Just something I've been working on for monks and unarmed TWFs.
Prereqs: Improved unarmed strike and Two-weapon Fighting, or Flurry of blows and monk Unarmed Strike class feature.
Benefit: When making a full attack using Two-weapon fighting or flurry of blows and only making unarmed attacks each successful attack sets up the later strikes granting a cumletive +1 competence bonus on attack rolls to each attack made after it. If any attack misses the bonus resets to +0.
Special: A monk may take Combination blows as a bonus feat.
Prereqs: Combination Strikes, and either Improved TWF or Flurry of Blows and Monk level 8. In addition you must meet any prereqs of the chosen benefit.
Benefit: Choose one of the following benefits when the bonus from your Combination Strikes feat is +3 or higher you may choose to expend the bonus to apply that benefit. The expended bonus still applies to the attack that gains the benefit.
Manuever Set up: When expending your bonus the attack gains one of the following combat manuevers(Trip, Disarm, or Sunder) as a rider if the attack hits make a combat manuver check at the same bonus. You must have the Improved feat for the manuever.
Stunning Strike: When expending your bonus you declare the next attack to be a Stunning fist attempt. If the attack hits the DC for your stunning fist increases by the amount of the expended bonus. You must have the Stunning Fist feat to take this benefit.
Perfect Opening: When expending your bonus it is doubled for the attack being made.
I'll post the other feats as I finish them.
I like it.
Thanks still working out what the greater version will allow. Also thinking about a version for around level 12 that allows you to only expend part of your bonus (minium for what your doing) so that you can get for instance two free trips in your full attack routine.
I'm having a hard time imagining that these Feats will be very useful except for when a Monk has a large number of attacks all at the same attack bonus. The reason I say that is because iterative attacks are (usually) -5 behind the previous attack. So an attack routine of 11/11/6/1 with Combination Strikes could (potentially) be 11/12/8/4. The iterative attacks aren't very likely to hit, so they aren't likely to generate further bonuses to hit.
However, when a Monk gets bonuses like Haste and the extra attack from Ki, he could have 11/11/11/11/6/1 at which point he could have 11/12/13/14/10/6. These bonuses look good, but, as far as I can tell, the Feat really only works by expending resources to make it work (Ki and Spells). Sure, the Haste can be mitigated a bit by purchasing the Boots of Speed, but the Ki will be a problem. Granted, a Monk is likely to use the Ki in the first place, but it shouldn't be necessary to have to expend Ki (or spells), simply to get a Feat to work the way it should.
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Improved Comination Strike has a little clunky wording in the Benefit part. However, if you choose the Feat, do you get to choose the benefit provided at the time of the +3 bonus or do you have to choose the benefit at the time of picking the Feat?
To further clarify that question, if one were to pick Improved Combination Strike, he picks one of the three benefits (Maneuver Set Up, Stunning Strike, Perfect Opening), which 'locks' the feat into that particular benefit. So from that point on, you only get one of the three benefits.
If you only get one of the three benefits, you might think about adding in a Special line that allows for the Feat to be taken multiple times, choosing a different benefit each time.
You would choose which one when you expend the bonus I'll work on the wording.
I agree the bonus isn't much I'm considering possible upping it to a +2(though I'm worried about how high that can get.) Maybe +2 for the first hit and +1 for each hit after the first?
Or how about letting improved up the bonus to +2 a hit and greater when finished moving that up to a +3?
So basically it is the feat hammer the gap but increases the attack bonus instead damage, right?
I like the concept, but give me a bit to think it over.
MA
Yeah hammer the gap is what gave me the idea.
I'm picturing a Medusa's Wrath, Hammer the Gap and Combination Strikes Monk with Boots of Speed in a party with a Dazing Spell Druid....
11/11/11/11/11/11/6/6/1 = 11/12/13/14/15/16/12/13/8 for 9d10+36 points of damage if all attacks hit. Granted, DR kills this, but DR kills Monks anyway.
Or how about letting improved up the bonus to +2 a hit and greater when finished moving that up to a +3?
Hmm, I'm not so sure about +2 or +3 per hit, that could get scary high bonuses. Using 11th level again, a Monk could have 11/13/15/17 or 11/14/17/20 as his first four attacks (from Haste and Ki and Flurry). That's not even counting any bonuses from other feats, spells, items, abilities or attributes.
It might be better for the Improved and Greater to change the starting bonus to +2 and +3 respectively and let them begin scaling at +1 from there. So it'd be 11/13/14/15 or 11/14/15/16.
Alright that sounds good then.
Alright that sounds good then.
Hmm, that actually brings a slight problem I think, in that the benefits from Improved will be ridiculously easy to acheive if it's still triggered by a +3 bonus. You may need to reword it as the fourth consecutive attack (third attack with a bonus). It'd be the same exact thing, just worded differently. Unless, of course, you like the idea of the Improved and Greater allowing the Benefits to be triggered earlier.
I'm okay for the first testing run to let them trigger earlier. Since the great one won't trigger until probably a 5 or 6 bonus it helps move them up to more likely to hit attacks.