I've been working on an NPC ally for an upcoming campaign. He is a LG Trox slave; the Trox were an example of the more advanced builds with the Advanced Race Guide, but were included as an official race with Bestiary 4.
Some racial stuff for those who don't have access to either of those: Trox are Monstrous Humanoids, are Large (with 10 feet of natural reach), and have the Frenzy and Grabbing Appendages racial traits, in addition to a burrow speed. Their racial modifiers are +6 strength, and -2 to all mental stats. Frenzy is a 1/day lesser form of barbarian rage, and Grabbing Appendages give them Improved Grapple as a bonus feat, and allows them to maintain a grapple while using their other limbs.
As for his actual monk levels, that is what I was having trouble with. I know he has vows of Silence, Truth, and possibly Chains. Since he already has a pretty good advantage grappling, I was not looking at the Tetori archetype. I also want him to utilize Dragon Style; the extra damage is very attractive, as are the stunning fist options. I want something that lets him actually be effective at dealing damage during grappling.
Does anyone have any suggestions?
Just because the race is specialized in grappling, a Tetori would probably be the best choice. You are going to become an one-trick pony. But you are a monk, if this trick is good you should not have bigger expectations. And the said trick is going to be a hell of one.
The easier way to make him deal more damage when grappling is to dip two lvls of White Hair Witch. This will give you access to using your hair as a natural weapon and the ability to constrict the target. You will want the feats Weapon Focus (hair) and Feral Combat Training (hair). Also take the Final Embrace feats for extra damage.
Another option is the Sohei arcehtype. It will let you wear light armor, negating the penalty to AC because of the racial penalty to wisdom. Take the spirited charge feat and leadership for a monstrous mount and you can have a great NPC that is effective both on top and besides its mount. This is not going to be an unarmed build though. You will probably have a Lance for charging and another weapon when you fight on foot, probably a Longspear as you will certainly have spear training at least.
If you just want to capitilise in raw damage, look no further than the martial artist monk along the dragon style and dragon ferocity feats. You can also dip 3 lvl in weapon master so you have access to weapon training and gloves of dueling (the brawler is an even better choice if he is eligible for the gloves).
The racial penalty to wisdon may lead you to have very low armor. You could mitigate that by making a brawler 3 / master of many styles-monk of the sacred mountain monk or lore warden 3 / maneuver master monk.
Both the above options trade furry of blows for an abilty that works while wearing armor. With the MoMS monk you can stack styles (Dragon Style + Tiger Style + Marid Style + Monkey Style is attractive). With the maneuver master you can make an extra maneuver every time you full attack, along with extra benefits on maneuvers. Dirty trick is particularly effective.
I like most the maneuver master, becuase with the MoMS you will lack attack bonus. But if you really want Dragon Style this is a way to do it while wearing armor (take the brawling enchantment asap).
Finally, if you go maneuver master, consider entering the Brother of the Seal PrC for the great Awesome Blow (assuming you can qualify even though you traded furry of blows). It is extra great for you, since you are already Large.
I wanted Slag to keep FoB, and the grapple to be a secondary thing he can do. And I definitely wanted to stay unarmed; when the PCs first encounter him, he is with them in a slave pit, and the wardens think he has been broken. He hasn't. I was not going to focus much on AC, since his wisdom will not be particularly high, but I won't leave it at a penalty. I'm not really looking at gear, since he is naked when first met. The Ally NPCs are more built for flavor with a nice mechanical trick, like a Wishcrafter buffing the party. I am just clueless how to build a decent monk, but the Trox offers an interesting opportunity.
Also, Trox don't have body hair. I'm not even sure they are mammals.
What level do you want him to be?
I don't know, but I was thinking 6-8.
Ok then, this is how I would do it:
Master of Many Styles Monk Monk of the Sacred Mountain 2 / Brawler Fighter 6
Heroic NPC score
STR 20 (14+6)
DEX 17 (15+2)
CON 13
INT 8 (10-2)
WIS 10 (12-2)
CHA 6 (8-2)
1 Monk IUS, Stunning Fist, Dragon Style, Two-Weapon Fighting
2 Monk Dragon Ferocity
3 Fighter Power Attack, Boar Style
4 Fighter Weapon Focus (Unarmed Strike)
5 Fighter Improved Drag
6 Fighter Weapon Specialization (Unarmed Strike)
7 Fighter Quick Drag
8 Fighter Improved Two-Weapon Fighting
Despite tha majority of lvls being in Fighter, it is still a monk in heart. It fights unarmed and uses the Dragon style adn twf to great effect. It can wear armor without interfering with its attacks. He can also drag enemies around, helpin the party deal damage to the enemies more effectively. It is an all-round great combatant.
Forgoing monk levels kinda takes the bite out of stacking Vows, which I really wanted him to do. On the other hand, Master of Many Styles got a little more attractive now that I have noticed Snapping Turtle Clutch, though it could be pulled off without just as easily, the only problem being actually getting the feats (Dragon Style, snapping Turtle Style, Greater Grapple, Dragon Ferocity, and Snapping Turtle Clutch).
One question: for archetypes that give up FoB, do they retain the ability to spend Ki to gain an additional attack on a full attack?
Ninjaxenomorph wrote: Forgoing monk levels kinda takes the bite out of stacking Vows, which I really wanted him to do. On the other hand, Master of Many Styles got a little more attractive now that I have noticed Snapping Turtle Clutch, though it could be pulled off without just as easily, the only problem being actually getting the feats (Dragon Style, snapping Turtle Style, Greater Grapple, Dragon Ferocity, and Snapping Turtle Clutch).
One question: for archetypes that give up FoB, do they retain the ability to spend Ki to gain an additional attack on a full attack?
The Vows can just be an RP thing. As a MoMS, and any archetype that gives up furry of blows, you cannot use ki to add another attack, unless you dip ninja. No harm done though, you have more damaging attacks thanks to dragon ferocity and the brawler weapon training, as well as the TWF feat to add more attacks to the mix.
Also, the above build has Toughness as a bonus feat, I forgot it.
It is easy to fit the above feats in the above build. You can do it like this:
1 Monk IUS, Stunning Fist, Dragon Style, Two-Weapon Fighting
2 Monk Dragon Ferocity, Toughness
3 Fighter Power Attack, Snapping Turtle Style
4 Fighter Snapping Turtle Clutch
5 Fighter Weapon Focus (Unarmed Strike)
6 Fighter Weapon Specialization (Unarmed Strike)
7 Fighter Greater Grapple
8 Fighter Improved Two-Weapon Fighting
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