advice on a shintao light hafling monk please

[aavah]

just looking for a little advice on playing a heroic 1-20 solid halfling shintao monk

the style i want is a fast hitting, handwrap using, stun often monk (with self healing so thought halfling is a decent choice)

i have 36 point build unlocked, am vip so have every class, i have tomes to every stat

str tome +4
dex tome +3
con tome +4
int tome +3
wis tome +6
cha tome +5

i have 5 past lives also. 2x cleric, 1x sorc, 1x druid and 1x fighter

any help is appreciated (monk is not a class im good at)

[unbongwah]

Do you want a pure monk, or just one which gains a monk PL?

[aavah]

Do you want a pure monk, or just one which gains a monk PL?

i want to play up a non multiclassed monk mainly cause its a class iv not got much experience with (hence why i ask here) secondly ive heard they can be pretty powerful even without the best of the best farmed gear and 3rd, im going to go try and become completionist 1 day (hopefully) having a monk past life wont hurt either

[unbongwah]

I ask because the main reason to stay pure is for the capstone; but if this is just for the monk PL, you'll HTR ASAP after hitting lvl 20, which renders the capstone largely moot. So then the question becomes, "Do the lvl 18 enhancements make lvls 18-20 any better?" which would also be an incentive to stay pure. On a barb or rog, I would say yes, as their lvl 18 enhancements are pretty good; OTOH, I think the monk lvl 18 cores are fairly weak. Unarmed pure monk builds haven't received any dev love in a loooong time.

That said, pure monk builds are fine for HTR lives and pretty straight-forward. The biggest question mark is: light or dark path? Light path gets you free healing from Fists of Light plus some useful buffs; dark path gets you extra DPS from Touch of Death and other Ninja enhs.

Light monk example built to use Earth Stance (Iron Skin + Violence Begets Violence):

Half-Pint Puncher
Monk 20
Lawful Neutral Halfling


Stats
               36pt     Tome     Level Up
               ----     ----     --------
Strength        13       +3       4: WIS
Dexterity       15       +3       8: WIS
Constitution    14       +3      12: WIS
Intelligence     9       +3      16: WIS
Wisdom          18       +3      20: WIS
Charisma         8       +3      24: WIS
                                 28: WIS


Feats

 1        : Least Dragonmark: Healing
 1 Monk   : Two Weapon Fighting
 2 Monk   : Power Attack
 3        : Cleave
 3 Monk   : Path of Harmonious Balance
 6        : Great Cleave
 6 Monk   : Stunning Fist
 9        : Improved Two Weapon Fighting
12        : Improved Critical: Bludgeoning
15        : Greater Two Weapon Fighting
18        : Improved Sunder (or Precision)
21 Epic   : Overwhelming Critical
24 Epic   : Vorpal Strikes
26 Destiny: Perfect Two Weapon Fighting
27 Epic   : Improved Martial Arts
28 Destiny: Elusive Target


Enhancements (80 AP)

Halfling (13 AP)

Halfling Luck
Jorasco Dragonmark Focus III, Cunning I
Lesser Dragonmark of Healing, Break out the Leeches, Halfling Guile
Greater Dragonmark of Healing, Halfling Guile

Shintao (41 AP)

Bastion of Purity, Protection from Tainted Creatures, Iron Hand, Argent First, Touch the Void Dragon, To Seek Perfection
Deft Strikes III
Smite Tainted Creature, Iron Skin III, Fists of Iron, Conditioning I
Jade Strike, Dismissing Strike, Wisdom
Tomb of Jade, Instinctive Defense I, Wisdom
Violence Begets Violence, Meditation of War, Empty Hand Mastery

Ninja Spy (26 AP)

Basic Ninja Training, Advanced Ninja Training, Shadow Veil
Stealthy III, Sneak Attack Training
Sneak Attack Training, Agility III
Flash Bang III, Sneak Attack Training, Wisdom
No Mercy III

For skills, I would max out Concentration and UMD; what you do with the rest of your pts is up to you.

