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I'm preparing a level 4 monk for the playtest. I figured that it would be good to get some input from the forum. It's easy to make mistakes or overlook something, since it's a new rule system.
Haku of the Rock Palm
Level 4 human tien monk (cleric multiclass, keyed on "strength")
Str 18 = 10 + 2 free + 2 human + 2 acrobat + 2 monk
Dex 16 = 10 + 2 free + 2 human + 2 acrobat
Con 12 = 10 + 2 free
Int 10 = 10
Wis 12 = 10 + 2 free
Cha 10 = 10
HP 52
Spd 35
AC 19 (E)
TAC 19 (E)
Fort 6 (E)
Ref 8 (E)
Wis 6 (E)
+1 bracers of armor (level 2)
expert handwraps of mighty fists (level 2)
expert bo staff (level 2)
potion of healing (level 1)
Haku spends one class level taking cleric dedication to qualify as spellcaster; then has Ancestral Paragon to get access to inspire courage (the better "ki strike") through Adapted Spell racial feat. As a bonus Haku picks up shield ("ki dodge") and stabilize ("ki peace") which give additional tactical options for spare actions. Maximizing athletics and strength should let Haku have reasonable control threat with trip and Stunning Fist.
I've started preparations to GM Doomsday Dawn; and in When the Stars Go Dark, page 91, is a Mind Quake hazard that has a Stealth DC 45.
According to the Game Mastering guide in the rulebook for level 17 characters the highest DC (Extreme) is 43 (for something that should still plausibly be reachable).
DC 45 is really high, especially on a check like Perception. There is relatively little chance opportunity to improve Perception on a character (almost all are stuck on Expert or less) and even a character that focuses on Wisdom won't make that check on a natural 20 unless she also has an item equipped that grants an item bonus to Perception.
Even the end boss fight Ramlock has lower DCs the highest being AC at 43 (and attacks have a bigger list of ways to increase the odds). And the best offensive DCs (spells) that he throws are at DC 41. How did he create a DC 45 hazard? It seems a really unreasonable and out-of-depth.
So there are various ways to boost up your attacks in combat. Simply having somebody flank reduces your foe's AC.
This doesn't apply to things like trip or disarm, as it targets the Reflex DC - not many ways to improve that; an ally could actively aid. And certain conditions like sluggish impart a Reflex penalty (and thus also a lower Reflex DC).
However, then we have things like being Asleep or Unconscious. These impart a -4 conditional penalty to AC. But no change to Reflex DC. "Asleep" does add that you automatically critically fail Reflex saves - but it isn't clear how (if at all) that impacts the Reflex DC.
Unconscious, which you'd assume is an aggravated form of Asleep, doesn't have a stated impact on Reflex saves at all.
...
A reasonable guess is that the Reflex DC becomes what it would be on a roll of "1". I haven't found any rules describing what actually happens though.
I've gotten hold of the Pathfinder Adventures digital game by Obsidian, which introduced me to the awesome world of the Pathfinder Card Game. Naturally the designer in me itched to create something; and since "monks" are my thing, I'd like you all to meet Mikiko.
Unfortunately I do not know how to make drivethrucards show a sensibly rotated version (or both sides of the card); so I'll take any advice in that regard. Her two roles are Ki Mystic and Sensei. The art comes from my monk PDF Monk Unfettered and was commissioned by me, so there should not be any rights violations. Let me know what you think :)
Mikiko, Monk:
Str 1d8 [+1/+2/+3]
Dex 1d8 [+1/+2/+3] acrobatics +2
Con 1d8 [+1/+2/+3]
Int 1d6 [+1/+2]
Wis 1d8 [+1/+2/+3] perception +2
Cha 1d6 [+1]
Hand size 4 [5]
Proficient with [weapons]
At any time you may reveal any number of blessings. Until the end of your turn, on each check, each currently revealed blessing applies to the check (as if it was played for the check). At the end of your turn discard all revealed blessings. ([ ] Additionally you may add the Magic trait to any check you make.)
[ ] You may bury a card to shuffle one random blessing ([ ] or bury a blessing to shuffle 1d4 random blessings) from your discard pile into your deck.
Reduce all damage you take by [1] ([ ] or the number of currently revealed blessings).
