Okay, you all know I'm the hardcore 3.5 jerk, condescending, all that, blah blah blah. (I'd have cussed some at myself, but it would just get bleeped)
Now, back in the day, of 1e (I think I have the nomenclature right), monks got a weapon damage bonus. I think maybe because they were not allowed to have magic weapons. (Don't hold me to that).
What if a monk is a martial artist built on a weapon? It would not be game-breaking; In fact, it would be a detriment, say if your monk did the same damage with his nunchaku as a normal monk open handed, but you could lose/have taken away your chucks.
I know 3.5 allows monks to have magic weapons, so it might be unbalanced to have a monk with +5 weapons doing the unarmed damages listed.
I sort of am wondering about the old bit: I think (I don't have the books now, I'm old and long gone from Cincinnati) that monks got 1/2 a hp/level of dmg to weapon strikes, to "represent their knowledge of weapons and anatomy"
I don't want to change the monk class (core), never mind a billion silly PRC's. What I'm glancing at in a skewed way is a reason for a medium+ level monk to want a nice normal weapon.
What I'm glancing at in a skewed way is a reason for a medium+ level monk to want a nice normal weapon.
A monk usually doesn't want a nice, normal weapon because the things she would do with them are usually already done better by other classes (with higher BAB, for a start), and without her unarmed damage applying, it's just another way to make her class features work even less well than they already do.
If a DM allows the necklace of natural attacks (from Savage Species) to be used, then the monk can have her unarmed damage magically enhanced at approximately the same cost as any magic weapon. Without that, assuming that it was just the classes you didn't want to change, you could create a feat or weapon enchantment that allowed you to use the monk's unarmed damage in place of her weapon (I have the feat version in my campaign).
There are ways this could theoretically get excessive. For example, with somewhere in the region of 8d8 base unarmed strike damage (at a passing look, mostly based on my parody character, Wang Long, when he was using his skin of proteus treant), mixed with something like the valorous weapon enchantment (from one of the Faerun books) or a similar multiplier, you could get some respectable numbers, but you can do that with a lot of other classes.
The kraken stirs. And ten billion sushi dinners cry out for vengeance. - Good Omens
= My most popular campaign item; for all your adventuring convenience.Show
Zauber's Mutable Rod: This rod has a number of useful functions that make it easier to live in the wilderness. It is made of polished wood, with five studlike buttons on one end. Each button produces a different effect when pressed. Unless otherwise noted, the rod’s functions have no limit on the number of times they can be employed. • When button 1 is pressed, one end of the rod produces a small flame, equivalent to a candle. • When button 2 is pressed, the rod unfolds into a two-person tent, complete with bedrolls and warm blankets. • When button 3 is pressed, the rod becomes a one-handed hammer, suitable for pounding pitons into a wall. • When button 4 is pressed, the rod becomes a sturdy iron spade. • When button 5 is pressed, the rod becomes a wooden bucket able to hold 2 gallons of liquid. Once per day, it can be commanded to fill with fresh water. If the rod is seriously damaged or broken in any of its alternate forms (button 2, 3, 4, or 5), it reverts to its basic rod form and cannot be activated for 24 hours. Moderate conjuration; CL 9th; Craft Rod, minor creation; Price 375 gp; Weight 2 lb.
I approached this question totally wrong, I need to go sideways.
The monk class is flawed only in that it's set up for silly damage for open hand, instead of weapon. (both are great).
Paizo took a step forward in making flurry "figher level" to hit. (nice touch, somebody thinks!).
Damage is less important than hitting, mathmatically, but it makes players feel that they are doing well.
Don't direct me to the Kensai class. Wrong direction.
We are not looking for a monk or ninja or whatever that is a martial artist exactly, (but yes, that class), just one that can use his/her weapons per class damage ability (the feat idea works or should just be included).
Didn't early monks have all kinds of wierd requirements as well. For whatever reason I find it hard to believe they'd get to add half their level to damage because that would quickly make it so the MONK was the hardest hitter in any group.
Although I haven't looked at it closely perhaps you should consider use the ToB's Swordsage as your "monk" class. That just something I've heard works very well for the concept.
Slagger, I would like to see the wording of that feat, but if you never wrote it out in a 3.5 version, I can infer the idea, mostly. Sorta. Kinda.
Well, in fact I only ever wrote it out in a 3.5 version, and it's relatively unrestrained compared to other feats that I've written (partly because it's one of the earlier feats that I wrote):
Ascetic Weapon Mastery [General] When you wield a monk weapon, you can use the damage of your unarmed strike. Prerequisites: Improved Unarmed Strike, base attack bonus +6 Benefit: When you wield a special monk weapon, you can use your base unarmed strike damage in place of the weapon's normal base damage. You apply the weapon's normal bonuses to damage (such as the enhancement bonus of a magic weapon). The weapon does not gain any special properties of your unarmed strike, and its damage type does not change.
I'll note straight away that I have a separate feat for adding individual weapons to the monk special weapons list; it can be applied to a light, one-handed, or double melee weapon. I have also considered the possibility of adding groups of special weapon options to the monk either through feats, prestige classes, or possibly something like racial substitution levels.
