Wow of Poverty (Part 4 of 4)
A few monks take the vow of poverty as a form of protest, their convictions made manifest to demonstrate against an injustice or philosophy that they will not abide by. Almost universally, they brand themselves in some way to showcase the offense they crusade against. Some lay themselves in chains to protest against slavery, while others starve themselves to challenge the lavish opulence enjoyed by a select few. Those who tread the path of protest carry an amulet as a token of their cause, such as a soaring bird of freedom or a four-leaf clover representing equality…
In many ways, a monk that follows this path acts as an inspiration to others. At 2nd level, the amulet allows the monk to cast guidance at will. The amulet grants a number of spell-like abilities, which are activated as standard actions that consume points from the monk’s ki pool. At 4th level, it grants bless (1 ki point). At 6th level, it grants shield of faith (1 ki point). At 10th level, it grants good hope (2 ki points). At 16th level, it grants mass bull’s strength (2 ki points) and mass cat’s grace (2 ki points). At 6th level, while the monk has at least 1 point in his ki pool, the amulet emits an aura that grants the monk and each ally within 10 ft. a +1 insight bonus to attacks. At 12th level and again at 18th level, the bonus increases by +1.
It is the rare monk who adheres to the vow of poverty as an expression of purity. These monks embody a quiet serenity that leads to an almost saintly insight and understanding of the world. Though the appearance and philosophies of these ascetics vary as much as the diversity of the world itself, a quarterstaff is common to all of them—usually in the form of a firm walking stick.
At 2nd level, in the hands of a monk following the path of purity, the quarterstaff is treated as if it were of masterwork quality—though in the hands of anybody else it is a mundane quarterstaff. At 4th level, the quarterstaff is treated as if it had the ki focus quality. Finally, at 6th level, the monk may use his unarmed damage when fighting with the quarterstaff (this does not stack with other sources that modify the damage of a quarterstaff such as shillelagh), and the quarterstaff overcomes DR as his unarmed attacks would. At 4th level, the quarterstaff allows the monk to spend 1 point from his ki pool as a swift action to substitute his Wisdom modifier instead of his Strength modifier on attack rolls using the quarterstaff for 1 round. Starting at 6th level, the quarterstaff grants a +1 enhancement bonus to Wisdom; at 8th level, and every two levels thereafter, this bonus increases by +1 to a maximum of +6 at 16th level. At 8th level, the quarterstaff grants the monk additional benefits whenever he spends ki: he gains a +2 insight bonus to attack, damage, AC, saves and skill checks; additionally the DC of any monk ability (such as Stunning Fist) and ki power used by the monk is increased by 2. The duration of this benefit is 1 round. At 14th level, and again at 20th level, the bonus and increase in DC rises by +1.
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