[ ] Once a turn you may recharge a card from your hand and draw a card
Each revealed blessing adds [+1] [+2] to your checks
Mikiko, Sensei:
[ ] You may add your Wisdom to your combat checks
[ ] When you succeed at a combat check against a bane you gain +1d4 on additional checks against that bane until the end of your turn
Each revealed blessing adds [+1] [+2] [+3] to any check
I have just released my first PDF here on Paizo. The Monk Unfettered. It is a complete reinvention of the class over 38 pages that is designed to give the monk vastly greater diversity. The core changes are to the flurry mechanic and consolidating a large set of class abilities into insights (akin to rage powers and rogue talents).
On Jerall Toi's blog there is a sneak peak of some of the content and art assets. Have a look! Even with the imminent release of Pathfinder Unchained upon us, I think the book is a valuable addition to any campaign.
Let me know what you think. Any questions are welcome!
Counterpunch is a pretty cool new high-level feat in the Advanced Class Guide. What I find bothersome is that monks are excluded from qualifying for it. The prerequisites are: Dex 18, Combat Ref lexes, Improved Unarmed Strike, Weapon Focus (unarmed strike); base attack bonus +16 or brawler level 12th.
Since a monk caps at +15 base attack bonus, and isn't a brawler, the feat is simply not available for a monk. I find that a bit odd and assume it is not intended. Any thoughts?
(The ACG has loads of great options for monks and other classes, I just find it odd that this particular one is not included.)
A friend and I were discussing possible familiars for her upcoming shaman, then realized that a chameleon would make a nice fit. Unfortunately we couldn't find chameleon familiar details anywhere we looked. Does it exist somewhere? Or alternatively, what familiar's stats can be neatly taken and changed into a chameleon?
So there are many considerations, particularly from the developers, on how good the monk is and what can and cannot be done to improve his lot.
Something that crops up regularly is that (unarmed) monk's heavily miss out on enhancement bonuses to their attack. Although they get a nice progression in damage dice, the actual bonus to hit lags behind other classes that can cost-effectively purchase upgrades to their weapon (2000, 8000, etc) while the monk's amulet is double that (4000, 16000, etc).
Now granting a monk the same cost for the same benefit would be like a double-dip, you get naturally increasing fist damage, as well as bonus to attack and damage from the enhancements. That's not something that would fly. So I figured, why not get around that?
I propose a new weapon property:
Quote:
Precise, +1 bonus
A precise weapon grants a +2 enhancement bonus to attacks (but not to damage). The bonus granted from the precise ability does not stack with the bonus granted by the brawling armor ability. The precise ability can only be applied to amulets of mighty fists.
In the grand scheme of things this does not resolve the discrepancy between a +10 weapon and a +5 amulet; but for the commonly played levels between 1 and 12 the precise ability would go a long way to offer parity between unarmed and weapon wielders. A +1 precise amulet (16000gp) compares favorably with a +3 weapon (18000gp).
I am a big proponent of class diversity and flexibility; that is why I strongly support class designs that make use of abilities such as rogue talents, rage powers, arcane exploits, and so forth. I really think that the brawler would benefit from this as well, and along those lines consider the changes to the class suggested below.
Brawler
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A brawler is proficient with all simple weapons as well as all weapons in the close weapons group. She is proficient with light armor, but not with shields.
Martial Maneuvers (Ex): At 1st level, a brawler can spend a swift action to gain the benefit of a feat she doesn't possess for 1 minute. The feat must be a combat feat or a non-combat feat that the brawler could acquire through her brawler skills class ability. The brawler must otherwise meet all the feat’s prerequisites. She may use this ability a number of times per day equal to her brawler level. If this ability is triggered before the duration expires, the brawler loses the previous combat feat and gains a new one in its place. If a feat has a daily use limitation (such as Stunning Fist), any uses of that feat while using this ability count toward that feat’s daily limit.
At 6th level, a brawler can use this ability to gain the benefit of two feats at the same time. She may select one feat as a swift action or two feats as a move action. At 10th level, a brawler can use this ability to gain the benefit of three combat feats at the same time. She may select one feat as a swift action, two feats as a move action, or three feats as a standard action. At 12th level, a brawler can use this ability to gain the benefit of one feat as an immediate action.
