[ic=Current Issues]In order to keep this thread on topic, and to help newcomers to the thread orient themselves with the current discussion, I'll be placing my current concerns here in this "In Character" bubble.
Right now, I primarily need help with the Ki Powers; I'd like feedback on the feeling of them, and help quantifying their power.[/ic]
[note=Xeviat's Notes]The monk required a great deal of change for my setting. First, for symmetry, the monk's class role as a warrior was emphasized; my game has three character roles (warrior, expert, and caster) with three classes for each role. The monk had to become the "Mystical Warrior" for my setting. At first, I had used Psionic characters to represent Ki users, but now the wielding of Ki energy is solely the domain of Monks (and possibly a few PrCs).
Secondly, you may notice that this monk does not gain any of the immunities or other "perfection abilities" that are standard to the D&D monk. This is because I have seen so many players utilize the monk class as an unarmed combat class, never caring for the Perfect Self ability at the end. Thus, monks who wish to achieve physical and spiritual perfection will have the Ascetic Ascendant PrC to pursue; this PrC will trade attack bonus and unarmed damage/AC for immunities and eventual outsider-status.[/note]
MONK
Contemplative warriors who wield mystical ki, Monks are the polar opposite of the mad Barbarians. Fighting with clarity, focus, and training that is all but a religion, monks learn to be deadly unarmed and unarmored, turning their body and soul into a living weapon. Most monks hail from monasteries, where they live traditional lifestyles and walk the path of the monk for perfection of body, mind, and soul, but more and more monks receive their training from individual masters or semi-formal schools, where technique is more important than enlightenment. No matter where they received their training, a monks dedication to their art is second to none.
Making a Monk[/size]
A monk is primarily a combatant, albeit one who has less hit points than a fighter or barbarian, and one whose AC might be hampered by their lack of armor proficiencies. Their bonus feats allow them to focus their combat style, and their ki powers give them supernatural abilities fighters or barbarians couldn't achieve without magical aid. The ki powers a monk chooses will largely determine their specific role in the party.
Abilities: Wisdom is important to the monk because it increases their AC, making up for their lack of armor. Dexterity and Constitution are important to their defenses, while Strength and Dexterity are important to their offenses. Many of their ki powers are powered by Wisdom or Charisma. Their higher skill points means they can put less value on their Intelligence score. Monks should carefully consider their ability score choices based on the ki powers they would like to select.
Races: Lawful and civilized races produce more monks than chaotic and uncivilized races do. Humans, gnomes, and undines all have their own monk traditions, while salamander and sylph monks are generally trained within other cultures. All could easily find a singular master, or possibly enter a dojo, but the chaotic races are less likely to take to the lifestyle. Halflings have taken to the path of the monk, enrolling in human dojos or becoming part of human monasteries. Of the uncivilized races, the bestial races have no monk traditions of their own, while the draconians have a tradition that the other reptilian races can be apart of. Giants have monk traditions of their own, though they lack monasteries, and solely come from singular masters.
Alignment: Monks must remain lawful in order to continue to gain levels in the class. If a monk becomes non-lawful, they do not lose their abilities, but they may not gain new monk levels until their alignment returns to a lawful alignment.
Starting Gold: 5d4 (average 12.5 gp).
Starting Age: High (see PHB).
Class Features
Hit Die: d8.
Class Skills (4 + Int modifier per level; x4 at 1st): Balance, Climb, Concentration, Craft, Diplomacy, Escape Artist, Hide, Jump, Knowledge (religion), Listen, Move Silently, Perform, Profession, Sense Motive, Spot, Swim, and Tumble.
Base Attack Bonus: +1/level.
Base Saving Throws: All Medium.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Monks are proficient with all simple weapons. They are not proficient with any armor or shields.
Unarmed Strike: At first level, a monk gains the Improved Unarmed Strike feat as a bonus feat. As they gain levels, their unarmed damage increases by one die size at 4th level and every additional 4 levels thereafter, as shown on the table below. If the monk is of a size other than medium, increase or decrease their unarmed damage accordingly.
AC Bonus: At first level, a monk learns to focus their reflexes, dodging with their perception rather than simply their coordination. A monk may add their Wisdom modifier to their Dexterity modifier to determine their AC, though this sum is still limited by their armor's max Dex bonus. This bonus is even retained while the monk is flat-footed, but not while they are helpless. As the monk gains levels, they gain an additional bonus to AC that is added on top of their Wisdom modifier. This bonus begins at +1 at 4th level, and it increases by +1 every 4 additional levels thereafter.
