a nearby wall to slow her descent and fall any distance without harm.
Uncanny Dodge (Ex): At 7th level, a monk retains his Dexterity bonus to AC (if any) even if he is caught flat-footed or struck by an invisible attacker. However, he still loses his Dexterity bonus to AC if immobilized. If a monk already has uncanny dodge from a different class, he automatically gains improved uncanny dodge (see below) instead.
Improved Evasion (Ex): At 9th level, a monk’s evasion ability improves. She still takes no damage on a successful Reflex saving throw against attacks, but henceforth she takes only half damage on a failed save. A helpless monk does not gain the benefit of improved evasion.
Improved Uncanny Dodge (Ex): At 13th level and higher, a monk can no longer be flanked. This defense denies a rogue or ninja the ability to sneak attack the monk by flanking him, unless the attacker has at least four more rogue or ninja levels than the target has barbarian levels. If a character already has uncanny dodge (see above) from a second class, the character automatically gains improved uncanny dodge instead, and the levels from the classes that grant uncanny dodge stack to determine the minimum level a rogue or ninja must be to flank the character.
Damage Reduction (Ex): At 11th level, a monk gains Damage Reduction. Damage reduction can reduce damage to 0 but not below 0.
Timeless Body (Ex): Upon attaining 17th level, a monk no longer takes penalties to her ability scores for aging and cannot be magically aged. Any such penalties that she has already taken, however, remain in place. Bonuses still accrue, and the monk still dies of old age when her time is up.
Tongue of the Sun and Moon (Ex): A monk of 17th level or higher can speak with any living creature.[/sblock]
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