Lokie's page

Maybe rogue, with all Knowledge skills (or at least all the appropriate ones), Improved Unarmed Strike, and the Combat Expertise feat tree, especially Improved and Greater Feint. He is sneak attacking with those RDJr type blows.

In the movies when Holmes does his "Holmesvision" I'm thinking the Martial Artist's ...

Pain Points (Ex): At 3rd level, a martial artist's advanced knowledge of humanoid anatomy grants a +1 bonus on critical hit confirmation rolls and increases the DC of his stunning fist and quivering palm by 1. This ability replaces still mind.

and

Exploit Weakness (Ex): At 4th level, as a swift action, a martial artist can observe a creature or object to find its weak point by making a Wisdom check and adding his monk level against a DC of 10 + the object's hardness or the target's CR. If the check succeeds, the martial artist gains a +2 bonus on attack rolls until the end of his turn, and any attacks he makes until the end of his turn ignore the creature or object's DR or hardness.

A martial artist may instead use this ability as a swift action to analyze the movements and expressions of one creature within 30 feet, granting a bonus on Sense Motive checks and Reflex saves and a dodge bonus to AC against that opponent equal to 1/2 his monk level until the start of his next turn.

This ability replaces ki pool.

... both also seem to fit a RDJr style Holmes doing a stunning blow followed up by a few finishers or defending himself.

Considering how "martial arts" have such a wide range of styles... I personally believe the best way to set up a "new" Monk Class would be as a "kit" with "Some assembly required". That way you could build your Monk with whatever class features you personally feel relevant to the game the Monk will be in. With the inclusion of all the Monk archtypes in the recent books we kinda have this already to a small extent. Just making the Monks class features a little more mutable from the git-go would please a large amount of people I think.

Having the Monk set up sort of like the "Godling" 3rd party base class from the folks at SuperGenius could work.

This way, people who want a full BAB pugilist could have it... and those who want more of a ki-mystic could have it as well.

I basically came to the realization that I need random stat generation to make your characters more interesting or not seem like a cookie cutter mold, then I need to work on deepening my characters because my roleplaying must be very poor.

Ok... so you just called me a poor roleplayer because I prefer a certain dice rolling method. Wow... just ... wow.

A friend has made a monk to throw in the next game. A defensive monk with a low DPR too, I wonder what the party will think?

Will get back to you on that.

Will likely depend on how the balance of role-play vs. roll-play is in the game and how developed the "Character" of the PC is.

If the game focuses primarily on how much damage you do in combat then the defensive monk will be frowned upon.

Chengar Qordath wrote:

wraithstrike wrote:

Lokie wrote:

wraithstrike wrote:

Lokie wrote:

Let me ask everyone this... Is there now enough content out that at least helps "patch" the Monk via Archtypes, feats, etc.. to agree that the Monk is at least playable in a "standard" i.e. non-hardcore/optimized game? (Such as the majority of games I've played in.)

Not if you want to use unarmed strikes. If you want to use weapons then I would say yes. I am not saying no other method works, but you better know the system, and bring your A game which is my #1 complaint.

Even with the Martial Artist archtype and accompanying ability to ignore all dr?

I just looked that up, and I saw no ability to ignore all DR. Do you have a quote for that?

They can ignore the hardness of an object, but hardness is not DR.

"Exploit Weakness (Ex): ... If the check succeeds, the martial artist gains a +2 bonus on attack rolls until the end of his turn, and any attacks he makes until the end of his turn ignore the creature or object’s DR or hardness."

I guess the martial artist gets a pass then. I hate failing perception checks. I looked for that like 3 times. I guess I failed because I typed "damage reduction" in my search bar instead of "DR".

edit:The monk still can't enhance his unarmed strike so no, he does not get a pass without weapons.

Thanks to all who pointed to the source for me. Away from the boards for awhile yesterday (my birthday - weee!) and look at all the posts.

Again asking just to feel out your point of view here...

If the Monk (Martial Artist) is able to ignore DR from a relatively low level, aside from loosing the ability to punch incorporeal creatures, what need is there for enhancing his unarmed strike?

LIKE THIS

I've just thought of another idea for the gunblade. Back in the 'ole 3.5 days they had a alchemical sword. You'd charge it with a alchemist fire and the next time you hit it'd explode in a burst of fire in addition to the sword damage. Perhaps you could do something like that, only with gunpowder.

Even though the current system does not really do them justice and seeing as how I own a few myself... I'm always fond of the image of paired kukri.

My second favorite combo would be Hand-axe (tomahawk)/dagger

If you go this route, recommend making the Eidolon look like a different, larger race than the Vamp. If the BBEG's an Elf, make the Eidolon Human-looking; if Human, Orc or Half-Orc; etc.

That would all depend on house-rules. I was giving an option that fell within the description of the Synthesist as written, that could be properly terrifying.

Seeing as how the Synthesist's Eidolon is semi-transparent, and Eidolons in general:

The eidolon's physical appearance is up to the summoner, but it always appears as some sort of fantastical creature.

This leads me to believe that perfectly copying a more "normal" race is going to be a no-go. I do wonder if you could give your Eidolon a hat of disguise...

