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Offline Prime32

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The Way of Wushu - monk tips and tricks
« on: July 18, 2013, 11:12:25 AM »
Discussion thread here.
The Way of Wushu

The monk class: one of Third Edition's red-headed stepchildren. The monk oozes with flavour, but has trouble living up to all the kung fu awesomeness it promises, especially compared to classes like swordsage or even barbarian. That, however, can be fixed.

In this handbook you will find examinations of monk weakpoints and how to fix them, guides to entire monk-exclusive rulesets you may not realise existed, and other tips that can make a monk a worthy addition to almost any party. If you were playing a member of another class, this handbook shows how one or two levels of monk can be used to improve your existing abilities. If you have no interest in monk levels but want to play an unarmed, unarmored or otherwise monk-like character, then much of this material is still applicable to you.

This handbook is not meant to be comprehensive - some material which could be useful to a monk character is left out simply because it isn't very monk-specific (e.g. a monk would certainly find an item that grants immunity to death effects useful, but no more than any other character). Likewise, while this guide contains advice for multiclass monk/wizards, you should still look up a dedicated wizard guide if you want to make the most of your spells. A sneaky monk should consider looking at rogue handbooks, and so on.

Useful Links
The Guide to Monks
The 3.X Monk Database (ENWorld)
Tripping Handbook

Note on 3.0 Material
Feat options and prerequisites from Oriental Adventures or Sword & Fist have been replaced with more recent versions where applicable, as standard for using 3.0 material in a 3.5 game. As part of the conversion, all 3.0 feats based on Stunning Fist require expending a use of that ability, even if not specified by the original feat text. Oriental Adventures itself has a partial update in Dragon #318, which is used where applicable.

Index
- Fixing the Problems
-- Multiple Ability Dependence
-- Mobility
-- Enchanting
- Making the Most of Things
-- Unarmed Damage
-- Stunning Fist
- Monk Options
-- Bonus Feats
-- Monk Weapons
- Style Bonuses
-- Fighting Styles
-- Martial Arts
- Alternative Class Features
- Exotic Monks
-- Ranged Combat
-- Multiclassing
-- Vow of Poverty
-- Living Weapon
« Last Edit: October 31, 2017, 10:37:10 PM by Prime32 »

Offline Prime32

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Re: The Way of Wushu - monk tips and tricks
« Reply #1 on: July 18, 2013, 11:12:38 AM »

Fixing the Problems

Reducing MAD
Multiple Ability Dependence is one of the monk class's biggest issues - it has uses for almost every ability score, but if you try investing into every score at once then none of your abilities will be strong enough to be meaningful. Compare this to something like a wizard, who bases all of his abilities on Intelligence and thus can make all of them more powerful at once.
  • Strength: Determines your attack and damage rolls. The most important ability score for a standard monk, but easily replaced.
  • Dexterity: Determines your AC, Reflex saves and attack rolls (if using Weapon Finesse or a feycraftDMG2 weapon). Gives bonuses to some useful skills like Hide, Move Silently and Tumble.
  • Constitution: Determines your hit points and Fortitude saves. Any character can benefit from a high Con score, regardless of class.
  • Intelligence: Determines your number of skill points; a higher Int score allows you to take advantage of your quite-decent skill list. Replaces Wisdom for determining the strength of your class features if you have the Carmendine MonkCoV or Kung-Fu GeniusDrComp feats. Determines your monk AC bonus (but no other class features) if you have the Ascetic PsionSoS feat. Determines unarmed damage (against some creatures only) and Stunning Fist DC if you have levels in Snake ShenDr319.
  • Wisdom: Determines your Will saves, plus attack rolls (if using Intuitive AttackBoED or Zen ArcheryCW), and gives bonuses to sensory skills. Also determines the strength of your monk class features, including AC Bonus and Stunning Fist.
  • Charisma: Gives bonuses to social skills. Determines your monk AC bonus (but no other class features) if you have the Ascetic MageCA feat.
There are a number of ways to cut down on how many ability scores you need - some are listed above, and a more comprehensive list can be found in X Stat to Y Bonus.

