Warrior Monk (3.5e Class)
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Warrior Monk
The average monk will spend most of his life sitting in contemplation in a monastery. Sometimes these monks are selected for special training from the grandmaster: continuing the achievements of their lives. Other times, though, people are selected into rigorous training programs of the warrior monk. Thereafter the warrior monk travels the world on missions from his order, or in some instances he defends the weak; he may view it as the spiritual side of his calling. Occasionally a warrior monk is assigned to assist or provide protection for his orders more contemplative brethren as they perform duties vital to the order. Other common duties warrior monks perform are callings from their order to either guard treasure or to escort important artifacts as they are being transferred from outreaching abbeys to their main centers and places of meditation. In either of these cases, depending upon the importance the order places upon the success, they might send warrior monks of their order as additional support to defend the convey. The warrior monk is proud of his role and enjoys accompanying and protecting his more contemplative brothers, as well as meeting people throughout his travels. While warrior monks are particularly good at combat, they do not revel in it: instead viewing their abilities as being a necessary requirement for the protection of others.
In the case of evil warrior monks these monks normally are enforcer type individuals that will spend much of their lives enforcing the will of their particular deity. Unlike other warrior monks, evil warrior monks enjoy combat. They view combat as a viable first option in encounters as long as it does not impact their overall mission (trying to bring someone back alive could involve combat, but when following someone getting into fights can make yourself notable to them). Also, evil warrior monks can make very skilled assassins. When using subterfuge, they can get close to targets without weapons and inflict grievous wounds in short periods of time.
Making a Warrior Monk
Warrior monks are martial guardians for monastic and religious orders that, although they may have regular monks, emphasize unarmed combat abilities over the spiritual enlightenment that most monks seek to attain. While warrior monks come to an understanding that they will likely never attain what the other monks discover during their lives, they are not bitter or unhappy about their selection since they serve a vital and important duty within the monasteries. If anything important is being transported, if a monk requests or requires protection it is warrior monks that answer the call to fulfill these specific requests. Without the warrior monks the ability of orders to protect their most important artifacts would be difficult if not nearly impossible.
Abilities: Wisdom Is the primary attribute for a warrior monk as it governs a large number of the abilities that aid him in combat, such as his Armor Class, intuitive strike, and his stunning fist abilities. Wisdom enhances his ability to inflict and mitigate damage. High Strength, Dexterity and Constitution are also extremely important as they will enhance his combat capabilities too.
Races: Warrior monks are drawn from the ranks of monks, so any race that would be accepted into the brotherhood they can be found as. Also noteworthy is that the races with more warlike attitudes such as humans, half-orcs and dwarves are more often warrior monks.
Alignment: Warrior monks require a lawful alignment due to the rigorous mental and physical training that makes warrior monks what they are. Without proper structure it would be impossible for a warrior monk to maintain his abilities for long. This is unlike other monks due to their martial nature they are rarely good as violence is necessary in their profession quite often.
Starting Gold: 5d4 (12 gp, 5 sp)
Starting Age: Complex.
| Level | Base Attack Bonus |
Saving Throws | Special | Flurry of Blows Attack Bonus |
Unarmed Damage1 |
AC Bonus |
Unarmored Speed Bonus | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort | Ref | Will | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1st | +0 | +2 | +2 | +0 | Bonus Feat, Flurry of Blows, Unarmed Strike | –2/–2 | 1d6 | +0 | +0 ft. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2nd | +1 | +3 | +3 | +0 | Bonus Feat | –1/–1 | 1d6 | +0 | +0 ft. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3rd | +2 | +3 | +3 | +1 | Evasion | +0/+0 | 1d6 | +1 | +0 ft. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4th | +3 | +4 | +4 | +1 | Intuitive Strike +1, Ki Strike (Magic), Slow Fall 20 ft. | +1/+1 | 1d8 | +1 | +10 ft. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5th | +3 | +4 | +4 | +1 | Focused Resistance | +2/+2 | 1d8 | +1 | +10 ft. