Suggestions for the Path of Elemental Balance

[Rollie the gnome]

Hello there.  Well, I have been playing my monk now for a while and since day one he has been a follower of the Water of Life from the Path of Elemental Balance.
  Now that I am level eight, and talking to a DM to see if it was ok, I thought I would put forth some suggestions for the order. I will try to speak in gerneral ideas only. If any of these are implemented, or if they already have been put into place, the details will be fleshed out by the staff.
 
  [SIZE=16]The Order of the Flame[/SIZE]
  [SIZE=13]Ranks in this path would be based on belt colour. But the belts would be hues of red, orange, and yellow. [/SIZE]
  [SIZE=13]Monks of this order can communicate with fire, including Fire Elementals. Communication cannot be literal, they can only speak to it within their minds. The level of communication advances as the monk progresses. The higher the monks rank, the more advanced the communication. Players can only gain significant knowledge by these means through a DM only. This is an RP perk only.[/SIZE]
  [SIZE=13]They have an innate fire resistance. It starts small and grows more in time. It might start with being able to handle hot rocks, then culminating with being able to walk through flames. To a certain point this would be an RP perk only. Once a general resistance to fire is gained it could be unbalancing.[/SIZE]
  [SIZE=13]Monks of this order would be vulnerable to cold and water based attacks. It would be in direct relation to the above fire resistance perk. It would start at being uncomfortable in cold or damp climates, to taking damage from water and cold, either attacks or climates. This could balance out the fire resistance perk.[/SIZE]
  [SIZE=13]Monks of certain rank [/SIZE][SIZE=13]would be able to summon a fire elemental. The elementals would be limited to their actions and be weak at lower levels, while being free to attack and be much stronger at higher levels.[/SIZE]
  [SIZE=13]They could have tattoos covering their bodies reflecting their path. Fire tattoos that seem to crackle and be alive would cover their arms, torso and legs. They could be easily covered by robes and/or clothes. They would reflect their moods.  [/SIZE]
  [SIZE=13]Robes would be Red with orange and/or yellow trim. Simpe colour patterns, nothing fancy. The darker the colour, the higher the rank. Robes would be made by the students over a period of years. Robes of this type would act as armour of a sort and help protect the wearer as they grow in strength. If this is the case absolutely no other affects may be imbued upon them.[/SIZE]
  [SIZE=13]They must greet fires as Brother or Sister. They are one with fire so they are relatives to a degree.[/SIZE]
  [SIZE=10] [/SIZE]
[SIZE=10] [/SIZE]  [SIZE=10][SIZE=16]The Water of Life  [/SIZE][/SIZE]
[SIZE=10] [/SIZE]  [SIZE=13]Ranks in this path would be based on belt colour. But the belts would be hues of Blue and Teal. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=13] [/SIZE]  [SIZE=13]Monks of this order can communicate with water, including Water Elementals. Communication cannot be literal, they can only speak to it within their minds. The level of communication advances as the monk progresses. The higher the monks rank, the more advanced the communication. Players can only gain significant knowledge by these means through a DM only. This is an RP perk only.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=13] [/SIZE]  [SIZE=13]They have an innate ability to hold their breath for long periods and finally being able to breathe underwater. They would grow resistant to water based attacks. To a certain point this would be an RP perk only. Once a general resistance to water is gained it could be unbalancing.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=13] [/SIZE]  [SIZE=13]Monks of this order would be extra vulnerable to fire and flame based attacks. It would be in direct relation to the above water resistance perk. It would start at being uncomfortable in Hot climates, to taking damage from desert-like climates. This could balance out the water resistance perk.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=13] [/SIZE]  [SIZE=13]Monks of certain rank would be able to summon a water elemental. The elementals would be limited to their actions and be weak at lower levels, while being free to attack and be much stronger at higher levels.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=13] [/SIZE]  [SIZE=13]They could have tattoos covering their bodies reflecting their path. Water tattoos that seem to flow and be alive would cover their arms, torso and legs. They could be easily covered by robes and/or clothes. They would reflect their mood.  [/SIZE]
[SIZE=13] [/SIZE]  [SIZE=13]Robes would be Blue with lighter blue and/or teal trim. Simpe colour patterns, nothing fancy. The darker the colour, the higher the rank. Robes would be made by the students over a period of years. Robes of this type would act as armour of a sort and help protect the wearer as they grow in strength. If this is the case absolutely no other affects may be imbued upon them[/SIZE]
[SIZE=13] [/SIZE]  [SIZE=13]They must greet water as Brother or Sister.[/SIZE]
