Druid/Monk Question

[Memnir]

In my pursuit of trying different things - I have a few questions I'd like to put out to those who may know...

Firstly, Is a Monk/Druid split viable? I was thinking of either 2 Monk/18 Druid, or 6 Monk/14 Druid to get a Monk PrE. Not sure if I'd go Light or Dark with the Monk, but have more experience with Dark.


Secondly, would the Monk Past-Life unarmed perks apply to Wild Shape forms if Handwraps are used? I know there is some weirdness about the mechanics of Wild Shape attacks, and I've not seen this discussed. Not saying it hasn't been - just that I have missed it if they were.


Thanks very much, oh Build Masters.

[jambajuicey]

I've been looking at the same thing and figured I'd level pure 20 first to see how its played, then +2 some monk in to mess around. I keep hitting walls when thinking of using monk and animal form due to med armor + weapon/shield combos with shield mastery & US for double strike. Using an elemental form and handwraps though maybe a better fit? Would love to see others comments as well.

[serthcore]

I have a 18D/2monk, she doesnt have monk past life so i cant speak on that, but i have dance of flowers twisted and it applies (i use handwraps) in animal form. This is awesome because you are getting a +1.5 on a 1d10 dice. Other things like reinforced fists and the +1 from epic wraps applies as well.
Im not logged in atm but i think that toon was getting 5.5 W on Legendary dreadnought with all the above and improved PA. Even with a low str i see 80-90ish base damage and it gets crazy high when i use some boosts on stunned mobs.

Edit: other things from grandmaster like running with wind, also applies, and u can use the way of the sun soul set and get the bonus while on animal form.
Hope it helps

[dejafu]

Like the previous poster pointed out, you can get some pretty impressive base damage increasers for animal forms, but most of them ONLY if you are centered. Two levels of monk isn't just viable, it's pretty much a necessity for raw animal form damage.

Which I think is deeply unfortunate, but so it goes.

[jsaving]

Monk/druid is definitely viable, though you do an important choice to make regarding gear. One option is the standard pajamas-and-wraps approach you'd see on a clonk, with stunning fist centering your melee arsenal. The other is to wear leather and use a shield, deliberately forgoing SF/stances to have better physical resistance and more doublestrike. Many people don't try the latter approach because they think monks lose evasion when uncentered, but it isn't true -- evasion functions in light armor just as it would with a rogue.

What's the right level split? That depends on your playstyle, but there are certainly some key milestones to keep in mind. You need at least 17 druid levels for "frost wings" (snowslide), which I think is an absolute must on a wolf build. If you don't care about 9th level spells (and note that druids don't receive mass heal), you'll need at least 15 druid levels for earthquake -- probably the single most entertaining spell in the druidic arsenal -- and heal. I wouldn't go beyond that unless you have a particular goal from deep-splashing, such as the 12monk/8druid builds that seek to combine "semi-monk" melee DPS with decent casting versatility. 18/2 is probably a safe bet for a first splashed druid, though Bairclaw's 16druid/2monk/2fighter build is also entertaining if you're willing to give up 9th level spells and eventual third-tier prestige enhancements.