First, click here. Long story short: it's a homebrew bard/monk hybrid class.
I've utterly fallen in love with the concept, but the class itself is a bit outdated. It still uses the chained monk Flurry of Blows rules, and, well, look at the class features. Pretty barren, isn't it?
I'm of the opinion that every class should follow, or close to follow, the same format that classes like Fighter, Rogue, Barbarian, Witch, etc follow: class features being chosen on every even-numbered level. That way, every time you level up, you're making a choice. On odd numbers, you pick feats, and on even numbers, you pick a class feature. (Fighter bonus feats, Rogue Talents, Rage Powers, Hexes, etc.)
I can't see any quick and easy way to make this class like that, but I'm definitely not a fan of any class that has so few choices across the board. (looking at YOU, Cleric and Wizard.) I'm wondering, what sort of ideas do you guys have to update this into a sort of "Unchained Ascetic Entertainer?" One idea I'm seeing is "Style Strikes," lifted from the Unchained Monk.... but that comes in at 5th level. Would it be too early entry to drop it in at, say, 3rd level or something?
Any input would be appreciated.
Having played a sensei/ki mystic with qinggong powers just recently, I think the monk can be awesome in the role of a party-buffer and has more than enough options. I mostly spent my time wondering about the best way to support my party in a given situation with all those options available to me (bardic performance, positioning (Bodyguard), ki powers, aid another, UMD + magic wands, granting rerolls). I can't remember the last time when I played a character that was so universally useful to their party and at the same time so beloved by his fellow party members.
A monk with three archetypes....? That sounds.... complex. I keep forgetting that coming to these boards is basically "help with minmaxing" like 99% of the time. Sorry for not clarifying: that's not what this is about.
I'm here because I got it in my head to try and make a certain type of character, a dance-battling acrobatic sort, doing spinning kicks and stuff. Bard/Monk multiclass is obviously a recipe for disaster, because splitting the progression in half means being a sucky Bard and a sucky Monk, and splashing one in favor of the other seems mostly pointless.
That hybrid class, the Ascetic Entertainer, looks like a interesting way of handling it. Diminished spellcasting, flurry and inarmed as a lower level monk, that's a nice way to balance out having both at once. The trouble is in the class progression. There are 9 levels out of 20 in which you're getting new class features, and ALL of them fall on odd levels, meaning the even levels are just boring numeric increases. It's the same problem the Arcanist has. Why do the Exploits all fall on odd numbers? It just makes things boring half of the time.... but at least there, you're getting new spell levels on the evens, starting with 4.
I've done a lot more legwork since I made that sleep-deprived post yesterday, and here's what I've come up with:
At levels 4, 8, and 14, select a bonus feat from the Monk bonus feat list.
At levels 6, 12, and 18, select a style strike.
(and obviously, use the Unchained Monk rules for Flurry of Blows. Maybe ask your GM if you can use the Brawler's Flurry rules instead, but I digress.)
This way, you're either getting a new class feature, a new spell level, a style strike, a stylish performance, or a bonus feat on every single level.
To my eyes, this still looks like a relatively weak class, but what do you think? Would this be an overpowered revamp?