Ki Power: At first level, and every odd level thereafter, the monk gains a ki power. This power is chosen from the list of ki powers, and the monk must meet all prerequisites. Additionally, a monk is able to establish a Ki Focus, requiring a moment of meditation and focus; refreshing one's Ki Focus requires a DC 15 Concentration check and a full-round action; this time can be reduced with higher DC checks. This ki focus powers their ki powers.
Bonus Feat: At second level, 6th, and every fourth level thereafter, a monk gains a bonus feat. The monk must meet all prerequisites, and the feat may be drawn from the following list: (Will add List when it is finalized)
Playing a Monk
Most monks see their adventures as tests; tests of their combat ability, or personal tests. They adventure to hone their skills, to develop new techniques, and to overcome new challenges. Many don't care about rewards for their works; for them, the adventure is its own reward. Some adventure for their monastery, others for themselves.
Religion: Monks are generally deeply religious, but this faith is a dedication and devotion to their training. Some seek ascendance through perfection, while others are simply rigorously training. Of all the major faiths, the Knights Code holds many monks, as the chivalric, honor bound code synergizes with the regimen and training of a monk. Many monks are also followers of the Dragon deities; these monks keep to the traditional elemental styles of combat, and focus their Ki Powers accordingly. But most monks choose not to follow a deity, instead choosing to revere the master monks before them and devote their lives to their training. This focus on personal growth, both physical and spiritual, has grown into a deity-less faith, made up of tenants for long life and harmony with the world and its spirits; while they don't call any particular deity their patron, they still offer veneration and respect to the spirits of the world.
Other Classes: Being intrinsically lawful, monks typically do not get along with the more chaotic classes (barbarians and sorcerers). They share the dedication to combat that fighters possess, but they often look down on fighters because they lack enlightenment. Monks are generally close to priests, who share their devotion. They don't have any particular feelings towards nobles, rogues, scouts, or wizards in general.
Combat: A monk's role in combat is in the frontlines; most monks lack ranged attacks, and their increased unarmed damage is best utilized in melee. Otherwise, their role in combat is largely determined by their feat and ki power selections; a Fire Ki specialist may spend much of their time in range, while an Earth Ki specialist will be much more passive.
Advancement: As a monk advances, their choice of bonus feats and ki powers are extraordinarily important. These choices define a monk's role in the party, their role in combat, and their place in the world. For those monks interested in enlightenment, the requirements for the Ascetic Ascendant prestige class should be minded.
Monks in the World
An enigma within civilization, monks both live within and outside of the civilized world. On one hand, the monasteries that disseminated the teachings of the first monks could not have been created outside of civilization; on the other hand, many monks elevate themselves to a position above the rest of civilization, considering themselves to be more enlightened, or even better than others. Whether this notion creates a benevolent or a tyrannical monk is determined by the exact natures and upbringings of individuals.
Daily Life: Much of a monk's daily life is focused around their training, and most monks dislike being sedentary for long periods. When not actively adventuring, they typically focus on exercise, practicing their techniques, or even philosophical discourse.
Notables: Famous monks are typically masters of one elemental style who follow the paths of the first master monks to ascend. Novice monks or monks-to-be seek out these masters for apprenticeships, while skilled monks often seek them out to test their skills against a master's. Other famous monks are retired adventurers who spend their twilight years teaching new monks. Many monks have been immortalized in folklore as heroes and saviors of the downtrodden, or demonized as tyrants and oppressors of the weak.
Organizations: The four monasteries set up by the first monk ascendants are the most important monk organizations in the world today; the mere fact that they are still standing and in operation is a testament to their importance to the world. In more recent times, after the deaths of Goldenfeather and Vandek, two opposed groups of monks have come to prominence: the White Fist, and the Black Hand. These secretive schools focus on the Void Element, an element left out of the original four monasteries. Other schools have arisen, but none have gained substantial notoriety or political influence, due to the very nature of monks themselves.
