So I've just got level 6 on Master of Many Styles and realized there's not too much I particularly want after about level 8 or 10. Are there any Monk flavored Prestige classes (besides Brother of the Seal, it requires Flurry of Blows) that would be interesting as well as powerful and not good-alignment restricted?
Class details are (mostly) on my profile page, except Feat choices and some other stuff.
I've had a really good return on investment going into ninja with my Maneuver Master. Ki keeps growing and there are great new ki-options.
The "Forgotten Trick" is game changing for a Master of Many Styles - as you can spend a bit of ki to get new styles on the fly! (It helps to invest into a ring of ki mastery to reduce the cost to 1 ki, then get "Combat Trick" and "Style Master" to instantly have a new style tree on your monk.
Ninja is, sadly, one of the few classes that is out of the picture.
Our GM is one who goes with the style of "If you want to multiclass, you need someone to teach you that class" unless the classes are uncannily similar (like Unarmed Fighter).
PrCs are pretty much fair game though, since NPCs with those classes are very, very rare I believe.
Druids/Monks are lawful neutral, 4 levels of druid and you can turn into an allosaurus (upping your unarmed strike damage by 2 categories).
Are you LN?
prototype00
For a little elaboration, I would have easy access to:
The common classes that the Aspis Consortium is likely to have on hand (Fighter, Ranger, etc.)
The characters in my party's classes:
Sorcerer
Cleric
Magus
Bard
We also have a Barbarian, Druid, and a Paladin (maybe Anti-Paladin, his Rogue died last session and he hasn't completely made his char yet).
I'm Lawful Evil though, Druid's out prototype.
That's been more of a pain in the ass than I'll care to admit when it comes to getting stuff/classes but damn is he fun to RP.
Even if the ninja is out of the picture - you can take rogue levels to still get Forgotten Trick; you just won't have the ki progression anymore (which you are giving up anyway).
Fighter can be a good choice. Fighter (archer) can vastly improve your ranged combat capabilities. Fighter (brawler or unarmed fighter archetype) can give you better BAB while still focusing on unarmed combat. Fighter (polearm master) with a monk's spade or tiger fork could be an interesting choice. Fighter (unbreakable) can increase your toughness.
Ranger could also be a good choice, since monks already have above average Wis. Ranger (infiltrator) can work for a monk who wants to gain the abilities of their foes. Ranger (shapeshifter) can be a good choice for a monk that wants to heighten their mystical connection to their animal style; it also (with Aspect of the Beast/Claws) opens up the Feral Combat Training feat, allowing iterative natural attacks.
Rogue might be a good choice. Rogue (chameleon) can simulate the super-stealthy martial artist. Rogue (poisoner) might be an attractive choice for an evil monk. Rogue (roof runner) is a good choice for an acrobatic monk. Rogue (swashbuckler) might be an OK choice.
Less likely to be available, but still a decent choice, would be inquisitor. Inquisitor (infiltrator) could help make the monk into a great spy. Inquisitor (spellbreaker or witch hunter) makes a great combatant against arcane spellcasters.
As far as prestige classes go, assassin and shadowdancer are usually the easiest for a monk to qualify for. Master spy is more difficult, unless you already have most of the required feats.
If you you were a monk of the sacred mountain, I would have suggested gunslinger (musket master) with a culverin and/or a double hackbut. Bastion Stance prevents you from being knocked prone (although you still take the -4 on attack rolls) and Fast Musket deed + Rapid Reload + alchemical cartridges lets you reload as a free action; Steady Aim deed with a double hackbut means attacking touch AC out to 60 ft. "Say hello to my little friend!" ;-P
Hm. Infiltrator Ranger I've always been enamored with. I don't suppose "Natural Attack Style" would apply to Unarmed Strikes, would it?
Also, I was thinking Scout Rogue (or Ninja, I MAY be able to finagle that from my GM) would be good for me, to give that little extra oomph when charging (which I do pretty often). Sun Xiao's not exactly subtle. Dragon/Snake/Tiger are his Styles, and he's our second frontliner (alongside the Barbarian).
Shapefifter or Infiltrator Ranger is actually sounding like a good choice. I'm helping a friend build one later (his Sorcerer's backstory is apparently about to bring the wrath of Asmodeus down upon him in the next session or so) so I'll also get a good look at their skills before I apply them to myself.
