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1. Armor is a specific slot in PF, body and chest are different. If something is in that slot then the monk losing those abilities.
2. AoMF are twice as expensive as normal weapons which is on par considering that you can use flurry of blows which is basically two weapon fighting, plus it can't be disarmed. You can talk a cleric/wizard/druid to putting greater magic fang/weapon on you though since its more efficient on you than anyone else.
3. Like hoshi said.
For many monks that i have played/seen having a wand of mage armor to hand out, potions for when there are no arcane casters or pearls of power/runestones are useful to have mage armor cast. If you are playing with a set group of people talk to the arcane caster and see what you can arrange (i have one campaign where my monk/druid hands the witch a bag with 2 lvl 1 pearls of power for mage armor)
So I have a few questions regarding certain items and things and would just like some general clarification with citation if possible.
1. Are there any armors(magic or otherwise) at all a monk can wear without losing his bonuses to ac and spd? (Not including the obvious bracers of armor or robes, but actual armors with special text or magic allowances.)
No, basically. Your best "cheap" option is a stack of potions of mage armour, that will grant you +4 to your AC for an hour for 50gp. Or dip a level of Emyral Sorcerer (they cast off wisdom) and take both shield and mage armour as your spells (for +8 AC, not to be sneezed at). Qingong monk can gain the Barskin ability that will boost AC as well.
2. Does any weapon allow the monk to use his unarmed damage but allow for him to still benefit from the weapons enhancement bonus?(AoMF is very expensive)
No. Monk weapon suck, save for one or two exceptions. A monk with high strength and a temple sword (two handed, so he can get the greater bonus of Power Attack) is probably the most out-and-out damaging. Forget unarmed, damage hinges on static bonuses and threat ranges more than the dice you roll.
Unarmed, go for a dexterity build and get an agile AoMF at the earliest opportunity and you'll get the best AC/offence combination the monk can produce - and it will still be sub-par for a combat class, but you can't have everything, especially if you are a monk.
3. If a character loses an ability (from using archetypes) and a feat requires said ability, does he still qualify for the feat? ex: monastic legacy requires still mind but drunken master switches that out. If not is there a way to still gain said feat?
Unless you gained said feat as a special bonus feat that does not require pre-requisites (Monk bonus feats do this) then no.
What is Emyral Sorcerer? What book it is from?
Firstly, it's Empyreal. It's an archetype for Celestial Bloodline sorcerers. It's from Ultimate Magic.
1) You can make any slot item into a magic armor item (similar to bracers). A mantle or sash of armor +x, or even a belt or glove works as well as bracers of armor.
2) Get a weapon with a +x enhancement and the "allying" special ability and use it to count yourself as the ally for that round (yes, it's legal). It will make your UAS's +x enhanced for the round. Much cheaper than AoMF.
3) Sorry...no dice.
1) You can make any slot item into a magic armor item (similar to bracers). A mantle or sash of armor +x, or even a belt or glove works as well as bracers of armor.
2) Get a weapon with a +x enhancement and the "allying" special ability and use it to count yourself as the ally for that round (yes, it's legal). It will make your UAS's +x enhanced for the round. Much cheaper than AoMF.
3) Sorry...no dice.
1 & 2 are assuming your GM allows that, in PFS it is completely out of the question. Custom magic items are basically 'house rules' and you'll notice many (if not all) threads about them get moved from the Rules Forum to someplace else.
I'm not familiar with PFS rules, but you're saying that they don't allow some of the Core rules? These aren't house rules.
1) The PRD and CRB has clear rules for making custom magic items.
The CRB FAQ states, "Ally: Do you count as your own ally?
You count as your own ally unless otherwise stated or if doing so would make no sense or be impossible. Thus, "your allies" almost always means the same as "you and your allies."
—Sean K Reynolds, 10/12/10"
(I'll be traveling soon, so I won't be able to respond to any comments concerning my advise for a few days. Hope it helps.)
I'm not familiar with PFS rules, but you're saying that they don't allow some of the Core rules? These aren't house rules.
1) The PRD and CRB has clear rules for making custom magic items.
The CRB FAQ states, "Ally: Do you count as your own ally?
You count as your own ally unless otherwise stated or if doing so would make no sense or be impossible. Thus, "your allies" almost always means the same as "you and your allies."—Sean K Reynolds, 10/12/10"
(I'll be traveling soon, so I won't be able to respond to any comments concerning my advise for a few days. Hope it helps.)
PFS specifically disallows any crafting of items.
I don't not play PFS so I am unfamiliar with the typical magical weapons that are sold or found, but it seems unlikely you will find an allying weapon as one of them.
Assuming this isnt for PFS, talk to your GM about the talented monk by super genius games. It solves #2 by allowing damage to scale for any weapon the monk uses (with basic x2 and 20 crit weapons scaling at the same speed as unarmed damage and others scaling slightly slower), and it allows you to wear armor with a certain edge, but it doesnt allow you to get both defense bonuses and wear armor. That wouldnt be balanced, its a one or the other sort of thing.
