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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Gizzard" data-source="post: 282138" data-attributes="member: 527">Yes, PHB Monks generally suck at combat.  I have a 5th level Monk with pretty good stats (equivalent to a 40+ point point-buy!) like 15 STR, 18 DEX, 17 WIS and he's not at all a damage machine like either the Fighter or the Barbarian.   Exactly why has been covered in similar threads before, but basically I get two swings at +3/+3 and do 1d8+2 damage for every hit.  Its just not in the same league as what a Barbarian or Fighter can do at 5th level.The Monk does have a nice selection of skills, but they dont have a huge amount of "party synergy".  For instance, if a Rogue uses Disarm to fix a trap or open a chest, the whole party cheers.  But if the Monk uses Balance or Jump to get across a difficult bridge, the rest of the party still has to cross behind him using their own pathetic Balance.  The Monk gets good saves, which again dont help the party as a whole.  (Wouldnt we all rather that the enemy spellcaster Dominate the Monk rather than the Barbarian?  Yes, indeedy!)  He gets good movement, which is actually a good tactical advantage; though when your Barbarian is +11 to hit he doenst really need you to help him get another +2 Flanking Bonus.  Some people say that OA or S&F helps things out; I'd tend to believe that.  (It certainly cant hurt to have more Feats available; although one of the reasons the Fighter gets good rapidly is because she can choose her Feats while the Monk is getting Deflect Arrows and Still Mind.)  FRCS helps a bit by having Monk organizations that allow limited multiclassing; though I think its a sad commentary on the state of the Monk that one way to make your Monk better is by taking your next level in anything other than Monk.  ;-)</blockquote>

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