I've been seeing a bunch of monk rewrites this year. Some good some quite powerful, but most are farther away from the CORE class than I like. This version has been played in home games for some time now. Parts of it actually come from 3.5 games.
The changes are subtle but significant, some of these were incorporated for no other reason than to allow my players to tinker with their own archetypes.
Here it is Monk 2.75.
Alignment: Any lawful
Hit Die: d8
Starting Wealth: 1d6 × 10 gp (average 35 gp.) In addition, each character begins play with an outfit worth 10 gp or less.
Class Skills
The monk’s class skills are Acrobatics (Dex), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Wis), Escape Artist (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (history) (Int), Knowledge (nature) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Perception (Wis), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Stealth (Dex), and Swim (Str).
Skill Ranks Per Level 4 + Int modifier.
All of the following are class features of the monk.
Weapon Proficiency: Monks are proficient with the brass knuckles*, cestus*, club, crossbow (light or heavy), dagger, dart, handaxe, javelin, quarterstaff, shortspear, short sword, shuriken, sling, spear and long spear.
At first level the monk also gains proficiency with a single weapon with the monk special weapon quality. He gains proficiency with a new weapon with the monk special weapon quality at every second level after 1st.
Armor and Shield Proficiency: Monks are not proficient with any armor or shields.
AC Bonus (Ex)
When unarmored and unencumbered, the monk adds his Wisdom bonus (if any) to his AC and his CMD. In addition, a monk gains a +1 bonus to AC and CMD at 4th level. This bonus increases by 1 for every four monk levels thereafter, up to a maximum of +5 at 20th level.
These bonuses to AC apply even against touch attacks or when the monk is flat-footed. He loses these bonuses when he is immobilized or helpless. He also loses these bonuses if he is under a medium or heavy load. If the monk carries a readied shield or wears armor the armor check penalty of both items is assigned to this bonus.
Flurry of Blows (Ex)
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 as if using the Two-Weapon Fighting feat (even if the monk does not meet the prerequisites for the feat). For the purpose of these attacks, the monk's base attack bonus from his monk class levels is equal to his monk level. For all other purposes, such as qualifying for a feat or a prestige class, the monk uses his normal base attack bonus. This ability cannot stack with Two Weapon Fighting or the Multiattack feat. Unlike Two Weapon Fighting the Monk need not alternate his attacks, he may strike with the same weapon repetitively.
At 8th level, the monk can make two additional attacks when he uses flurry of blows, as if using Improved Two-Weapon Fighting (even if the monk does not meet the prerequisites for the feat).
At 15th level, the monk can make three additional attacks using flurry of blows, as if using Greater Two-Weapon Fighting (even if the monk does not meet the prerequisites for the feat).
A monk applies his full Strength bonus to his damage rolls for all successful attacks made with flurry of blows, whether the attacks are made with an off-hand or with a weapon wielded in both hands. A monk may substitute disarm, sunder, and trip combat maneuvers for unarmed attacks as part of a flurry of blows. A monk cannot use any weapon other than an unarmed strike, a light melee weapon or a special monk weapon as part of a flurry of blows. A monk with natural weapons can use such weapons as
part of a flurry of blows, however natural attacks do not benefit from the Monk's Unarmed Damage progression. A monk with Natural Attack forms do not gain additional attacks beyond those allowed by Flurry of Blows.
A monk that wears armor or carries a shield must apply the combined armor check
penalty to his attack roles in a Flurry of Blows attack.
Unarmed Damage (Ex)
At 1st level, a monk gains Improved Unarmed Strike as a bonus feat. 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. There is no such thing as an off-hand attack for a monk striking unarmed. A monk may thus apply his full Strength bonus on damage rolls for all his unarmed strikes.
Usually a monk's unarmed strikes deal lethal damage, but he can choose to deal nonlethal damage instead with no penalty on his attack roll. He has the same choice to deal lethal or nonlethal damage while grappling.
