Monk/Barbarian/Drunken Master (3.0 ONLY)

[sinned]

Hello, Playground! I'm a long-time lurker, nice to finally post something myself ;).
I really like to create character builds and I also really like fist fighters. I try to make effective fisters in each game I play, be it tabletop or electronic. Currently, I'm playing a campaign on a Cleric soon to be Divine Disciple. I have no doubt that he's gonna rock but I really miss fighting with fists.

So here's the thing:
I was thinking about making a character who uses fists (or gauntlets) and can be considered good. Take into mind that I can ONLY use 3.0 (NOT 3.5).

Monk 1/Barbarian 4/Drunken Master 9

Human - Dodge, Great Fortitude (prereq for Drunken Master)
level 1: Monk - mainly to get the Evasion ability (prereq for DM)

level 2-5: Barbarian - I like the extra hit points and full BAB and want the Snow Tiger Berserker feat (charge + full round attack). I stop at lvl 5 since I need +4 BAB to go DM. I got the backstory for the transition from Monk to Barb covered.

level 6: Drunken Master - full BAB, gives AC and better unarmed dmg and better attacks (-3 instead of -5 for consecutive attacks). His Stagger and high speed complement the Snow Tiger Berserker charge really well. You can see Drunken Master for 3.0 here (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20010105).

Is there a better way to go about this? Maybe something can be improved?

Also: our Dungeon Master is really stingy with items. We cannot simply think of an item from a compendium to be able to buy it. We can buy only what he makes available for us and it's usually lackluster but I guess he could go for some standard +x magic gauntlets for me.

[prufock]

Are you avoiding spellcasters on purpose?

Cleric X/Whatever you want X works fine for an unarmed build. Monk 2 is a decent place to stop. You buff yourself with spells (Divine Favour, Divine Power, Righteous Might, Magic Weapon) and punch things down. Keep in mind that having some way to cast these spells quickened or with longer duration is kind of important (a MM rod or the feats), as otherwise it eats up a round to do so. Barbarian can also work with Cleric for the rage boosts.

Remember that mixing Barbarian and Monk might require some alignment fiddling.

[CraftyCactus]

Monk 1 doesn't give evasion. If you just want the improved unarmed strike stuff, check out the City Brawler alternative class feature for barbarians from Dragon #349 p. 92:


City Brawler
Level: 1st
Replaces: If you choose this ability, you do not gain proficiency with martial weapons, medium armor, or shields
Benefit: You get Improved Unarmed Strike as a bonus feat, as well as the effects of Two-Weapon Fighting feat when fighting unarmed. At 7th level, you gain the effects of Improved Two-Weapon fighting when fightinig unarmed and at 11th level you gain the effects of Greater Two-Weapon Fighting when fighting unarmed. You only take a -2 penalty when using improvised weapons (instead of the usual -4 penalty).

[sinned]

Thanks for the input, guys!


Are you avoiding spellcasters on purpose?

A bit, yes. And I really like the rage vibe and the charge + full attack thing. To quicken these spells I would need to have at least level 9 (I doubt the DM would let be get items which have feat-like powers) and I want to start having fun as soon as possible ;). Self-buffing for two rounds or so seems like a waste, especially when we rarely get any heads-up before a fight.



Monk 1 doesn't give evasion. If you just want the improved unarmed strike stuff, check out the City Brawler alternative class feature for barbarians from Dragon #349 p. 92:

In 3.0, he does (http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/SRD3e:Monk). Thanks for pointing me to the City Brawler. I will look into it.