Weponless Monk PrC

Actually, the weaponless monk is even worse off than I'd previously described. Not only does he miss out on Bane, Holy and Cold Iron/Silver weapons, he misses out on a lot of special weapon abilities: Brilliant Energy, Speed, Wounding (!!!), and last but certainly not least, Vorpal.

Don't mess with a Monk who's got a +1 Brilliant Energy Wounding Kama... those five points of Con damage every round are gonna hurt real quick!

-- N
 

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Nifft said:
Actually, the weaponless monk is even worse off than I'd previously described. Not only does he miss out on Bane, Holy and Cold Iron/Silver weapons, he misses out on a lot of special weapon abilities: Brilliant Energy, Speed, Wounding (!!!), and last but certainly not least, Vorpal.

Don't mess with a Monk who's got a +1 Brilliant Energy Wounding Kama... those five points of Con damage every round are gonna hurt real quick!

-- N

Which is my point in the first place. This prestige class would deny the monk the use of any of these toys. Now, are the benefits gained enough to offset that loss, or would giving better BAB progression or HD offset that loss at all?

And what happens if they violate their sacred oaths and use a weapon? They don't get into heaven! The background fluff of the class essentially says they are eternally reincarnated upon death, resuming their search for perfection from one life to another until they achieve it (10th level in the PrC), at which time they ascend to heaven when next they die. So basically, using a weapon is worse than death, since they believe they will be reincarnated if they die anyway. As for game mechanic penalties, I haven't really considered it as of yet.


Twowolves
 

Nifft said:
The rules say that the monk gets Str bonus to damage (not 1/2 Str or 1 1/2 Str), even if the weapon is light or two-handed. No mention of otherwise treating the weapon as one-handed.

I'm pretty sure that two-handed 2-for-1 power attack with a Quarterstaff during a Flurry is legal.

It's not. "In the case of a quarterstaff, each end counts as a separate weapon for the purpose of using the flurry of blows ability." The monk effectively isn't using a two-handed weapon when he flurries with a quarterstaff, he's dual-weilding clubs. Kinda.
 

I know that Monte had a feat in AU that allowed a person to enchant thier natural weapons as if they were martial weapons. It cost alittle more but perhaps the monk can do this so he regains the abilities of having using a weapon. True he can't change it once he has it but it is a start. Also you may consider a Ki ability to mimic weapon abilities based on level in the PrC so he can mimic a +1 bonus for X number of rounds X number times per day. Its an idea as well.

later
 

If an unarmed monk wants all those funky weapon abilities, he can get Bracers of Striking or an Amulet of Mighty Fists, as I mentioned earlier. Sure they cost a bit more than normal weapons, but have other advantages.

Geoff.
 

And (IMO) the only way you'd get a 2-for-1 bonus on Power Attack from a staff in the first place is if you gave up the attacks from one end.
 

I play a monk and DM a 1/2 monk as well, and between the two of them I have to say that using weapons is a definite plus. Placing a value on them vs. other characters is tough, as the Flurry of Blows and other monk abilities comes in to skew changes.
IMO the fighter BAB for this PrC would be necessary as going weaponless means you are giving up a lot of options that may come to you down the road. Masterwork, magic, and weapons enhanced with special abilities (frost, flame, etc.) are now out of reach. I like the other abilities to compensate, but I know there would be times when you would be banging your empty fists against your head when you can't use the +3 sai or glowing butterfly sword.

Eh, thems the breaks, and I like the PrC a lot...<yoink!>
 

Thanks for the feedback. The PC earned enough xp last session to enter this PrC, and I was worried he'd fall even farther behind the party's archer in terms of hitting opponents with no way to ever come close again without some kind of help.

If you like the PrC and want my full write up, drop me a line and I'll send you a copy.

Twowolves
 


Ok, I'll post it here. This PrC is essentially a homebrew version of the Scarred Lands "Exemplar", as envisioned by myself a couple of years ago. It's a cut and paste from my word file, so forgive any rough edges.

Hit Dice: 1d10
Requirements:To qualify to become an Exemplar, a character must fulfill all the following criteria:

Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Religion: Hedrada
Feats/Abilities: Improved Unarmed Strike, Stunning Fist, Deflect Arrows, Evasion, Toughness, immunity to natural diseases
Skills: Concentration: 5 ranks, Tumble: 5 ranks, Balance: 5 ranks

Class Skills:The Exemplar’s class skills are: Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Escape Artist (Dex), Heal (Wis), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Chr), Jump (Str), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Profession (Wis), Spot (Wis), Swim (Str), Tumble (Dex).
Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier per level

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the Exemplar prestige class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiencies: Characters gain no new weapon or armor proficiencies upon taking the Exemplar prestige class, and no Exemplar ability will function in conjunction with armor of any sort. In addition, Exemplars refuse to wield a weapon of any sort under any circumstances ever.

Monk Abilities: Exemplar characters add their monk levels to levels in this prestige class to determine the level at which the following monk abilities operate: Unarmed Combat Damage, AC bonus, Stunning Attacks per day, Unarmored Speed, and Flurry of Blows. If the character had no levels as a monk, he gains these abilities at a level equal to their Exemplar level. Monks and Exemplars can freely multiclass between these two classes with no restriction.