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6th | +4 | +5 | +5 | +2 | Bonus Feat, Slow Fall 30 ft. | +3/+3 | 1d8 | +2 | +10 ft. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 7th | +5 | +5 | +5 | +2 | Improved Natural Attack | +4/+4 | 1d8 | +2 | +10 ft. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 8th | +6/+1 | +6 | +6 | +2 | Intuitive Strike +2, Slow Fall 40 ft. | +5/+5/+0 | 1d10 | +2 | +10 ft. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 9th | +6/+1 | +6 | +6 | +3 | Improved Evasion | +6/+6/+1 | 1d10 | +3 | +20 ft. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10th | +7/+2 | +7 | +7 | +3 | Ki Strike (Lawful), Slow Fall 50 ft. | +7/+7/+2 | 1d10 | +3 | +20 ft. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11th | +8/+3 | +7 | +7 | +3 | Stunning Wave | +8/+8/+8/+3 | 1d10 | +3 | +20 ft. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 12th | +9/+4 | +8 | +8 | +4 | Defenders Resolve, Intuitive Strike +3, Slow Fall 60 ft. | +9/+9/+9/+4 | 2d6 | +4 | +20 ft. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 13th | +9/+4 | +8 | +8 | +4 | Diamond Soul | +9/+9/+9/+4 | 2d6 | +4 | +20 ft. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 14th | +10/+5 | +9 | +9 | +4 | Slow Fall 70 ft., Unfettered Movement | +10/+10/+10/+5 | 2d6 | +4 | +30 ft. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 15th | +11/+6/+1 | +9 | +9 | +5 | Kiai Shout | +11/+11/+11/+6/+1 | 2d6 | +5 | +30 ft. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 16th | +12/+7/+2 | +10 | +10 | +5 | Intuitive Strike +4, Ki Strike (Adamantine), Slow Fall 80 ft. | +12/+12/+12/+7/+2 | 2d8 | +5 | +30 ft. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 17th | +12/+7/+2 | +10 | +10 | +5 | +12/+12/+12/+7/+2 | 2d8 | +5 | +30 ft. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 18th | +13/+8/+3 | +11 | +11 | +6 | Defenders Strength, Slow Fall 90 ft. | +13/+13/+13/+8/+3 | 2d8 | +6 | +30 ft. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 19th | +14/+9/+4 | +11 | +11 | +6 | +14/+14/+14/+9/+4 | 2d8 | +6 | +40 ft. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 20th | +15/+10/+5 | +12 | +12 | +6 | Intuitive Strike +5, Perfect Self, Slow Fall Any Distance | +15/+15/+15/+10/+5 | 2d10 | +6 | +40 ft. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Class Skills (4+ Int modifier per level, ×4 at 1st level) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Class Features
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Warrior monks are proficient with club, dagger, great cutlass, javelin, kama, moon staff, nunchaku, ono, overlayed claw, quarterstaff, sai, shuriken, and siangham.
Warrior monks are not proficient with any armor or shields.
When wearing armor, using a shield, or carrying a medium or heavy load, a warrior monk loses his AC bonus, as well as his fast movement, flurry of blows, and intuitive strike abilities.
AC Bonus (Ex): When unarmored and unencumbered, the warrior monk adds his Wisdom bonus (if any) to his AC. At 3rd level the bonus grants the warrior monk a +1 bonus to his AC in addition to his Wisdom bonus, and this bonus increases by 1 for every three warrior monk levels thereafter (+2 at 6th, +3 at 9th, +4 at 12th, +5 at 15th and +6 at 18th level).
These bonuses to AC apply even against touch attacks or when the warrior monk is flat-footed. He loses these bonuses when he is immobilized or helpless, when he wears any armor, when he carries a shield, or when he carries a medium or heavy load.
Flurry of Blows (Ex): When unarmored, a warrior monk may strike with a flurry of blows at the expense of accuracy. When doing so, he may make one extra attack in a round at his highest base attack bonus, but this attack takes a −2 penalty, as does each other attack made that round. The resulting modified base attack bonuses are shown in the Flurry of Blows Attack Bonus column on Table: The Warrior Monk. This penalty applies for 1 round, so it also affects attacks of opportunity the warrior monk might make before his next action. When a warrior monk reaches 5th level, the penalty lessens to −1, and at 9th level it disappears. A warrior monk must use a full attack action to strike with a flurry of blows.
When using flurry of blows, a warrior monk may attack only with unarmed strikes or with special warrior monk weapons (great cutlass, kama, moon staff, nunchaku, ono, overlayed claw, quarterstaff, sai, shuriken, and siangham). He may attack with unarmed strikes and special warrior monk weapons interchangeably as desired. When using weapons as part of a flurry of blows, a warrior monk applies his Strength bonus (not Str bonus × 1- ½ or × ½) to his damage rolls for all successful attacks, whether he wields a weapon in one or both hands. The warrior monk can't use any weapon other than a special warrior monk weapon as part of a flurry of blows.
