Fallen Monk

ext.

The monk is a being dedicated to the idea of personal perfection through dedicated training and the devotion to their art. Along their journey, they acquire many abilities that would bewilder and astonish commoners. Unfortunately, many monks are also overwhelmed by the power that they amass, and become intoxicated by it. Their focus becomes blurred, the purity of their pursuit sullied by their obsession with the abilities they now possess.

It is inevitable that these men and women eventually leave their monasteries (or are cast out by their masters), and shun the higher ideals of their training, instead focusing on the dedication to acquire more and more power. These wanderers, called fallen monks, are never satisfied with their current state. Like their monk counterparts, they are still dedicated and their pursuit is no less tireless, but their motivation is tainted. The path to personal perfection is cut short by their lust for the potential power gained along the way.

While this single-minded pursuit of power leads many down the path of evil, it is not always the case. Many fallen monks, made cynical and bitter from experiences in the outside world, simply cast off the higher ideals to conform to the “might makes right” ideology that those outside the monastic life espouse. How each fallen monk chooses to use their attained might varies from person to person.

Hit Dice: d8.

Requirements

To qualify to become a fallen monk, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.

Alignment: Any non-lawful.
Intimidate: 5 ranks.
Feats: Toughness.
Special: At least 7 levels in the Monk class.

Class Skills

The fallen monk’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Escape Artist (Dex), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Spot (Wis), Swim (Str), Tumble (Dex), and Wilderness Survival (Wis). See Chapter 4: Skills in the Player’s Handbook for skill descriptions.

Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.

Class Features

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Fallen monks gain no proficiency with any weapon or armor. While they no longer cling to the teachings of their masters, their rigid training remains a strong influence.

Forbidden Return: The fallen monk is forever restricted from returning to the Monk class, even if his prior class selections had created a “special case” where he might return. The act of becoming a fallen monk is a conscious rejection, and he can never return to the life he once knew.

Furious Fighting (Ex): The fallen monk can fight with two weapons (or with both fists simultaneously) as if he had the Two-Weapon Fighting feat, even if he does not meet the requirements of the feat. He loses this special bonus whenever he would lose his special monk bonuses to AC.
     A fallen monk with a base attack bonus of at least +9 can choose to gain the Improved Two-Weapon Fighting feat (see page 83 of the Player’s Handbook) even if he does not have the other prerequisites for the feat. Any situation that would cause the fallen monk to lose the use of his Two-Weapon Fighting virtual feats, also prohibits him from using this benefit.

Forceful Attack (Ex): Any time the fallen monk’s target would be denied his Dexterity bonus to AC, or when the fallen monk flanks the target, the fallen monk deals extra damage. Alternately, a fallen monk may choose to expend one of his stunning blows in order to make a forceful attack even if the target retains his Dexterity bonus to AC. However, just as with the stunning blow, if the strike misses, then the attempt is lost. There is no saving throw against a forceful attack that hits its target. The damage dealt from a forceful attack is +1d increment, with the dice rolled dependent on the fallen monk’s normal unarmed strike die. For example, a fallen monk with a 1d8 damage from his unarmed strike gains an additional +1d8 to his damage roll because of the forceful attack. Upon reaching 4th level, this damage increases to +2d increment.
     Creatures that are immune to a stunning attack (including constructs, oozes, plants, undead, incorporeal creatures, and creatures immune to critical hits) are not vulnerable to a forceful attack, and any item or ability that protects a creature from critical hits (such as armor with fortification) also protects a creature from a forceful attack.
     If used in conjunction with a flurry of blows, only the first strike gains the additional damage bonus unless the fallen monk uses one of his stunning attacks for each subsequent strike.

Bonus Feat: Upon reaching 3rd level, and again at 5th level, the fallen monk gets a bonus feat in addition to the feat that a character of any class gets every three levels. This feat is selected from the list of bonus feats available to the fighter class.

Diversification (Ex): Beginning at 5th level, the fallen monk learns to adapt years of monastic training to the techniques learned in the outside world. He gains a proficiency with light armor (but not with shields), and is able to wear light armor without losing the bonuses gained through his study as a monk (his Unarmed Strike, AC Bonus, Unarmored Speed, etc.).
     Furthermore, from this point forward he may use one of his feats to select any single, light melee weapon from the list of simple or martial weapons to be used in conjunction with his Unarmed Strike bonuses, just as he would with a kama, nunchaku, or siangham. Doing so counts as an Exotic Weapon feat. The fallen monk may choose to take this feat multiple times, each time selecting a new weapon.
     Lastly, the fallen monk uses the focus and dedication he learned as a monk to begin pursuit in new directions. Hereafter, the monk class no longer inflicts an XP penalty should the character choose to take levels in other classes. It is considered an additional favored class. Races whose favored class is the class with the highest number of levels (such as humans or half-elves) do not count the monk class, even if it is the one with the most levels gained.

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 This page was last updated on January 23, 2006 .