NPC Reactions: The difference between a monk and a wizard is lost on the majority of the common-folk; both perform mystical feats that defy common experience. To them, there is little difference between a monk throwing a ball of Ki energy and a wizard launching a ball of fire. Most common-folk know of stories involving the first monk ascendants, though, and they often apply their traits to all monks, viewing monks as peaceful philosophers and not as the dedicated combatants they are. The line between monks and common ascetics is also blurry for most folks, as the term "monk" can apply to members of the class and followers of their faith.
Monk Lore: (More to come)
[table=MONK]
[tr][th]Level[/th][th]BAB[/th][th]Fort[/th][th]Ref[/th][th]Will[/th][th]Special[/th][/tr]
[tr][th]1st[/th][td]+1[/td][td]+1[/td][td]+1[/td][td]+1[/td][td]Improved Unarmed Strike (1d6), AC Bonus, Ki Power[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]2nd[/th][td]+2[/td][td]+1[/td][td]+1[/td][td]+1[/td][td]Bonus Feat[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]3rd[/th][td]+3[/td][td]+2[/td][td]+2[/td][td]+2[/td][td]Ki Power[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]4th[/th][td]+4[/td][td]+2[/td][td]+2[/td][td]+2[/td][td]Unarmed Strike (1d8, AC +1)[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]5th[/th][td]+5[/td][td]+3[/td][td]+3[/td][td]+3[/td][td]Ki Power[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]6th[/th][td]+6[/td][td]+3[/td][td]+3[/td][td]+3[/td][td]Bonus Feat[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]7th[/th][td]+7[/td][td]+3[/td][td]+3[/td][td]+3[/td][td]Ki Power[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]8th[/th][td]+8[/td][td]+4[/td][td]+4[/td][td]+4[/td][td]Unarmed Strike (1d10, AC +2)[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]9th[/th][td]+9[/td][td]+4[/td][td]+4[/td][td]+4[/td][td]Ki Power[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]10th[/th][td]+10[/td][td]+5[/td][td]+5[/td][td]+5[/td][td]Bonus Feat[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]11th[/th][td]+11[/td][td]+5[/td][td]+5[/td][td]+5[/td][td]Ki Power[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]12th[/th][td]+12[/td][td]+5[/td][td]+5[/td][td]+5[/td][td]Unarmed Strike (2d6, AC +3)[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]13th[/th][td]+13[/td][td]+6[/td][td]+6[/td][td]+6[/td][td]Ki Power[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]14th[/th][td]+14[/td][td]+6[/td][td]+6[/td][td]+6[/td][td]Bonus Feat[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]15th[/th][td]+15[/td][td]+7[/td][td]+7[/td][td]+7[/td][td]Ki Power[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]16th[/th][td]+16[/td][td]+7[/td][td]+7[/td][td]+7[/td][td]Unarmed Strike (2d8, AC +4)[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]17th[/th][td]+17[/td][td]+7[/td][td]+7[/td][td]+7[/td][td]Ki Power[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]18th[/th][td]+18[/td][td]+8[/td][td]+8[/td][td]+8[/td][td]Bonus Feat[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]19th[/th][td]+19[/td][td]+8[/td][td]+8[/td][td]+8[/td][td]Ki Power[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]20th[/th][td]+20[/td][td]+9[/td][td]+9[/td][td]+9[/td][td]Unarmed Strike (2d10, AC +5)[/td][/tr][/table]
[note=Base Mechanics]At its heart, I've based the Ki Power system off of the Psionic Feat/Focus system. I've altered the way Focus is established so that higher level characters can reestablish their focuses easier without spending feats on it; since all monks will be relying upon this mechanic, I believe that most would take a feat that let them reestablish focus faster, and thus I think it should be part of the raw mechanic.
For those unfamiliar with Psionics, here's the basics. In order to establish a Ki Focus, a monk must meditate as a full-round action and succeed a DC 15 Concentration check (changed from the original, to make it more plausible within battle for early level monks). When your KI Focus is established, you are said to be "Holding Focus". Some abilities require you to hold focus, while others require you to expend your focus. An expended focus can be regained with another check.
I intend to balance these powers off of existing Psionic Feats, but also off of Tome of Battle maneuvers; the Initiator classes from Tome of Battle all have ways of regenerating their abilities endlessly, so they are effectively unlimited (though many need to spend a one-round break between exhausting maneuvers).