I think if you actually read Dabbler's points, you'd have your answer.

I did. What has you saying I did not?

His biggest points of contention seem to be that the class does not measure up to the other combat classes... If you believe measuring up is just damage... then there is nothing else I can say. I tried to go down all the points of the class and expand upon what the class CAN do.

I personally have a belief that the Monk has more than just "Two" options in combat, and that there are lots of ways to Aid your allies in combat.

If you think the Monk has to measure up to the Fighter its my belief you need to play an Unarmed Fighter Archtype.

Look at the monk's stated role:

Quote:

Role: Monks excel at overcoming even the most daunting perils, striking where it's least expected, and taking advantage of enemy vulnerabilities. Fleet of foot and skilled in combat, monks can navigate any battlefield with ease, aiding allies wherever they are needed most.

What does the monk do?

Overcome daunting perils
Striking where least expected
Take advantage of enemy vulnerabilities
Fleet of foot
Skilled in combat
Navigate the battlefield
Aid allies

Alrighty...lets take this piece by piece then.

Overcome daunting perils

Daunting - causing fear or discouragement; intimidating

Peril - a. Imminent danger. b. Exposure to the risk of harm or loss.
2. Something that endangers or involves risk.

I would say that running along a narrow ledge or across a rope, making an "impossible" leap over the channel of flaming lava, or leaping from ledge to ledge all seem to apply.

Striking where least expected

Being stealthy is one part... but being able to maneuver through the combat line to flank an enemy and provide a flanking bonus seems to also apply. Or later to Abundant Step to move quickly across a battle field.

Take advantage of enemy vulnerabilities

How is this a automatic fail. The Monk is not a full BAB class so lets compare the Monk to a Rogue on this line. Hmm... BAB is the same. Both have the same chance to finesse. Both can benefit from flanking or attacking flat-footed to aide in to-hit. The Monk benefits from ki and can bypass DR/Magic. But can also use weapons just as well as a Rogue. Damage is not the same... "taking advantage of enemy vulnerabilities" does not automatically bring to mind a specific amount of damage. So I'd say "Plausible" here.

Fleet of foot

Yup... big check mark here.

Skilled in combat

The Monk is at least as skilled in combat as both the Rogue and Cleric, and just like them more skilled than a commoner. So I'll include a "Yes" here as well.

Navigate the Battlefield

Agreed... and their movement speed gives them a +4 to acrobatic checks to jump for each 10 feet of extra movement.

Aid allies

A Monk can set up a flank just as well as a Rogue if not better. The Monk can make the "Aid Other" action just as well as a Rogue or Cleric. A Monk can move quickly to a fallen ally to feed them a potion or use their wisdom to use the Heal skill... and that is just the first few things that come to mind off of the top of my head. So again... "Plausible". And depending on your skill selections there are plenty of out of combat ways to aid as well.

So I ask you... how is the class a "broken toy". It seems to me that they fill those guidelines pretty well to me.

It appears to me as this would work... but I just thought I'd ask for a double check on the rules.

Would using the Hurl Scabbard trick from Adventurer's Armory work with the Opening Volley feat?

Mazra wrote:

BronzeSparrow wrote:

I'm sorry if this has been asked before, it's a long thread too search through.

Will any of the new sets have item type miniatures?
A weapon rack, or a chest or even a nice little pile of treasure or tables and bunks.
A pile of furs and things like that would be cool too.

It is looking certain that this first set will not have accessories. But I too wouldn't mind a miniature or two in each set that would be dungeon dressings.

Later,

Mazra

I'd want any accessories to also be items that would double for things like animated objects, mimics, etc.

I second the need for dungeon dressing/animate objects.

The premium could be a gazebo. ;)

i don't get why people see D&D or it's derivatives as medieval european.

you have medieval knights wearing rennaiscane era armor, wielding roman era falcatas, worshipping greek gods, traveling with native american shamans wearing the hides of saharan beasts, who transform into prehistoric dinosaurs who are accompanied by modern japanese schoolgirls wielding Tokugawa Era Daisho and Wearing black pajamas, and old men wearing robes and pointed hats who chant mathematical equations to control reality, on a journey to kill brain eating space aliens, giant sentient firebreathing spellcasting reptiles and sentient jello.

Seriously... you get a cookie for this post.

*Snip*

Finally in my opinion the very best Sherlock Holmes as far as tv/movie was Jeremy Brett who did many episodes for a British television company during the 1980's. You can now watch them streaming with Netflix.

I also believe Brett did a wonderful job. You can also catch many of the BBC episodes on YouTube.

The idea for this feat tree popped into my head while I was working on a series of drawing feats based off of the Quick Draw feat HERE.

I began thinking more about the anime Rurouni Kenshin and the fighting style of the main character Kenshin, I thought it would also be nice to have a series of feats that add extra damage to a drawing style attack.

On to the feats...

Battojutsu Training (Combat)
You have studied the art of quickly drawing your sword, attacking, and then sheathing your sword all in a smooth motion.

