The Order of the Sidewinder, a small and controversial order, is among the world’s strangest and least understood monastic organizations. Called sidewinder monks, those of this order imitate the attitudes of the deceptive snake from which they take their name.
The sidewinder monk is a variant monk. Unless otherwise noted, a sidewinder monk advances in the same manner as a monk (same Hit Die, base attack bonus, saving throw bonuses, skill points, and so on). When a character elects to take a level of monk or sidewinder monk, she may not later take levels in the other class.
| Level | Base Attack Bonus | Fort Save | Ref Save | Will Save | Special |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | +0 | +2 | +2 | +2 | Bonus Feat, Flurry of Blows, Unarmed Strike |
| 2nd | +1 | +3 | +3 | +3 | Bonus Feat, Evasion, Silver Tongue |
| 3rd | +2 | +3 | +3 | +3 | Sneak Attack +1d6, Fast Movement |
| 4th | +3 | +4 | +4 | +4 | Earthbound, Fangs (1/day) |
| 5th | +3 | +4 | +4 | +4 | Ki Strike (Magic) |
| 6th | +4 | +5 | +5 | +5 | Bonus Feat, Sneak Attack +2d6 |
| 7th | +5 | +5 | +5 | +5 | Wholeness of Body |
| 8th | +6/+1 | +6 | +6 | +6 | Fangs (2/day), Intimidating Stance |
| 9th | +6/+1 | +6 | +6 | +6 | Improved Evasion, Sneak Attack +3d6 |
| 10th | +7/+2 | +7 | +7 | +7 | Ki Strike (Lawful) |
| 11th | +8/+3 | +7 | +7 | +7 | Diamond Body, Greater Flurry |
| 12th | +9/+4 | +8 | +8 | +8 | Fangs 3/day, Sneak Attack +4d6 |
| 13th | +9/+4 | +8 | +8 | +8 | Diamond Soul |
| 14th | +10/+5 | +9 | +9 | +9 | |
| 15th | +11/+6/+1 | +9 | +9 | +9 | Fangs (Death), Sneak Attack +5d6 |
| 16th | +12/+7/+2 | +10 | +10 | +10 | Fangs 4/day, Ki Strike (Adamantine) |
| 17th | +12/+7/+2 | +10 | +10 | +10 | Timeless Body, Tongue of the Sun and Moon |
| 18th | +13/+8/+3 | +11 | +11 | +11 | Sneak Attack +6d6 |
| 19th | +14/+9/+4 | +11 | +11 | +11 | |
| 20th | +15/+10/+5 | +12 | +12 | +12 | Fangs 5/day, Perfect Self |
| Level | Flurry of Blows Attack Bonus | Unarmed Damage | AC Bonus | Unarmoured Speed Bonus | |
| —: | :—: | :—: | :—: | :—: | |
| 1st | -2/-2 | 1d6 | +0 | +0 ft. | |
| 2nd | -1/-1 | 1d6 | +0 | +0 ft. | |
| 3rd | +0/+0 | 1d6 | +0 | +10 ft. | |
| 4th | +1/+1 | 1d8 | +0 | +10 ft. | |
| 5th | +2/+2 | 1d8 | +1 | +10 ft. | |
| 6th | +3/+3 | 1d8 | +1 | +20 ft. | |
| 7th | +4/+4 | 1d8 | +1 | +20 ft. | |
| 8th | +5/+5/+0 | 1d10 | +1 | +20 ft. | |
| 9th | +6/+6/+1 | 1d10 | +1 | +30 ft. | |
| 10th | +7/+7/+2 | 1d10 | +2 | +30 ft. | |
| 11th | +8/+8/+8/+3 | 1d10 | +2 | +30 ft. | |
| 12th | +9/+9/+9/+4 | 2d6 | +2 | +40 ft. | |
| 13th | +9/+9/+9/+4 | 2d6 | +2 | +40 ft. | |
| 14th | +10/+10/+10/+5 | 2d6 | +2 | +40 ft. | |
| 15th | +11/+11/+11/+6/+1 | 2d6 | +3 | +50 ft. | |
| 16th | +12/+12/+12/+7/+2 | 2d8 | +3 | +50 ft. | |
| 17th | +12/+12/+12/+7/+2 | 2d8 | +3 | +50 ft. | |
| 18th | +13/+13/+13/+8/+3 | 2d8 | +3 | +60 ft. | |
| 19th | +14/+14/+14/+9/+4 | 2d8 | +3 | +60 ft. | |
| 20th | +15/+15/+15/+10/+5 | 2d10 | +4 | +60 ft. |
All of the following are features of the sidewinder monk.
Bonus Feat: At 1st level, a sidewinder monk may select either Persuasive or Stealthy as a bonus feat. At 2nd level, she may take either Improved Feint or Mobility. At 6th level, she may choose either Improved Disarm or Improved Trip. She need not have any of the prerequisites normally required for these feats to select them.
Silver Tongue (Ex): From 2nd level, the sidewinder monk masters deception. Using false promises, empty threats and personal magnetism, the monk gains a +1 competence bonus on all Bluff checks. This bonus increases by +1 at 4th level and every even numbered level thereafter.
Earthbound (Ex): The sidewinder monk develops an innate connection with the earth, granting her a +4 competence bonus on opposed Strength checks made to resist bull rush or overrun attempts.
Sneak Attack (Ex): At 3rd level the sidewinder monk gains the ability to sneak attack, as the rogue ability. Her bonus damage increases every three levels thereafter (+2d6 at 6th, +3d6 at 9th and so on).
Fangs (Su): A 4th-level sidewinder monk can grow fangs and gain a bite attack that deals 1d4 points of piercing damage (1d3 for Small monks). She can grow her fangs once per day at 4th level and one additional time for every four levels thereafter. The fangs remain for a number of rounds equal to 1 + Constitution bonus (minimum one). This attack is made at her highest attack bonus. If made with a flurry of blows, the bite attack and all other flurry attacks suffer a -2 penalty.
At 15th level the sidewinder monk may, once per day, use her bite attack to instantly slay a living creature. The target of this attack must make a Fortitude save (DC 10 + ½ sidewinder monk levels + Constitution modifier) or die. This is a poison attack.
Intimidating Stance (Ex): By imitating the attitude and demeanor of a sidewinder, the sidewinder monk gains a +4 competence bonus on all Intimidate checks. This bonus improves to +6 when using her fang ability.
Source: Dragon Magazine #331 (Page 89)