Here is a monk archetype i have been playing around with for a home brew game i am part DMing. Any critique is welcomed as i would like to see if it feels balanced.
Body Mechanikal (Monk Archetype) The Body Mechanikal Monk treats his body as the machine it is and has mastered several techniques that allows him to keep it functioning beyond what a flesh and blood body could. With further training, even extreme damage can be recovered from. After all, the tools are all there, already in his own body.
Powerful Flurry (Ex): The Body Mechanikal has learned to leverage his muscle and bones to deliver powerful blows. At 1st level he gains Power Attack as a bonus feat, even if he does not meet the prerequisites. His BAB for the purposes of this feat is equal to his monk class level. In addition, he is treated as using a one handed weapon with two hands while making a flurry of blows allowing him to add 50% to the power attack damage bonus. Note that this does not allow him to add 50% strength bonus. At 4th, 12th and 20th level he reduces the penalty for using Power Attack by 1.This ability replaces Stunning Fist.
Internal Maintenance (Su): At 4th level, as long as he has 1 point of ki in his ki pool, a Body Mechanikal does not need to eat or drink. At 6th level he no longer needs to sleep as much as a normal member of his race. He only needs 2 hours sleep a night to gain the full benefit of a full nights sleep. As long as his ki pool is not empty, it takes only 2 hours to refresh through rest or meditation. If his ki pool is ever empty then he needs to eat, drink and rest normally until his ki pool refreshes following 8 hours rest or meditation. At 8th level he can cast either lesser restoration (for 3 ki points) or restoration (for 4 ki points and 100gp in reagents) upon himself. This replaces Slow Fall and all its improvements.
Self-Repair (Su): At 15th level, a Body Mechanikal can cast Regenerate upon himself by spending 4 points from his ki pool, using his monk level as his caster level. If he is unconscious and has ki points left, he can activate this ability to bring himself to consciousness. At 17h level he gains an enhancement bonus to Fast Healing of 2 as long as he has ki points left. This increases by +1 each level up to +5 at 20th level. This ability replaces Quivering Palm and Tongue of the Sun and Moon.
Perfect Machine (Su): At 20th level, the Body Mechanikal becomes a construct, albeit one made from flesh and blood and bone, and takes on some of the immunities and penalties of one. He is forevermore treated as a construct as well as a humanoid (or whatever the monk's creature type was) for the purpose of spells and magical effects. Healing effects, other than those that he uses upon himself or from this archetype, cease to have any effect, but repair spells start to work at full effect. He no longer needs to eat, breath or sleep and becomes immune to death effects, necromancy effects, paralysis, sleep, stun, and any effect that requires a Fortitude save (unless the effect also works on objects, or is harmless). Constructs are not subject to nonlethal damage, bleed effects, ability damage, ability drain, fatigue, exhaustion, or energy drain. Constructs are not at risk of death from massive damage.
He cannot be brought back to life other than through use his Regenerate ability (Auto Repair). This replaces Perfect Self.
It looks okay to me. In terms of balance.
Otherwise, it looks mad bad-butt
The Fast healing is only going to happen at high levels of play (17+). If it's not a major encounter then i expect the party healer to have healed up their team mates after that using heal etc. This takes some of the strain of the healer allowing them to use that heal spell earmarked for you on something more fun. If it was a major encounter then there is a very real chance that the monk has blown thru' their ki pool rendering it null anyway.
Pretty much every class has access to some kind of DR so i was trying to come up with another version that wasn't.
Think of it as DR that works only against 1 attack around, but even works on rounds where you took no damage.
I know what you mean but ki points dont kick in till 4th level. MAybe it should read
Powerful Flurry (Ex): The Body Mechanikal has learned to leverage his muscle and bones to deliver powerful blows. At 1st level he gains Power Attack as a bonus feat, even if he does not meet the prerequisites. His BAB for the purposes of this feat is equal to his monk class level. In addition, he is treated as using a one handed weapon with two hands while making a flurry of blows allowing him to add 50% to the power attack damage bonus. Note that this does not allow him to add 50% strength bonus. At 4th, 12th and 20th level he reduces the penalty for using Power Attack by 1. He can use this ability for 1 round per Monk level +1 round per 4 non-monk levels. This ability replaces Stunning Fist.
That way it would mirror uses for stunning fist, elemental fist, perfect strike etc.
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Yeah. That's what I meant to say but missed. It fits into the Monk format more.
Have you considered changing Evasion? It doesn't seem to fit thematically. Perhaps steal the bit from the Sacred Mountain Monk. When you get Toughness and +1 NA instead. Then get DR1/- instead of Improved Evasion later on.
I had considered it but wanted to keep the changes down to a minimum and spread throughout the levels. As mentioned i wanted to keep away from DR and look at the self healing route.
Plus evasion and imp evasion are iconic monk abilities too good to pass up.
I had considered it but wanted to keep the changes down to a minimum and spread throughout the levels. As mentioned i wanted to keep away from DR and look at the self healing route.
Plus evasion and imp evasion are iconic monk abilities too good to pass up.
While Fast Healing is pretty strong, the fact that it only comes into effect at level 17 makes it much more of a non issue for me. Looks good, I particular like the flavour of Internal Maintainance. :)
But he is still flesh and blood, there is no hardening of the skin or resistance to blows. There are many prestige classes and archetypes that give DR/adamantium.
The body already knows how to heal itself and there are many examples in nature (real and mythical)of even more fantastic regeneration.
He is only a machine in the way that the body can be described as having machine like functions.
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But he is still flesh and blood, there is no hardening of the skin or resistance to blows. There are many prestige classes and archetypes that give DR/adamantium.
The body already knows how to heal itself and there are many examples in nature (real and mythical)of even more fantastic regeneration.
He is only a machine in the way that the body can be described as having machine like functions.
It's easy, however, to throw in that his skin is hardening to the consistency of metal. Just a thought.