Cel'Daren's page

True Round 1: I cast Planeshift to move myself to my Permanent Greater Demiplane with the "Timeless" quality in relation to Magic.

True Round 2: I cast Time Stop. Due to the "Timeless" quality of my Demi Plane the effect is permanent until I choose to remove it. The entire universe stands still, except for me.

Apparent Round 3-30: I realize I no longer have just 30 rounds in which to deal with this problem, and calm myself down by brewing up a nice hot cup of tea, since anything I carried with me at the casting of Time Stop was also affected and every wizard is prepared to prepare tea.

Apparent Round 31-??: Anything I want. I could choose to research a specific high level spell in order to handle the problem such as "Mass Call Object", in order to bring all of the missiles to my Demiplane where I can deal with them by merely petrifying them or transmuting them into something interesting like flora for my Demiplane.

True Round 3: I dispel my Time Stop effect and wait for the world to realize that it's entire stock of Nuclear weapons has effectively ceased to exist. I probably take steps to protect myself since apparently now everyone on Earth is going to realize that magic is a thing now, and things are going to go to hell in a hand basket no matter what I do anymore.

Wouldn't it be better to just make the geas "Do not resist, oppose, or attempt to harm me" and then just cast Dominate/Charm on them? Since they can't resist you, they can't roll Will Save to negate more standard methods of control. You could potentially control a character much higher level than yourself with this simple combo.

Fluff your casting of Summoning spells as making a deal with whatever you Summon, trading some magical power for their assistance, granting them some face time on the Prime Material (which EVERYONE seems to desire), or even just getting them out of a jam. After all if you summon something it's no longer wherever it is in the Outer Realms, which might be appealing to some Air Elemental who finds itself ambushed by some random elemental-eating monstrosity around the time you call it up.

The possible reasons for a given creature Wanting you to summon it are endless. Pick one you like, roll your eyes at your social justice party mates, and move on.

Perhaps be a Lawful Evil Cleric of Irori instead of Asmodeus. Irori accepts that a "Good" Path is not for everyone, and that the goal of Self-Perfection can be undertaken by those of any moral standing. This attracted your character's attention after they lost the patronage of Iomedae, and you never looked back.

Be strong and bold in the face of the Paladin, don't hide your nature. Come right out and tell him you are a Priest of Irori who believes in Might makes Right, that Self-Perfection comes from mastery of yourself and others. Alternatively you could keep being a Priest of Asmodeus and still follow these ideas with just some minor tweaking.

Hold yourself to your promises and Oaths given, for only those who are weak do not have the strength to follow through with what they declare. Offer a Contract with the Paladin, outlining the exact nature of your relationship and the reasoning you two are capable of working together during adventures.

Be zealous in destroying other evil; if only because they're muscling in on your territory. You know the reasoning behind it, the Paladin knows the reasoning behind it, but if you're competent enough the actions outweigh the intent, and the Paladin is actually morally obligated to give you a pass because you're reducing the total evil in the world. Be sure to underline this fact for the Paladin if they try and get uppity with you about your morals.

Let yourself be "guided" by the Paladin in public, as they are a person who has great mental strength and faith in their purpose, and have enough power to be respected, such as sparing downed foes at the behest of the Paladin or other such mercies. Yet in private make sure to hunt down and terminate those foes if you can do so without it reaching the Paladin's attention.

Consider holding off creating Undead until you reach a level where you can make "free-willed" Undead, and claim they have a desire to continue fighting after their deaths or wish to serve you willingly. Create Undead that are capable of speech so they can corroborate your story, whether it's truth or not (after all you can just mentally command them to say what you want).

Soulless with a dash of Can't die!

Some powerful Outsider, perhaps Asmodeus, has claim over said person's soul, and has it locked away in some horrific place. The body has just a sliver of their soul within, enough for them to retain their personality, emotions, and sensations. The link between the sliver of soul in the body and the rest of the soul means that the body is forced to experience all of the pain and horror its soul is undergoing while still having its own situation to deal with. The pain and torture of the soul prevents the body from any sort of natural rest. They can't sleep, they can't lie down for a minute, absolutely no rest, and the unnatural situation their body is in means that they don't technically need rest either but are still affected by exhaustion.

The powerful Outsider has some tasks it wants the Soulless to do, and is holding their Soul as reward for the job being done. Soulless person thus has to try and complete some grisly task, cannot rest yet feels every ounce of exhaustion they should, and maybe just to make it truly horrible for them their mostly-Soulless nature makes them perfectly Empathic. They feel all of the pain and suffering of those they must hurt/kill in order to go forward with their goal, in addition to the pain they feel from their soul's torture.

Proposed Houserule (Yeah I know this is the Rules Questions section but whatever)...

Anyone of True Neutral alignment affected by a Helmet of Opposite Alignment is instead inflicted with a Permanent Confusion effect, the magic of the helm unable to properly adjust their alignment and instead scrambling their minds.

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm fully capable of dealing "lethal damage" to things with my limbs and teeth. Sure I can't bite through solid steel like say a Crocodile, or toss people from hitting them like a gorilla can, but still... If I bite you I'm drawing blood and taking chunks, if I punch you I'm liable to break bones and rupture organs. And just to be clear, I've no real combat training. In rule terms, I'm either a commoner or a rogue at best.

Humans are naturally capable of dealing lethal damage while unarmed. Period.

Can we please stop with the "Well I don't think this is a good idea.." posts and just focus on the data?

The idea was to throw out the concept of Attacks of Opportunity because of what weapon you may or may not be wielding, because removing Unarmed Strike and replacing it with Natural Weapons means they would no longer be subject to free Attacks of Opportunity in melee if they're unarmed. After rereading the Throw Anything and Catch Off-Guard feat I realize it's not related to that. In my head someone got an Attack of Opportunity on them when wielding an improvised weapon unless they had Catch Off-Guard or Throw Anything. My mistake. Your idea to keep both feats and just remove the note about flat-footing unarmed opponents make good sense.

I'm unsure about the no-strength bonus unless you have Imp. Unarmed Strike, at least for the Slam. I agree the Bite attack probably shouldn't benefit from the strength mod, but then again I can't see training really helping a regular human increase their jaw strength. Anybody who wanted to improve their bite could just take any number of abilities to give them a normal bite attack. Perhaps have it instead that the bite attack, unless improved, cannot be used as a primary Natural Weapon and counts as an off-hand weapon?

I'll admit my system knowledge may not be up to par to a lot of people, which is why I had this thread placed this way rather than just trying to put forward a "completed" idea. Thanks everyone who's giving Constructive Criticism.

I'd love to get some more information. There's got to be more stuff I'm missing here.

@SheepishEidolon

1. I can hold a box and bite someone at the same time :P
2&3. Part 6 of my changes states that Natural Weapons don't give additional attacks. If you're a level 1 commoner, you get to attack once. Choose either your Slam or your Bite, but not both. So I suppose I should reword it to say that Natural Weapon attacks act just like Manufactured weapon attacks, they're tied to your BAB and don't normally give an extra attack unless you have something like Flurry of Blows, Multi-attack, or similar.
4. Those things tend to add a bite attack that is properly sized for the creature. The normal bite attack is 2 sizes smaller. Thus, these abilities would simply increase the original bite attack 2 sizes. Your idea to add a note is still a good one.

@Malag

I'm not here to debate whether or not this is a good idea. Everyone is going to have their own opinion on that. I just want the data it would take to make this idea easily mesh with the existing system, for the sake of anyone who might want to apply this idea as a Houserule.

I've never understood why humanoids are treated as not having Natural Weapons, and why the concept of an "Unarmed Strike" exists at all. Humanoids have teeth, humanoids have limbs that can be used to bludgeon things. Granted they're not the most efficient weapons, but we still have them.

So I wondered what would be the effects of removing the concept of an "Unarmed Strike" and having humanoids given 2 Natural Weapons, all sized for a creature two sizes smaller than normal. 1 Bite Weapon and 1 Slam. So far I realize it seems to be a bit of a boost to monks, and anyone who wants to fight without a weapon.

Essentially the changes I feel this would have to include in list form would look kinda like:

1. Unarmed Strikes don't exist. Nothing provokes an attack of opportunity merely by wielding a weapon which they are not proficient with.
2. Improved Unarmed Strike, Throw Anything, and Catch Off-Guard do not exist, and all things requiring these abilities simply ignore them.
3. Humanoids are given a Bite and a Non-lethal Slam Natural Weapon that is 2 sizes smaller than normal. For Medium humanoids this equals 1d3. For small humanoids this equals 1d2.
4. Monks have a few changes. Humanoid monks improve their original Bite and Slam Weapons to equal their own size at 1st level (They then increase as the Unarmed Strike does now). A monk applies their full Strength bonus to all their Natural Weapons. A monk can use any limb to perform their Slam attack, and can treat their Slam attack as any number of weapons for the purposes of Flurry of Blows and Two-Weapon Fighting and its improvements.
5. Any ability that previously gave a bonus only to Unarmed Strike now gives it to a creature's Natural Attacks (such as a monk's Ki Pool ability).
6. Natural Weapons no longer grant additional attacks beyond the creature's normal attack routine. For example, a creature with a Bite and 2 Claw weapons but with only a BAB of 6 can still only attack twice with a Full Attack Action, using any combination of their Natural weapons. The multi-attack feat restores this ability in addition to its normal effects.
7. Amulet of Mighty Fists applies its bonus only to 1 Natural Weapon, chosen at the time of donning the amulet. An Amulet of Mighty Fists is treated as a single weapon for the purposes of enchanting prices (an Amulet of Mighty Fists costs the same as say, a longsword, to enchant). An Amulet of Mighty Fists may be enchanted to provide its effect to any number of Natural Weapons, but its price changes accordingly (2 attacks doubles the original price. 3 attacks triple it, etcetc).

Now, these changes make sense, to me. However I'm not even sure what the longer term effect of these changes would be. I'm sure there are builds that would become overpowered by this, and others that suddenly lose a lot of power. Tell me what you think about these various changes, how they would effect the game, which feats and abilities would lose effectiveness, all that good stuff.

Also, thank you for your time folks!

So the Paladin cannot dress himself/herself, chew his/her fingernails, eat, look at people, contemplate their navel, or a million other actions that have no Good/Evil consideration?

I reject your definition of a Paladin. That thing couldn't reasonably exist, even in DnD. Even the Archons would fall short of such morality if there weren't allowed to commit acts that had no moral impact such as farting, scratching an itch, noting that succubus is really sexy even if she was totally evil, or even posting on this forum.

Cel'Daren wrote:

I'm not claiming to be good. I'm claiming to be neutral.

There was a freaggin' PALADIN IN THE GROUP!!!!

