Donovan Lynch's page

With the creature at close quarters, Jericho tosses the gun aside onto his pillow and relies on his training once more. Feinting a jab at the creature's eyesockets to distract it, he moves for a leg sweep, hoping to tangle it in the wreckage of his bed.

(sorry to be boring, but if a tactic works...)

Standard Action: Trip (with AoO followup from Vicious Stomp if it works)

Trip: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (1) + 10 = 11
AoO: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (8) + 8 = 16
Damage: 1d6 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8

Donovan's eyes took in the horrifying scene, but his mind moved like steel clockworks, cool and unemotional. Whatever fell magic this thing was working, it was of no consequence...all that mattered was that the unusual lantern seemed to be involved. That, and making the shot.

Attack roll: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12
Damage roll: 1d8 ⇒ 8

I have to admit to being a fan of Palladium's 'no such thing as neutral' stance on alignment, as well as their clearly-defined sets of behaviours for each alignment.

In my opinion, they just didn't like the word "neutral"...all their "self interested" alignments are exactly how I see neutrality in D&D, so there is no difference to me from a practical/mechanical standpoint.

Neutrality is what happens to you when you don't move consistently in one direction or the other. It is not only possible to not work actively towards good or evil, I tend to think most people do that. Apathy is easy, and it's not evil, most of the time.

Interzone wrote:

I like your ideas, but the first one doesn't work:
A lot of people overlook that one of the prerequisites for Eldritch Heritage is Character level 3rd, so animal companions cannot take it. :/

Why wouldn't having more than 3 hit dice count as Character level 3rd? Is an animal companion somehow not considered a character? Wouldn't it be considered an NPC with its hit dice as its "character level"?

Character level and HD are specifically different things. It's always been this way, as far as I can recall.

No, an animal companion is not considered a character, IMO. It's not a cohort.

do you see people running hurdles in combat boots, or are they in the lightest possible shoes science can make? a few ounces in all the wrong places makes all the difference

The question is, what is "all the difference"? Because it's probably not the difference between success and failure at getting over the hurdle.

Pro runners wear super-light shoes because shaving a single second off their time (or even a fraction of one) can mean changing where they finish. But there is no question they're going to get to the end of the race, no matter what they're wearing.

@Donovan: Blowing people of airships!! I want that! I want that!

Since Di hasn't been in combat yet, is she free to make changes Mr DM?

*grins* Glad you like the idea...but sorry to burst your bubble, but that feat needs +9 BAB. It'll be a little while. :(

Aelryinth wrote:

Standing in the middle and letting conflicts of others blow past, either on purpose or by directing them past you, is extremely neutral.

No, it's manipulative, which Neutral does not have a monopoly on. Neutral characters are in no way required to 'balance' things or manipulate people any more than any other alignment.

Neutral characters can be apathetic, or they can just be easygoing. They are 'generally honest, but can be tempted' and 'may lack commitment'.

You keep harping on one kind of character like that is the only character it could be.

I don't believe he's ever said the character he's describing is the only character that Neutrality could be...just that it's a good example of neutrality (and honestly, I believe him).

You are the one claiming he's evil, when the example character hasn't (IMO) done anything evil.

If passing information to an anti-paladin is evil (as you claim), what do good and especially neutral people do in his place? I presume that good would fight the anti-paladin (although of course, a different kind of good might well try to redeem him, and/or be a pacifist).

But how do YOU feel a neutral character should act towards an anti-paladin? Particularly, how does it differ from a good person's behavior towards one?

Stealth: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (1) + 11 = 12

Donovan had no idea what kind of nightmarish abomination this thing was, but walking skeletons meant Cryx, and Cryxians meant bad news. Cooly drawing a bead, he clicked back the hammer on his revolver. The thing's gaze snapped to him, and he pulled the trigger.

Initiative: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (15) + 4 = 19

OOC: Action depends...is it possible for me to try and shoot the lantern (sunder)? Strict BtB says no, but it seems reasonable to me, so I thought I'd ask.

Clearly I am using the gun more than I initially intended; maybe I should invest in some feats in that direction. :)

I recently shared two monk builds on my blog that make use of tripping and Vicious Stomp, which can be used as part of a full attack or as a single attack.