The Mobility Issue
Fast movement is no good if you can only flurry while standing still. Below are ways you can move and make a full attack in the same round. More can be found in the Ranged Combat section.
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Flight is valuable for any character, but most flight abilities grant a fixed speed that makes your fast movement redundant. Here are some options which instead base your fly speed on your land speed.
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Enchanting Unarmed Strikes
Monks have a harder time gaining access to enchanted weapons than most characters. There are a number of ways to do it, scattered across various sources, but most are overpriced.

There is an upside to this though. Monks can apply enchantments to their unarmed strikes from many sources at once, and if a weapon has multiple separate enchantments they overlap (that is, if a sword would simultaneously be +1 flaming and +3 keen, it becomes +3 flaming keen). Thus a monk can make up the difference by using lots of cheap items with a single enchantment each.
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Armor without Armor
Sure you get to add your Wisdom modifier to AC, but full plate lets you add +8, Mechanus gear/mountain plate lets you add +10, and you can't use a shield even if it's animated. Armor Class may not be the best defence at higher levels, but it still helps.
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Other Problems
  • Despite being a combat class you don't have good BAB, and many of your attack forms inflict further penalties to your attack roll. Thus you should put extra effort into finding things that make your attacks more accurate.
  • If you decide to plan to invest in stealth then, as with any such character, you'll need the DarkstalkerLoM feat to get past enemies with unusual senses.
« Last Edit: May 28, 2018, 03:23:40 PM by Prime32 »

Offline Prime32

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Re: The Way of Wushu - monk tips and tricks
« Reply #2 on: July 18, 2013, 05:48:08 PM »

Increasing Unarmed Damage
Fighting with Flurry of Blows is similar to Two-Weapon Fighting - you get a larger number of attacks with somewhat reduced accuracy, and you can't Power Attack well with them. It's even possible to combine it with dual-wielding, though you only get the flurry bonus once. As such, most of the advice for optimising Two-Weapon Fighting (such as picking up sneak attack somehow) applies to unarmed strikes as well.

Unarmed strikes, however, have their own unique niche in that there are many ways to increase your effective size for determining damage; the more of these abilities you stack on top of each other, the more impressive the bonuses. You can, of course, increase your actual size as well. Unarmed strikes can also be used to channel touch spells - see the multiclassing section for more details.

Base Damage Increases
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Flat Bonuses
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« Last Edit: May 28, 2018, 03:49:27 PM by Prime32 »

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Re: The Way of Wushu - monk tips and tricks
« Reply #3 on: July 24, 2013, 11:37:16 AM »

Stunning Fist
There are a surprising number of ways for a monk to increase the save DC of their Stunning Fist, as well as alternate special attacks powered by Stunning Fist uses.

Some of the items below also improve Quivering Palm, but that ability is almost impossible to build around (the 1/week restriction is absurd, very little support material has been printed for it, and large numbers of enemies are immune to death effects by the time you get it).

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« Last Edit: October 31, 2017, 10:38:13 PM by Prime32 »

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Re: The Way of Wushu - monk tips and tricks (WIP)
« Reply #4 on: July 24, 2013, 11:37:26 AM »
Bonus Feats
Below is a list of all bonus feats a monk may select at 1st, 2nd and 6th levels, as well as options that replace them. If a feat is listed as part of a fighting style (FS) then you must have chosen all your lower-level bonus feats from the same style.
In order of priority, from highest to lowest: Alternate Class Feature > Substitution Level > Fighting Style > Standard Choices

You don't need to meet these feats' prerequisites unless they're marked with a * below, meaning that a level or two in monk is an excellent way to pick up some feats that would normally require heavy investment (eg. gaining Improved Trip without Combat Expertise and Int 13).

Lv1
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Lv2
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Lv6
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« Last Edit: May 08, 2018, 04:47:34 PM by Prime32 »

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Re: The Way of Wushu - monk tips and tricks (WIP)
« Reply #5 on: July 24, 2013, 11:37:44 AM »
Monk Weapons
Besides the standard weapons you can use as part of a flurry of blows, a few others have been printed in various sources. Still more weapons can be unlocked by feats and PrCs. Dragon #330 also has some mini-ACFs which change your monk weapons and proficiencies, but nothing else. Anything marked with a * requires you to gain proficiency with it from another source before you can use it properly.

