Rogue TA / kensi vs ninja spy

[lymphy12]

I am trying to level a 13 rogue thief-acrobat and still debating on splash. So what are the cons and pro of going 13r/7monk over 13r/6fighter/1monk


13r/6fighter/1monk - gets kensai, str enh while havin 2str in sun stance, extra feat(Stunning Blow?)

13r/7monk - will have ninja spy, wholeness of body, faster run speed, ki clickies(iron fist anyone?)

What am i missing?

Would love to see a bit thorough brake down.

Thanks in advance.

[FuzzyDuck81]

Benefits for 7 monk:

-Tier 2 water stance - unlocks unblanacing strike for an extra chance to make enemies vulnerable to sneak attack damage (in addition to bluff). Also a handy way to boost saves across all types situationally.

-Tier 2 air stance - greater doublestrike chance

-ninja spy 1 - occasionally you might want to use shortswords while remaining centered & the sneak attack damage is handy, primary benefit though IMO is shadow fade since its an extra miss chance in addition to any blur/displacement you might have.

-2nd tier animal stance - i generally go monkey for the elemental resistances which helps a lot vs. weapon effects & fireshield stuff, the extra saves vs. traps is never a bad thing either.

-better saves aross all 3 types, and extra +2 to saves vs. enchantment magics (still mind at level 3 monk)

-up to 20% extra healing amp

Think that about covers them.

Fighter gets better HP, a couple of extra martial feats & slightly higher strength plus extra damage & slightly higher to-hit & crit confirmations through the kensai line.

Personally for a quarterstaff user i'd rather go 12 monk/7rogue/1fighter and run in earth stance for the extra +1 crit multiplier & DR etc. but thats just me, any of the stick user builds work well & its just a matter of play preferences.

[lymphy12]

Personally for a quarterstaff user i'd rather go 12 monk/7rogue/1fighter and run in earth stance for the extra +1 crit multiplier & DR etc. but thats just me, any of the stick user builds work well & its just a matter of play preferences.

Yeah but you don't get Thief-Acrobat II that way.

[FuzzyDuck81]

Hence why i said its a matter of play style preference - TA2 attacks faster & relies more on sneak attack damage plus gets those very tasty knockdown immunities, the more monkey version i prefer is somewhat more survivable in up-front melee (some DR as well as the miss chance) & hits harder on crits even if i have aggro as well as getting a somewhat different skillset & better all-round saves.

All the different stick builds are still perfectly effective so long as you play to their strengths.

Going to the original question, IMO getting ninja spy rather than kensai would likely be better for you, so you can really make the most of your sneak attacks & wind stance adds a handy doublestrike chance plus extra attack speed (when not under haste effects) which will at least partially stack with the speed boosts from TA2... add haste boost too and you're an outright whirlwind of stick-swingy goodness & will have that handy incorporal miss chance to boost survivability.