Sorcerer or Wizard for a monk?

[Ottergame]

The message boards are having some problems I see.

I too would take wizard, just for the versitility and flexability. A level 3o r 4 sorc just won't have a good selction of spells and will require him to depend heavily on scrolls or wands. A wizard can learn all the spells and choose what he needs every day.

 

[Wolffenjugend]

Thanks everyone. We were both thinking Wiz is best but we wanted to make sure we weren't overlooking something the Sor has to offer. Another advantage of wiz is access to all Knowledge skills, not just Arcana.

 

[rowport]

Hehehe. Well, like any class, that depends on how you tweak 'em.
Try slapping a Vow of Poverty on him from the Book of Exalted Deeds. Pour all your ability points into Wisdom (which adds to monk's AC), then take Intuitive Strike as a bonus exalted feat (adds Wis. rather than Str. to Atk.) then take Ki of the Masters as a regular feat (adds Wis. rather than Str. to Dmg.). Combine that with all of a Monk's and Vow of Poverty's special abilities and you're going to have a monk who's just stupid powerful.
Plus if the monk's a human, they can take both the Vow feats at first level and start play with the Vow of Poverty.

*Thread Hijack*
Lu Wei-

Can you cite the source for these three Vow Feats? I know the Poverty one comes from Exalted Deeds (which I have on order, fortunately) but I am not aware of the other two.

I am playing a Monk Wererat, who has a very high WIS and DEX because of his lycanthrope bonuses, but only a 12 STR, so they would be very useful. Especially since he has the Dodge/Mobility/Spring Attack chain, as he plays right now, he is nigh-unhittable, but unfortunately only hits rarely, and does little damage when he does.

 

[MarauderX]

Gotta go Wizard. I built a 4th level (2 fighter, 1 wiz, 1 monk) guy to be a monk-like fighter with some added feats. I went with wizard to get more skills and for Expertise, but I gotta say that being able to select which spells from a now long list is much better. Sure you could pink your sorcerer spells and stick to them, but with everything available you can go with Mage Armor and Shocking Grasp when you suspect there will be close melee. Or switch to Magic Missle, Expeditious Retreat or True Stike when needed for ranged battles. Or Enlarge for the extra AoOs and Str. Or Disguise Self and Silent Image for the stealth missions... the opportunities are much more boundless.

 

[ArcOfCorinth]

*Thread Hijack*
Lu Wei-

Can you cite the source for these three Vow Feats? I know the Poverty one comes from Exalted Deeds (which I have on order, fortunately) but I am not aware of the other two.

I am playing a Monk Wererat, who has a very high WIS and DEX because of his lycanthrope bonuses, but only a 12 STR, so they would be very useful. Especially since he has the Dodge/Mobility/Spring Attack chain, as he plays right now, he is nigh-unhittable, but unfortunately only hits rarely, and does little damage when he does.

Don't bother. You have to be of a good alignment to qualify for those feats and I have good reason to think the Wererat won't get them.

As for the original question, I suggest Wizard. The second level spells are simply too useful and your ability scores will support them with having to buy a magic item.

As for the house rule on the WoHS, I don't understand the logic behind it. The DLCS access to 2nd level spells is acceptable. Why are you restricting the Sorcerer class?

 

[Epametheus]

Wizard, since he'll have 2nd level spells (and he doesn't have a 9 in the relevant stat).

 

[Lu Wei Fong]

*Thread Hijack*
Lu Wei-

Can you cite the source for these three Vow Feats? I know the Poverty one comes from Exalted Deeds (which I have on order, fortunately) but I am not aware of the other two.

I am playing a Monk Wererat, who has a very high WIS and DEX because of his lycanthrope bonuses, but only a 12 STR, so they would be very useful. Especially since he has the Dodge/Mobility/Spring Attack chain, as he plays right now, he is nigh-unhittable, but unfortunately only hits rarely, and does little damage when he does.

Oh, sorry, I only meant 2 vow feats. Vow of Poverty and Sacred Vow (which is a prerequisite for Vow of Poverty). Intuitive Strike is an Exalted Feat from the Book of Exalted Deeds and Ki of the Masters is from Mongoose's hard-back feat compendium. Good luck!

Wolffenjugend, sorry, I didn't mean to try and switch topics, I appologize. But yeah, I'd definately go Wizard. He'll have much more flexibility and options when it comes to spells and he has a higher Int. than Cha. anyways. Plus, from a roleplaying perspective, it makes more sense for a Monk to choose the arcane caster who studies diligently rather than the one who'se usually born with their abilities. Anywho, hope it works out well.