When acquiring feats after the first using this ability, the brawler may add and remove a number of feats based on the activation action; for example, if she uses a move action to gain feats, she may remove up to two feats from the feats gained through martial maneuvers, and gain up to two feats. She may not have more feats than her maximum number of feats gained through martial maneuvers, and all feats must meet prerequisites (although feats gained through martial maneuvers may count as prerequisites for other feats gained through martial maneuvers). Each feat selected counts toward her daily uses of this ability.
Whenever this ability is activated, the duration on any feat gained through martial maneuvers is reset - in other words it isn't necessary to track the acquisition round of each feat separately. Unarmed Strike: unchanged Brawler Skills: detailed below Maneuver Training: unchanged Brawler's Flurry: unchanged Brawler Strike (Su): unchanged Awesome Blow (Ex): unchanged, after change by developers
Below are the details to the Brawler Skills class ability, this is intended as a sample of abilities available - a great number of additional options should be available for the complete class in the ACG.
Brawler Skills: Starting at 2nd level, a brawler gains one brawler skill. She gains an additional brawler skill for every 2 levels of brawler attained after 2nd level. Except where indicated, a brawler cannot select an individual skill more than once. Brawling skills marked with an asterisk cannot be used in rounds where the brawler makes use of her brawler's flurry class ability.
Acrobatic master: A brawler with this skill gains the Skill Focus (acrobatics) feat and may always Take 10 on acrobatic checks.
Brawling dodger: A brawler with this skill gains a +1 dodge bonus to AC and CMD when she wears light armor, or +2 when she wear no armor. This bonus increases by +1 for every 5 levels of brawler she possesses. A brawler may pick this skill a second time, doing so increases the bonus by +1 for every 3 levels instead of every 5 levels. A brawler must be at least 6th level before picking this skill a second time.
Brutal: A brawler with this skill adds +2 to the DC of any ability gained through brawler skills (such as knockout and stun specialist).
Combat training: A brawler may chose a combat feat instead of a brawling skill, she must meet the prerequisites of that combat feat. A brawler may pick this skill any number of times. When chosing combat training, a brawler may change any feats gained previously with combat training; she must still meet all the prerequisites of feats chosen.
Enduring maneuvers: Feats gained through martial maneuvers last for 10 minutes. A brawler may pick this skill a second time, if she does so, then feats gained through martial maneuvers last for 1 hour.
Extra maneuver feat: A brawler with this skill increases the total number of feats that she may gain from martial maneuvers by 1 (thus at second level she could have up to 2 feats, at sixth level up to 3 feats, and at 10th level up to 4 feats).
Extra maneuvers: A brawler with this skill may use martial maneuvers a number of times per day equal to twice her class level.
Fast: A brawler with this skill gains a +10 bonus to her speed. A brawler may pick this skill once for every 4 brawler levels she possesses.
Finesse brawler: A brawler with this skill gains the Weapon Finesse feat.
Grappling specialist: A brawler with this skill deals an additional +1d6 damage when using grapples to inflict damage.
Great fortitude: A brawler with this skill gains the Great Fortitude feat.
Knockout (Su): A brawler with this skill can unleash a devastating attack that can instantly knock a target unconscious. She must announce this intent before making her attack roll. If the brawler strikes successfully and the target takes damage from the blow, the target must succeed at a Fortitude saving throw (DC 10 + 1/2 the brawler’s level + the higher of the brawler’s Strength or Dexterity modifier) or fall unconscious for 1d6 rounds. A brawler may use this ability once a day for at level 16, and once more for every two levels above level 16. Creatures immune to critical hits or nonlethal damage are immune to this ability. A brawler must be level 16 before selecting this brawler skill.
Painful punches (Ex): A brawler with this skill may add +5 to the damage she deals with unarmed strikes, instead of bonus damage gained from Strength or Dexterity. A brawler must be at least 4th level before selecting this skill.
Professional: A brawler with this skill considers her brawler level as her fighter level + 2 for the purpose of qualifying for combat feats.
Stun specialist: A brawler with this skill gains the Stunning Fist feat. She considers her brawler level as her monk level for the purpose of determining how many times a day she can use the Stunning Fist feat. She need not meet the prerequisites of the feat, but she must be a 4th level brawler to select this brawler skill.
Style savant: A brawler with this skill may chose a single style feat, or feat that has a style feat as a prerequisite, without meeting that feats requirements.
Tough brawler: A brawler with this skill gains the Toughness feat, additionally she gains +1 natural armor bonus to AC.
