|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I just had an idea for a feat for monks that would help monk players achieve certain concepts of monks, specifically the fortune cookie proverb spouting wise monk who is extremely clever -- think Egg Shen in Big Trouble In Little China or The Old Man in The Golden Child (both played by the late and great Victor Wong):
Designer Notes (i.e. this is not part of the feat):
A monk who uses words of wisdom for a Diplomacy check may not speak loudly or forcefully, but he is capable of so clearly communicating his insight while showing respect and awareness of others that they are inclined to listen to him and consider what he has to say.
A monk who uses words of wisdom for a Bluff check never actually lies, per se. He instead presents ideas and concepts in such a manner that his meaning is enigmatic and open to interpretation. Sometimes he answers questions with more questions, and yet the his interrogator is left thinking he has received an answer. Other times he quotes some ancient proverb that sounds like its relevant. While many people use a lot of words to say nothing entirely on accident, a monk using words of wisdom does it with a skill and insight that few can match.
I would allow it to use the wisdom modifier in place of the charisma modifier, but not add the skills as class skills also, but I do like it, and I will give it a trial run in my next campaign.
Charisma is already the red-headed stepchild of ability scores, which is the only reason I am not making the feat permanent.
Once again, great idea though.
|
|
I would allow it to use the wisdom modifier in place of the charisma modifier, but not add the skills as class skills also, but I do like it, and I will give it a trial run in my next campaign.
I was thinking that the Wisdom for Charisma swap was not enough oomph for the price of a feat, and it needed a little extra. The granted power of the Inquistor's Conversion Inquistion, Charm of Wisdom, allows a swap of Wisdom for Charisma for Bluff, Diplomacy and Intimidate...and I don't think an Inquistion (or Domain) granted power is the equivalent of a feat in value. So I added the bonus class skills to balance it out (since many traits grant bonus class skills, I thought it was equal to about half a feat).
Now I'm thinking maybe it should just be a trait, rather than a full-blown feat. Like so:
You know what would be cool? Monastic Traits. To go along with Regional, Social, Combat, etc. A small list, maybe eight to ten items, of traits specifically for monks.
(Suddenly I really want to watch 36th Chamber of Shaolin again. Best monk training sequence ever, it's like 70% of the movie and crazy detailed about how monks are made.)
Here's some ideas off the top of my head:
Obstacle Runner: The master of your temple preferred training on elaborate obstacle courses. You gain a +1 trait bonus on Acrobatic or Climb.
Esoteric Teachings: Your temple was more focused on contemplation of the arcane than most. Choose Knowledge (arcana), Spellcraft, or Use Magic Device. This skill is always a class skill for you.
Arduous Training: Your teacher believed that the body must be broken completely before it can be remade, and as a result of this arduous training you gain a +1 trait bonus to Fortitude saves.
Temple of Nature: Your master believed in complete harmony with nature, and his "school" was the wilderness itself. You gain a +1 trait bonus to Knowledge (nature) or Survival, and this skill is always a class skill for you.
If anyone else has any cool ideas, let's hear them.
Being able to ignore an ability score is a powerful thing, IMHO. I always took force of personality for my 3.5 sorcerers. It allowed them to use charisma instead of wisdom for will saves. That freed gold up for other things, and I could take the wisdom, and put it into another ability score.
|
|
Being able to ignore an ability score is a powerful thing, IMHO. I always took force of personality for my 3.5 sorcerers. It allowed them to use charisma instead of wisdom for will saves. That freed gold up for other things, and I could take the wisdom, and put it into another ability score.
Huh. I can't say I ever saw anyone do that in my 3.5 campaigns, but then again in all the time I DM'd 3.5, I'm pretty sure there was a whopping total of 1 sorcerer. Lot of bards though, and no one ever picked FOP.
Also, this doesn't affect Will Saves, so I'm not sure if it compares to FOP.
Being able to ignore an ability score is a powerful thing, IMHO. I always took force of personality for my 3.5 sorcerers. It allowed them to use charisma instead of wisdom for will saves. That freed gold up for other things, and I could take the wisdom, and put it into another ability score.Huh. I can't say I ever saw anyone do that in my 3.5 campaigns, but then again in all the time I DM'd 3.5, I'm pretty sure there was a whopping total of 1 sorcerer. Lot of bards though, and no one ever picked FOP.
Also, this doesn't affect Will Saves, so I'm not sure if it compares to FOP.
The comparison was the option to dump a stat you don't want to deal with, and put the points somewhere else or if you roll for stats just put the low stat in charisma and you still get the benefits in two skills. This would be great for a rogue, as an example or a ranger since they don't normally get to be the talkers of the party.
|
|
Being able to ignore an ability score is a powerful thing, IMHO. I always took force of personality for my 3.5 sorcerers. It allowed them to use charisma instead of wisdom for will saves. That freed gold up for other things, and I could take the wisdom, and put it into another ability score.
To be fair, Force of Personality only worked with spells or effects that were mind-affecting. That's many Will saves, but far from all of them. If you dumped Wisdom, and took this feat, chances are your Will saves (versus non mind-affecting effects) totally sucked.
I thought it was a decent feat, but it was made better by players who conveniently forgot that many of their Will saves were still based on Wisdom.
Being able to ignore an ability score is a powerful thing, IMHO. I always took force of personality for my 3.5 sorcerers. It allowed them to use charisma instead of wisdom for will saves. That freed gold up for other things, and I could take the wisdom, and put it into another ability score.To be fair, Force of Personality only worked with spells or effects that were mind-affecting. That's many Will saves, but far from all of them. If you dumped Wisdom, and took this feat, chances are your Will saves (versus non mind-affecting effects) totally sucked.
I thought it was a decent feat, but it was made better by players who conveniently forgot that many of their Will saves were still based on Wisdom.
I know, but those are the ones that are cast 90% of the time.
Being able to ignore an ability score is a powerful thing, IMHO. I always took force of personality for my 3.5 sorcerers. It allowed them to use charisma instead of wisdom for will saves. That freed gold up for other things, and I could take the wisdom, and put it into another ability score.To be fair, Force of Personality only worked with spells or effects that were mind-affecting. That's many Will saves, but far from all of them. If you dumped Wisdom, and took this feat, chances are your Will saves (versus non mind-affecting effects) totally sucked.
I thought it was a decent feat, but it was made better by players who conveniently forgot that many of their Will saves were still based on Wisdom.
The difference between a 12 Wis and an 8 is -2. It applies against, what, illusions?
Against the 'killer' mind affecting spells and effects, you're going to get an 'instant' bonus of +3 with an 18 Cha, and up to +9 if you eventually hit a 30 Cha. In other words, your one good save against game enders is as good as that of a priest. That's QUITE the return for a feat.
===Aelryinth