[aavah]

I ask because the main reason to stay pure is for the capstone; but if this is just for the monk PL, you'll HTR ASAP after hitting lvl 20, which renders the capstone largely moot. So then the question becomes, "Do the lvl 18 enhancements make lvls 18-20 any better?" which would also be an incentive to stay pure. On a barb or rog, I would say yes, as their lvl 18 enhancements are pretty good; OTOH, I think the monk lvl 18 cores are fairly weak. Unarmed pure monk builds haven't received any dev love in a loooong time.

That said, pure monk builds are fine for HTR lives and pretty straight-forward. The biggest question mark is: light or dark path? Light path gets you free healing from Fists of Light plus some useful buffs; dark path gets you extra DPS from Touch of Death and other Ninja enhs.

Light monk example built to use Earth Stance (Iron Skin + Violence Begets Violence):

Half-Pint Puncher
Monk 20
Lawful Neutral Halfling


Stats
               36pt     Tome     Level Up
               ----     ----     --------
Strength        13       +3       4: WIS
Dexterity       15       +3       8: WIS
Constitution    14       +3      12: WIS
Intelligence     9       +3      16: WIS
Wisdom          18       +3      20: WIS
Charisma         8       +3      24: WIS
                                 28: WIS


Feats

 1        : Least Dragonmark: Healing
 1 Monk   : Two Weapon Fighting
 2 Monk   : Power Attack
 3        : Cleave
 3 Monk   : Path of Harmonious Balance
 6        : Great Cleave
 6 Monk   : Stunning Fist
 9        : Improved Two Weapon Fighting
12        : Improved Critical: Bludgeoning
15        : Greater Two Weapon Fighting
18        : Improved Sunder (or Precision)
21 Epic   : Overwhelming Critical
24 Epic   : Vorpal Strikes
26 Destiny: Perfect Two Weapon Fighting
27 Epic   : Improved Martial Arts
28 Destiny: Elusive Target


Enhancements (80 AP)

Halfling (13 AP)

Halfling Luck
Jorasco Dragonmark Focus III, Cunning I
Lesser Dragonmark of Healing, Break out the Leeches, Halfling Guile
Greater Dragonmark of Healing, Halfling Guile

Shintao (41 AP)

Bastion of Purity, Protection from Tainted Creatures, Iron Hand, Argent First, Touch the Void Dragon, To Seek Perfection
Deft Strikes III
Smite Tainted Creature, Iron Skin III, Fists of Iron, Conditioning I
Jade Strike, Dismissing Strike, Wisdom
Tomb of Jade, Instinctive Defense I, Wisdom
Violence Begets Violence, Meditation of War, Empty Hand Mastery

Ninja Spy (26 AP)

Basic Ninja Training, Advanced Ninja Training, Shadow Veil
Stealthy III, Sneak Attack Training
Sneak Attack Training, Agility III
Flash Bang III, Sneak Attack Training, Wisdom
No Mercy III

For skills, I would max out Concentration and UMD; what you do with the rest of your pts is up to you.

On the question of paths i would want to go light for the survivability (also to heal party members a little if no healers avalible) i have played a dark dwarven monk once, dark just did not suit my playstyle at all and i hated the life as i was on my 3rd life so playing a char i didnt like sucked.

Reading your build plan for stat allocation, i do like it, though you suggested taking UMD as a skill to train, its cha based and is a dump stat on this build, so ill assume ill not get decent enough UMD to use rez scrolls or heal ones (though i do have a +3 UMD tome on char and a +3 item in game)
another thing scaring me slightly is the con score of 14...for a fighting class its not great, id also need for ki but with monks, you need so many stats to build it

[Elibolas]

Friend, Unbongwah's builds, even when just theory-craft, are pretty tight. Go with it. In my experience, it's a fair shot you'll see it works out the way you hope it might.

[Robbenklopper]

Unbongwah gives a very good plan.

