Why ever buy a ki mat?

[Spanky the Leprechaun]

Themetricsystem wrote:

I think in general when discussion is sparked on these message-boards it relates to some non-existent sandbox world where characters are just a set of numbers and the world is their oyster.

Nope. Dungeons and Dragons, when I'm playing anyway, entails an ACTUAL ALTERNATE UNIVERSE somewhere where all this is really happening.

[Themetricsystem]

Spanky the Leprechaun wrote:

Themetricsystem wrote:

I think in general when discussion is sparked on these message-boards it relates to some non-existent sandbox world where characters are just a set of numbers and the world is their oyster.

Nope. Dungeons and Dragons, when I'm playing anyway, entails an ACTUAL ALTERNATE UNIVERSE somewhere where all this is really happening.

Oh you rascal!

Everyone should know what I mean here, in that quite a bit done here is in the pursuit of theory-craft and "ideas" rather than discussion regarding things that will actually affect the PC of the person contributing.

[The Speaker in Dreams]

You know ... *maybe* the cost might be reasonable if it was like 1+wis mod of Ki is regenerated per hour of rest or something.

The rest is SO artificial ... and just weird (limit of 24 hours/day, or 8 hrs flat, whatever - it's lame).

However, introducing a 10k item that's MINIMAL use strikes off 1 full hour of *literally* sittin' on your dubber as it were ... WHY is this thing so useless??

1 hour ... seriously? I can't imagine a scenario where this would even be reasonable.

"Hey guys, anyone mind sitting around twiddling thumbs on this here 'adventure' thing we're on so I can meditate and regain some ki points?"

Ans, "don't you get 'em all back anyway after, you know - we'd *all* rest?"

Monk, "Well .... yeah, but I just burned a few in that last combat to get some extra hits and boost my AC. I'm down now, but give me umm ... like 3 hours and I'll be tip-top again."

Ans, "And ... screw that. We're walking you dweeb!"

If you make some changes so that it's *actually* beneficial in some way, then there's a point to the item. As it stands? LAME beyond belief.

My suggestions (likely to appear in my games):
*1+wis mod/hour of meditation (ie: to make it worth a damn to stop for that frakkin' long!)
*let the 1/hour actually work like a "super-charge" to the existing Ki pool up to a maximum bonus of +1/2 your current Ki Pool size (ie: Ki Pool size of 8 ==> supercharged pool of 12 for 4 additional hours of meditation invested). Basically, it's like "temporary HP's" or something like that.

Seriously ... it's not a bad idea, but the mechanics are TERRIBLE for in-game use of any kind to be taken seriously.

[ZappoHisbane]

I dunno, I rather like the idea (if not the price). It encourages the Monk to feel a little more free in burning that last Ki point to swing the tide of the battle perhaps. After the fight is done, I can picture the Monk simply unrolling the mat and starting to meditate while the rest of the party search all the bodies, argue over the loot, figure out the trap on the chest, pore over the badguy's spellbooks, etc etc. Very zen.

It's not something that would be pulled out after EVERY fight, no doubt. Not every dungeon crawl is a race against time though, nor are there always wandering monsters to worry about.

[King of Vrock]

This isn't really much different that the 3.5 Ring of Regeneration which cost WAY more than 10K. Not every magic item is gonna be all insta-boost to full power. I think too many players are spoiled or not enough GM's spread adventuring out through a whole day. A single ki point can be huge towards the end of the adventuring day. Have you never been holed up in a room or a rope trick or tiny hut after a battle goes wrong and you need to regroup?

--Vrocking Horse of Mighty Charging

[LazarX]

SanguineRooster wrote:

Not to de-rail a FANTASTIC interior design thread, but the problem I have with the ki mat also has to do with the required check. You have to make a straight wisdom check against a dc 10+your current ki pool. Unless your ki pool is nearly spent it's going to be tough to make that check.

It's a very good rule. It keeps Munchkin Monk from whipping out his mat after every single fight. It also discourages Munchkin Monk from novaing his ki points to get around it since the recovery rate is fairly slow. It's a very good flavor item for a monk, especially one that's played close to the ascetic trope.

[Themetricsystem]

Light travel via horse doesn't count as any kind of action as you aren't required to make any skill checks in favorable conditions so I can easily see a monk placing it down over his saddle and meditating during travel as long as someone in the party is willing to tie his horse to theirs. That would make for an interesting RP conversation too.

Monk-"So uh, I was thinking this would be an ideal time to meditate, get out all of the negative emotions and work on my enlightenment you know... so um... what I am saying is ... would you be willing to guide my horse?"
BSF-"..."
Monk-"... How about you rose?"
Cleric-"Listen I 'get' that you are really into this whole... state of mind thing but... aren't you taking it a little far?"
Monk-"...Alahanzar?"
Rogue-"Fine, if it will shut your hippie ass up for 10 g~~-d@&n seconds."