So, I'm going to be playing a solo gestalt campaign and I decided to play a Master of Many Styles Monk//Brawler because it basically makes me an Ubermonk. However, I'm having a little bit of difficulty deciding exactly where to go with it. For example, what style feats should I take?
I will point out right now that, because of the nature of the campaign, I had to dump Int a little, so that doesn't give me much to work with in terms of skills. I've got Acrobatics, Intimidate, Perception, and Perform (dance).
You might rightly wonder why I took Intimidate and Perform instead of other skills. My answer is that this campaign will be heavily focused on the Performance Combat rules and as such I need those skills to win performance checks (in the case of Perform) and take advantage of Performance Feats (in the case of Intimidate).
I bring up my low int and few skills because a lot of style feats have skill levels as prerequisites. Fortunately, as a MoMS, I don't need to meet those requirements to get the feats I want. (Also fortunately, as a Brawler, I don't need 13 Int to get a lot of important combat feats.)
I'm planning to go primarily unarmed, but I can use Martial Flexibility to pick up just about any weapon I want in a pinch.
Now, keeping all that in mind, what suggestions would you all have for building this character?
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Er...I wouldn't do that.
Brawler and Monk have way too much overlap to make a good combination of Classes. Not in most ways anyway. Gestalt does best when it combines two classes that don't have nearly as much overlap. For example, Brawler/Cleric or the like.
If you really need the multiple Styles, I'd take two levels of MoMS and the Magical Knack Trait, and then go Cleric (or Empyreal Sorcerer, or druid, or something) thereafter. You'll just do much better.
If you really must combine the two, then I'd at least take an Archetype to replace some of the duplicated abilities with something unique. Exemplar includes several unique abilities, for example, and seems quite thematically appropriate. It'll serve you well even in a solo game.
Another possibility, if aiming for non-spellcaster and more skills, is to go Brawler//Ninja (Scout) or Brawler//MoMS 2/Ninja (Scout). That grants additional skills, Ninja Tricks, and Pouncing with Sneak Attack via Pummeling Style. Which is pretty cool.
Pre errata or post errata MOMS?
There's not really that much overlap. Even the AC bonuses from the two classes stack. Sure, the roles are similar, but that's kinda why I picked those two classes in the first place. I need lots of feats for performance combat, full BAB and a decent hit die, and flurry, which all come from brawler. Then I get even more feats from MoMS, plus all the cool stuff monks get like ki powers and fast movement.
Pre errata or post errata MOMS?
Post-errata
Sacred Fist with a weapon in two hands is a killing machine, particularly when you use Crusader's Flurry with a weapon like katana or greatsword.
I'm not really interested in discussing the merits of the classes I've chosen. Suffice it to say that both I and my GM consider the classes to be a strong enough option to be worth moving forward with.
If you can use Weaponmaster's Handbook, Outslug Style is pretty amazing.
If you can use Weaponmaster's Handbook, Outslug Style is pretty amazing.
Outslug style also has a pretty decent synergy with jabbing style, the bigger 5' step + lunge helps keep that full attack going when things drop earlier than you'd expected.
It looks like Jabbing Style and Pummeling Style have a pretty nice synergy...
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The thing about Gestalt is you want to pair classes that have synergy and add more options to your character.
Personally with what your wanting to do I would do: MoMS Monk 2/Brawler18//Cleric 20. Combine the 2 styles you Like and add in all those juicy buffs and utility style spells. You will not hurt form stacking your wisdom because your monk AC.
Look, I'm aware of the arguments in favor of going with a spellcasting class on one side of the gestalt. My charisma is just as high as my wisdom, so I also considered things like Sorcerer and Bloodrager before finally settling on what I have. The fact is that I prefer playing a pure martial character and, having looked at the two classes, I've come to the conclusion that, for a pure martial gestalt, this isn't a bad combo.
The fact is that I started with a vision of playing Monk of Many Styles all the way from level 1 to level 20. That's not negotiable. I also need flurry to avoid the feat tax for TWF so that I can make lots of Performance Checks and have the audience love me. I also need lots of bonus feats. I also need a D10 HD and full BAB. What other class, besides Brawler, will give me all those things?
None of them. I could get Flurry from Warpriest, but not the full BAB or the d10 HD. I could try Fighter, but I lose Flurry and a large number of class features clash with Monk.