With the Stunning MasterSoS feat you can deliver a Stunning Fist or derived attack through monk weapons. The ki focus magic item property lets you channel all ki-based attacks (including Stunning Fist, Quivering Palm and ki strike) through a melee weapon as if you were unarmed, regardless of whether the weapon is a monk weapon. Some weapons have unique options with similar effects.

Note that simple weapons are compatible with the Intuitive AttackBoED feat (Wis to attack rolls) while exotic ones can be used to enter the Exotic Weapon MasterCW PrC. A character with levels in a martial adeptToB class may also want to use a discipline weapon (unarmed strikes themselves are discipline weapons for Shadow Hand, Stone Dragon and Tiger Claw).

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Proficiencies
The monk styles from Dr330 lose proficiency with the kama, nunchaku, sai, shuriken and siangham, gaining different proficiencies in their place. They also treat a different selection of weapons as monk weapons.
  • Ghurka: Gains proficiency with kukri, short sword and shortbow. Treats kukri, short sword and club as monk weapons.
  • Filipino Martial Arts: Gains proficiency with short sword, longsword and whip. Treats club, dagger, quarterstaff and short sword as monk weapons.
  • Krabi-Krabong: Gains proficiency with short sword, spear, short spear and all shields (except tower shields). Treats club, quarterstaff, short sword, spear and short spear as monk weapons. Note that carrying a shield still disables their AC bonus, fast movement and flurry of blows.
Shield Bearer
A fighter alternate class from DR310, from lv2 onwards it can select the Shield Strike ability in place of a bonus feat. This counts as Improved Unarmed Strike when meeting prerequisites for feats. More importantly, for determining these feats' effects, you may treat your shield hand as a free hand and your shield bashes as unarmed strikes. Among other things, the Superior Unarmed StrikeToB feat (and arguably Ascetic Hunter/Knight/RogueCAdv) should let you apply your unarmed damage to shield bashes, which you can then boost by two sizes with the bashing enchantment. You can't use your monk AC bonus while carrying a shield (unless you have levels in Argent FistFoE), but you can wield one in two hands.

Improvised Weapons
By default an improvised weapon deals damage (including damage type) as a normal manufactured weapon of similar shape, and requires the same number of hands to wield, but has a critical threat range of 20/x2, a range increment of 10ft, and no special properties like reach. You're never proficient with them, so you take a -4 penalty on attack rolls.

Complete Warrior expands on these mechanics, making improvised weapons more powerful and versatile:
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The following abilities improve your skill with improvised weapons:
  • Bloodbound of the Red RingCoS affiliation: With an affiliation score of 11+, you reduce the penalties for lacking proficiency with a weapon, wielding an improvised weapon, or wielding a weapon of inappropriate size by 2. Note that monks automatically qualify for the "two or more exotic weapon proficiencies" modifier.
  • BrawlerDr295 PrC: At 1st level, removes the penalty on attack rolls for using an improvised weapon (but does not grant proficiency). At 2nd level, can choose "improvised weapon" for Weapon Focus and similar feats. Also gets bonuses while surrounded by enemies, and a quasi-hardness ability based on their Con modifier.
  • Catch Off-Guard feat: Pathfinder feat.
  • City BrawlerDr349 ACF: An ACF for barbarians that reduces the penalty for improvised weapons to -2. See the Multiclass Monks (martial) section for full details.
  • Drunken MasterCW PrC: Improvised weapons deal damage equal to your unarmed strike +1d4, improving up to +1d12, but shatter on a roll of a natural 1. At 4th level you can also use improvised weapons of appropriate shape as reach weapons or tower shields, or to gain a +2 bonus on disarm checks.
  • Hulking HurlerCW PrC: Requires Large size or larger. Reduces the penalty for thrown improvised weapons to -2, also increases their range increment if you're Huge or larger. Can throw larger improvised weapons than normal, as long as you can lift them as a light load. You also get two talents you can use when you throw a two-handed weapon as a full-round action: apply Power Attack to thrown weapon attacks within 30ft, attack a square (converting the attack into an area effect, Ref negates), knock Medium or smaller targets prone, add double your Str to damage, or throw anything you can lift as a medium load.
  • Improvise WeaponDL:RoA feat: Requires 1 rank in Appraise, and can be selected as a fighter bonus feat. As a full-round action you can acquaint yourself with an improvised weapon, reducing the penalty for wielding it to -2.
    • Greater Improvise WeaponDL:RoA feat: As Improvise WeaponDL:RoA, but the penalty is removed.
  • Improvised BrawlerDL:RoA ACF: An ACF for human barbarians. Instead of fast movement, you gain a bonus on attack rolls with improvised weapons equal to your Wis modifier. This does not remove the -4 penalty, only offset it.
  • Improvised Trip AttackDr295 feat: Requires BAB +3 and either Improvised Weapon ProficiencyDr295 or levels in BrawlerDr295. You can make a ranged trip attempt by throwing an improvised weapon, using the weapon's size in place of your own. Of note, the same article includes the Unbalancing Blow feat, which allows you to use Dex in place of Str for trip attempts.
  • Improvised Weapon ProficiencyDr295 feat: Reduces the penalty for improvised weapons to -2.
« Last Edit: May 10, 2018, 06:56:29 PM by Prime32 »

