The Sogo Monk is a prestige class that excels in the use of the Quarterstaff. They uses their Quarterstaff for everything, from attacking, blocking, and even in the help of some of their skills.

Adventures:
Sogo Monks approach adventures as if they were personal tests. While not prone to showing off, they are willing to try their skills against whatever obstacles confront them. Not greedy for material wealth, they eagerly seek that which can help them perfect their art.

Characteristics:
The key feature of the monk is their ability to fight unarmoured with their staff. Thanks to their rigorous training with the staff it becomes an extension of them a deadly extension. Still capable of fighting unarmed this is no longer as important as their mastery of the staff.
As the Sogo Monk gains experience and power, their skill in their Staff becomes ever more effective and dangerous, than any other Staff wielder.

Alignment:
A Sogo Monk's training requires strict discipline. Only those who are lawful at heart are capable of undertaking it.

Religion:
A Sogo Monk's training is their spiritual path. They are inner-directed, capable of a private, mystic connection to the spiritual world and bonded deeply with their weapon. They need neither clerics nor gods. Certain lawful gods, however, may appeal to them, and may meditate on the gods' likeness and attempt to emulate their deeds.

Background:
A Sogo Monk is a specialized monk order, only certain places teach the skill and not every applicant is accepted.
A Sogo Monk generally feels a deep connection to their monastery or school, to the master who taught them and to the style in which they are trained.
Sogo Monks recognize each other as a select group set apart from the rest of the populace. They may feel kinship, but they also love to compete with each other to see whose skill is strongest.

Races:
Normally human because the monasteries that developed the style are mainly human. Thus, most Sogo Monks are humans (or half-orcs and half-elves who live among humans). Elves are capable of single-minded, long-term devotion to an interest, art, or discipline, and some of them leave the forests to become Sogo Monks. Any monk tradition is alien to dwarven and gnome culture, and halflings are typically too mobile to commit themselves to a monastery, so dwarves, gnomes, and halflings are very rarely monks never mind Sogo Monks.

Hit Die: d8

Requirements

To qualify to become a Sogo Monk the character must meet the following requirements.

Alignment: Any Lawful
Base Attack Bonus: +5
Skills: Jump +9 Ranks, Tumble +5 Ranks
Feats: Weapon Focus (quarterstaff), Expertise, Ambidexterity, Two-weapon fighting.
Class: Monk
Special: Leap of the Clouds

Class Skills

The Sogo Monk class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are; Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Swim (Str), and Tumble (Dex). See Chapter 4 in the Core Rulebook 1 for skill descriptions.

Skill points at each level: 4+ Int Modifier

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the Sogo Monk

Weapon and Armour Proficiency: A Sogo Monk gains no additional weapon proficiencies and is not proficient with armour or shields.
The Sogo Monk can use their Quarterstaff as if it were one of the Monks preferred weapon, like nunchaku. This allows them access to flurry of blows while using the staff and have the most favourable attack bonus progression.
Note that wearing armour heavier than leather imposes a penalty to the ranger skills Climb, Hide, Jump, and Move Silently. Swim checks also suffer a -1 penalty for every 5 lbs. of armour or equipment carried.

Vault: A Sogo Monk has the supernatural ability to channel their Chi through their quarterstaff to perform impossible leaps.

Table: Vaulting Distance

	Distance ft/ #points above 10
Class	Running	Standing	Running	Standing
Level	Vault	Vault	Hight Vault	High Vault
3rd	+2ft./1	+1ft./2	+1ft./3	+1ft./6
6th	+3ft.1	+1 ft./1	+1ft./2	+1ft./4
9th	+4ft./1	+1ft./1	+2ft./1	+1ft./3

The character must move 10ft before undertaking a Running Vault. When jumping without their staff Sogo Monks can jump no better than ordinary jumpers. The above figures are for characters who move at 30ft base speed. If the Sogo Monk has a higher base speed alter the distance proportionally.

