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View Full Version : Homebrew Monk Ability, Feedback Requested:



inexorabletruth
2013-03-10, 03:59 AM
Okay, so I'm DM'ing a monk campaign,
IF YOU'RE IN MY CAMPAIGN, GET OFF THIS THREAD!



Ok. I never do homebrew. In fact... I've been accused of being a RAW nazi once or twice.

Anyway I want to do something a little special for the monks who dedicate themselves to the monk path. My players have made it all the way to level 4, and only two of them are still taking true monk levels. Now that they can channel Ki, I want to give them a thematic attack appropriate to their monastic training. They come from the Abbey of the Flame Hand, so I want to give them fire themed attacks.

I want to give them something cool, but not exploitable on the back end should they multi-class into something that can make insane uses of fire attacks. So I'm basically stealing combing Stunning Fist feat with the Burning Hands spell.


Ki Strike (Special)
Burning Fist (Bonus Feat)
Prerequisites: Level 4 Monk from Abbey of the Flame Hand, Ki Strike

Benefit: You must declare that you are using this feat before you make your attack roll (thus, a failed attack roll ruins the attempt). Flame Hand forces a foe damaged by your unarmed attack to make a Reflex saving throw (DC 10 + 1/2 your character level + your WIS modifier), in addition to dealing damage normally. A defender who fails this saving throw takes 1d4 points of fire damage per Monk level. Flammable materials, such as cloth, paper, parchment, and thin wood burn if the flames touch them. A character can extinguish burning items as a full-round action. You may attempt a Burning Fist attack once per day for every Monk level you have attained minus 3. A monk may expend 2 Burning Fist attempts to impart her Ki onto a monk melee weapon to deal fire damage with the melee weapon on a melee attack, or 3 Burning Fist attempts to impart her Ki onto a monk ranged weapon to deal fire damage on a successful ranged attack. A successful Reflex save reduces the damage by half.

{table=head] Level | Uses/Day | Dmg per Use
4th | 1 | 4d4 |
5th | 2 | 5d4 |
6th | 3 | 6d4 |
7th | 4 | 7d4 |
8th | 5 | 8d4 |
9th | 6 | 9d4 |
10th | 7 | 10d4 |[/table]


I plan on adding bonus fire-themed techniques, to a conical blast at level 10, then a radial blast at 16. Bare in mind, this is a low magic campaign. I know I'm tapping into Naruto lore with this, but I'd like to throw the faithful a bone. They've given up so much by not going psychic.

What are your thoughts?

Xeratos
2013-03-10, 07:02 PM
Not from a balance perspective or anything, but rolling that many d4s sounds like a pain. Maybe you guys have massive dice collections, but I'd have to steal the entire table's d4s just to roll that damage in one throw once I made it past level 6 or 7.

The humble d6, on the other hand, is commonly available and it's very easy to scoop up a handful to throw. If you wanted to keep the damage consistent, 1d6 every other level is kind of close to 1d4 every level (1d6 average to 3, while 2d4 averages to 5, I believe. Ok, so maybe not perfect...).

Of course, if you're not planning on your campaign going beyond the lower levels, then I guess it's a moot point either way.

inexorabletruth
2013-03-10, 07:06 PM
I should've mentioned that it's a PbP campaign.

100d4

It's that easy to get all the d4s you need in the PbP Forum.

bobthe6th
2013-03-10, 07:11 PM
Or just let them add 1d6 fire damage to their attacks...

I'd say run it off stunning fist uses, or let them do both on the same attack for one use. So they get a stunning fist attack with a 1d4/level rider... make them have an actual kick.

inexorabletruth
2013-03-11, 04:43 PM
I thought about that, but some of them took Improved Grapple feat instead of Stunning Fist. And a burning grappler is just too good. Flaming Noogie Strike and Conflagratory Indian Burn Technique. I can see it now… and I am amused by it.

Also, you only get so many SF attempts/day. I'd prefer this to be an additional ability rather than a substitute ability.

Stunning Fist can already be BAMFed out with feats that boost save DC, given extra stunning attempts, stun longer, and nauseate afterwards. Stunning Fist, imho, is fine where it is. Burning Fist basically just comes with an "x" times per level rider and infinitely stackable d4s that give it a bit more staying power through mid-levels. So that once you get to lvl 10, a new secret "x" times per day technique can cover the difference. I think the lvl 10 technique should come with d6s or even d8s though. I'll have to do the math on it's stackable power.

Basically, Burning Fist, when combined with a Monk's Unarmed Strike is actually more powerful (damage-wise) than Burning Strike or Scorching Ray. It just can't be used as many times per day. At level 4, you only get one use, and you gain an extra use for each Monk level you take. It never quite catches up with a caster in uses/day until it gets phased out in mid-levels, but I'm not too concerned about that, since Monks also have Stunning Fist. By level 10, they'll have:
10 Stunning Fist attempts (+ any feats they took to gain extra attempts)
7 Burning Fist attempts
1 New Technique (name pending) attempt.

More than enough to get through a single day of fighting unless they're waging their own personal war.

If I hitch Burning Fist onto Stunning Fist, it cuts their special attack options by 44% at mid-level.