[Nerull]

Originally posted by Larry_OHF: I have built a level 10 monk, and do not really know how to use him very well. He is a Gray Monk, so his weapon of choice is defaulted as a staff. I see three special abilities. When not using his staff, he can do a fast-punch like thing, that is activated or deactivated on command. Another attribute is a stunning strike once/day. He cannot have the staff in-hand. The last is a single heal w/Ki. I guess what I am asking is how to fairly play this guy, and as well...what should be the maximum level of equipment he has?

First, get rid of the staff. The monk is a powerhouse unarmed. The weapons are actually restricting the characters abilities. You get more attacks and more damage unarmed than armed. Here is the chart from the manual (and I put in the armed attack rate and damage for quarterstaff for comparison):

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Level   Unarmed Attack Bonus*  Armed Attack Bonus*  Unarmed Dmg** Armed Dmg

1       +0                     +0                   1d6/1d4       1d6

2       +1                     +1                   1d6/1d4       1d6

3       +2                     +2                   1d6/1d4       1d6

4       +3                     +3                   1d8/1d6       1d6

5       +3                     +3                   1d8/1d6       1d6

6       +4/+1                  +4                   1d8/1d6       1d6

7       +5/+2                  +5                   1d8/1d6       1d6

8       +6/+3                  +6/+1                1d10/1d8      1d6

9       +6/+3                  +6/+1                1d10/1d8      1d6

10      +7/+4/+1               +7/+2                1d10/1d8      1d6

11      +8/+5/+2               +8/+3                1d10/1d8      1d6

12      +9/+6/+3               +9/+4                1d12/1d10     1d6

13      +9/+6/+3               +9/+4                1d12/1d10     1d6

14      +10/+7/+4/+1           +10/+5               1d12/1d10     1d6

15      +11/+8/+5/+2           +11/+6/+1            1d12/1d10     1d6

16      +12/+9/+6/+3           +12/+7/+2            1d20/2d6      1d6

17      +12/+9/+6/+3           +12/+7/+2            1d20/2d6      1d6

18      +13/+10/+7/+4/+1       +13/+8/+3            1d20/2d6      1d6

19      +14/+11/+8/+5/+2       +14/+9/+4            1d20/2d6      1d6

20      +14/+12/+9/+6/+3       +15/+10/+5           1d20/2d6      1d6



* The number of attack bonuses is the number of attacks.  For example, an attack bonus of +6/+1 means that the character makes 2 attacks, one at +6 to hit and one at +1 to hit.



** The number after the slash is for small monks (Gnomes and Halflings).  The number before the slash is for everyone else.

[/QUOTE]Thus, for a medium sized monk, there is no difference for levels 1-3 between using the quarterstaff and using bare hands, and after that point the advantage is to bare hands. For a small monk, armed has the advantage through 1-3 (due to the extra damage), it is the same for levels 4 and 5, and then bare hands have the advantage after that. Thus, the only time a monk should use the quarterstaff is if they are small sized, and then only until you reach level 4. In addition, now that you are level 10 your fists act as +1 weapons when attacking creatures with damage reduction. They become +2 weapons at 13th level and +3 weapons at 16th level.

Flurry of blows is a special mode that allows you to make one extra unarmed attack (at the leftmost/highest bonus listed), but all of your attacks take a -2 to hit. Considering how much damage each of your unarmed attacks do, it is quite effective. Use often, except maybe against high AC targets (dragons, etc.). You stay in Flurry of blows mode until you press it again or the combat ends.

Stunning fist is very useful against bosses, especially spellcasters. You have to select it to use it. Your next attack takes -4 to hit and damage, and the opponent gets to make a fortitude save (based on your wisdom, so higher wisdom helps). However, if they fail, they are held for 3 rounds, letting you have a field day with them (can't attack back). For extra fun, hit them with the stunning fist after a couple of rounds (before recovering from the first stunning fist), leaving them held the whole time. You can use it 1 time per level, so you should have 10 uses of it at 10th level.

Wholeness of body heals a number of hit points equal to 2x your level, but is only usable once a day. If you are getting hammered, pull out of the combat and use this.

Other abilities that are working in the background are evasion and improved evasion (i.e. against any reflex save to avoid damage, you take half damage on a failed save and no damage on a successful save). You are also immune to disease, and will become immune to poison at 11th level. At 12th level you get spell resistance equal to level + 10. At 15th you get the Quivering Palm (select it once per day, and if the next attack hits they must make a fortitude save (wisdom makes this stronger, as per stunning fist) or die instantly). At 18th level, you can select Empty Body twice per day to temporarily get 50% concealment (if someone hits you with an attack, there is a 50% chance it misses anyway). At 20th level, you get damage reduction 20/+1.

In addition, your wisdom bonus is added to your AC along with your dexterity bonus. In addition, if you are surprised or hit from behind, you lose the dexterity bonus to AC, but not the wisdom bonus. The only time that you lose the wisdom bonus is if you are held (can't move at all). In addition, wisdom improves the odds of stunning fist and quivering palm working. Thus, both wisdom and dexterity should be high; don't be afraid of using booster items (periapts of wisdom, etc.) to increase these stats. Dexterity increases your initiative roll (allows you to get the jump on opponents), so don't completely ignore it. You really want to boost your AC as much as possible; don't worry about boosting damage, as you will do a lot of damage unarmed, especially at higher levels. Increased AC (along with resistance to energy and gloves to do energy damage to open chests) are your priority. The only time I used weapons were to use a bow (I played an elf) with energy arrows to open trapped chests from a distance. Use energy shuriken to do the same thing with other races. A monk has great saves across the board, but it does not hurt to take the feats that increase your saves (Great Fortitude, Lightning Reflexes, Iron Will), especially Lighting Reflexes to allow you to avoid trap damage (since the evasion and improved evasion will come into play). This will allow you to set off traps and (hopefully) take little damage. Add the energy resistance to help with that, and (if you can find it) regeneration to get back hp between battles. Also, the toughness feat is very helpful for a monk (extra hp never hurt).

Hope that helps!