Help creating a Monk

[Akhkharu]

I will be playing a Monk for the first time and was wondering what feats would be good for them. Can use and of the core books.

Have the following scores for stats, place as see fit.
18 17 17 16 14 12

The character is a human 1 level Wizard, 6 levels monk.

Also suggested items would be great. Gold as 7th level character.

Thanks
Akh

 

[Mordekai]

Wow

I'd go with

St: 17 (+1 from 4th) = 18
Dx: 18
Cn: 16
In: 14
Ws: 17
Ch: 12

Focus on items that increase your stats, and maybe an amulet of natural attacks, plus any AC boosters you feel you need.

As far as feats go, I'm not certain, other than (almost-required for a Monk) Spring Attack. Maybe an Exotic Weapon Proficiency in one of the OA monk weapons, if allowed--the three-section staff or Lajatang will let you capitalize on your high strength, giving you 1d8 + 1.5*StMod damage on each attack, even flurries.

 

[SpikeyFreak]

Re: Wow

I'd go with

St: 17 (+1 from 4th) = 18
Dx: 18
Cn: 16
In: 14
Ws: 17
Ch: 12

Focus on items that increase your stats, and maybe an amulet of natural attacks, plus any AC boosters you feel you need.

As far as feats go, I'm not certain, other than (almost-required for a Monk) Spring Attack. Maybe an Exotic Weapon Proficiency in one of the OA monk weapons, if allowed--the three-section staff or Lajatang will let you capitalize on your high strength, giving you 1d8 + 1.5*StMod damage on each attack, even flurries.

Boy those are some high stats.

I agree with Mordy. High str is a must for a monk who is going to be in combat a lot. High Con is important too because they have less HP than the typical melee classes. Mordy's advice on weapons is good advice too.

Dodge is a good 1st level feat for monks because you need all the AC you can get. Mobility is good too, it helps you get in possition to flank and to soak up AoO to let other people get in unmolested. With that Dex, Combat Reflexes could be a good feat too.

--Core Spikey

 

[MeanGenes]

I'd say:

Str 18
Dex 16
Con 17
Int 14
Wis 17
Cha 12

For the 4th level stat raise, I'd go with wisdom or con.

For spells, you have to take True Strike and Shield (can't go wrong with a +7 to ac bonus).

If you're playing this character for long term, I'd check out Oriental Adventures and pick the feats necessary for the martial art style which boosts your unarmed damage. But for now, go with Power Attack (nasty when combined with true strike), cleave, roundabout kick (in OA), and maybe improved grapple.

 

[Akhkharu]

These are great! Keep them coming!

Boy those are some high stats.

Yeah, 4d6, drop the lowest.

 

[UofMDude]

What kind of monk are you going for? There are some really great feats for monks in the OA book.

Flying kick is a great starter. And there are some really great feats that let you use AoO for extra things (disarming people that hit you or even get off an AoO when someone hits you). Combat Reflexes is of course a must if you're going to use any of those. Improved Grapple is good too.

Personally, I think monks work best when you can use the special abilities and special attacks. This won't work too well against monsters with unarmed attacks though so it really depends on the style of campaign you will be running.

UofMDude

 

[Zhure]

my version

Wizard 1/Monk 6

I'd much rather take Sorcerer 1/Monk 6 if you don't plan on increasing your mage levels.

Str 18 (by 4th level)
Dex 16
Con 17
Int 14
Wis 17
Cha 12

Consider raising Wis to 18 at 8th level (raise your Stunning Blow saves and AC), then 19 at 12th level and take the Blind Sight Feat. At 16th, raise it 1 more point to 20 Wisdom, again for the stunning blow saves and AC. At 20th level, raise your CON to 18. This will give you +20 hit points by then.

Feats: Power Attack, Cleave, Pain Touch, Combat Reflexes. For future selections, think about Expert Tactician (9), Blindsight (12), EWP: Three-section Staff or Lajatang (15), Great Cleave (18).

