In The Genius Guide to the Talented Monk the monk and most of its published archetypes are decomposed into "talents" and "edges" that you pick and choose from to make your very own personalized monk. And The Genius Guide to More Monk Talents added more talents and edges. (You should buy them, they're great! Plus this post won't make any sense if you don't!) But then the Geniuses ran off to work on other (i.e. lesser) classes. So I wrote up some more monk talents and edges, first breaking down an ARG archetype and a prestige class (adding an item or two to each) and then generating some stuff of my own. Please critique!
An asterisk after the name of an edge/talent has the same meaning as in the Genius guides, namely that it can be used when (and only when) the monk is using a weapon with which he gets his specialty BAB. I slapped it on pretty much everything that involved an attack.
The wanderer archetype (humans only), decomposed and slightly extended:
EDGES:
- Wanderer (Ex):
The monk adds Diplomacy, Knowledge (geography), Knowledge (local), Linguistics and Survival to his list of class skills. The monk gains 1 + level/4 languages, keeping that progression in the future. The monk gains Endurance as a bonus feat; its bonus doubles when he makes Con checks because of a forced march. The monk gains a +2 bonus on saves vs spells or effects that cause exhaustion or fatigue. Only humans can take this edge.
TALENTS:
- Carefree Step (Su):
The monk leaves no trail (unless desired) and cannot be tracked. By spending 1 ki, the monk can use ant haul, deadeye's lore, feather step, longstrider, pass without trace or tireless pursuit as a spell-like ability (with CL = monk level). A monk must have the wanderer edge and a ki pool to take this talent.
- Inscrutable (Su):
The monk gains a supernatural air of mystery. The DC to gain information or insight into the monk with Diplomacy, Knowledge or Sense Motive increases by 5. By spending 1 ki, the monk gains nondetection for 24 hours (with CL = monk level). A monk must have the wanderer edge and a ki pool to take this talent.
- Wanderer's Wisdom (Ex):
The monk can dispense excellent advice in the form of philosophical proverbs and parables. As a swift action, the monk can inspire courage or inspire competence as a bard of his monk level for 2 ki. This affects one creature within 30 feet and lasts a number of rounds equal to the monk's Wisdom modifier (minimum 1 round). This ability is language-dependent. A monk must have the wanderer edge and a ki pool to take this talent.
- Roomy Pockets (Su):
The monk can create extradimensional spaces inside mundane vessels such as his pockets, knapsack or quiver. Making a vessel "roomy" or changing the capacity of a roomy vessel takes an hour and 1 ki. The maker of a roomy vessel can retrieve an item from it as a move action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity. Anyone else retrieving items must do so normally. The total capacity of all a monk's roomy vessels cannot exceed 100 lbs plus 20 lbs/level. A roomy vessel weighs 1/40th of its capacity, plus its original weight, no matter how full or empty it actually is. If the vessel is out of contact with its creator for over 24 hours, the extradimensional space destabilizes and the contents come pouring uncontrollablly out, typically destroying the vessel. A monk must have the wanderer edge and a ki pool to take this talent.
ADVANCED TALENTS:
- Disappear Unnoticed (Ex):
For 1 ki, the monk may use Stealth to hide even while being directly observed or when no cover or concealment is available, as long as he is adjacent to at least one creature of his size or larger. This effect lasts until the beginning of the monk's next turn and may be continued in consecutive rounds by spending 1 ki each round. A monk must have the wanderer edge and a ki pool to take this advanced talent.
- Free Step (Su):
The monk gains continuous freedom of movement as a continuous SLA. A monk must have the wanderer edge to take this advanced talent.
- Highly Inscrutable (Su):
The DC modifier for getting information about the monk becomes +10. For 3 ki he can gain mind blank (CL = monk level). A monk must have the wanderer edge, the inscrutable talent and a ki pool to take this advanced talent.
GRAND TALENTS: None.
The Brother of the Seal prestige class, decomposed and slightly extended:
EDGES: None. It all seemed like talents to me. This also means that the BotS class skills are never added to the monk's, which is unfortunate.
TALENTS:
- Water Splitting Stone (Ex)*:
When attacking an object, the monk ignores 1 point of hardness per monk level.
- Gatekeeper (Sp):
The monk must select either hold portal or arcane lock. He gains the ability to cast the selected spell once per day per five monk levels. Once made, the selection cannot be changed. A monk must be at least 5th level to take this talent.