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Re: The Way of Wushu - monk tips and tricks (WIP)
« Reply #6 on: July 25, 2013, 10:49:14 AM »
Fighting Styles
Selecting a fighting style replaces your 1st-level bonus feat with a more unusual one, and grants a +2 bonus to a specific skill. At 2nd and again at 6th level, you may choose either to replace your bonus feat again or to forever abandon the style (removing the skill bonus and preventing you from using its alternate feats at higher levels). If you remain with your fighting style for lv6 and meet a prerequisite then you also gain a unique special ability. More detail on new feats can be found in the Bonus Feats section.

The "Sacred Path" fighting styles are devoted to a specific deity; to select them a monk must worship the deity in question and share their alignment.

Dragon #308 has some fighting styles for 3.0 psychic warriors, which give them a different power list and replace their bonus fighter/psionic feats with bonus martial arts feats (note that the same article adds a number of psionic feats to the martial arts list). These may be of interest to a monk, but are outside the scope of this section (and in any case would require conversion to work with the 3.5 psionics rules).

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Martial Arts
Martial Art Masteries are "synergy feats" found in Oriental Adventures, Tome of Magic(!), issues #289, #301, #303, #309 and #315 of Dragon Magazine and issue #100 of Dungeon Magazine, granting automatic bonuses if your character has all the prerequisites (which usually but not always include Improved Unarmed Strike). You don't need to spend a feat slot on them. Martial arts with a roman numeral in their names have their lower-numbered versions as an additional prereq; these are omitted from the list below for the sake of brevity. Feat prereqs that are crossed out do not exist due to an editing error - the official stance is that these should be ignored.

Dragon #308 adds some martial art masteries for 3.0 psions, but they don't grant much of note.

Given the large numbers of feats required for some of these abilities, aspiring martial artists should consider taking a few levels in classes that grant bonus feats, such as fighter or psychic warriorXPH. See the multiclassing section for more details on these classes, or the Lists of Stuff for more sources of feats. The monkey head talismanDr351 is of special note for those with money to burn - for 128,000gp it grants Deflect Arrows, Spring Attack and Stunning Fist as bonus feats while worn.

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« Last Edit: September 06, 2017, 12:10:51 AM by Prime32 »

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Re: The Way of Wushu - monk tips and tricks
« Reply #7 on: July 25, 2013, 02:08:43 PM »
Alternative Class Features
A list of every monk Alternative Class Feature that I'm aware of (except Fighting Styles, which have their own section above).

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Substitution Levels
Unlike ACFs, Substitution Levels replace an entire level of a class; as such they can never be combined with each other. Some Substitution Levels have prerequisites, or replace things like Hit Die or class skills for that level; where these apply, they will be mentioned only in the first entry of the set.

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Variant Classes
The variant classes printed in Dragon Magazine make far more dramatic changes to the monk than normal ACFs, such as changing the levels at which certain class features are gained. As such, they are difficult to combine with other ACFs and substitution levels.

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« Last Edit: May 08, 2018, 04:18:47 PM by Prime32 »

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Re: The Way of Wushu - monk tips and tricks
« Reply #8 on: July 28, 2013, 08:32:37 PM »

Ranged Combat
Rather than investing in a way to attack and move in the same turn, you can just attack from a range. Mobility is still an issue for you, but a little less than for a melee character... especially if you can fight just as well in melee, which is possible with many of these options.

