With how easy it is for other classes to pick up multiple styles or to fuse styles, and the number of other classes that out-monk the monk and treat their class levels as monk levels, I wanted to have a few things that only the monk had access to.
Since the UMonk cannot use most of the monk archetypes, it cannot take MoMS (while other classes are free to do so), and the only other way to use two styles at once is pretty annoying and limiting ( 1) Martial Focus, 2) Weapon Style Mastery, (optional but useful 3) Combat Style Mastery), I wanted to make it a bit easier and more useful for a monk.
As for the Style, it only affects unarmed monks, it doesn't increase damage die or add damage dice (in face it reduces damage die), but it does address another issue that unarmed monks face: The lack of criticals and flurry of misses.
Unless I missed something, all of these feats should work correctly for both the Core Monk and the Unchained Monk, but they were designed for the UMonk.
So what do you guys think? Is there confusing wording or parts that could be cleared up? Balance issues?
I suppose some monk only stuff isn't bad. But I think you are trying to fix a non-issue. It isn't very easy at all for most classes to gain styles and especially not to fuse them together(outside of a few archtypes like unarmed fighter, but I would definitely not say they out monk the monk).
I like the concept behind the black foot style, but it seems somewhat over the top. The wording on the abilities seems pretty clear if unnecessarily restrictive, but should work fine for you home game.
Leitner - "It isn't very easy at all for most classes to gain styles and especially not to fuse them together"
A single level dip into the Core Monk Archetype Master of Many Styles give them a prerequisite free Style feat and allows them to fuse 2 styles. That's something that the UMonk cannot do (can't dip into your own class, even if it's the chained version and that archetype is nixed for UMonks).
When I said 'outmonk a monk', I was referring to remarks in other, numerous threads on various sites, like, 'Sacred Fist Warpriest/Brawler a better monk than the monk', wile being able to do something that seems like a very monk thing that monks cannot do. For example, the Brawler's 'Close Weapon Mastery', that allows them to do their unarmed damage with multiple weapons, something that Ascetic Style, even with all three style feats, doesn't allow you to do. It's something that should have been baked into the UMonk IMO.
Could you expand on/explain what seems 'somewhat over the top' or why something seems 'unnecessarily restrictive'? If you can I might be able to explain the reason and maybe you (or someone else) could help come up with a better wording for things that seem more restrictive than I meant for them to be?
Eh I would probably allow Unchained to take Master of Many Styles myself.
Eh I would probably allow Unchained to take Master of Many Styles myself.
I would to, but the problem with that is that it leaves them with a now useless class ability: Style Strike. Everyman Unchained Monk Archetypes does rework the MoMS to fix this though, so that is an option. I personally have issues with the archetype (any version of it).
Specifically you're giving up flurry and all other bonus feats to gain the ability to fuse up to 5 styles, BUT you don't gain any more bonus feats and to make a lot of those styles worth it, you have to invest 2-3 feat in each. So in the end you'll be spending upwards of 15 feats just to make the archetype really worth it. To me that is to high a price to give up Flurry and doesn't really seem balanced.
Which is why I made the two monk only feats which allow the fusing of up to 3, which would be a possible investment of 9 feats (which you aren't giving up anything besides those feat slots), and you get the free action style switching capstone ability of the MoMS archetype. 20th level for being able to switch styles as a free action is stupid late when the same thing could be gained from the Combat Style Master at level 5/6.
BUMP
The two monk only feats seem balanced enough.
Though the style feats I created don't give extra damage die like Jabbing Style or Boar Style and aren't as dynamic as Crane Style, I do want them to be balanced compared to the (good) Styles.