Just checking here to make sure I've understood correctly so the DM will approve of the idea.
''Starting at 1st level, a monk can make a flurry of blows as a full-attack action. When doing so he may make one additional attack using any combination of unarmed strikes or attacks with a special monk weapon''
''A monk's attacks may be with fist, elbows, knees, and feet. This means that a monk may make unarmed strikes with his hands full.''
So that means I could have a 8th lvl monk with 2 kama's first doing 2 kama attacks using flurry of blows and then using his legs to do 2 unarmed attacks? Correct?
In addition can flurry of blows be used on many oponents on your turn if they're in your reach so it mustn't be used against only one opponent?
Also what weapon would you choose if you played a monk and why? What enchantments etc.?
Just checking here to make sure I've understood correctly so the DM will approve of the idea.
''Starting at 1st level, a monk can make a flurry of blows as a full-attack action. When doing so he may make one additional attack using any combination of unarmed strikes or attacks with a special monk weapon''
''A monk's attacks may be with fist, elbows, knees, and feet. This means that a monk may make unarmed strikes with his hands full.''
So that means I could have a 8th lvl monk with 2 kama's first doing 2 kama attacks using flurry of blows and then using his legs to do 2 unarmed attacks? Correct?
In addition can flurry of blows be used on many oponents on your turn if they're in your reach so it mustn't be used against only one opponent?
Also what weapon would you choose if you played a monk and why? What enchantments etc.?
As an 8th level monk you have a BAB of +6, so you get 2 attacks normally there, and you get 2 extra attacks with flurry of blows, so you get a total of 4 attacks. You can use those attacks in any combination of those 2 karmas and your hands, elbows, head, feet etc.
So, yes, the example given above would be correct.And your flurries are simply attacks, you can use on any opponents as you see fit.
Also what weapon would you choose if you played a monk and why? What enchantments etc.?
As I understand it - and I can't guarantee I'm 101% right - if you have monk weapons, you can use any of them or unarmed attacks, in whatever sequence. Overall, imo it makes most sense to have monk weapons dealing different kinds of damage (piercing & slashing, to add to your unarmed bashing) and from special materials so you always have something that works against your enemy's DR. Elemental damage enhancements usually work quite well, too.
Ideally, the best weapon is one that can allow you to use your unarmed damage, but I'm not sure if that would actually be a weapon or wondrous item a la the monk gloves in Neverwinter Nights, or the bracers in Magic of Faerun.
Don't forget to add brass-knuckles to your list of weaponry. You can get them in various materials to overcome DR and enchant them as well.
Don't forget to add brass-knuckles to your list of weaponry. You can get them in various materials to overcome DR and enchant them as well.
Ah, I suppose there would be something like that. Does the description mean they count as monk weapons for flurry or other abilities like the weapon master monk's, though?
I'd just allow the monk various "enhancers" for unarmed attacks to stack special ability on, at the rate of two/double weapon since flurry counts as TWF. Bracers, gloves, whatever makes any sense and allows the player to feel cool about their character.
Don't forget to add brass-knuckles to your list of weaponry. You can get them in various materials to overcome DR and enchant them as well.Ah, I suppose there would be something like that. Does the description mean they count as monk weapons for flurry or other abilities like the weapon master monk's, though?
...
The linked entry states:
"Benefit: Brass knuckles allow you to deal lethal damage with unarmed attacks.Drawback: You may hold, but not wield, a weapon or other object in a hand wearing brass knuckles. You may cast a spell with a somatic component while wearing brass knuckles if you make a concentration check (DC 10 + the level of the spell you’re casting).
Note: Monks are proficient with brass knuckles and can use their Monk unarmed damage when fighting with them."
So the main benefits for monks are to apply their unarmed damage and have material options and enhancements available.
Brass knuckles were pretty much added to the APG to make up for the fact that Monks got hosed by Amulet of Mighty Fists. It's much more expensive than a weapon and it has a max of +5 instead of +10. BK makes it so that you can get a magical weapon (and all the fun extra abilities it grants) w/o spending a mountain more gp (2k vs 5k for +1 scaling up to 50k vs 125k for +5).
Remember that some monk abilities (eg. ki strike) are only useable with weapons if they've got the ki focus enchantment.
Very early on as a Monk, the weapons can be handy if they're, for example, masterwork, thus giving you a +1 to hit. Later on, though, the damage from the Monk weapons will be worse than your unarmed strikes. At that point, the weapons you'll probably want to use are:
Sai (+2 to disarm and sunder checks)
Shuriken (counts as ammunition, thus can be drawn and thrown during a flurry of blows)
Nunchaku (+2 disarm, better damage than sai)
Kama (can help with trip attempts)
For sheer damage the best Monk weapon will usually be fists, and if you want magical enhancements you should get brass knuckles, but some of these weapons can be useful side-arms. Don't forget that sometimes you need a slashing or piercing weapon - like if you're swallowed whole.
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Bear in mind that brass knuckles have been semi-officially semi-revised here, although the fix has not made it into either the SRD or the recent printings of the rulebook.
One thing I found useful at lower levels with my monk was to arm him with a crossbow or shuriken, but flurry with his feet, giving him a bit of flexibility; with the shuriken he could flurry at range too. Now our party's magicicans are more powerful, we've got less need for missile weapons, but it was useful earlier on.
| 1 person marked this as FAQ candidate. |
Bear in mind that brass knuckles have been semi-officially semi-revised here, although the fix has not made it into either the SRD or the recent printings of the rulebook.
One thing I found useful at lower levels with my monk was to arm him with a crossbow or shuriken, but flurry with his feet, giving him a bit of flexibility; with the shuriken he could flurry at range too. Now our party's magicicans are more powerful, we've got less need for missile weapons, but it was useful earlier on.
Just so you know that thread you linked to is from April/May 2010 and is asking about the Adventurers Armory. The Rules we are quoting for the Brass Knuckles are from the APG which was published in August 2010.
Also in Sean K Reynold's comment he says that brass knuckles were never intended to be used w/ the Monk unarmed damage progression but in the APG it specifically states that it DOES use the Monk progression.
That thread is clearly out of date.
That thread is clearly out of date.
Indeed. I brought it up as supplementary information rather than a hard and fast ruling, hence the "semi-revised".
I imagine it's because, as jb200 says, it's an out of date ruling, so one could assume that it's invalid with the release of the APG. On the other hand, the APG seems to fly in the face of the intentions of the designers, so it could go either way.
Until they publish an official errata of some kind, I'm inclined toward something I'll call RAOI (Read As Originally Intended), especially since the given reason to nerf the knuckles is to avoid complication and that's not my concern.