Monkey!

[Magness]

Originally posted by ZFR: quote: Originally posted by wanderon: I am not sure if dash stacks with monks speed increase or how useful it might be but its a possibilty.

Well, actually in some cases I found monk's speed more an annoyance than being useful in a party. He would get much ahead of everyone else and meet enemies before the rest could catch up. I wish high speed was a skill that could be turned on and off (through the special ability icon; much like power attack etc). [/QUOTE]I agree. A uberfast character can be a pain, if you keep him in the formation. OTOH, being uberfast is nice for a scout.

When I have boots of speed available, I tend to give'em to my scout, not my lead tank for this reason. I suppose if you play a more aggressive, attacking combat style where you charge into battle, rather than wait for the enemy to come to you, then great speed is nice for closing the distance as quickly as possible. But if your combat style is defensive (as is mine), then that great speed is wasted on a lead tank and can kill a formation.

Great speed is best used by scouts.

[timothy trotter]

hmm, some interesting points you make. I installed the ease of use mod and added the improved monks fists, so he should get hes dex modifier instead of his strength modifier and wot not. he is around lvl 6 and his damge potential is only 2-9, this stinks! i origiannly didnt take it and took it as my 6th level feat, at lvl 5 he only had a damage potential of 1-9, so after i took weapon finesse, the damage potential went from 1-9 to 2-9. wow, big difference. how come his damage is not heaps better?

[Magness]

Tim, with a character who has a STR of only 10, you are getting no STR bonus to any attacks. His hand-to-hand damage will slowly increase as he levels up. All in all, you'd probably be better off for now wielding a good short sword that has some extra damage effect, if you want him to stay in melee.

I'm not a monk expert, but they never really seem like they're likely to be the big offensive tanks that the normal melee warrior classes are.

You should probably be looking for STR-enhancing items for your monk, and using STR enhancing buffing spells (like Bull's Strength) to help increase STR. Still, don't expect great things offensively. Your monk will likely be better in the role of decoy and scout, rather than as an offensive tank.

[Aerich]

Weapon finesse only increases your chance to hit, not your damage.

Definitely use strength-increasing items and spells.

A DG monk starts coming into its own about lvl 8 - one of the drawbacks of the 3 ECL penalty is that a low strength, low level monk is continually fighting against monsters whose AC is engineered for a higher level party/character.

In any case, the DG monk's critical ability, when fully buffed, is to safely occupy large numbers of enemies for incredible lengths of time in the mid to late stages of a normal (non-HoF) game while the rest of the party focuses on other threats.

For skills, just take Hide and Move Silently. For feats, I usually take Dodge, Rapid Shot (with sling), Dirty Fighting, and Improved Critical, in that order - I don't play with the EoU mod, so Weapon Finesse is no use to me. IC should be taken as soon as it is offered. Definitely take Dirty Fighting, as a critical hit with an average strength monk is no guarantee of causing an opponent's death.

I also disagree that the improved saves feats are useless. The prime use of a monk, IMO, is as the closest thing to an invulnerable tank/decoy. It can run untouched through spells that slay everything around it. Your wizards, sorcerors, druids and clerics will steadily increase their DC, making it harder for any character in the line of fire to make a save. Taking the improved saves, particularly Lightning Reflexes, ensures that your monk stays ahead of the curve.

[ZFR]

Originally posted by Aerich: Definitely take Dirty Fighting, as a critical hit with an average strength monk is no guarantee of causing an opponent's death.

With all due respect Aerich: still, that feat is very useless because:

For it to happen:
_First it has to be a critical hit (5% chance).
But that's no guarantee of success:
_Then it has to make bypass the slow or blind chance (50%)
But that's still no guarantee of success:
_It has to bypass the fortitude save.
(Note that if the enemy is strong, he *will* make the save; and if the enemy is weak, you won't need him to be blind/slow to kill him)

So overall the chance of the slow/blind effect at all happening is very low.

Then assuming the event does happen, is it really useful? The slow/blind effects are only useful when cast on opponenents before battle starts. What is the purpose of having a blind opponent who is almost dead anyway, and will die within the next round or two?

Top it all with the fact that undead are immune to it. So are golems and elementals (agreed that those appear not so frequently).

So I wouldn't call this feat a "Definately take it." You're really much better taking a different feat instead. In a party you will have someone else to do slow/blind much more effectively.

[timothy trotter]

are there any items that raise strength like there are in bg 2? the girdle of hill giant strengh comes to mind. is there anything like that in IWD2? dont worry about spoilers.

[ZFR]

Originally posted by timothy trotter: are there any items that raise strength like there are in bg 2? the girdle of hill giant strengh comes to mind. is there anything like that in IWD2? dont worry about spoilers.

Yes. Some are random. (cant remeber any specifics and location). Also potions and spells (Bull Strength)

Just remeber that ability bonuses in IWD 2 do not stack. Only highest is selected. e.g if you cast Bull Strength (+4) and wear the girdle of strength +1, you only get +4. Similarly if youre using ring and necklace of strength (no such items), you only get the higher bonus.

[wanderon]

In regards to ranged weapons I think I might go Xbow over bow for the extra damage with this build especially early on before the bow gets extra attacks and considering that as the monk gets higher in levels hes likely to use ranged weapons less.

I also concur that small blades (finessed) is the best option for weapons while waiting for the fists to get good and I still think DW is an excellent option for that since the finessed high dex build means the penalty to hit is almost meaningless even at fairly low levels and if you are have weak attacks damage wise then adding an extra attack makes even more sense.

Add this to the fact that there really aren't that many "must have" feats for this build and I think it makes good sense altho this news may be too little too late at this point...

In retrospect I think perhaps a better build for the DG monk might be one where the con was dropped in favor of str to whatever degree you are comfy. The build is very difficult for enemies to hit so the lack of hps is less of an issue in my mind so if I were inclined to play one I think I might drop the con as low as 12 or even 10 and boost str accordingly. I might even go as far as to boost str as the game progresses instead of dex as well since the starting AC is quite good and increases with levels but I have never played one past about level 4-5 so that may be a flawed strategy...

[timothy trotter]

i just realised, his strength is 12, not ten, if that makes any difference.

[wanderon]

Well it adds +1 to damage for all melee and would add +1 to hit if you were not using weapon finesse which will take the higher of the two (str or dex). It also means you may not need the strong back feat to allow him to carry his share so all in all I'd say its a plus...