armoured monk [Archive] - Wizards Community

armoured monk [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
northern_bear
05-13-07, 10:52 AM A monk gets his improved unarmed strike damage regardless of any armour worn.

Evasion works only if weaing light or no armour.

Flurry of blows, Wisdom Bonus to AC, and enhanced speed work only while he is unarmoured.

My monk has a mithril chain shirt. So it is light armour. But it has absolutely no armour check penalty.

Is there a feat, substitution level, special ability, etc, that would allow him to use his unarmoured monk abilities (any of them) while wearing such armour?

Getting the AC bonuses would be crazy, and the speed bonus is dubious, but I figure there's got to be some way to still get flurry of blows while in light armour.

Any suggestions appreciated.
DireHawk
05-13-07, 11:38 AM A mithril chain shirt weighs 12.5 pounds. Theoretically, a monk could still flurry and all that stuff in a royal outfit, or a noble outfit, which weigh 15 lb and 10 lb respectively. An explorer's outfit weighs 8 lb. I'd say a monk can gain the monk benefits while wearing mithril light armor. But that's just me.
The_Shaman
05-13-07, 12:05 PM Well, the swordsage gets wis to AC in light armor, and a level to 4 of swordsage isn't exactly a bad idea anyway... However, the flurry can be a bit of a pain. The Shou Disciple gets flurry regardless if you had it before or not, perhaps it could be house-ruled to cover light armors too? It's houseruling, I know, but the PrC doesn't have a lot of unarmored abilities. It's in Unapproachable East, by the way.

Falling that, I guess you could have a feat for every ability you want to use in light armor. I can definitely see it for warforged monks (they had some modifications for heavier plating, iirc), but I'm more of a Realms guy so I don't know much about the Eberroni orders anyway.
northern_bear
05-13-07, 12:16 PM A mithril chain shirt weighs 12.5 pounds. Theoretically, a monk could still flurry and all that stuff in a royal outfit, or a noble outfit, which weigh 15 lb and 10 lb respectively. An explorer's outfit weighs 8 lb. I'd say a monk can gain the monk benefits while wearing mithril light armor. But that's just me.

Ya! Good point!

In fact, a mithril chain shirt, should even be considerably less restricting of movement than, say, a 50 pound knapsack. And there's no rule that says monks cant use their abilities while wearing a 50 pound knapsack.

I was watching a Jet Li movie last night, and I'm pretty sure a 50 pound bag on his back would have interefered with those moves a heck of a lot more than a super light weight, super flexible chain shirt.
The_Shaman
05-13-07, 12:32 PM Well, to be honest you usually wear an outfit in addition to your armor. Valid argument about the knapsack, though - but I think medium or heavy encumberment might interfere with some of your monk abilities.
northern_bear
05-13-07, 01:25 PM Valid argument about the knapsack, though - but I think medium or heavy encumberment might interfere with some of your monk abilities.

True, but with a decent strenght, the knapsack would still only be a light load.

In fact, by RAW, a Stregth 18 monk can still do tripple backflips, run at 40 milles per hour, and head kick 5 guys in 6 seconds, while carrying a 100 pound bag that is bigger than he is.
PhaedrusXY
05-13-07, 05:00 PM The Shou Disciple prestige class lets you flurry in light armor, and with any weapon. It is in the Unapproachable East book. It stacks for unarmed damage, has full BAB, and even gets a couple of bonus feats, all in 5 levels. Most people agree that it should stack with monk for determining flurry of blows in 3.5, also.
Thief_of_Hope
05-13-07, 05:09 PM I don't have the book with me right now, but in AEG publishing's book Mercenaries, there were a pair of feats (not in the feat chapter, humorously) that were made for monks. I believe the first one allowed you to treat one martial or exotic weapon of your choice as a monk weapon for flurry of blows and such, and the other allowed you to use light armors with almost no penalty to monk abilities, and I believe it did allow you to flurry with light armor. So if you can at least get a look at that book, it might be helpful.

Hope this helps!
penchant
05-13-07, 07:59 PM Be a fighter. Take improved unarmed strike, superior unarmed strike, TWF, GTWF, stunning fist and every other feat you want. Wear full plate. Be happy.
Batshido
05-13-07, 08:07 PM Be a fighter. Take improved unarmed strike, superior unarmed strike, TWF, GTWF, stunning fist and every other feat you want. Wear full plate. Be happy.

Can you do both of those things at the same time? ;)
runestar
05-13-07, 11:41 PM I think there was a discussion some time back about the viability of an armoured monk.

