Post/Author/DateTime	Post
presti71 10-20-04, 04:51 PM	I am playing 3rd edition for first time and am used to playing Palladium fantasy monks(which are awesome). I like playing 3.5 but my monk has just hit 4th level and so far I have not been impressed with the class at all!!! The martial arts/Grapple system for 3rd ed. stinks, if it exists at all. The monk class does not get any good until high levels, and by that point the other fighter classes will be too far ahead of me. The monk's selection of feats in the "official" books is poor and the few usable monk specific feats don't have high enough effects. I mean c'mon...even at first level who in their right mind would waste a feat slot on one that adds only 1D4 to your damage?!!! and there a couple of these feats out there!!! And why do the only monk feats that boost damage only work on a charge?!!! Unless you are high level, your monk shouldn't be charging any big foes!!! The only saving grace for monks at all is the 3rd party books such as BEYOND MONKS and THE QUINTESSENTIAL MONK I & II. If you just used official D&D books, your monk would be really weak!! The biggest weakness of the monk over the fighter class is the lack of feats!!! Since the monks only get so many feats and most all the monk feats have prerequisites, I have found that you have to plan out your monk's entire career from level one or two. this sounded exciting at first but quickly becomes tiresome when at only level 3 I have to consult tons of literature just to figure out what general feat to take so i can have access to a better feat at 12th level? Sometimes you have to take a feat that stinks and that U will never use just to get a better one levels later. Why is it that in the official D&D books every example of monk combat involves fighting kobolds and gnomes?!!! at higher levels even?!!! Of course the monk feats look great when a 7th level monk fights a couple of kobolds!!! I am 33 years old and I have not fought a kobold since High school!!! In fact no DM of mine would ever use kobolds on experienced players!!! The core books are not representative of true gaming. i need help since every monk guide I have consulted says that I already screwed up my character and I am only level 4?!!! I am a 4th lvl half-orc monk with stunning fist, deflect arrows(what was I thinking?), power attack, weapon focus:unarmed, and others monk comes with. Can i still make something from this? What should I do now?
scrollreader 10-20-04, 05:00 PM	Well, to beginw ith, Monks are, as you guessed, feat starved, so being human helps, some. See if your DM will let you change out WF: Unarmed for Improved natural Attack (from the Monster Manual). This ups your damage to be the same as if you were a large monk. After that ... look for a nice PrC for your monk. Look in the FAQ at the top of the forums, for Funny Slaughter's postings on the monk. Monks are NOT Fighters. They're skirmishers and magekillers. You might also want to give the Psionic Fist a shot, if your DM allows Psionics.
nihility 10-20-04, 05:10 PM	Try here: http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=48573