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Message: <blockquote data-quote="xigbar" data-source="post: 5738473" data-attributes="member: 6673175"><p>I've never really needed more proof to the monk's relative lack of power than the Unarmed Swordsage. Swordsage is generally considered to be a low Tier 3, barely out of Tier 4. I would say that makes it "balanced" in comparison to other classes; Since OP doesn't want them compared, why not? But, to be fair, let's compare them to the "game world." In a low-magic setting, ground mobility will actually be useful, because you don't have casters flying around out of your reach. Things with wings can be hit with your archer. But, this setting doesn't really have merit, because the reason the monk is considered weak in the first place is because casters were in fact written the way they were. If they aren't in your game world, the problem is meaningless. Any magic setting beyond that will allow for the relatively low level spell slot that flight fills, which is the first thing that casters can use to invalidate monks. Monks won't yet afford an item granting them permanent flight, and when they can, the Wizard (or any Tier 1, for that matter) has moved on. Even on ground, an Abrupt Jaunting Wizard escapes the monks hand's entirely without it spending feats to gain reach. Just because you don't like that the class purported to be a mystical martial genius doesn't own things too busy rewriting the laws of existence on their own quasi-plane to notice you doesn't mean anything better than something that doesn't do what it's fluff would imply it does is balanced, and everything else is overpowered. Yes, Tier 1s (or other full casters, in general) are powerful, but a comparison to Swordsage, usually considered at the middle of the road in power, will suffice. It gets your HD, your BAB, your WIS bonuses, a good deal of your other class features too. It doesn't get your FORT save, but gets an extra couple of skill points over you, and gets a full maneuvers progression. With maneuvers out of the equation, you could make the case the two classes are roughly matched, but, alas, it DOES in fact have those maneuvers. As for the monk not being gear dependent, check the costs of an Amulet of Mighty Fists, something required of a monk to keep it's strikes in competition with other weapons. A caster, by the way, doesn't need any gear, spells books aside.</p></blockquote><p></p>

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