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I checked the FAQ ( http://paizo.com/paizo/faq/v5748nruor1g1 ) for Ultimate Combat, couldn't see any mention of it there, so I want to turn to the community to make sure I have this 100% right.
How do Style Feat pre-reqs interact with A> a Monk in general, and B> a Master of Many Styles archetype Monk?
An example, Crane Style's pre-req list is: Dodge, Improved Unarmed Strike, base attack bonus +2 or monk level 1st.
That's the exact text. Here's what I'm wondering...
Can a regular Monk select this Crane Style feat without taking Dodge beforehand? That is, does "or monk level 1st" override the entire rest of the prereqs? Or does the use of 'or' in this sentence only allow you to override the BAB +2 requirement, making the prereqs effectively "Dodge, Improved Unarmed Strike, Monk Level 1st" insofar as a starting Monk cares (and thus they would need to take Dodge beforehand)?
Moving on, would the same be true of Crane Wing? Prereqs are: Crane Style, Dodge, Improved Unarmed Strike, base attack bonus +5 or monk level 5th.
That is, could a Monk 5 acquire it by only being Monk 5 and having Crane Style (the Style Feats section makes this prereq very clear), or do they have to satisfy Dodge as well?
Finally, how does a Master of Many Styles interact with this? Am I right in believing only Bonus Feats provided to this archetype may ignore the Monk Level prerequisite (edit: and other non-Style Feat prereqs), provided they obey the style feat chain itself? That is, such a MoMs could use Bonus Feats to acquire Crane Style at level 1 without taking Dodge, then Crane Wing at level 2, and so on? Or does being a Master of Many Styles permit the MoMS to also use this style feat behavior when selecting their 'base feats' at levels 1, 3, 5, 7, etc. too? (I'm guessing not, but had to check since it's on-topic)
References to Game Material in Question:
Monk Class on D20PFSRD
Master of Many Styles (Monk Archetype) on D20PFSRD
Style Feats Overview on D20PFSRD
Crane Style Feat on D20PFSRD
Crane Wing Feat on D20PFSRD
There's a comma in those prerequisites.
It says "Dodge, Improved Unarmed Strike, BaB +2 or Monk level 1st".
Note the lack of a comma in the last one.
It could be written like this as well:
Prerequisites: Dodge + IUS + (BaB +2 OR Monk level 1)
Bonus Feats for a MoMS ignore the prerequisites.
A MoMS could, yes, grab Crane Style at 1st without Dodge as his Bonus, then at second snag Crane Wing or even Crane Riposte as the 2nd level bonus.
Note the wording here:
"At 1st level, 2nd level, and every four levels thereafter, a master of many styles may select a bonus style feat or the Elemental Fist feat. He does not have to meet the prerequisites of that feat"
For at 1st/2nd/6th/etc. he maybe select a bonus Style Feat, and only ignores prerequisites for THAT Feat, not all Feats.