In the case of the quarterstaff, each end counts as a separate weapon for the purpose of using the flurry of blows ability. Even though the quarterstaff requires two hands to use, a warrior monk may still intersperse unarmed strikes with quarterstaff strikes, assuming that he has enough attacks in his flurry of blows routine to do so.
When a warrior monk reaches 11th level, his flurry of blows ability improves. In addition to the standard single extra attack he gets from flurry of blows, he gets a second extra attack at his full base attack bonus.
Unarmed Strike: At 1st level, a warrior monk gains Improved Unarmed Strike as a bonus feat. A warrior monk's attacks may be with either fist interchangeably or even from elbows, knees, and feet. This means that a warrior monk may even make unarmed strikes with his hands full. There is no such thing as an off-hand attack for a warrior monk striking unarmed. A warrior monk may thus apply his full Strength bonus on damage rolls for all his unarmed strikes.
Usually a warrior monk's unarmed strikes deal lethal damage, but he can choose to deal nonlethal damage instead with no penalty on his attack roll. He has the same choice to deal lethal or nonlethal damage while grappling.
A warrior monk's unarmed strike is treated both as a manufactured weapon and a natural weapon for the purpose of spells and effects that enhance or improve either manufactured weapons or natural weapons.
A warrior monk also deals more damage with his unarmed strikes than a normal person would, as shown on Table: The Warrior Monk. The unarmed damage on Table: The Warrior Monk is for Medium warrior monks. A Small warrior monk deals less damage than the amount given there with his unarmed attacks, while a Large warrior monk deals more damage; see Table: Warrior Monk Unarmed Damage by Size.
| Level | Fine | Diminutive | Tiny | Small | Medium | Large | Huge | Gargantuan | Colossal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st–3rd | 1 | 1d2 | 1d3 | 1d4 | 1d6 | 1d8 | 2d6 | 3d6 | 4d6 |
| 4th–7th | 1d2 | 1d3 | 1d4 | 1d6 | 1d8 | 2d6 | 3d6 | 4d6 | 6d6 |
| 8th–11th | 1d3 | 1d4 | 1d6 | 1d8 | 1d10 | 2d8 | 3d8 | 4d8 | 6d8 |
| 12th–15th | 1d4 | 1d6 | 1d8 | 1d10 | 2d6 | 3d6 | 4d6 | 6d6 | 8d6 |
| 16th–19th | 1d6 | 1d8 | 1d10 | 2d6 | 2d8 | 3d8 | 4d8 | 6d8 | 8d8 |
| 20th | 1d8 | 1d10 | 2d6 | 2d8 | 2d10 | 4d8 | 6d8 | 8d8 | 12d8 |
Bonus Feat: At 1st level, a warrior monk receives Stunning Fist as a bonus feat, except that a warrior monk may attempt a stunning attack a number of times per day equal to his warrior monk level ×2 plus two more times per day for every four warrior monk levels he attains, instead of how a monk may only use Stunning Fist a number of times per day equal to her monk level plus one more time per day for every four levels she has in classes other than monk. The stunning fist ability of a monk also uses an enhanced DC of 3/4 of the monks character level instead of 1/2. At 2nd level, he may select Combat Reflexes, Improved Grapple, Weapon Finesse, or Weapon Focus as a bonus feat. At 6th level, he may select Improved Trip, Greater Weapon Focus, or Weapon Specialization as a bonus feat. A warrior monk need not have any of the prerequisites normally required for these feats to select them.
Evasion (Ex): At 3rd level or higher if a warrior monk makes a successful Reflex saving throw against an attack that normally deals half damage on a successful save, he instead takes no damage. Evasion can be used only if a warrior monk is wearing light armor or no armor. A helpless warrior monk does not gain the benefit of evasion.
Fast Movement (Ex): At 3rd level, a warrior monk gains an enhancement bonus to his speed, as shown on Table: The Warrior Monk. A warrior monk in armor or carrying a medium or heavy load loses this extra speed.