A monk's unarmed strike is treated as both a manufactured weapon and a natural weapon for the purpose of spells and effects that enhance or improve either manufactured weapons or natural weapons.
A monk also deals more damage with his unarmed strikes than a normal person would, as shown above on Table: monk. The unarmed damage values listed on Table: monk is for Medium monks. A Small monk deals less damage than the amount given there with his unarmed attacks, while a Large monk deals more damage; see Table: Small or Large monk Unarmed Damage.
Bonus Feat
At 1st level, 2nd level, and every 4 levels thereafter, a monk may select a bonus feat. These feats must be taken from the following list:
Catch Off-Guard, Combat Expertise, Combat Reflexes, Deflect Arrows, Dodge, Improved Grapple, Scorpion Strike*, and Throw Anything.
At 6th level, the following feats are added to the list:
Gorgon’s Fist, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Disarm, Improved Feint, Improved Trip, and Mobility.
At 10th level, the following feats are added to the list:
Improved Critical, Medusa’s Wrath, Snatch Arrows, and Spring Attack.
A monk need not have any of the prerequisites normally required for these feats to select them.
Stunning Fist (Ex)
At 1st level, the monk gains Stunning Fist as a bonus feat, even if he does not meet the prerequisites. At 4th level, and every 4 levels thereafter, the monk gains the ability to apply a new condition to the target of his Stunning Fist. This condition replaces stunning the target for 1 round, and a successful saving throw still negates the effect. At 4th level, he can choose to make the target fatigued. At 8th level, he can make the target sickened for 1 minute. At 12th level, he can make the target staggered for 1d6+1 rounds. At 16th level, he can permanently blind or deafen the target. At 20th level, he can paralyze the target for 1d6+1 rounds. The monk must choose which condition will apply before the attack roll is made. These effects do not stack with themselves (a creature sickened by Stunning Fist cannot become nauseated if hit by Stunning Fist again), but additional hits do increase the duration.
Evasion (Ex)
At 2nd level or higher, a monk can avoid damage from many area-effect attacks. If a monk makes a successful Reflex saving throw against an attack that normally deals half damage on a successful save, he instead takes no damage. Evasion can be used only if a monk is wearing light armor or no armor. A helpless monk does not gain the benefit of evasion.
Fast Movement (Ex)
At 3rd level, a monk gains an inherent bonus to his land speed, as shown on Table: monk. A monk in armor or carrying a medium or heavy load loses this extra speed.
Maneuver Training (Ex)
At 3rd level, a monk uses his monk level in place of his base attack bonus when calculating his Combat Maneuver Bonus. Base attack bonuses granted from other classes are unaffected and are added normally.
Still Mind (Ex)
A monk of 3rd level or higher gains a +2 bonus on saving throws against enchantment spells and effects.
Ki Pool (Su)
At 4th level, a monk gains a pool of ki points, supernatural energy he can use to accomplish amazing feats. The number of points in a monk's ki pool is equal to 1/2 his monk level + his Wisdom modifier. As long as he has at least 1 point in his ki pool, he can make a ki strike. At 4th level, ki strike allows his unarmed attacks to be treated as magic weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction. Ki strike improves with the character's monk level. At 10th level, his unarmed attacks are also treated as lawful weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction. At 16th level, his unarmed attacks are treated as adamantine weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction and bypassing hardness.
By spending 1 point from his ki pool, a monk can achieve wonderous effects:
~Make one additional attack at his highest attack bonus when making a flurry of blows attack.
~He may increase his speed by 20 feet for 1 round.
~He may give himself a +4 dodge bonus to AC for 1 round.
By spending 2 points from his Ki pool he may:
~Make one additional attack at his highest attack rating during any Full Attack Action.
~Make a single attack at a +4 bonus during a Standard Attack Action.
~Make a single attack at a +2 bonus during a Full Attack Action.
~Make a single attack that bypasses all Damage Reduction.
Each of these powers is activated as a swift action. A monk gains additional powers that consume points from his ki pool as he gains levels.