The GM just said "every class is fair game now"...except Gunslinger.
and yeah, I'm attached to the lawful Evil thing, it's pretty much what I built the character around. He is a worshiper (dually) of Irori and Achaekek for reasons that are better explained by the backstory tab on my profile. If you don't mind a little hokey dialogue (in exactly one place) I think it's a decent write-up.
My Wis is at a +4 mod, but I dunno if Cleric is really my style. Sun Xiao is all about martial perfection and energy from within, which doesn't really fly with the whole "devoted to a deity who provides them with power" sort of thing.
I think Ranger sounds like a good middle ground there.
|
The GM just said "every class is fair game now"...except Gunslinger.
and yeah, I'm attached to the lawful Evil thing, it's pretty much what I built the character around. He is a worshiper (dually) of Irori and Achaekek for reasons that are better explained by the backstory tab on my profile. If you don't mind a little hokey dialogue (in exactly one place) I think it's a decent write-up.
My Wis is at a +4 mod, but I dunno if Cleric is really my style. Sun Xiao is all about martial perfection and energy from within, which doesn't really fly with the whole "devoted to a deity who provides them with power" sort of thing.
I think Ranger sounds like a good middle ground there.
Taking Ranger and the TWF Style could even give you back the attacks you lost when you gave up your FoB to take MoMS, plus you get full BAB, complimentary skills, improved hit die, etc. Could be a pretty fun combo.
Troof. I always forget Ranger is a full BaB class. Kinda rankles that Monk isn't TBH.
So that would get me a net gain of 2(?) attacks at second level Ranger at 1d10 apiece (2d6 with Monk Robe), 2 points of BaB (for a total of +3 over a straight Monk at level 20, not too shabby), favored enemies (Monstrous Humanoid and Undead would be hella helpful. Humanoid: Gnome would be flavorful. Damn Spriggans.), a bit o' Spellcasting beyond my Scorching Ray and Barkskin, and some cool animalistic/monstrous abilities at the cost of a bit of Will save and the ability to Fuse 4/5 Styles as a free action. Well that and the progression of some Drunken Master stuff, but I think getting 2 points of Ki from alcohol is enough, since I'd have 10 total by then normally.
I like this idea the more I think about it, and it really doesn't affect the character at all either.
So how does TWF interact with Unarmed Strikes? Is there no penalty at all since there is no offhand weapon?
Paladin/ Champion of Irori looks pretty good.
Very, very good, yes.
But I'd have to be Lawful Good.
Are there any archetypes that good replace the Animal Companion that are compatible with Infiltrator or Shapeshifter? I don't really like Sable Company Marine or Battle Scout too much.
Thanks for the advice though Rycaut. If we didn't already have a Cleric I'd probably take that option (or would've rolled a Cleric at start).
Edit: Also, with Dragon Style, would Double Slice effectively give me the full Dragon Style/Ferocity bonus to both hits instead of half to the second?
Problem with Freebooter + Infiltrator is that by giving up Favored Enemy, the Infiltrator abilities no longer work (you take on characteristics of your Favored Enemy). Otherwise I'd be all over it.
Hm. Those do sound cool. If nothing else I'll recommend them to one of our party who wants to go Mystic Theurge.
Urban barbarian? Nets you 4 strength when Raged, d12 hp's and full attack progression and urban variant doesn't go all mindless and such.
Okay, I appreciate the help, but guys, seriously, stop suggesting stuff that would require me to change my alignment.
@Rycaut, Yes, yes it would.
One of my strange dream builds: what about Holy Vindicator? Forget about Vindicator's Shield; just imagine: your LE monk can bleed all over the place. You can worship an LE deity, add some Channel Smite to your attacks, maybe get some Guided Hand going if your WIS is high enough.
Bleed on people. Lawfully and evilly.
|
Inquisitor might be cool. Add your Wisdom to your initiative, and Bane to one of your fists? Plus you'd get a spell list, including CLW for wand activating and several neat debuffs.
You'd also get to stay LE, and pick a domain. I recommend Rune (it's under Irori's profile, so you should be able to get it)
Yeah, I looked at Rune and it seemed less than stellar, especially for a Monk and flavor-wise.
The problem I have with Inquisitor (and I love the class, a 2H Undead smiter is one of my backups) is that you don't get a lot of his class features until about 4-5 levels in. Meaning it'd be level 13 by the time I got Bane 5/day.
