Will your monk be dex or strength based???

[Grimshadow]

Monks that are fully progressed are excellent dps. And building one correctly can yield an almost magically immune tank. Dont be fooled by the robe!

Let me list some things I remember they get by not multiclassing according to 3.5 rules

Level 20 Monk:

DPS
2d10 unarmed attacks(medium build) 2d8 (small build)
Flurry of blows maxed to like +5 additional attacks I think with no penalty (no need for twf, itwf, gtwf, stwf)
*May use kamas, quarterstaffs, shuriken. so stock up on vorpal, paralyzing, and maybe even a nice +X maladroit Qstaff of bone breaking.
Quivering Palm Fort save on successful hit or death (DC 10 + 1/2 the monk's level + the monk's wis modifier)

AC:
Wisdom Bonus = AC ie. a 20 wisdom wearing no armor or shield AND is unarmed yields +5ac
Innate AC bonus: +4ac at lvl 20 just cus DnD loves monks
*So to make it easy to figure out...

AC Bonuses:*easily attainable for experienced player
+4 20th lvl monk
+6 @22wis
+10 @30dex
---------
+20 AC

+10 naked starting
+1 dodge
+2 chaos guards
+6 dragon robe
+2 ring of stability
+5 pro item
-------
46 AC unbuffed and comparable with tank classes

*not getting into pots, CE, chatterings etc. BUT I bet there will be some monk gear, enhancements etc.. that will enhance AC.

Dex or Str you ask?
answer: Depends on personal preference. If you want a human then spend the extra feat on power attack WITH weapon finesse, and keep the high dex for ac, reflex and +to-hit. Btw, kamas are finessable



Other nice things:
High Saves: All
Still Mind: +2 saves vs spells and enchanments. *stack with dwarven? hrmm
Immunity to disease and poisons
Perfect Self:DR 10/magic
Spell Resistancemonk lvl +10 starting @lvl13. So SR 30 @lvl20!
Evasion and Improved Evasion: nuff said...
Adamantite/Lawful Fists: @16
Wholeness of Body: Heal yourself for 2x your monk lvl each day. Good spot for an enhancement dont ya think?
+50% run speed: @18
Empty Body: become etheral twice a day, displacement spell basically
Stunning blow and Cleave *sometimes left out as automatic feats

Other things to think about:
Dont forget monks must be Lawful
1D8 hit dice CON/Toughness more important
Monks Base Attack Bonus: Medium, so they are totally dependent STR or DEX for unarmed attacks. *Not sure about +Attack bonus gloves so it kinda forces us to wait or go totally in STR or DEX direction.
Dragonmark Feats for Healing?
Halfling Monk: pros: AC bonus +2Dex @start and enhancements, more saves avail, and who doesn't love them!?!
cons: 2d8 fists, -2str @ start
Dwarven Monk: pros: +2Con @ start and racial bonus, dwarven toughness, hardiness verse spells
cons: none
Warforged Monk: Too early to even begin thinking about. Could start a whole other page on possiblities.

[jmonty]

think i'll do some form of monk/cleric.

[Slayer918]

*If* I was to have any character with any monk in it... it would be a 12/3/1 ranger/paladin/monk halfling... dex based crazy high AC/saves... dual wielding crit based rapiers...

I just don't like monks (I don't like the RP perspective for them but thats just me...)

Now druids there is a ton I would want to do with them

[CrazySamaritan]

I wonder if the WIS +atk and the WIS +dmg feats are going to make it in at the same time

I think it's likely, so I'll be making my monk WIS based

[Kalanth]

If I do build a Monk, I will be focusing on Dex and Wisdom. Considering that you add your wisdom modifier to your AC, I want my character with no armor to be as hard to hit as I can make him. The strength can be made up for by using items, so I would likely start that with a 14 or so.

Maybe something like an elf with these stats after adjustments 14 / 18 / 12 / 8 / 16 / 8. Course, without knowing the enhancement line it would make it tough to know just where to focus, but I would likely put 2 in Dex and 2 in Wis, with Elven Dex II.