Good for him. He committed a Neutral act. Why should it affect his alignment again?

EDIT: Ninja'ed by Rynjin. Well played Sir!

You know, I have a simple definition of an evil act. If you perform an act, and a NEUTRAL person looks at that act, and then immediately wants to punish you for committing that act, and in fact almost any neutral person you went to agreed to punish you for that, then you committed an evil act.

If you committed an act, and you showed it to a bunch of neutral people, and they all went "Okay I can understand why you did that and would have done so in your place" then its a neutral act.

So the question is if there are any Neutral people in the area who would approve of their actions. I can think of a few. The villagers who were being attacked by the evil people. I think they'd appreciate me killing as many of them as possible, and I don't think they'd blink at me mutilating their bodies in order to provide a method to kill even more of them.

I'm not claiming to be good. I'm claiming to be neutral. I would have killed all of those cultists in their sleep, mutilated their bodies as part of a ruse to fool the conscious cultists, and continued that ruse as long as possible in order to cut down the number of evil people I have to deal with until I can kill their Leader and go home mission Accomplished.

I don't think I'd lose much sleep over it either. I'd probably think of all the villagers my actions helped save if anything.

Snowblind wrote:

Purple Dragon Knight wrote:

Kazaan wrote:

I don't know if it was brought up yet (12 pages is a lot to wade through), but might I bring up Sarenrae's Paladin code?

- The best battle is a battle I win. If I die, I can no longer fight. I will fight fairly when the fight is fair, and I will strike quickly and without mercy when it is not.
Sarenrae's Paladin's Code explicitly calls out that, if it isn't a fair fight, the Paladin isn't obligated to treat it as if it were one and can attack without mercy. If a Paladin is allowed to do this, then it cannot be intrinsically Evil, nor even dishonorable since Paladins aren't allowed to fight dishonorably, either.

Yes it's been brought up, but it means the paladin must fight fairly unless he's facing overwhelming opposition, in which case he's to give no quarters.

In the OP's situation this means the paladin MUST allow the acolytes a fair fight.

Really? I would say that being in the enemy's territory surrounded by overwhelming numbers qualifies as "not a fair fight". This would be an appropriate time to strike without mercy.

Overwhelming numbers of sleeping people.

Overwhelming numbers of sleeping enemies.

Fixed that for you. Acolytes are accepted enemies. Killing them while asleep is no worse than killing them awake.

Blackvial wrote:

Slaying enemies in their sleep, totally not evil, just good tactics

I disagree, what assumptions are you basing your statement on?

Coup de Grace on sleeping opponents are not any more or less evil than straightforward combat against the same enemies. In fact they tend to be less painful, quicker, and "cleaner". The amount of suffering experienced by any of the slain dwarves was most likely much less than if they had engaged in fatal combat with the team.

So, the method here has no impact on the morality in this specific case. Thus the question is if it was evil to slay the dwarves in the first place. Which is no. They were Evil. They were followers of the stated enemy. They are applicable targets. Given that they were monks, they were also trained combatants, not civilians. If you need more of a reason to kill them then why are you taking this job in the first place?

I got to about post 200 before I stopped reading and realized this thread convinced me to Houserule that Detect Alignment spells don't ping just because someone is THINKING along a certain alignment at the time, it will only ping due to actions the creature has taken.

Seems like it would save a hell of a lot of bickering if everyone just knew that when someone pinged evil on a Detect Evil, you knew they had already done some horrible things.

Oh and personally. Killing the evil Dwarves was a Lawful Neutral act in my opinion. They were sent there to kill the leader of the cult by their accepted commander/leader/whatever. Their actions were done with the intent to further the goal they had been given by their accepted leader, and their intent was not to harm obviously innocent people but beings who have been deemed acceptable targets via their Detect Evil.

Vutava wrote:

HWalsh wrote:

So in the case of a LE...

"You see someone being mugged, the mugger asks you to help him."

You're done.

You fall.

There is no way out.

You have to follow the law, so you can't help the mugger. However you cannot perform a non-evil act. So you can't do nothing (that's good as you are refusing to help a criminal) you can't save the civilian (that's good) you can't demand the victim to promise to pay you to help (that's blackmail and is non-lawful) and you can't help the mugger because while that's evil, its not Lawful.

You have no real option here.

You could kill the mugger for breaking the law (assuming in your example that mugging is illegal) and then arrest the victim for disturbing the peace.

Doesn't work. In killing the mugger, for breaking the law, you performed a good act because you still saved the victim. Instant fall. It doesn't matter that you arrest the other guy, you still have to run, shell out a ton of GP to get the atonement.

No disrespect but I wouldn't touch a game like that with a twenty foot pole. I am here to have fun, and that seems a rather pointlessly restrictive setup just waiting to punish someone just for trying to play the concept they have in their head.

For the record I believe the Anti-Paladin class also includes a clause stating that evil does not care about the method, only the result. An Anti-Paladin is fully capable of committing a "good" act in the pursuit of greater evil. This clause is in reference only to the good/evil axis, not the Law/chaos axis, so I don't see why a Lawful Evil Anti-Paladin would be incapable of committing a good act while pursuing a greater evil, or indeed holding up the Laws or Oaths they are sworn to regardless of their good/evil ramifications.

In the end the game is only what you make of it. If you are enjoying such a restrictive setup for Paladins, then great for you. Dont go judging people on how they enjoy playing a less restrictive version of a Paladin in their game.

Fidgeting.

Your character is so hyper that she can't even decide on what kind of strike she is going to go for until she's halfway through her attack! She sees the opening on the left, right, above, and behind, and decides to strike at all of them at the same time, in the same thrust! Her feints aren't the sinuous grace of a striking viper, but the jerky twitching movements of a haywire clockwork death machine! Basically it isn't that she's trying to deceive her opponent, it's just she's so caught up in the fight that she can't decide what to do, and the opponent gets to try and realize it's best just to stay a big step back from the transmuted squirrel lady.

For added fluff, any experienced blade combatant should look at your rogue with a kind of fascinated horror of seeing everything they knew about fighting rolled up into a ball and then thrown on the midden heap. The ever snarky combat pragmatist should be ready with a quip about despite the apparent insanity of the moves, it does seem to work, much to the sadness of the experienced blade combatant.

For even more funsies, have your character completely unaware of what she's doing, and when asked how she did that have her start on a tirade of all the places she was trying to attack at the same time. LIST THEM ALL.

I dunno how long you might run with this, but I bet it'll get at least a few laughs at the table before it gets old :D

NOT Badass Talents, but a suggested thing or two for all Badasses to just have:

Badass Display
Badasses are capable of pulling out all the stops to put a tough foe down. Once per day the badass can muster greater power and accuracy for a single attack, adding their badass tier to their damage roll (multiplied on a Critical Hit), and adding one-third their badass tier, to a minimum of 1, to their Base Attack Bonus. Additional attacks are possible with this ability, but they do not gain the bonus to damage of this ability. At 3rd tier and every 3 tiers after that the badass can use this ability an additional time per day.

Badass Determination
Badasses are just plain tougher to put in their place. At 3rd tier and every 4 tiers after that the Badass may increase their base Fortitude, Reflex, or Will score by 1. This bonus stacks with other sources, and allows the Badass to qualify for feats requiring certain Save scores.

Another suggestion is also to let the badass spend a Badass Talent to receive a free Feat, assuming it is a Non-magical based feat.

With a CHA of 1, but other mental stats at least somewhere around 10 or above, you're an organic computer.

With normal mental stats you perceive and understand the world at a certain level. With Wisdom you intake information and perform instinctual responses that bypass your conscious mind. With Intelligence you process that information into something useful. With Charisma your personal wants and needs prioritizes the information you've gotten as beneficial or detrimental to your goals.

For example. If you have poor Intelligence but high Wis and Cha, you could potentially open a book and look at the pretty symbols in it, and you'd be able to choose a specific symbol out as your favorite, but you'd never understand the meaning of the words in the book.

A person with a Charisma of 1 but high Int/Wis would open that book, be able to see the symbols, interpret them as words and understand the meaning, but would be unable to decide whether or not the book was to their liking, if the information should be acted upon, or anything else that requires the reader to care about the information they've received.

Conscious effort would be almost impossible for the user. As others have said before, the character would be likely to just sit down and stop doing things, just idly observing the world around them. Their allies would have to push them to do anything besides stand there gawking at things, and only the most immediate and clear threats to the character in question would cause them to act.

In fact, I would assume a character with a Charisma score of 1 to eventually die if not put in a mental institution of some kind, since they could feel hunger, thirst, and exhaustion but would neither act on those feelings or even express to others they had such feelings. A humanoid with a charisma of 1 would probably die of thirst if left to their own devices.

So the tl;dr version is that your character is so uncaring they wouldn't even attempt to eat or drink and would die of thirst in the first 3 days.

Instead of 6 stats, drop it down to 4 maybe?

Vigor
Coordination
Cognizance
Presence

.

Vigor is the combination of both Strength and Constitution. It measures a character's ability to both generate and withstand physical forces. This ability is important for everyone, but is especially so for any character that engages in melee combat, such as fighters, monks, paladins, barbarians, etc etc. This ability determines the maximum amount of weight a character can carry, and a bonus increases a character's hit points. Incorporeal Undead lack a Vigor score, and rely on their Presence instead. A character with a Vigor score of 0 is dead.

You apply your character's Vigor modifier to:
Most Melee Attack Rolls,
Damage rolls when wielding a melee or throwing weapon,
Each roll of a hit die,
Fortitude Saving Throws,
Climb and Swim skill checks.
Strength checks (knocking down doors, etc)

.

Coordination is a combination of Dexterity and Wisdom. It measures a character's ability to control their own movements and manipulate physical objects with finesse. This ability is important for anyone seeking to excel with ranged or dual melee combat. A character with a Coordination score of 0 is incapable of moving and essentially paralyzed.

You apply your character's Coordination modifier to:
Ranged Attack Rolls,
Finessed Melee Attack Rolls,
Armor Class, provided the character can react to the attack
Reflex Saving Throws,
Acrobatics, Craft, Disable Device, Escape Artist, Fly, Profession, Ride, Sleight of Hand, and Stealth checks

.

Cognizance is a combination of Intelligence and Wisdom. It measures a character's ability to learn, use logic, and intuition. This ability is important to everyone, but is most important to Wizards and Monks because it effects their Spellcasting and Ki abilities respectively. A character with a Cognizance score of 0 is incapable of perception or thought and is unconscious.

You apply you character's Cognizance modifier to:
The number of skill points gained each level, though your character always gets at least 1 skillpoint per level.
Disbelief Saving Throws*,
Appraise, Heal, Knowledge, Perception, Sense Motive, Spellcraft, and Survival checks.

