So! Planning on making a Martial Artist (Without the Master of Many Styles due to the general agreement that under normal circumstances, they can't stack) for an upcoming PF campaign using the High Fantasy point buy. Been looking at a lot of stuff and really can't tell where to go with this class. Also looking at the Dragon Style, and unsure on how the heck the 2nd feat in the chain works. It says you can use Elemental Fist as if you were a Monk of the 4 Winds. Not sure in which respect that implies... like.. does it mean I'm not linked to one element? Or does it mean that the damage increases, or... etc.
So, that aside, is there any general thoughts on what's good for a martial artist type character? I was hoping to NOT multiclass if possible, just because... not sure. I don't wanna hop all over the place with this, but I just really enjoy the flavor of being a pure badass of martial arts without the mystical powers thing.
Well Weapon Focus and the other fighter feats are great.
Dragon style is fantastic, and that's without picking up elemental fist. Double str damage on the first strike of each round. Flurry of two-handed attacks (which the way that power attack works and dragon style works means you trade to-hit for 3 damage instead of 2).
Dragon roar is skip-able, but still a realy nice standard action that lets you nova stunning fist and elemental fist attempts (which those fist work as if you were a monk of the 4 winds AND you ingore prereqs)
SO yeah. Go to town.
I didn't know you could use the roar with stunning as well. That's pretty powerful/awesome XD I like that...
Wow I didn't mean that, but looking at it, yeah.
You can burn 3 stunning fist attempts and 1 elemental fist attempt.
Stunning fist just says you must declare that you will use it before the attack role (which you do, even though their is no attack role). Then the stunning fist effect is triggered by unarmed strike damage.
SO yeah. CRAZY. Although not unreasonable for a GM to RAI that away.
Hmm... makes me curious. If there's no attack roll, they might just say "Then it doesn't go with what it applies to, and thus can't be used". But hard to say. May be up for debate.
I also love the monk type fighter, but don't care too much for some of the abilities. Archetypes are your friend.
I personally really like the idea of the Flowing monk, and the Maneuver Master could be pretty fun too. The "Martial Artist" archetype gets abilities more focused on becoming a badass combatant than perfecting his inner ki, or transcending his mortal limits. That might peak your interest.
I know you said no dual class, but there are some really cool synergies with Martial Artist Monk and Urban Barbarian. Might be worth a peak.
Well, I guess I can be persuaded if certain combinations or things that really synch well together show up. I guess I should take a look at Urban Barbarian. Any particular stuff that combo may be famous for? Or is it just a general good mix?
I take it it's the Controlled Rage I would want. Looking at possible Style Feats, since I'm not a master of many forms, I think Dragon and Snake seem to be the most interesting to me and may serve me well. One to be more heavy damage, and possibly to get Elemental Fist earlier on, and one to be more dodgy with counter attacks.
Edit: And then I look and most of them are pretty cool...
Boar Style
Crane Style
Dragon Style
Mantis Style
Snake Style
Tiger Style
These ones all kinda grasp my attention... bah!
You can only use one at a time. This is part of why Master of Many Styles is popular.
You could take Combat Style Master, which lets you switch styles as a free action, start your turn in a defensive style, switch to an offensive style for your attack, then switch back.
Not a bad idea, to be honest...
Dangit, the more I look at Master of Many Styles, the more I want to give it a shot. Maybe like, a Qinggong of Many Styles...
Though, question, is getting rid of Flurry of Blows worth the multiple styles?
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One of my current characters for PFS is an Urban Barbarian/Martial Artist Monk. I'm currently level 2 (almost 3), and so far I'm enjoying it. Only thing is I'm using the Sansetsukon as my weapon of choice, and planning on using Body Wraps of Mighty Striking as a backup weapon, and to deliver stunning fist attempts.
In case it might be helpful to you, here's the build I've come up with:
(Although, lately I've been pondering to get Improved Grapple instead of Combat Reflexes, and then grabbing Mobility & Spring Attack at level 7)
I hope that has been of help.
EDIT: With regards to whether Master of Many Styles is worth losing Flurry of Blows, it could go either way. I have seen some builds where having multiple styles at once is worth the loss (like the Drunken Master of Many Styles, who drinks alcohol, and runs around using Panther Style). It just depends what you want to do with it. Personally, I prefer Flurry of Blows, but that's just my opinion.
Okay, so for experimental purposes then, say I was to switch my idea to a Drunken Master of Many Styles.
Should I bother focusing much ability points into Dex if I am able to roll my Sense Motive for AC?
We're doing High Fantasy point buy, so what I kinda come up with is...
16 Str (14 with +2 enhancement)
12 Dex
14 Con
10 Int
18 Wis (16 with +2 enhancement)
8 Cha
This is if I'm the human altered ability where I get two +2 ability bonuses instead of the feat and skill point. Then again, not sure if that's a good idea or not. Gah. So many options with monks makes it very hard for me to decide. And 12 Dex, even if not completely necessary, makes me cringe when it comes to monks... seems like it should be higher.
After race mods you want to start with atleast 17 strength. Wis is nice stat to have but it should be your 14 with strength your 16.
Oh, okay. Any particular reasons? I guess normally Wisdom affects AC and such, but the AC will be solved with Snake Style. But... Yeah, sounds about right. Good use of the type.
Your to-hit and damage have to compete with martials. You don't want to fall to far behind or else you won't be able to hit anything.
Good point. Ummmmmm... oh right! Lastly, a thought occurred. Nobody seems to take Boar Style... why? XD Boar Style seems good to me...
Martial artist also ends up with some of the highest dc quivering palm/stunning fist in the game if you want to play with that. Quivering Palm Adept/Mantis Style/Ability Focus (Quivering Palm). Both weapon focus and both weapon specializations really help this character out, Pin Down is also very nice.
True, that sounds pretty cool too. Though I don't want to focus too much on abilities that we may never get. Not sure how high a level I'll end up hitting in the upcoming game.
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Dragon and Snake styles have excellent synergy. Don't dump dex too far down- Snake Style only allows you to use your sense motive in place of your AC for 1 attack, and you will need Combat Reflexes to take your attacks of opportunity.
Dex is key- Wisdom to a certain degree. You may consider adding some Crane style to the mix as well- that is the most popular defensive-minded stance.