Basically dump wis(since you won't really benefit from it), swap out flurry for decisive strike(which can still be used in armour) and you can still reasonably wear light armour.:P

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
northern_bear 05-13-07, 10:52 AM	A monk gets his improved unarmed strike damage regardless of any armour worn. Evasion works only if weaing light or no armour. Flurry of blows, Wisdom Bonus to AC, and enhanced speed work only while he is unarmoured. My monk has a mithril chain shirt. So it is light armour. But it has absolutely no armour check penalty. Is there a feat, substitution level, special ability, etc, that would allow him to use his unarmoured monk abilities (any of them) while wearing such armour? Getting the AC bonuses would be crazy, and the speed bonus is dubious, but I figure there's got to be some way to still get flurry of blows while in light armour. Any suggestions appreciated.
DireHawk 05-13-07, 11:38 AM	A mithril chain shirt weighs 12.5 pounds. Theoretically, a monk could still flurry and all that stuff in a royal outfit, or a noble outfit, which weigh 15 lb and 10 lb respectively. An explorer's outfit weighs 8 lb. I'd say a monk can gain the monk benefits while wearing mithril light armor. But that's just me.
The_Shaman 05-13-07, 12:05 PM	Well, the swordsage gets wis to AC in light armor, and a level to 4 of swordsage isn't exactly a bad idea anyway... However, the flurry can be a bit of a pain. The Shou Disciple gets flurry regardless if you had it before or not, perhaps it could be house-ruled to cover light armors too? It's houseruling, I know, but the PrC doesn't have a lot of unarmored abilities. It's in Unapproachable East, by the way. Falling that, I guess you could have a feat for every ability you want to use in light armor. I can definitely see it for warforged monks (they had some modifications for heavier plating, iirc), but I'm more of a Realms guy so I don't know much about the Eberroni orders anyway.
northern_bear 05-13-07, 12:16 PM	A mithril chain shirt weighs 12.5 pounds. Theoretically, a monk could still flurry and all that stuff in a royal outfit, or a noble outfit, which weigh 15 lb and 10 lb respectively. An explorer's outfit weighs 8 lb. I'd say a monk can gain the monk benefits while wearing mithril light armor. But that's just me. Ya! Good point! In fact, a mithril chain shirt, should even be considerably less restricting of movement than, say, a 50 pound knapsack. And there's no rule that says monks cant use their abilities while wearing a 50 pound knapsack. I was watching a Jet Li movie last night, and I'm pretty sure a 50 pound bag on his back would have interefered with those moves a heck of a lot more than a super light weight, super flexible chain shirt.
The_Shaman 05-13-07, 12:32 PM	Well, to be honest you usually wear an outfit in addition to your armor. Valid argument about the knapsack, though - but I think medium or heavy encumberment might interfere with some of your monk abilities.
northern_bear 05-13-07, 01:25 PM	Valid argument about the knapsack, though - but I think medium or heavy encumberment might interfere with some of your monk abilities. True, but with a decent strenght, the knapsack would still only be a light load. In fact, by RAW, a Stregth 18 monk can still do tripple backflips, run at 40 milles per hour, and head kick 5 guys in 6 seconds, while carrying a 100 pound bag that is bigger than he is.
PhaedrusXY 05-13-07, 05:00 PM	The Shou Disciple prestige class lets you flurry in light armor, and with any weapon. It is in the Unapproachable East book. It stacks for unarmed damage, has full BAB, and even gets a couple of bonus feats, all in 5 levels. Most people agree that it should stack with monk for determining flurry of blows in 3.5, also.
Thief_of_Hope 05-13-07, 05:09 PM	I don't have the book with me right now, but in AEG publishing's book Mercenaries, there were a pair of feats (not in the feat chapter, humorously) that were made for monks. I believe the first one allowed you to treat one martial or exotic weapon of your choice as a monk weapon for flurry of blows and such, and the other allowed you to use light armors with almost no penalty to monk abilities, and I believe it did allow you to flurry with light armor. So if you can at least get a look at that book, it might be helpful. Hope this helps!
penchant 05-13-07, 07:59 PM	Be a fighter. Take improved unarmed strike, superior unarmed strike, TWF, GTWF, stunning fist and every other feat you want. Wear full plate. Be happy.
Batshido 05-13-07, 08:07 PM	Be a fighter. Take improved unarmed strike, superior unarmed strike, TWF, GTWF, stunning fist and every other feat you want. Wear full plate. Be happy. Can you do both of those things at the same time? ;)
runestar 05-13-07, 11:41 PM	I think there was a discussion some time back about the viability of an armoured monk. Basically dump wis(since you won't really benefit from it), swap out flurry for decisive strike(which can still be used in armour) and you can still reasonably wear light armour.:P