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« Last Edit: October 31, 2017, 10:39:17 PM by Prime32 »

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Re: The Way of Wushu - monk tips and tricks (WIP)
« Reply #9 on: August 03, 2013, 07:02:47 PM »

Multiclass Monks
Monk is a very front-loaded class. That is, most of the abilities which make a character "monk-y" come at low levels, and you gain little benefit from going further; a monk 2/fighter 18 will still feel pretty much like a monk. Besides that, many of a monk's signature abilities (such as unarmed damage and flurry of blows) can be advanced by feats or PrCs. Below are some common breakpoints for multiclassing out of monk:
  • Level 0: Do you actually need monk levels in your build? Some of the classes below let you gain the monk's AC bonus and/or unarmed strike abilities without them.
  • Level 1: Unarmored AC bonus, Improved Unarmed Strike, Flurry of Blows and a bonus feat.
  • Level 2: Another bonus feat, plus Evasion. Both are useful.
  • Level 3: Still Mind isn't that great in itself, but it's a prereq for a number of monk-based prestige classes (if you really don't want that many levels in monk, ArchivistsHoH get it at lv4). Alternatively you get Lay on Hands if using the Broken OneCoV SLs. Also you get your first +10ft of Fast Movement.
  • Level 4: Prereq for the Lightning FistsS&F feat. Also grants Ki Strike (magic), a prereq for some feats and the Master of X WindsDr314 prestige classes, but this can be attained through one level of Enlightened FistCArc or HaztaratainSoS.
  • Level 6: Your last bonus feat, another +10ft speed, and if you have a Fighting Style its bonus kicks in at this level. Prereq for the Sun Soul MonkCoV feat.
  • Level 7: Prereq for the Mantis LeapS&F feat.
  • Level 9: The Invisible FistEoE ACF gets its blink ability at this level. Other monks get Improved Evasion, but if you already have good Reflex saves then it's not much of an improvement on basic Evasion.
  • Level 10: SkarnsMoI using their racial substitution levels get a soulmeld at this level.
  • Level 11: Improved Flurry. There are many feats and prestige classes which increase your monk level for determining your flurry abilities, so taking this many levels in monk is rarely needed.
Escaping the Multiclass Restriction
Use the OA rule that removes it completely
Monastic Training (pretty poor, but Tashalatora need it)
Most monk PrCs don't count against the restriction
Most monk multiclassing feats (generally anything with "Ascetic" in its name) remove the restriction for one class.

Martial Monks
Multiclass feats

Base Classes
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Prestige Classes
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« Last Edit: November 01, 2017, 11:39:15 AM by Prime32 »

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Re: The Way of Wushu - monk tips and tricks
« Reply #10 on: September 23, 2013, 07:27:54 PM »

Multiclass Monks - Spellcasters
Most monk/spellcasters will want the Practiced SpellcasterCArc and CD feat to improve their caster level, as well as some way to use the same ability score for their monk abilities and spellcasting (presuming their spellcasting isn't already Wisdom-based). See the Reducing MAD section for the latter.

Touch Spells
Melee touch spells (and touch powers) can be used in two ways - as a touch attack on their own, or as a regular attack combined with an unarmed strike.

Touch attacks are even harder to enchant than unarmed strikes, but a few items exist to increase their damage. Accuracy is rarely an issue, as most enemies' touch ACs actually get worse at high levels rather than better.

Most touch spells are Instantaneous and let you attack only once (or attack multiple targets, but each only once). A few, however, last for 1 or more rounds, allowing you to use the spell-granted attack whenever you could attack normally. Spells of this type, or which support this type, include:
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Touch spells are treated as light melee weapons, meaning you can treat "touch spell" as a monk weapon via the Unorthodox FlurryDrComp feat or levels in Shou DiscipleUE. If the spell replicates a specific weapon then you might not even need that. See the Monk Weapons section for more details.