Note that the changes to Martial Maneuvers make it very easy to determine what feats can be acquired: any combat feat, and any other feat that is available through the Brawler Skills class ability. Correspondingly, given the examples above, the brawler could get Great Fortitude, Skill Focus (acrobatics) and Toughness, in addition to all combat feats.
Firstly I would like to thank Paizo and its development team for integrating us so substantially into the design process. There are many things in the playtest that strike my fancy and I am looking forward to experimenting with a lot of it. That said, I wish to make a strong appeal to the developers to reconsider the current design on the Brawler class.
In my opinion some of the strongest design decisions that have emerged from Pathfinder are shown in classes such as the alchemist, rogue, barbarian and similar classes who possess abilities along the lines of discoveries, rogue talents and rage powers. Such class abilities go a long way in personalizing a class for a given character; and the design team does a sterling job of ensuring that all manner of strong class tropes are supported through these abilities. There is an additional benefit to such a design path: it is very easy for developers to add additional discoveries, talents and powers in supplements such as Player Companions. (In contrast, classes such as paladin, monk or fighter generally have to rely on feats or archetypes for new content, generally few and far between.)
Compare now such a diverse and personal class design with the brawler: the brawler is comparatively rigid with little flexibility for one brawler to distinguish herself from another.
I really enjoy the concept of Martial Maneuvers, it is exciting and filled with possibilities - easily the signature ability by which brawlers will come to be known by. A large portion of the remainder of class abilities can, I think, be encapsulated in player-chosen "brawling skills" (akin to discoveries, rogue talents and rage powers). See below a sample of how such a class could feel:
Brawler
Weapon and Armor Proficiency:unchanged Martial Maneuvers (Ex):unchanged Unarmed Strike:unchanged Brawler Skills:detailed below Maneuver Training:unchanged Brawler's Flurry: At 4th level a brawler gains an additional move action in combat. She may use this move action to move at half her speed, or otherwise use it as a normal move action. At 8th level a brawler gains an additional standard action in combat. She may use this standard action to attack, total defense, use combat feats, or use any of her brawler class abilities. At 12th level a brawler gains an additional move action, and at 16th level a brawler gains an additional standard action, all prior restrictions apply. The move and standard actions gained cannot be combined into full-round actions.
Brawler Strike (Su):unchanged Awesome Blow (Ex):unchanged
Brawler Skills: Starting at 2nd level, a brawler gains one brawler skill. She gains an additional brawler skill for every 2 levels of brawler attained after 2nd level. Except where indicated, a brawler cannot select an individual skill more than once. Brawling skills marked with an asterisk cannot be used in rounds where the brawler makes use of her brawler's flurry class ability.
Brawling dodger: A brawler with this skill gains a +1 dodge bonus to AC and CMD when she wears light armor, or +2 when she wear no armor. This bonus increases by +1 for every 5 levels of brawler she possesses. A brawler may pick this skill a second time, doing so increases the bonus by +1 for every 3 levels instead of every 5 levels. A brawler must be at least 6th level before picking this skill a second time.
Combat training: A brawler may chose a combat feat instead of a brawling skill, she must meet the prerequisites of that combat feat. A brawler may pick this skill any number of times. When chosing combat training, a brawler may change any feats gained previously with combat training; she must still meet all the prerequisites of feats chosen.
Fast: A brawler with this skill gains a +10 bonus to her speed. A brawler may pick this skill once for every 4 brawler levels she possesses.
Flurry* (Ex): A brawler with this skill may, as a full-round action, perform a flurry. When doing so a brawler is treated as having the Two-Weapon Fighting feat when attacking with unarmed strikes or weapons with the “monk” special feature. She does not need to use two different weapons to use this ability. A brawler applies her full Strength bonus to her damage rolls for all successful attacks made with brawler’s flurry, whether the attacks are made with an off-hand or with a weapon wielded in both hands. A brawler may substitute disarm, sunder, and trip combat maneuvers for unarmed attacks as part of brawler’s flurry. A brawler with natural weapons cannot use such weapons as part of brawler’s flurry, nor can she make natural attacks in addition to her brawler’s flurry attacks. A brawler may pick this skill a second time, doing so grants her the Improved Two-Weapon Fighting feat at 8th level, and Greater Two-Weapon Fighting feat at 15th level. She must be at least 8th level before selecting this skill a second time.
