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So I recently let my 4th-level monk player ret-con his monk to have higher Dex at the cost of lower Str in order to get him to hit more often (he has Weapon Finesse). Now he hits all the time, but does poo for damage. He wanted to increase his Dex because he was being hit too often, and in my game he's practically the tank.
My suggestion/house rule that I'm considering is adding another feature to the monk's ki pool class feature: As long as he has one point in his ki pool, all of his unarmed strikes are treated as if they were masterwork weapons, gaining a +1 bonus to attack.
This wouldn't grant any other qualities of masterwork weaponry, such as being able to be enchanted into magic weapons, and if he had an amulet of mighty fists with a +1 enhancement on it or bodywraps of mighty strikes +1, it wouldn't stack.
This is mainly to help bridge the gap between him and the other martial characters who have an easier time both hitting and damaging, and to help simulate the concept of a monk's body being hewn into a work of physical art.
Any thoughts or other suggestions?
You said he now hits all the time, but does poor damage. Why add another bonus to increase his "to hit" which is no longer a problem?
It doesn't solve his damage issue.
I'd like more information, such as what feats he has, his actual strength score and dexterity score, and so on.
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Oh, sorry, what I was getting at was adding in this class feature so he DOESN'T have to adjust his Dex, so he can go back to what he was originally.
He's a Vanara monk, and his scores are:
Str 12
Dex 18
Con 12
Int 10
Wis 19
Cha 5
20 point buy, btw.
His feats are Dodge, Weapon Focus (IUS), Combat Reflexes, Weapon Finesse, and Stunning Fist.
The suggestion I offered wasn't necessarily just to fix him, but an intended suggestion for the monk class in general and all the vices that come with it.
Oh, sorry, what I was getting at was adding in this class feature so he DOESN'T have to adjust his Dex, so he can go back to what he was originally.
He's a Vanara monk, and his scores are:
Str 12
Dex 18
Con 12
Int 10
Wis 19
Cha 520 point buy, btw.
His feats are Dodge, Weapon Focus (IUS), Combat Reflexes, Weapon Finesse, and Stunning Fist.
The suggestion I offered wasn't necessarily just to fix him, but an intended suggestion for the monk class in general and all the vices that come with it.
Ah, gotcha. I misunderstood.
As for the bonus to hit, I'd be tempted to let a monk spend 1 point of ki to allow them to treat their monk level as their BAB until the beginning of their next turn.
You could also replace ki strike with:
At 4th level, when using an unarmed strike, a monk may ignore 3 points of damage reduction of any type whenever he inflicts damage.
At 10th level he may ignore 6 points of damage reduction when inflicting damage.
At 16th level he may ignore 9 points of damage reduction when inflicting damage.
Alternatively, or in conjunction, you could make a simple archetype to "fix" any perceived problems and let him fly with it, adjusting as needed for balance:
Archetype: Black Tiger Fist Adept
Way of the Black Tiger (Ex)
At 2nd level, a monk gains Weapon Focus as a bonus feat with unarmed strikes.
At 6th level, the monk gains Weapon Specialization with unarmed strikes as a bonus feat, even if he does not meet the prerequisites. This ability replaces evasion.
Ki Pool (Su)
At 4th level, in addition to the normal abilities of his ki pool, a monk may spend 1 point from his ki pool to increase his reach with unarmed strikes by 5 feet until the beginning of his next turn.
Evasion
At 9th 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. This ability replaces improved evasion.
Hope that helps.
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i would go with the Dabbler proposal.
give him a full +1 enhancement bonus (to attack and damage) as his 4th level ki strike ability, which raises by +1 every three monk levels thereafter, to a maximum of +5 at 16th level.
the flavor is that he has spiritually carved his body into a truly mystical weapon.
Another simple option is to do what Dungeons & Dragons Online (DDO) did to fix the monk. In DDO, they added "handwraps" as magic items. Monk deals damage with unarmed strikes as normal, but handwraps can be enchanted at the same costs as any other magical weapon. Then you can pretend the infinitely lame Amulet of Mighty Fists was just included as an overpriced joke (which I feel it is - that or they were too busy copy & pasting 3.5 material to bother fixing it).
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Or just have him get Agile Amulet of Mighty Fist (which makes damage key off Dex instead of Str). Suddenly Dex goes to hit AND damage. With no other magic items, at level 6 he's hitting for d8+5 per hit with 4 hits; not insane, but solid. Piranah strike and some manuevers added in and he ill be good to go.
Dex monks are the better way to go now that the Agile Amulet exists; helps you feel more "Monky" while still keeping your abilities relevant.
Any thoughts or other suggestions?
If I may bang my own drum, take a look at this thread rainzax mentions above. I've play-tested the changes (spoilered the full suite below) to 7th level, and run tests above that that seem to indicate they are not broken, but work to balance the monk nicely so far.
2) A monk’s unarmed strike treats the hardness or damage resistance (of any type) of a target as less by one point for every level of monk the character possesses.
3a) Amending the Ki-Pool entry as follows:
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 gain a +1 enhancement bonus as if by the spell greater magic fang. At 7th level this increases to +2, at 10th level, his unarmed attacks are +3, at 13th level +4, and at 16th level his unarmed attacks gain a +5 enhancement bonus. This replaces existing ki-strike options.
3b) By spending 1 point from his ki pool, a monk can make one additional attack a round at his highest attack bonus.
3c) In addition, he can spend 1 point to move 20 feet in a swift action.