Monk?

[Dandu]

I already did. I actually played the character in an actual D&D game, and the character performed wonderfully. There's no need for me to "evaluate the build" any further than that.

RUMBLETiGER asked to see monk builds that people have actually used well and enjoyed, so I provided one. Whether that same build would prove to be combat-effective in a game run by Dandu is immaterial; I'll take your word for it that it would not.

Vegepygmy, I am sorry if I have offended you and am being pedantic. I understand that your build worked well in your game. And I take your word for it; I believe that in games with 40 point buy, monks will probably work well.

Still, there is one question that you did not answer, and that I would be interested in hearing your opinion on: Do you feel that the 40 point buy that you used in character creation had a significant impact on the performance of your Enlightened Fist? I ask this because being 12 points higher than what the game considers "high power" seems like it would greatly increase your ability to take on CR appropriate encounters which are calculated assuming a party with lower ability scores. Which, I suppose, if extrapolated would mean that you were facing relatively weaker enemies than would otherwise have been the case.

 

[marcielle]

Are you mostly using normal monk for those 8 levels? Monk has the most ACF outta the core classes, IIRC. Theres walk on water at your slowfall speed, Holystrike, Wall walker. And let's not forget Dark Moon disciple's lvl 7. Carry an umbrella on you and ALWAYS have total concealment.

 

[marcielle]

p.s. Lvl 7 says you have full concealment in less than full Sunlight.

 

[Dandu]

There are some good monk ACFs out there. And some of them (Dark Moon Disciple) make the class much better. However, most monks won't have them, either for RP reasons (don't want to follow Shar) or because the books are not allowed. This is important to keep in mind when discussing how ACFs affect how good a class is.

That's strange, I thouhgt CR X was an appropriate challenge for FOUR X leveled PCs. Or do you mean appropriate as in 50/50 chance?

Appropriate as in, iirc, a level X character should be able to take on a CR X-2 encounter and win.

 

[Vegepygmy]

Vegepygmy, I am sorry if I have offended you and am being pedantic.

I'm not offended. I just realized that I had become embroiled in a debate I have no interest in...uh, debating. I know from my own experience that monks are quite effective in the games I play. I have heard from others that they are not effective in the games those people play. I accept both things as true.

Still, there is one question that you did not answer, and that I would be interested in hearing your opinion on: Do you feel that the 40 point buy that you used in character creation had a significant impact on the performance of your Enlightened Fist?

No more so than the 40-point buy had a significant impact on the performance of any other PC in the campaign. We all used a 40-point buy to generate our characters, and all of our characters performed better because of it.

 

[xigbar]

I second the suggestion from the other thread that dandu made about PbP test playing the monk with other classes. I'd be happy to participate. But not as the monk.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Tangent:

Do you play Magic: the Gathering, another WotC product? There's a world of difference between casual Magic and professional Magic, the kind you see in tournaments. There are tons of fun Magic decks you can make with the cards. I own 14 Magic decks, and they're all pretty entertaining.

But most Magic cards suck. Most are strictly inferior to other cards that have been printed. Compare Shock to Lightning Bolt, for example. And then there's cards that are just bad...

I do...or did until I got fed up with their idiotically under-playtested cards and nerfing of the wrong cards & mechanics. And with some guys who routinely played in the tournaments. And a few of them were pretty high in the D/FW rankings.

I've been called a "scrub," but only by those who didn't "get" me. I was less interested in winning with a web deck than in seeing if I could win by dint of my own innovation. Because of this, I was usually among the first (or only ) in my area to try certain cards or combos.

Some of those wound up in championship winning decks. Most didn't.

Some of my decks even outperformed supposedly killer combos, but since I didn't play enough tournaments, they never showed up on anyone's radar besides the tournament players I played with.

The point?

Well, if there is one, it's that I don't play with blinders, either for or against my position. I accept that there are issues with the monk from a mathematically absolute standpoint. But I also know that a certain few builds can be effective ranged/melee combatants...in a game dominated by spellcasters.

 

[kitcik]

Mtg

I started with Alpha and, thanks in part to winning the Scrye (remember that magazine?) scavenger hunt with my wife, own at least one copy of every card ever printed. I still collect and just played with a friend yesterday. I currently play only for fun - generally drafts with my friends.

I was an Arena judge in the good old days (94 - 99ish) and played at Neutral Ground before it was shut down.

I have never won any pro level tourneys, but my wife and I were the coed team champions (run at Gen Con) in two different years (96 & 98 I think). I have also won local tourneys.

I remember watching MTG on ESPN2. Seriously.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I remember watching MTG on ESPN2. Seriously.

I did that, too, just to see what kind of trainwreck it would be.

 

[Vegepygmy]

I second the suggestion from the other thread that dandu made about PbP test playing the monk with other classes. I'd be happy to participate. But not as the monk.

I'd happily test-play the monk.