The paladin/monk

[Marty4]

I've heard a few times in this forum and in other places that a Paladin/monk is very powerful. I realise the incredible power of a monk/dreadmaster of bane, but how does a Paladin/monk work? It wouldn't use the paladin sword, and would be reliant on so many stats. Assuming, that they go with no armor for the monk abilities, that means the character is reliant heavily on 5 out of the six stats! How can this work?

[Bozos of Bones]

Well now, he'll be depending on STR, DEX, CON, WIS and CHA... but his AC would be out of this world, his saves would be mad and his magical resistance would be absolute(imagine Drow+monk+Cera Sumat resistance stacking). With some 19 starting wisdom and charisma(items will fill you up to 24/22 later on) and investing heavily in STR and DEX you can really forego constitution altogether. It is a difficult class to play, but the more you play it the more power it accumulates. Later on you can get some mean monk-only stuff, like the Thunder Clap, and that coupled with the Holy Avenger is enough to make you wanna play monk/pally. A level 20 monk/10 paladin Drow would have a whopping 75 magical resistance(60 without the sword), which is another good reason for the combo. So the starting stats would look like this:
STR: 16
DEX: 18
CON: 10
INT: 4
WIS: 17
CHA: 15

[ 11-16-2004, 04:25 AM: Message edited by: Bozos of Bones ]

[shadowolf03]

I have a few questions about the monk and paladin combo...

i heard that it is better to keep a 2:1 level ration in favour for the monk...first of all, what does favoured class do, and second, should i create the character as a paladin or a monk?

I only really need a few levels in paladin right?

And someone please tell me the stats for Cera Sumat, Holy Avenger and anything super cool for either class please!

can someone also tell me if Weapon Finesse uses dexterity to calculate damage in melee as well as the change to hit?

*seems to be a lot of these kinda questions about!*

[ 11-20-2004, 06:28 AM: Message edited by: shadowolf03 ]

[Bozos of Bones]

Favoured class means that that class will not be calculated in when figuring experience penalties. It's a good thing. A Drow, favored class wizard for male and cleric for female, will get 20% XP penalty when multiclassed from say fighter to rogue, but no penalty when multiclassed from fighter to wizard, or cleric if female.
You only really need a few levels of Paladin, but that depends on how far you want to go with it. You may later get Fiendslayer and Heretics Bane feats, both very usefull later in game. Heroic Inspiration ain't that bad either.
Weapon Finesse is only for attack rolls, not damage rolls. It only works on Short Swords, Daggers and Scimitars. Ease of Use mod extends the use to monks' unarmed attacks.
As for super-cool stuff, Holy Avenger, or Cera Sumat, is a Longsword with extra mean enchantments against evil, infinite Dispell Magic per day and 15 Magic Resistance. Thunder Clap gives an extra attack at maximum bonus for monks. There's a Sash that gives Bless while equiped also for monks. Once you get that one, you'll wear it for a short while. The Every God Ring is only for Paladins and Rangers, and it gives +5 WIS. There's also a few other items not worth mentioning.

[shadowolf03]

All in a nutshell, thanks!

[shadowolf03]

Ah, one question that wasn't answered, should i start the character as a monk or Paladin? I don't think you can multi to a monk when you're a paladin...or was it the other way round?

[Aerich]

AFAIK, you can multi to any class from any class, as long as you meet alignment qualifications. However, I don't think you'll be able to gain any more levels in paladin once you go from paladin to monk; I thought you could only switch back and forth with a cleric (Ilmater), fighter (Helm) or wizard (Mystra).

I don't think it really matters which class you start with. Pally would give you better saves (maybe) and HP to start, but monks get the Evasion feat quite early, as well as movement, and can put a bunch of skill points in stealth skills. Depends what role you see the character filling in the early to mid-game.

[shadowolf03]

Wait a sec...when the paladin has multied to a monk...should he still wear armour?

[Bozos of Bones]

No. Hell no. What's the point of dualing a character to monk if he's going to continue wearing armors? You get absolutely no benefits, unless you're unarmed. So an armorless sword-wielding pally/monkey is the way to go if you want the multi.

[Vassago]

You can't swap back and forth between Paladin and Monk levels. Once you take one and then take the other, you can't go back. That's the restricition of the Monk & Paladin class. Personally, I'm running a solo Monk like so:

Vassago
Male Deep Gnome Lawfully Good Monk of the Old Order
STR 16 DEX 20 CON 18 INT 3 WIS 16 CHA 1
Weapons: Axe (Slashing), Fists(Bludgeoning), Crossbow (Missle-Piercing)

Currently, he is level 5 using Executioner's Wife (2 handed great axe). He's hard to hit and has evaded every spell thrown at him.