[Shaamis]

I played high level monk builds in D&D 3.0 when it first came out (lvl 14 monk) and my stats were:

S:14(+4 Str item)
D:16(+2 for lvls)(+4 Dex item)
C:12(+4 Con item)
I:10
W:16(+1 for lvls)(+4 Wis item)
Ch:8

And I couldn't be hit much, and spells were evaded/bounced off, but I couldn't DPS at all, compared to ftrs in the group.

[Grimshadow]

Slayer as you wrote "*If* I was to have any character with any monk in it... it would be a 12/3/1 ranger/paladin/monk halfling... dex based crazy high AC/saves... dual wielding crit based rapiers..." I think monks aren't supposed to get wisdom bonus to AC unless they are unarmed. Some games don't play that way so it will be interesting to see how they code them.

[Taerdra]

I think monks aren't supposed to get wisdom bonus to AC unless they are unarmed. Some games don't play that way so it will be interesting to see how they code them.

Just unarmored and unencumbered. They don't need to be unarmed.

[Illuminati]

Monks that are fully progressed are excellent dps. And building one correctly can yield an almost magically immune tank. Dont be fooled by the robe!

Let me list some things I remember they get by not multiclassing according to 3.5 rules

Level 20 Monk:

DPS
2d10 unarmed attacks(medium build) 2d8 (small build)
Flurry of blows maxed to like +5 additional attacks I think with no penalty (no need for twf, itwf, gtwf, stwf)
*May use kamas, quarterstaffs, shuriken. so stock up on vorpal, paralyzing, and maybe even a nice +X maladroit Qstaff of bone breaking.
Quivering Palm Fort save on successful hit or death (DC 10 + 1/2 the monk's level + the monk's wis modifier)

AC:
Wisdom Bonus = AC ie. a 20 wisdom wearing no armor or shield AND is unarmed yields +5ac
Innate AC bonus: +4ac at lvl 20 just cus DnD loves monks
*So to make it easy to figure out...

AC Bonuses:*easily attainable for experienced player
+4 20th lvl monk
+6 @22wis
+10 @30dex
---------
+20 AC

+10 naked starting
+1 dodge
+2 chaos guards
+6 dragon robe
+2 ring of stability
+5 pro item
-------
46 AC unbuffed and comparable with tank classes

*not getting into pots, CE, chatterings etc. BUT I bet there will be some monk gear, enhancements etc.. that will enhance AC.

Dex or Str you ask?
answer: Depends on personal preference. If you want a human then spend the extra feat on power attack WITH weapon finesse, and keep the high dex for ac, reflex and +to-hit. Btw, kamas are finessable



Other nice things:
High Saves: All
Still Mind: +2 saves vs spells and enchanments. *stack with dwarven? hrmm
Immunity to disease and poisons
Perfect Self:DR 10/magic
Spell Resistancemonk lvl +10 starting @lvl13. So SR 30 @lvl20!
Evasion and Improved Evasion: nuff said...
Adamantite/Lawful Fists: @16
Wholeness of Body: Heal yourself for 2x your monk lvl each day. Good spot for an enhancement dont ya think?
+50% run speed: @18
Empty Body: become etheral twice a day, displacement spell basically
Stunning blow and Cleave *sometimes left out as automatic feats

Other things to think about:
Dont forget monks must be Lawful
1D8 hit dice CON/Toughness more important
Monks Base Attack Bonus: Medium, so they are totally dependent STR or DEX for unarmed attacks. *Not sure about +Attack bonus gloves so it kinda forces us to wait or go totally in STR or DEX direction.
Dragonmark Feats for Healing?
Halfling Monk: pros: AC bonus +2Dex @start and enhancements, more saves avail, and who doesn't love them!?!
cons: 2d8 fists, -2str @ start
Dwarven Monk: pros: +2Con @ start and racial bonus, dwarven toughness, hardiness verse spells
cons: none
Warforged Monk: Too early to even begin thinking about. Could start a whole other page on possiblities.

Awesome post!

[Deragoth]

...

AC Bonuses:*easily attainable for experienced player
+4 20th lvl monk
+6 @22wis
+10 @30dex
---------
+20 AC

+10 naked starting
+1 dodge
+2 chaos guards
+6 dragon robe
+2 ring of stability *
+5 pro item *
-------
46 AC unbuffed and comparable with tank classes...