Meditation: Exemplars spend hours focused in intense concentration and meditation. As they rise in levels, they achieve higher and higher levels of perfection and mastery over their own bodies. An exemplar can at any time meditate instead of sleep, at a ratio of one hour of meditation instead of 2 hours of sleep. If the character is also a spellcaster, this ability does not negate the need to get a full 8 hours of rest in order to memorize spells (for wizards or clerics) or regain spell slots (for bards or sorcerers).
At 1st level, an Exemplar who meditates instead of sleeping for a night heals hit point and temporary ability score damage at twice the normal rate.
At 3rd level, the Exemplar can enter a catatonic state, slowing metabolism, breathing and heart rate to nearly undetectable levels. In this state, the Exemplar appears to be dead. A Heal check (DC 30) can distinguish this state from true death. It takes a full round action to initiate this ability, and an Exemplar can remain in this state for up to 1 day per class level. The character sets this time before going into the state, as he is denied access to his senses entirely. Even the character’s thoughts are unreachable. A coup de grace still will truly slay the Exemplar, but any physical damage done will be halved upon coming out of the catatonic state. Because the character’s metabolism slows to almost a halt, no natural healing will occur at all, and neither will poisons or diseases progress. Healing magic (but not the Heal skill) still works on a character in this state. Anyone who recognizes this ruse for what it is can attempt to awaken the Exemplar prematurely by making a Heal check (DC 30).
At 5th level, the Exemplar can slow his breathing almost to a halt while remaining alert and active. This allows the character to hold his breath for 5 times his Constitution in rounds, instead of twice his Con as normal. This ability also grants the Exemplar a +2 to saves versus any respiratory effect.
At 7th level, the Exemplar can sustain his bodily functions without food or water for short periods of time, and can greatly reduce his need for sleep. For up to 1 day per Exemplar level, the character behaves as if under the influence of a Ring of Sustenance. Combined with the Exemplar’s normal meditation ability, this means he need only meditate one hour per day to gain the benefits of a full night’s rest. After using this ability, the Exemplar must wait a number of days equal to the number of days spent under this effect before using it again.

Ironbone: Through a series of brutal exercises and herbal treatments, the bones of the Exemplar become reinforced to near unbreakable levels. At 1st level, this grants the character a +1 natural bonus to AC and to unarmed combat damage.

Ki Strike: The Exemplar is capable of causing damage to creatures with the Damage Reduction ability. At 1st level, the Exemplar’s unarmed attacks are treated as Magic weapons for purposes of overcoming damage reduction only. At 5th level, they are considered Lawful weapons, and at level 9, Adamantine.

Damage Reduction: The conditioning and herbal baths the Exemplars subject themselves to also grants the ability to ignore small amounts of damage as they progress toward perfection At 2nd level, this ability is expressed as a Damage Reduction of 1/-. At 7th level, this ability increases again to 2/-.

Bonus Feat: At 2nd level and at every even level thereafter, the Exemplar gains a bonus feat from the following list. The character still must meet all the qualifications for that feat (except for the Fighter level requirement for Weapon Specialization). These feats are: Acrobatic, Agile, Alertness, Athletic, Blind-Fight, Combat Expertise, Choke Hold*, Defensive Strike*, Defensive Throw*, Diehard, Dodge, Eagle Claw*, Earth’s Embrace*, Endurance, Extra Stunning*, Fists of Iron*, Flying Kick*, Great Fortitude, Improved Combat Expertise*, Improved Critical (unarmed attacks), Improved Grapple, Improved Stunning Attack (DMG p210, this feat is not considered “epic” for Exemplars), Improved Toughness*, Improved Trip, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Mobility, Prone Attack*, Roundabout Kick*, Run, Snatch Arrows, Spring Attack, Toughness, Weapon Specialization (unarmed attacks), Whirlwind Attack. Feats marked with an * are from the Complete Warrior book.

Ironskin: At 3rd level, the same treatments used to enhance the Exemplar’s bone strength further enhance their skin, making it resilient to damaging effects. The Exemplar is granted another +1 natural bonus to AC (that stacks with the bonus from Ironbone) and a +1 bonus to Fortitude saves.

Ki Critical: At 4th level, the Exemplar’s unarmed strikes gain +2 to their critical threat range. If the character already has an increased critical threat range (from the Improved Critical Feat, for example) this bonus is added last.

Improved Evasion: At 5th level, the Exemplar’s Evasion ability is upgraded to the Improved Evasion ability as per the monk and rogue special ability. If the Exemplar succeeds in a Reflex save against an effect that causes half damage, the character suffers no damage at all, and still suffers only half damage on a failed save.

Perfection: Upon reaching 10th level in the Exemplar prestige class, the character is considered to achieved mortal perfection in Hedrada’s eyes. This has the effects of the Celestial Template (replacing “Chaos” for any instance of “Evil”, and “Law” in place of “Good”), but with the additional side effect that the character can no longer be raised from the dead, resurrected, nor reincarnated. Upon death, the character travels to Hedrada’s side, becoming one of that deity’s chosen. Until such time, the character is treated as an outsider rather than a humanoid. The character gains the following abilities:
Smite Chaos (Su): Once per day the character can make a melee attack to deal additional damage equal to his character level (maximum +20) against a chaotic foe.
Darkvision: 60 feet
Acid, Cold, and Electricity Resistance: 20
Damage Reduction: 10/magic
Spell Resistance: equal to character level + 5 (max of 25)



Level BAB Fort Ref Will Special

1 +1 +2 +2 +2 Meditate (2x heal rate), Ironbone, Ki Strike: Magic
2 +2 +3 +3 +3 Damage Reduction: 1/-, Bonus Feat
3 +3 +3 +3 +3 Meditate (catatonic state), Ironskin
4 +4 +4 +4 +4 Bonus Feat, Ki Critical
5 +5 +4 +4 +4 Meditate (Long Breath), Improved
Evasion, Ki Strike:Lawful
6 +6 +5 +5 +5 Bonus Feat
7 +7 +5 +5 +5 Meditate (Sustenance), Damage Reduction 2/-
8 +8 +6 +6 +6 Bonus Feat
9 +9 +6 +6 +6 Ki Strike: Adamantine
10 +10 +7 +7 +7 Bonus Feat, Perfection



Twowolves
 

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