Hello!
I'm considering a dip in far strike monk for my flying blade swashbuckler, and I had a couple of questions that I found puzzling. Normally I know how I'd house rule each question below as well as how my home GMs would house rule them, but since this is my Pathfinder Society build I was hoping for more official clarifications on my questions.
#1 Does the far strike monk's flurry of blows require me to make all of my weapon attacks as ranged attacks, or can I make them as I see fit? The reason I ask is that thrown weapons are somewhat dubious as written because being a "thrown weapon" is not only a weapon property, it is also a weapon group. By their very nature, all thrown weapons are melee weapons with a range increment, with the only exceptions being those thrown weapons that are also projectile weapons. (For instance, shurikken are thrown weapons that function as ammunition rather than a melee weapon while slings are projectile weapons that happen to be in the thrown weapon group and apply a Strength bonus on their damage rolls.)
Furthermore, the archetype itself doesn't specify whether the attack roll needs to be a melee attack or a ranged attack. For instance, Close Quarters Throwing specifically notes that it applies on ranged attacks with thrown weapons. But then again in the same book, [url="http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/combat-feats/charging-hurler-combat"Charging Hurler[/url] simply refers to a "thrown weapon attack" as if it were a category of attack roll (melee or ranged) when it isn't. And mind you, these two feats are both from Ultimate Combat.
Without clarification, I'd have to assume that the monk archetype doesn't care whether or not I make a melee attack roll or a ranged attack roll as long as I'm attacking with a weapon that I can throw.
#2 Can you use the precise strike deed during a flurry of blows? This question isn't restricted to the far strike monk persay, but my question stems from the fact that flurry of blows notes that you gain an additional attack "as if from Two-Weapon Fighting." Precise strike deed specifically doesn't work if you attack with an off-hand weapon, and I've seen several different opinions on this throughout the forums. One side notes that you can't be making an off-hand attack, and that cancels out the possibility of using precise strike deed with monk levels. On the other hand, as flurry of blows isn't a full attack action (hence why you can't Vital Strike, Cleave, or Spring Attack during a flurry of blows), you're not actually attacking with Two-Weapon Fighting and the attacks that you're making aren't off-hand attacks.
Complicating the question further is precise strike deed's wording of "can't attack with a weapon in her other hand." I've seen some people say that Dervish Dance and spell combat (which has the same clause as flurry of blows, which is why I'm using it in my example) work together because a "spell" isn't a "weapon in your off-hand" despite spell combat's usage of an additional attack that functions as Two-Weapon Fighting because a touch spell isn't a weapon despite requiring an attack roll and threatening opponents like a weapon does. So the hairy situation is that if you can't combine precise strike deed and flurry of blows, then shouldn't Dervish Dance and spell combat (which has been legal for several years) also be an illegal combination?
Since thrown weapons are weak overall, I'm honestly hoping to get these two answers for this build:
#1 The far strike monk's flurry can be either melee attacks or ranged attacks, as long as the attacks are made with a thrown weapon.
#2 You can use precise strike deed's damage bonus on all attacks made during a flurry of blows because a flurry of blows isn't an attack action and its extra attacks aren't off-hand attacks.
Any thoughts?
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1: Yes. You must use a thrown weapon, but it does not say you must throw the weapon. Melee attacks are fine.
2: Yes. If you are not using an off-hand weapon to attack, yes. Since Flurry of blows allows you to use one weapon for all attacks, it passes the precise strike requirements.
Edit: Ninjas. Why did it have to be Ninjas?
Beautiful! Long live my swashbuckling kitsune hibachi chef!
Edit: Ninjas. Why did it have to be Ninjas?
Having two people verify a ruling for you is better than having just one person verify a ruling for you! Thank you!
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Following up on your question about the Far Strike Monk's FoB. As you noted it states that it works "with thrown weapons."
Meanwhile, an Alchemist's Bombs "are considered weapons and can be selected using feats such as PBS and Weapon Focus." So they can be flurried, yes?
Assuming so, does it make sense to dip a level (or 2 for a 2nd bonus feat) of Far Strike Monk before taking up Alchemist for a bomb thrower build?