Failed 1st level classes?

[Nifft]

I'll keep working... basically, for my individual needs, I wanted the "failed monk" flavor, because my DM is allowing us (well, me) to try the Vow of Poverty from BoED. The "ascetic"ness was to be a big part of his character, Eschew Materials for his casting, etc, etc.

IMHO, a Sorcerer with Draconic feats could be a decent not-a-Monk VoP type. You'll want Draconic Claw in place of Improved Unarmed Strike, though.

"I can't meditate! The voice talks to me when I'm sitting still!" -- The voice of his ancestor Dragon's spirit, of course.

Cheer, -- N

 

[Slapzilla]

a) best solution, since he started as a monk but flunked out and can't do any monk stuff, is that it is just part of his backstory (and spend some of the initial skill points in a couple of monk-flavoured skills - at 1st level with a high Int you'll have quite a few skill points, so you can put 1 rank in a lot of monk skills like tumble, move silently, jump, hide etc; very few in traditional wizardy skills like knowledge skills).

Love this idea, too.

Remember, it's not a 'waste' if you think it's cool. Of course I'm the guy who likes the challenge of three 9s, a 10, an 11 and a 13 for stats. Whatever.

 

[JayBrickwall]

"I can't meditate! The voice talks to me when I'm sitting still!" -- The voice of his ancestor Dragon's spirit, of course.

Cheer, -- N

Very Nice!

 

[Shazman]

You may got everything well decided by now, but my suggestions would be

a) best solution, since he started as a monk but flunked out and can't do any monk stuff, is that it is just part of his backstory (and spend some of the initial skill points in a couple of monk-flavoured skills - at 1st level with a high Int you'll have quite a few skill points, so you can put 1 rank in a lot of monk skills like tumble, move silently, jump, hide etc; very few in traditional wizardy skills like knowledge skills).

b) if you really want to waste a level to make the point, make his first level a level in the Expert NPC class, so you can get monk type skills without any of the salient monk abilities.

I would say the best way to do this is to pick a flaw form Unearthed Arcana that would make him unsuitable for the monk lifestyle. Then pick improved unarmed strike as your bonus feat. You could even forget the flaws, and give him ability scores or an alignment more suited to a wizard or a sorcerer than a monk. He had some rudimentary monk training, but decided that it wasn't for him.

 

[Claudius Gaius]

Depends on what you want

It all depends on how much actual influence you want it to have on the mechanics:
If it's purely a roleplaying detail, just note it in your backstory.
If you want it to have influenced your early training, take a few Monk-style skills or a Feat like Improved Unarmed Strike. You'll be slightly weaker, but not much.
If you want it to have been a serious dead end, take a level in Expert or a generic class from Unearthed Arcana, take some relevant skills, and then go on with your character development in the class(es) you actually want. You'll be notably weaker in some ways, but that isn't necessarily a problem if you're in a strong role-playing campaign.
If you want it to be a modest influence throughout your career, use one of the define-your-own class third-party options. I - as you can see from the sig - recommend the Shareware version of Eclipse: The Codex Persona for that. It's a pure point buy, so you can get exactly the character you want out of it. Point Buy Numbers and several other PDF systems should work as well.

 

[Thondor]

The real question is how many "monkish" things you want to show that you took monk levels but it just wasn't for you.
A) You could go as far as having all the first level abilities of a monk but
. . . Your training took forever, you simply never had a great aptitude for the monkly life, or perhaps you never had a choice in becoming a monk. Once you were out in the field and your magical potential emerged or your god called upon you, you realized your true path.

B) Most characteristics of monk. This could mean all saves, some skills and some of the special abilities of a monk. Your DM might allow you to switch out some of the special abilities for extra feats, such as flurry of blows, monk unarmed damage, monk bonus feats( shoot that might be secound level) etc.
.... You never completed your studies. You were dismissed for your behaviour or lack of progress. Possibly your monastery was attack and you and a few others were lucky to escape with your lives. Or unsatisfied with your life you left to find your true path.

I think B) is really what you are looking for, some tangible mechanical 'benefits' to your former life, but a clear indication that you were not a success. I'm not sure I can really suggest what would be "balanced" it all depends on how many abilities you really want, and the actual built of your character. Keeping the wisdom bonus to armor would likely be a substantial bonus to your character, while loosing flurry and monk unarmed damage isn't a substantial loss as most of your time is spent spell casting - it is probably worth one feat though. The skills aren't really a loss either, but it may mean you aren't quite as good at some of the skills that you'd like maxed out.

 

[pawsplay]

I think just taking Improved Unarmed Strike and having a good Concentration but a low Wisdom score would pretty much cover this. Certainly, you don't want to add a level of anything to MysticTheurge you don't have to.

 

[Aestolia]

I played an older character who did this once for RP, as slap said, a good idea is never a waste.

If you want to spend the 1st level as a flunk out, I'd say do it. 1st levels have their advantages in just about every class. Not to mention that 1st levels can give you a boost in a weak save.

My old mage had one level of monk, who was eventually told, that they could see i had the potential, but lacked the necessary discipline. 8 levels later everyone forgets about it, until I go up and successfully stunning fist an annoying NPC. Players themselves will often forget and go, "wait you did what?" which always makes for a good time.

This works with just about any class since they all impart something at level 1.

 

[Bagpuss]

Cloistered Cleric.

Hardly call that wasted, when you consider the skill points two good saves three domains and identify for free. It's actually not a bad starting class if you are starting at a higher level, or need a dip to gain entry to one of the "+1 spell level" prestige classes.