Also of note is the fact that I haven't included Ascetic Weapon Mastery as a bonus feat options for monks (I have a small handful of other feats that add themselves as 2nd- or 6th-level options), and its BAB requirement places it beyond the first six monk levels, so this particular feat is designed for higher-level monks, where the difference in damage becomes more significant.
The kraken stirs. And ten billion sushi dinners cry out for vengeance. - Good Omens
= My most popular campaign item; for all your adventuring convenience.Show
Zauber's Mutable Rod: This rod has a number of useful functions that make it easier to live in the wilderness. It is made of polished wood, with five studlike buttons on one end. Each button produces a different effect when pressed. Unless otherwise noted, the rod’s functions have no limit on the number of times they can be employed. • When button 1 is pressed, one end of the rod produces a small flame, equivalent to a candle. • When button 2 is pressed, the rod unfolds into a two-person tent, complete with bedrolls and warm blankets. • When button 3 is pressed, the rod becomes a one-handed hammer, suitable for pounding pitons into a wall. • When button 4 is pressed, the rod becomes a sturdy iron spade. • When button 5 is pressed, the rod becomes a wooden bucket able to hold 2 gallons of liquid. Once per day, it can be commanded to fill with fresh water. If the rod is seriously damaged or broken in any of its alternate forms (button 2, 3, 4, or 5), it reverts to its basic rod form and cannot be activated for 24 hours. Moderate conjuration; CL 9th; Craft Rod, minor creation; Price 375 gp; Weight 2 lb.
Scorpion kama (Magic Item Compendium, p201) lets you do your unarmed strike damage instead of a kama's normal damage. It costs 6,302 gp and is otherwise a +1 kama. I'd favor a generalized version that can be applied to any monk weapon for +4,000 gp.
Scorpion kama (Magic Item Compendium, p201) lets you do your unarmed strike damage instead of a kama's normal damage. It costs 6,302 gp and is otherwise a +1 kama. I'd favor a generalized version that can be applied to any monk weapon for +4,000 gp.
I hop on to note this and find that Maat's scooped me. I seem to recall there's a few other weapons that do this too, but that's by far the easiest to find.
It might be different than +4000, though - it's part of a set, and I'm not quite sure what the set bonuses do to price modifiers. For instance, should it be cheaper than 4000, since that increase includes a boost for it being in a set (and coming with secondary benefits), or is the "cost" of being forced to use that specific kama instead of a better one if you want the set bonuses cancelling that increase out?
Secondarily, I should say that the swordsage (especially with the unarmed variant) makes for a spectacular monk, and its damage doesn't particularly care whether you're using a weapon or going unarmed. (The Shadow Blade feat that some of the more ninja-like swordsages use certainly cares, but it works equally well with unarmed strikes and thematic weapons, including a few monk weapons. Swordsages get some good unarmed options even without the unarmed variant: Superior Unarmed Strike and Snap Kick can basically give any class "flurry" and monklike unarmed damage.)
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Secondarily, I should say that the swordsage (especially with the unarmed variant) makes for a spectacular monk, and its damage doesn't particularly care whether you're using a weapon or going unarmed. (The Shadow Blade feat that some of the more ninja-like swordsages use certainly cares, but it works equally well with unarmed strikes and thematic weapons, including a few monk weapons. Swordsages get some good unarmed options even without the unarmed variant: Superior Unarmed Strike and Snap Kick can basically give any class "flurry" and monklike unarmed damage.)
Even in my case, I'm typically using that Ascetic Weapon Mastery feat with the spirit monk (my tweaked version of the monk), which already has improvements over the standard version, and I'd still say that the unarmed swordsage variant is probably better if you want to mix in a lot of different weapons, since the facility to do so is already built into the class.
The kraken stirs. And ten billion sushi dinners cry out for vengeance. - Good Omens
= My most popular campaign item; for all your adventuring convenience.Show
Zauber's Mutable Rod: This rod has a number of useful functions that make it easier to live in the wilderness. It is made of polished wood, with five studlike buttons on one end. Each button produces a different effect when pressed. Unless otherwise noted, the rod’s functions have no limit on the number of times they can be employed. • When button 1 is pressed, one end of the rod produces a small flame, equivalent to a candle. • When button 2 is pressed, the rod unfolds into a two-person tent, complete with bedrolls and warm blankets. • When button 3 is pressed, the rod becomes a one-handed hammer, suitable for pounding pitons into a wall. • When button 4 is pressed, the rod becomes a sturdy iron spade. • When button 5 is pressed, the rod becomes a wooden bucket able to hold 2 gallons of liquid. Once per day, it can be commanded to fill with fresh water. If the rod is seriously damaged or broken in any of its alternate forms (button 2, 3, 4, or 5), it reverts to its basic rod form and cannot be activated for 24 hours. Moderate conjuration; CL 9th; Craft Rod, minor creation; Price 375 gp; Weight 2 lb.
