I have a question about Power Attack. It says it starts out at -1 to hit +2 to damage. Every +4 BA is another -1/+2. Well, a 9th-level monk's normal BA is +6 but when he flurries it's +9. If I were to take this, would this mean I would always be at -2/+4 because of my normal +6 or would it change to -3/+6 when I flurry?
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Sorry Nethys I disagree.
For the purpose of these attacks, the monk's base attack bonus is equal to his monk level.
It explicitly states that the BAB is equal to monk level.
Therefore a 4th level monk using Power Attack would apply -2/+4 to the attack/damage. An 8th level monk using PA would apply -3/+6, etc.
So, neither column is the correct one to use for Flurry of Blows.
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You are free to disagree. I maintain however that Power Attack is not an innate part of the attack, it is an option you may adjust an attack with. In that case, you use the second part of that paragraph.
"For all other purposes, such as qualifying for a feat or a prestige class, the monk uses his normal base attack bonus."
I can see where the gray area is, however this rule was only written to increase the monks' attack bonus while in a flurry of blows. For anything else that makes a reference to base attack bonus, the monk's normal BAB should be used.
In this case, I will admit (something I am rare to do) that I could be wrong. I was hesitant on commenting on this specific issue, as I can see where you are coming from.
Your God of Knowledge,
Nethys
Sorry Nethys I disagree.
For the purpose of these attacks, the monk's base attack bonus is equal to his monk level.
It explicitly states that the BAB is equal to monk level.
Therefore a 4th level monk using Power Attack would apply -2/+4 to the attack/damage. An 8th level monk using PA would apply -3/+6, etc.
So, neither column is the correct one to use for Flurry of Blows.
For the purpose of qualifying for a feat or a prestige class a monk uses his normal base attack bonus.
This is for sure a grey area that needs a faq.
As it stands now i would rule a 1st-5th level flurry power attack at -1/+2 6th-10th at -2/+4 11th-15th at -3/+6 and so on.
Either way i am looking forward to the new stuff for my monk.
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You are free to disagree. I maintain however that Power Attack is not an innate part of the attack, it is an option you may adjust an attack with. In that case, you use the second part of that paragraph.
"For all other purposes, such as qualifying for a feat or a prestige class, the monk uses his normal base attack bonus."
I can see where the gray area is, however this rule was only written to increase the monks' attack bonus while in a flurry of blows. For anything else that makes a reference to base attack bonus, the monk's normal BAB should be used.
In this case, I will admit (something I am rare to do) that I could be wrong. I was hesitant on commenting on this specific issue, as I can see where you are coming from.
Your God of Knowledge,
Nethys
I can see where you are coming from. I could see it going either way, though I'll stick with what I said for my own game, but if an errata clarifies otherwise would easily switch. I'd say it can be ruled either way and go with what works best with your group.
Until an errata clarifies :)
BTW I hate writing late at night, as I keep finding SO many typos! I THINK I cleaned it up (and fixed at least four typos in this part too-add two more). If you see a typo try to figure out what I meant lol
You are free to disagree. I maintain however that Power Attack is not an innate part of the attack, it is an option you may adjust an attack with. In that case, you use the second part of that paragraph.
"For all other purposes, such as qualifying for a feat or a prestige class, the monk uses his normal base attack bonus."
I can see where the gray area is, however this rule was only written to increase the monks' attack bonus while in a flurry of blows. For anything else that makes a reference to base attack bonus, the monk's normal BAB should be used.
In this case, I will admit (something I am rare to do) that I could be wrong. I was hesitant on commenting on this specific issue, as I can see where you are coming from.
Your God of Knowledge,
NethysI can see where you are coming from. I could see it going either way, though I'll stick with what I said for my own game, but if an errata clarifies otherwise would easily switch. I'd say it can be ruled either way and go with what works best with your group.
Until an errata clarifies :)
BTW I hate writing late at night, as I keep finding SO many typos! I THINK I cleaned it up (and fixed at least four typos in this part too-add two more). If you see a typo try to figure out what I meant lol
The last line of the first paragraph under Flurry of Blows clearly states "For all other purposes, such as qualifying for a feat or a prestige class, the monk uses his normal base attack bonus." Therefore, for Flurry of Blows, the BAB = monk level. For "all other purposes" including determining the hit penalty/damage bonus from Power Attack, "the monk uses his normal base attack bonus." Aside from saying "For all other purposes including Power Attack", it couldn't be much more specific.
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Has this been errata'd yet?
If not, I'd lean towards using the Monk's level when calculating the attack penalty/damage bonus for Power Attack as part of a Flurry of Blows.
I interpret "For all other purposes, such as qualifying for a feat or a prestige class, the monk uses his normal base attack bonus" to mean that a Monk cannot take Power Attack as a feat at 1st level - he would need to wait until at least level 2, but presumably level 3 when he gets to choose another feat (assuming he has a STR of 13 or more).
However, when a Monk uses FoB he uses his level as his BAB. Therefore he uses his level as his BAB when calculating the attack penalty/damage bonus for Power Attack.
Monk's have enough things going against them as it stands. This interpretaion isn't unbalancing in the least - and it seems acceptable under RAW (the way I see it). That said the game designers seem reluctant to give Monk's any breaks so I wouldn't be shocked if they ruled otherwise (see Improved Natural Attack or Precise Strike for examples of this).
Has this been errata'd yet?
No, but it's been FAQ'd.
"The monk uses his improved flurrying BAB to determine the effect of those feats.
—Sean K Reynolds, 07/08/11"