Quarterstaff Mastery (Ex): A Sogo Monk of 2^nd Level is considered to have mastered the use of their weapon and adds a +2 damage bonus to all attacks using the quarterstaff. The Sogo Monk can now make stunning attacks with the staff as if it were their open hand attack.

Quarterstaff Damage (Ex): As a Sogo Monk gains levels, they learn how to maximise the dame with their staff.
At 4^th level, the base damage of the staff increases from 1d6 to 1d8, and the threat range is boosted by 1 to 19-20.
7^th the base damage increases to 1d10, and the critical multiplier to x3 damage.
Finally at 10^th the base damage becomes 1d12 and the threat range 18-20.
Note this ability is not cumulative with improved critical. If the Sogo Monk has improved critical this ability supersedes it.

Sogo Budo (Su): At 4^th level, a Sogo Monk gains the ability to channel their Chi through their quarterstaff. The Damage from the Weapon can effect creatures with Damage reduction, such as a wight. At 4^th Level attacks with the staff has an effective +1 enhancement bonus, at 7^th a +2 and at 10^th a +3.
This is not an actual bonus to hit just an ability to hit.

Sogo Defence (Ex): At 5^th level, when a Sogo Monk is fighting Defensively with their Staff they gain a +4 to AC deflection bonus instead of the normal +2 Dodge Bonus, and when executing the total defence option they receive a +8 Deflection Bonus to AC instead of the normal +4 Dodge Bonus.

Vaulting Kick (Ex): A Sogo Monk can use their quarterstaff to deliver a powerful kick attack. As a full round action vaulting with their Staff, a Sogo Monk can deliver a single kick at the end of a vault, as a full round attack, doing double damage on a successful hit.

Attack of the Clouds (Su): 8^th Level Monks can leap high into the air, seeming to disappear for a moment, only to return with a powerful attack.
At the start of a round the Sogo Monk declares that they are going to use this ability. They must have at least a 5 ft run up and there must be 30 ft clearance. As a full round action the Monk harnesses their Chi and using their Staff makes a huge leap high into the air vanishing from view.
At the beginning of the next round, the Monk automatically wins the initiative and acts before anyone else. The only action they can take is to deliver a powerful surprise attack on the enemy (denied Dex bonus to AC) from above and dealing double damage on a successful hit. This ability is usable only once per day.
When Vaulted the Monk seems to have vanished from sight, requiring a DC 50 spot to detect them. They are not really miles away they just seem to be. When in the air like this they are effectively under the protection of a Sanctuary Spell. (See Core Rules Book 1 Page 247).

Monks and Sogo Monks
A Sogo Monk is a specialized monk order, only certain places teach the skill and not every applicant is accepted.
Becoming a Sogo Monk entails concentrating almost exclusively on their mastery of the staff. This means certain abilities of the monk are lost. They progress on the unarmed table BaB at a slower rate than before, based on the Base Attack Progression below. Their AC bonus does not increase nor their speed, in many ways they are channeling their Chi in a completely different direction, through their staff.

Ex-Sogo Monks
A Sogo Monk who becomes none-lawful cannot gain new levels but retains all class abilities.

A Sogo Monk can multiclass freely with Monk class, but if gaining a new class or (if already multiclass) raising another class by a level they may never again raise the Sogo Monk Level, though they retain all abilities.

Class	Base	Fort	Ref	Will
Level	Attack Bonus	Save	Save	Save	Special
1st	+0	+0	+2	+2	Vaulting Kick
2nd	+1	+0	+3	+3	Quarterstaff Mastery
3rd	+2	+1	+3	+3	Vault
4th	+3	+1	+4	+4	Quarterstaff Damage, Sogo Budo
5th	+3	+1	+4	+4	Sogo Defence
6th	+4	+2	+5	+5	Vault
7th	+5	+2	+5	+5	Quarterstaff Damage, Sogo Budo
8th	+6	+2	+6	+6	Attack of the Clouds
9th	+6	+3	+6	+6	Vault
10th	+7	+3	+7	+7	Quarterstaff Damage, Sogo Budo