Knockout (Su): A brawler with this skill can unleash a devastating attack that can instantly knock a target unconscious. She must announce this intent before making her attack roll. If the brawler strikes successfully and the target takes damage from the blow, the target must succeed at a Fortitude saving throw (DC 10 + 1/2 the brawler’s level + the higher of the brawler’s Strength or Dexterity modifier) or fall unconscious for 1d6 rounds. Using this ability more than once on a given day reduces the saving throw DC by 5 for each time previously used; once the DC is less than 1, the ability can no longer be used that day. Creatures immune to critical hits or nonlethal damage are immune to this ability. The DC for this ability resets once per day after the brawler is fully rested.
Painful Punches (Ex): A brawler with this skill may add +5 to the damage she deals with unarmed strikes, instead of bonus damage gained from Strength or Dexterity. A brawler must be at least 4th level before selecting this skill.
Professional: A brawler with this skill considers her brawler level as her fighter level for the purpose of qualifying for combat feats.
Stun Specialist: A brawler with this skill gains the Stunning Fist feat. She considers her brawler level as her monk level for the purpose of determining how many times a day she can use the Stunning Fist feat.
Style Savant: A brawler with this skill may chose a single style feat, or feat that has a style feat as a prerequisite, without meeting that feats requirements.
I think that Paizo had a lucky hand when they picked Dave Gross to spearhead Pathfinder Tales. Radovan and Jeggare both make for very entertaining reading - and, to my mind, Dave Gross just hits that sweet spot of making his Pathfinder novels reveal secrets and reach scope that the shepherds of Golarion jealously guard.
I'm still eagerly awaiting the arrival of my copy of King of Chaos (South Africa and international shipping... oh joy...)
I'm well amped. I'll have to make a plan though, I don't think I want it to be shipped to South Africa as I do with my normal subscriptions. Too risky.
I was wondering if the Magical Tail feat (kitsune, Advanced Race Guide, page 193) is legal in conjunction with the Racial Heritage feat (human, Advanced Player's Guide, page 168).
I thought the combination along with making a human ninja is the perfect rationalization for a ninja who has a nine-tailed fox sealed inside him (for those that are familiar with the anime Naruto).
One of the big problems - mechanically speaking - of monks is that they are given two-weapon-fighting for free; and then are left alone to fend for themselves with nothing else to differentiate themselves. Other combat classes get either conditional (sneak attack, favored enemy) or limited use (smite, rage) or just plain flat bonuses (weapon training, access to fighter-only feats).
By my reckoning, "something" interesting should happen to allow the monk to distinguish himself in a combat setting. I've previously put together a new flurry mechanic that is designed to create new options for a monk (refer to the blog post) - but in this post I want to suggest an alternative flurry mechanic that is more combat orientated and suitable for monks in their current form (rather than a complete monk rewrite).
Quote:
Flurry of Blows
Starting at 1st level, a monk can make a flurry of blows as a full-attack action. When performing a flurry of blows, if the monk successfully hits a foe he may make one additional attack at his highest base attack bonus. For the purpose of a flurry of blows, the monk’s 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.
At 8th level, when performing a flurry of blows a monk who successfully hits with two attacks (including attacks granted by the flurry of blows class feature) is granted an additional attack at his highest base attack bonus.
At 15th level, when performing a flurry of blows a monk who successfully hits with three attacks (including attacks granted by the flurry of blows class feature) is granted an additional attack at his highest base attack bonus.
A monk may substitute disarm, sunder, and trip combat maneuvers for unarmed attacks as part of a flurry of blows. A monk cannot use any weapon other than an unarmed strike or a special monk weapon as part of a flurry of blows. A monk with natural weapons cannot use such weapons as part of a flurry of blows, nor can he make natural attacks in addition to his flurry of blows attacks.
A monk may spend 1 ki point to initiate a flurry of blows as a standard action. Unlike a flurry of blows performed as a full-attack action, a monk that initiates a flurry of blows as a standard action does not get iterative attacks, just a single attack - however he does benefit from using his monk level as his base attack bonus, and if his attack is successful he gains additional attacks as normal for the flurry of blows ability. This allows the monk to make up to four attacks as a standard action at level 15, provided that at least the first three attacks successfully hit.