Ranger seems to have a bit of that problem, but at least I can get my Favored Enemy by level 9 and the Infiltrator stuff by 11.
If anyone knows a class that's very front-loaded and not alignment restricted I'm all ears. Maybe Alchemist, though that would be hard to flavor in for my GM.
Well actually Grenadier might work. I do already carry grenades around just in case.
Or Internal Alchemist. Hm. Now I may be torn between Ranger and Alchemist. DAMN I love the Alchemist class.
Ooh yeah the more I think about it the more I like the idea, both flavor-wise (I'll have to reconcile a FEW things, though not too many) and mechanics wise. Go Internal Alchemist/Vivisectionist and explain the mutagens/extracts away as finding an interesting way that his Ki interacts with certain alchemical materials. I'm already an alchemical dabbler (have a rank or two in Craft: Alchemy for a few useful items) so it's not too far-fetched. Maybe take ONE level of Scout Rogue at some point to get Sneak Attack on Charge (plus an extra 1d6) but that would slow my Discovery progression even further.
I like it.
D'Oh!
I guess my eyes just slid right over that every time.
Nice catch. Still, I like the Vivinternal Alchemist idea.
I have an...okay Int. +2 mod.
But the way I see it is this: I'm a Drunken Master, so I give up disease/poison immunity, this gives me that back. The Mutagen can be used to increase my AC (20 currently) even higher, or bump my Str up for a buncha damage, which is good. Our Rogue just died and nobody else has Disable Device. This would give me that as a class skill, and I get an extra 2 skill points per level (for a total of 9) to put them in.
And my max Alchemist level would be 12th anyway by the time I multi, so a 14 Int lets me cast all the spells it's possible for me to get (up to 4th level). And I could always snag a headband of Int + Wis later on for a little extra.
Maybe I'll multi into a third class later, but Alchemist seems like a solid plan so far, and I've looked into Alchemist a lot more extensively than Ranger (my OTHER backup character is a Grenadier).
Edit: It's also been mentioned before, and I'll mention it again, my character is Lawful EVIL and that is utterly non-negotiable except as a possible shift to Lawful Neutral later. Champion of Irori is out of the picture because of the Lawful Good restriction, just as Barbarian is out because of the any NON-Lawful restriction. I will keep it in mind for later characters (probably a Paladin with a Monk dip) but for now it's just beating a dead horse just a bit.
Just a different direction... Empyreal Sorcerer. Its Wisdom based instead of Charisma, so you should be able to rock it. I see your party already has a sorcerer, but if you take it a different direction, it could be cool.
It gets some good-aligned abilities, tho. If I were your GM I would reverse them... Bane instead of Bless, Circle of Protection from Good, etc.
Empyreal might be interesting. There are indications the Sorcerer could be meeting an untimely fate soon.
As for the multiclass caster issue, I'm not TOO concerned about that for a few reasons.
1.) The Alchemist has a LOT of good low level useful spells, and can conceivably learn all of them. If I stay away from anything with a Save (mostly stuff for self-buffing and such) I should be okay.
2.) I'm mostly interested in his class features, especially Mutagens.
3.) There aren't too many Qinggong powers I want really. Dragon Breath would be nice, but I'd have to wait until like 12 to get that anyway...so screw it. I've got Barkskin and Scorching Ray, s'all good.
Ever consider magus (hexcrafter)? 4 levels (or arguably 3) and you'll get your first hex, plus hex strike lets you get a hex in as a swift action on a successful unarmed attack. Evil eye is nice because suddenly the enemy has -2 to Ab or AC or saves, with a minimum 1 round duration even if they make their save
Also you can use arcane pool to enhance your unarmed strike, including stacking with amulet of mighty fist to give extra enhancement or elemental damage.
Ever consider magus (hexcrafter)? 4 levels (or arguably 3) and you'll get your first hex, plus hex strike lets you get a hex in as a swift action on a successful unarmed attack. Evil eye is nice because suddenly the enemy has -2 to Ab or AC or saves, with a minimum 1 round duration even if they make their save
Also you can use arcane pool to enhance your unarmed strike, including stacking with amulet of mighty fist to give extra enhancement or elemental damage.
Magus might be cool too, but possibly not Hexcrafter. We've got a full-on Hexcrafter coming in in about 2 sessions at most, and he's got the whole Evil Eye/Cackle/Misfortune bit covered (along with a truly evil array of debuff spells, the Magus spell list is pretty sweet).