I'd pick Three-section staff over Lajatang. The tri-staff folds for convenient storage and is probably easier for non-asian weaponsmiths to make.

The EWP and Great Cleave are the easiest to drop. They're both campaign dependent on utility, as the DM may not allow the first and the second might not come up as often. You might consider gaining some sort of MWP: Longbow/shortbow to get a Strength Bow.

Familiar: Bat. They're mobile, make great scouts, and have Blindsight.

Spells: True Strike, Mage Armor

While Shield is a fantastic spell, Mage Armor adds +4 instead of +7, it lasts 1 hour per level rather than 1 minute per level. It's relatively easy to get a Wand of Shield. Magic Missile is another good selection for a monk as they get no good missile weapons.

For cantrips, Detect Magic, Read Magic and Prestidigitation are probably the best. Mage Hand is a close 4th.

If you do stick with Wizard, use your Scribe Scroll Feat to write lots of scrolls of both your primary 1st level spells, but I can't stress highly enough how much easier your life will be with Sorcerer).

Magic Items: No specific list as I can't remember the gp value off the top of my head, but these are the things to try for.
- Monk's Belt, Boots of Speed OR Belt of Giant Strength, Boots of Striding and Springing
- Ring of Jump, Ring of Protection
- Vest of Faith OR Vest of False Life
- Brooch of Shielding Or Amulet of Natural Armor
- Cloak of Protection or Cloak of the Mountebank
- Goggles of Darkvision
- Helm of Teleportation or Hat of Disguise
- Bracers of archer or Ki Straps
- Wands: Magic Missile, Fireball, Shield

Hope that helps,
Greg

 

[Psyduck]

I disagree with a few of the other posts. Your highest score should be Wisdom before dex, as it helps your AC as well, but a lot of your bonuses rely on Wisdom. Stunning attack is one I can think of off the top of my head.

 

[Nareau]

How long will you be playing this character? Will you be adding Monk levels? Or Wizard levels?

If you're going to pursue your Wizardly studies, you should make those Monk levels your first. By starting off as a first level Monk, you'll score an extra 8 skill points.

 

[Ridley's Cohort]

I would normally agree that you should make Wis your highest score. But in this case it hardly matters. It is only one level away to your next stat point. Choose based on whether you would rather have +1 to AC or +1 to hit (the other differences are a wash).

Consider picking up a cheap wand of mage armor and wand of shield.

 

[Legildur]

I'm watching this thread with great interest as I am trying to build a viable human Monk for a campaign (first experience was consistent with 1st Ed rules - unsatisfying).

Using the Character Generator from the back of the PHB (so that the DM can verify #rolls taken - rerolled once) I got the following stats:

18, 18, 17, 14, 14, 13 - pretty happy

To make him viable I also will be using the Oriental Adventures rules for Monks, and so I have a question.

Assume I put 18 into Str and Flurry with a quarterstaff (special monk weapon in OA), is the attack sequence +2/+2 at 1d6+6?

That is, does he get the two-handed damage bonus to each strike? If so, that certainly helps (until his unarmed improve at later levels).

The quarterstaff is also a readily available weapon and a magical version is more likely to be found than a lajatang, or even nunchaku.

Don't forget, that under OA, you can trade out the stunning attack (Stunnning Fist feat), Deflect Arrows and Improved Trip for other martial arts feats. This could be attractive to build other feat chains that suit your flavour.

Also, the Shintao Monk PrC from OA (elegible from around 5th level) has bonus feats as per a Fighter. Another way to build a warrior monk quickly.

 

[SpikeyFreak]

As long as he is using a monk special weapon 2 handed and the weapon is his size or larger, he can get the full 1.5xStr Mod on all attacks.