The ki pool is replenished at the rate of two points per hour of rest or meditation.
Slow Fall (Ex)
At 4th level or higher, a monk within arm's reach of a wall can use it to slow his descent. When first gaining this ability, he takes damage as if the fall were 20 feet shorter than it actually is. The monk's ability to slow his fall (that is, to reduce the effective distance of the fall when next to a wall) improves with his monk level until at 20th level he can use a nearby wall to slow his descent and fall any distance without harm.
By spending 1 point from his Ki Pool a monk may move across a surface that would not normally support his weight, such as water. He may move no farther than his slow fall distance and he may not stop and remain still a such a surface. If the monk does not reach a stable surface by the end of his turn he will be subject to the surfaces standard effects. This ability does not confer any immunity to damaging effects related to the surfaces composition.
High Jump (Ex)
At 5th level, a monk adds his level to all Acrobatics checks made to jump, both for vertical jumps and horizontal jumps. In addition, he always counts as having a running start when making jump checks using Acrobatics. By spending 1 point from his ki pool as a swift action, a monk gains a +20 bonus on Acrobatics checks made to jump for 1 round.
Purity of Body (Ex)
At 5th level, a monk gains immunity to all diseases, including supernatural and magical diseases.
Wholeness of Body (Su)
At 7th level or higher, a monk can heal his own wounds as an immediate action. He can heal a number of hit points of damage equal to his monk level by using 2 points from his ki pool.
Alternatively, as a Full Round Action, that provokes an Attack of Opportunity a monk may heal Two times his level of Hit Point damage plus the value of his total available Ki Pool by spending 3 points from his Ki Pool.
Improved Evasion (Ex)
At 9th level, a monk's evasion ability improves. He still takes no damage on a successful Reflex saving throw against attacks, but henceforth he takes only half damage on a failed save. A helpless monk does not gain the benefit of improved evasion.
Diamond Body (Su)
At 11th level, a monk gains immunity to poisons of all kinds.
Abundant Step (Su)
At 12th level or higher, a monk can slip magically between spaces, as if using the spell dimension door. Using this ability is a move action that consumes 2 points from his ki pool. His caster level for this effect is equal to his monk level. He cannot take other creatures with him when he uses this ability.
Unlike the spell Dimension Door, this spell does not necessarily end the monk's turn.
Diamond Soul (Ex)
At 13th level, a monk gains spell resistance equal to his current monk level + 10. In order to affect the monk with a spell, a spellcaster must get a result on a caster level check (1d20 + caster level) that equals or exceeds the monk's spell resistance.
This version of Spell Resistance can be lowered or raised as a Free Action. It ceases to function if the monk is rendered unconscious but it remains in place while the monk is sleeping or meditating.
Quivering Palm (Su)
Starting at 15th level, a monk can set up vibrations within the body of another creature that can thereafter be fatal if the monk so desires. He can use this quivering palm attack once per day, and he must announce his intent before making his attack roll. Creatures immune to critical hits cannot be affected. Otherwise, if the monk strikes successfully and the target takes damage from the blow, the quivering palm attack succeeds. Thereafter, the monk can try to slay the victim at any later time, as long as the attempt is made within a number of days equal to his monk level. To make such an attempt, the monk merely wills the target to die (a free action), and unless the target makes a Fortitude saving throw (DC 10 + 1/2 the monk's level + the monk's Wis modifier), it dies. If the saving throw is successful, the target is no longer in danger from that particular quivering palm attack, but it may still be affected by another one at a later time. A monk can have no more than 1 quivering palm in effect at one time. If a monk uses quivering palm while another is still in effect, the previous effect is negated.
Timeless Body (Ex)
At 17th level, a monk no longer takes penalties to his ability scores for aging and cannot be magically aged. Any such penalties that he has already taken, however, remain in place. Age bonuses still accrue. From this point on, the monk only ages at 1/4 of the usual rate.
