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Jeff, it appears that the latest version of the monk is allowed to use both their DEX bonus and the AC class bonus where in 2nd edition it was either/or. Am I reading the new version properly?
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I believe Jeff said that the revised 3e monk gets STR and DEX bonuses and class bonuses, so you're reading it properly.
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Totally missed that, and was something I always house-ruled in anyway.
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I think the 2e->3e changes in the monk smoothed things out. More streamlined, using game mechanics as is with minimal "exceptions" to think about.
The FA progression basically is the same as 2e's Accurate Strike.
Changing Empty Hand's attack rate to 2/1 and upping the damage (basically) made it a more viable option. Don't need to "dual wield" your fists now :-) A bit of a bummer that a knock out punch is more difficult but that's a small price to pay for making Empty Hand a more viable option.
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I think the change was a good one and it makes the monk a better PC class.