Intuitive Strike (Ex): At 4th level warrior monks may temper their battle tactics with their knowledge of battle. Enabling the warrior monk to have his battle knowledge useable in battle requires that the warrior monk use one use of his Stunning Fist uses as a free action for the day. The Stunning Fist combat empowerment lasts for a number of rounds equal to his wisdom modifier. Intuitive strike grants the warrior monk a bonus to his attack roll and grants him a base bonus damage of +1 at level 4 and every 4 levels thereafter it gains +1 attack roll bonus and base damage bonuses (+2 at 8th, +3 at 12th, +4 at 16th, and +5 at 20th level). The bonus to his attack rolls is considered an insight bonus. The warrior monk's bonus damage is his Wisdom modifier (if any) plus intuitive strike's base bonus damage bonus. The damage from intuitive strike is considered weapon damage for the purposes of effects that give you a bonus on weapon damage rolls.
Ki Strike (Su): At 4th level, a warrior monk's unarmed attacks are empowered with ki. His unarmed attacks are treated as magic weapons for the purpose of dealing damage to creatures with damage reduction. Ki strike improves with the character's warrior monk level. At 10th level, his unarmed attacks are also treated as lawful weapons for the purpose of dealing damage to creatures with damage reduction. At 16th level, his unarmed attacks are treated as adamantine weapons for the purpose of dealing damage to creatures with damage reduction and bypassing hardness.
Slow Fall (Ex): At 4th level or higher, a warrior monk within arm's reach of a wall can use it to slow his descent. When first using this ability, he takes damage as if the fall were 20 feet shorter than it actually is. The warrior monk's ability to slow his fall (that is, to reduce the effective distance of the fall when next to a wall) improves with his warrior monk level until at 20th level he can use a nearby wall to slow his descent and fall any distance without harm.
Focused Resistance (Ex): At 5th level a warrior monk is conditioned to resist diseases and poisons which affect him. Due to his brutal training regiment, a warrior monk's ability scores are enhanced significantly over individuals who do not receive this training. Whenever a warrior monk's Constitution, Dexterity, Strength, or Wisdom are adversely modified by any means, a warrior monk may choose to make a fortitude saving throw + double his unaffected ability score modifier, using one use of his Stunning Fist uses as a free action. The use of Stunning Fist, unlike normal, does not replenish for 7 days. An unsuccessful save enables the detriment to run its course (for example, a warrior monk is affected by mononucleosis and after it incubates, when the damage to his Strength and Dexterity would happen, he makes a successful saving throw, and the damage to his Strength and Dexterity is removed).
Improved Natural Attack: At 7th level a warrior monk gains Improved Natural Attack as a bonus feat.
Improved Evasion (Ex): At 9th level, a warrior monk's evasion ability improves. He still takes no damage on a successful Reflex saving throw against attacks, but henceforth he takes only half damage on a failed save. A helpless warrior monk does not gain the benefit of improved evasion.
Stunning Wave (Ex): At 11th level the warrior monk gains the ability to use his stunning fist attack as a ranged attack that can stun multiple opponents at a time. When the warrior monk uses this standard action ability he slams his opponents with a blast of force forcing every individual he designates within 30 feet to make a saving throw against his stunning fist ability. The number of opponents he can target with this ability is limited to his Wisdom modifier per use and each target he designates counts as one use of his stunning fist ability per day, plus an additional use for using this class feature (example: using this against 3 individuals will cost 4 stunning fist uses).
Defenders Resolve (Ex): Upon reaching 12th level the warrior monk becomes unyielding in his dedication to duty. Whenever the warrior monk has a designated item, person or place to defend he is immune to mind affecting spells such as charm person, sleep or variants of this spells. The designated target for this ability must be within 60 feet at all times or the effect ends and the warrior monk no longer is immune to these effects. Use of this ability costs one use of stunning fist, and will cost an additional use of stunning fist if the person moves beyond 60 feet from their designated target.
Diamond Soul (Ex): At 13th level, a warrior monk gains spell resistance equal to his current warrior monk level + 7. In order to affect the warrior monk with a spell, a spellcaster must get a result on a caster level check (1d20 + caster level) that equals or exceeds the warrior monk’s spell resistance.
Unfettered Movement (Su): When the warrior monk reaches 14th level he gains the ability to ignore abilities that would impact his movement abilities. The warrior monks' ability essentially acts as a freedom of movement spell allowing him to ignore penalties and magical spells that would impede his movement abilities. This ability does not prevent any related damage from spells or terrains, it only ignores the movement reduction effect of the spell. Since this ability is supernatural in nature it can be suppressed in anti-magic fields. This ability requires the use of one stunning fist charge and lasts for a number of rounds equal to the wisdom modifier of the warrior monk.