The monk may choose to die at any time. If he makes this choice it is irreversible as his body ceases to exist and his spirit is untethered. Unlike the standard mortal soul the monk has the ability to pass into the Great Beyond under his own direction and may travel the spiritual planes freely. He may return to the Material Plane 3 times to impart a message from the beyond to any living creature as the Dream Spell.
Tongue of the Sun and Moon (Ex)
A monk of 17th level or higher can speak with any living creature.
Natural Creatures(plant, animal, vermin) with an intelligence of 5 or lower will always consider the monk as a friendly creature
Empty Body (Su)
At 19th level, a monk gains the ability to assume an ethereal state for 1 minute as though using the spell etherealness. Using this ability is a move action that consumes 3 points from his ki pool. This ability only affects the monk and cannot be used to make other creatures ethereal.
Perfect Self
At 20th level, a monk becomes a magical creature. He is forevermore treated as an outsider rather than as a humanoid (or whatever the monk's creature type was) for the purpose of spells and magical effects. Additionally, the monk gains damage reduction 10/chaotic, which allows him to ignore the first 10 points of damage from any attack made by a nonchaotic weapon or by any natural attack made by a creature that doesn't have similar damage reduction. Unlike other outsiders, the monk can still be brought back from the dead as if he were a member of his previous creature type.
Thoughts, it still needs to be bullit proofed.
Dotted for later comments.
MA
Regarding the ki pool:
I have to say, the bonus to hit is nice, and the bypass DR is nice, and the cost in ki means both are effectively useless. 2 ki is too much, with the standard ki pool. It means maybe one or two hits, max. It's just not enough to enable the monk to be effective at hitting and damaging - they need to do so regularly, rather than once in a blue moon.
I've actually been using a 1 Ki point per level model + WIS modifier. And have found it to be unbroken. However it gets screwy when an archetype adds in more Ki points. We've allowed the Ki Mystic's secondary pool to function as a regular pool and the Drunken Master's pool can both produce very large amounts of Ki resources. The Ki Mystic very seldom runs out of Ki.
I struggled with whether or not to retain the larger pool, which is effectively equivalent to a Bardic Music resource. I've been vocal that the Ki Pool is to small. However we've been using some Homebrewed feats that change the dynamic considerably.
The 2 point burns are really expensive. However the the only one I've seriously questioned is the Standard + 4, as it nets less benefit than the Full +2 when an opening round Stun or Punishing Kick is involved.
What I dropped were the 2 3point burns. As these were really out of left field.
~ make a single attack as with the True Strike spell.
~Make a single attack as a touch attack that deals maximum damage on all variable damage modifiers. (Really powerful with Elemental Fist).
So would this be better off with the larger pool?
Or would it be better if I dropped the 2 point burns to 1 point burns?
Or perhaps both.
@Atarlost
It's not so much a case of "giving up" an ability to incorporate armor. The armor and shield are not available proficiencies without a multiclass or a feat tax.
One of my primary gripes about the armor is that it's a massive penalty against the class. Wizards and Sorcerors can use armor at no penalty, by incorporating an Armored Kilt or DoMaru as they have a 0% Arcane Spell Failure. The Monk by contrast has multiple overlapping "you don't get armor" clauses in the class.
The loss of the armor is more about the "slot", the monk under the current rules is denied a magic item slot. NO other class is denied such an important resource. Other classes actually get an entire extra slot with which to add modifiers. With the way the Monk is worded even if he were to find an item say a Tunic of Resistance that lived in the armor SLOT but provided no AC bonus, the monk couldn't wear it as it would shut down Flurry, Fast Movement, and the AC from WIS.
There is almost no downside to my solution for a single classed monk. Where it gets sticky is in the multiclass option wherein another class can dip a level of monk to get the AC boost. Only Clerics and Druids would really benefit here but they would benefit. However they would take an extremely narrow Alignment Restriction, lose a full level of spell casting and pickup some circumstantial abilities. That a fair trade I think.