* Stability and Protection items are both Deflection modifiers, and therefore do not stack.

A 44 is still pretty good with no shield, and there's still room for improvement. Chattering ring, +7 AC bracers, Parrying weapon, ect...

[Ridag]

* Stability and Protection items are both Deflection modifiers, and therefore do not stack.

A 44 is still pretty good with no shield, and there's still room for improvement. Chattering ring, +7 AC bracers, Parrying weapon, ect...

The item he is listing is the "Ring of Stability" which provides a +2 natural armor bonus. Token turn in reward from "Invaders!"

[Muppethero]

My fav Muilti class from D&D has always been the Druid/Monk. wonder if I will ever get to make that

[tenga]

The item he is listing is the "Ring of Stability" which provides a +2 natural armor bonus. Token turn in reward from "Invaders!"

i believe you're thinking of 'ring of balance' ... "Ring of Balance - Stability, +2 Natural Armor, Balance +13, Dismissal 3/day"

[Brianius]

my wf fighter monk is str based
base
16 16 12 8 15 8
now at lvl 4 waiting for monks
19 17 14 8 16 8

[Tenzhi]

So, has there actually been official word that the Monk class is on its way or is all this talk just so much obscuring mist in a gust of wind?

[Yaga_Nub]

Yeah, I'm actually somewhat concerned for my current tank...Monks already have great saves and Evasion...I had to splash 3 Paladin/2 Rogue for that...if they can get their AC up there and still do decent damage things might not bode well for my 11 Fig/3 Pal/2 Rog. Get your high bonus Bracers of Armor (+8 exists in PnP), get a Shield bonus somehow (wand?)...gonna rock...real armor doesn't get any better (AC-wise) than +5 Mithril (aside from consolidating more enchantments on them)...but +8 bracers with no Dex cap plus an extra couple points from Monk inherent AC bonus and enhancements? Whoooo! Get that Dex up there and turn it into damage via Power Attack.

Actually you just had to splash 2 levels of paladin for the saves. Going 3 levels gave you fear immunity and the ability to take enhancements that give you +1 AC, +1 Saves and 1 extra LOH.

[Shaamis]

I hope monks will be able to take advantage of the 32 point build, and if so.....

Dwarven Monk (drunken style )

S:13 (5 pts.) (+2 tome, +6 Str item)=21
D:16 (10 pts.) (+2 tome, +6 Dex item)=24
C:12 (2 pts.) (+2 tome, +6 Con item, +2 Dwarven bonus,)=22
I:13 (5 pts.)
W:16 (10 pts.) (+2 tome, +6 Wis item, 4 level adj. pts. +3 Monk enh. pts.)=31
Ch:6 (0 pts.)

Monks need so many attributes, even a 32 point build will look lame at first.

Feats (6): Toughness, Weapon Finess, Dodge, Combat Expertise, Mobility, and Spring Attack

BAB with a 16th level will be +16 for unarmed attack, flurry of blows will be +16/+16/+16/+11/+6/+1 (two weapon fighting does not affect unarmed attacks as per PnP rules)

[Zuldar]

+50% run speed: @18

Actually, since they get a bonus of 60' at that level that would be a 200% increase, or roughly 3 times faster.

[Rameses]

Balance!

I call for Balance!

[Aesop]

Title says it all.

Dex-
Pros- More AC, Reflex saves for evasion

Cons- Less damage, requires a feat

STR-
Pros- More damage, does not require a feat, more carrying weight

Cons- Less AC, less reflex saves for evasion.

If I say yes... will I get hit?

I'm throwing a balanced out build out there... My level ups will probably go to strength but I have AP for 2 Dex enhancements at least and I start with a slightly higher Dex... so all in all they will be about even... along with my Wisdom and Charisma... Con is a touch low but not too bad with the right gear... which I will have... oh and 3 pally levels are tossed in there as well (hence the Charisma). I have to assume Wis will be the Monk Stat so there are 3 Enhancements there... should be about a 28 Wis, 30 Str, 28 Dex, 26 Cha, 22 Con .... those are the hopeful stats for endgame

I figure a difference of 2 to hit/damage or 2 ac isn't gonna be the end of the world for the character one waty or the other and I like the balance thing

Aesop