Prerequisites: Quick Draw
Benefits: As a attack action you may draw and make a single attack with a sword and return it to its sheath after the attack without provoking attacks of opportunity. If you have a sheathed sword on your person (not hidden or in a container) you are treated as wielding and threatening the squares around you with that weapon as if you had it in hand.

Battojutsu Strike (Combat)
You have learned to used the increased speed of your draw to deal greater damage.

Prerequisites: Quick Draw, Battojutsu Training
Benefits: When you use your Battojutsu Training to attack a foe you may add your dexterity modifier to damage.

Greater Battojutsu Strike (Combat)
You have increased your speed and learned how to strike multiple foes with your Battojutsu Training.

Prerequisites: BAB +6, Quick Draw, Battojutsu Training, Battojutsu Strike
Benefits: When attacking with your Battojutsu Training you may now make as many attacks as you are able before returning your sword to its sheath. Additionally, when making only a single strike you may add 1 1/2 your dexterity modifier to damage.

(So what does everyone think? Too powerful? Too Weak? Just right?)

Smokestick: This alchemically treated wooden stick instantly creates thick, opaque smoke when burned. The smoke fills a 10-foot cube (treat the effect as a fog cloud spell, except that a moderate or stronger wind dissipates the smoke in 1 round). The stick is consumed after 1 round, and the smoke dissipates naturally after 1 minute.

Smoke Effects

A character who breathes heavy smoke must make a Fortitude save each round (DC 15, +1 per previous check) or spend that round choking and coughing. A character who chokes for 2 consecutive rounds takes 1d6 points of nonlethal damage. Smoke obscures vision, giving concealment (20% miss chance) to characters within it.

Breathing in thick alchemical smoke cannot be good for you. I can understand giving out the rules for fog cloud to cover visibility issues and the like... but shouldn't a smoke stick also be smokey?

I just recently finished watching through Van Helsing recently. The scene when Van Helsing is using the two hand powered buzz-saws... inspired me to create a two-weapon fighter with starknifes.

Due in part to the weapon of choice I'd want to go with a Varisian Human character. For flavor I'd want to take ranks in perform (dance), acrobatics, and sleight of hand over the life of the character. Dancing through combat with a pair of starknifes... or performing juggling and dancing for coin.

You would of course at 1st level go with two-weapon fighting, double slash, and weapon focus (starknife).

Past first level things start to get a little interesting. I myself prefer powerful attacks over lots and lots of attacks. I'd want to pick up power attack and weapon specialization (starknife). The starknife also makes a excellent thrown weapon, so tossing in feats like point blank shot, precise shot, or deadly aim also make sense.

Training your fighter in a mixture of these feats up until 6th level is the basic concept with Weapon Training going into Light Blades.

I was thinking of breaking the norm. a little and perhaps taking a level dip as a Wizard with a item bond. By 7th level you should perhaps have been able to afford at least one if not two adamantine starknifes. If you take a level of Wizard at 7th level you can use one of your adamantine starknifes for your weapon bond and pick up arcane strike as your 7th level feat. As a swift action each round you would be able to make your weapons magical. (without the associated cost)

If you chose Transmuter as your Wizard school you could also bump your physical stats to cover any weaknesses. Having cantrips would allow you to use Mage Hand to retrieve miss-thrown or disarmed starknifes or use prestiditation to add minor effects to your street performances.

I'm not sure on what exact progression I want to go with though. There are benefits to taking wizard at first level and then moving into fighter as well. You'd get a free mw weapon for your weapon bond and could pick up the Magic Weapon spell or True Strike to help cover for lack in BAB. Levels in Bard would also mesh well with the character concept and also allow for Arcane Strike.

The over all combined character would be able to cut through all kinds of objects with his starknifes as well as have a fair bit of mid-range combat ability.

How would the fine people here create said character?

I've been seeing allot of threads springing up about crossbows recently. With that in mind I thought it might be fun to have one thread devoted entirely to the use of crossbows for various purposes. This discussion should also include ammo or crossbow accessories. To start things off, let me post an idea I've been pondering that includes both a crossbow and variant crossbow bolts.

I've been reading up on my various Pathfinder products again recently and something came to mind that I found highly amusing to say the least. This would be effectively a Double Barrel shotgun in crossbow form.

Using alchemical archery from Elves of Golarion would allow you to make Splintercloud Bolts. Take those and add them to the Double Crossbow from the PFCS... and BAM! Now, this brings to mind several questions...

1- Does firing two Splintercloud bolts at once up the damage to 2d3?

2- Should it require one or two saves?

3- Can you add extra damage to this using weapon specialization, deadly aim, fighter weapon training, or point blank shot?

Has anyone used material from Tome of Battle in their Pathfinder games yet?

I'm thinking the book could provide quite a bit of fun material to a game. Thanks to the feats Martial Study and Martial stance, any class can have access to this material.

This thread grew a life of its own...hmm.

As a DM I had a player who liked playing a trip master with a spiked chain. I just made a point to include mobs of mooks occasionally for her to play with and she was happy.

I do want to point out one thing about the spiked chain that made it VERY easy to counter. It was a length of chain. This made it relatively easy to sunder.

However... it never seemed to truly unbalance my games and I never really felt the need to fall back to destroying the chain.