--Monkey Spikey

 

[jontherev]

Pain Touch

You need a 19 wisdom to get Pain Touch, if your DM will allow feats from the fighter/monk sourcebook Sword & Fist. It's an excellent feat that makes an opponent who is stunned by you to be nauseated for the round AFTER it is stunned. Plus, at 8th level you can bump it up to 20 to get a +5 to AC, +5 to will saves, and a +5 to your stunning attack DC (which is a healthy 18!). Add a periapt of wisdom +2/+4, and you've got it made. Another idea is taking combat reflexes and then expert tactician (also in Sword and the Fist, updated in Song and Silence). That would give you an extra attack every time you stun someone. The real kicker though is if you get some Ki Straps (ahem...Sword and the Fist), which would add another +5 to your stun DC. Add an ally rogue flanking him for more mayhem...except vs. undead and other nasties immune to stunning. YMMV.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Re: Pain Touch

Add an ally rogue flanking him for more mayhem...

Or a wand of Threatening Weapon for auto-flanking...

-Hyp.

 

[Chun-tzu]

I'd agree that Sprng Attack is a great feat for monks, and you can enhance that even further with Boots of Striding and Springing (Note that the boots have been errata'ed and now cost 6000 instead of 2500 gp). Monks are mobile combatants, and shouldn't be going toe to toe against the tough monsters, so Spring Attack gives you the hit--and-run tactic.

Don't forget, that under OA, you can trade out the stunning attack (Stunnning Fist feat), Deflect Arrows and Improved Trip for other martial arts feats. This could be attractive to build other feat chains that suit your flavour.

Also, the Shintao Monk PrC from OA (elegible from around 5th level) has bonus feats as per a Fighter. Another way to build a warrior monk quickly. [/B]

Actually, the Shintao Monk chooses from a different set of bonus feats than the Fighter's (but gains them at the same rate, one every other level).

As I pointed out a few days ago on another thread, the great thing about the Shintao monk is that you can build a character that masters **all 6** martial arts styles (counting Mighty Works Mastery twice) by level 20. To do this, though, you need to take 6 levels in Monk, at least 9 levels of Shintao Monk, 2 levels of Fighter, two levels of Psi-Warrior, plus the bonus feat that humans (and Strongheart Halflings) gain at level 1. You also have to plan out your feats very carefully, because only a few of the martial arts feats can be taken as Fighter/Psi-Warrior bonus feats, and the selection for Shintao Monk bonus feats is also limited. You need to save your level up feats for those feats that you can't take as bonus feats.

 

[Artoomis]

For a bit of a different take on this:

I am starting with the assumption that a wizard/monk is not intended to be a combat powerhouse. With that in mind, I'd worry about survival first, damage-dealing second and focus more on scouting than anything else.

Always have an Expiditious Retreat ready - no one can catch you that way. Mage Armor and Shield are two other great choices.

I don't know how much money a 7th level character gets without my book handy, but a few things to consider:

+2 stat items cost 4,000 - get one for Dex and Wis, at least. Con would be nice, too. Get Dex, then Wis, then Con if you can afford it.
+2 AC bracers are also 4,000
+1 Amulet of Natural Armor, 2,000
+2 cloak of resistance, 4,000
Ring of Jumping, 2,000
Boots of Striding and Springing. 6,000 per the errata

All good choices.

Total: 30,000 (24,000 without the boots).

Your ludicrously high stats might be placed:

S: 12 (Let's face it - monks are not teh damage dealers of the party)
D:17 (Raise to 18 at 8th level) (Let's get that AC and Reflex Save up)
Co:16 (Got to have hit poitns, and a +3 to Fort Saves)
I:18 (Skill points are REALLY important)
W:18 (17 +1) (Bonus to AC and Will Saves)
Ch:14 (Might as well be the party diplomat - you should do better at that than straight up combat)

For maximum survivability.

Stress what monks are good at - mobility and survivability.

Take scouting type skills, max out tumbling. Take Weapon Finesse (Unarmed) and look to OA for possible good defensive feats.

