Monk fix, Houserule collection, headcanons and other Stuff


Homebrew and House Rules


In the time I played pathfinder I noticed several things that needed in my opinion a little tweaking in the one or other way.

Monk Fix
I play with a bunch of players who tend to min/max their playstyles and the overwhelming damage the monk does felt very unsatisfying for everyone else trying to deal damage.
On the same term monk players started to ignore monk weapons and went straight for amulets and magic items to increase unarmed strikes.
After a bit looking around I found the solution at DnD 5e - I don't intend to play it but think the solution is rather elegant.

The monk looses his unarmed strikes ability and gains following:

Martial Arts:
At first level the Monks extensive training enables him to use the weapon his training revolved around with enormous efficiency.
-You may use his dexterity in place of strength for attack and damage while using his unarmed strikes and monk weapons.
-You may use the Martial arts damage or the weapon damage when fighting this way.

lvl 1-4: d4
lvl 5-9: d6
lvl 10-14: d8 | 2d4
lvl 15-19: d10 | 2d6
lvl 20: d12 | 3d4

This way the monks damage progresses and increses his overall effectiveness while using monk weapons - or without if you want to stick to the roots.
The second column is for an alternate progression, not sure how that would work out but I think monk is the right type for rather reliable damage instead of min/max - i would have gone with 2d5 but never seen one befort :P

This also easily enables a new feat:

Martial Arts Training
Prerequisites: Martial arts Class feature, Martial or Exotic Prophiciency (for a Melee or throwing weapon).
The chosen Weapon counts as Monk Weapon for Martial Arts and Flurry of Blows. This Feat also counts as Weapon Focus and gives +1 Attack with the chosen weapon.
Special: You can choose this feat multiple times. Each times it counts for a different weapon. If you pick a simple weapon you still pick one simple weapon even though the prophiciency teaches you all weapons.

Usually this kind of feats need weapon focus, but monk is not prophicient with the weapons that usually would benefit from this feat. And I totally want to avoid buying 2 feats for one weapon option.
If you can gain missle weapons like bows and crossbows is up the dm since it might not fit the theme or setting.
Also note that this feat potentially enables to use Racial weapons as monk weapons.
And you could of course give the brawler Martial arts too, which would also add up nicely

Another little thing I would like to change in the monks:
Add Style feats to the list of monk bonus feats I don't see the sense in just enabling scorpion style when there are so many interesting styles around.

Further Houserule:
-The archetypes who lost opportune parry and riposte gain it back.

-Same for amateur swashbuckler.

-Paladins gain profession with their deities favored weapon. (It always was beyond understanding why the religios fighter seems to be the only one who does not gain this while explicitly having a deity)

-Katanas are Finesse Weapon (but only while wielding it onehanded).

-The Estoc is as the Rapier a Martial weapon and NOT a weapon that can be wielded with two hand (seriously, who came up with that s!&*?)

-Humans always gain a secondary Language depending on their home. (So Osiriani people know osiriani and so on...no other human language in your land? Taldan people can choose one of the neighbour countries languages. While humans groing up around greengold may pick elvish and so on...)

-Humans gain one Weapon Prophiciency bonus depending on their home
So one Exotic weapon that counts as martial or a martial prophiciency
(Osiriani treat the Khopesh as martial weapon, Varisians either do the same with the bladed scarf or gain a starknife etc. -> ask your dm what fits!)

-The regional bonus language and weapon prophiciency can also be applied to other races if it fits the background

-Shelyn is a Chaotic Good Deity, she looses the air domain and get the chaos domain (love is often chaotic and surely a rather an erratic factor)
Also she replaces the agathion with the azata subdomain and she lives in Elysium (the azata are already artists themselves, it is just fitting)

Okay I admit the last one was halfway into the headcanon. So lets continue with that:

In Absalom there is the 'Writing Imp' a big publisher of a playboy-esque magazin named 'Like the gods made them' which features every month another beautiful woman from around the multiverse. (It can be woman from every species, humans and elves are as commonly in there as angels or other female outsiders).
You gain a black/white print for 10 gold and color for 20. Nobody knows exaclty how the man behind (a friendly and polite man who always seems to find the right words) manages that.
He seems to have a flawless reputation besides the workforce of imps he uses to create his works.
Also he pays good and seems to be very forthcoming in negotiations