Also, lesser powers are accessible from 1st to 6th level, intermediates from 7th to 12th level, greaters from 13th to 18th levels, and perfect maneuvers from 19th and on. Each will have prerequisites, from ability score minimums, to requisite earlier Ki Powers, and maybe even to feats that will be on the Monk bonus feat list (such as many Water maneuvers requiring combat reflexes). I'd like damage to scale, so that it continues to be useful, but I might just have damage use an ability score to add damage to the dice, so that it scales that way.[/note]
AIR
Air Powers deal with speed and reflexes. Sometimes this is used offensively, while many times it is used defensively. Air is an active element.
Lesser
'¢ Air Fist: You attack with such speed that your opponent does not see the attack coming. Expend Focus as a standard action and make an attack; the foe is flatfooted against this attack, and the attack deals extra damage.
'¢ Air Step: With a moment's thought, you blaze across the field. Expend Focus as swift action, gain a move action.
'¢ Stance of Air: While your ki reserve is filled, you are exceptionally fast. Hold Focus, gain +10 ft. speed, and bonus to AC in any round you move (other than a 5 ft. step).
Intermediate
'¢ Razor Wind: With a burst of energy, you dash past your foes and strike them all. Expend Focus as full round action, move speed and attack every foe within reach along movement.
'¢ Wind Slide: By focusing your energy, you can move to a place, rather than towards it. Expend focus to teleport a short distance; action changes as you level.
'¢ Float on the Wind: While your ki reserve is full, you are lighter than air. Hold Focus, gain glide speed (treat as a fly speed, except you descend each round), jump bonus, and ability to balance on weak surfaces.
Greater
'¢ Lightning Strike: With a moment's thought, you can launch an attack. Expend Focus as swift action, gain a standard action.
'¢ Lightning Dodge: With a burst of energy, you glimpse into the future and correct a mistake before you make it. Expend Focus as reaction, re-roll a Reflex Save or force an opponent to re-roll an attack roll; if successful, attack misses and you can move up to your speed. You may choose to do this after you know the success of the attack.
'¢ Ride the Lightning: While your Ki reserve is full, you can fly upon the winds. Hold Focus, gain flight speed and bonus charge damage.
Perfect
'¢ Tornado Strike: With a burst of energy, you assault a foe with a seemingly endless barrage of attacks. Expend Focus as full round action; you can continuously attack a single foe until you miss.
EARTH
Earth powers deal with defense, and with limiting a foe's mobility. While earth is not as destructive as fire, it is often unstoppable.
Lesser
'¢ Earth Fist: Expend focus and make a melee attack; foe must save or be stunned.
'¢ Earth's Resilience: Expend Focus as a reaction to ignore some damage from a single attack.
'¢ Stance of Earth: Hold Focus, gain bonus to all strength checks, extra against checks to move you.
Intermediate
'¢ Strike the Stone: Expend focus and make a melee attack: attack ignores all DR and Hardness and deals extra damage.
'¢ Enduring Stone: Expend Focus as a standard action; reroll save vs. one ongoing effect.
'¢ Stone Form: Hold Focus, gain DR/Adamantine.
Greater
'¢ Iron Avalanche: Expend Focus as a Full Round action; perform a double move that tramples all foes you pass; ignores DR and Hardness.
'¢ Iron Defense: Expend Focus as a reaction to deal damage to a manufactured weapon that just struck you, or a creature who just struck you with a natural weapon. If the manufactured weapon is destroyed, you suffer no damage.
'¢ Iron Body: Hold Focus, gain immunity to critical hits.
Perfect
'¢ Adamantine Strike: Expend Focus, attack deals 2d6 Dex damage.
FIRE
Fire powers are destructive, dealing with the wielding of pure ki energy, and with manipulating a foe's emotions. They also deal with the wielder's aggression, often focusing on offense at the loss of defense.
Lesser
'¢ Fire Fist: Expend Focus, attack deals bonus damage.
'¢ Light the Fire: Expend Focus, make a melee attack; if successful, target can only attack you, and suffers a -2 penalty to AC on their next turn.
'¢ Stance of Fire: Hold Focus, deal bonus damage but suffer a penalty to Reflex Saves and AC.
Intermediate
'¢ Flame Projection: Expend Focus, make ranged attack against one foe.
'¢ Stoke the Flame: Expend Focus, foe must save or be shaken/frightened and suffer X damage each round until successful save.