Defenders Strength (Ex): At 18th level the warrior monk gains great combat resilience when defending a specific target as long as he stays nearby to ensure he can guard the target. When a warrior monk selects a person, place or item to defend he gains several significant increases against any foe attempting to violate his defensive measures. Warrior monks under the effects of defenders strength gain the following abilities as long as they remain within 60 feet of their specified target. Warrior monks gain +3 temporary hit points for each warrior monk level, a +5 shield bonus to his AC, and damage reduction equal to one-quarter (1/4) of his warrior monk level/—. Further, whenever the warrior monk defends the target directly (attacking any individual attempting to harm the specific target of defenders strength) he gains +2 on all attacks against that specific target, his unarmed damage stack increases by an additional die (increased from what he is at due to improved natural attack), and he doubles the damage bonus from intuitive attack (if any). The warrior monk can only select one target at a time with defenders strength, the duration of the ability is 3 rounds + his wisdom modifier (if any), and this ability cannot be used upon the same target more than once every five minutes. Using this class feature costs two uses of Stunning Fist.
Perfect Self: At 20th level, a warrior monk becomes a magical creature. He is forevermore treated as an outsider rather than as a humanoid (or whatever the warrior monk's creature type was) for the purpose of spells and magical effects. Additionally, the warrior monk gains damage reduction 10/magic, which allows him to ignore the first 10 points of damage from any attack made by a nonmagical weapon or by any natural attack made by a creature that doesn’t have similar damage reduction. Unlike other outsiders, the warrior monk can still be brought back from the dead as if he were a member of his previous creature type.
Ex-Warrior Monks
A warrior monk who becomes nonlawful cannot gain new levels as a warrior monk but retains all warrior monk abilities.
Like a member of any other class, a warrior monk may be a multiclass character, but multiclass warrior monks face a special restriction. A warrior monk who gains a new class or (if already multiclass) raises another class by a level may never again raise his monk level, though he retains all his monk abilities. However, your dungeon master may allow you to multiclass into a monk class and then continue your warrior monk progression.
Epic Warrior Monk
| Level | Special | AC Bonus | Unarmored Speed Bonus | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21st | +7 | +50 ft | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 22nd | Stunning Fist | +7 | +50 ft | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 23rd | +7 | +50 ft | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 24th | Intuitive Strike +6, Stunning Fist | +8 | +60 ft | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 25th | Bonus Feat | +8 | +60 ft | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 26th | Stunning Fist | +8 | +60 ft | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 27th | +9 | +70 ft | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 28th | Intuitive Strike +7, Stunning Fist | +9 | +70 ft | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 29th | +9 | +70 ft | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 30th | Bonus Feat, Stunning Fist | +10 | +80 ft | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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4 + Int modifier skill points per level. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
AC Bonus: The warrior monk’s bonus to Armor Class when unarmored increases by +1 every three levels higher than 20th.
Unarmed Strike: The damage for a warrior monk’s unarmed strike does not increase after 20th level.
Fast Movement: The epic warrior monk's speed when wearing no armor increases by 10 feet every three levels higher than 18th. The unarmored speed of Small and dwarven monks increases by 5 feet instead of 10 feet.
Intuitive Strike (Ex): The damage from intuitive strike increases after 20th level by a +1 bonus every four levels, becoming +6 at level 24.
Ki Strike: The warrior monk’s ki strike ability does not automatically increase with class level after 16th level.
Stunning Fist: The epic warrior monk gains an additional use of stunning fist each day every second level he attains, gaining an additional use at level 20, 22, and so on.
Bonus Feats: The epic warrior monk gains a bonus feat (selected from the list of epic warrior monk bonus feats) every five levels higher than 20th.
Epic Warrior Monk Bonus Feat List: Armor Skin, Blinding Speed, Damage Reduction, Energy Resistance, Epic Prowess, Epic Speed, Epic Toughness, Exceptional Deflection, Fast Healing, Improved Combat Reflexes, Improved Ki Strike, Improved Spell Resistance, Improved Stunning Fist, Keen Strike, Legendary Climber, Legendary Wrestler, Righteous Strike, Self-Concealment, Shattering Strike, Vorpal Strike.