  [SIZE=10] [/SIZE]
  [SIZE=10] [/SIZE]
[SIZE=10] [/SIZE]  [SIZE=10][SIZE=16]The Way of the Wind  [/SIZE][/SIZE]
[SIZE=10]  [/SIZE]  [SIZE=13]Ranks in this path would be based on belt colour. The belts would be hues of Whit, Grey and a light sky blue. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=13]  [/SIZE]  [SIZE=13]Monks of this order can communicate with wind (not calm air), including Air Elementals. Communication cannot be literal, they can only speak to it within their minds. The level of communication advances as the monk progresses. The higher the monks rank, the more advanced the communication. Players can only gain significant knowledge by these means through a DM only. This is an RP perk only.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=13]   [/SIZE]  [SIZE=13]They have an innate ability to float (think feather fall)and/or walk on the wind. They would grow resistant to Air based attacks. To a certain point this would be an RP perk only.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=13] [/SIZE]  [SIZE=13]  Monks of this order would be extra vulnerable to Earth based attacks. It would be in direct relation to the above Air resistance perk.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=13]  [/SIZE]  [SIZE=13]Monks of certain rank would be able to summon a Air elemental. The elementals would be limited to their actions and be weak at lower levels, while being free to attack and be much stronger at higher levels.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=13]  [/SIZE]  [SIZE=13]They could have tattoos covering their bodies reflecting their path. Air/cloud tattoos that seem to blow and be alive would cover their arms, torso and legs. They could be easily covered by robes and/or clothes. They would reflect their mood.  [/SIZE]
[SIZE=13]  [/SIZE]  [SIZE=13]Robes would be White and/or Grey with lighter blue trim. Simple colour patterns, nothing fancy. The lighter the white and the darker the Trim, the higher the rank. Robes would be made by the students over a period of years. Robes of this type would act as armour of a sort and help protect the wearer as they grow in strength. If this is the case absolutely no other affects may be imbued upon them[/SIZE]
[SIZE=13]  [/SIZE]  [SIZE=13]They must greet Air as Brother or Sister.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10] [/SIZE]  [SIZE=10] [/SIZE]
[SIZE=10] [/SIZE]  [SIZE=10][SIZE=16]The Foundations of the Earth  [/SIZE][/SIZE]
[SIZE=10]  [/SIZE]  [SIZE=13]Ranks in this path would be based on belt colour. But the belts would be hues of Brown. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=13]  [/SIZE]  [SIZE=13]Monks of this order can communicate with rock, including Earth Elementals. Communication cannot be literal, they can only speak to it within their minds. The level of communication advances as the monk progresses. The higher the monks rank, the more advanced the communication. Players can only gain significant knowledge by these means through a DM only. This is an RP perk only.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=13]  [/SIZE]  [SIZE=13]They have an innate ability to predict earthquakes and cave-ins, maybe even move through solid rock. They would grow resistant to earth based attacks. To a certain point this would be an RP perk only. Once a general resistance to earth is gained it could be unbalancing.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=13]  [/SIZE]  [SIZE=13]Monks of this order would be extra vulnerable to Water and/or Fire based attacks. It would be in direct relation to the above perk.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=13]  [/SIZE]  [SIZE=13]Monks of certain rank would be able to summon an earth elemental. The elementals would be limited to their actions and be weak at lower levels, while being free to attack and be much stronger at higher levels.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=13]  [/SIZE]  [SIZE=13]They could have tattoos covering their bodies reflecting their path. Earth/Mountain tattoos that seem to rumble and be alive would cover their arms, torso and legs. They could be easily covered by robes and/or clothes. They would reflect their mood.  [/SIZE]
[SIZE=13]  [/SIZE]  [SIZE=13]Robes would be Brown with earth tone trim. Simple colour patterns, nothing fancy. The darker the colour, the higher the rank. Robes would be made by the students over a period of years. Robes of this type would act as armour of a sort and help protect the wearer as they grow in strength. If this is the case absolutely no other affects may be imbued upon them[/SIZE]
[SIZE=13]  [/SIZE]  [SIZE=13]They must greet certain earth structures (such as mountains, large rocks) as Brother or Sister.[/SIZE]
  [SIZE=10] [/SIZE]
     [SIZE=10]If an area is made for the temple, followers of these paths should have a room there with storage, ect.  [/SIZE]
  [SIZE=10]Maybe a PRC class could be made. an Elemental Master, who studies each path for ten levels each. This would be available only to those who start as a follower of one of these orders from Level 1. No powerlevelling to 39 and then, Hey I wanna be an Elemental master :p - Just a thought... [/SIZE]
 
