Coana monks?

[zozotroll]

I have a play thinking about joining my game, but he has never read a Coana story, or played a D20 game of any kind. But he wants to play a martial artist of some flavor. At first I thought, no not really in the theme of the game. But then, considering Khitia why not? there certainly should be some sort there.

But I dont have that sup, and dont really want to buy it just to see if one class is in there.

So, thoughts? Suggestions? Ideas?

 

[Krushnak]

Theres the Sorcerer of the scarlet circle prestige class in the Scrolls of skelos book and also the eastern magic style has alot of spells that are great for that sort of martial artist.

 

[VincentDarlage]

There are several builds for martial artists in Conan (Coana?).

You can use a scholar, thief or a soldier (or a multiclass combination of these). Hyboria's Finest offers a "Brawler" build (Soldier/Barbarian) based on Robert E. Howard's boxing stories.

Basically, you need these feats: Brawl, Improved Unarmed Combat, Improved Grapple, Weapon Focus (unarmed strike), Power Attack, Improved Bull Rush, Crushing Grip, Defensive Martial Arts, Stunning Attack, Weapon Focus (grapple), Improved Critical (unarmed strike or grapple), Cleave, Great Cleave. If you have soldier in your build you can have Weapon Specialisation (unarmed strike). If you have thief in your build, you can have unarmed strike for your sneak attack.

You can use scholar as non-sorcerous, or you can add sorcery and use the Oriental Style spells. This gives you a ton of choices for feats for eschewing new sorcery styles.

All of the above just uses the core rules. There are additional feats if you include the supplements (such as the Brawler template I mentioned before to recreate Howard's "Iron Man.")

The Warrior's Companion actually includes the Martial Artist class from S&P; however, a lot of people (myself included) feel that class is overpowered and doesn't feel particularly appropriate for the Hyborian age. YMMV.

Personally, I don't see the need for a specific "monk" class for Conan. A martial artist can be built up with just the core rules which works just fine.

 

[Krushnak]

actually one other very good way to do a martial artist class is to use barbarian or pirate and just swap out some of their abilities for variant ones.
uncanny dodge, mobility and high dodge defense make both these classes very suitable candidates for making a martial artist.

 

[VincentDarlage]

Also feats like Combat Expertise, Blind Fight, Improved Sunder, Improved Disarm, Striking Cobra, Web of Death, and Whirlwind Attack could also make for some interesting attack styles.

Of course, Dodge, Mobility, Light-Footed, and the Greater... feats are also helpful. Basically, you can build a martial artist almost like any other warrior, using almost any class.

 

[zozotroll]

Thanks for all the pointer.

Coana is Conan when typed using the Glenlivet school of thought.

 

[flatscan]

The Warrior's Companion has the Martial Disciple class in it. Pretty much a Hyborian Age version of a D&D monk as far as I can tell.

 

[VincentDarlage]

The Warrior's Companion has the Martial Disciple class in it. Pretty much a Hyborian Age version of a D&D monk as far as I can tell.

Yeah, I believe I mentioned that in my reply; however, a lot of people (myself included) feel that class is overpowered and isn't particularly appropriate for the Hyborian age. YMMV.

 

[flatscan]

Yeah, I believe I mentioned that in my reply; however, a lot of people (myself included) feel that class is overpowered and isn't particularly appropriate for the Hyborian age. YMMV.

Heh, whoops. That's what I get for just skimming the thread.

At the risk of threadjacking this topic, what do you think of the other rules and options in the Warrior's Companion Vincent? Specifically, my players are intrigued by the weapons and armor customization and I'm curious about the permanent damage options. Do those options look broken to you too?

 

[David St-Michel]

Simple monk build.

Take a Soldier or Barbarian.

Whip in a few levels of Sorceror, centered around the Eastern Magics.

add a little hair gel... and voilà.

Unarmed combat is one of the first things I check out when I start a new RPG. Some games offer a magnificent unarmed combat, others don't. I feel Conan is on par with the other options players have. It's not "I have Damage reduction" powerful like in D&D, neither is it "Well, I can punch you while you slice in in half with the axe". I feel it's balanced, but it's up to you to make it powerful or sucky.

Improved Unarmed Combat, Brawl, and Improved Grapple are the necessities. The rest are so many toppings on the ice cream.