The other foot is that since it's introduction, Crane Style is an auto include in a a lot of monk builds. It's the strongest method to boost AC at low levels but it reinforces the poor accuracy thing.
We've allowed monks to wear armor, Padded Armor, since at least 3.5. It's not a game breaker. It also makes padded armor less of a waste of ink.
The big problem is that any significant rebuild of the monk will require a rebuild of every monk archetype as well.
One reason I prefer minimalist fixes...
Skills: I like that you added Diplomacy and Knowledge (Nature).
Weapon Proficiency: Interesting. Perhaps give them kama and shuriken to start with, since those are the two most common monk special weapons (other than quarterstaff).
Flurry of Blows: Nice clean writeup that handles the current problems. Well done.
Unarmed Damage: I would add a small line that a monk's unarmed strike is considered one weapon for the purpose of spells and effects that enchant a weapon. That allows you to avoid the problem of having to figure out how many magic weapon et al spells you need.
Ki Pool: Consider making it equal to his monk level + his Wisdom modifier. You've got a lot of actions there that he is going to want to spend points on. The second and third powers under 2 ki points are kind of . . . wonky. I wouldn't seperate standard from full attacks in that way. Also, consider allowing one additonal attack for 2 ki points when performing a standard attack, a charge, or when using the Spring Attack feat.
Wholeness of Body: Still criminally weak. Either reduce the ki cost, or bump up the healing. In my opinion.
Abundant Step: Excellent, you removed the major limitation. Now if you can take someone else with you it will be perfect. :)
Diamond Soul: I like what you did here with being able to raise or lower it as a free action. Perhaps change it so that it provides Spell Resistance against hostile or harmful magic only.
Tongue of the Sun and Moon: That additonal section about natural creatures treating the monk as friendly is very nice.
Master Arminas
@Dabbler
That's one of the reasons I didn't ditch the standard discard stuff, like Still Mind.
I was working from an attempt at minimalism. May not have pulled it off. My 3 groups have 6 monks between them and all but one has a Quinggong Swap power (he predates the UM by a significant time frame).
I'll look back through the Archetypes and see if I missed a conflict. (other than the Ki boosters).
@Master Arminas
Weapons: the Kama is still an option at lvl 1, but now it's a choice. The expanded weapons from UC are now options as well. This models another house rule regarding a variant weapon system. That's too complex usually but not bad with a class that is bound to have new weird weapons popup in rulebooks.
Unarmed Damage: I thought about that, I've yet to see a single argument that proves the monk has more than one Unarmed Weapon. SKR's post was the first time I've ever read it interpreted that way. I also think most people who've jumped on that bandwagon are confusing natural attacks and Unarmed Strike and are looking at it from the Druid perspective.
I'll adjust it.
Ki Pool: The one per level thing came up in your thread the other day, and I thought about it as an adjustment here, we tried it but found that it got nuts with Ki Mystic. That's FAQ land but it's cool by me. We are guilty of 15 minute days though.
Wholeness of Body: it's a Quinggong Swap 8)!
I know how much you hate this one but I think it's an emergency power at best. The immediate action makes it much better in combat and the full round version is damn sexy if we bump the Ki Pool. At level 10 with an 18 WIS = 34 Hit Points. Seriously even my players that haven't swapped this out only use the immediate version, potions are plentiful.
Abundant Step: I have a confession, prior to this write up I'd forgotten that passengers are prohibited. I've let a player do this twice in the last month because it sounded cool at the time.
Diamond Soul: yeah this is a power that irks me, it actually got me killed once. It's criminal that what should be one of the monk's best abilities can easily become a handicap. It's a rule interaction that 99% of players and GMs don't recognize until it comes up.
If I add a Hostile or Harmful clause is there a precedent? I've looked but couldn't find anything in the PRD. That would be preferable but I don't want something vague text wise that can be vivisected by English arguments. This version is an exception to the standard rule, following the Exception Based Rule thing.