I'm playing a vicious-stomp monk right now, with a very similar feat build at early levels (I'm only 4th)...can I ask what Ki Throw adds to the build? I don't have it in front of me, but seem to recall when I read it in the book I was underwhelmed. How does it help?

To me, nothing is cheesy unless it twists/perverts the way the game should function.

If you build a superfast horse archer who can kite anything in the Bestiary, you're being cheesy.

If you take abilities that are balanced by having drawbacks and then make yourself immune to the drawbacks (immunity to fatigue is a common one), you are being cheesy.

If you make an elf with Profession: Whatever and say that you spend the last 50 years making profession checks, so you should start with a ton of extra gold, you are being cheesy.

Honestly, I think we're all doing pretty good with what we have...I would just like Heroic Distinctions, as a way of getting rid of (or at least, heavily reducing) magic items in the campaign.

So I vote no archetypes...but will not object if I am outvoted.

I agree martial artist is a better archetype, but you lost still mind and therefore can't take monastic legacy which would allow that fighter monk a bigger damage die. The tetori bonus feats fit the idea better if you need to keep still mind.

True enough.

That's what I figured. But it could also be read as "add ALL YOUR modifiers" (the plural "your"). I was wondering if that's what the OP was doing...because even if the highest roll among you was a 20, to get Stealth checks in the 40-50 range means your total modifiers are +20 or +30...which is pretty darn high (though the OP doesn't say what level these characters are).

Frankly, if your Stealth mod is +30, you SHOULD be sneaking past most stuff, with or without Stealth Synergy. So why be surprised by that? Sound like the problem (if it is one) is of having high Stealth mods, not the feat.

Hmm...it seems badly worded. The way I interpret it, it means that you all make a roll, and each person adds THEIR OWN modifier to that roll. But it could be read as "take the highest roll, and add everybody's modifiers together and add to that for everybody"...which would be insane.

But on further thought though, ranged trip doesn't sound that effective, practically speaking. I mean, if he's far away and falls down, he just gets back up (plus doesn't prone have AC bonus' vs ranged?) Unless, of course, she's shooting into melee and her ass stompin' cronies are there to smush the prone fella. Still and all though, I do love the idea of blastin' people off their feet! = D

Yeah, point taken. I'll admit it was primarily the awesome visual that made me suggest it. :) That said, besides the possibility of tripping people for your allies to whup on, trip does slow down anyone trying to rush you (helps you keep your distance), and you can also bull rush (shoot guys off of walls or airship?...).

Re: Parting Shot and Sidestep, you aren't missing anything...they were feats that I WOULD have suggested, but after reading closely decided are kinda sucky. Which is a shame, because without the (IMO unnecessary) limitations, they could be good and useful feats.

Anyway, still not sure how much sorcerer Di will be taking, especially in a magic lite world. Thought I'd play it by ear, depending on how the game goes. But certainly am not averse to considering others. What did you have in mind?

Nothing just yet...wanted to know what options I should be looking at, though. Mainly a.) are you interested in feats and such that enhance your casting, and b.) would you have room to branch out into any other classes, if they were useful.

Cage Fighter test 1 [Unarmed Fighter Archetype]

Traits:
Quain Martial Artist
Expert Duelist

Feats
1. Unarmed Style, Weapon Focus[Unarmed]
2. Combat Expertise
3. Improved Grapple
4. Improved Trip
6. Weapon Specialization, Greater Trip
8. Greater Weapon Focus
9. Greater Grapple
10.Sleeper Hold
12.Greater Weapon Specialization, Vital Strike

How about this build, for combining with monk?

Mnk4/Ftr8

1. Mnk1 = Imp US, Imp Grapple, Wep Foc (unarmed), Stunning Fist
2. Mnk2 = (monk feat)
3. Mnk3 = Combat Expertise
4. Ftr1 = Imp Trip
5. Mnk4 = (feat)
6. Ftr2 = Greater Trip
7. Ftr3 = Greater Grapple
8. Ftr4 = Wep Spec
9. Ftr5 = Greater Wep Foc
10.Ftr6 = Sleeper Hold
11.Ftr7 = Vital Strike
12.Ftr8 = Greater Wep Spec

You get all the same feats as your original build, at similar times. In addition, you have Stunning Fist, 1 bonus monk feat (I'd suggest Combat Reflexes) and 1 extra feat (at 5th) that can be whatever you want (I'd suggest Power Attack; I can't believe it's not in your build, since it'd be a big help to you).