.

Presence is a combination of Wisdom and Charisma. It measures a character's willpower, luck, divine-favor, self-confidence, and ability to influence others. It is important for many classes including most Divine Spellcasters, Bards, Sorcerers, and Rogues. A character with a Presence score of 0 is unable to stir themselves to action and stand helpless unless directed by another being. For undead creatures their Presence also represents their unnatural lifeforce and an undead creature with a Presence score of 0 is destroyed.

You apply your character's Presence modifier to:
The number of bonus languages your character starts with.
Will Saving Throws,
Bluff, Diplomacy, Disguise, Handle Animal, Intimidate, Linguistics**, Perform, and Use Magic Device checks

.

.
Essentially you drop Wisdom and Constitution, and fold their effects into the other abilities. Having Constitution apart from Strength, and having Wisdom apart from Intelligence, never made sense to me personally. The strongest people in the world also tend to be the most durable, and I'm pretty sure that line of logic follows into Pathfinder. Whoever heard of a sickly giant, anyway? No one, they're all big and brawny, and thus durable creatures by default.

With these changes suddenly Presence, which is what is replacing Charisma, is a very important statistic for just about everyone to have. Actually it seems like it becomes almost too important. Thoughts?

*Disbelief would have to be made different than normal Will Saves, for the occasions when a spell is designed to trick, dupe, or manipulate a target through false sensations like illusions rather than trying to overpower their minds. Any class with Perception or Sense Motive as a Class skill (I.E. Everyone but Fighters, Sorcerers, and Wizards) should have a High Progression with this save.

** Language is really just a tool created to help influence others, and should be tied to a person's presence than their intelligence. Sure an intelligent person can learn to speak a lot of languages, as shown by their higher skill points they can invest into the skill, but only a truly sociable person tends to have the talent to effortlessly learn new languages.

Here's a couple ideas for what could happen to a person wishing for more wishes:

A. 2d4+1 Efreet are summoned onto the scene as if freed from an Efreeti Bottle, but there is an 80% chance that each of the Efreeti are insane and immediately attack the wisher and only them then disappear after their death, a 10% chance that each of the Efreeti will grant 3 Wishes then disappear, and a 10% chance that each of the Efreeti will serve the wisher for 10 minutes then disappear. At least one of the summoned Efreet must grant wishes, although the impending death of the wisher may hinder their efforts to do so.

B. The wish granting being or object (excluding an Efreeti) asks "Are you sure you wish for this?". The wisher only is granted an impromptu Knowledge (Planes/Arcana/Religion) check with a minimum DC of 20. If they succeed or exceed the check, they learn the following:

DC 20: It's known that very bad things happen to those who try and cheat by wishing for more wishes.

DC 25: Very long ago in a rare show of unity, all wish-granting creatures set up a method to curse those who try to wish for more wishes.

DC 30: In a single stroke of genius, the ancient Djinn coerced a mortal into wishing that those who wish for wishes were instead cursed, and that those who wished for the previous wish or this wish to be undone to instead be cursed. No one has yet devised a method to undo these two wishes.

If the wisher continues with their wish, or an Efreeti is the wish granter, the wisher is instead immediately afflicted with a random curse as Bestow Curse, and their magical gear is either transformed into a cursed version of itself, or is rendered non-magical, as appropriate.

Expanding on what's been said, not only should Power Attack be a base combat mechanic that anyone can use, so should Combat Expertise, Deadly Aim, and any other feat that essentially trades points of AC/AB/DMG for other AC/AB/DMG.

After all, anyone should be able to grasp the concept of:

Sacrificing aim/defense for power by making powerful yet unwieldy strikes/shots (+2DMG per -1AB or -1AC)

Performing attacks more focused on keeping your enemy at bay than to actually hit them or cause damage (+1AC per -1AB or -2DMG)

Going all out just to hit an opponent, at the expense of power/defense (+1AB per -1AC or -2DMG)

I feel anybody or anything should be able to use such tactics without needing to pay a feat. They should also be able to choose just how large a transfer they want to perform up to the maximum.

127. As a small-time yet attractive thief on the streets you've always complained how you just needed a good opportunity and you'd show the world! Now you've just inherited leadership of the Thieves Syndicate from your "Uncle" (insert stereotypical Italian mobster name here], who seems to have literally picked you out of a crowd. Suddenly surrounded by hundreds of followers who feel you're not up to the task to leading the Syndicate but obeying out of loyalty to their late leader, the matter is made worse by the letter of inheritance revealing the real purpose of the Syndicate: To maintain the balance of the Underworld, both figuratively and literally, and prevent Those from Below from conquering the Surface.

Add in to the mix one of the most powerful Paladins in the world, a woman strong on righteous vengeance and weak on mercy, wanting the Syndicate destroyed and her very attractive squire joining the attempt; as well as a Mage and Priest twin sibling duo who think they're destined to help save the world! Can you keep Those from Below from destroying everything you know and love, or will the world be crushed under their boot?

If a choice is a 'must have' then make it a class feature, not a choice.

What I meant was the Martial Arts choices were much more powerful, combat-wise, than the Teachings of the Beasts choices. Hence why you got 3 Martial Arts and 6 Teachings of the Beasts by level 20. Putting them on the same list is gonna force me to start over, essentially. I'd rather not have to throw away the 20 or so choices I have presented, I'd like to get some use out of them. Otherwise it's a lot of work completely wasted. Know what I mean?

I would get rid of the Teachings of Beasts. They're too similar to the style feats on a fluff level.

This is a remake of the core monk. It does not respect anything beyond basic pathfinder rules. And you can learn more than how to cripple someone by observing animals. These choices were skill oriented, not combat oriented.

Suggestions

So essentially you're suggesting to tie Martial Arts to Philosophy of the Elements, limiting which Martial Arts you can take. It sounds good but I'm worried about certain choices never being taken. It might make one Philosophy more appealing than the others. Not to mention that I couldn't really tie any style to Water, since it was supposed to be focusing on the more mystical powers of the monk.

It did give me an idea, I'll get back to you after I try fleshing it out and see if it works well on paper.

The thing is that putting choices like:

Flurry of Blows:

and..

Clever Monkey:

.. in the same choice pool is only going to result in certain choices never being taken. That is the exact opposite of what I want. I want these choices to all be viable options, and make it so that each choice has something that could help it stay relevant throughout a character's play time. It's the reason that I had Martial Arts and Teachings of the Beasts. Throwing those two together would force me to re-evaluate every single choice on either list.

I don't see the problem here.

Divide and Conquer (Or in this case Keep Divided and have them Conquer each other then walk in and mop up the survivors) has been around since ancient times, and it has been for a reason! It's the best way to stay alive.

Were I in the position of your NPC I wouldn't hesitate to use such a tactic, and I'd sleep well at night knowing that it saved a lot of my own allies lives.

Think of it like this. You have two different dragons ripping up the countryside. One black, one red. They happen to hate each other as well as you. What exactly is the issue inciting them to fight each other instead of chewing on your villagers?

Okay I think I'm going to have to change my mind. I feel that I need to focus on one specific thing. The base monk class. While archetypes can be created later, and as I go forward with this I can keep archetypes in mind to give them room to fit in, I'm aiming to create a core class.

In the second, rather than funnelling the class down specific choices, like your philosophy/martial art/teachings, consider letting the player assemble their own monk out of a set of options.

What I mean by this is rather than having a philosophy, have a series of abilities hinge of various stats and just let the player select what they want. There are already a mass of style feats, don't reinvent the wheel, just give options out of what is already there. Don't overcomplicate skills, they were simplified in Pathfinder for a reason.

Essentially you want me to set up the choices more like Barbarian rage powers and Rogue talents are set up? (Dark Immortal, I didn't ignore you, honest! :P )

Well, I suppose it would give a greater level of build flexibility, but I wouldn't really be sure how to go about it. Just slapping all the choices together into one list seems a bad idea.

I do not think that you have too many options (more is better, for me at least). It is a matter of organizing and presentation.

How would you go about organizing the class? I'm not good at presenting things in an appealing manner (Consider me having 8 Cha)

Okay. So, as I expected, how the class is right now is simply too complex to be appealing. I gave it too many choices. Also, something I wasn't thinking so much of was flavor. People want more themes apparently.

Time for you to help again. What kind of themes do you guys have in your heads for the monk? Drunken Fist was mentioned, as was Ki blasts. What other kind of themes would be able to be represented mechanically here?

Also. Of the choices I had here, what appealed to you the most? Philosophy of the Elements - Being able to choose which was your main stat among Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, or Wisdom. And having many monk abilities be based upon that stat.

Martial Arts - Choosing your way of fighting. I especially want to know which of these styles was appealing and which were not. I want the choices here to be mostly personal preference, not be someone looking for a mechanical edge over other monks. I.E. You shouldn't need System Mastery to enjoy the class.

Teachings of the Beasts - This was essentially my way of making the monk have 6 skillpoints a level, but having them be a little more limited to what would be important to the monk and then tacking on some bonuses. Are these choices here appealing, which ones. Does once every 3 levels seem too many or what?

Essentially I want more of the same. Tell me what you think of each class feature, the choices it has, and help me narrow the list of choices down to things people actually want.

Some nice ideas here, but as monk re-writes go it is WAY too complex. You fixed MAD, and provided some focus, but the monk's other issues of requiring one specific item for their offense isn't addressed.

Yes I know it is too complex, I know it needs work. That's why I have it up here for your perusal. :)

I assume you're speaking of the Amulet of Mighty Fists, right? Well, granted, I didn't address that particular item. I made the monk not need it so much is all. Deadly Weapons at 8th Level makes using normal weaponry almost as good damage dice wise as unarmed strike. Beyond that there's a Ki ability that you can use at level 4 that helps with your unarmed strike by laying a Greater Magic Fang spell on you. Not a spell-like ability, but the spell. Which is capable of being made permanent through the Permanency spell.

Thus the amulet is reduced to being useful for adding effects like flaming and such. Since for purposes of TWF a monk's unarmed strike can count as two weapons and the amulet affects all unarmed strikes and natural weapons a creature has. The price is in line with enchanting both ends of a double weapon.

Also this IS a Homebrew, you could always put in the house rule to treat gauntlets as a monk weapon.