[SIZE=10] [/SIZE]  [SIZE=10] [/SIZE]
  [SIZE=10]That is it. Remember, these are suggestions and some might be way too powerful or impossible to implement. Feel free to post suggestions of your own or comment on these.[/SIZE]
  [SIZE=10] [/SIZE]
  [SIZE=10]Seeya in game... [/SIZE]

[Stephen_Zuckerman]

Hm...

I'm thinking perhaps a feat, taken ONLY upon character creation, that would do the various nifty mechanical things you speak of. Though... Hm. (Just a note, when discussing ideas, I think out loud. It's helped in the past.)

A Layonara Specific set of classes... Elementalists, perhaps.

This would require a HUGE deviation from the Monk class, looking at balance, but then, they wouldn't truly BE Monks. Perhaps you could request a rebuild, if this were implemented? Anyway.

ACTUALLY. Instead, why not just make a PrC for monks of certain levels and up? Say, level five, when they start getting mechanical benefits from the class. Y'see, it would rather be a good idea to keep these things as close to the original Monk base as possible, while allowing for as much customization as possible.

Shifting gears, I took a look at your Water of Life. They make thier own robes? And they protect them? Gawrsh, that sounds awfully like Reinforced Clothing to me. Just to say. And if you wanted to take it farther, call your standard Monk AC bonus the robe's benefits... Yes, I'm starting to think, now, that below level 10 at the least, there should be no mechanical bonuses to the class. In effect, what I'm saying is that perhaps we should have a Master [Element] PrC, one for each. I've been working on a similar idea for my PnP group; putting together PrCs for the characters, who've become something called Weavetouched. In the case of a monk-type, there are essentially what you describe, only a little flashier, and more high-magic. (I run a ridiculously high-magic campaign.)

Thought: A custom feat, taken at character creation, that, mechanically, provides various bonuses and penalties depending upon which version you selected. To even start a character like this, you'd need to already have a Monk character of 10th level or higher, and, say, six months of time on Layo as a player. Like having a CN character, this would take dedication and skill to play. Now, here's the fun part... The first feat will take you to level ten, providing very slowly advancing benefits. The second would boost your benefits, but would require DM approval (the second level in the order), and perhaps a CDQ. It would take you to 20. To take the third feat (An Epic Monk feat!), you'd have to have it approved in your ECDQ, but it would take you the rest of the way (with benefits only increasing to level 30).

These are just my thoughts, as scattered as they may be; I know I haven't even touched the actual abilities yet, but that's an issue my brain shudders at actually adressing this late.

[regnus]

Well since I wrote this up I will give my opinion.

Adding any real mechanical perks to these characters is not a good thing.  There is a means to gain elemental resistance already by feat as well as by enchantments.  

Giving the monks summoning abilities, while kind of cool, is over balanced to me.  Monks are pretty powerful in my opinion.  Plus, remember that the Path is not restricted to monks.  Any character who dedicates themselves or who shows an affinity toward an element can join the Path.  So casters will already have this ability.  

The greeting thing and the communication with the element.  This was always intended to be an intuitive thing or more of maybe an empathic type communication and never a literal conversation type.  It can always be RP'd as a conversation I suppose but to make it a requirement that the person needs to greet things of their element as brother or sister is not something that I believe should be done.  Just because one person RP's it that way does not mean that the next person does.  There are many different paths to the same place.  And yes, pun intended.

The ranking ideas I like.  I had thought about making rankings when I wrote this up but for some reason I never did.  If someone would come up with names for the rankings....


Anyway, those are my opinions.

[Honora]

As one with a char following the Path, I have to say I like it.  Since I was already 4 or 5 when I became aware of the Path, I would argue against forcing chars to start this path at level 1.

I think the ideas presented are balanced for the most part.  I do think that summoning an elemental might be out of the scope of being a monk.  Perhaps in GM situations only?  But the rest of it sounds excellent, in conjunction with the Path as laid out by EdtheKet.  It forms a cohesive view of the Order and gives it a nice defined feel.  I'm looking forward to talking to the Windwalkers .

~Honora

[Arcanist]

How about, for example, an experianced monk of fire gets a magical fire damage bonus? or an experianced earth monk gets a magical bludgeoning damage bonus?

As for applying these bonuses in an only-allowed-on-creation feat, why not just put them into an empty creature skin, like the ones for subraces with similar abilities?

Perhaps if followers put 'Earth' in say, the deity field, a script could detect all players with this in the deity field and apply the empty creature skin to those players. i realize that the deity field may not be the most appropriate place for 'Water' or 'Wind' to be placed, but i cannot think of how else to do it.

Thats my thoughts anyway...

[regnus]

@Honora - the Path is not limited to characters starting at level 1

@Arcanist - The problem with granting characters an innate bonus (i.e. Fire DMG) is that it is a little unfair to the characters that have to buy that as an enchantment.  As I said before in my first response, elemental dmg and resistance is available already in game as enhancments that can be purchased.

[Honora]

Since this affects me I have a question.  The order can be joined at level one, no problem.  It must then be joined by CDQ at any level other than 1.  However, since it's not a PrC, that mean by definition that any monk over level 1 attempting to join the order would have to be 10+ (since CDQs cannot be run before level 10).  Since this is a new order, and not fully fleshed out yet, what would be the reason for rejecting the applications of monks between 2-9 levels of experience?

Just a thought from someone waiting to join.  Full disclosure, I would like to attempt to join sooner rather than later, given how long level 10 takes to reach.  So it's not a purely altruistic question.

Respectfully of the busy GMs,

~Honora

[Stephen_Zuckerman]

Lack of the discipline needed.