You get Imp Grapple 2 levels early, Greater Grapple 2 levels early, and Vital Strike 1 level early.

You get Combat Expertise 1 level late, Wep Spec 2 levels late, and Greater Wep Focus 1 level late.

You can shift Wep Spec early, if you like, since the Martial Artist archetype lets you treat monk levels as fighter levels for certain feats; can get it as early as 5th, actually.

BAB is only 1 point less than your original build but saves are much better; skills are better, HP are worse (neither by much). You get Flurry of Blows, base 1d8 unarmed damage, and some other monk gravy, but lose (delay, rather) your high-level fighter abilities.

It doesn't it just gives better static numbers

Okay then...I thought your post was attempting to answer his question (does anything increase unarmed strike beyond 1d4).

go tetori archetype for the grapple feats maybe take it to 4th level to get unarmed to a D8 add this feat and plug in unarmed fighter archetype

Why Tetori over Martial Artist? Quick comparison (based on my 4 level monk dip concept):

Martial Artist gets (in 4 levels) Pain Points, Martial Arts Master, and Exploit Weakness. You lose Still Mind, Slow Fall, and Ki Pool.
Tetori gets (in 4 levels) Graceful Grapple and Counter Grapple. He loses Flurry of Blows and Slow Fall, and is limited in his bonus feats.

I like MA better, personally, but that's a judgment call...Tetori is better for grappling, MA for striking. Also, MA lets you ignore the alignment prereq, if that's important.

I also don't understand why Unarmed Fighter vs. Brawler...they both get options, but Brawler gets better damage: +2/+4 by 7th level as opposed to +2/+2 by 9th.

Non of the styles seem to have what I need, but I may have to read them again and see what I can cook up.

My thoughts on styles:

-Boar style can give pretty decent bleed damage, for minimal investment.
-Crane style gives awesome defense if you take Crane Wing.
-Dragon style is good if you're going to pump your Str score.
-Mantis style is good if you like Stunning Fist (good synergy with Pain Points from MA archetype), but requires Heal investment.

Horizon walker 1 should be easy enough

Sure, but what does it get you? Especially a 1 level dip?

I didn't see it as worthwhile...I'd rather grab a level of wizard/cleric/etc and get a few spells.

IC:

Hearing the whoop of the siren, Donovan cursed softly. Looks like a sleepless night, he thought to himself. Retrieving his revolver, he cautiously moved to the window, pressed against the wall, then leaned out with gun ready, looking in all directions for what shattered the shutters.

Hearing something coming down the hall, he crouched behind the bed for cover and leveled his pistol at the door.

un armed fighter archetypre

I just looked it over, and I don't see anything about increasing your unarmed damage...just getting Imp Unarmed Strike. Am I missing something?

I'll give input on your build a little later...what style are you thinking of taking at 1st?

Boy, you guys really get into this! I'm just planning to Shoot a lot of stuff! = D

(But, that said, if any of you experts happen to run across any awesome feats for we gunslinging sorcerer types, be sure to give a holler! ; )

Hrmmm...I'm not seeing a ton that stand out to me; partly because Gunslingers are fairly new, and partly because of your style of shooting.

The best I'm seeing is Impact Critical Shot, which would let you blow guys off their feet (ranged trip). That'd be pretty cool. :) But it also needs +9 BAB, so it's in the future.

Snap Shot isn't bad, but requires Rapid Shot as a prereq...which does nothing for you (at least, as I'm seeing your character now; if you had a revolver or carried several guns, things might be different).

There are 2 others that looked good to me at first blush, but which aggravated me when I read them closer. It seems to me sometimes that Paizo is like "We need to severely limit feats that let martial characters do cool stuff...they might actually be really effective! Can't have that!"

