D&D 3.5 Monk, class - Enhancement(FAQ)

Players Handbook; SRD Class Link

Class Enhancements

• Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Monks are proficient with club, crossbow (light or heavy), dagger, handaxe, javelin, kama, nunchaku, quarterstaff, sai, shuriken, siangham, sling, and Spiked Chain.
• AC Bonus(Ex): When unarmored and unencumbered, the monk adds her Wisdom bonus (if any) to her AC. In addition, a monk gains a +1 bonus to AC at 3rd level. This bonus increases by 1 for every four monk levels thereafter (+2 at 7th, +3 at 11th, +4 at 15th, and +5 at 19th). These bonuses to AC apply even against touch attacks or when the monk is flat-footed. She loses these bonuses when she is immobilized or helpless, when she wears any armor, when she carries a shield, or when she carries a medium or heavy load.
• Martial Maneuver Training(Ex): At 3rd level, a monk uses his monk level in place of his base attack bonus when calculating his combat attack check bonus.  Base attack bonuses granted from other classes are unaffected and are added normally.
• Bonus Feats: At 1st level, 2nd level, and every 4 levels thereafter (6th, 10th, 14th, and 18th), a monk may select a bonus feat.  See the additional bonus feats allowed below from the supplement books.
• Monk Enhancements - List of enhanced feats, skills, or class abilities that relate to the Monk class.

Bonus Feats - Supplement Books

• 1st Level add: Ascetic Stalker(CS 73), Dodge, Monastic Training(ECS pg57), Scorpion Style
• 2nd Level add: Ascetic Stalker(CS 73), Dodge, Fiery Fist(PHB2 pg79), Flensing Strike(ECS pg53), Monastic Training(ECS pg57), Scorpion Style, Flowing Blade(Kalashtar Only)
• 6th Level add: Ascetic Stalker(CS 73), Fiery Fist(PHB2 pg79), Fiery Ki Defense(PHB2 pg79), Flensing Strike(ECS pg53), Improved Bull Rush, Improved Feint, Ki Blast(PHB2 pg80), Mobility, Monastic Training(ECS pg57), Gorgon's Fist, Scorpion Style, Flowing Blade(Kalashtar Only) 

FAQ

Q: Does the spiked chain also become a Special Monk weapon for purposes of Flurry of Blows?

A: Yes.

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Q: The spiked Chain is a two-handed weapon so does this mean during a Flurry of Blows with the Spiked Chain the monk now gets 1.5x Str Bonus on damage?

A: No. As stated under the Monk's Flurry of blows you can only add 1x Str bonus.

When using weapons as part of a flurry of blows, a monk applies her Strength bonus (not Str bonus × 1½ or ×½) to her damage rolls for all successful attacks, whether she wields a weapon in one or both hands.

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Q: During a Flurry of Blows can a Monk now do trip and a disarm?

A: A monk could always have done these even without the Spiked Chain. The only thing is that the attacks rolls of the Disarm or Trip must take the normal -2 into account for the Flurry of Blows.

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Q: Are monks allowed to take the Improved Natural Attack Feat from the Monster Manual to increase their Unarmed Damage size one die size?

A: Yes. As per the WotC official FAQ Monks qualify for taking this feat at level 6.

WotC FAQ - 3/23/2007

Yes. As stated on page 41 of the Player’s Handbook, a monk’s unarmed strike "is treated as both a manufactured weapon and a natural weapon for the purpose of spells and effects that enhance or improve either" which includes feats such as Improved Natural Attack. Barring multiclassing, the earliest a monk could take this feat would be at 6th level (due to the base attack bonus prerequisite), at which point her unarmed strike damage would improve from 1d8 to 2d6 (which represents an average increase of +2.5 points of damage). The same monk at 20th level would deal 4d8 points of damage with her unarmed strike.

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Q: Can monks or a character with Improved Unarmed Attack make a trip attack without provoking an AoO without the Improved Trip Feat?

A: Yes.

In more detail lets look at the first sentence of "Making a Trip Attack". Make an unarmed melee touch attack against your target. This provokes an attack of opportunity from your target as normal for unarmed attacks.

They are perfectly correct in the first sentence that even an "unarmed melee touch attack" provokes an attack of opportunity.

Now lets look at the feat Improved Unarmed Attack

You are considered to be armed even when unarmed - that is, you do not provoke attacks of opportunity from armed opponents when you attack them while unarmed.

So if a character with the "Improved Unarmed Attack" feat(something every monk gets at 1st level) does not provoke an AoO; that same character would no longer provoke when doing step one of a Trip Attack.

The down side is you do not receive free attacks on the creature you tripped nor do you gain the +4 bonus on trip attacks like with "Improved Trip". This keeps the game in balance, but opens up other uses for "Improved Unarmed Attack".

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Q: Q: Does a monk with a monk’s belt and the Superior Unarmed Strike feat benefit from both, or does just the highest benefit apply?

A: In this case, the better benefit will prevail. These effects technically do not have a bonus, so they would not use the stacking rules. One effect will end up overshadowing the other.

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Q: Does the increase from the Superior Unarmed Strike feat and the Improved Natural Attack feat stack?

A: Their does not appear to be anything in the core rules to prevent these two feats from working together as they do similar yet different affects.