Arcane Monks
Ascetic Mage
  • Abjurant ChampionCM: A full BAB, 5/5 arcane spellcasting PrC that's always a good option for gish builds, and monks will particularly enjoy its boosts to spells like mage armor and shield (if you want more, try a 2-level Argent SavantCArc dip). The prereqs are easy to meet: monks are already proficient with a martial weapon (the handaxe) so you don't need to dip a martial class, and if you're entering Enlightened FistCArc then you need to take Combat Casting anyway.
  • Enlightened FistCArc:
  • Master of the East WindDr314: A 10/10 arcane spellcasting PrC; stacks with monk levels for unarmed strike, AC bonus and speed bonus. You gain a familiar as a wizard of half your class level (stacking with existing familiars), and the Air domain at 5th level.
  • Master of the South WindDr314: Stacks with monk levels for unarmed strike, AC bonus and speed bonus. Gains sneak attack at rogue speed, as well as minor spellcasting (including some unique spells and the Air domain). There's an adaptation option (intended for assassins) which converts it to a 10/10 spellcasting PrC but adds death attack and a lawful evil alignment as prerequisites.
  • Telflammar ShadowlordUE: Minor spellcasting from a decently monk-compatible list, as well as some special abilities that work only in darkness. But this class's main appeal is the Shadow Pounce ability that lets you make a full attack after teleporting. Monks - particularly those with the Cobra Strike fighting style and/or pursuing a martial art mastery - will find the feat prerequisites fairly easy, and have access to Sun SchoolCW for even more attacks. The easiest entry is probably Monk 2/WarlockCArc 3/Enlightened FistCArc 4/Unarmed swordsageToB 1, using Assassin's Stance to meet the sneak attack prereq and the warlock's flee the scene invocation as your main means of teleportation. SidewinderDr331 monks, with their built-in sneak attack, will find this class easier to enter.
  • Truth SeekerDr281: Stacks with monk levels for unarmed strike and flurry of blows. While based on 3.0 psionics it has an arcane adaptation that grants it bard spellcasting, learning its spells from the wizard/sorcerer Divination and Enchantment lists.
  • WarlockCArc: The warlock's fell flight invocation grants a fly speed based on your land speed, meaning a monk can retain their fast movement while using it, while flee the scene synergises well with the Sun SchoolCW feat. In addition, warlocks have two offensive options of interest. The eldritch glaiveDM invocation can be converted into a monk weapon with the right feats, and used for a flurry of blows. The Eldritch ClawsDr358 feat gives you a set of claws with damage equal to the sum of your eldritch blast and unarmed strike damage; these claws can benefit from some of the same buffs as unarmed strikes, and be used as part of the same attack routine. The claws get even better when combined with Beast StrikeDr355, which lets you add your claw damage to unarmed strikes.
Divine Monks
  • ArchivistHoH: A class that's notable for granting the Still Mind ability at lv4, allowing entry to PrCs that would normally require 3 levels of monk.
  • Cleric: Dipping cleric can provide a wide range of benefits, so much that it has its own handbook; monks in particular love the cheap access to Travel DevotionCC. Having access to Turn Undead also gives you more uses of the Sun Soul MonkCoV (Lathander) feat.
  • Druid: The druid's Wild Shape ability synergises very well with monk; druids are already a Wis-based class, replacing your physical stats helps to fight MAD, and the AC bonus means they don't need to find (expensive) armor that can change shape with them. They can also have spells that enhance natural attacks and quarterstaves, and can wear items that enhance natural attacks and benefit from them in both forms.
  • Master of the North WindDr314: A 9/10 divine casting PrC for LN monks who can "change shape into a flying creature". Stacks with monk levels for unarmed strike, AC bonus and speed bonus. You gain wild shape as a druid of lv5 + half your class level (or add half your class level to your existing druid level, whichever is better) and can use wild shape to enter a long-duration gaseous form. At 10th level you get the Air domain, counting your class levels as cleric levels for its granted power.
  • Master of the West WindDr314: A 10/10 divine spellcasting PrC; stacks with monk levels for unarmed strike, AC bonus and speed bonus. You add half your class level to your cleric level when turning undead, and gain the Air domain at 5th level.