For instance? Parting Shot. I thought, 'great, a way to disengage and still blast people at close quarters'. Then I read "once per encounter". Seriously?

The other was even worse...Sidestep. There was a stance in Tome of Battle that did something similar, so I thought 'that'd be good'. So of course, Paizo neutered it a bit. "Must remain within that opponent's threatened area". Soooo...the main reason you'd want to use it isn't an option? And then, for added insult, "If you take this step, you cannot take a 5' step during your next turn". Blah.

I think Cass asked you earlier, but how much sorcerer are you planning on taking? Would you consider any other classes, if they fit stylistically?

Paladin/Inquisitor; Solomon Kane!
Bard (Detective)/Monk: Sherlock Holmes!
Gunslinger/Ranger: Roland of Gilead!
Barbarian/Rogue: Conan the Cimmerian!

Not that I've seen (I have APG and Ultimate Combat); from what I understand, you just try to stack a bunch of flat damage bonuses.

Keep in mind...a +1 to damage is similar to increasing a die size, statistically. 1d4+3 (from brawler using a cestus, for instance) is 4-7 damage; compare that to an 8th level monk's 1-10; higher min, lower max, same average.

I did this in 3.5, but it was a lot easier then, with so many more full BAB classes and PrCs. I tried it in Pathfinder, but it was a lot tougher to make something that didn't just look like a mess.

I think I got as far as this (with pretty decent BAB, btw):

Ranger1
Cavalier1
Fighter1
Gunslinger1
Paladin1
Bard1
Battle Herald 1
Monk1
Duelist 1
Sorcerer 1
Stalwart Defender 1

That's 11th level, only losing 3 points of BAB...not bad. Plus he's got great saves, and a ton of various abilities and feats, and quite a few skills.

But after that, I've got no idea.

I'm playing a guy with the martial artist archetype right now, actually...more of a commando than MMA, but still similar.

I'm going with Power Attack, Imp Trip, and Vicious Stomp so far; later on I'm aiming at Crane Style for defense (I use a Dan Bong for defensive fighting and grappling assist), and maybe Mantis Style and/or Jawbreaker. I also dipped rogue and took Imp Grapple and Strangler, but that might not suit your build.

Something that might suit you would be to take 3 levels of Fighter with the Brawler archetype, for +1/+3 to att/dam with all close weapons (including unarmed strikes). Plus the BAB and HP are nice, and it synergizes well with MA-Monk.

I could live with communal precise strike.

Who couldn't? :)

That's my biggest problem with teamwork feats...they require investment not just by you, but by everybody, or their use is very limited. Which is why Tactician is so nice. But then, it's easy for me to tell somebody else to squeeze another class into their build. :)

And of course, Tactician only works 1/day, for limited rounds...but still, for that span of time, some people will get very, very hurt.

If you're willing to go in with me on Teamwork feats I can think of a few that would compliment our character builds. :)

Outflank
Paired Opportunists
Precise Strike

I think Outflank is probably not worth the feat investment (IMO). Paired Opportunists might; I especially like the ability to take an AoO anytime your partner gets one. But if I had to pick of those 3, Precise Strike is probably the best.

Don't know if I can spare a feat for a bit, though...I know I want to pick up Crane Style (and maybe further on that line), and I'd like to perhaps get Jawbreaker and/or Mantis Style. I love feats, and can never get enough. :)

But see below...

I don't plan on taking Fighter to 20 and rogue seems like my best choice of multiclass so whatever we get on the ground would probably be jelly by the time his turn comes back around. :D

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. :)

If you're planning to multiclass (and really, who isn't?), have you considered a dip in Cavalier? You could get an archetype to swap out Mount (musketeer, maybe?), and even 1 level would give you Tactician...imagine giving Precise Strike to not just myself but Leon and Aurora as well... *evil grin* Plus, it's a full BAB class, has some nice features, and seems to suit your swashbuckling style.

Donovan's lips were peeled back in a brutal grin as his boot connected with the arrogant Qinite leader's mouth. There was just something so satisfying about showing a bully he wasn't half as hard as he thought he was. Before the man could rise, a hard right cross put him back down, out of the blue and into the black. Donovan's backhand blow that knocked the other one sprawling seemed almost casual, but had all the force of his powerful shoulder behind it.

