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I mostly built it like so because it's just so cool and flavorful, but it actually seems like it can hold its own. The plan is to use an Elven Curve Blade from level 2 on and eventually mostly rely on One-inch Punch, which should land if flanking.
Zhang Yun
Half-Elf Martial Disciple Monk
Str 14 Dex 18 Con 14 Int 10 Wis 12 Cha 10
Class Feats:
1 - Monastic Weaponry
2 - Ancestral Weaponry
4 - Peafowl Stance
6 - One-Inch Punch
8 - Stand Still
10 - Peafowl Strut
12 - Dodging Roll
14 - Whirling Blade Stance
16 - Enlightened Presence
18 - One-Millimeter Punch
20 - Enduring Quickness (or Golden Body if accessible)
Key Ancestry Feat:
1 - Elven Weapon Familiarity
Note that Peafowl Stance requires the use of a one-handed sword, so it wouldn't work with the Elven Curve Blade.
Elven Curve Blade via Ancestral Weaponry holds up just fine without the stance, though. Instead of taking Peafowl Stance, you would take Stand Still much earlier at 4. You'd be looking at a very different build, though, since One-Inch Punch is only decent alongside Peafowl Stance.
Alternatively, if you prefer Peafowl Stance, the Temple Sword is an excellent weapon. You'd be looking at an array of 18/16/12/10/12/10 (or 18/16/14/8/12/8, which would cost a skill) instead to provide the strength to use the weapon properly, and have slightly less AC as a consequence. You lose Whirling Blade Stance as well, but that's fine.
Peafowl Stance's strut at 10th level doesn't work with Flurry of Blows (they're both Flourishes), so leaning into Athletics for trips and grapples is also an excellent option.
One-Inch Punch (see the thread from earlier this week) only pays off when using a high die type (d10+) and/or having an ability tied to making your next attack great (True Strike, Investigator's Devise a Strategem, etc.)
Otherwise Flurry is just as good or even better, which makes investing in that feat dubious for most builds.
Not a fan of the Peafowl Stance. Plus you could move in, flurry, and move out in the first round, but not if you activate a Stance.
Peafowl Strut is decent for skirmishing, but denies the Flurry so I'm wary of that one too. (This gave me a sad when I first read them.)
One route might be MCD Rogue, then Mobility (to get that same level of skirmishing, but better), and maybe Strong Arm (to go with Whirling Blade Stance) though it'd be tough to squeeze those options in and the other feats are strong. Sneak Attack would be nice too since you can easily move into (and out of) position for it.
At 9th think about picking up Blessed One Archetype for 30 h.p. per Refocus (because Half-Elves can do that at 9th).
half-elves (and human) can only pick up Multiclass Archetypes at 9, not any kind of archetypeOne-Inch Punch (see the thread from earlier this week) only pays off when using a high die type (d10+) and/or having an ability tied to making your next attack great (True Strike, Investigator's Devise a Strategem, etc.)
Otherwise Flurry is just as good or even better, which makes investing in that feat dubious for most builds.Not a fan of the Peafowl Stance. Plus you could move in, flurry, and move out in the first round, but not if you activate a Stance.
Peafowl Strut is decent for skirmishing, but denies the Flurry so I'm wary of that one too. (This gave me a sad when I first read them.)One route might be MCD Rogue, then Mobility (to get that same level of skirmishing, but better), and maybe Strong Arm (to go with Whirling Blade Stance) though it'd be tough to squeeze those options in and the other feats are strong. Sneak Attack would be nice too since you can easily move into (and out of) position for it.
At 9th think about picking up Blessed One Archetype for 30 h.p. per Refocus (because Half-Elves can do that at 9th).
Doh.
Must read fine print.
Peafowl Stance requires that "you are wielding a sword in one hand", which I technically am.
For it to not work with 2-handed swords it would have to say "only one hand" or specify that the sword needs to be one-handed and you wield it only as such.
That's not technically correct. Alas, it isn't any amount of correct according to the rules.
To differentiate, there are fighter and swashbuckler feats which specify "wielding a weapon in one hand, and have another hand free", which thus details that those abilities can't be used with a shield or dual-wielding. Since we're not under that wording here, we can use Peafowl Stance with a shield or dual-wielding (the former of which is a good idea).
"Wielding a sword in one hand" is not "wielding a sword in two hands". It is also not "holding a sword in one hand".
Elven Curve Blade does not qualify for Peafowl Stance. A two-handed weapon can only be wielded in two hands.
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Ah, ok.
I really wish there were more than 3 usable weapons for Peafowl. Even moreso I wish Katana, Nine-ring Sword, and Wakizashi had the monk trait. :(
If you're not playing in a PFS game, you should ask your DM if you can use a katana. Not like it will somehow make you too powerful. I still don't understand the Pathfinder designers desire to limit weapons any longer. It doesn't balance anything and it's won't make the monk suddenly over-powered.
If I were a DM, I would let you use a katana. Limiting monk weaponry back in PF1 when they had 7 or 8 attacks a round with a lower BAB reduction, it made sense to limit the monk. In PF2 where their unarmed attacks max at 1d10 and average 1d6, it doesn't make sense to limit them. Flurry is one extra attack with no BAB advantage, especially if you use a non-agile weapon.
If you're doing this for style reasons, there is no balance reason to limit you. Using a katana over a temple sword changes nothing. You can even just use a temple sword, remove trip, and make it look like a katana or Chinese Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon sword. No one will care.
If you really want to use Peafowl stance with an elven weapon, maybe homebrew a 2e version of the elven thornblade?