Monk

For some perfection is merely an ideal that is unattainable. For others it is something that can be found through mastery of the world around them. But to some it is neither. Some know that perfection can be found within. Enter the monk, warrior-adepts who search out methods of mastering themselves through martial prowess and devoted introspection, finding weapons and powers within themselves just as capable of crippling or killing as any blade or spell. These monks (so called since they adhere to ancient philosophies and strict martial disciplines) elevate their bodies to become weapons of war, from battle-minded ascetics to self-taught brawlers. Monks tread the path of discipline, and those with the will to endure that path discover within themselves not what they are, but what they are meant to be.
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Role: A Monk's power comes from within themselves, their amazing abilities derived from intense study and introspection, no two monks harnessing quite the same abilities. This tends to make monks some of the most self-reliant and varied individuals around, and they can fill many roles. From standing toe to toe with the most brutal of enemies, dancing across the battlefield like the wind, or lending aid to fallen allies, Monks make a great addition to any party.
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Alignment: Any lawful.
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Hit Die: d8.
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BAB: Medium
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Good Saves: Fort; Reflex; and Will
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Class Skills: Acrobatics (Dex); Climb (Str); Craft (Int); Diplomacy (Cha); Escape Artist (Dex); Heal (Wis); Intimidate (Cha); Knowledge (Any) (Int); Linguistics (Int); Perception (Wis); Perform (Cha); Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex); Sense Motive (Wis); Stealth (Dex); and Swim (Str).
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Skill Ranks per Level: 4 + Int modifier.
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Weapons and Armor Proficiency: Monks are proficient with all simple weapons, as well as the handaxe, short sword, and any weapon with the monk special quality. Monks are not proficient with any armor or shields and indeed lose many of their class benefits while wearing any.
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Philosophy of the Elements (Ex): At 1st level the monk must choose a philosophy that represents her perspective of the world. This choice not only affects what kind of martial artist the monk is but much of what they define themselves as at their core, and is a deeply personal choice for an individual. The choices are represented by the four classical Elements (Air, Earth, Fire, Water), which the monk chooses one. This choice is permanent and cannot be changed.

• Air: The monk that chooses the Philosophy of Air is like a leaf on the wind, moving with the same effortless grace and being just as hard to catch. Relying primarily on Dexterity, a monk of Air dances across a battlefield, avoiding every strike while delivering their own with pinpoint precision.

• Earth: The monk that chooses the Philosophy of Earth is like the mountains, taking whatever the world throws at it with stoic calm and infinite patience. Relying on Constitution first and Strength second, an Earth monk holds the line and soaks up punishment that would cripple lesser creatures before delivering their own strikes.

• Fire: The monk that chooses the Philosophy of Fire is like a raging inferno, burning everything in their path with impunity. Relying primarily on Strength a Fire monk strides across a battlefield mowing down foes with powerful strikes and unrelenting brutality, woe be unto one who crosses them.

• Water: The monk that chooses the Philosophy of Water is like the oceans, completely calm on the surface and hiding mysteries within their depths. Relying on Wisdom first and Dexterity second, a Water monk takes in the whole situation at a glance before using their mystical prowess to effortlessly deal with the puzzle, whether it be a mage's fireball or a wave of powerful fighters.

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AC Bonus (Ex): At 1st level a monk gains a special ability based on their choice from Philosophy of the Elements, most focused on pure defense, while Fire monks already begin to distinguish themselves as powerful offensive combatants.

• Air. When unarmored and unencumbered, the monk adds 1-1/2 his Dexterity bonus (if any) to his AC and his CMD instead of the normal Dexterity bonus. In addition, a monk gains a +1 bonus to AC and CMD at 4th level. This bonus increases by another +1 at 8th, 12th, 15th, 18th, and 20th level, to a maximum of +6 at 20th level.
  These bonuses to AC apply even against touch attacks or when the monk is flat-footed. He loses these bonuses when he is immobilized or helpless, when he wears any armor, when he carries a shield, or when he carries a medium or heavy load.

• Earth. When unarmored, the monk adds his Constitution bonus (if any) to his AC and his CMD. In addition, a monk gains a +1 bonus to AC and CMD at 4th level. This bonus increases by another +1 at 8th, 12th, 15th, 18th, and 20th level, to a maximum of +6 at 20th level.
  These bonuses to AC apply even against touch attacks or when the monk is flat-footed. He loses these bonuses when he is immobilized or helpless, when he wears any armor, or when he carries a shield.

• Fire. When unarmored and unencumbered, the monk adds 1/2 his Strength bonus (if any) to his Attack Bonus and his CMB in addition to the normal Strength bonus. In addition, a monk gains a +1 bonus to AC and CMD at 4th level. This bonus increases by another +1 at 8th, 12th, 15th, 18th, and 20th level, to a maximum of +6 at 20th level.
  This bonus to AC applies even against touch attacks or when the monk is flat-footed. He loses these bonuses when he is immobilized or helpless, when he wears any armor, when he carries a shield, or when he carries a medium or heavy load.

• Water. When unarmored and unencumbered, the monk adds his Wisdom bonus (if any) to his AC and his CMD. In addition, a monk gains a +1 bonus to AC and CMD at 4th level. This bonus increases by another +1 at 8th, 12th, 15th, 18th, and 20th level, to a maximum of +6 at 20th level.
  This bonus to AC applies even against touch attacks or when the monk is flat-footed. He loses these bonuses when he is immobilized or helpless, when he wears any armor, when he carries a shield, or when he carries a medium or heavy load.

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Bonus Feat: At 1st level, 2nd level, and every 4 levels thereafter, a monk may select a bonus feat chosen from the Combat feat list that they meet the requisites for. In addition, at 7th level a monk adds their monk level -6 to their effective Fighter level for purposes of applying for feats such as Weapon Specialization.
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Stunning Fist (Ex): At 1st level, the monk gains Stunning Fist as a bonus feat, even if he does not meet the prerequisites. At 4th level, and every 4 levels thereafter, the monk gains the ability to apply a different condition to the target of his Stunning Fist. This condition is chosen each time the monk uses Stunning Fist, replaces stunning the target for 1 round, and a successful saving throw still negates the effect.
At 4th level, he can choose to make the target fatigued.
At 8th level, he can choose to make the target sickened for 1 minute.
At 12th level, he can choose to make the target staggered for 1d6+1 rounds.
At 16th level, he can choose to permanently blind or deafen the target.
At 20th level, he can paralyze the target for 1d6+1 rounds.
The monk must choose which condition will apply before the attack roll is made. These effects do not stack with themselves (a creature sickened by Stunning Fist cannot become nauseated if hit by Stunning Fist again), but additional hits do increase the duration. Finally Air monks, Fire monks, or Earth monks use their Dexterity, Strength, or Constitution instead of their Wisdom to determine the DC to resist their Stunning Fist, respectively.
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Unarmed Strike (Ex): At 1st level, a monk gains Improved Unarmed Strike as a bonus feat. A monk's unarmed attacks may be with fist, elbows, knees, feet, and even their head. This means that a monk may make unarmed strikes with his hands full. A monk may use Two Weapon Fighting while completely unarmed if they so choose, treating their unarmed strike as two different weapons for this purpose. There is no such thing as an off-hand attack for a monk striking unarmed. A monk may thus apply his full Strength bonus on damage rolls for all his unarmed strikes.
Usually a monk's unarmed strikes deal lethal damage, but he can choose to deal nonlethal damage instead with no penalty on his attack roll. He has the same choice to deal lethal or nonlethal damage while grappling.
A monk's unarmed strike is treated as both a manufactured weapon and a natural weapon for the purpose of spells and effects that enhance or improve either manufactured weapons or natural weapons.
A monk also deals more damage with his unarmed strikes than a normal person would, as shown above on Table: Monk. The unarmed damage values listed on Table: Monk is for Medium monks. A Small monk deals less damage than the amount given there with his unarmed attacks, while a Large monk deals more damage; see Small or Large Monk Unarmed Damage on the table given below.
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Martial Arts (Ex): When unarmored and either unarmed or wielding special monk weapons a monk fights as if his base attack bonus from his monk class levels is equal to his monk level. For all other purposes, such as qualifying for a feat or a prestige class, the monk uses his normal base attack bonus. Furthermore, the monk can choose to specialize in a specific style of combat. The monk must be unarmed (or wielding a special monk weapon) and unarmored to gain the bonuses from the combat style. The styles of combat are shown as follows:

• Cobra Strike: Followers of this style of combat strike like vipers, crossing a battlefield in a moment to deliver solid strikes that can finish a fight before it truly begins. A monk learning the Cobra Strike style gains the Spring Attack feat as a bonus feat, even if she does not meet the prerequisites.
  At 5th level, the monk deals an extra 1d6 points of damage on the first attack whenever she charges or uses the Spring Attack feat; this damage increases by another d6 at 10th, 15th, and 20th level.
  At 10th level, the monk gains the ability to make a single extra attack at their full attack bonus while using Spring Attack or charging.

• Empty Stance: Followers of this style of combat focus on denying the advantage of enemies whenever they use combat maneuvers, or move too nearby. A monk learning the Empty Stance style gains Combat Reflexes as a bonus feat, even if she does not meet the prerequisites.
  At 5th level, and every five levels afterward, the monk gains a cumulative +2 bonus to their CMB and CMD for Disarm and Trip Combat Maneuvers.
  At 10th level, if the monk succeeds on an attack of opportunity, they may elect to deal no damage but instead daze the opponent for 1 round. A Fortitude save (DC=damage dealt) negates the effect.

• Open Palm: Followers of this style of combat focus on their unarmed strikes to the exclusion of other weapons. A monk learning the Open Palm style increases their unarmed strike damage as if they were one size category larger, this stacks with size increasing effects like Enlarge Person.
  At 5th level and every five levels afterward, the monk deals 2 extra points of damage when making unarmed strikes. This damage is not multiplied on a critical hit.
  At 10th level, the monk gains the Vital Strike feat, and for qualifying for the Improved or Greater Vital Strike feats the monk uses their Martial Arts BAB.

• Flurry of Blows: Followers of this style of combat deliver hits at high speeds, delivering two hits for an opponent's one. A monk learning the Flurry of Blows style is able to make a single extra attack at their highest attack bonus as part of any attack action, including standard, full round, or a special action such as Spring Attack or Charging. You take a -2 penalty on all attack rolls for the round.
  At 5th level, and again at 15th level, the penalty to attack bonus for using Flurry of Blows is reduced by 1.
  At 10th level, the monk may make a second extra attack at their highest attack bonus when using Flurry of Blows.

• Invisible Eye: Followers of this style specialize in fighting against the unseen. A monk learning the Invisible Eye style gains Blind-Fight as a bonus feat.
  At 5th level, and every five levels afterward, the monk gains a +1 bonus to their AC and on attack rolls against opponents they cannot see normally.
  At 10th level, whenever a monk is forced to roll for concealment, she rolls three times and chooses the best result: if the monk bypasses concealment on all three rolls, the creature becomes outlined, as if affected by Faerie Fire, for 1 round (only once per round). This is an Extraordinary effect.

