Qinggong-Something Monk's guide to Weapon Finesse

[Kazumetsa Raijin]

Hey All! I'm kinda new at this, so bear with me please.

I've created a Qinggong-Something Monk's Guide to Weapon Finesse, and I'm looking for any assessments, constructive criticism, suggestions, and otherwise advice on making it more complete and as accurate as possible according to RAW(Rules-As-Written).

I realize the Dex/Weapon Finesse-based Monk is a tough thing to work with, but rewarding if done correctly. I really wanted to help others out with this, as I have been kind of wandering through books, forums, and mostly in the dark. I don't want other Monk-Lovers to feel this way, so I'm offering a short guide on what is and isn't good to Finesse as a Weaponized-Monk of ANY kind. I'd hate for Monk's to feel as if they are restricted to Monk weapons and/or Sohei archetype.

Thank you so much in advance, for anything you have to offer. I will respond to your questions/comments as soon as I can. Also, please let me know if the Link works... it's tricky using Google Drive here at work.

Edit: I'll also update the sheet on a daily basis if changes are pending.

Edit2: I should certainly have considered x3 and x4 weapons in the mix.

I'll definitely provide a List of Traits and List of Materials that both assist in making Finessable Weapons become even better.

[Imbicatus]

Good idea!

First off, the link works.

Secondly, It looks like you forgot the starknife. It's not a great weapon, but it is finessable, Harrow Wardens treat it as a monk weapon, and Desna/Black Butterfly have it as favored weapon.

Secondly, Daggers are at least equal to Kukris. They can be thrown, and they have a widly-available +1 to damage in river rat that is more important than the threat range for most dex builds. Especially if you worship Pharasma.

[Kazumetsa Raijin]

Imbicatus wrote:

Good idea!

First off, the link works.

Secondly, It looks like you forgot the starknife. It's not a great weapon, but it is finessable, Harrow Wardens treat it as a monk weapon, and Desna/Black Butterfly have it as favored weapon.

Secondly, Daggers are at least equal to Kukris. They can be thrown, and they have a widly-available +1 to damage in river rat that is more important than the threat range for most dex builds. Especially if you worship Pharasma.

You're right, I should certainly have considered x3 and x4 weapons in the mix.

I'll definitely provide a List of Traits and List of Materials that both assist in making Finessable Weapons become even better.

Thanks for your input!

[Kazumetsa Raijin]

Updated.

Still working on the rest.

It turns out we don't have many optimal choices as a Finesse character, let alone a Monk using Flurry to boot.

[Imbicatus]

The Ranged Tactics Toolbox has a new monk archetype that allows you to flurry with any thrown weapon. That opens some possibilities.

[Kazumetsa Raijin]

Is that 3rd party?

[Imbicatus]

No, It's a new Paizo release. I got my download from my subscription this morning. It's wonderful.

[lemeres]

You listed sawtoothed sabers as finessable without all the caveats seen with other 1 handed weapons.

Just checking- you know that they are only light for the purposes of TWF penalties, and they "remains classified as a one-handed melee weapon for all other purposes", right?

I also saw warhammers and heavy picks on the list... and you said they could be used under slashing grace? Remember, slashing grace only works on 1 handed slashing weapons, so you need a way around that before you can even consider such weapons.

[Kazumetsa Raijin]

Thank you for your input. That will be fixed in the next update.

[williamoak]

Dotting for future reference. I love finesse stuff, and I've been trying to get a functional dex-monk for a while. Let's see what interesting stuff we can come up with. (Note: I might post some archetype analysis this weekend for dex-monks)

[Imbicatus]

When you are filling out the traits section, there are three weapons with a +1 damage trait that bear mentioning.

River Rat for Daggers
Quain Martial Artist for Unamrmed Strikes
Whip specialist for whips

Static bonuses are crucial to finesse builds, and can help offset the loss of bonuses on power attack or str when compared to two handed builds.

[Chris Lambertz]

Merged threads. Please refrain from posting duplicate threads in multiple areas of the messageboards. Thanks!

[ElementalXX]

You should include a dip in swashbuckler as desirable for slashing grace or dex to damage with unarmed strikes

[lemeres]

Imbicatus wrote:

When you are filling out the traits section, there are three weapons with a +1 damage trait that bear mentioning.

River Rat for Daggers
Quain Martial Artist for Unamrmed Strikes
Whip specialist for whips

Static bonuses are crucial to finesse builds, and can help offset the loss of bonuses on power attack or str when compared to two handed builds.

Yes for unarmed strikes, probably not for whips ,... and daggers makes me think of things.

How about deific obedience for Pharasma? That gives a +2 to dagger damage rolls for a feat, some knowledge (religion) ranks as a prerequisite, and some Goth ritual done daily. Combined with river rat, and your dagger hits like it was a 1d10 weapon.

This has the slight advantage of actually making your dip into cleric become more of a part of your character. Although this path also can be done by a monoclass monk if you go sohei...