  • Ordained ChampionCC: One of the best "martial cleric" PrCs, it's easy to enter and at lv5 grants an ability which lets you use Wisdom in place of Strength on attack and damage rolls. See the Monk Weapons section for ways you can use a longsword/battleaxe/flail in a flurry of blows, or ask your DM if it can be adapted to a deity other than Heironeous/Hextor. Monks (and unarmed swordsages) get another unique benefit from this class in that their unarmed strikes can deliver the effects of Channel Spell and a regular touch spell at the same time. If you can cast at least 4th-level spells, don't forget to take the Holy WarriorCC feat for further damage boosts.
  • Paladin: The Ascetic KnightCAdv feat allows monk and paladin levels to stack for determining your unarmed strike and smite evil damage. The SerenityDrComp feat is also a good choice, letting the paladin base their Divine Grace and Smite Evil abilities on Wisdom instead of Charisma. Finally, the Extra SmitingCW feat helps make up for lost uses-per-day of that ability.
  • Ranger: Both fighting styles are compatible with monk combat, and can help reduce your dependence on Dex. Rangers also get useful spells like hunter's eyePHB2 (sneak attack +1d6/3 levels for 1 round) and some stuff from the druid list. Finally, a variant exists which gives them a limited form of Wild Shape. The Ascetic HunterCAdv feat lets ranger levels stack for determining unarmed damage, and lets you apply half your Favored Enemy bonus to your Stunning Fist save DCs.
  • Sacred FistCD: 10 levels of full BAB + full divine spellcasting advancement, without giving up your unarmed damage, speed and AC progressions. Also gets blindsense, and some offensive/defensives boosts usable once or twice per day. However, you may only fight unarmed, and lose your abilities if you wield a weapon.
  • Totemic DemonslayerDr354:A full-BAB class with limited divine casting from a decent list, and a number of interesting 1/day abilities as it gains levels (including barbarian rage, and gaining Pounce or Improved Grab+Constrict for a few rounds). Also gets Favored Enemy (evil outsiders) and can project an aura that prevents creatures from being summoned or called within 60ft.
Psionic Monks
Characters with levels in monk and a psionic class have access to an all-purpose multiclassing feat: TashalatoraSoS. Tashalatora expands on the Monastic Training feat, letting the class you chose for that feat stack for determining your AC bonus, unarmed strike and flurry of blows, as long as it's psionic (even questionably psionic classes like soulknife).
  • ArdentCPsi: A Wis-based full manifester with thematic restrictions on how it learns its powers. Due to odd wording, its maximum power level known is based on its manifester level, meaning that you can use Practiced ManifesterCPsi to cover up your monk levels and gain new powers at the same speed as a single-class character (just with slightly fewer pp).
  • Fist of Dal QuorSoS:
  • Fist of Zuoken: Aka Psionic Fist in the SRD. Not as good as Tashalatora, but makes a decent substitute.
  • Psion: In addition to Tashalatora, psions have access to the Ascetic PsionSoS feat, which makes your AC bonus Int-based and lets psion levels stack for it. You could already make the entire monk class Int-based via Carmendine MonkCoV or Kung-Fu GeniusDrComp, so it's still better just to take Tashalatora.
  • Psychic Warrior: Probably the best Tashalatora class, with a wide range of self-buffs that synergise well with monk, and bonus feats that make it easier to unlock martial arts.
  • Psychic Weapon MasterWeb: A PrC with a lot of prerequisites (both for entry and for gaining extra bonuses), but a multiclass monk/psychic warrior should have enough feats to meet them. Part of this class's abilities involve bonding to a crystal melee weapon; if you're playing some weird race made out of crystal then you can enchant your unarmed strikes, otherwise see the Monk Weapons section.
  • War Mind: A PrC that gets psychic warrior manifesting at a slightly accelerated rate, though the later entry means you'll be behind a psychic warrior of the same level. Most of the abilities are useful but fairly minor; the chassis is solid though, and Sweeping Strike can be great in the right situation.
  • Wilder: A Cha-based class that doesn't qualify for anything that would make a monk Cha-based. Generally a poor choice.
  • Zerth CenobiteCP:
« Last Edit: May 17, 2018, 04:19:10 PM by Prime32 »