• Meditation of War: Followers of this style fight battles in their mind, seeking the correct course of action to land a devastating strike that can end the battle in a single blow. A monk learning the Meditation of War style treats their monk level as five levels higher to determine the DC, number of uses, and extra options when using Stunning Fist.
  At 5th level, and every five levels afterward, the monk gains a +1 bonus to the Stunning Fist DC.
  At 10th level, a creature that succeeds on the saving throw against the use of Stunning Fist by 4 or less is still dazed for 1 round.

• Overwhelming Assault: Followers of this style go in all-out offense, pressing the advantage delivered by a brutal offensive. A monk learning the Overwhelming Assault style gains Power Attack as a bonus feat even if she does not meet the prerequisites.
  At 5th level, and every five levels afterward, the monk gains a +1 bonus on all Bull Rush and Overrun Combat Maneuvers, and ignores 1 point of hardness when making a Sunder Maneuver, this latter effect stacks with Ki Strike.
  At 10th level, for every point of BAB sacrificed while using the Power Attack feat, the monk deals 2 points of damage instead of 1 when using an unarmed strike or a special monk weapon (regardless of being a light, one-handed or two-handed weapon); furthermore, for the purposes of Power Attack the monk uses their Martial Training BAB.

• Passive Way: Followers of this style of combat fight defensively, preferring counter attacks to be their most devastating technique. A monk learning the Passive Way style gains Combat Expertise as a bonus feat.
  At 5th level, and every five levels afterward, the monk gains a +1 insight bonus on AC when fighting defensively, using the total defense maneuver or the Combat Expertise feat.
  At 10th level, if the monk following this style fights defensively, uses the total defense maneuver or the Combat Expertise feat, any creature that attacks her provokes an attack of opportunity.

• Vicious Grip: Followers of this style of combat prefer to hold their opponents into a grapple, halting their movement and slowly crushing them. A monk learning the Vicious Grip style gains Improved Grapple as a bonus feat even if she does not meet the prerequisites.
  At 5th level, and every five levels afterward, the monk gains a +2 bonus on her CMB and CMD for Grapple Maneuvers and damage dealt while grappling.
  At 10th level, the monk is treated as one size larger when performing a Grapple Maneuver (gaining the appropriate bonus on opposed grapple checks), which stacks with any other ability that increases size (such as the enlarge person spell).

At 10th level the monk chooses a second Martial Art, but treat their monk level as 9 less for purposes of gaining level dependent bonuses from it. At 20th level they gain a third Martial Art, but treat their monk level as 19 less for purposes of gaining level dependent bonuses from it.
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Way of the Elements (Ex): At 2nd level the monk begins to perceive some of the secrets that their philosophy holds. Depending on the choice that they made for Philosophy of the Elements they gain bonuses.

• Air: A monk of Air, when attacking with unarmed strikes or special monk weapons, may use their Dexterity modifier instead of their Strength modifier for their Attack Bonus and CMB.

• Earth: A monk of Earth gains adds 1-1/2 their Constitution modifier to their HP and Fortitude save instead of the normal bonus.

• Fire: A monk of Fire, when attacking with unarmed strikes or special monk weapons add 1/2 their Strength modifier to all damage rolls, this bonus is in addition to any other damage, but is not multiplied on a Critical Hit.

• Water: A monk of Water, when attacking with unarmed strikes or special monk weapons, may use their Wisdom modifier instead of their Strength modifier for their Attack Bonus and CMB.

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Evasion (Ex): At 2nd level or higher, a monk can avoid damage from many area-effect attacks. If a monk makes a successful Reflex saving throw against an attack that normally deals half damage on a successful save, he instead takes no damage. Evasion can be used only if a monk is wearing light armor or no armor. A helpless monk does not gain the benefit of evasion.
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Slow Fall (Ex): At 2nd level or higher, a monk learns how to absorb the impact when falling great distances, lessening the damage they take from falling. When first gaining this ability, he takes damage as if the fall were 20 feet shorter than it actually is. Every level past 2nd increases the distance he can fall without damage by 10 feet, until at 20th level he can fall any distance without taking damage. A helpless monk cannot gain the benefit of this ability.
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Teachings of the Beasts (Ex): At 3rd level, a monk expands their vision of life by emulating the traits of animals. Their studies teach them useful skills as they continue on their path towards perfection.
The monk may choose between one of the following animal-related abilities, and each time they choose an ability they gain the skill bonus. At 6th level and every three levels afterward, the monk may choose the same ability to improve their bonus or choose a new ability. The monk may gain further benefits if they progress through the same path more than once.

• Clever Monkey: The monk gains a +2 bonus on all Climb checks and the trap sense ability as a rogue. Every time they chooses this ability, their bonus to Climb checks increase by 2 and their trap sense bonus increases by 1.

• Devious Predator: The monk gains a +2 bonus to Stealth check. A monk may move up to half their land speed + 5 feet for every time they select this choice and take no penalty.

• Elegant Crane: The monk gains a +2 bonus on Diplomacy checks. For every time this ability is chosen the monk learns to speak and write a new language of their choice (as if they had spent a rank in Linguistics; once this choice is made, it is permanent and may not be changed).

• Faithful Hound: The monk gains a +2 bonus on all Perception checks. If they choose this ability two times, they gain the Scent ability. If they choose this ability three times they gain the Improved Uncanny Dodge ability, except a rogue must be four levels higher than their monk level plus levels in any other class that grants uncanny dodge.

• Graceful Swan: The monk gains a +2 bonus on all Swim checks. If they select this choice three times they can hold their breath much longer. When holding their breath, the monk adds their Swim score to the check; may make Swim checks instead of Constitution checks after said period, and they may battle underwater without losing rounds of air.
  
• Leaping Dragon: A monk gains a +2 bonus on all Acrobatic checks. If they choose this ability twice they can add this bonus to damage rolls made while charging if they perform an Acrobatics check as part of their movement. If they choose this ability three times or more, when making an Acrobatics check for a high jump, the number of feet they may leap is double the normal amount.

• Patient Tortoise: The monk gains 5 hit points and a +1 bonus on their CMD each time they choose this ability. If they choose this ability twice they improve their natural armor bonus by +1. If they choose this ability three times they improve their natural armor by another +1.

• Sagacious Owl: The monk gains a +2 bonus on two different Knowledge skills. If they choose this ability twice they may use their Wisdom modifier in place of their Intelligence modifier when making Knowledge checks. If they choose this ability three times they gain the lore ability (as the loremaster class ability) except that the bonus is 1/4th of their monk level.

• Tenacious Badger: The monk gains a +2 bonus to their Intimidate checks. If they choose this ability twice they can apply this bonus to their damage rolls when under 50% of their total HP. If they choose this ability three times they can enter a rage (as the barbarian's class feature) for a number of rounds equal to 4 + their Constitution modifier.

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Fast Movement (Ex): At 3rd level, an unarmored and unencumbered monk gains a +10 ft. bonus to their base land speed, and at 6th level and every 3 levels afterwards this boost increases by +10 ft. A monk that follows the way of Air or Water gains a further +10 ft. bonus to base land speed, while a monk that follows the way of Earth has a movement bonus of 10 feet less (and thus instead gains this ability at 6th level). Earth monks may carry a medium or heavy load and can still use this ability.
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Still Mind (Ex): A monk of 3rd level or higher gains half their monk level on saving throws to resist mind-affecting spells and effects. At 15th level the monk also gains immunity to mind-affecting spells and effects.
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Ki Pool (Su): At 4th level, a monk begins to gain control of their own inner energy, or Ki. They can use this Ki to perform a number of supernatural abilities, ranging from sudden bursts of speed and walking on thin air to cleansing their allies and creating a rock hard defense.
They gain a number of Ki points equal to their monk level + their Wisdom bonus (if any). Monks of Air, Earth, or Fire can instead add half of their Dexterity, Constitution, or Strength bonus (if any) if the bonus would be higher.
Ki abilities can only be used if the monk is unarmored and unencumbered, and not carrying a shield. An Earth monk can carry a medium or heavy load without penalty to this ability. Unless otherwise noted all abilities are activated as Swift actions and last for a number of rounds equal to half the monk's level.

• AC Bonus – The monk can spend a Ki point to gain a +4 Dodge bonus to their AC.

• Martial Arts – The monk can spend a Ki point as a free action once per round to make a single extra attack at their highest attack bonus as part of another attack action.

• Fast Movement – The monk can spend a Ki point to move up to their total land speed. A monk of Air also gains concealment, as if affected by a blur spell, for the round when they activate this ability.

• Ki Strike / Magic – When the monk gains the Ki Strike ability the monk may spend two Ki points to further enhance their unarmed strike. Treat as a Greater Magic Fang spell with the monk using their monk level as their caster level.

• Ki Strike / Lawful – When the monk reaches 10th level they can spend two Ki points to grant their unarmed strike the Axiomatic weapon special ability.

• Slow Fall – When the monk gains the Slow Fall ability the monk may spend a Ki point as an immediate action to gain the effect of a feather fall spell.

• Athletic Mastery – When the monk gains the Athletic Mastery ability the monk can spend a Ki point to gain a +20 bonus to their Acrobatics, Climb, or Swim skill for one round.

• Unhindered Stride – At 5th level, a monk may spend a Ki Point to ignore any effects that hamper or impede movement, as if having a freedom of movement spell cast upon themselves, until the next round. At 14th level, the effect lasts instead for a number of rounds equal to half their class level. A monk following the way of Air or Water doubles the duration of this ability.

• Wholeness of Body – When the monk gains the Wholeness of Body ability the monk can spend a Ki point to instantaneously refill their Healing Pool. Any excess points gained this way are immediately used to heal the monk. Earth monks gain an extra point of healing per monk level when using this ability.

• Path of Enlightenment – See Path of Enlightenment ability.

• Resilient Body – When the monk gains the Resilient Body ability they can spend a Ki point to have their elemental resistance increases by 10 points for a number of rounds equal to their class levels for all resistances they have gained from that ability.

• Way Between the Ways – See Way Between the Ways ability.

• Touching the Ripples – When the monk gains the Touching the Ripples ability they can spend a Ki point in order to increase their blindsense and blindsight range by 30 feet each. If the monk does not yet have blindsight they instead gain blindsight to 30 feet.

• Diamond Body – When the monk gains the Diamond Body ability they can spend two Ki points in order to increase their protection by one step. (I.E. From DR 10/Magic and Chaotic to DR 15/Adamantine and Chaotic) Earth Monks at 20th level or higher instead increase their protection to DR 30/Epic and Adamantine

• Abundant Step – When the monk gains the Abundant Step ability they can spend two Ki points to slip magically between spaces, as if using the spell dimension door, except they use it as a move action and can use any remaining actions afterwards. Their caster level for this effect is one-half their monk level (rounded down). A monk that follows the way of Air instead uses their full monk level for this ability.

