D&D 3E/3.5 Monk 3.5

[Legildur]

I reckon Klaus is on the money here... and solely because he was one of the few people to actually restrict himself to core rules

I've been eyeing off a similar character for a future game....

I'd take Stunning Fist (bonus) and Improved Grapple as your 1st level feats, Combat Reflexes at 2nd level, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (spiked chain) for 3rd, and Improved Disarm or Improved Trip (whatever floats your boat) for your 6th level bonus feat, and maybe Power Attack. That'll give you a fair array of options - reach, multiple AOOs, grappling, stunning, good disarm or trip chances. Particularly in a large party, you can concentrate on interfering with other combatants rather than straight damage.

Oh, and get friendly with your sorceror/wizard with Enlarge Person...

My only criticism of Klaus' suggestions is that some DMs won't allow feats from the MM, even though Improved Natural Attack and Special Ability Focus seem tailor made for monks.

 

[EyeontheMountain]

I typically find that improved grapple is much better 1st level bonus feat than stunning fist.

If you don't take it as a bonus feat, you have to wait forever to get it otherwise. Improved Grapple can be picked up anytime with a regular or fighter feat. Waiting till BAB+8 is a long time.

 

[Legildur]

If you don't take it as a bonus feat, you have to wait forever to get it otherwise. Improved Grapple can be picked up anytime with a regular or fighter feat. Waiting till BAB+8 is a long time.

I agree with you in principal - if taking Stunning Fist at all, then take it as the bonus feat.

However, based on my experiences with monks, the chances of Stunning Fist actually working are slim, so sacrificing the feat would not be the end of the world. That is, unless you intend to use the ability to power other abilities - my favourite being Weakening Touch (no save) from Complete Warrior.

 

[Victim]

Bracers of Armor can be a big waste depending on your group. Mage Armor is low level, lasts a long time, and provides a decent bonus. At 18th level, my monk was sponging a Mage Armor off the sorcerer just like when we were 1st level.

Even though Stunning Fist is rather unreliable, I'm not sure it isn't worth having. It's basically free to use. Sometimes baddies will chump out and roll poorly on the save.

 

[Technik4]

From my experience with monks, the key is a good working knowledge of combat. Monks can usually get to almost any square, but you have to know why you are going and what you are doing with all your movement and AC. Some helpful hints:

-Get in flanking position with a rogue or a fighter and fight defensively. They'll appreciate the flanking bonus (especially the rogue) and if the monster is silly enough to attack you, your AC is probably better.

-Get to the enemy wizard/sorc and grapple/stunning fist them. Pursue them if they try and back off. Shifting their focus from getting the monk off their back from devastating the party with magical attacks is a huge boon for the whole party.

-Stunning Fist can be very good, usually in conjunction with other bonuses. Make sure its as good a chance of hitting as possible (charge into a flanking position for a +4 to hit). Don't stress the low DC so much as actually landing a hit (but keep in mind the enemy that is most likely to fail the save and go for them).

I have played a half-orc monk, but don't necessarily recommend it. Monks really do use all their stats (except Charisma). Lower skill points hurts. I'd say Human is probably the best choice, but you can do nice things with elf (finessed unarmed strike) or dwarf (you quickly overcome the movement negatives, and everything else is gravy).

Definitely convince someone to be a potion guy (or talk to the dm). Monks live and die based on magical healing since they usually dont have the durability of a front-line fighter, but are expected to be there at least some of the time. Double-moving away, drinking a potion and moving back in are important maneuvers in games I've played.

 

[Wish]

Well, if you plan on playing to higher levels, you could go:

Monk 8/sorcerer 2/ dragon disciple 10. The only real problem with this build is that it's a delayed gratification build. You need to take all your monk levels first, due to multiclassing restrictions.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Not downplaying Str-based monks...Comrade Raoul and I had a lengthy discussion of the math involved in the build, and in melee combat alone, Str based is the way to go.

Still, I like Dex based monks slightly better (especially if you can use DCv1- which I know you're not doing), especially with a reach weapon and taking Combat Reflexes among the first few Feats.

My last Monk used a polarm and was a Dex based build. I dealt almost as much damage as the party's Barbarian and rarely got hit.

Why did he work so well?

1) More AoOs- this matters more with a reach weapon than most others. The combo of reach weapon, IUC, and a bunch of AoOs means you get to hurt your foes before they close.

2) Better Ranged attacks. Again, hurt your foes before they close- why fight someone hand to hand when you can knock 'em down before they get to you? Monks have some decent ranged weapons in their proficiency list, including the very handy javelin and crossbows. With a full Quiver of Ehlonna and their mobility, Monks can really help their party control the battlespace. Heck, they can directly attack the enemy spellcasters without having to bob & weave through the guy's meatshield.

3) Better initiative. Hit first & win.

4) Better AC. What you can't hit, you can't hurt. What you can't hurt, you can't beat.

5) He eventually took levels in PsyWar, in order to get the Expansion power. If your group doesn't use Psionics, take levels in Sorcerer to get Enlarge. This works for 2 reasons: it pumps the basic damage of the polearm, and it increases the reach of the attacker- IOW, more AoOs for more damage per hit.

 

[dagger]

Core only?

Improved Natural Attack from the Monster Manual could help.....

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Seconded.

 

[Stalker0]

I would pick early on what kind of monk you want to be.

I see three main types, flurriers, skirmishers and grapplers. Flurriers need a combination of offense and defense. To hit is the big thing for them, they want to hit with as many attacks as possible. They also get the stunning blow DC as high as possible as stunning your opponent is your best defense (stunned creatures can't hit back).

Skirmishers go the spring attack route. You can relax on defense since you should never be trading full attacks with people. Focus on adding to damage, since its your one attack you'll hit decently often and you want to make sure you can do some decent damage with that one swing.

Grapplers go big strength, improved grapple, and ignore defense. Pile on as much strength as possible, get enlarge person spells and other grapple boosters.