monks with bows?

[frost890]

I was thinking of making a elf monk and was looking for some ideas on a build. I was thinking of doing a elf monk to use a bow and was wondering if there are any builds/feats that might work for this? I kind of want a strait monk or monk prestige classes if i can get them. I figure the bow can give me a decent chance of getting to a high enough level that I am not as "squishy", but this might also be good with the monks speed... any help would be great, im still pretty new at this.

[Aegis013]

Well, if you're making a monk archer, I strongly recommend the feat Zen Archery. It keys your ranged attacks off of Wisdom. This might help alleviate MAD (multi-attribute dependency) somewhat.

[Jack Zander]

Ask your DM if you can use the Zen Archer monk archtype from pathfinder.

[eggs]

I can think of a couple things, but I have to ask:

If you're using a bow, what about the character do you want to be a "Monk"?
And how is that different than a Bow-focused Psychic Warrior or Ninja?

[Krazzman]

I recommend Jack's advice. (If this is PF just take it else ask your DM about it)

Else where is the difference in Monk with Zen Archer Feat and Cleric with Zen Archer Feat? The difference is the Cleric has Spells and Domains instead of subpar class features.

If you want Fluff and so on, take one level of Monk and the rest take it as Cleric. (This counts for 3.5)

[kpenguin]

Monks are about punching things in the face. If you're going to shoot things in the face rather than punch, you should take another wisdom-focused class, pick up zen archery, and fluff the fluffy fluff out of it.

[Morph Bark]

If you want Fluff and so on, take one level of Monk and the rest take it as Cleric. (This counts for 3.5)

And after this, you could always go into Sacred Fist. I believe they get full spell and Monk advancement.

Or go Tashalatora, though if you do it with a bow it would work best with a Psychic Rogue, which you may not want here.

[frost890]

I can think of a couple things, but I have to ask:

If you're using a bow, what about the character do you want to be a "Monk"?
And how is that different than a Bow-focused Psychic Warrior or Ninja?

well I want the monk, and with some of the books I've read talk about zen archery. they way that they describe it sounds almost like meditation.so I thought it would fit with the theme. honestly I care more about the concept then the functionality of it. the flavor is better if it has a touch of possibility to it. I was just wondering if they put out a prestige class that I hadn't heard of.

[Dr.Epic]

Zen Archery

[Fitz10019]

well I want the monk

Kungfu monk, or medieval Europe monk? If the latter, consider making a Cloistered Cleric, and then call yourself "Brother [Name]" to get the mEmonk vibe. The core Monk class is intended as a martial artist, which is never my first thought when I here 'monk.'

[Treblain]

A Soulbow (CP) that uses Psionic Shot (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/psionicFeats.htm#psionicShot) is basically a monk archer who meditates to make his arrows do more damage. Oh, and you can shoot lasers out of your hands.

[Thumperganker]

Actually there is a way of using Zen Archery and another feat to get flurry of blows into a flurry of bows(and arrows) You'll have to look around though i can't remember the source

[eggs]

Dipping Rogue at level 1 would let you put the archery feat chain together earlier. When you have some breathing room with feats, you could retrain it to the default sneak attack rogue and pick up the Craven feat for serious bonus damage. Between UMD, typical debuffs from party casters and the Invisible Fist ACF, catching targets flatfooted shouldn't be too much of a problem.

My honest recommendation though, would just be to houserule a different kind of Monk. Drop the unarmed strike bonuses, give bow proficiency, apply flurry strictly to bow/ranged attacks, swap bonus feats to archery feats, add Wis to bow attack and damage (frontload Wis-to-Attack to level 1, drop Wis-to-Damage to level 4), then add some fun abilities in place of the various Ki fists (ricocheting shots, ignoring wind conditions, pinning targets to things, &c.). But this would take enough discussion with your DM/group that it's probably not worth spelling out completely here

[The-Mage-King]

You want Monk-flavor, with archery?


May I suggest Talashtora Monk/Marksman (http://dsp-d20-srd.wikidot.com/marksman)? It nets you the appropriate flavor, a good-for-archer chassis, and some powers from this list (http://dsp-d20-srd.wikidot.com/marksman-powers).


And, before you say "OH NOES, IT IS 3RD PARTY", let me point out that Dreamscarred Press' psionic materials, which I linked to the SRD of, is generally considered to be better balanced than WotC's. So yeah.


Well, other than maybe Dissolving Weapon/Touch.

[RndmNumGen]

Ask your DM if you can use the Zen Archer monk archtype from pathfinder.

I third this. Zen Archer Monk is an excellent archtype, one which makes archery actually quite viable in an otherwise melee-biased game. It gets a bunch of nice stuff like archery-themed bonus feats, WIS to attack rolls and Flurry of Bows for feat-free rapid shotting. Despite all the goodies, it's remarkably well balanced for Monk, even in a 3.5 game.

If you're wondering, it can be found here (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/monk/archetypes/paizo---monk-archetypes/zen-archer).

[Greyfeld85]

well I want the monk, and with some of the books I've read talk about zen archery. they way that they describe it sounds almost like meditation.so I thought it would fit with the theme. honestly I care more about the concept then the functionality of it. the flavor is better if it has a touch of possibility to it. I was just wondering if they put out a prestige class that I hadn't heard of.

Don't get caught up in the idea that you need to play a specific class to play its archetype. You can just as easily be a Cleric or a Druid and still be a "monk." Fluff isn't dictated by the rules in the book, and you should keep that in mind when creating characters.