Human Warrior Monk Starting Package
Weapons: Sling (1d4, crit 20/x2, 0 lb., one handed, bludgeoning, range 50 ft)
Skill Selection: Pick a number of skills equal to 4 + Int modifier.
| Skill | Ranks | Ability | Armor Check Penalty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Balance | 4 | Int | — |
| Climb | 4 | Dex | — |
| Escape Artist | 4 | Str | — |
| Hide | 4 | Dex | — |
| Move Silently | 4 | Dex | — |
| Spot | 4 | Wis | — |
Feat: If Dexterity is 13 or higher then Dodge, if Dexterity is 12 or lower then Improved Initiative instead.
Bonus Feats: Combat Reflexes (for Human bonus feat).
Gear: Backpack with water skin, three days trail rations, bedroll, sack, flint and steel, three torches, 10 sling bullets.
Gold: 1d4+2
Campaign Information
Playing a Warrior Monk
Religion: Warrior monk's religious preferences are highly individual. Some take to worshiping a deity of the same alignment. This is most common if the warrior monk is part of a temple program or if they decide that they wish to follow the practices of a specific religion. However, it is also not uncommon to see warrior monks that are dedicated to spiritual and personal enlightenment. These personally focused warrior monks are commonly found in the spiritual abbeys associated with some sects, as their personal spiritual practices enable them to not be subject to any religious order. Either way the warrior monk's preference is completely up to the individual, as even temple bound warrior monks do not always believe in the deity that their work ultimately serves.
Other Classes: Warrior monks generally will have favorable dealings with monks and combat oriented characters, such as fighters. Some support classes are also likely to be seen favorably, such as rogues, since they serve similar purposes within a group. Warrior monks usually get along at least tolerably with clerics since their roles in combat augment the warrior monk's role. They are least likely to have common interests with arcane casters, such as wizards and sorcerers.
Combat: Warrior monks are similar to regular monks when they come to combat roles, though the warrior monk is more adept at combat than a monk is. The warrior monk makes an excellent damage dealer and can freely move around the battle with tumble to help dispose of casters or other high damage dealers, but they lack the hit points for a toe-to-toe slug out with some of the classes that can wade through combat with little regard to per use abilities, such as fighters. Unlike the regular monk the warrior monk also has no abilities to heal himself, so support is greatly appreciated by warrior monks. Ideally in a combat situation the warrior monk wants to be well placed in order to provide as much support as possible, while limiting foes abilities to return damage.
Advancement: The warrior monk has many options for advancement with little effort as long as a path is chosen early. Essentially, any prestige class that would add damage output to the warrior monk is a good choice for him. The key thing to keep in mind is that many combat advancements are not monk prestige classes (ask your dungeon master about whether a class is considered a monk class or not), and will stop you from taking any more levels in warrior monk permanently.
Warrior Monks in the World
| “ | Gentlemen I would like you to leave now and stop threatening my brothers and sisters No? ... Then prepare yourselves! |
” |
| —Kalmin, Dwarven Warrior Monk, Interaction with bandit gang | ||
Warrior monks travel extensively throughout their lifetimes. They travel the worlds dealing with caravans from monasteries to deliver goods, guarding treasures being relayed through the country to their head abbey, and escorting groups of monks when on long and dangerous journeys. While traveling with a group they tend to take their duties extremely seriously and seek to protect them from anything they consider to be an outside threat. In the course of his duties, a warrior monk is acutely aware that he may be called upon to lay down his life and will accept this fate stoically and without complaint. While a warrior monk is ready for death at any time they do not seek death.
Daily Life: The daily life of the warrior monk is highly structured and filled with prolonged training, physical conditioning, and mental exercises. While all of these tasks are time consuming, the warrior monk is able to do most of these on the move– allowing them to travel from place to place without having to spend large chunks of time to stop and practice. Warrior monks usually also meditate to clear and refocus their minds daily to ensure they are kept at the pinnacle of their abilities. They also use their meditation time to review any combat that may have occurred to determine what worked best and what did not work when they were fighting.
