Jeva

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I find it interesting that everyone seems to be looking at changing the rules. Honestly character customization has been the name of the game since 3.0/3.5e. A monk can be exceedingly powerful, if used right. The answer to the Ac problem that I have found is to simply ignore it. The monk does what it's supposed to do, which is make your character do everything that makes you feel like Jet Li or a DBZ character. The easiest way to fix some of the problems mentioned here is to simple cross-class or apply a template. Notice that the change from 3.5 to Pathfinder removed a monks loss of abilities when changing alignment or cross-classing, so take a level of something else to balance your individual characters. This can also add to the balance of your character backstory or personality as well. On the other hand I myself like to apply templates to a monk. A lycanthrope gains AC bonus' from Natural Armor, and a DR to boot. A werebear is a LG species to begin with, or if you want to be an elf the Lythari werewolf variant from forgotten realms is viable. Then again it's good to remember that some feats increase your healing abilites, and monks already gain the ability to heal themselves. Other feats allow for the unarmed damage of a monk to count as Slashing, Piercing, etc. instead of Bludgeoning as well. I will admit that Monks are not really made for combat at lower levels, but then again it is also good to remember that at 4th level with your spellcaster really only able to cast a short list of especially damaging spells yet, and your Fighter/Barbarian/Paladin possibly not able to afford a magic weapon, your Monk may be the hero of the party when a demon shows up. the only change I would really stand behind is changing the monks Ki fist(magic) back to a permanent addition instead of the pathfinder change to being based off the Ki Pool ability.


I'm not quite certain on the campaign name at the moment, but my group was playing through an adventure where we were required to wear drow skin to infultrate a drow city. As I was playing a Paladin at the time I decided that my character was vehemently against the idea, and was only really restraining himself from action against the necromancer performing the spell because as a Paladin he is a Lawful Good character(not that he would know that). Unfortunately I had to retire the character and chose to use the pathfinder's paragon Monk to run through the rest of the adventure. As we played through the adventure I noticed that it tailored well to base classes, as the few stats the monk had were almost all that was needed to continue. Prestige class characters and multi-class characters didn't do so well, which would normally just be a Jack-of-all-trades issue, but there are only so many skills to choose from, especially in Pathfinder. The other thing I noticed was that the spring attack feat had been changed. It seems it my mind to be more of a recoil from a charge now than it does a feat of dexterity and skill. In any case it was an interesting session of gameplay with jokes a plenty about Drow Girls in Maids outfits, since that was apparently one of the role options during the infiltrration.


I'd say it's really up to the DM(personally I'd say 2 is fine), but shoud be heavily policed so as to not build ungodly powerful PCs from the get go who have a level-adjustment of 20 and can be killed with a sneeze. Honestly the player is punishing themselves when they do so, especially if you don't forget to count the adjustment as multiclass levels. I say this from personal experience as a PC and a DM. My main play character started out as a Werewolf Monk who wished on a genie to get Stormtouched powers and the resulting 9 adjustment seriously took away from the gameplay for me as each encounter at that level didn't even 'give' me experience. I was lucky in a way as the DM saw fit to play with my other wish in a way that caused my character to be out of commission for a time( male pregnancy is ackward...) and the party could catch up while I experimented with other things. Eventually the character was reintroduced and put in a scenario where the DM stripped him of his Stormtouched powers save for his Immunity to electricity and added him to the ranks of Corellan's Chosen, as the Chosen of Mystra template from forgotten Realms, alongside his wife who had been one for sometime as high priestess of a major temple to the god. Eventually the character even interchanged the Chosen template for the Saint template before acending to Godhood himself. I won't even get into the Half-Celestial/Half-Dragon something(can't remember the exact race) and the bizarre things with him while one of my PCs used it in a FR campaign. Needless to say it was almost amusing when he got splattered in one hit... by above Werewolf fumbling... Looooong story short it may be best to limit to 2 at a time, but again it's house rules.


Be Honest I absolutely love playing a Werewolve and have found some tricks for it. Lycanthropes of most kinds make immensely powerful Monks, which also leads to a suitable explanation to any wondering on the change from the build-in alignments given to the template(Monk training and all). I usually only play naturals anyway. Warshaper is also my perfered prestige class for this build as they can reach it earlier than normal. There are a suprising number of feats that work for lycanthropes, if non-specifically. The first feat that immediately comes to mind can be found in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting book and is made just for Lycanthropes as the setting has a whole new race of them in the Elven Lythari variant of the werewolf. I think there is also a reserve feat in Complete Mage that assist those who can use shapeshifting, but it may be for that kind of spell only, I could be wrong. WoTc give a suprising amount of love to Lycans, but understandably most PCs want to run a werecreature through with something pointy and silver well before they wish to make their own characters into them. Something to use as a plot twist for DMs so you won't find much that is racial dedicated to them the way that Shifters get so much focus.

[St. Acheron Silvermoon]