General Prestige Class : Monk of the Enabled Hand

by Bruce Cordell, Dragon #299

Monasteries can be found in every corner of the land, each filled with contemplative monks learning the special brand of martial arts each individual monastery specializes in. While the naive believe that a monk is a monk, the initiated know that every monastery teaches its own unique style. The Order of the Enabled Hand is one such cloister inhabited by monks. Versatile warriors skilled at fighting without weapons or armor, monks of the Enabled Hand pursue personal perfection through action as well as contemplation. The Order of the Enabled Hand is known for its good works and the protection its members offer the downtrodden. Wherever they go, monks of the Enabled Hand are respected, and chapter houses teaching the Enabled Hand style have sprung up in many unlikely places.

Monks are the only characters suited to learn the style of the Enabled Hand.

PCs might encounter monks of the Enabled Hand barefoot and dressed in peasant clothes moving unnoticed among the populace, catching outlaws, monsters, and corrupt leaders unawares. PC monks who wish to join the order are usually able to find a chapter house in most Medium-size and Large cities.

Requirements

To qualify to become a Monk of the Enabled Hand, a character must fulfill all the following criteria:

• Alignment: Any lawful.
• Feats: Combat Expertise, Deflect Arrows, Improved Disarm, Improved Unarmed Strike,
• Base Attack Bonus: +4
• Special: Must obtain permission to join the order at any one of the many chapter houses that dot the land.

Class Skills

The monk of the enabled hand's class skills are Balance, Climb, Concentration, Craft, Diplomacy, Escape Artist, Hide, Jump, Knowledge (arcana), Listen, Move Silently, Perform, Profession, Swim, and Tumble.

Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the monk of the enabled hand prestige class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Monks of the enabled hand, although potentially proficient with several weapons from their standard monk training generally eschew those weapons in favor of using only their hands.

Monk Abilities (Ex): Monks of the enabled hand continue much of their monk training. As such, a monk of the enabled hand gains the unarmed attack bonus, unarmed damage, AC bonus, and unarmored speed as if he were a monk whose level equaled his monk level + his enabled hand level. For instance, a 6th-level monk/1st-level enabled hand monk has an unarmed attack bonus of +5/+2 (as if he were a 7th-level monk). Those who somehow manage to meet the requirements for this class who are not monks gain these abilities as if a monk equal to only their enabled hand level.

Shim Soo "mind over hand" (Su): A monk of the enabled hand has the ability to ignore a creature's armor with his unarmed attacks. The monk can use this supernatural ability once per round, but no more than once plus once per prestige class level per day. The enabled hand monk must declare he is using a shim soo attack before making the attack roll (thus, a missed attack roll ruins the attempt). Against "mind over hand" attacks, the foe uses his touch Armor Class.

Ki Strike (Su): A monk of the enabled hand's unarmed attack is empowered with ki. The unarmed strike damage from such an attack can deal damage to a creature with damage reduction, such as a wight, as if the blow were made with a weapon with a +1 enhancement bonus. This ability stacks with a standard monk's ability of the same name.

Kal Soo "reverse hand" (Su): A monk of the enabled hand can strike his opponent at the same instant his opponent strikes the monk. The enabled hand monk can choose to make an immediate attack of opportunity against an opponent that makes a successful melee attack roll or melee touch attack roll against the monk, but the enabled hand monk makes this attack at a -5 penalty to his base attack roll. The enabled hand monk cannot make more attacks of opportunity than he is normally allowed in a round. The monk can only use the reverse hand strike against an opponent he threatens.

Kong Soo "empty hand" (Su): A monk of the enabled hand is already adept at disarming his opponents (via the Improved Disarm feat). However, a monk of the enabled hand is an expert at relieving his foes of their weapons. When using kong soo, the monk's hands are treated as a Large weapon when the monk and his foe make opposed attack rolls with respect to their weapons (that is, if the foe holds a Large or smaller weapon, the foe gains no bonus to the opposed roll even though the monk's "weapon" is his hand). Furthermore, as a result of his kong soo training, the monk of the enabled hand gains a +4 bonus to his opposed roll to disarm his foe from his kong soo training.

Lung Soo "dragon's tail slap" (Su): The enabled hand monk has the ability to send a creature that is damaged by his unarmed attacks flying across the battlefield. The monk can use this supernatural ability once per round, but no more than once per monk of the enabled hand level per day. The monk must declare he is using a dragon's tail slap before making the attack roll (thus, a missed attack roll ruins the attempt). If a foe is struck by a monk of the enabled hand, the monk automatically initiates a bull rush-like attack (see Chapter 8 of the Player's Handbook), except the attack is modified as follows.

The enabled hand monk and his foe make opposed Strength checks. The enabled hand monk is treated as if he were one size category larger than his actual size for purposes of determining his size-category bonus to the opposed Strength check. In addition, the monk also automatically gains a +4 bonus from his lung soo training. The monk gets a +2 charge bonus if charging. The foe gets a +4 stability bonus if she has more than two legs or is otherwise exceptionally stable, as well as a +4 bonus for each size category she is above Medium-size, or a -4 penalty for each size category she is below Medium-size.

If the monk of the enabled hand beats the foe, she is knocked back 5 feet plus foot for each point by which the monk exceeds the foe's check result. Furthermore, the foe takes an additional amount of damage from the attack equal to the number of feet she is knocked back. The enabled hand monk doesn't move when his foe is knocked back. The foe may provoke attacks of opportunity when he is knocked back (though not from the monk), but the monk is not subject to attacks of opportunity because he doesn't move (unlike a standard bull rush). If the monk fails the opposed check, he suffers no deleterious effect.

Monk of the Enabled Hand					Hit Die: d8
CL	BAB	Fort	Ref	Will	Special
1	+0	+2	+2	+2	Monk abilities, Shim soo "mind over hand"
2	+1	+3	+3	+3	Ki strike
3	+2	+3	+3	+3	Kal soo "reverse hand"
4	+3	+4	+4	+4	Kong soo "empty hand"
5	+3	+4	+4	+4	Lung soo "dragon's tail slap"

Source: Dragon #299
Dragon Compendium Vol. 1

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