The Wise Master
Hello everyone, and welcome to another exciting edition of Best in Class, where we bring you all the class features, archetypes, and prestige classes you can handle. Last week we were celebrating the release of our newest product, Character Guide: The Wise Sage, with a new cleric archetype. This week, as promised, we have a new monk archetype for you, to go alongside it.
New Monk Archetype
Wise Master
Wise masters are great teachers and instructors who seek to share their wisdom and martial arts experience with the world. In addition to being skilled fighters and devoted teachers, wise masters are learned men who believe that intellectual knowledge must be balanced with practical skills.
Instructor (Ex): A wise master focuses more on teaching than on fighting, and deals damage with his unarmed strike as though he were 1 size category smaller than he actually is (a Medium-sized wise master would deal 1d4 points of damage with his unarmed strike at 1st-level, while a Small-sized wise master would deal 1d3 points of damage at 1st-level).
Wisdom of the Elders (Ex): Beginning at 1st level, a wise master may use his Wisdom modifier in place of his Intelligence or Charisma modifiers for all Intelligence- or Charisma-based skills.
Instruction (Ex): A wise master can teach his skills to others, allowing them to gain the benefits of his training and expertise. Beginning at 1st level, by spending an hour teaching and instructing one or more characters, the wise master can bestow a benefit upon them. This benefit lasts for 24 hours or until the character in question rests, whichever comes first. The wise master can instruct multiple characters at one time, and even grant them different benefits while doing so, but can only bestow benefits on a maximum number of characters equal to his Wisdom modifier at any given time. Any instruction he provides to additional characters in excess of his Wisdom modifier does not bestow any additional benefit. A wise master’s instruction can confer any of the following benefits:
Defensive Drills: The wise master imparts instruction about defensive techniques, granting a +1 dodge bonus to AC and a +1 resistance bonus to all saving throws.
Mental Drills: The wise master imparts instruction in mental matters, granting a +1 bonus to all Intelligence-, Wisdom-, and Charisma-based skill checks.
Offensive Drills: The wise master imparts instruction on key offensive tactics, granting a +1 bonus to all weapon damage rolls. This bonus to damage is doubled for unarmed attacks, but not for attacks made with natural weapons.
Physical Drills: The wise master imparts instruction in matters of physical fitness, granting a +1 bonus to all Strength- and Dexterity-based skills, as well as on all Constitution ability checks, except for those made to stabilize while dying.
Precision Drills: The wise master imparts instruction about how to find the gaps in an opponent’s defenses, granting a +1 bonus to attack rolls and to CMB.
Speed Drills: The wise master imparts instruction in efficiency of mind and body, granting a +1 bonus on initiative checks and a +5 ft. bonus to movement speed.
At 5th level, and every 5 levels thereafter, these bonuses increase by an additional +1 (and an additional +5 ft. in the case of the speed drills). The wise master cannot benefit from his own instruction, nor can he benefit from the instruction of other wise masters.
This ability replaces the flurry of blows class feature.
Stern Words (Ex): Beginning at 2nd level, whenever the wise master makes a Diplomacy check, he may choose to substitute his Intimidate bonus, instead, though he suffers a -5 penalty if he does so.
This ability replaces the bonus feat gained at 2nd level.
Wise Master’s Ki Pool (Su): At 4th level the wise master gains the ki pool class feature. This ability functions identically to the ki pool class feature of the monk, except that the wise master does not gain the standard abilities that a monk’s ki pool class feature allows him to spend ki points on (make one additional attack at his highest attack bonus when making a flurry of blows attack, or increase his speed by 20 feet for 1 round, or give himself a +4 dodge bonus to AC for 1 round). Instead, by spending 1 point from his ki pool, the wise master may use any of the following abilities:
- Gain a bonus to all attack and damage rolls made with unarmed attacks equal to his Wisdom modifier for 1 round, or
- Gain damage reduction equal to his Wisdom modifier for 1 round (this damage reduction cannot be overcome in any way), or
- Make an additional 5-ft. step, even if he has already moved or used the 5-ft. step action already this round.
Each of these powers is activated as a swift action.
This ability modifies the ki pool class feature.
Inner Knowledge (Ex): Beginning at 5th level, a wise master gains a bonus equal to 1/2 his monk level on all Knowledge checks. Additionally, he can achieve results of higher than 10 on any Knowledge check, even if he is not trained in the appropriate Knowledge skill. Finally, whenever he makes a Knowledge check, the wise master can spend 1 ki point in order to gain a +20 bonus on that Knowledge check.
This ability replaces the high jump class feature.
Improved Instructor (Ex): Beginning at 7th level, wise master’s ability to teach his pupils improves, allowing him to bestow two benefits of instruction to each character that he instructs (doing so does not require any additional instruction time). Additionally, the maximum number of characters that can benefit from the wise master’s instruction at any given time increases to be equal to twice his Wisdom modifier. At 11th level, the wise master’s teaching ability increases still further, and he can bestow up to three benefits on each character that he instructs, and grant such benefits to a total number of characters equal to three times his Wisdom modifier.
This ability replaces the wholeness of body and the diamond body class features.
Perfect Instructor: At 20th level, when the wise master uses his instruction ability, he can bestow the benefits of his instruction to any number of characters. Alternatively, he can choose to grant a single, favored pupil all six potential benefits of his instruction ability. If he does so, then no other character can benefit from the wise master’s instruction ability that day.
This ability replaces the perfect self class feature.