• Diamond Soul – When the monk gains the Diamond Soul ability they can spend a Ki point to add their Wisdom modifier to their spell resistance. Air, Earth, and Fire monks use half their Dexterity, Constitution, and Strength instead, respectively.

• The Ways Unite – When the monk gains the Ways Unite ability they can spend three Ki points to gain access to an ability they did not choose to receive at 15th level.

• Timeless Body – When the monk gains the Timeless Body ability they can spend three Ki points as an immediate action to ignore the effects of any spell that affects the passage of time, but only for themselves. For example, a monk that uses this ability may ignore the effects of temporal stasis, and may act as normal while under a time stop spell cast by another.

• Empty Body – When the monk gains the Empty Body ability they can spend two Ki points to assume an ethereal state, as though using the spell etherealness.

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Ki Strike (Su): At 4th level a monk’s unarmed attacks are empowered by Ki. As long as at least one Ki point remains in a monk's Ki pool they gain this benefit. At 4th level attacks are treated as magic weapons for the purpose of dealing damage to creatures with damage reduction.
At 7th level their unarmed attacks are also treated as Alchemical Silver and Cold Iron for the purpose of dealing damage to creatures with damage reduction.
At 10th level, their unarmed attacks are also treated as lawful weapons for the purpose of dealing damage to creatures with damage reduction.
At 13th level, their unarmed attacks are also treated as adamantine weapons for the purpose of dealing damage to creatures with damage reduction and bypassing hardness.
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Athletic Mastery (Ex): At 5th level, a monk adds half of his monk level to all Acrobatics, Climb, and Swim checks. In addition, he always counts as having a running start when making jump checks using Acrobatics, and can always choose to take 10 even if rushed or threatened while performing a Climb or Swim check.
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Wholeness of Body (Su): At 6th level or higher, a monk learns how to heal their wounds with the potential of their own bodies. As a standard action the monk can heal a number of hit points of damage equal to their class level times their Wisdom modifier. Monks of Air, Earth, or Fire can instead use half of their Dexterity, Constitution, or Strength bonus (if any), respectively. They may choose to spend all of their points at once or spread it out over several uses, but they refill their healing pool after 8 hours of rest.
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Path to Enlightenment (Su): At 6th level the monk chooses a "Path" to follow. This Path grants their the ability to harness their power to advance their cause. Once a Path is chosen, the decision is permanent and may not be changed.

• Path of Harmony: A monk that chooses this Path exudes an aura of peace that makes it hard for anything to attack them. Treat as a permanent Sanctuary spell-like ability but the DC is 10 + 1/2 the monk's class level + the monk's Wisdom modifier. Air, Earth, or Fire monks can instead use 1/2 of their Dexterity, Constitution, or Strength modifier in place of their Wisdom. If the monk does something that would normally end the effect, it is instead suppressed until combat has ended.
  By spending a Ki point as a standard action, the monk may emit a burst of healing that cures all allies within 30 feet a number of hit points equal to 3d8, plus another d8 for every two class levels after 6th level.

• Path of Dominance: A monk that chooses this path gains a variant of the Frightful Presence ability, with a range of 30 ft. The save DC is equal to 10 + 1/2 the monk's class level + the monk's Wisdom modifier. Air, Earth, or Fire monks can instead use 1/2 of their Dexterity, Constitution, or Strength modifier in place of their Wisdom. In addition this ability can affect creatures with up to +2 HD or levels more than the monk.
  By spending a Ki point, whenever the monk makes a successful attack the enemy must succeed on a Fortitude saving throw (DC equal to their frightful presence ability) or become fatigued. This effect lasts for a number of rounds equal to their class level.

• Path of Equilibrium: A monk that chooses this path is treated as if it were either good or evil for purposes of spells and effects, whichever is more beneficial to the monk at the time.
  By expending a Ki point the monk can attempt a melee touch attack and if it succeeds the target is subjected to a targeted Dispel Magic effect using their monk level as the Caster Level.

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Resilient Body (Su): At 7th level, a monk is capable of using their teachings to stave off the effects of the elements. They gains resistance 5 to the energy type related to their choice of elemental way (Air=electricity, Earth=acid, Water=Cold, Fire=Fire).
At 11th level, their resistance with the energy type related to their elemental way increases to 10, and they gains resistance 5 against all other energy types except sonic.
At 14th level, their resistance with the energy type related to their elemental way increases to 20, and they increase their other three resistances to 10.
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Deadly Weapons (Ex): At 8th level, when using a special monk weapon the monk deals damage with the weapon as if they were using an unarmed strike, but of a monk of their level -3. Additionally when using any thrown weapon their range increment is equal to 50 ft. if it doesn’t have that range increment already; and every 4 levels after the 4th, the range increment increases by 10 ft.
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Improved Evasion (Ex): At 9th level, a monk's evasion ability improves. He still takes no damage on a successful Reflex saving throw against attacks, but henceforth he takes only half damage on a failed save. A helpless monk does not gain the benefit of improved evasion.
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The Way Between the Ways (Su): At 9th level, the monk gains a special abilities that they spend Ki to use. The abilities are based on their Elemental Philosophy and their Path to Enlightenment choices. The monk needs only to follow the indicated element and/or the indicated path to use these abilities. All abilities last for a number of rounds equal to half their character level unless otherwise stated. All saving throw DCs are based on saving throw DC of the Stunning Fist feat (10 + 1/2 the monk's class level + the monk's Wisdom modifier and are modified by spells or effects that improve Stunning Fist.

• Aligning the Heavens: All allied casters within 30 feet of the monk gain a +1 Channeling bonus to their caster level. This does not apply to spell-like or supernatural abilities. All allies gain +2 Channeling Bonus to their CMB and CMD. The monk does not benefit from this ability. To use this ability, the monk must follow the way of Water or the Path of the Equilibrium.

• All-Consuming Flame: As part of a melee attack or when activating the benefit of the Path of Dominance, the monk may force the target to succeed on a Reflex save or catch fire, except the damage increases by 1d6 points of damage for every 3 class levels. This ability works regardless of whether the target can normally catch fire or not. To use this ability, the monk must follow the way of Fire or the Path of Dominance.

• Dance of the Clouds: All allies within 30 feet of the monk gain concealment, as if they were under the effect of a blur spell. To use this ability, the monk must follow the way of Air or the Path of the Equilibrium.

• Calming Waves: The monk can grants a lesser restoration spell on all allies within 30 ft (or as part of the healing burst ability of the Path of Harmony). At 14th level the monk can spend two Ki to grant a restoration spell instead. To use this ability, the monk must follow the way of Water or the Path of Harmony.

• Grasp the Earth Dragon: All allies within 30 feet of the monk gain immunity to daze, stun and sleep. To use this ability, the monk must follow the way of Earth or the Path of the Equilibrium.

• Lifting the Veil: The monk grants a remove blindness/deafness spell on all allies within 30 ft (or as part of the healing burst ability of the Path of Harmony). To use this ability, the monk must follow the way of Air or the Path of Harmony.

• Porous Soul: Then activating the benefit of Path of Dominance, a failed save also causes the target to take a -1 penalty to Armor Class and Fortitude saves for every 3 class levels. To use this ability, the monk must follow the way of Earth or the Path of Dominance.

• Restoring the Balance: The monk grants a remove curse spell cast by a cleric of their class level on all allies within 30 ft (or as part of the healing burst ability of the Path of Harmony). At 14th level the monk can spend 2 Ki to grant a Break Enchantment spell instead. To use this ability, the monk must follow the way of Fire or the Path of Harmony.

• Static Charge: When touching an enemy or activating the benefit of Path of Dominance, a failed save also causes the target to take a -1 penalty to all attack and damage rolls, as well as all saves against stun, for every three levels. To use this ability, the monk must follow the way of Air or the Path of Dominance.

• The Receptive Earth: The monk grants a remove disease and neutralize poison spell on all allies within 30 ft. (or as part of the healing burst ability of the Path of Harmony). To use this ability, the monk must follow the way of Earth or the Path of Harmony.

• Fiery Spirit: All allies within 30 feet of the monk gain a +2 bonus on all attack rolls, saving throws and skill checks as if they received the benefit of a the Heroism spell except the bonus is untyped. To use this ability, the monk must follow the way of Fire or the Path of the Equilibrium.

• Winter's Chill: When touching an enemy or activating the benefit of Path of Dominance, a failed save also causes the target to take a -1 penalty to all damage rolls and Reflex saving throws for every 3 levels. To use this ability, the monk must follow the way of Water or the Path of Dominance.

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Touching the Ripples (Ex): At 10th level, a monk gains the blindsense ability with a radius of 30 ft and sound-based. At 18th level the monk gains permanent blindsight to 30 feet and their blindsense increases by 30 ft. A monk that follows the way of Water can use these abilities regardless of whether they can hear or not, and in a void. A monk that follows the way of Earth also gains tremorsense to the same distance as their blindsense.
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Diamond Body (Ex): At 11th level, a monk’s skin becomes unnaturally resilient. They gain damage reduction 5/Magic or Chaotic. At 15th level it becomes DR 10/ Magic and Chaotic, and at 20th level it becomes DR 15/Adamantine and Chaotic.
An Earth monk instead gains DR 10/ Magic and Chaotic at 11th level. DR 15/Adamantine and Chaotic at 15th level. Finally they receive DR 20/Epic and Chaotic at 20th level.
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Abundant Step (Ex/Su): At 12th level or higher, the monk can move up to half their land speed as a free action once per round. They may not use a 5-foot step in the same round they use this ability. Their movement while using this ability is affected as usual, except they do not provoke an attack of opportunity when moving out of a threatened space. A monk of Air who uses this ability gains concealment for the round, but if they activate their special ability from Fast Movement along with this ability they instead receive total concealment, as if affected by the Displacement spell, for the round. The Total Concealment is a supernatural effect.
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Diamond Soul (Ex): At 13th level, a monk gains spell resistance equal to their current monk level + 10; monks following the way of Water gain spell resistance equal to their current monk level +15 instead. The user can lower or raise their spell resistance as an immediate action.
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The Ways Unite (Su): At 15th level, a monk chooses one of the following abilities that are usable as long as they have at least one Ki point in their Ki pool.

• Way of the Conqueror: The monk while fighting unarmed or with a special monk weapon can choose to resolve a single attack as an appropriate touch attack (Unarmed or wielding a special monk melee weapon for a melee touch attack; a ranged special monk weapon for ranged touch attack). The monk must declare the use of this ability before they make their attack roll

• Way of Denial: The monk ignores immunities to various conditions (such as daze, energy drain, instant death and so on), but the creature holding immunity to such moves gains a bonus to the saving throw equal to 15 - the monk's Wisdom modifier (monks of Earth or Fire use Constitution or Strength, respectively), to a minimum of +0.