'¢ Cloak of Flame: Hold Focus, deal damage to opponent who strikes you in melee.
Greater
'¢ Burning Blast: Expend Focus, make ranged attack against one foe that bursts with a 20-ft. radius.
'¢ Burn Out: Expend Focus, suffer 2 Constitution damage to gain 4 Strength for X rounds.
'¢ Burning Hatred: While Focus is held, you can choose one foe as a free action. Once selected, you become flat-footed against all other foes, and you automatically fail any perception checks vs. all other foes. Against the chosen foe, you get to attack twice with every attack. Breaking out of this stance requires a full-round action.
Perfect
'¢ Inferno Strike: Expend Focus, deal damage to all targets within X radius around self.
WATER
Water powers deal with the movement and redirection of force, as well as counters and using a foe's strength against them. Water also deals with adaptation and fluid movement.
Lesser
'¢ Water Fist: By releasing your ki into your strike, you knock a foe's equilibrium off balance, and force them to make a critical mistake. Expend Focus and attack; if successful, foe is flat-footed and provokes an attack of opportunity for any attack they make until the end of your next round.
'¢ Water's Force: Expend Focus to gain bonus on Str or Dex checks made to trip/throw.
'¢ Stance of Water: Hold Focus, gain concealment whenever you move.
Intermediate
'¢ Tidal Counter: When making an Attack of Opportunity, you may expend focus before attacking. If the attack hits, you deal bonus damage and stop the provoking action from taking place, causing the foe to lose their action.
'¢ Direct the Tide: When a foe attacks you and misses with a melee or ranged attack, you can redirect the attack against a target of your choice; Expend Focus and then make an attack roll with the weapon; if melee, it must target a foe within the reach of the attacker; if ranged, it may target anyone within one range increment of you.
'¢ Tidal Flow: Hold Focus, extend your reach by 5 feet.
Greater
'¢ Wave Reversal: After opponent attacks you and deals damage, you can counter back. Expend focus and make an attack, which deals bonus damage equal to the damage you received by the last attack you were damaged by. This maneuver only works on the foe who dealt the damage against you.
'¢ Wave Counter: When targeted by a spell, you can expend focus and make an attack vs. caster level + ability mod check to redirect it. If the check is successful, the spell instead targets the caster, as if you had cast it.
'¢ Flowing Wave Stance: Hold Focus; you can accept a penalty to your Dexterity or Strength score in order to gain twice the penalty as a bonus to the other score. Penalty/bonus may be shifted each round as a swift action, and remains until it is willed away or until focus is lost.
Perfect
'¢ ?:
VOID
Void powers govern the senses, harmony of action and thought, as well as relations with the spirit world. Void powers also tap into the powers of light and darkness, though true masters of light and darkness must diverge from the standard path of the monk.
Lesser
'¢ Void Fist: Expend Focus and make a melee attack; if successful, your foe loses their Ki Focus, and your Ki Focus is instantly reestablished. If your foe does not have a Ki Focus established, XX.
'¢ Touch of Light (Light): Expend Focus and touch a target; target heals X, but only up to 1/2 their max HP.
'¢ Touch of Shadow (Shadow): Expend Focus and touch a target; target is fatigued (or moves down the condition track; depending on the system).
'¢ Touch the Void: Hold Focus; you can now take 20 on skill checks in only 5 times the time (so five rounds for most skill checks), you can take 20 on skill checks even if there's a consequence for failure (instead of doing it over and over again, you're picturing it over and over again until you do it perfectly), and you can take 10 or 20 even while threatened or hurried.
Intermediate
'¢ Strike the Void: Expend Focus and make an attack; attack can strike ethereal creatures without penalty, and deals extra damage. Strike also ignores all concealment and cover.
'¢ Strike of Radiance (Light): Expend Focus and make a melee attack against a tainted or evil target; if successful, target takes additional damage and loses X taint points.
'¢ Strike of Darkness (Shadow): Expend Focus and make a melee attack; if successful, target takes damage and you heal an equal amount.
'¢ Sense the Void: Hold Focus, gain Blindsense out to 60 ft. You can also sense ethereal creatures.