GM Info::
Intensive research reveals that the profile information of the publisher doesnt exactly add up. Interestingly not even the best informed people seemed to notice. If you press on in the matter you will eventually find out this is a little hobby and sidebusiness of Asmodeus himself who also uses the honestly earned coin to simply buy power in one way or another.
If your characters try to reveal this to the public no one will believe them

The writing Imp also publishes the 'Big book of Booty Calls'
A very big and detailed book which features on every double page a beautiful outsider with name, summoning name, paraphelia and statistics that describe how easy she is to please or how expansive it is to buy a 'favor' and how dangerous it is to make deals with the specific outsider - also the usual services the outsider is called for and a text with additional infos.
The book features a vast collection of Outsiders of every kind - angels, demons, azata, tieflings, genie, etc...
As part of the book there is a ritualized version of 'planar ally' to call the outsiders which enables even non-spellcaster to occasionally summon an elegent escort.
The 'light' version of the book handles mostly easy summons up to 12hd (Planar ally) and mostly the low risk summons. Availibe for around 500 gold.
the full version features up 18 hd (greater planar ally) and features additional a lot of outsiders you only want to meet prepared (Erodemons are rather questionable escorts but if its that what you want...) and is availible for 800 gold
The Deluxe version is smaller and lighter but features everything of the full version and more, it has a magical search and sort funktion - the code words are in the index (and are in draconic)
2000 gold for one of these but hey, if you don't get an escort using this you are probably doing somthing wrong.

The original book was written by an lesbian female elven sorceress with an affinity to summoning magic. She sold the light version to the publisher to get more money for her 'research'

Also there is a new religios movement:
The Trinity Church is a rather new and somewhat loose organized association of followers of good faiths. With primary focus on Shelyn, Desna and Serenrae (the Trinity)
They value each of the goddesses and celebrate the shared ways.
The members usually have perform or artistry skilled or are at least interested in those things. They travel around the world and seek to help people, if possible in the nonviolent way. (So preferably no murder-hobos)
The members can be of nonlawful, good alignment and might be called upon by the church (or one of the churches associated with either of the goddesses). The members are usually asked first but it makes no good impression if you decline to help people on a regular basis.
On the other hand you get a set of benefits:
You gain prophiciency with all of the goddesses favored Weapons (if your class gains your deities favored weapon)
You may choose of either of the three goddesses domains.
If you pick the divine obedience feat you might mix and match the abilities of your path (One ability of each tier). But you should if possible do all the obediences at least once over the course of a week.

You gain access to the following weapon and following feats:

Trinities Pride (16k Gold)
This Weapon can change its form to the following:
+1 Returning Starknife, +1 Flaming Scimitar, +1 Merciful Glaive (Enchantments may vary) It can be tranformed as the beginning of your turn as swift action or in your turn as move action. Each of the three weapons count as a half of a double weapon for further enchantments, but can only be enchanted by followers of the Trinity church.

Trinities Grace:
Prerequisites: Weapon Finesse, Dex 15
This feat counts as Weapon Focus for Trinities Pride. It is not applicable to other starknives, scimitars or glaives.
You may use Dexterity instead of Strength for attack and damage rolls while using Trinities Pride. You Still need to be pfophicient with each of the weapons to gain its advatages while wielding it.
If you learn a feath that would usually be applicated to a single weapon, you may instead choose Trinities Pride and apply it to all forms (if possible).

Greater Grace:
Prerequisites: Trinties Grace, Dex 17
You may change the form of Trinities Grace as immediate action outside of your turn or as free action in your turn. You may even change the form in between attacks of an full attack action.

Might add more to the thread later on.

RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 16

I think the changes to the monk are completely unnecessary and don't make much sense.

You CAN actually build a monk as a weapon wielder since unchained flurry blows allows you to gain benefits for two-handing weapons. Exotic monk weapons have very useful features such as reach, trip, and grapple. Then there's the Ascetic Style feats.


The ascetic style in not exactly my stlye or the style any of my players would use and still the simple damage of the unarmed strike outweights every weapon in the lategame by far.

This way the weapons are always valid (not only for combat maneuvers) while at the same time the clas doesnt outshine everyone else with ridicoluss ammounts of damage

And I always wondered why the monk suddenly dealt less damage while wielding a weapon

I know that it is in the end always also a matter of taste but the monk as it was before simply didnt work well with my players

RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 16

Actually, with two-handing weapons and having cheaper enhancements, the damage with a weapon is competitive. And you can pick up weapons with higher critical ranges, too, and get weapons with reach. There's a trade-off between using weapons versus using unarmed strikes. That's a good thing.

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