For first-time Monk, heroic only Content, cleave line is the best and most early powerful. There are whirlwind and combat-expertise, but real power will come at lvl18 and could even mean a 12 CON. That said to your scare, 14 Con is fine.

Stunning-blow is a good Option, ki-free (if you don´t gimp STR) and hits a lot. I do for heroics, but epic is a different chapter,
Going light Monk harmonious path offers good healing, so mark of healing maybe not neccessary.
I max +5 WIS from enhancements plus +2 from cap.
Skills for UMD, concentration and heal. (raise dead only in the higher Levels possible).
Shadow Veil, Iron Skin, Violence Begets Violence, Meditation of War, and Empty Hand Mastery are elemental.

[unbongwah]

Reading your build plan for stat allocation, i do like it, though you suggested taking UMD as a skill to train, its cha based and is a dump stat on this build, so ill assume ill not get decent enough UMD to use rez scrolls or heal ones (though i do have a +3 UMD tome on char and a +3 item in game)

http://ddowiki.com/page/Use_magic_device

By lvl 20, you can have:

11 ranks of UMD
+3 UMD skill tome
+6 Exceptional CHA skills GS item
+7 CHA 24 (base 8 + 5 tome + 7 item + 2 insightful + 2 Yugo pot)
+3 enhancement item (eBig Top or eSpyglass)
+5 competence item (7-fingered gloves or eFlameward)
+4 morale bonus (Gtr Heroism)
+2 luck bonus
+2 Walk of the Sun finisher
+1 profane bonus (spider mask)
44 UMD (self-buffed)
+2 Inspire Competence
+1 +2 CHA ship buff
+3 ship buff (Library)
50 UMD

Goal is UMD 39 for 95% success chance with Heal scrolls. So even if you don't have every bonus on this list (Titan is hardly ever run anymore, so 7-Fingered Gloves is basically a pipe dream), you still have a little wiggle room on your UMD.

another thing scaring me slightly is the con score of 14...for a fighting class its not great, id also need for ki but with monks, you need so many stats to build it

There are enough options for boosting HPs these days that base CON 14 is usually sufficient, particularly with a +4 tome. Plus since I based my build on Earth stance for Shintao bonuses and +1 crit multiplier, you'll also gain extra CON, HPs, and PRR from that, boosting survivability further. If you're still worried, you can shift pts from WIS into CON.

Forgot to mention: the one must-have for any low-lvl monk IMHO is Jidz-Tet'ka bracers; note the die step increase to base dmg from Mountain stance and the +50(?!) heal amp in Fire stance. I also like Quicksilver Cassok: Striding + Melee Alacrity is great; add a Heavy Fort aug and you're set. Frozen Tunic is also good for Freezing Ice plus (at higher lvls) Enhanced Ki + Fire Shield.

[aavah]

Unbongwah gives a very good plan.

For first-time Monk, heroic only Content, cleave line is the best and most early powerful. There are whirlwind and combat-expertise, but real power will come at lvl18 and could even mean a 12 CON. That said to your scare, 14 Con is fine.

Stunning-blow is a good Option, ki-free (if you don´t gimp STR) and hits a lot. I do for heroics, but epic is a different chapter,
Going light Monk harmonious path offers good healing, so mark of healing maybe not neccessary.
I max +5 WIS from enhancements plus +2 from cap.
Skills for UMD, concentration and heal. (raise dead only in the higher Levels possible).
Shadow Veil, Iron Skin, Violence Begets Violence, Meditation of War, and Empty Hand Mastery are elemental.

well, ive decided to go try the mentioned build plan, ty to you and all the others in the thread for your opinions and comments, it should work out just fine (ive never make a char thats so gimped that is unplayable)

[Saekee]

For non-human I would go elf for the same AP layout--you get displacement dragonmarks instead of the healing line. The increased missed chance defense will make up for the slightly lower CON. You also get higher STR than Halfling which will be your main damaging stat (Wis is tactical).

If you are lucky to have the eChimera crown it is a great start-of-quest/post shrine option for a free extra dragonmark use.