As the others surrounded him with weapons, he danced lightly on his feet, his contempt showing on his face. These louts might be fine at intimidating shopkeepers and beating up old men, but against a seasoned veteran--particularly one well-versed in close-quarters mayhem--they were hopelessly outclassed.

The smaller one made a decent move, trying for a choke hold...but Donovan had seen it before, and was far too experienced at wrestling to be outdone by a gutter-rat. He slammed his head back, feeling it connect with the ganger's face, and sending him reeling backward with a broken nose. It did put him off his stride enough for one of them to get in a lucky slash with the knife...it might have caused a decent gash, if not for his magical protection. Donovan inwardly gave thanks to the nameless war-wizard who had taught him a few tricks with wands, when they were stuck in a trench somewhere trying to ignore the artillery.

He feinted low on the knife man, then delivered a solid one-two combination that knocked blood and teeth from the Qinite's mouth and put him on the floor with a concussion.

AoO: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 28
damage: 1d6 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8
crit confirm: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (10) + 8 = 18
crit damage: 1d6 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7

Full-round Action: Flurry of blows. I'm thinking I took down the little guy who grappled me (thanks to that timely critical), so I'll put both on the knife-artist.

attack #1: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25
damage #1: 1d6 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11
attack #2: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 7 = 11
damage #2: 1d6 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9

In answer to a comment of Cassian's on the IC board...yeah, I think Cassian and Donovan will work great together. Once you get Greater Trip, it will be an old-fashioned curb stomping. :)

I think he could also work well with the Crosses, though...grapple and pin a guy, who then gets hit with a healthy dose of sneak attack. :)

Mojorat wrote:

It was the first non dnd game i got into, though i liked the first version before they tried to unify all the rules. Its a shame as i got older i realized how bad the palladium mechanics were. Tge core concepts for tmnt were good but i liked the roadhogs future stuff better.

I always wonered why palladium never got into the d20 bandwagon, it probably would have sold and solved te good story background bad mechanics issue.

I am guessing that Kevin Siembieda does not think they are bad mechanics.

Yeah, unfortunately, Kevin Siembieda's thought do not control reality. :)

I loved TMNT (particularly when combined with Ninjas & Superspies, my fave palladium game), but the mechanics were...not good. Seriously.

This may sound naive or overly simple, but the OP is taking into consideration that firearm attacks are touch attacks, right? Some of that +15 isn't just that he's ignoring armor?

What if both riders are unhorsed simultaneously?

In some traditional jousting rules I've seen, this means that they fight on foot (with swords, axes, etc). But by your rules of "unhorsing ends the match", who wins?

Donovan almost emptied his pistol at whoever--or whatever--burst through the shutters, but held his fire. Not only did it appear to be on his side, he had more pressing problems to deal with...namely, the bunch of knife-wielding wogs who just smashed their way into his place.

Deciding up close and personal was the best way to handle this, Donovan leapt up from where he was beside the stove, moving in to attack from behind with those weapons he knew best of all...his hands, feet, and body.

Surprise Round:

Move action = close to hand-to-hand range
Standard action = Trip on Mr. Chatty

maneuver: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (11) + 10 = 21

(if he goes down, AoO thanks to Vicious Stomp)
attack: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15

damage: 2d6 + 5 ⇒ (5, 3) + 5 = 13

1st Round:

initiative: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9

Full Round action = Flurry of Blows. 1st attack is on the prone Mr. Chatty; 2nd is on one of the other goons, and will be a Stunning Fist.
(if for whatever reason I was unable to Trip him in the surprise round, I will instead put both attacks on Mr. Chatty, and the first will be a Stunning Fist; my DC is 14.)

attack #1: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (8) + 7 = 15

damage #1: 2d6 + 5 ⇒ (3, 2) + 5 = 10

attack #2: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13

damage #2: 2d6 + 5 ⇒ (4, 6) + 5 = 15

Donovan Lynch wrote:

I could be wrong, and further, I fully accept that tastes vary. But I have a hard time grasping the concept that people really don't care if a booklet is 40 pages or 80 pages. That is a big difference. To me, it's the difference between feeling like I bought a decent product and feeling like I got ripped off, in some cases.

