Help With Monk

[Garou666]

i want to do a great build with monk

Scores

18,16,14,12,12,10

Allowed books.


Player book
Complete Warrior
Complete Aventurer
Complete Divine
Complete Mage
Master Book

I'm thinking about
4 monk/ 2 warrior / 1 smasher/ 1 kensai :smalltongue:

:smallcool:

[Flickerdart]

Master Book? Do you mean the Dungeon Master's Guide? Also, Warrior is an NPC class and I've never heard of Smasher (it's definitely not from the books you listed).

Anyhow, what is it that you want your Monk to actually do? Who are the other party members? What kind of campaign is it?

[atemu1234]

Assuming human, go with the eighteen in dexterity and the sixteen in wisdom. Put the fourteen in constitution, the twelves in charisma and intelligence and the ten in strength. Get the Weapon Finesse feat as well as Weapon Focus (Unarmed Strike). That's an OK start for a single-class monk, provided you're not in too bad a sitch DM-wise.

[Eldariel]

For a truly amazing Monk, you'll want to use size increasing and buffing magic combined with the Unarmed Strikes. Have you thought about Monk 2/Cleric 4/Sacred Fist 10? If you really want to do great with a Monk, with those sources that's probably your best bet. Or Monk 1/Cleric 5 if you want to reach the "insanely strong"-threshold faster. You can use Divine Metamagic [Complete Divine]: Persistent Spell [Complete Arcane] to persist spells like Divine Power, Righteous Might and so on, and combine them with Greater Magic Weapon, Magic Vestment (on your clothes), etc. to truly become a master martial artist. You might need to pick Extra Turning few times to fuel it, and use Metamagic Rod of Extend Spell in conjunction with it to make your spells last 48 hours to stay buffed all day.

Get a Monk's Belt + Improved Natural Attack: Unarmed Strikes (the feat is in Monster Manual but works on Monks) and you're looking at plenty good Unarmed Strikes. You can use Domains for Mage Armor (which goes great with Monk anyways) and then just pick up Practiced Spellcaster and call it a day. Note that Monk 1/Cleric 5/Sacred Fist 10/Full Casting Class hits 9th level spells which really gives you the most amazing buffs (Shapechange, Giant Size through Miracle, etc.).


Stat-wise, 18 Wisdom, 16 Strength, 14 Dex, 12 Con/Int, 10 Cha is probably the way to go.

[Sir Chuckles]

It appears that the Smasher (http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Smasher_(3.5e_Class)) is a dandwiki class, but I have had no luck in finding what "Master Book" is.

...we're going to need a lot more information for this one.

[Flickerdart]

Stat-wise, 18 Wisdom, 16 Strength, 14 Dex, 12 Con/Int, 10 Cha is probably the way to go.
12 Constitution, with a d8 hit die? I wouldn't.


Assuming human, go with the eighteen in dexterity and the sixteen in wisdom. Put the fourteen in constitution, the twelves in charisma and intelligence and the ten in strength. Get the Weapon Finesse feat as well as Weapon Focus (Unarmed Strike). That's an OK start for a single-class monk, provided you're not in too bad a sitch DM-wise.
Charisma over Strength? You realize that Weapon Finesse doesn't add to damage, right?

[Xerlith]

Monk2/Cleric4/Sacred Fist10/Cleric+4 is a good start.

Wis>Dex>Con>Str>Int>Cha

Intuitive Attack. Damage from Cleric buffs. Wears light armor.

Best monk you'll get without cheesing it. And it actually HAS monk levels.

I mean it.

Seriously.

I mean it.

[Rebel7284]

Assuming this isn't just sarcasm on Monkday...

Monk is a fairly weak class due to its many class features not working well together.

Most approaches to a good monk require taking as few monk levels as possible.

Solution 1:
Combine with Divine Caster:
Whether it's Monk 1/Druid 19 to get karate chopping bear or the aforementioned sacred fist to have cleric spells, the wisdom synergy makes this work fairly well.

Solution 2:
Unarmed Swordsage:
The Unarmed Swordsage variant in Tome of Battle is meant as a monk replacement. It gets most of the monk abilities, plus maneuver assess.

Solution 3:
Swap for good class features:
There are several alternate class features that are nice on a monk.
- Invisible Fist gets invisibility for one round every 3 rounds at level 2 and Blink at Level 9(Exemplars of Evil).
- Dark Way Monk from Champions of Valor Web Enhancement get Shadow Blend at level 7 which is amazing.
- On some builds, trading Flurry of Blows for Decisive Strike is good.

Solution 4:
Mini Shadowpouncer
Sun School tactical feat gives you the ability to make an attack after you teleport. If you can teleport multiple times a round, you can get some very fun attacking all over the place going. Relies on items to teleport or dips into classes that can.

Solution 5:
Psychic Monk
Tashalatora (http://dndtools.eu/feats/secrets-of-sarlona--14/tashalatora--3415/) feat allows a psionic class to progress most of your monk abilities. Typically taken with something like Psychic Warrior for a fighting focused monk.

[Garou666]

It appears that the Smasher (http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Smasher_(3.5e_Class)) is a dandwiki class, but I have had no luck in finding what "Master Book" is.