• Way of Embodiment: The monk gains the ability to absorb their primary element. Whenever they would receive damage, they instead heal one-third of the damage they would have otherwise taken (thus, the monk that chooses Fire that would normally take 18 points of fire damage would instead heal 6 points). If the monk gains an elemental subtype that matches their primary element, they may ignore any weakness from said subtype (thus, a monk with the fire subtype following the Way of Fire ignores weakness to cold damage).

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Timeless Body (Ex): Upon attaining 17th level, a monk no longer takes penalties to their ability scores for aging and cannot be magically aged. Any such penalties that they have already taken, however, remain in place. Bonuses still accrue, and the monk still dies of old age when their time is up.
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Tongue of the Sun and Moon (Ex): A monk of 17th level or higher can speak with any living creature.
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Empty Body (Su): At 19th level, a monk treats their unarmed strike or special monk weapon as having the Ghost Touch special weapon quality.
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Perfect Self: At 20th level, a monk becomes a magical creature. Their creature type changes to Outsider, they gain Darkvision to 60 feet (If they didn't have such already), gain proficiency with all martial weapons, they no longer need to sleep or eat (Although they may if they desire), and they no longer age. Their appearance changes to an idealized form of their original body based upon their personality. For purposes of being raised from the dead the monk is treated as having the Native Subtype. Finally, the monk also gains a special ability based on their choice of philosophy:

• Path of Harmony: Regeneration 5 (Chaotic).

• Path of Dominance: Whenever the monk rolls a natural 20 to threaten or confirm a critical hit, the victim must succeed on a Fortitude save (DC 10 + 1/2 the monk's class level + the monk's Wisdom modifier; monks of Earth or Fire use Constitution or Strength, respectively) or die. Creatures immune to instant death instead take an extra 100 points of damage.

• Path of Equilibrium: The monk is equally healed by positive or negative energy, and is treated as having the most beneficial alignment whenever a spell or effect depends on one. In addition, they are immune to energy drain, but this does not prevent them from losing a level from a Resurrection spell or similar effect.

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Mastery of Ki (Su): At 20th level, a monk’s mastery of Ki reaches a pinnacle. They may reduce the cost of all abilities that require daily uses of their Ki Pool by one, to a minimum of one. In addition, they do not lose their supernatural abilities if their Ki Pool is completely expended.
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Ex-Monks
A monk who becomes nonlawful cannot gain new levels as a monk but retains all monk abilities.

You read the sign posted up over yonder. For whatever reason, whether it be boredom or genuine interest, you've decided to go and investigate what the sign told you. A few minutes of asking around about the subject and you're pointed in the direction of a library; a beautiful creation of white marble and clean bronze that towers over the surrounding buildings. It is obviously a major center of learning in the city.

Going inside, you're met with an absolutely huge room lined wall to wall with books! Shelves three stories high rest against the outer wall of the building, and small shelves make dozens of long rows. Each could easily contain thousands of books. You notice dozens of tables and chairs set up in an area closest to the entrance to the building, directly in front of you. Dedicated scholars hunched over their books take many of the seats, but there is one table that is more a counter, raised up a little higher to gain attention. A woman who is so obviously a librarian sits there, smiling over at you, waiting for you to approach.

Another minute or two asking about the sign earlier, and you're pointed to the edge of the tables, to a lone figure sitting by himself. As you approach you realize he is writing, not reading. As you continue to get closer you note his white hair and black skin, a bit of worry forming in the back of your mind. You get close enough to look at his ears. Pointed. When the Drow sits up to look at you his red eyes are apparent. No, wait. Half-Drow. Your keen senses can tell that he's too heavily built, his pointed ears not sharp enough, his face too kind. He beckons you over, taking in your features and deducing you're here for him. When finally you stand nearby he speaks...

Alright, so my little bit of fun there aside, you should be able to guess what this is here for. I've made a rewrite of the monk class, and I'm looking for reviews, advice, and play-testing by the people here. Now let's be clear. This is a full on rewrite, not a quick fix. It's not even a rewrite that respects existing pathfinder content. It's a complete overhaul that works only for itself, merely being tied to the core pathfinder rule-set. At least that is what it is right now. For it to be something better I need your help. I am not particularly good at balancing a class, and so despite me tinkering with this remake for a while I've hit a point where I don't feel confident in my ability to refine it any further.

What I had tried to do with this remake was to address the problems of the monk in a very direct way.

The primary problem with the monk that most people cite, at least from what I have gathered from reading the forums here, is that they're MAD. Multi-ability-dependent. Essentially this means they need a lot of high scores in order to be effective at what they're supposed. Their special abilities use a different score than what they attack and even what they defend with, meaning that unless you win the dice lotto and roll four eighteens you'll be lacking in some area. This was a major consideration for me, which I attempted to remove via giving them a class feature at 1st level that defines their main stat, and this choice stays true to them all the way through 20 levels.

Another problem was that there wasn't a specific thing the monk was really supposed to dominate at. While they gained a host of abilities that would designate them as martial characters, their d8 HP dice and medium BAB progression made them not the best front line fighters. This goes back to that class feature I gave them at 1st level, as it gives them a semi-specific area of combat to focus in.

Now, the problem that I personally feel is the reason monks are considered low powered is the fact that, unlike EVERY other base class in the book, Monks had little to no choice. Every class gets a great deal of choice when it comes to selecting their class abilities. Barbarians have rage powers, Fighters have their impressive selection of feats to choose from, Rogues have their talents, heck even Paladins can choose their mercies, divine bond, and which spells to prepare. Of course, any caster class gets that huge option, while clerics also get domains, Druids get their Nature bond (and even what wild-shape to assume counts to me), and Bards get to choose which performances to use at any given time.

What do monks get for choices? A VERY limited amount of bonus feats, a very limited amount of Ki powers, and some extra choices when using Stunning Fist, which I am told isn't very good because it has two ways to fail. Either miss your opponent, or have them make their Fort save. Considering monks are a medium BAB class with no way to self buff their attack bonus, one could say this is almost useless in a fight.

So monks lack the kinda of choices that you'd base an entire character on, unlike many of the other classes. They're given their niche, which nobody can agree on what it actually is, and are stuck there. I decided to fix this by giving them choices. Many choices. Perhaps too many choices. You'll all be the judge of that.

One last thing I want you to remember before I present the rewrite. This is a Work In Progress. It is not a finished creation. It is not balanced, it has not been tested, and it certainly shouldn't be taken as anything more than Homebrew. While my goal is to eventually have this be something everyone can agree upon and like, and perhaps even be considered as a resource for Pathfinder 2nd Edition in the future, I know that is very far off, and is going to take a lot of work to get to that point.

So without further ado, my WIP Monk Rewrite...

@ Tels

Wow, I did not know that you couldn't take an attack action during a Charge or Spring Attack. Forcing the distinction between an attack and an attack action has no point in my mind except to further limit the ability to stay mobile and use special attacks at the same time. While not aimed at the monk, even I can tell that they get hit hard with that. Honestly I would ask a DM to houserule that away, for sake of my sanity.

As for your remake of the Hammering Blows. You removed the portion of using a monk's Flurry BAB. A pure monk would never be able to take the final benefit of it because they're BAB is 15 at lvl 20. My original feat also had a -2 penalty to attack rolls, but it was clarified to be different than the Flurry penalty just to help keep the feat far away from TWF. (Don't want even a chance of someone interpreting it as needing two different weapons to perform the ability)

Also..

Cel'Daren, you do realize you're opening the door for six attacks that deal 8d10 damage and if they crit, 16d10 damage?

And with your Improved Hammering Blows feat you're opening the door for 5 + Dex Mod attacks that deal 8d10 damage and if they crit 16d10 damage thanks to this "In addition, in any round when you use Hammering Blows, your attacks of opportunity also benefit from Hammering Blows until the beginning of your next turn." (Assuming you make it possible for a pure monk to be able to take Greater Vital Strike as my feat did.)

@ Liam

Well, let's see. At 20th level with my two feats plus all 3 Vital Strike feats a monk performing Hammering Blows would have the following:

First Attack: +20 BAB with 8d10 damage + modifiers
Second Attack: +15 BAB with 4d10 damage...
Third Attack: +10 BAB with 4d10 damage...
Fourth Attack: +5 BAB with 4d10 damage...
Ki Attack: +20 BAB with 4d10 damage...

Okay so that's a 14d10 weapon damage bonus over 5 attacks for a total of 24d10 weapon damage. I'll admit, pretty hefty potential damage. I think I'll say that at the least it seems the Improved Hammering Blows still seems a bit much. If anybody else wants to show me an example of a class who can reliably dish out 132 (average of 24d10) damage on a full attack round without spending more than 5 feats and 1 class feature, I think it could stay. As of now I'd have to remove Improved Hammering Blows because it just adds too much damage.

Dang, I liked my feat ideas as well. xD

Well, my basic idea for the feat was "Monks attack faster than others, so have them spend a feat to use Vital Strike faster than others".

Normally a person could only use a Vital Strike once in a round as a standard action (Good for the end of a Charge or Spring Attack I would think). The Hammering Blows feat simply lets a monk use Vital Strike as a Full round action in order to gain its benefit with up to 5 attacks. 4 base at lvl 16+, plus 1 Ki. I made sure to put in the wording "all of their normally available attacks" and then put in an addendum for the attack gained by spending a Ki point. The feat wouldn't prevent a monk from attacking with their other extra attacks such as from Medusa's Wrath or Haste, but neither would the extra damage from Vital Strike be applied to them.

As for Improved version, looking at it again I see that it is incredibly overpowered as is. I'm not sure how to bring that into balance. Perhaps drop the "multiply on a crit" and apply the extra damage from Improved Vital Strike/Greater Vital Strike only to the first attack? It'd look more like this then:

The reason I'd rather have that extra damage in the feat is because it gives a monk an incentive to take the entire Vital Strike feat line, which the first Hammering Blows feat allows them to actually do thanks to letting them use their Flurry BAB in order to qualify for the feats. Do you think it would be acceptable now, or does it need more changing?

*Shrugs* Sorry, to be honest I'm very new to Pathfinder and similar games outside of their computerized versions (NWN and NWN2). So my views of balance are immature at best. Still, I'm sure someone could tone them down as appropriate easily enough. I've read these forums enough to know you three are very rules savvy. xD

Thanks Dabbler. Sometimes a monk just needs to stop floating like a butterfly and beat a single opponent into the dirt quickly.

This also got me thinking for some ideas for other feats. Mainly having feats that opened up options not normally available to a monk. Like..