- Trapfinding (Ex):
(As the rogue talent / class feature of the same name.)
- Runefinding (Ex):
The monk's trapfinding bonus becomes equal to his level while dealing with magical glyphs, symbols, runes and writings. In addition, he gains the trap spotter rogue talent, but it applies only to trapped magical writings. A monk must have trapfinding (from any source) to take this talent.
ADVANCED TALENTS:
- Strikes of Stone (Su)*:
The monk determines his damage dice as though he were a creature one size larger. A monk must have the deadly strikes talent to take this advanced talent.
- Unsealing (Su)*:
A monk with this advanced talent can attempt to breach magical wards or protections, including abjurations, glyphs, runes, symbols and other magical writings. He must touch the warded object, creature or area---which can be done as part of a normal melee attack for normal damage or as a melee touch attack that deals no damage---and expend one use of Stunning Fist to dispel the effect as dispel magic (CL = monk level). If the unsealing is successful, the effect is destroyed and the monk suffers no harm from it, even if it normally harms those who touch it. If the unsealing fails, the monk suffers any normal effects for touching the warded area, object or creature, and it remains intact unless it would normally be destroyed upon being interacted with.
At 15th level, unsealing can destroy force effects and abjuration, conjuration and evocation effects that create stationary barriers (such as prismatic sphere, tiny hut or wall of ice), even if the effect cannot normally be subjected to dispel magic.
A monk must have the Stunning Fist feat to take this advanced talent.
- Awesome Blow (Ex)*:
The monk gains Awesome Blow as a bonus feat, even if he does not meet the prerequisites, adding his Wisdom modifier on awesome blow combat maneuver checks and dealing normal damage to his target. Hardness-bypassing abilities such as the water splitting stone talent apply when determining damage dealt to an obstacle while using an awesome blow. When the monk's awesome blow succeeds and knocks his target into an obstacle (including another creature), he adds half his monk level to the normal 1d6 points of damage taken by the target and the obstacle.
The monk can expend 1 ki point or one use of Stunning Fist in conjunction with this ability to affect a creature of his own size with an awesome blow, or 2 ki points or two uses of Stunning Fist to affect a creature one size larger. Using Stunning Fist or ki points in this fashion has no effect other than increasing the size of creature he can affect with his awesome blow.
At 13th level, the monk can affect creatures up to his size with awesome blow without expending a use of Stunning Fist or a ki point. In addition, he may affect a creature of any size larger than himself by spending 1 ki point (or one use of Stunning Fist) per size category of difference.
There are no prerequisites for this advanced talent, though obviously a monk cannot enhance it with ki points or Stunning Fist attempts if he lacks those abilities.
- Improved Awesome Blow (Ex)*:
The monk gains Improved Awesome Blow as a bonus feat, even if he does not meet the prerequisites. A monk must have the awesome blow advanced talent to take this advanced talent.
- Rapid Awesome Blow (Ex)*:
The monk can use his awesome blow ability once per round as part of a flurry of blows or a flurry of maneuvers, assuming he has such edges. Alternatively, he can perform an awesome blow as part of a charge or as part of the same standard action he uses to perform another combat feat that involves an attack (such as Cleave or Vital Strike). He can still only attempt an awesome blow once per round regardless of how many attacks he makes. A monk must have the awesome blow advanced talent to take this advanced talent.
- Cascading Awesome Blow (Ex)*:
Whenever the monk's awesome blow succeeds and knocks the target into another creature of its size or smaller, the monk may attempt another awesome blow at a -2 penalty against this second creature. If successful, the monk deals his normal combat damage to this second target (rather than the normal damage for striking an obstacle) and knocks that target back 10 feet. The monk can attempt additional awesome blows each time a target strikes a creature behind it, with a cumulative -2 penalty for each additional target. All targets must be in a straight line. If a target is knocked simultaneously into several smaller creatures, the monk can choose only one of them to affect with the cascade. A monk must have the awesome blow advanced talent to take this advanced talent.
GRAND TALENTS: None.
EDGES:
- Quick Steps (Ex):
The monk gains an extra 5' step each round per 10' of the speed provided by the fast movement monk edge. If he has a ki pool, any speed increase due to spending ki is added in before making this calculation. Other sources of speed are irrelevant. Abilities that "stretch" 5' steps, such as the rogue advanced talent dance of blades, do not apply to these extra steps. A monk must have the fast movement edge to take this edge; he need not have a ki pool.