To say that page count literally does not enter the equation does not count as valid data for the 'survey?' I have never looked at the page count of a product I am thinking about buying. It just doesn't matter to me. I would much rather buy from a publisher whose main concern is content, not page count.

I don't know if it 'counts' or not (that's up to the OP), but I'd say it doesn't help him answer his question of how many pages people expect. Unless there are a lot more of them like you than there are like me.

And once more, you are misrepresenting my stance. I have repeatedly said that I do NOT value page count more than content/quality. But I absolutely value higher page count over lower, assuming the content is good.

If a company doesn't put out good, high-quality content, I won't buy 1 page or 1000 pages of their drek, regardless of the price per page. My discussion of page counts is ONLY for high-quality material, so trying to argue that "quality is important" is a non-sequitur. Of course it is! But it has no bearing on HOW MUCH high-quality material is worth $10. If I am reading you correctly, the answer is 'any amount'...which just sounds crazy to me.

Donovan Lynch wrote:

I was willing to pay 4.95 in 1999 for a copy of Dungeon magazine; in 2012 dollars, that's $6.84. I counted one at 70 pages of content (excluding ads, letters, etc).

I counted a 1987 issue of Dungeon at 61 pages of content (excluding ads, letters, etc) for $7.60 in 2012 dollars, and I was willing to pay that.

So I'm willing to pay around 9-12 cents a page...say 10 cents. So for $10.00, I expect straight-up 100 pages of solid content.

I'll also be honest: I expect to pay less for a PDF. If you don't have to go through the print-wholesale-retail hoopla, you should be able to do it cheaper, and I expect those savings to be passed on to the consumer. But then, production values on those old mags was fairly low, so if these PDFs come with some very nice art, I might call it a push.

It's funny if you look back to the early 2000, PDF per page pricing was based off of 10 cents a page. Now PDF per page pricing on the average runs between 15 to 28 cents a page. LPJ Design released Armanda with 28 B&W pages for $4.99 (roughly 18 cents a page) while our Machinesmith PDF was 18 full color pages for $2.75 (roughly 15 cent per page) and they are selling at the same per date rate.

Figuring for inflation, that's actually right around the same rate. 10 cents in 1999 dollars is roughly equivalent to 15 cents in 2012 dollars (factoring for inflation).

What I find interesting is that the price was 10 cents back then (seeing as I typically paid less than that for print copy). Do you think around 2000, people were paying a premium for PDF content due to the convenience (rapid distribution, just download and go)? Are people still willing to pay that premium?

I'll be honest...I'm not. Though I will also admit I may not be your target audience, and I know that I am pretty tight with my gaming dollars. I really doubt that I'd pay $10 a month for subscription material, unless I had considerable confidence that I'd be getting a good amount (100 pages) of high-quality material that I could use, every month.

Part of me unconsciously factors in the fact that I expect a part of anything I buy to not be useful to me (based off past experience with just about EVERY game product I've ever bought). This may be why my page count is higher than most.

To all the people pointing out that "page count isn't important" or "it's not just page count" or (particularly) "I don't even consider page count"...please keep a couple things in mind.

1.) The OP specifically asked for what kind of page counts people expect for their money.

2.) As I said, page count is not the primary factor for anyone...but all things being equal, what kind of page count feels right, or is necessary to make the purchase feel reasonable/worthwhile?

3.) I have an extremely hard time believing that page count isn't important to people.

Seriously, would you pay $10 for a 10-page booklet, even if it was an awesome scenario and included a couple pieces of first-rate art by your favorite artist? I'm guessing no...because 10 pages simply is not enough to provide $10 worth of content. I'd argue that 20-30 pages really isn't enough, for me.

I could be wrong, and further, I fully accept that tastes vary. But I have a hard time grasping the concept that people really don't care if a booklet is 40 pages or 80 pages. That is a big difference. To me, it's the difference between feeling like I bought a decent product and feeling like I got ripped off, in some cases.

