So... If you guys haven't read the new book yet, I highly recommend it because it has a lot of character options that are more than just fluff. One of the examples is the Elemental Monk, which trades its "Any Lawful" Alignment Restriction for a "True Neutral" and allows you to play a psuedo Avatar character (Wind, Fire, Water, Earth, Body).
So, if you don't have the book, here is what it gets. Elemental Fist at level 1 (This replaces ALL Monk Bonus Feats and Stunning Fist).
At level 2, the Monk can enter ANY of the Elemental stances (Djinni, Efreeti, Marid, Shaitan, or Janni respectively from the previous list) as a Swift Action. At level 6, they can gain the benefits of the next feat stage. Level 10 is the final feat stage. Level 14 gives the Monk immunity to damage based on the element, or enlarge/reduce person for the Janni instead. This replaces Evasion, Purity of Body, and Diamond Body.
There is more to this Archetype, but whats listed above is the main meat of the Archetype - Allowing you to Elemental Fist people in the face almost all day long while switching between the elements of fighting depending on what you need.
My question is, for a Qinggon Elemental Monk, what would you recommend? Level 12 Dragon Breath seems interesting (2 Ki Points = 12d6 Damage for Fire/Acid/Cold in a 30-foot cone or Fire/Acid/Electric in a 60-foot line, really fitting for the elemental fist archetype). Low level, I'd probably be replacing Slow Fall for Scorch Ray or Ki Throw for offensive Ki spending.
I was looking at the Monk Vows, and possibly wanted to incorporate them somehow. Any ideas on what would be interesting for the Monk Vows when using a Qinggon Elemental Monk?
Hey Moonheart, thanks for the advice. While I understand that the Elemental Fist feat is limited, the fact that it can be used only once per round should keep me from blowing them all during one right. That being said, while the Archetype gains Elemental Fist instead of Stunning Fist, the whole build isn't centered around it per-say.
Also, at level 2 and at level 6, the archetype essentially gives itself a "free" elemental fist charge as long s they are in any of the Genie Fighting Styles not including Janni. (All of them say " You gain one additional Elemental Fist attempt per day."). Also, they give damage bonus to my elements equal to my Wisdom Mod. Also, at level 6, they can then Deafen/Catch Fire/Stagger/Entangle the enemy.
That being said, using the Elemental Monk archetype (possibly stacked with Qinggon Monk), what other recommendations would you have other than "replenish ki"? Do you have any questions on how to do that? Unfortunately, Ki Leech is a 10th level skill, and I won't be able to take those until 12th level due Diamond Body having been taken by the Elemental Monk archetype.
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Is there a specific reason you want to use core Monk and not unchained Monk? cMonk needs an archetype that increases it's power, and Elemental Monk does the opposite.
Quite frankly, Elemental Fist sucks. Hard. First, it's far from "all day long" - since you lose the bonus uses when switching style, you're capped at level+2 uses per day. Second, it's pretty low damage: Let's say we're level 8, with 18 wisdom, 4 encounters á 4 rounds a day. Flurry is 3 attacks a round, plus one more from Ki half the rounds. That's 56 attacks per day. Elemental Fist does an average of 7.5 damage 10 times, for 75 theoretical bonus damage over the course of the day. That's an average of 1.34 damage per attack, i.e. not much more than a trait.
The five style chains are all pretty bad as well: The damage bonus via Elemental Fist from the first feats is minuscule compared to other styles. The triggered effects from the second feats tend to have problems (entangled allows fort save, catching fire has a neigh-irrelevant effect, and deafen is a small affect against only a small number of enemies). The elemental style third feats, as well as all three Janni feats, don't work with a full attack, and thus work against the very foundation of your class.
Shaitan Skin is normally OKish because it can trigger Medusa's Wrath on a failed reflex save (easier to stick than Stunning Fist), but this archetype removes all your bonus feats, so you can't grab said feat.
I didn't even see that you lose all bonus feats without gaining anything in return* on my first read, and considered the archetype crap even than. Now, I consider it abysmal.
*) The way it's written, everyone get's to chose Elemental Fist's damage type when you use it, not when you pick it up.
To says something constructive: The standard must-have Qinggong Powers of Barkskin and Ki Leech still apply; and Gaseous Form is simply so much better than Wholeness of Body that it's a crime not to take it.
Regarding vows: Calibacy, Silence, and Truth are normally OK, and Fasting can work depending on your campaign and party.
Okay... So... What have I learned from this website?
1) Don't ask for advice from this website.
2) This website is full of people who are sooner to spout "DON'T DO THIS BECAUSE ITS BAD AND YOU SHOULD FEEL BAD FOR WANTING TO HAVE FUN!" instead of people actually giving advice for the archetype specifically.
Thanks for showing me that this advice thread is filled with nothing but power gamers that don't know what fun or character diversity is. ^-^
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This website is full of people who are sooner to spout "DON'T DO THIS BECAUSE ITS BAD AND YOU SHOULD FEEL BAD FOR WANTING TO HAVE FUN!" instead of people actually giving advice for the archetype specifically.
Thanks for showing me that this advice thread is filled with nothing but power gamers that don't know what fun or character diversity is. ^-^
You know what I learned from this thread? That if you give advise, answering all the OP's questions, but dare to include a warning that what he has chosen is weak, you get insulted.
I don't know how experienced you are. I don't know the power level of the group and the expectations of the campaign you will be playing in. What I do know is that I have played an unarmed cMonk with no combat prowess improving archetype, and I felt useless a lot.
Excuse me for wanting to keep you from doing somethign that I regretted making myself. Excuse me for presuming that someone who paints a very weak archetype in a positive light doesn't realize it's weakness. And excuse me for presuming that when you asked for recomendations for a relatively basic Monk aspect, that you might lack experience with the class.