Greater
'¢ Peer into the Void: Expend Focus, 1 round action, select a creature. This creature must be one you have met before, otherwise they get a bonus on their saving throw (if you have never met the creature before, it must be reasonably described, such as "the king of the country I'm in" or "the guard on the other side of the door". If the creature fails their Will Save, you can perceive through their senses for X rounds (this doesn't interfere with your own senses), and you gain an insight bonus on Attack Rolls and AC vs. them for X rounds as you can perceive what they will do before they do it.
'¢ Embrace the Day (Light): Expend Focus and touch target; target is affected by a "Restoration" effect, with a caster level of your monk level.
'¢ Embrace the Night (Shadow): Expend Focus and attack target; if successful, target loses all their senses (effectively blinded, deafened, and loses blindsense or any other sensory abilities; they automatically fail all perception checks of any kind) for X rounds.
'¢ Embrace the Void: While Focus is held, you may become ethereal. Maintaining it requires concentration, costing a move action each round. The check progressively gets harder.
Perfect
'¢ Heaven's Touch (Light): Expend Focus, strike deals 2d6 Wis damage.
'¢ Death's Touch (Shadow): Expend Focus, strike deals 2d6 Con damage.
Hey, looks nice. You'll be adding the Ki Powers later i presume? Or have i missed some previous post?
Nope, you just posted while I was posting. And thanks; I was shooting for some simplicity in design (been playing too much Star Wars SAGA Edition), but I'm hoping the Ki Powers are suitably colorful.
You mention Earth monks, and Water monks, so forth. Do all powers have to come from the same list? Did I miss that rule somewhere?
It looks very interesting, Xev. I think you're on to something, though I liked your old design, too. Not sure which I prefer as yet.
Well, with the Ki powers added, it's even better. Are you going to ad even more, or are you just adding those they you haven't filled in yet? Also, with the void powers, do you have to choose to go light or dark, or can you use either? And do you have to choose or do you get all when you're of sufficient level? And if you need a suggestion for the perfect water power (albeit possibly not a very good one) maybe it should be some kind of trample or powerful knockback? Of course, they could also temporarily liquify their bodies to avoid attacks or something, but that seems a bit too overtly magical compared to most of the others. Great work. Nice and simple.
The monk's ki powers are blatantly supernatural, but they aren't strictly elemental, they're philosophically elemental. What I mean is that the Ki blasts the Fire element has aren't fire damage, they're ki. Earth won't be able to command rocks, air won't have the ability to create wind, and water can't become water.
My intention is to have this list be a final list, though I'm open to modifications. If you notice, there are 10 powers on each element, aside from void. 10 was chosen because you gain 10 ki powers over 20 levels of monk; this way you can pick all 10 powers of your element, or you can diversify.
Phoenix: All of a monk's powers won't have to come from the same element, but each power will have prerequisites, and you will generally need lesser powers to get intermediate powers, and so forth.
You liked my old design? Was that the psionic version?
Arcanum: Again, I want the list to be final once it is finalized. I will have "alternate traditions", but this will be handled through PrCs. A character will be able to choose light or dark powers based on their alignment: Good and Neutral can get light, Evil and Neutral can get Dark.
You have to choose which powers you want; to change them you'd have to use rebuilding rules. The reason I didn't have a knockback one in water is because I will be having generic throw and knockback maneuvers that anyone can do; that's why there's the maneuver that adds to trip/throw checks.
Does anyone have any ideas on how to quantify these ki powers? I need to decide on how fast the damage will scale on the bonus damage powers.
Quote from: Kap'n XeviatYou liked my old design? Was that the psionic version?
Does anyone have any ideas on how to quantify these ki powers? I need to decide on how fast the damage will scale on the bonus damage powers.
Yes, the psionic one. I agreed with you that some of the psionic feats (and some powers) seemed similar in feel to those of the monk.
But the new approach is interesting, too.
One point on which you are probably aware, but I'm always compelled to point out: ki (qi, chi, whatever) is functionally identical to the Polynesian
mana (which is the inner force that allows one to live and to perform supernatural feats).
(on Kishar I used prana, the Indian term, because Indian myth/philosophy inspires so much of my setting.)
I would think the ki powers would scale based on class level, probably at the same time as unarmed damage (assuming you don't limit use per day). Keeps it simple and minimizes bookkeeping.
Xev,
How is damage determined for the special abilities? For example, your Air Fist ability says:
Quote'¢ Air Fist: Expend Focus, next attack treats the foe as flatfooted and deals extra damage.