Two-weapon fighting has been removed out of the flurry of blows class feature. However, they are still compatible: a monk that so chooses could take the two-weapon fighting feats the usual way and thus gain more attacks with which to trigger bonus attacks from the flurry of blows class feature.
The provision to use a flurry of blows as a standard action using ki additionally goes quite some way to allow the strengths of the monk class to merge: high mobility and many attacks.
Hi, I thought I'd hear the resonance on the following:
A monk of the empty hand wields two-handed weapons as if they were quarterstaffs instead. So a 1d12 greataxe becomes a 1d6/1d6 quarterstaff in the hands of the monk.
The question is what happens when he wields a +1 greataxe?
I suspect he then wields the equivalent of a +1/+1 quarterstaff.
I quite like that spread. It appears neither of the sample druids makes use of an archetype - is that true in general and all NPCs are core classes only?
Assuming my character has two magical amulets around his neck, an amulet of mighty fists and an amulet of natural armor. Only one of these is "active" and bestows its benefit at a time - but what is the cost to switch which one is the "active" amulet? Can I do it as a standard action? Is it a free action? A move or swift action? Full-round?
Everybody appears to have an idea of what the bodywraps of mighty strikes should have been. Here I present my take on it. The advantage: can be used for unarmed-only as well as unarmed+weapon monks (provided the unarmed-only monk doesn't mind having his walking stick (ki resonating quarterstaff) to hand). Additionally it can help a little to get around DR and can potentially escalate to +8 equivalent weapons.
Ki Resonating Price +2 bonus
Aura moderate transmutation CL 12th
A ki resonating weapon, when held or wielded, grants its enhancement bonus to the wielder's unarmed strikes. A wielder with a ki pool may spend 1 ki point to grant all melee special abilities of the weapon to the wielder's unarmed strikes for one round. When doing so, the wielder's unarmed strikes bypass damage reduction as the weapon would in addition to the damage reduction that the unarmed strikes bypass inherently.
Construction requirements Cost +2 bonus
Craft Magic Arms and Armor, creator must be a monk
Comparing with Amulet of Mighty Fists
Amulet of Mighty Fists +1 5000gp
Amulet of Mighty Fists +2 20000gp
Amulet of Mighty Fists +3 45000gp
Amulet of Mighty Fists +4 80000gp
Amulet of Mighty Fists +5 125000gp
+1 ki resonating weapon 18000gp (+weapon cost)
+2 ki resonating weapon 32000gp (+weapon cost)
+3 ki resonating weapon 50000gp (+weapon cost)
+4 ki resonating weapon 72000gp (+weapon cost)
+5 ki resonating weapon 98000gp (+weapon cost)
+6 ki resonating weapon 128000gp (+weapon cost)
+7 ki resonating weapon 162000gp (+weapon cost)
+8 ki resonating weapon 200000gp (+weapon cost)
As the list indicates, a ki resonating weapon costs about the same as an amulet of mighty fists at the +3 and +4 range; before that the amulet is significantly cheaper - and at +5 the ki resonating weapon is noticeably cheaper. At the ranges +6 to +8 it would appear to be a steal for a ki resonating weapon - but keep in mind that weapons are limited to a +5 enhancement bonus; meaning at best the weapon would grant a +5 enhancement bonus to unarmed strikes all the time; while the special properties (such as flaming, wounding, keen) are only granted to the wielder for a round when he spends a ki point.
There's a fair amount of buzz due to Ultimate Equipment coming out; and on the whole it's not a major haul for monk lovers - but that's not to say that there's not some possibility for greatness.
I've not hyper-optimized, but present Fabio as a proof of concept monk. The maths below assumes an 11th level character and produces a respectable DPR that is team-orientated. The maths gets relatively convoluted, but details are given in the spoiler.
Level 11 monk, hasted DPR 92:
Friends-Through-Muscles Fabio Monk of the empty hand 11
Str 22 = 16 + 2 racial + 2 levels + 2 enhancement
Dex 14
Con 12
Int 10
Wis 13
Cha 10
For the most part, your choice on items and feats; but the build thrives on having lots of ki points, so making a plan along that line will certainly help. The only absolutely essential item is a ring of ki mastery (10 000gp). I've used Weapon Focus (improvised weapon wielded), Weapon Focus (unarmed), and Improvised Weapon Mastery.
