The Monk of the Forgotten Order
Hello everyone, and welcome to another great edition of Best in Class, where week after week we bring you new and ever more exciting class features, archetypes, and prestige classes for your reading and gaming enjoyment. This week I’ve decided to really break my usual comfort zone and talk about magical monks. Sure, monks have long enjoyed a little bit of pseudo-magic, but they’ve never had anything close to the elite magical skills we frequently see from similar open-hand martial arts fighters in games like Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat, never mind the crazy shenanigans of Dragonball Z and every Korean martial arts film I’ve ever seen. Well, at least they didn’t until now…
New Monk Archetype
Monk of Forgotten Order
A monk of the forgotten order has studied ancient mysteries under the tutelage of the old masters. Though accounts of these masters vary from monk to monk, most accounts agree that they number between 7 and 8, appear as ordinary citizens living in a remote community, and posses secrets of a forgotten martial style. While few accounts can agree specifically on any details about these masters, the techniques they teach have always been the same esoteric collection of moves as unusual as they are potent.
Palm Blast (Su): A monk of the forgotten order can unleash a powerful burst of spiritual and psychic energy from his hands in order to hurl his opponents back. In order to execute a palm blast, the target must be within 30 feet, and the monk of the forgotten order must have both hands free. A palm blast functions like a bull rush combat maneuver, except that it can be executed at a range, and it does not provoke attacks of opportunity. Additionally, a palm blast can affect incorporeal creatures even if the monk is not incorporeal, and can affect corporeal creatures even if the monk is incorporeal.
For the purposes of this ability, a monk of the forgotten order treats his base attack bonus as being equal to his monk level, and adds both his Dexterity and Wisdom modifiers to his CMB, instead of his Strength modifier. At 1st level, the palm blast has a range of 30 feet and can affect a single target. At 8th level, the palm blast’s range increases to 60 feet, and it can affect up to two targets. At 15th level, the palm blast has a range of 90 feet, and can affect up to three targets. Using a palm blast is a full-round action which does not provoke attacks of opportunity.
This ability replaces flurry of blows.
Stunning Wave (Su): A monk of the forgotten order is capable of channeling his stunning fist ability through his palm blast. Whenever the monk of the forgotten order uses his palm blast ability, he may choose to expend two daily uses of his stunning fist. If he does, then any creature targeted by the palm blast whose CMD is less than the result of the monk of the forgotten order’s combat maneuver check is affected by the monk of the forgotten order’s stunning fist ability (the target is still entitled to a saving throw to resist the effect), in addition to the normal effects of the palm blast.
Ki Poolof the Old Master (Su): Beginning at 4th level, a monk of the forgotten order is exceptional at manipulating his ki. The maximum number of points he can have in his ki pool is equal to his base attack bonus + his Wisdom modifier, instead of the normal amount. Additionally, whenever the monk of the forgotten order uses his palm blast ability, he can spend 1 point from his ki pool as a free action. If he does, then for each target whose CMD is less than the result of the monk of the forgotten order’s combat maneuver check, that target suffers damage as though he had been hit by the monk of the forgotten order’s unarmed strike. A monk of the forgotten order cannot spend points from his ki pool to make an additional attack when using flurry of blows, even if he gains the flurry of blows class feature from another source.
This ability modifies the ki pool class feature.
Walk on Walls (Su): Beginning at 4th level, a monk of the forgotten order can move along vertical surfaces such as walls, sheer cliffs, etc. without falling, as though it were a normal horizontal floor. He must still begin and end his turn on solid ground. At 4th level, he can move up to 10 feet per round in this fashion. At 6th level, and every 2 levels thereafter, he can move an additional 5 feet per round in this fashion before falling. At 20th level, he can move any distance per round, up to his movement speed, along a vertical wall in this fashion.
This ability replaces the slow fall class feature.
Spirit Blast (Su): Beginning at 15th level, a monk of the forgotten order can unleash a devastating torrent of spiritual energy to destroy his foes. Whenever the monk of the forgotten order uses his palm blast ability, he may choose to expend 10 points from his ki pool. If he does, then for each target of the palm blast, if the target’s CMD is less than the result of the monk of the forgotten order’s combat maneuver check, the target must succeed on a Fortitude save (DC 10 + 1/2 the monk of the forgotten order’s monk level + the monk of the forgotten order’s Wisdom modifier) or suffer 10d10 points of damage. Even if the target’s saving throw is successful, he still suffers 5d6 points of damage.
This ability replaces the quivering palm class feature.