Well, you *are* in a perfect position to grab free Two-Weapon Fighting off of Slayer and fight with both katana and unarmed strikes at the same time. Monk unarmed strike gets full one-handed benefits from strength and Power Attack even if you use it for offhand attacks, and you can make unarmed strikes while still keeping a 'free hand' or even while grappling. A Body Wrap of Mighty Strikes is a cheaper alternative to Amulet of Mighty Fists if you're only making offhand unarmed attacks.
Yeah- bodywraps seem solely for using offhand unarmed strikes. Only way to get the light attacks to be fully useful when you are limited in the number of enhanced attacks per round. I think cestus might have an edge, since it has better crit and cheaper enhancement... but hey, style feats for unarmed strikes. So it is about even either way in my view. Either way, going with sword and punchy attack is a fantastic way to TWF for slayers.
I question using a slayer talent to get EWP katana. IF you are just 2 handing it, then you are already proficient (it uses bastard sword mechanics). It is also weaker than the falchion you are already proficient in (1d8=4.5, 2d4=5). And even if you go for TWF and need a one handed weapon... well... scimitar is just 1 average damage less (1d6=3.5), and you can make that up with what you get from your slayer talent.
That is the problem with most exotic weapons- their advantages over martial weapons tend to be small enough that it doesn't justify the feat. Its main advantage is 'slightly more damaging scimitar', adn you aren't even using it in that regard.
I was originally going to go the TWF route up to the two weapon rend but I was worried about the penalties to hit when stacked with powermattack.mif I shouldn't worry about it that's cool.
The katana was a McGuffin and does much more than what I listed. We found it right before I leveled up, so I decided to get quick,proficiency in it because it's so good.
** spoiler omitted **
The way I have been plying him is to attack two handed, then release my off hand as a free action to use with grabbing and snapping turtle style. When an enemy misses me I get a free grapple check which has been quite fun and sometimes powerful. Defenestrations and coup de gras shenanigans!
Still, you are creating a situation where you are not using everything available to you.
If you just wanted to 2 hand- then fine, you can do that without proficiency with your mcguffin. But you spent resources so you can use the katana while doing turtle style. But the problem with turtle style is that it removes the advantages of 2handing, and you aren't using TWF to make up for that by using that offhand.
So all you are doing is telling the enemy "hey, I am in a defensive pose, so ignore me and attack someone else". If you could TWF, then having your offhand free would not raise as much suspicion, since they think 'oh, this is just his full attack thing'.
So basically, my problem here is that you are setting up a perfectly valid style, and not actually planning to use it. Like a bard that gets str so they can do melee, and never buying a weapon. In fact, I can identify this as one of your primary causes for why you are complaining about your damage- you are only using 1 weapon/1handed, forgoing both 2 handing and TWF. Only swashbucklers can really pull that off well.
I can understand concern about TWF penalties early on. I can fully understand just 2 handing and grabbing trap finding for the first talent. But you have some levels under your belt, you have 18 str, and you have the big shiny mcguffin weapon. I think you can eat a small bit of extra penalty. So TWF is at least something to consider in the next few levels.
Two-handing doesn't have any simple improvements beyond the obvious. Going TWF in this case will improve damage reasonably well, and some Deliquescent Gloves will help that margin. If you don't usually have Haste, TWF will be a really big damage boost. Dragon Style/Ferocity will make unarmed offhand into a sledgehammer, but at this point you'd have to retrain an old style or take Combat Style Master to fit dragon in.
Combat Style Master isn't bad, but to be honest I wouldn't call it worth a feat unless he has more levels in Master of Many Styles (usually 3+ styles would be worth it). Switching to one out of two styles in a round isn't bad.
If he took Dragon Ferocity, his Katana would become almost useless, as the 1.5x Strength boost for his Unarmed Strikes would win out over the Katana's damage dice (which, with a Monk's Robes, his Unarmed Strikes would equate to a Katana's damage dice), and he cannot select Katana for Ascetic Style to benefit from Dragon Ferocity as well (as it's not a Monk weapon, which is required for Ascetic Style to function). If he could, that would be a very brutal way to TWF, and would make Two-Handing an obsolete option.
Also note that he cannot use his Katana two-handed to TWF, as it violates the FAQ precedent set by Armor Spikes. All I can say is, if he does TWF with a Katana and his Unarmed Strikes, at least he doesn't have to spend a feat on Double Slice, which is still pretty good.