- Guided Strike (Ex)*:
The monk may use his Wisdom bonus in lieu of his Strength on damage rolls. A monk must have the insightful strike edge to take this edge.
- Dual Exploit Weakness (Ex):
Whenever the monk is entitled to a benefit from the exploit weakness edge, he receives both the offensive and defensive benefits (with the same subject). A monk must have the exploit weakness edge to take this edge.
- Locked Exploit Weakness (Ex):
Once the monk makes a succesful roll to use the exploit weakness edge on a given subject, he need not spend swift actions or make rolls in subsequent rounds in order to use it on the same subject, so long as he uses it on no other subject. A monk must have the exploit weakness edge to take this edge.
TALENTS:
- Snap Shot (Ex)*:
The monk receives Snap Shot as a bonus feat, even if he does not meet the prerequisites, replacing "have Weapon Focus" with "use your specialty BAB."
- Improved Snap Shot (Ex)*:
The monk receives Improved Snap Shot as a bonus feat, even if he does not meet the prerequisites. A monk must have the snap shot talent and be at least 7th level to take this talent.
- Ki Armor (Su):
The monk has externalized his flows of ki into fields of force covering his high-ki (vital) areas. He gains 25% (light) fortification. At 13th level this increases to 50% (moderate) fortification. This does not stack in any way with other sources of fortification; the monk receives the better of the two. A monk must have a ki pool to take this talent (although it spends no ki).
- Swift As Thought (Ex):
The monk may take an extra swift action each round per six monk levels he has attained. Any given "swift ability" can still only be used once per round. A monk must be at least 6th level to take this talent.
- Perpetual Style (Ex):
The monk is able to maintain styles even when not in combat, though he must still be conscious. This does not allow him to have more styles in effect at once than he otherwise could. At the GM's discretion this talent may be a freebie.
- Perfect Balance (Ex):
The monk retains his Dexterity bonus to AC when climbing, running or using Acrobatics. He gains a +2 competence bonus to CMD against trip maneuvers and on Reflex saves to avoid falling (including falling prone).
- Martial Specialist (Ex)*:
The monk can use his specialty BAB to qualify for feats with a BAB prerequisite; those feats can then only be used with his specialty weapons until his regular BAB qualifies also. Similarly, if a feat's benefits are BAB-dependent, the monk uses his specialty BAB if it applies to his weapon. This talent is unrelated to the martial artist talent and does not rule out having a ki pool. At the GM's discretion this talent may be a freebie.
- Safe Shot (Ex)*:
The monk does not provoke attacks of opportunity by making ranged attacks.
- Roll with the Punches (Ex):
The monk reflexively absorbs much of the force of blows. He gains DR/- of one-sixth his level. This DR does not apply when he is helpless, immobilized, or encumbered. It does not apply if he is armored unless he has the appropriate kata edge. A monk must be at least 6th level to take this talent.
This talent may be taken a second time, increasing the monk's DR/- to one-third his level.
ADVANCED TALENTS:
- Biofeedback (Ex):
The monk adds his Wisdom bonus to all Constitution checks and to all the checks and saves that Endurance contributes to.
- Greater Snap Shot (Ex)*:
The monk receives Greater Snap Shot as a bonus feat, even if he does not meet the prerequisites. The monk's specialty BAB is used to determine the feat's benefits. A monk must have the improved snap shot talent to take this advanced talent.
- War Training (Ex)*:
The monk gains one fighter talent (but not advanced talent). The monk treats his monk level as his fighter level to determine if he can take the talent, but must meet all other prerequisites.
GRAND TALENTS:
- Inner Peace (Ex):
The monk may take 10 on any skill check or concentration check, even if it would not normally be allowed (for whatever reason). He receives a +4 bonus on concentration checks. He is immune to swarms' special distraction ability.
- Perfect Ki Armor (Su):
The monk gains complete immunity to critical hits and sneak attacks. A monk must have the ki armor talent to take this grand talent.
- Advanced War Training (Ex)*:
The monk gains one advanced fighter talent. The monk treats his monk level as his fighter level to determine if he can take the talent, but must meet all other prerequisites.
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