At 4th level, the monk is flurrying and using ki to do THREE attacks with d8 damage and full strength mod. All with no feat investment. If they all hit, that's 3d8+3xSTR. The greatsword wielding fighter on the other hand is doing 2d6 + 1.5xSTR, plus 2 for weapon specialization. Even if you ignore his extra attack from ki(a limited resource), the monk is still doing more damage.

I hate to turn this into a number crunching comparison, but I find those numbers a little off.

4th lvl Monk
say, 18 Str
2 attacks at +6/+6 for 1d8+4 each
avg damage 17 if both hit

vs. AC 16, 55% chance to hit (for 8.5), only a 30% chance of 2 hits (for 17 combined)

4th lvl Fighter (with power attack, wep focus, wep spec)
say, 18 Str
1 attack at +7 (PA) for 2d6 +6 (str) +2 (spec) +6 (PA), total (2d6+14)
avg damage 21

vs. AC 16, 60% chance to hit (for 21)

And that's assuming they have the same strength (whereas the fighter will usually have higher, since they don't need to invest in Wis and Dex as heavily). And this is at a good level for the monk (only lost 1 point of BAB, just improved UA damage)...bump it up to 5th, and the monk loses another point of BAB, while the fighter gets Weapon Training. Bump it to 6th, and the fighter gets another iterative attack.

I'm sorry, but a well-built fighter is going to outdamage a well-built monk. And it's a LOT easier to build a fighter well.

Re: Dan Bong...it's not a two-handed weapon; it's a light weapon.

Aside from that, your point is pretty much accurate; the core rulebook says that "unless you have 2 hands free" you take a -4 on grapple checks, and even though it's a light weapon, it takes up a hand, hence giving you the -4. So...with a +2 and a -4, using a Dan Bong is...worse than just grappling with your bare hands, and thus entirely useless.

It should probably state that the +2 bonus replaces the -4 penalty, rather than applying both.

His flurry of blows is "basically" two-weapon fighting... so of course he needs to full attack to do it the same as anyone else two-weapon fighting with out some special ability or feat.

But using it automatically removes the "highly mobile", "fleet of foot", and "navigate the battlefield" aspects of the monk.

Comparatively speaking... the Monk two-weapon fights as good as a Rogue or any other 3/4 BAB class.

Uh...what?

A TWF rogue is going to add a number of d6's in sneak attack damage to his attack routine...like, possibly dozens at high level. What does the monk get to equal this?

Note: If this was going to be a subscription based idea I'd want significantly more content because I wouldn't be able to purchase the content at will, I'd have to take everything that came out.

This is a good point; I never subscribed to Dragon/Dungeon, I purchased off the news stand if I judged it to be a worthwhile purchase. If you subscribe, you should get a break off "cover price" because you're committing to multiple purchases.

It saddens me that the metric here is "pages per dollar."

Is a map worth more or less than a page of text? If the page has a large image, does that increase or decrease its worth? If the text is riddled with errors and poor writing, should that change its value? What's the value of fiction vs a new class/archetype vs an adventure?

X pages of well-written prose with a clean layout and decent art is worth far more than X pages of grammar and spelling mistakes that looks half-assed and slapped together. Removing "quality" from the equation makes any discussion on the topic futile. If you're fine paying $10 for 1000 pages per month, I can crank out a LOT of Lorem Ipsem with stick figures. Sign up now, and I'll tell you where to send the checks.

I find this comment somewhat obtuse. The metric is "pages OF SOLID CONTENT per dollar", not pages of just anything. Quality should be a given. I will not buy 1 page of anything if it isn't quality, so I naturally remove quality from the equation.

It is extremely hard to set objective price tags on some of this, because people want different things in terms of "content"...whether or not maps and art are worth as much as rules or setting info is entirely up to the reader. However, quantity is fairly objective; 100 pages is 100 pages. So when people say they will pay X dollars for Y pages, add at the end, "...of decent quality stuff that I want to use".