My other suggestion is, since you will be specializing in Unarmed Strikes as well as your Katana, pick up an Amulet of Mighty Fists +5 ASAP (there are rules to merge this with an Amulet of Natural Armor if you're worried about having low AC), as well as acquire Natural Weapons. A Bite, some Claws, a Gore, Slam attacks, etc. are all smart decisions, and will benefit from your Amulet of Mighty Fists. You can use most of those Natural Weapons with your Unarmed Strikes and Katana, meaning that's extra damage you'd be stupid to not utilize on a given Full Attack, and they do apply when you use TWF. With a +5 Amulet of Mighty Fists, you'll be bypassing most every DR that ever existed.
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This feat might be pretty useful for Slayer, or other multiclassed sneak attack users: Accomplished Sneak Attacker
If he took Dragon Ferocity, his Katana would become almost useless, as the 1.5x Strength boost for his Unarmed Strikes would win out over the Katana's damage dice (which, with a Monk's Robes, his Unarmed Strikes would equate to a Katana's damage dice), and he cannot select Katana for Ascetic Style to benefit from Dragon Ferocity as well (as it's not a Monk weapon, which is required for Ascetic Style to function). If he could, that would be a very brutal way to TWF, and would make Two-Handing an obsolete option.
A weapon isn't rendered "useless" in that situation. The weapon hasn't changed one bit. Besides:
1. It fits the concept he's trying to create. Even if unarmed did become strictly better than a weapon with Dragon chain, it's ridiculous to say "don't take that optimal offhand option, because then you'd (apparently) have to ditch your weapon/unarmed concept because (apparently) you must blindly optimize!".
2. The advantage of better criticals can easily equal a couple points of strength bonus in damage alone, to say nothing of critical feats/effects; Dragon Ferocity's critical feat effect plays really well off of a high-crit weapon.
3. Being able to use a Bodywraps of Mighty Striking leaves the neck slot free, so you don't have to sink an obscene fortune into a combo Mighty Fists + natural armor amulet. You've also got far less pressure to burn all your resources on getting unarmed strikes to an acceptable level if it's only an offhand issue.
So, again: if you're in a position where you'd like a weapon/unarmed concept and you're able to retrain an old style or incorporate a new one, getting Dragon Style/Ferocity will make for a really powerful offhand.
I'm leaning towards amulet over body wraps because I tend to describe my unarmed strikes as kicks, head butts and so forth. He is a former Scarzni thug after all.
A Body Wrap affects all unarmed strikes regardless of how they're performed; the only limitation is that it only works for a certain number of attacks per round, based on BAB.
Fortunately once Studied Target becomes a swift action at Slayer 7, it gets much easier to apply it to everything.
Are you able to flurry with your katana and/or your unarmed strike?
If you take Accomplished Sneak Attacker, at 8th level, you can do 3d6 sneak attack per attack.
Maybe see if you can draw more AoOs from your opponents? Can your allies help you with that?
@Badbird: cool, didn't know that. That would be perfect because I don't have the Dex for ITWF so I'll only be making one unaired strike at a time.
You don't need to meet the DEX requirement for ITWF if you use a Slayer Talent to pick it up at Slayer level 6. Same goes for picking up Two-Weapon Rend later. By the time you get ITWF, Bodywrap will grant 2 unarmed/round anyhow. It all works out real nice.
Do your fellow players do anything else to help you get AoOs? Like disarm, trip, force them to move through your threatened space, etc.,?
Oh jeez I knew that. Doh! Is it worth it even with the penalty and all?@Badbird: cool, didn't know that. That would be perfect because I don't have the Dex for ITWF so I'll only be making one unaired strike at a time.You don't need to meet the DEX requirement for ITWF if you use a Slayer Talent to pick it up at Slayer level 6. Same goes for picking up Two-Weapon Rend later. By the time you get ITWF, Bodywrap will grant 2 unarmed/round anyhow. It all works out real nice.
When you get your third iterative, it is, as you have the attack bonuses to back up your extra attack being a worthwhile investment (as it will hit more consistently). But GTWF usually isn't, since you're spending a feat for yet another attack at your third iterative rate, which means unless you're BAB 16 or higher, GTWF isn't generally worth it.
The biggest problems with going the TWF route is always going to be lacking the to-hit. Being a 3/4 BAB, having to not use Light Weapons, or not having any means to shore up the to-hit penalties (Shield Master with dual shields, Two-Weapon Warrior archetype are the only ways to do this), means you're going to be losing out heavily in comparison to a given two-handed martial.