...we're going to need a lot more information for this one.

Dungeon Master's Guide. is master book for us in my country hehehe. :smallamused:


Smasher= The reaping mauler Complete warrior pag 75 :smallamused:

So this way of combo is great to, i will put Greater Magic Fang with permanency

Buy a Monk belt too

and some ionic stones in future

My build need to be
8TH level. and i don't wanna to be a Cleric.

[Flickerdart]

reaping mauler
You don't want Reaping Mauler. It makes you worse at grappling (which is already a really bad strategy for a number of reasons) by requiring you to stay Medium sized, in order to use the Clever Wrestling feat in its prerequisites. The best way to raise your Grapple modifier is with size increases.

[Telonius]

Regarding Reaping Mauler ... as written, yes, it's awful, because it technically disqualifies itself if you use one of the most common ways of increasing a Grapple check. Personally I think this was just a stupid oversight by the writers, and would houserule the problem away if anyone at my table ever wanted to play one. Check with your DM. If he allows it to work while Enlarged, it is better than five levels of Monk. If not, it isn't.

[Sir Chuckles]

Dungeon Master's Guide. is master book for us in my country hehehe. :smallamused:


Smasher= The reaping mauler Complete warrior pag 75 :smallamused:

So this way of combo is great to, i will put Greater Magic Fang with permanency

Buy a Monk belt too

and some ionic stones in future

My build need to be
8TH level. and i don't wanna to be a Cleric.

Well, make sure to drop Warrior, as it''s an NPC class.
Unless you mean Fighter (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/classes/fighter.htm). Darn language barriers.
I'd honestly say skip Reaping Mauler, it's fairly awful and you won't be gaining much of anything out of it, especially not a 1 level dip. Grappling loses it's viability very quickly.

Looking at the books you have access to, you'd probably be better off emulating a Monk rather than playing a Monk, in various ways from Fighter/Barbarian for feats for Unarmed Strikes. Do you want to be a Monk, or do you want to be a Kung-Fu punching master? Because a Monk is not that.

[WeaselGuy]

Someway, somehow, I've got a guy at my table who's playing a straight monk, level 10, knockdown/improved trip build and absolutely annoys the everloving crap out of my DM. The only thing that's been an issue for him so far are oozes. And they pretty much suck for everyone within reach.

From past experience, I played a monk that prc'd into tattooed monk as my first character. I probably didn't do much damage, but I have a lot of good memories revolving around that character. I think I recently tried optimizing him, but have no idea what happened to that character sheet. If I have time, I might take a stab at it and post the results a little later today.

[Gemini476]

RE: Reaping Mauler, wouldn't becoming non-Medium just make you lose the benefit of the feat? You still have the feat, so the prestige class itself should go on without any issues. Unless I'm missing something?
The PHB has an example with Power Attack:

For example, if your character’s Strength drops below 13 because a ray of enfeeblement spell, he or she can’t use the Power Attack feat until the prerequisite is once again met.

[Flickerdart]

RE: Reaping Mauler, wouldn't becoming non-Medium just make you lose the benefit of the feat? You still have the feat, so the prestige class itself should go on without any issues. Unless I'm missing something?
The PHB has an example with Power Attack:
Complete Warrior has a bit that talks about what happens when you no longer qualify for the prerequisite of a PrC.

[Ceaon]

Someway, somehow, I've got a guy at my table who's playing a straight monk, level 10, knockdown/improved trip build and absolutely annoys the everloving crap out of my DM. The only thing that's been an issue for him so far are oozes. And they pretty much suck for everyone within reach.

From past experience, I played a monk that prc'd into tattooed monk as my first character. I probably didn't do much damage, but I have a lot of good memories revolving around that character. I think I recently tried optimizing him, but have no idea what happened to that character sheet. If I have time, I might take a stab at it and post the results a little later today.

Interesting! How does he handle flying opponents? Or opponents too large to trip?

[Telonius]

Okay, thinking a bit about what you're trying to do there ... this actually isn't the worst build, assuming Reaping Mauler is fixed to allow itself while Enlarged. It is not - I repeat, not - going to be as good as a caster hybrid like Sacred Fist or Enlightened Fist. But (especially if Swordsage isn't available) it's going to be decent in grappling and useful otherwise. In any case it's going to be a lot better than Monk.

Str 18
Dex 12
Con 16
Int 14
Wis 12
Cha 10

1 Overwhelming Attack Monk (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#overwhelmingAttack) 1 Improved Unarmed Strike(Monk), Power Attack(Monk), Clever Wrestling(1), Combat Expertise(Human)
2 OAM2 Imp Bull Rush(Monk)
3 OAM3
4 OAM4 +1 Dex
5 Ftr1 Weapon Focus (Unarmed Strike)
6 Ftr2 Improved Trip, Earth’s Embrace
7 Reaping Mauler1 (Mobility, Improved Grapple while wearing no or light armor)
8 Kensai1 +1 Dex
9 Kensai2 Shock Trooper, Power Surge

If Combat Style Monks aren't allowed, use this:

1 Mnk1 Improved Unarmed Strike(Monk), Stunning Fist(Monk), Clever Wrestling(1), Combat Expertise(Human)
2 Mnk2 Combat Reflexes(Monk)
3 Mnk3
4 Mnk4 +1 Dex
5 Ftr1 Weapon Focus (Unarmed Strike)
6 Ftr2 Power Attack, Improved Bull Rush
7 Reaping Mauler1 (Mobility, Improved Grapple while wearing no or light armor)
8 Kensai1 +1 Dex
9 Kensai2 Shock Trooper, Power Surge

Monk4 isn't a completely terrible break-off point. You're right at 3/4 BAB, and have 4 levels of good saves. The Reaping Mauler, Kensai, and Shock Trooper prerequisites are taken care of in a couple of levels. So let's say you go up against a medium-sized enemy at level 8, while Enlarged.

Grapple: 6(BAB)+4(Size)+4(Imp Grapple)+5(Str, incl. enlarge person bonus) = 19
Damage: 1d8(unarmed strike)+1d6(spikes)+5(Str)+1(magic from Kensai)=1d8+1d6+6, average 14

+19 Grapple isn't horrible, and that's not even counting any Strength-boosting items or other bonuses you can stack on.

In general, ignore your Flurry of Blows, speed bonus, and AC bonus; wear a Mithral Breastplate. (Armor spikes can be nice if your DM agrees that they give a flat bonus to grapple damage, instead of being a weapon you can attack with while grappled; you can also enchant these to give extra damage). When you take a few more levels in Kensai you'll have a few rounds of Power Surge to give you +8 to Strength.

[Garou666]

[QUOTE=Telonius;17564335]

Dude i just can use the listed books :/:smallannoyed:

[Eldariel]

12 Constitution, with a d8 hit die? I wouldn't.

I think it'd be doable with Cleric buffs. The other option is losing Dex but eh, that costs Initiative among other things. Ultimately it hurts a bit no matter which is lost, but magic can make up for it in part either way (Divine Power already grants some Temp HP for instance, and Con itself can be buffed). Tho if using shapeshifting magic, these considerations change of course and it's actually optimal to just toss the 16 into Con.


My build need to be
8TH level. and i don't wanna to be a Cleric.

Ah well, that's that then. Good luck.

[Juntao112]

Interesting! How does he handle flying opponents? Or opponents too large to trip?
Answer for the first question, and possibly the second, may involve the Alter Self tattoo.

[JusticeZero]

Why does it have to be a Monk specifically? If the goal is to make an "unarmed kung-fu master" type character, there are more effective ways of making it than to use the Monk class, which wasn't very well designed.
(In their credit, it's a big improvement off of the grandfathered original, which was atrocious, and nobody really knew how the game worked when they were developing it.)

[John Longarrow]

Stats Str 12 Dex 16 Con 14 Int 18+2 from levels=20 Wis 12 Cha 10
Lvl 1 - Fighter-1 Feat: Improved Unarmed Strike, (Human) Two Weapon Fighting (Fighter) Weapon Focus (Improved Unarmed Strike)
Lvl 2 - Wizard-1
Lvl 3 - Wizard-2 Feat: Combat Casting
Lvl 4 - Wizard-3
Lvl 5 - Wizard-4
Lvl 6 - Wizard-5 Feat: Extend Spell
Lvl 7 - Wizard-6
Lvl 8 - SpellSword - 1

At this point you have a BAB of 5, cast 7th level spells, can beat people up with your fists, and can use self buffs to up STR/DEX/CON and take other forms. If you can't curb stomp an 8th level Monk build, your not building it right...

Lvl 9 -> Lvl 13 Abjurant Champion

You can still beat people with your fists, but you can do sooo much more...

[Telonius]

[QUOTE=Telonius;17564335]

Dude i just can use the listed books :/:smallannoyed:

The only thing about the suggestion I posted that's not in the listed books, is the Overwhelming Assault Monk variant. It's part of the SRD, which is considered practically Players' Handbook by many groups. Just in case it's not allowed, the second build is completely made up of sources you're allowed to have, and will give you a similar result.

Power Attack, Improved Bull Rush, Weapon Focus, Combat Reflexes, Improved Grapple, Mobility, and Combat Expertise are from the Players' Handbook. So are Armor Spikes and Breastplate.
Mithral is in the Dungeon Master's Guide.
Clever Wrestling, Shock Trooper, Earth's Embrace, Kensai, and Reaping Mauler are from Complete Warrior.

[Juntao112]

Well, make sure to drop Warrior, as it''s an NPC class.
Unless you mean Fighter (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/classes/fighter.htm). Darn language barriers.
I'd honestly say skip Reaping Mauler, it's fairly awful and you won't be gaining much of anything out of it, especially not a 1 level dip. Grappling loses it's viability very quickly.

Looking at the books you have access to, you'd probably be better off emulating a Monk rather than playing a Monk, in various ways from Fighter/Barbarian for feats for Unarmed Strikes. Do you want to be a Monk, or do you want to be a Kung-Fu punching master? Because a Monk is not that.

Perhaps he should try... the Hao Han (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=5448.msg78308#msg78308)!