Tongue of the Sun and the Moon: I never play to this level personally as a PC, I hate GMing at this level. It has come up though. This is a silly ability considering the level since GMs have absolutely no resource to refer to what an Elm Tree thinks about stuff. As a result from game to game the utility of this ability is really subjective.
I'd not kill it outright since it's nostalgic, this saved my butt on a 1st Ed. monk with a herd of mastodons. Considering what other classes get at this level this is really just a nostalgia ability.
@Dabbler
That's one of the reasons I didn't ditch the standard discard stuff, like Still Mind.
I was working from an attempt at minimalism. May not have pulled it off. My 3 groups have 6 monks between them and all but one has a Quinggong Swap power (he predates the UM by a significant time frame).
I'll look back through the Archetypes and see if I missed a conflict. (other than the Ki boosters).
@Master Arminas
Weapons: the Kama is still an option at lvl 1, but now it's a choice. The expanded weapons from UC are now options as well. This models another house rule regarding a variant weapon system. That's too complex usually but not bad with a class that is bound to have new weird weapons popup in rulebooks.
Unarmed Damage: I thought about that, I've yet to see a single argument that proves the monk has more than one Unarmed Weapon. SKR's post was the first time I've ever read it interpreted that way. I also think most people who've jumped on that bandwagon are confusing natural attacks and Unarmed Strike and are looking at it from the Druid perspective.
I'll adjust it.
Ki Pool: The one per level thing came up in your thread the other day, and I thought about it as an adjustment here, we tried it but found that it got nuts with Ki Mystic. That's FAQ land but it's cool by me. We are guilty of 15 minute days though.
The extra attack on a Spring Attack or Charge is in there as a 2 point burn. I suppose I could take the Flurry thing out and just make the 1 point burn on any attack action.
The reason they are separated is for balance issues. A monk that is restricted by actions, Staggered, can still hit if need be. A +4 on a flurry is potent though. I may simplify it though, Dabbler makes a strong argument on the cost of the 2 pointers.
Wholeness of Body: it's a Quinggong Swap 8)!
I know how much you hate this one but I think it's an emergency power at best. The immediate action makes it much better in combat and the full round version is damn sexy if we bump the Ki Pool. At level 10 with an 18 WIS = 34 Hit Points. Seriously even my players that haven't swapped this out only use the immediate version, potions are plentiful.
Abundant Step: I have a confession, prior to this write up I'd forgotten that passengers are prohibited. I've let a player do this twice in the last month because it sounded cool at the time.
Diamond Soul: yeah this is a power that irks me, it actually got me killed once. It's criminal that what should be one of the monk's best abilities can easily become a handicap. It's a rule interaction that 99% of players and GMs don't recognize until it comes up.
If I add a Hostile or Harmful clause is there a precedent? I've looked but couldn't find anything in the PRD. That would be preferable but I don't want something vague text wise that can be vivisected by English arguments. This version is an exception to the standard rule, following the Exception Based Rule thing.
Tongue of the Sun and the Moon: I never play to this level personally as a PC, I hate GMing at this level. It has come up though. This is a silly ability considering the level since GMs have absolutely no resource to refer to what an Elm Tree thinks about stuff. As a result from game to game the utility of this ability is really subjective.
I'd not kill it outright since it's nostalgic, this saved my butt on a 1st Ed. monk with a herd of mastodons. Considering what other classes get at this level this is really just a nostalgia ability.
@Dabbler
That's one of the reasons I didn't ditch the standard discard stuff, like Still Mind.
I was working from an attempt at minimalism. May not have pulled it off. My 3 groups have 6 monks between them and all but one has a Quinggong Swap power (he predates the UM by a significant time frame).
I'll look back through the Archetypes and see if I missed a conflict. (other than the Ki boosters).
I made my changes by simply adjusting existing abilities and the like, with the blanket 'anything not mentioned is unchanged'. I also suggested some feats to adjust the character. I don't like using feats, it's adding a feat-tax to make the class effective when it should be already, but it's also the easiest fix to implement.