Brawler, on the other hand, synergizes surprisingly well with Monk. Sure, Brawler and Monk both have scaling damage that overlaps. Big whoop. Brawler gets Martial Flexibility, which cuts down on the number of feats I need to take (albeit at the cost of a little action economy), gives a bonus to maneuvers, and gives an AC bonus that stacks with Monk's.
TL;DR: I like my Ubermonk, thank you very much. Leave me alone and answer my questions.
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Brawler, on the other hand, synergizes surprisingly well with Monk.
TL;DR: I like my Ubermonk, thank you very much. Leave me alone and answer my questions.
Your Usage of Synergy in this case is very loose. The combo is more along the lines of Overlapping abilities.
Here is the Definition of Synergy
the interaction or cooperation of two or more organizations, substances, or other agents to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effect
When both parts do roughly the same thing the combined effect is not that much greater than the Sum of the separate effects.
Just do your MoMS Monk 20/Brawler 20 and enjoy the overlap your looking for.
None of them. I could get Flurry from Warpriest, but not the full BAB or the d10 HD. I could try Fighter, but I lose Flurry and a large number of class features clash with Monk.
Cavalier (or Samurai) has a few options and extra feats/damage tagged on. Order of the Hammer can increase Non-lethal Unarmed damage and give you the Feats to Take TWF as well as Challenge Damage. Also FREE ACTION grapple or sunder as part of a full attack and Free feat Choke hold which is a Pin.
I think Brawler/MoMS has more going for it than others here, though I'd probably go a different way than Brawler myself.
To be fair, the Sacred Fist's swift-action Divine Favor/Power makes 3/4 BAB as effective as full BAB without it, but I'm certainly not saying that because I'm trying to tell you what to use. Personally I really like SF for going Crusader's Flurry with a nice weapon, but I prefer my Monk-like characters with armed flurry. Channel Energy also means that Guided Hand is possible without any multiclassing, and there are a few powerful and/or stylish Blessings; I want to create a 9-ring Hei-Feng SF at some point to use Soaring Assault.
Shaitan Skin is easily one of the coolest things you can do with a style if you have a solid WIS - slapping enemies with some staggering acid as part of a strike is just great stuff. Doing it with some kind of Guided Hand build that also has Cornugon Stun and Mantis Style would make a deadly-condition-spamming monster.
I'm starting to think of a plan, considering what resources I have to work with.
Jabbing Style gives me a bunch of extra damage. Dragon Style lets me charge through rough terrain. Pummeling charge lets me flurry at the end of a charge, essentially a pounce. Combining the extra damage from Jabbing Style with the DR-killing bonus from Pummeling Style is where the synergy really starts to happen, though.
With this combo, I can charge through allies and rough terrain, land several hits with a Flurry and rack up a bunch of bonus damage, then apply it all at once as essentially a single blow, all in a single turn.
Only problem is, it'll take a long time to get that combo up and running to its full potential because of the level prereqs.
You can also use the Combat Style Master feat to free-action switch styles in combat. While this does allow more style-crossing and completely removes the necessity of using swift actions to start styles, it also has the benefit of letting you exploit your 'wildcard' slots more freely.
I'm not sure there's anything to prevent someone from using Combat Style Master to swing between Pummeling Charge while they charge and then Jabbing Style after the first strike. It's incredibly efficient if you're allowed to do it, since you can switch your wildcard slot from Pummeling Charge to Jabbing Master and effectively have both by level 8.
I'm pretty sure Pummeling Charge says you have to make all your attacks against the same target, as per Pummeling Style. Combat Style Master is on my shopping list, but I'm not sure quite how useful it will be unless I want to have more than 5 Style feats...
Pummeling Charge requires all attacks on a single target, yes. I'm not sure how that came up; I wasn't talking about anything but switching styles.
The point was that if you can do this...
*Pummeling Style Active; Wildcard feat = Pummeling Charge*
-> Charge target with Pummeling Style and make first full attack strike.
-> *Style Switch: Pummeling Style off / Jabbing Style active; Wildcard feat = Jabbing Master*,
-> Continue full attack with Jabbing Master.
...then you've got access to both Pummeling Charge and Jabbing Master through your wildcard slot as soon as you have Pummeling Style, Jabbing Style, Jabbing Dancer and Monk level 8.
I played one up to 18th (pre-errata MoMS) and it was pretty solid.
You can fix the overlapping abilities issue pretty easy with archetypes.
You might wanna go Steel-Breaker Brawler, and toss on as many Qinggong powers as you can to get rid of the crappier Monk stuff.
Keep Martial Flex and you can have access to the nicher styles (like Monkey Style) on demand.