If you're saying people should elaborate on the last, you have a good point. But speaking for myself, I like maps, art, crunch, and fluff...I'd be fine with a mixture of all of that, not too heavy on any one thing...maybe a bit heavier on crunch. A good ratio for me is:

10% maps
15% art
20-30% fluff (setting info, adventure seeds/ideas, interesting persons, etc)
~50% crunch (mechanics, new spells/equipment/classes, finished/statted adventure scenarios)

I was willing to pay 4.95 in 1999 for a copy of Dungeon magazine; in 2012 dollars, that's $6.84. I counted one at 70 pages of content (excluding ads, letters, etc).

I counted a 1987 issue of Dungeon at 61 pages of content (excluding ads, letters, etc) for $7.60 in 2012 dollars, and I was willing to pay that.

So I'm willing to pay around 9-12 cents a page...say 10 cents. So for $10.00, I expect straight-up 100 pages of solid content.

I'll also be honest: I expect to pay less for a PDF. If you don't have to go through the print-wholesale-retail hoopla, you should be able to do it cheaper, and I expect those savings to be passed on to the consumer. But then, production values on those old mags was fairly low, so if these PDFs come with some very nice art, I might call it a push.

You're not even close to overpowered in my book. And I'm not a heavy optimizer.

I think calling something "Mithril Studded Leather" is like saying you drive a "Plastic Car" because the stereo buttons are plastic. Studded leather is simply that. Studded. Not Plated leather, or any other way to describe it.

The amount of metal is negligible at best.

Leather Armor = 20 lbs
Studded Leather = 25 lbs

Official description:
Studded Leather: Similar to leather armor, this suit is reinforced with small metal studs.

You don't bother to read the rest of the thread, do you?

Try looking 8 and 12 posts up, for discussion of this exact criticism.

Bah...too late to edit. A few more things:

And nope, doesn't look like I'll be making it over there tonight. Having a private party at home. :)

Reading the note, Donovan mutters, "Now just a bleeding minute..." He looks after the officer, but sees the other man is already paying him no heed. Never get very far arguing with brass anyway.... Besides, right at this moment, it might not be such a bad thing to have the weight of the Cygnaran military on his side, if he really was crosswise of some dangerous fellows.

Slowly walking back toward his rooming house, he considered his options. He could light out...if they knew where he slept, best way to avoid getting knifed was not to sleep there. But he'd never been the sort to run from a fight. Maybe it was a better idea to just have this out and get it over with.

Of course, since he knew his opponents wouldn't fight fair, there was no reason for him to. He grinned, and headed back to his quarters.

Slavery (meaning the ownership of a human being, or the fantasy equivalent of such) is evil, regardless of how the slaves are treated. Respect for others and their rights of self-ownership and self-determination is part of being good, and slavery is automatically treating people with a lack of such respect.

Remember, D&D (including pathfinder, as I understand it) is not one of subjective morality: things are objectively good or evil, and can be readily identified as such by spells. It doesn't matter if you consider yourself good: in my world, if you keep slaves, you are evil, and Detect Evil and Smite Evil will show this.

Hmmm.... Can someone go over my skills...I think I may have messed up somewhere...I'm not sure.

Your Craft: Alchemy should be +7, not +8. Other than that, your math checks out, and I was able to find all of your bonuses (after a bit of searching; breaking them down would make that easier, honestly).

I count 28 skill ranks, total...assuming Shadow Assassins get 6/lvl(?), you should have 26 ranks. Favored class bonus?

"Just the usual ne'er-do-wells, up to their usual rubbish. There were a half-dozen of them; I fired a warning shot and they rabbited. If you do a quick sweep you might round up a few." Donovan will describe them as best he can, particularly the one who spoke...he'll also add, "If that one just happened to stop a shot resisting arrest, I think it'd be better for the decent folk around here."

Then make a different choice gents! That Choice is Always available to ya : )

Meh. While there are infinite different choices you can make, the number of them which are likely to lead to something better than your current circumstances are often quite limited. Or nonexistent.

I was going through style feats last night and came across something interesting. Nowhere in the style feats did it ever say you had to actually be fighting unarmed.

Is this actually intended to allow people who fight normally with weapons to use the benefits from these feats? I see nothing that says you can't adopt a style when you wield a weapon

Many of them do reference "unarmed strikes", but if they don't, there's no reason you can't use them with weapons. Crane style particularly is awesome for duelist style characters.