Requesting a monk build

[nikos1313]

Hello.

i wanna TR my monk, but i cant make up my mind, and need your help!

i would like to point me a build considering the following:

- i have all +3 tomes
- i do not have helf and horc
- i want to go with Water stance
- i want to go Light monk
- i would prefer to work with Finesse, but thats not a ''must have''
- this will be 2nd life. 1st life was a monk also.
- not plannin to TR again, soon enough

Thats all! i would really appreciate your help guyz!!

Travel safe!

[pyntsized]

hey, I would suggest my light path metaru. In build it is h-orc, but should work fine with dwarf (can still get stat layout, enhancements will be different though). Also mentions using a +4 wis, but you will be fine with +3.
link is in sig

[nikos1313]

thnx ill take a look!

[Kinerd]

Finesse is a trap. No matter what you do, do not spend a feat on it.

For you I would go human; 14 Str, 16 Dex, 15 Con, 16 Wis, levels in Wis. This lets you get GM in Water, Wind, and Earth, it's a good idea to have at least one of Wind/Earth for a raw DPS stance.

Feat-wise is relatively straightforward...
-Always GTWF, Toughness, Stunning Fist
-Always some Shintao pre-req, the most useful of which is probably Precision
-Especially if you want to run in Water, I think Power Attack and Improved Sunder are strong choices
-Who doesn't like Improved Critical?

And that leaves you with 4 open slots. I like the Dodge chain, that puts you at a 17% Dodge chance stark naked in Water stance. Might as well throw in PL: Monk, right? And that would sort you.

Enhancement-wise is also relatively straightforward...
-Improved Recovery, Improved Recovery, Improved Recovery
-We already went over your stances and PrE
-Human Versatility for punching very hard
-Wisdom for Stunning very well
-Void strike is cool but very, very pricey, I think human monks have enough to spend on so I stay away

[nikos1313]

thnx for the advice! i just wanan ask, wont i be lacking on to-hit score, at end game, with that str score? considerin all points go to wis too.

[TeacherSyn]

Finesse is a trap. No matter what you do, do not spend a feat on it.

For you I would go human; 14 Str, 16 Dex, 15 Con, 16 Wis, levels in Wis. This lets you get GM in Water, Wind, and Earth, it's a good idea to have at least one of Wind/Earth for a raw DPS stance.

Feat-wise is relatively straightforward...
-Always GTWF, Toughness, Stunning Fist
-Always some Shintao pre-req, the most useful of which is probably Precision
-Especially if you want to run in Water, I think Power Attack and Improved Sunder are strong choices
-Who doesn't like Improved Critical?

And that leaves you with 4 open slots. I like the Dodge chain, that puts you at a 17% Dodge chance stark naked in Water stance. Might as well throw in PL: Monk, right? And that would sort you.

Enhancement-wise is also relatively straightforward...
-Improved Recovery, Improved Recovery, Improved Recovery
-We already went over your stances and PrE
-Human Versatility for punching very hard
-Wisdom for Stunning very well
-Void strike is cool but very, very pricey, I think human monks have enough to spend on so I stay away

You need 15 in all starting stats with those +3 tomes to have 18 ability scores necessary for any Grandmaster. Also, without Weapon Finesse (a feat I'd take for Wind but not for any other stance) a low STR makes for lower damage and to-hit, right?

The extra feats to power up Dodge is handy. Nice idea. I am researching how TWF may be a little overrated. I'd get at least TWF, Improved is better, but you can really live without GTWF if a critical feat slot is needed. WIS WIS WIS. Stunning is still the hallmark of a Monk, and it doesn't hurt the rest of your abilities or AC either.

[Kinerd]

thnx for the advice! i just wanan ask, wont i be lacking on to-hit score, at end game, with that str score? considerin all points go to wis too.

Welcome! Regarding to-hit, let's just go through the math. We're talking about 14+0 vs. 16+6, everything else (tomes, equipment, buffs) is the same. That's a difference of 5 bonus, which against a target with 70 AC is worth...
5 / (2 * 70) = 3.6% hit rate
...even ignoring rounding, it's just not a big deal, and it only becomes less of a deal the higher AC you go up against. By comparison, that 5 bonus is worth +25% success on your Stunning Fist et al. That's a very big deal, and it becomes more of a big deal the higher save you go up against.

Also, without Weapon Finesse (a feat I'd take for Wind but not for any other stance) a low STR makes for lower damage and to-hit, right?

Right. It's not fun giving up the 5 damage, but it's worth it imo.

[SensaiRyu]

thnx for the advice! i just wanan ask, wont i be lacking on to-hit score, at end game, with that str score? considerin all points go to wis too.

My second life monk started with 14/15/16/8/16/8. All lvl ups in Wis.

Never had a problem hitting anything. Even in EE quests at lvl 23.

Great AC and Stun DCs.