Required for the maths that I use, Fabio flurries using a +3 one-handed weapon (used as an improvised weapon) and his unarmed strikes:
- ring of ki mastery (10 000gp)
- +3 one-handed weapon (20 000gp)
- +1 amulet of mighty fists (5 000gp)
The basic work-horse is the "designating, greater" weapon enhancement. A monk of the empty hand can imbue his improvised weapons with any weapon enhancement, even ones that don't usually work on the weapon (greater designating is a ranged/ammunition enhancement normally). Ordinarily it would cost 4 ki points to imbue a +4 weapon property like greater designating - but thanks to a charged ring of ki mastery the cost is reduced to 3; which allows a monk of the empty hand to use it from level 11 onwards.
Once you hit an opponent with a greater designating weapon, allies (including yourself) receive a +4 moral bonus to attack and +6 moral bonus to damage for 1 round. This allows Fabio to be a tremendous team player to quickly take down a powerful enemy, while doing pretty respectable damage himself.
The build is >very< sensitive to any bonus to attacks, and haste (granting an additional attack with the greater designating weapon) gives a big boost to the damage output. Thus if you were to add a bard or some buff spells or other means to increase odds of connecting with your greater designating weapon (invisibility, feint, etc) then the build goes from strength to strength.
Basic odds of designating a foe in a round: 90.5%
Odds of designating a foe in a round while hasted: 98.7%
I know everybody is doing it these days - but I figure that is not a reason not to get involved. On tenletter I've posted my monk remake. The post is quite long (sorry!) but it offers a really big new look at the monk.
To preview the design principles:
bring something new to the table: the monk’s “flurry” is not special, other than its limitations and that it is for “free”. Anybody can go and take two-weapon fighting feats.
create options: the monk class as defined by Paizo’s Pathfinder is very diverse and feature rich – but it is also a static richness of features that doesn’t change from monk to monk (other than by the application of archetypes)
endorse stereotypes: something that Paizo did right for several classes is the ability to re-create iconic characters or abilities by judicial application of character options. A ninja that creates shadow clones of himself? Check. A witch that has animated hair or a sleep-inducing poisoned apple? Check. These are options not imposed onto the class, but are exposed to the class. This is a great thing.
The "Flurry" is entirely re-designed; and the remade monk now gains "insights" (the equivalent to rogue talents, rage powers, discoveries, and so forth).
Its perhaps not common knowledge, but South Africa celebrates National Cleavage Day today. It's tradition over at tenletter that I post a beautiful cleavage coupled with new gaming options. It's all in good fun, and this year I'm presenting a monk archetype! The mistress of cherry blossoms awaits.
LoreKeeper Dedicated Voter Season 6, Star Voter Season 7
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There's something infinitely cool about the way Paizo handles its fans. It is really rare to see a community fostered in such a natural and inclusive way. Neither overdone, nor lacking.
I'm keenly awaiting the results of RPG Superstar 2012's first round. So jealous of Sean and Jerall!
I would like to voice the desire for Goblinworks to include an API that exposes relevant data for modding and user-interface development. If available I imagine there is any number of programmers that would enjoy developing a variety of custom GUIs for character presentation, inventory management, leveling, and-so-forth. Relevant data could be provided in JSON or XML format (such as item lists, legal/illegal perk/feat choices, and so forth).
This order has finally arrived (this being South Africa, things take a little while). There's a small problem with it, namely that the Pathfinder Tales in it is Death's Heretic, as opposed to the expected Master of Devils.
The Jade Regent adventure path and Book of the Damned vol 3 is present and fine, fortunately.
When I pointed out Pathfinder Online to my ex (an avid Pathfinder player) her first response was: "Yes! A place where I will recruit followers for Nocticula!" (She's got great hopes for the demon, hoping to one day see her rise as a full-fledged goddess.)
Which begs the question: can/will Pathfinder Online support her dream?
There's just so much to say and think about the Pathfinder Online MMO that it is hard to find one place to start. So exciting!
What character (and advancement) system will be used? Typically MMO's thrive on the premise that there's always another level up waiting and having 100 levels isn't out of the question. This is in direct contrast with Pathfinder, where the RPG caps out at level 20 (and realistically I don't really want to see anybody above level 12 or so given the RPG specs).
There are probably all kinds of opinions on the matter, so let my input be: please do not make sacrifices to create a "balanced" array of character options. Pathfinder is a great system because it encourages diversity and options at every step. Creating "balance" (in the sense that for example WoW classes are balanced) is, to me, anathema to the spirit of Pathfinder.