Notables: Kalmin Vardis, Shield of the weak (Dwarven Warrior Monk); Morgan de Vomes, Guardian-Brother of Grandmaster Nero (Human Warrior Monk); Kuldresh, Enforcer of Wee Jas (Orc Warrior Monk)
Organizations: Monks and warrior monks all belong to specific organizations. The organizations they belong to vary from temples, abbeys, monasteries and more. Within these orders they can be religious or spiritual, depending on the their scope, and the warrior monk may or may not accept their religious or even world views. The fact remains, however, that the warrior monk is part of a larger organization and ultimately is at the service of the grand master of his order. The warrior monk is expected to obey without question any order that he receives from his superiors. In addition to this, all warrior monks are expected to render assistance if requested and nearly all will either refuse a reward or will forward the reward to their places of study. As time progresses their offers become more noticeable to their organizations, and they are normally rewarded with magical items to aid them in their struggles as compensation for their work.
NPC Reactions: Warrior monks usually receive similar treatment to that of a regular monk. The reason for this is that physically there is nothing that would indicate that the person is a warrior monk or not without knowing more about the individual. More likely the warrior monk will receive either positive or negative emotions based upon their organization and how it is perceived in the community that they are interacting with.
Warrior Monk Lore
Characters with ranks in Knowledge (religion) or Knowledge (local) can research warrior monks to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.
| DC | Result |
|---|---|
| 10 | Warrior monks are part of monastic orders and are more combat-focused than normal monks. |
| 15 | A warrior monk's organization places warrior monks in combat-roles for the order. Warrior monks are most versatile with their own bodies and have exceptional combat prowess. They are able to inflict grave damage and are very hard to damage. |
| 20 | A warrior monk is normally guarding important things for their monastic orders. Warrior monks are capable of rivaling an individual devoted to armed combat through physical ability alone, and they have abilities which can be devastating when used. |
Warrior Monks in the Game
Warrior monks are an exceptionally specialized class emphasizing damage dealing and mobility. Combined with the bonuses they receive for high Wisdom scores this allows them to be an effective addition to almost any party though they lack the endurance for a fight with some of the heavier classes. They are most likely to be in parties comprised of neutral or lawful characters, as chaotic characters are problematic for them.
As NPCs, warrior monks can be found protecting groups of travelers or other monks, or in monasteries honing their skills. Out in the world it is also possible to meet them while they are traveling. Warrior monks normally travel alone or in small groups.
Adaptation: Warrior monks are easy to adapt to most player groups, and are similar to monks in this regard. While the regular monk brings self sufficiency, warrior monk's bring combat ability– laying waste to foes quickly. This character can be adapted to a straight fighter, a scout fighter with exceptional ability, or even an assassin that relies on brute force instead of precision to bring his foes to his knees.
Sample Encounter: Chalm is a warrior monk that left his monastery many years ago to enter the world. He firmly believes that any amount of training will not help people, and instead attempts to be a physical force that helps society. Often he can be found traveling with caravans acting as a guard, or sometimes as additional help for town guards when they need to apprehend an exceptionally dangerous criminal.
Easy ways to work an encounter with Chalm into the story would be for the characters to stumble across a caravan being fought over by bandits and being guarded by Chalm and a few lesser monks, or possibly within a city while pursuing a criminal for the city guards. If the characters aid him he will thank them wholeheartedly, but they will be unable to collect payment as all of his money is being donated to an orphanage (either at the destination for the caravan or in the city).
EL 12:
| Male Human Warrior Monk 12 | |
| LN Medium humanoid (human) | |
| Init/Senses | +5/Listen +15, Spot +15 |
| Languages | common |
| AC | 22, touch 20, flat-footed 21 (9 wisdom, 1 Dex, 2 Natural) |
| hp | 60 (12d8 HD) |
| Fort/Ref/Will | +9/+9/+9 |
| Speed | 50 ft. (10 squares) |
| Melee | Flurry of Blows +14/+14/+14/+9 (2d8+10/19–20) |
| Base Atk/Grp | +9/+4/+14 |
| Atk Options | Ki Strike (Magic, Lawful), Stunning Wave |
| Abilities | Str 14, Dex 13, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 16 (20), Cha 10 |
| SQ | Improved Evasion, Insightful Strike, Purity of Body, Diamond Body, Focused Resistance, Improved Natural Attack, Defenders Resolve |
| Feats | Dodge, Stunning Fist 30 times per day, Improved Unarmed Strike,Combat Reflexes, Blind Fight, Weapon Specialization, Improved Initiative, Improved Critical, Mobility |
| Skills | Balance +8, Climb +6, Hide +8, Listen +10, Move Silently +8, Spot +10, Tumble +10 |
| Possessions | Handy Haversack, Ring of Sustenance, Periapt of Wisdom +4, Amulet of Natural Armor +2 |
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