2) Get a weapon with a +x enhancement and the "allying" special ability and use it to count yourself as the ally for that round (yes, it's legal). It will make your UAS's +x enhanced for the round. Much cheaper than AoMF.Interesting. And even if it's only intended to work on manufactured weapons, considering the spell required is Magic Weapon, Monk unarmed strikes still qualify. It even specifies that you do the swap at the beginning of your turn so it gets around the restriction of needing to use it for an actual attack in order to benefit, a la Defending Weapon. So grab yourself a +5 Allying Temple Sword and you can use the sword when you need Slashing damage or transfer the +5 to Unarmed Strikes for when you need Bludgeoning.
Clever girl.
Actually, this doesn't save you money, because the additional cost of the property undoes the saving from the AoMF. However, it does get past the +5 cap of the AoMF for properties + enhancements.
I'm not familiar with PFS rules, but you're saying that they don't allow some of the Core rules? These aren't house rules.
Actually custom magic items are always 'house rules' as the only person who has any real say in regards to them is the GM. The guidelines provided in the CRB are to give an estimate, for the only person who can allow for the item to be created, something to expect. The guidelines even state they can be way off and every item should be checked and priced according to the effect to try and keep some sort of balance.
What the book says about custom magic items is 'Ask your GM, they have the final say.'
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So I have a few questions regarding certain items and things and would just like some general clarification with citation if possible.
1. Are there any armors(magic or otherwise) at all a monk can wear without losing his bonuses to ac and spd? (Not including the obvious bracers of armor or robes, but actual armors with special text or magic allowances.)
2. Does any weapon allow the monk to use his unarmed damage but allow for him to still benefit from the weapons enhancement bonus?(AoMF is very expensive)
3. If a character loses an ability (from using archetypes) and a feat requires said ability, does he still qualify for the feat? ex: monastic legacy requires still mind but drunken master switches that out. If not is there a way to still gain said feat?
1.) Nope! No armor at all. Wonderous items sure. No Armor or Shields though. Mage Shield and Shield(both spells) are GREAT to have on you.
2.) Nope. None. AoMF is your only "weapon" if you're going Unarmed. Brass Knuckles and Gauntlet used to, but that was errat'd a while back.
3.) No. It's gone and you don't have it anymore. As for acquiring that said feat, it's highly unlikely.
2) Get a weapon with a +x enhancement and the "allying" special ability and use it to count yourself as the ally for that round (yes, it's legal). It will make your UAS's +x enhanced for the round. Much cheaper than AoMF.
This may or may not work for the same reason that has been put forth in the FAQ for Defending weapons.
Allying says:
"As a free action, at the start of her turn before using her weapon, the wielder chooses how to allocate her weapon's enhancement bonus."
The part about "before using her weapon" is the key. That means that the weapon MUST subsequently be used. So, the only way this will work is as the monk's first attack he uses a weapon that he can use Flurry of Blows with and that has the Allying special ability to make an attack and then transfer the enhancement bonus to his unarmed attack. The monk can then make the rest of that rounds attacks with the enhancement bonus. It is not enough just to simply hold the Allying weapon.
The FAQ section on Defending with similar wording is this:
"
Defending Weapon Property: Do I have to make attack rolls with the weapon to gain its AC bonus?
Yes. Merely holding a defending weapon is not sufficient. Unless otherwise specified, you have to use a magic item in the manner it is designed (use a weapon to make attacks, wear a shield on your arm so you can defend with it, and so on) to gain its benefits.
Therefore, if you don't make an attack roll with a defending weapon on your turn, you don't gain its defensive benefit.
Likewise, while you can give a shield the defending property (after you've given it a +1 enhancement bonus to attacks, of course), you wouldn't get the AC bonus from the defending property unless you used the shield to make a shield bash that round--unless you're using the shield as a weapon (to make a shield bash), the defending weapon property has no effect.
—Sean K Reynolds, 06/06/11 "
It seems like a better investment of attacks and resources to just buy an Amulet of Mighty Fists (the cost on it was reduced back in March of this year).
For the first question about armors, I actually have a different perspective: if you are playing an archetype that does not have flurry of blows (Master of Many styles being the most common), then you should seriously consider using armors and maybe even shields.
First, lets examine what you are losing. Let's ignore the loss of AC bonus, since it generally is inferior to most armors (unless you have insane wisdom...which would make your other stats suffer in a point buy) and only provides an excellent touch AC. The other thing you lose would be the bonus to speed. While this might hurt a bit, you still must realize: this game was built around full attacks for melee characters. Unless you are using a vital strike build (which might be nice for a monk due to unarmed strike's hit dice) or use pounce (few ways to get this in Pathfinder) then your speed will not usually be that huge of an advantage.
Now, you must be asking yourself: if monks are not proficient in armor or shields, how can I use them? Let's look at the penalty for using armor you are not proficient in:
Nonproficient with Armor Worn: A character who wears armor and/or uses a shield with which he is not proficient takes the armor's (and/or shield's) armor check penalty on attack rolls as well as on all Dex- and Str-based ability and skill checks. The penalty for non-proficiency with armor stacks with the penalty for shields.
