Build Help: Kung fu Mage?

[J.Gellert]

I am trying to build a martial artist/arcane caster gish, and am looking for ways to maximize caster level / monk abilities / bab.

Any helpful classes other than the Enlightened Fist and the Master of the East Wind?

Any book goes, and any level 2-20, but the earlier it works, the better.

PS. I know of the Arcane (Unarmed?) Swordsage, but I'd rather not break my DM like that...

[Zonugal]

You don't need to go arcane swordsage, a standard build like Wu Jen 4/(Unarmed) Swordsage 2/Wu Jen 1/Jade Phoenix Mage X is pretty solid for a Kung Fu Mage.

[pilvento]

Monk1/Sorc4/enlightfist4/swiftblade10/abjurant champ2

i played that char in a full lvl 1 to 20 campaing for 3 years, never stop to have fun. as a sorcerer u are bassically a buffmancer, a really fast buffmancer. u deal dmg and seduce stuff.

Take asetic sorcerer for cha to ac for monk abilitys and arcane infusion feature, grab arcane strike and get some boots of battledancing and bracers of heartfeel blows. :smallcool:

Build problem... max spell lvl 7

[Metahuman1]

Cloistered Cleric 1/Monk with Decisive Strike and Improved Grapple 1/ Wizard 18.

Kung Fu Genius and Faerie Mystery's Initiate, and maybe Keen Intellect if flaws are on the table. Swap domains in for Knowledge, Travel, and Strength Devotion feats. If flaws on the table, get a couple of hits for extra turning. It's actually somewhat less MAD then normal Monk, though not terribly.

Cleric gives you a few emergency heals as wells as devotion feats and turn attempts too fuel them, Monk gives you Int too AC and Improved Unarmed strike and grapple, the latter for escaping a grapple.

Get Powerful Build, Combined with Decisive Strike, Strength devotion, travel devotion, and Wizard buffs like enlarge person, bulls strenght, greater magic weapon, those devotion feats and greater mighty wallop your DPR is gonna be crazy, and you'll still get full casting.

Poison healer is a nice trick for earlier on with this build. Reserves of strength and extend spell are also useful. Mystic Thurge might not be bad, since it gets you higher level cleric casting.

[Hiro Protagonest]

Monk gives you Int too AC

You say that, but you don't provide a source (there are two).

[Drelua]

Cloistered Cleric 1/Monk with Decisive Strike and Improved Grapple 1/ Wizard 18.

Kung Fu Genius and Faerie Mystery's Initiate,


You say that, but you don't provide a source (there are two).

That looks like enough of a source to me.

[Crasical]

Fairy Mysteries Initiate is a regional feat, and requires you enage in 'An exuberent sexual act' with a fairy to work.

check with your DM before taking it.

[Zaq]

Fairy Mysteries Initiate is a regional feat, and requires you enage in 'An exuberent sexual act' with a fairy to work.

check with your DM before taking it.

Hey, it beats a blase or humdrum sexual act with a fairy.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

I am trying to build a martial artist/arcane caster gish, and am looking for ways to maximize caster level / monk abilities / bab.

Any helpful classes other than the Enlightened Fist and the Master of the East Wind?

Any book goes, and any level 2-20, but the earlier it works, the better.

PS. I know of the Arcane (Unarmed?) Swordsage, but I'd rather not break my DM like that...

Oh, this one is easy.

Unarmed Swordsage/Sorcerer/JPM with Ascetic Mage feat.

You get everything Monk wished it had, all the casting happiness, SAD on CHA with Ascetic Mage changing your AC bonus to your casting stat, maybe throw in a two-level dip in Hexblade or one of the Paladin variants to get it to all saves as well.

If you have some irrational dislike of ToB material, then you can always go Monk2/Sorcerer/Iot7V and be a Sorcerer with some unarmed attacking and bonuses on saves.

[J.Gellert]

Nothing against ToB, it's great.

Flaws are definitely in, I'll get a bunch :smalltongue:


Monk1/Sorc4/enlightfist4/swiftblade10/abjurant champ2

i played that char in a full lvl 1 to 20 campaing for 3 years, never stop to have fun. as a sorcerer u are bassically a buffmancer, a really fast buffmancer. u deal dmg and seduce stuff.

Take asetic sorcerer for cha to ac for monk abilitys and arcane infusion feature, grab arcane strike and get some boots of battledancing and bracers of heartfeel blows. :smallcool:

Build problem... max spell lvl 7

I love the swiftblade, but that's a lot of spell levels lost... Not sure if it's worth it.


Cloistered Cleric 1/Monk with Decisive Strike and Improved Grapple 1/ Wizard 18.

Kung Fu Genius and Faerie Mystery's Initiate, and maybe Keen Intellect if flaws are on the table. Swap domains in for Knowledge, Travel, and Strength Devotion feats. If flaws on the table, get a couple of hits for extra turning. It's actually somewhat less MAD then normal Monk, though not terribly.

Cleric gives you a few emergency heals as wells as devotion feats and turn attempts too fuel them, Monk gives you Int too AC and Improved Unarmed strike and grapple, the latter for escaping a grapple.

Get Powerful Build, Combined with Decisive Strike, Strength devotion, travel devotion, and Wizard buffs like enlarge person, bulls strenght, greater magic weapon, those devotion feats and greater mighty wallop your DPR is gonna be crazy, and you'll still get full casting.

Poison healer is a nice trick for earlier on with this build. Reserves of strength and extend spell are also useful. Mystic Thurge might not be bad, since it gets you higher level cleric casting.

This sounds awesome, plenty of wizard in there. Source on Devotion/Decisive Strike/Poison Healer/Reserves of Strength?

[Xtomjames]

While it's not quite what you're thinking combining the Monk with Warlock is very potent. (Lawful Evil), you can take the invocation hideous blast to apply your eldritch blast to your unarmed attacks. And while your invocations are limited in number you can use them at will. I built one once and it was fairly affective.

[faceroll]

you can take the invocation hideous blast to apply your eldritch blast to your unarmed attacks

An unarmed attack.
Pretty underwhelming.

[Hazzardevil]

Hmm, how much kung fu do you want?
Theres the Sorcerer/monk/enlightened fist, but come on, this is a board that has run a competion with a truenamer winning an optimisation challenge, we can do better than that.

The Suel Arcanamach can easily do what you want, it gives level 2 spellcasting in 3 levels, and at that point the useful class features stop.
Take 4 levels of Hexblade for a shadow companion and mettle, then 3 levels of paladin of tyranny, Unarmed Swordsage 2 for some decent mage-killing tactics as well as kung fu, then 3 levels of suel as well as ascetic mage.
Now you have a character with good saves, a companion that lowers saves and with unarmed swordsage you can do unarmed combat.
After 3 levels of Suel I recommend 5 levels of abjurant champion for better Caster levels and to finish off I would recommend swiftblade.