I enjoy running Jade Regent for my players currently; we're still quite early in the game (just having finished the Brinemarsh). This thread is intended to collect neat ideas for the campaign from myself and others.
Most recently the climax was my players facing Tsutamu, the end-boss of the marsh, in his cave. He's a samurai skeletal champion; so although the rules don't really support it - I used his Resolve ability to heighten the intensity of the encounter.
A normal samurai can use resolve to:
Quote:
Unstoppable: When the samurai is reduced to fewer than 0 hit points but not slain, he can spend one use of his resolve as an immediate action to instantly stabilize and remain conscious. He is staggered, but he does not fall unconscious and begin dying if he takes a standard action. He does fall unconscious if he takes additional damage from any source.
An undead cannot normally benefit from this - but I did it anyway: when he was reduced to less than 1hp (which usually destroys an undead) I let him use his resolve ability to keep animating his remains. He has two a day and he also happened to have challenged the paladin; the paladin dropped him but his resolve allowed him to keep standing and drop the paladin instead (which also allowed him to regain one resolve use for the day). It took a few more rounds after that and a really on-the-edge group of players for the remaining PCs to finally go all the way through and end Tsutamu.
What I liked about it; was that the high damage dealers could burn through Tsutamu's HP with their two-handed power attacks; but this was in-itself not enough to drop him. Once he was using resolve to keep standing any damage would be enough to drop him - but he could stay around long enough to really instill a sense of dread and urgency in the party.
In the end two of the party were unconscious and dying/stable, the third managed to do the final blow that dropped Tsutamu (while being himself staggered, so he fell unconscious right after that). And the fourth PC (a bard scared witless after she was already severely stat-drained from a severe case of filth fever who stood in the corner trying to be brave for her friends).
Great fun in other words :D
PS - oh, indeed the final attack to drop Tsutamu was a natural 20 confirmed by a second natural 20 - which the character (a monk) announced before rolling as his "ryuken style secret finishing move". It slayed Tsutamu and the monk fell unconscious afterward. A truly epic ending to the encounter.
While we're all eagerly awaiting additional FAQ/errata for Ultimate Combat, there are a few things that I'd like to know more of:
1. How do mystic wisdom and the advice ability work together exactly? The rules say: "a sensei may use his advice ability when spending points from his ki pool to activate a class ability".
Does this mean that the sensei must spend 1 round of advice and ki points to activate the ability?
Or does it mean that the mystic wisdom ability can only be used while using the advice ability (i.e. he must currently be busy inspiring courage in his allies or similar)
Does it mean the benefit persists while the sensei is using his advice ability (i.e. when he gives an ally fast movement, then the ally is fast as long as the sensei keeps orating with his advice ability). This naturally does not apply for once-off effects like wholeness of body.
2. Does the sensei qualify for Extra Performance for his Advice ability? (Ditto for qualifying for prestige classes, and so forth that require bardic performance.)
3. Who is the original author for the sensei? I ask so that it is easier to determine the intention (which is relevant to me) - as opposed to seeing the eventual errata/clarifications.
This thread is intended to be simply a collection of great (or just average) ideas for feats, spells, talents, tricks, powers and so forth. Long discussions or getting side-trekked should be discouraged (a new thread can be spawned for that).
I hope it works, it would be great to have a place to reference with nice ideas. Any ideas posted here would automatically belong to Paizo, and maybe one or two ideas will be adopted (or act as muses) for future Pathfinder content.
Format:
Format for posting:
Name - Type
Details
Comments in spoiler
Format for commenting: Name-of-ability-with-comments-in-spoilers
Example:
Crucial Twist - Rogue Talent
When you confirm a critical hit against an opponent that you are not already applying sneak attack damage to, you may add your sneak attack damage to the damage roll as a swift action. This only works against foes that can be sneak attacked.
Crucial Twist, Commentary:
I always found it strange that a rogue would rather get into flanking to deal high damage rather than be able to rely on a critical hit dealing substantial damage. Subject to the build, of course, but you should get the idea.
The "Advice" class ability describes itself as identical to bardic performance, the question for me is whether the Sensei qualifies for the feat Extra Performance. I think by RAW it might be "no", and I think by RAI it might be "yes".
