On using a Monk

[Gammit]

I've been curious (since BG2) on how a game including a monk would be. I started a quick 5 minute game to get used to everything with a party that included a monk. Within a minute, the monk was dead. So, some questions:
1.) how should I use a monk in combat? as a sideline fighter to go in after the first wave? as a ranged fighter? as a front-line attacker?
2.) should I keep a monk out of harms way until she reaches a level beyond level one?
3.) should I stick with unarmed combat, even from the beginning?
4.) can I/should I use my monk to serve as my rogue and possibly pick up a level or two later in the game in rogue?

Any help would be appreciated. The other members of my party (first and experimental party): barbarian, ranger, druid, sorcerer, wizard.

[Desdicado]

Hi there, I used a Monk for a while but ended up dumping him for a Ranger as I think part of the fun of RPGing is collecting weapons and armour, which ain't any use to a monk.

I kept mine, when I had him, using his fists from level 1.

He wasn't really a "Tank" so I kept him as a reserve Fighter I guess, not much use early on in the game.

[Gimli]

I'm running a Monk now and he's doing very well. I'll try to answer your questions about them.

"1.) how should I use a monk in combat? as a sideline fighter to go in after the first wave? as a ranged fighter? as a front-line attacker?"

They are pretty flexible. Mine really has three roles. He's very effective with a sling (adds his Str bonus) and rapid shot. He's a good front line tank too, better when he's had my cleric put ilmater's endurance on him for some extra HP. What's he excels at is being a mage-killer - he sneaks behind enemy mages (with my rogue and/or ranger) and uses stunning attacks on them, and the other mage-raiders then cut down the stunned mages (who generally have a hard time making their Fort saves vs stunning attacks).

"2.) should I keep a monk out of harms way until she reaches a level beyond level one?"

Depends on how you built her - for about the first 2 levels, I was letting my Dwarf Barb with a 20 Con lead into every fight, and using ranged weapons alot with the other characters. But if she has a high Wis and Dex her AC will be really good, so you don't have to shield her completely from some melee.

"3.) should I stick with unarmed combat, even from the beginning?"

Hmm, I think at 6th level the Monk should switch over to bare fists since then they get 2 attacks and a d8 of damage. Before that, especially if you have a high Str (which I highly reccomend for a Monk), going with a 2-handed axe isn't such a bad idea. They do more damage than the fists, have the same # of attacks, have a better reach, and do *1.5 your Str bonus damage. Monks come with the martial weapons: axe feat for free as well.

"4.) can I/should I use my monk to serve as my rogue and possibly pick up a level or two later in the game in rogue?"

I would only pick up one level of Rogue - more than that will mess up his unarmed BAB table. But one level (if your order allows it) is a pretty good idea, both for the skill points and for the d6 sneak attack damage. Probably the best time to take the 1 rogue level is at character creation if you're going to do it to get the most bonus skill points. But going without the rogue level is OK too, you get access to the higher level monk abilities faster.

[Azred]

My poor monk has earned the lowest total value of xp for defeated foes in my entire party. *sigh* Now that I have finished the game and am going to go through HoF mode, I will dump him for a different character. In short, he was pretty much useless.

[Luvian]

Monks are usefull when they get high in level. Think of someone training in the martial art, when he is a white belt he won't be much of a challenge, but if he is black belt that is different.

[ 11-18-2002, 03:41 PM: Message edited by: Luvian ]

[Gimli]

I'm really finding that my Monk is useful even at early stages in the game. At level 6, you've got 2 attacks barehanded, doing d8 each - and a bunch of stunning attacks per day. Plus maxed hide and move silently. My Monk started with an 18 Str, has that pumped via Bull's Strength - and does very respectable damage, plus the stuns. Even with his just his "yellow" belt, he's pretty tough [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Gammit]

Ok, so second (well, 5th actually) question: Which stats should I bump up? I figure strenth, dex, and maybe con...? What do you think?

[Gimli]

Str IMHO is extremely important. And since they don't wear armor, Dex and Wis are important to AC. Then comes Con. Int and Cha are pretty much worthless if you play a Human Monk - you get 2 skill points per level no matter how low your Int is, and can max hide and move silently with them.

The Monk I run is a Human, with stats like this (at 9th level):

St: 18 (+2)
Dx: 18
Co: 14
In: 6
Wi: 18
Ch: 4

I wanted to keep his Int at least in a normal human range; Cha I don't mind having at a 4 as it can be fun to RP that way - remember Gringnaw from NWN. You could further min/max by dropping both Int and Cha to 3s and upping Con to an 18, but I think it would make for less RP realism.

[Jack of Speed]

I love those stats/race for monks. Perfect combo. I would go further on the min/max though. But I dont mind the RP side of 3 int. Maybe he is idiot savant.
Im pretty sure you can make a story to fit ANY RP scenario. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Gimli]

Well they are fantasy games, so yeah, the characters are only limited by your own imagination [img]smile.gif[/img] I was also trying purposely to not min-max for some RP value, and for more challenge - that Monk is my most min-maxed in my current group; my "rule" was nothing below a 6, and only one stat per character as low as a 6 allowed. But the Monk is tough to make effective without some min-maxing, so I let him be the exception.