But What if your ACP is 0? Well, it means that there is no penalty. There are two rather easy ways to lower ACP- the armor expert trait (reduces it by 1) and mithral equipment(reduces it by 3). Combined, they can lower an armor's ACP by 4, which is just conveniently the ACP of a Breastplate. Similarly, every shield short of a tower shield has an ACP of -2, which is eliminated by mithral. So it is in fact entirely possible for a monk to go about with a heavy shield and breast plate without multiclass or facing any penalties.
I particularly like the idea of a MoMS monk using this set up while combining snake style and crane style. The high defense would make him extremely hard to hit, and the AoO's from his styles would actually allow him to easily get 6 or more hits in a turn (most of which start off with his full BAB), which more than makes up for the loss of flurry and prevents it from falling into the usual problems of sword and board.
For 2), I'd like to point to the combination of Greater Magic Fang + Permanency that no monk should be without. Spellcasters for hire able to cast level 8 spells are available at a metropolis per the core rulebook, so getting enough caster level for a +3 or +4 should be easy there.
Cost is about 8.000 gp, so it is the price of a regular +2 weapon.
Use the AoMF to add special abilities, that way it's actually cheap.
Only disadvantage is vulnerability to Dispel Magic, but the high CL makes that unlikely until higher levels.
For 2), I'd like to point to the combination of Greater Magic Fang + Permanency that no monk should be without.
I would like to point out the greater dispel debuff that no enemy caster should ever be without either. That little trick will cost you a lot and you won't get it half the time, because it will get dispelled - a lot!
For 2), I'd like to point to the combination of Greater Magic Fang + Permanency that no monk should be without.I would like to point out the greater dispel debuff that no enemy caster should ever be without either. That little trick will cost you a lot and you won't get it half the time, because it will get dispelled - a lot!
I might be missing teh point here, but why is greater dispel more dangerous that regular dispel? My understanding is that both have the same roll. At medium levels, that probably won't break the spells made by a high-level spellcaster, and at high level, players have enough cash to actually buy that amulet.
Also, I would dount how often an enemy spellcaster would actually cast dispel magic on a monk. For one, he would have to know/suspect that the character has that buff, and most enemies don't have the time for multiple round of detect magic. But more importantly, dispelling that spell is a mild debuff if successfull, let's say -4 attack/damage. Would YOU waste a level 6 spell in mortal combat for that? Seeing that the success chance is worse than actually casting something that finishes that combatant? To me, this smells like DM metagaming: The enemy spellcaster realizes that he won't win the battle because he only is an NPC, so instead of trying to kill the PC he tries to hurt him monetarily? Does not convince me.
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For 2), I'd like to point to the combination of Greater Magic Fang + Permanency that no monk should be without.I would like to point out the greater dispel debuff that no enemy caster should ever be without either. That little trick will cost you a lot and you won't get it half the time, because it will get dispelled - a lot!
This.
Just stick with the AoMF, grit your teeth at the cost and fork it up! I would slap Agile or Guided on there unless your Str mod is higher in the longrun. Then a +4 with it, or +5 if you are Str based for attack and damage.
Dabbler is pretty gosh darn keen when it comes to Monks.
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Since permanency is not available in PFS we don't have that option.
In my home games we often treat permanency like an enchanted item rather than a ongoing spell. Its a house rule but if you spend so much money/time on something like that it should be treated differently. So you may be able to convince your GM that you want to see if you can alter permanency to be along different lines.
Since permanency is not available in PFS we don't have that option.
In my home games we often treat permanency like an enchanted item rather than a ongoing spell. Its a house rule but if you spend so much money/time on something like that it should be treated differently. So you may be able to convince your GM that you want to see if you can alter permanency to be along different lines.
Well the counter point to that is, you are typically spending significantly less than what the magic item equivalent would cost. It's a cheap way to get some abilities and that's why it has the drawback that it does.
Dabbler is saying it a bad idea, because when they cast greater dispel which is common at higher levels as smart creatures are going to assume the party is buff even the monk. trying to get rid of things like haste and resistance spell, ect. that may actual be cast on the monk. 2nd darkness AP there that is actual the prewritten tactic for one of the minion creatures at the end is first thing it does is greater dispel on the first PC they see.
It a bad idea because greater dispel can do a whole group of buffs without actually naming it out, so you don't need to detect magic and it goes from highest to lowest, so more than likely you Permanency is going to go first. then you’re just stuck with magic fang. that should instantly wear off as it was cast a long time ago.
Then you have to pay to have the whole process redone again.
Also considering magic fang does not by pass DR, amulet of might fist is the way to go.
Well, at high levels you have enough money for a decent amulet anyway. Permanency is good for the mid-range levels, when you can't really affort more than a +1 amulet. Then the difference is most striking, and opponents do not have access to Greater Dispel yet and less chance of succeeding at the Dispel roll.
But there is another great option: Buy bracers of armor with the brawling enchantment. Flat +2 unnamed bonus to attack and damage. Coupled with the amulet gives you decent attack/damage values even with the cheapest amulet. Sure, you cannot use it with mage armor, as that would turn off the amulet, but AC's what your high wisdom is for...