Possible list of skills to keep maxed out (you can keep 9 skills near maxed out with an 18 Int, limited only by starting as a Wizard):

Balance, Climb, Diplomacy, Escape Artist, Jump, Listen, Move Silently, Tumble, Swim, Jump,

In addition to being the party scout and all-around survivor, you can also be the party diplomat. You should pretty well dominate many non-combat scenarios.

Assuming you boost Con, Wis, Dex and get the cloak of resiatnce +2:

Your AC should be 10 + 5 (boosted Dex) + 5 (boosted Wis) + 1 (Monk Bonus) + 2 (Bracers) + 1 (Amulet) = 25. Not bad - you'll want to always look for AC boosting items.

Note: Your armor class vs. touch attacks is 23 !! Not many touch attacks will affect you.

Your saves will be:
Ref: +5 +5(Dex) +2 (Resistance) = +12
Fort +5 +4 (Con) +2 (Resistance) = +11
Will +7 +5(Wis) +2(Resistance) = +14

Your hit points depend upon how you roll them, of course, but you'll get a bonus of 28 points on top of around 31 or so, for around 59 hit points at 7th level. Not bad. (If you use Living City rules you'll have 42 + 28 = 70 pts)

That's a pretty good start for your character.

Keep in mind your job is NOT front-line combat. Leave that for the fighters. You can jump in front of the wizards and survive until the fighters show up to kill the bad guys.

 

[Valorian]

Re: Wow

It seems to be a popular consensus (for a reason I cannot fathom at all), is that Monk's benifit greatly from the Spring Attack Feat....I completely disagree...I've played a monk, and see only counter-productivity in its use, and not much use for the feats required to get this feat (dodge and mobility).

The monk's large benefit in combat is their huge rate of attacks (they get the best progression in the game [only a -3 per blow with unarmed], and get flurry of blows, as a level 7 Monk, you can get 3 blows a round, but spring attack limits you to only one. Yes you can be a little more cagy with your actions, but you do so little damage to the oposition that it hardly matters that your in the fight (at least compared to the powerhouse fighter and barbarians).

One of the monk's big limitations is thier BAB progression, I'd specialize in unarmed (only if your DM allows the "amulet of mighty fists from Sword & Fist) or a "monk weapon"...I personally think the Butterfly Swords (from Oriental Adventures) 1d6 damage with crit on a 19-20, get a "keen" enchantent and the improved critical feat at some time. Taking feats such as weapon focus, etc.

Dodge isn't a bad feat for monk's but it only applies to one enemy,
and mobility is almost worthless because you probably won't have to worry about AOO because of your maxed out tumble skill.
Spring attack limits you to one attack instead of three...there have got to be better feats you can think of....I personally can recommend Improved Grapple (esp with a high strength), Blind Fighting, Power Attack, Flying Kick.

The types of characters that actually benefit from spring attack, are low hitpoint, low AC characters that do a great deal of damage per blow. We have a character in our campaign designed for this use, a Fighter (1 level)/Thief who can tumble/spring attack into prosition, "sneak attack" an opponent by flanking the person (say he's fighting one of our front line fighters), with a bastard sword wielded in two hands (bastard sword damage + 1.5 times strenth +4d6 "sneak attack"...now that person is getting some good use out of the spring attack feat.

As far as feats go, I'm not certain, other than (almost-required for a Monk) Spring Attack. Maybe an Exotic Weapon Proficiency in one of the OA monk weapons, if allowed--the three-section staff or Lajatang will let you capitalize on your high strength, giving you 1d8 + 1.5*StMod damage on each attack, even flurries.

I can't think of the ruling right now, but I'm almost certain you don't get 1.5 times your strength w/ either of those weapons when used with your unarmed BAB and flurry. They are effectively using the weapons like "double weapons", but don't take the strenght penalty for attacking w/ a secondary weapon.