Offline Prime32

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Re: The Way of Wushu - monk tips and tricks (WIP)
« Reply #11 on: January 13, 2014, 05:56:47 PM »
Vow of Poverty
It's a trap! You could just buy items to replicate all of the vow's effects and still have money left over (not to mention two more feats), and it's not the most optimal set of bonuses either. That said, if you want to go this route, some of the following grant vital abilities that Vow of Poverty would normally prevent you from accessing:
  • Blade DancerOA (PrC): Grants large competence bonuses to Balance, Jump and Tumble checks, the kind you could normally get from items.
  • DragonbornRotD (template): Grants a fly speed.
  • Dragonspawn (white)DLCS (template): Grants a fly speed, a large natural armor bonus, and one level of sorcerer casting. Easily one of the best templates in the game. See if you can get an ally to cast Mantle of the Fiery SpiritSand on you (or pay for it before swearing your vow) so that you end up with both the fire and cold subtypes, thus cancelling out your weakness to fire.
  • Extract GiftFC1 (spell): A spell that grants permanent enhancement bonuses to abilities or competence bonuses to skills, and can't be dispelled except by a caster of higher level. Despite working by stealing power from a demon, it's not inherently evil unless the caster chooses to give the demon some influence over the subject (though it is considered a chaotic act for the caster). Spellcasters with quasit familiars are an excellent source for skill boosters. Extra advice on this spell can be found here.
  • Ghost Savage Progression (template): Grants a fly speed and a ton of immunities.
  • IncarnumMoI (various): Incarnum classes and the Shape Soulmeld feat are based on "wearing" soul energy on your magic item slots; without any magic items to get in the way you have more freedom in choosing abilities.
  • Mulhorandi Divine MinionWeb (template): Grants a form of wild shape, which can provide you with a fly speed, Large size or the pounce ability.
  • NecropolitanLM (template): Grants a ton of immunities.
  • RaptoranRotW (race): Grants a fly speed.
  • Risen MartyrBoED (PrC): Grants a ton of immunities.
  • SaintBoED (template): Grants immunities, plus fast healing (which compensates for your lack of access to healing wands, if you have no allies who can use them). The bonus exalted feats from VoP make it easier for you to qualify for saintdom than most characters.
  • WarforgedECS (race): Grants immunities, as well as the option to enchant your body before you swear the vow. Also provides access to the Warforged JuggernautECS PrC for even more immunities.
Living Weapon
A monk's entire body counts as an unarmed strike. This fact can be combined with certain weapon enchantments for bizarre and cheesy results. Do not spring these combos on a DM without warning, and don't assume they'll automatically be allowed either.

Throwing
Depending on interpretation, this either gives you a rocket punch (plus a rocket kick, rocket headbutt, etc.) or lets you throw your entire body. In the former case, you'll probably need the returning enchantment as well. Gets particularly silly when combined with exit wound (+2 equivalent) from Complete Warrior, which allows projectiles to pass through their target and keep going.

Flying
The flying enchantment (+1 equivalent) from Magic of Faerun turns a weapon into an animated object with its original hp/hardness, and a fly speed of 30ft. For a monk this is just amazing. Not only can he have his body move him into position, allowing him to set up flurry with ease, but it gets a 40ft land speed due to having legs (if you have a need for speed, there's a maug graftFF that gives you wheels). Plus it can't be damaged, though it can be dispelled (or separated from him if the enchantment comes from an item). If you're about to die you can even order your corpse to run away and seek out a cleric!

It gets even better if you give it the Rudimentary IntelligenceDr327 upgrade (+8,000g) so that it qualifies for feats, and then give it two flaws. Have it take some combination of Air HeritagePlH, Bind VestigeToM (Karsus is a decent option for detect magic; Practiced Binder will get you Malphas's bird or Andromalius's see invisibility), Constant GuardianDotU and Martial Study+Martial Stance (island of blades)ToB. If you're playing a warforged monk, you could fluff it as being an experimental unit with an air elemental bound to your body.

Larger monks can get more feats out of Rudimentary Intelligence, while smaller monks get more speed.

Hideaway + Sizing
The hideaway (+2,000gp) and sizing (+5,000gp) enchantments from Magic Item Compendium let you change the size of a weapon as a swift action (hideaway to a bundle two sizes smaller, sizing to a functional weapon of any size). When applied to an unarmed strike the results are possibly even sillier than Flying.

Brilliant Energy
Brilliant energy weapons pass through nonliving matter. I think you can see where this is going; just be sure you have a fly speed so that you don't fall through the ground. In case you need to fight undead or constructs, carry around a quarterstaff made of livewoodECS (a type of wood that remains alive after being crafted into items).
« Last Edit: May 10, 2018, 07:49:29 PM by Prime32 »