Improved Flurry
Your ability to attack quickly doesn't diminish your accuracy.
Prerequisites: Flurry of Blows, Monk level 5
Benefits: You gain a +1 bonus to all attack rolls made during a Flurry of Blows.
A monk with this feat adds their monk level - 2 to their effective Fighter level when applying for feats that require Weapon Focus, such as Weapon Specialization or Penetrating Strike. When choosing these feats only weapons that a monk can Flurry with are capable of being affected.

Random feat ideas just cause:

Hammering Blows
You sacrifice speed for power to crush your foes.
Prerequisites: Flurry of Blows, Vital Strike, Monk level 6
Benefit: For purposes of qualifying for the Improved Vital Strike and Greater Vital Strike feats the monk's Flurry of Blows BAB is used instead of their normal BAB.
When performing a Flurry of Blows a monk may instead perform Hammering Blows. The monk sacrifices the extra attacks granted by Flurry of Blows in order to apply the damage bonus from Vital Strike to all of their normally available attacks. A -2 penalty is applied to the attack rolls of these attacks, but the normal penalty of Flurry of Blows does not apply. A monk can still spend a Ki point in order to gain 1 additional attack at full attack bonus, and it also gains the benefit of Hammering Blows.

Improved Hammering Blows
Your strikes are devastatingly potent.
Prerequisites: Flurry of Blows, Hammering Blows, Improved Vital Strike, Monk level 11
Benefits: A monk performing Hammering Blows no longer suffers a -2 penalty to attack rolls. The monk can also apply the damage bonus of Improved Vital Strike when performing Hammering Blows, and if they have Greater Vital Strike they may apply that bonus instead. The additional damage granted from Hammering Blows is now multiplied on a critical hit.

One point, if the monk stays at medium BAB (which I recommend), drop the -2 penalty.

The FoB above gives High BAB, the note is just under the "At 15th level.." portion. The -2 on a standard attack helps offset the fact you're getting up to 5 attacks during a standard action. 1 standard, 3 flurry, 1 ki.

Also my original version had the clause against TWF, let me just shove that back in there...

Here are the ideas I presented in another thread put here at Dabbler's request. They're modified a bit, the first two by taking the changes Tels applied to them. They're meant to increase the monk's mobile offense capability without making a huge change to every class feature.

EDITED: Put in no TWF clause in FoB.

@Cel'Daren: I'm going to modify your proposals a little to make them easier to use and fit the rules in a more conventional manner, or modify them to make them slightly better.

That's why I submitted them. Your rewording of FoB is what I was trying to get at, but couldn't seem to get the words down properly. The change to Fast Movement I like, more flexible than my idea.

As for Ki Strike, the only suggestion I can really make is to treat the enhancements as equal to the effects of weapon enhancements (at +3 they overcome cold iron and silver, +4 adamantine, +5, alignment). The first two could keep their abilities as they're fine.

The other thing is the ability to add weapon properties is, I believe, not really worth hit. Most monks won't really have enough Ki to make use of it, not in between using 1 ki for an additional attack, or 1 ki for additional movement, etc. The Ki Pool is too limited a resource for them to be spending 2 ki per additional ability for roughly 3 rounds.

Ah, I think I was half-asleep by the time I started on that part. Forgive me. My intent was to have it treat the enhancement as equal to the effects of weapon enhancements, even if my wording went off that mark.

As for the adding weapon properties... for some reason I thought the monk's Ki Pool would be bigger (Monk level + Wis mod). Probably because I think that's what it should be. As for the having the duration based on the user's Wis Mod, I'm just a fan of having a monk be very high Wis (In my world, Wis should be more important than Str for a Monk. I know it isn't true but I wish it was.).

The ki cost could be reduced to 1 ki point, and the duration could be extended to 1 minute per monk level (To make it equal to the Paladin's duration length).

1 & 6. The highly mobile multiple attacks of the fictional monk tripped like a dancer with two left feet over the D&D/Pathfinder rule that multiple attacks require a full-round action: Flurry of Blows and mobility don't work together.

I think this is the second biggest problem the monk class faces as a supposedly martial character class. A big step towards helping the monk would be finding a way to fix this.

My idea/s: (Re-written class features, forgive me for any confusion my wording may cause, I'm finding it difficult to write my intent clearly)

My hope with these modified class features was to help make the monk live up to the idea that they're supposed to be mobile strikers.

Allowing Flurry of Blows to work in a limited fashion on a standard attack action makes it that much more useful. It lets you use it in a few new circumstances, including Charges and Spring Attacks, or just to give a quick peppering to a ranged opponent with Shuriken as you close distance. You can even use the Ki Pool's ability to tack on a third attack at full BAB to really show the lethality of a monk on the move. Other wording was to separate FoB from TWF, and no attack roll penalty (a side-effect of my wording was I had to make it completely multiclass unfriendly, but I'm sure somebody could re-word it better). The way I have it a monk should be using their FoB to make every attack that isn't an AoO.

As for the change to Fast Movement, I'm not sure if what I changed would be considered overpowered or not. It will certainly help define the monk as very mobile being able to take a 10 foot, a 15 foot, and eventually a 20 foot step as free action. Even when they have to "stand still" to get a full-attack action off on their opponent/s the monk would remain far more mobile than normal characters in the same situation.

2. The monk's unarmed strike scaled with level on damage, but not on success rate of hitting nor ability to avoid damage reduction nor enchantment enhancements, so it worked terribly at high levels.

2 & 3. All character classes depend on magic items to thrive at high level, but the monk was denied the armor slot (and the weapons slot if fighting unarmed) and had to function under-enchanted.

My change to FoB above would help slightly, but yes I think it could use an extra boost.

I'm honestly not so sure of the changes to Ki Strike (also notice it's separated from Ki Pool). The first half seems fine to me, but the ability costing ki points I think needs some kind of balancing. Still, I submit for your perusal in the hopes it can be made to work.

As for the actual point of the changes, the first half was what a lot of other people have already thought up. Grant the monk an enhancement bonus on their unarmed strikes so when they're unarmed they can still hit something and don't have to fork over a lot of gold for an overpriced amulet.

The second part was essentially a modded version of the Paladin's Divine Weapon Bond. Spend points from a limited resource pool to gain temporary special effects for unarmed strike. Rather ki point intensive, but it can give the monk a lot of flexibility in fights by letting them choose what kind of power they're bringing to the melee. It's also good incentive to have a monk to put more points in their Wis score for the extra duration and extra ki points.

Between the two parts of the above changes it should allow a Monk to fight on par with a Fighter, at least that was my hope. Tell me what you think of these, and feel free to take the ideas and improve upon them!

A sentient creature has surrendered itself to a Paladin. The creature is considered by that part of the world to be considered a kill on sight nuisance. Hrm.

Well, the Good option is to spare it. The Lawful option to slay it.

I think a Lawful Good option would be to banish it on pain of death. You escort it to the border of the part of the world that considers it a kill on sight nuisance. In chains of course. Then free it at the border and tell it if re-enters that part of the world that it's life is forfeit and no mercy will be given.

Banishing is often a lesser punishment (compared to death) given to those who surrender I believe, so it shouldn't have any detriments to your alignment on either spectrum.

I really like this take on the class, but i have a few questions/suggestions.

1. where are the style feats from UM surely they should be in the list of bonus feats or maybe change some other facet to allow them. I think they add a lot to the monk class.

As this is (at least it looks like it to me) a overhaul of the base Monk class, the "Master of Many Styles" Archetype has no issue being applied that I can see.

2. I know it has a lot of 1 ed flavor, but IMO i think you should lose the speak with animal, plants, and even the tongues ability.

It's a rework of the "Tongue of the Sun and Moon" feature, spread out to give a lesser benefit to lower level monks as they progress.

3. I think allowing body of iron and an amulet of natural armor is probably to much. I know they wont stack, but it just feels wrong. Especially if this monk has the option of quigonnging it and picks up barkskin. Maybe give them something similar to barbarian DR instead, but really low probably top it off at like a 3.

"Monks may possess (for their own use) only the following magic items: ... an amulet, necklace, or periapt (other than an amulet of natural armor) ..."

As in they cannot possess an Amulet of Natural Armor.

4. I think wholeness of body should scale better. Maybe add a d8 every 4 levels.

More healing is always good, but this version of Wholeness of Body is already 2d8 + Wis Mod above the previous version, and if used as a Standard action it takes half the Ki cost! Not to mention the ability to use it up to 3 times in a single round by spending 6 ki points. (A Standard Action for 1 point, A Move Action for 2 points, and a Swift Action for 3 points) Given that the number of Ki points you have in your pool is nearly doubled as well. I personally think this ability is fine as is now.

6. monks already get amazing saves no reason to make them better especially considering they're allowed cloaks of resistance and it doesn't count as their cloak.

"Monks may possess (for their own use) only the following magic items: ... and one robe, cloak, cape, shirt, vest, or mantle (other than a cloak of resistance)... "

As in they cannot posses a Cloak of Resistance, and either way it would not stack with the bonus if they could.

Its a really good class, but I think it needs just a little toning down. As it stands it would be overpowered, but that's just my opinion.

This is a rework of the class to make them far less dependent on magic items to be effective combatants. They may seem overpowered at a glance, but if you were to compare them to an equal level fighter with appropriate gear for their level they would most likely come off even (granted this is a rough draft as said by the OP, so I may be completely mistaken, but it appears to balance out in my mind)

1) What are the party going to do with the monk's share of the loot? This is pretty important, as it effectively, in a four-member party, gives the rest of the party 1/3 more reward.

"A monk must tithe nearly all of his funds to his monastic order."

The Monk still takes their share of loot, but they then tithe it to their Monastery, except where noted by the "Monastic Vows".

As for you Master Arminas, I thoroughly approve of the idea of this rework, and would enjoy playing this class. Now to see if I can find a DM willing to let me play it! :)

*twitches in the corner* Did he do it yet? Can I see? Tell meeee...

Seriously, I so want to know how this went.

Thank you, I had assumed the first option, but wanted to be sure.

Newbie here, so please don't kill me if my question seems something solved by Common Sense.

If a Monk with Slow Fall is sliding down the side of a wall, how does Slow Fall affect their ability to catch themselves?

Would it not affect them at all, and they are simply treated as falling as normal for attempts to catch themselves? (Climb DC of Wall +20 to catch it)

Would it give them some kind of bonus, such as being treated as falling down a Slope instead? (Climb DC of Wall +10 to catch it)

Would it let them catch the wall automatically, treating their Slow Fall as if they're choosing to move down the wall rather than simply falling? (Climb DC of Wall to begin moving upwards)

Sorry if this has been answered already somewhere, I searched repeatedly but found nothing.