What is the extra damage? Did I just miss something?
Ish, the only thing you missed is that I'm currently trying to figure out how much extra damage certain attacks will deal.
Going off of the Tome of Battle precedence, any Ki power which only deals damage, and has no other special effect, will probably deal Level/d6 or 1/2 Level/d6, while anything that deals damage and has a special property (like air fist) will deal 1/2 Level/d6 or 1/4th Level/d6. Tome of Battle maneuvers generally deal Level/d6 for the only damage powers, and 1/2 level/d6 for the damage+special powers, and those powers are effectively unlimited, just like mine.
Phoenix, if you notice, some of the more common Psionic Feats made it into my Ki powers, while others are replaced by different things. The list of Hold and Expend Focus Psionic Feats isn't very large, though, so I needed to draw on many different resources.
So, for something that takes a full-round action to recharge, do you think the damage dealing powers should be leveld6 and 1/2leveld6 respectively, or did you think 1/2leveld6 and 1/4leveld6 was more balanced? For powers like Fire Fist, the extra damage is ontop of the melee attack, but it requires a melee attack to hit (rather than a touch attack with no unarmed damage, like spells), while powers like Flame Projection just deal the "extra" damage, since there is no melee attack (and it might be a touch attack to balance that).
This looks very interesting. I always thought the monk should have some monk-exclusive ki powers, pretty much all of them come from feats! From what I see, you're doing the ki powers sort of like ToB manuevers?
This is very, very cool. I'm unlucky that my setting doesn't have a niche for something like this, otherwise I would borrow it in a heartbeat.
Your Ki powers are interesting and varied, but I think it would help if you gave us the 'theme' that you're imagining with each type. That way we could make suggestions that are more in-line with what you have in mind.
Definitely Stargate; I'll add the themes of each element now, and I'll even add descriptive text for all the maneuvers I've made so far. But, aside from the Perfect Water Strike, I don't need any new maneuvers; any new maneuvers would replace the originals, as I want 10 for each element.
Technically, the Ki Powers are based more off of the Psionic Feat system, though many of the ideas behind them were inspired by Tome of Battle. I didn't want to actually use Tome of Battle for it because it isn't, and probably never will be, OGL.
a perhaps stupid suggestiong for the perfect water one you're missing. Expend your focus and deal damage to (either specific target or radius, your choice) equal to the total amount of damage you received in the round. As an immediate action (Oh, you've dropped me to negative 351? Well you're coming down here with me!).
Quote from: Stargate525a perhaps stupid suggestiong for the perfect water one you're missing. Expend your focus and deal damage to (either specific target or radius, your choice) equal to the total amount of damage you received in the round. As an immediate action (Oh, you've dropped me to negative 351? Well you're coming down here with me!).
Maybe, but this is very similar to the Greater Water Strike, the one that adds the damage you received from a single attack as bonus damage on your melee attack.
I like what you've done with Water, I think it works. Especially since I know that one was giving you some troubles.
That said, I think I can more than likely come up with something to assist you for the perfect ability, but at the moment my brain isn't working.
Sorry to say I can't help you out in terms of scaling damage, outside of 1d6 per odd-numbered level might be a good place to start for "extra damage" from any special ability. It certainly worked for the rogue and warlock. Then just playtest and adjust accordingly.
I have to say, I love what you've done. I'm a huge fan of monks in general, but it always bugged me how they kind of weren't very customizable.
Wow, talk about True resurrection. I stopped bumping this because I, sadly, set it aside the moment 4E was announced. I haven't had the desire to muck with mechanics anymore since then.
I did come up with a fairly reasonable, I think, mechanic to scale damage. For the powers that simply add extra damage or just deal damage and nothing else, they will deal 1d6 damage for every 2 monk levels. For the powers that deal damage and have a special effect, they will deal 1d6 damage for every 4 monk levels. This is loosely based on the thematics from ToB (my own interpretation of the thematics), but reduced by half effect since these effects are unlimited (I decided against using the focus mechanics, because the abilities would be used few and far between).
I'll spend some time in the coming days to see about finalizing the ki power list, so this class can be usable.
Yeah... followed the link in your sig. This is the only part (I think) of the table of contents that was a link.
Also, nixing the focus thing? Why's that? I can see why you'd do away with the concentration check portion of it, but it always seemed kinda nifty outside of that.