well this is the first time im tryin out the monk.....
i heard this would be the strongest class
and his/her fist would be the second best type of weapon next to the holy avenger......

what should the stats of the monk look like?

and whats the best equipment for the monk in SoA?

For Monks, the stats would be strength, dexterity and constitution. Those 3 are the more important ones.

strength, con, and dex. the rest wont matter at all.

I disagree.

Monks can focus on the mental aspects and do just fine. Mine did. With high Int and Wis, many encounters are much easier.

<font color="gold">Monks aren't the strongest class. The Sorcerer is.
But it is definetly one of the strongest classes.

Their fists aren't the second best weapon in the game.
But they are definetly one of the best.

What makes the monk so strong, next to it's high-level fists, is it's innate abilities. Quivering Palm in a higher level can easily be better than the spell Finger of Death. Other nice things are immunity to disease, slow, charm and poison (also haste, I'm afraid), high movement rate and not to mention that they get a good MR-bonus.

Back on topic, stats. As already said, Strength, Dexterity and Constitution is the most important, if we just skip Butterfinger's post. [img]tongue.gif[/img] (No offense, BF, just that I'll look on the Monk here as a warrior. I'm sure high Int and Wis works as well.)
In 3rd Edition AD&D-rules, Wisdom have alot to say, e.g. for their AC. Luckily, that weren't implemented in BG2 and 2nd Ed., but I like to have a pretty high Wis anyway, just for the roleplaying aspects.
So, I'd say something like this:
18/xx Strength
18 Dexterity
18 Constitution
15 Wisdom
8 Intelligence (really not important for a warrior)
8--> Charisma (just to get a good discount at stores)

;) </font>

I disagree Sir Exxon. To me, the monk is the best class in the game because of their natural immunities and high resistances to magic. As you advance in levels, you become stronger and so do your fists, up to +4 weapons. Technically, thier fists are the deadliest weapons in the game, because they can KO a dragon in one hit.

That's my 2 cents...

While their fists do "Quivering Palm", we must remember that it is a special attack and simply uses the fist to make the attack, think spells such as Chill Touch.

<font color="gold">My point exactly.
If we say that the fists are the best weapons in the game because of QP, then I agree. But QP is an ability, and not the weapon itself. The fists without those abilities are just +4 at max - there are weapons stronger than that. ;) </font>

[ 04-01-2003, 06:09 AM: Message edited by: Sir Exxon ]

Just wondering Butterfingers, exactly how does Int and Wis make the Monk stronger? Just looking for actual bonuses that a high score in these stats bring [img]smile.gif[/img]

ok i made my monk...and his stats r

str 18
dex 18
con 16......i dont think 18 constitution gives bonus hit points
int 10
wis 11
cha 18

i thought 18 constitution only gaved bonus hits to fighting kit and barbarian...not unless im mistaken