Master (Level 12-17)

By level 12, most Monks come into their own. They achieve sufficient skill to solo many adventures while still having much to learn and much gear to help them reach Grandmaster training.

With your experience on level 12, you complete your training in the Master of Forms elemental school.

With Update 19, all elemental stances and attacks are given to you as feats on reaching level 20. There are no ability stat requirements.

Be sure to replace your older Adept of Forms ki attacks in your current toolbar with those from the Master of Forms from your Feats tab.

Monk Elemental Path Improvements

The Master elemental stances are significantly superior to much of what you've used. Two stances that you may not have used as much, Earth and Ocean, have significant upgrades.

Master of Thunder: The wind is untouchable, and you continue on the path to understanding what it is to be like the wind.

• Greater Wind Stance: The relentless storm focuses on movement and speed. Greater Wind Stance grants +3 Dexterity, a 12.5% Enhancement bonus to melee and thrown attack speed, and grants a 7.5% chance to doublestrike with melee weapons, at the cost of -2 Constitution.
  • Storm Strike III: 2d10 additional lightning damage

Master of Bonfires: The sun burns with an eternal fire, and you continue on the path to understanding that intensity.

• Greater Sun Stance: The consuming flame focuses on an aggressive offense. Greater Sun Stance grants +3 Strength at a cost of -2 Wisdom. While in Greater Sun Stance you gain 'Hit Effect: Gain 1 ki.' and 'Critical Effect: Gain 4 ki.'
• Fires of Purity III: 2d10 additional fire damage

Master of Stone: The mountain is eternal, and you continue on the path to understanding the way of stone.

• Greater Mountain Stance: The unyielding mountain focuses on endurance and defense. Greater Mountain Stance grants +3 Constitution, a 15% boost to AC, 12 physical resistance, a +55% Insight bonus to melee threat generation, and the critical multiplier of all weapons you use is increased by 1 on rolls of a natural 19 or 20, at the cost of -2 Dexterity and -10% movement speed. While in Greater Mountain Stance, you gain 'Get Hit Effect: Gain 1 ki.'
• Strike of the Enduring III: 12 additional damage, and 2d6 acid damage on critical hits

With Greater Mountain Stance, some Monks may be able to improve their "light tank" role as circumstances permit.

Master of the Sea: The sea is always in motion, and you continue on the path to understanding the way of the sea.

• Greater Ocean Stance: The eternal ocean focuses on redirection and the supernatural. Greater Ocean Stance grants +3 Wisdom, +3% Dodge, +4 to all saving throws, and your passive ki generation when Centered is increased by 1, at a cost of -2 Strength.
• Flowing Water Strike III: 2d10 additional cold damage

Greater Ocean Stance allows any Monk to have a passive ki regeneration to their stable pool. A Ninja Spy hidden as One with Shadow (+1 ki) now gains +2 ki for a time.

Granted Feats

There are a few granted feats left as you make your way beyond level 12. Three of four are significant.

• Diamond Soul (Level 13): You gain Spell Resistance equal to your Monk level + 10.
• Quivering Palm (Level 15): The Monk delivers a fatal attack by sending waves of vibrations through the target with an open hand strike. The attack costs 30 Ki. If it hits, the victim must pass a Fortitude save (DC 10 + Monk level/2 + Wisdom modifier) or die.
• This is a great assassination move to take out solitary enemies or a weak foe in a sea of foes. Be warned: Unlike Rogue Assassinate, Quivering Palm pulls you out of stealth. Items that augment your Sunder DCs now also improve the effectiveness of this attack.
• Ki Strike: Adamantine (Level 16): All your unarmed melee attacks are considered Adamantine for purposes of bypassing Damage Reduction.
• You can now effectively take down Iron Golems and similar constructs while unarmed.
• Timeless Body (Level 17): Your soul is balanced. No corrupt influences can possess your body after death - you are immune to the spawn effect of most undead.
• Your corpse won't create a wraith that terrorizes your party. Best not to die, anyway.

"You Monks are so soft. Your prancing about is going to get you killed in the Vale when all those devils gang up on you," one Barbarian told me. His face was held together with more scar tissue than skin as he drained his tankard.

"How so?" I asked back, sipping my wine.

"For one," the Barbarian said, wiping his beard with his arm, "You guys may strike a lot, but it takes forever for you to take down your enemy."

"And how many Monks have you fought?"

"I've not fought any of you, but one or two have joined me on a quest. They fought well enough, but when it came to finishing off some of the nastier leaders, well..." he finished, pulling an index finger across his neck. "Cleric was busy reassembling them while the rest of us collected our loot."

I merely nodded and said, "I see."

The Barbarian expected some witty or angry retort. "What? You're not going to object?"

"Not at all. You see...not all Monks learn how to seek out the best places to strike. Because of this poor training in fighting with handwraps, they have a low chance of striking vulnerable places per hit. But when they are trained properly, they do well."

The man made a grunting sound. "Not as well as I do," he said, patting the sword next to him. "I can slay an ogre with one good swing."

"Perhaps not. Some Monks prefer techniques that favor speed or strength over power. Wiser Monks fight in a slower but potent style that increases damage when fighting unarmed. When the third or fourth level of this fighting style is combined with other ways to slow or stop a foe, we can strike for far greater damage as well, and seek out the most damaging attacks. These Monks will take foes down much faster than those you saw. Almost as fast as you."

"How do you do this?" the man said, genuinely curious?

I turned my head to show the Barbarian a small blood-red stone embedded in my hair tie. "This helps me focus, to see vulnerable points more often. When I strike, my damage can multiply."

The man seemed impressed. "Care to sell that trinket?"