Help Twinking Out a 12th Level Monk

[mattcolville]

A friend is starting a Greyhawk game at 12th level. He's an excellent, experienced GM who knows the rules like the back of his hand, and is an excellent tactician to boot.

I'm interested in playing a Monk, and I'd like him to rock like Rocky McRockerson, winner of the All State Rocking Rockathon.

Are there any racial choices that create good synergy with the Monk's abilities? I was thinking of a Human Fighter 2/Monk 10. Human for the extra feat, Fighter 2 for two feats and higher BAB. But maybe there's some critical Monk stuff I'd be missing out on. And I wouldn't mind giving up a couple of class levels for some racial levels if there's a cool race. I'm not super interested in being a Grappling Master. I'd like to concentrate on unarmed damage, maybe some disarming, tripping, etc... Byt grappling, while certainly effective, is not what I'm into with this guy.

What about Feats? I was looking at some of the feats from the PHB II, they're great. What about Tactical Feats? There are a couple from the Complete Warrior that look good for a Monk.

I'd like to be completely unarmed, if that makes sense. I get some cash with which to by magic. 61k gold pieces, though I'm not sure if our GM is reading the charts for that right. Seems low for 12th level. So I can buy gear, but I want to keep it to clothing, no weapons if possible.

Any help would be apprciated!

 

[Iku Rex]

Which books can you use?

 

[mattcolville]

Any WotC 3.5 non-Eberron, non-FR books are in, I believe. Probably also some 3.0 books like Savage Species and Arms & Equipment that are mostly edition agnostic.

 

[Rhun]

I have found that the Kensai in Complete Warrior can create an excellent synergy with the Monk...

 

[Stalker0]

Could you be a githzerai? A githzerai, which is found in the MM, has a +2 LA but ALL of its abilities help out a monk (which makes sense since their mostly monks anyway

You get +6 dex, +2 wis, SR 5+CL, and mage armor on all of the time. You have an AC of +8 higher than a full human monk.

 

[Infiniti2000]

I get some cash with which to by magic. 61k gold pieces, though I'm not sure if our GM is reading the charts for that right. Seems low for 12th level.

Your GM must have been looking at someone else's hand. That is low for "book" starting gold. It should be 88K for ECL 12 based on the book chart. For NPC it would be 27K. 61K isn't even on the chart, either one.

 

[szilard]

Races: Githzerai (+2) is your best bet for a LA race.

Multiclassing: Look at the "Ascetic" feats in Complete Adventurer. As fas as Prestige Classes go, look at the Dervish - there is a feat (PHB II?) that allows your unarmed strikes to act as slashing weapons. Other good options include Tattooed Monk and Kensai. Base classes? A level or two of Fighter is okay. Scout isn't bad (particularly if you go the Dervish route). I wonder sometimes how a high Int/high Dex Swashbucker 3/Monk X would work...

Gear: Monk's Belt - see if you can get this as a Monk's Robe instead so you can get a Belt of Giant Strength. Amulet of Mighty Fists. Items that give you an armor bonus or a natural armor bonus. Immovable Rods are fun as mobility enhancing items for tumblers.

Feats: The aforementioned Ascetic feats. Tactical feats - they give you some neat options - I'm a fan of the Raptor School, myself.

 

[mattcolville]

Your GM must have been looking at someone else's hand. That is low for "book" starting gold. It should be 88K for ECL 12 based on the book chart. For NPC it would be 27K. 61K isn't even on the chart, either one.

Yeah, he got confused. He think's the charts on page 215 work differently than they do.

 

[DM_Matt]

For a more traditional monk..

Human F2/M10
Feats(12) : Improved Unarmed Strike, Stunning Fist, Combat Reflexes, Improved Natural Attack, Dodge, Mobility, Improved Trip, Defensive Throw, Hold The Line, Elusive Target, plus Sanctify Ki Strike and Holy Ki Strike for damage, if you can swing the behavior requirements and the 15 Cha, or else Pain Touch and Ability Focus (Stunning Fist) for longer and more effective stunning. (EDIT: If you go the exalted route, I just noticed that you cant take Holy Ki Strike until your next feat...instead take Sweeping Strike)

 

[Particle_Man]

If the GM is giving you low gold, logically you should go for Vow of Poverty (in Book of Exalted Deeds). It synergizes well with monk. Plus, you might go Paladin 1/Monk 11. There is a feat in Complete Adventurer that will let your monk levels count for Smite Evil damage and let your Paladin levels count for monk unarmed damage. And 11 is the magic number of monk levels for getting that last extra attack. And due to that feat, you can go for more paladin levels (to go for that immunity to fear, save bonuses, and good BAB, etc.). And I think at 12th you can get the exalted feat that lets your unarmed strikes do +2d6 holy damage vs. evil creatures.

If allowed, you could get the MM feat "Improved Natural Attack" for more damage.