Granted, Dragon Ferocity would make going TWF via Unarmed Strikes damn worth it, since you're dealing the Strength bonuses of a Two-handed Martial on every attack, versus every iterative combo, you'll still be down to-hit, which can make or break a lot of your damage in relation to a creature's AC. Also note that this would not be usable with Flurry of Blows, and TWF feats will have the better progression since you will not be taking further levels in Monk (which would further the progression the same).
I honestly would've ditched the Sacred Mountain archetype and been a UCMonk, as the +1 Natural Armor and Toughness isn't worth it (+1 Natural Armor can be acquired through other means, and Toughness as a feat isn't particularly valuable past the first couple levels), and you'd still keep your Wisdom to AC, as well as have a better Flurry (which works better with TWF). I'd consider the MoMS archetype, but only because you could take the Crane Style and Dragon Style together, meaning you'll have some ridiculous AC and defensive abilities, as well as high damage output with your TWF via Dragon Ferocity. Another concept is to take Ascetic Style, so you can use Monk Weapons in concert with Dragon Ferocity, though unfortunately there are no 18-20/X2 Monk weapons, so crit-fishing would be out the door, meaning Ascetic Style isn't particularly worthwhile. The problem I'd have with taking MoMS is losing the UCMonk flurry, which is damn nice since it gives you an extra attack at your highest BAB, and stacks with effects like Haste, but in exchange you'd get Crane Style benefits, which may or may not be worth the extra attack you'd gain.
Flanking is about as tactical as we get .
What our group does is we allow PCs to make an Acrobatics check, usually when moving to an enemy, and if the check is successful (usually DC 20 since they need to high-jump 5-feet), they receive a +1 circumstance bonus to hit (due to attacking from a "higher ground," such as elevation).
We houseruled the elevation bonus to be +2, so as to raise the tactical value of occupying higher ground, but a +1 bonus can still make a difference.
At least slayer is full BAB, so your penalties from Two Weapon Fighting aren't as debilitating. Does anyone know if Two Weapon Feint would be helpful with his build?
Requires a lot of feats to make effective, and their pre-requisites are hefty. If he can't afford the pre-requisites for the TWF feat chain, he certainly can't afford the pre-requisites for Feinting.
He'd also need the entire standard Feint feat chain; that's a whole boatload of feats by itself, and that's just as brutal.
Quite frankly, I don't see Feinting being very valuable of a combat strategy, especially considering the investment you must implement to make it work (3+ Feats, just to make an enemy lose his Dexterity Bonus to AC for a round, and eats up your attacks to do so). The rules for it are also fairly confusing and can be easily countered by having investments into Sense Motive (meaning "Face" PCs cannot practically be Feinted).
I was just spitballing. Didn't realize how ridiculous feinting was! :-O
In 3.5, I played a human spellthief that took Combat Expertise and Improved Feint at 1st level and used a longspear and got lots and lots of sneak attacks at reach w/o needing a flank-buddy. It was fun!
The most effective PC I ever made in that group (which were all power game to THE EXTREME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
So.... what's the next character?
Glad it was glorious!
.....aaaannd it's all moot. He died gloriously last night, sacrificing himself to an evil clerics channels by grappling her and holding her in place until the rest of the party could get to her.
Curious as to how the Cleric killed you with nothing but Channels when you were grappling her.
Did you fail to Pin her (and therefore make her effectively unable to do anything)? Did you choose not to disarm the Holy Symbol that she carried? Did you dump your Wisdom score so damn low that you couldn't make the Will Saves and basically got killed that way?
That monk looks good. +19 damage??? Is that with Power Attack? Those crits look nasty. :-)
Inquisitors can be great at damage, too. Judgments and bane really help. And they get 6+ skills per level, which is nice.
What are all those different rings for? Your fists or your sword?
If you want a really potent UMonk combo you could take one level of Shizuru Cleric to grab the Gentle Rest Domain Power, then take Domain Strike: Gentle Rest, then take Medusa's Wrath as a bonus feat. Domain Strike will automatically trigger Medusa's Wrath, and it leaves the target staggered if they manage to survive.
Shizuru Cleric also allows katana flurry, grants a nice bump to will save, and can grant things like free Weapon Focus with Crusader or WIS based social skills through an Inquisition. You can also get +2 Divine Favor (and +2 Jingasa) with the Fate's Favored trait if you want.