Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Omni-Wyvernil 08-15-06, 03:40 AM	Right now, I'm optimizing a human monk/ranger build using the Ascetic Hunter feat. Final progression will likely be (Monk 9/Ranger 11) to take full advantage of synergy between TWF and flurry. STR and DEX will be the prime stats, to take advantage of defensive tripping capabilities via Elusive Target, Defensive Throw, and Improved Trip. On the offensive, combines TWF and flurry for a whopping 9 hits on a full attack with +15 BAB (taking TWF penalties into consideration), or 6 hits with +17 BAB! Here's the progression I've planned so far. Dodge -Human bonus Mobility -LV1 Ascetic Hunter -LV3 Elusive Target -LV6 Combat Expertise -LV9 Defensive Throw -LV12 Karmic Strike -LV15 Double Hit -LV18 Stunning Attack -Monk bonus Combat Reflexes -Monk bonus Improved Trip -Monk bonus TWF combat style -Ranger bonus Does this look good to you? If possible, I'd like to move Karmic Strike up a few levels, to take advantage of its attack of opportunity effects. Alternatively, I could go with Robilar's Gambit instead, and use the feat I'd save from not taking Combat Expertise on Improved Favored Enemy or something like that. Point buy for this build is 86 points, distributed 1 for 1 among the six stats(starting with 0 for each), so MAD isn't as much of an issue. So far, I'm thinking something like this. STR 16 DEX 18 CON 16 INT 13 (Reduce this to 10 for the Robilar's build, and add to WIS and CHA) WIS 15 CHA 8 So, my questions can be summed up like so. 1. Do my stats and feat selection look okay? Any alternatives you might suggest? 2. Karmic Strike or Robilar's Gambit(Monks don't have many feats, so taking both might be a tad unfeasable)? 3. In which order would you take the aforementioned feats? To all those of you who can help out, thanks.
PhaedrusXY 08-15-06, 03:51 AM	Good stopping points with monk are 2, 6, and 11. 11 gets you Greater Flurry, which is better than the greater two weapon fighting you get at ranger 11. I'd go with Defensive throw over Karmic Strike for this, since you get Improved trip for free, and wouldn't need to take Expertise. If you do go with Karmic Strike, I think the thing to do is stop at monk 2. I hear the ranger spells in some of the newer books are pretty good. I like your feat choices ok, however I'd lower Dex and pump Str more. If you want to increase AC, use Wisdom instead of Dex. Also, Karmic Strike and Robilar's Gambit don't "stack", I think.
Omni-Wyvernil 08-15-06, 04:17 AM	Yeah, upon closer inspection the greater flurry gets a better BAB, meaning the attack is more likely to hit. Plus, those monk levels don't lose any BAB compared to the ranger levels, so (Monk 11/Ranger 9) seems the better call. I'm assuming you meant Robilar's Gambit, since Defensive Throw's already in the build. Seems like a promising proposition, simply because it would save a feat, plus I wouldn't have to pump so many points into INT to get Expertise. Any ideas for what to spend that extra feat on? Improved Favored Enemy seems like a good idea for boosting damage against demons (evil outsiders being a major enemy in this campaign means making a demon hunter's a good call). Also, Deft Opportunist as an option for boosting the hit rate on all those AoOs. Would you say this is good for stats? STR 18 DEX 16 CON 16 INT 10 WIS 16 CHA 10 (could possibly drop this to 8 to boost WIS for AC)
Omni-Wyvernil 08-15-06, 04:59 AM	One more question. If I start at level 4, what combination of Ranger and Monk levels would be best? Rng2/Mnk2 or Rng1/Mnk3? (This is, of course, putting the first ranger level at Level 1 for the extra skill points.)
PhaedrusXY 08-15-06, 01:45 PM	Oops. I missed Defensive Throw the first time I looked at your build. Sorry. :embarrass Definitely go with Monk2/Ranger2 starting out at 4th. I would lower Dex even more, and boost Wis or Con, but that is just me...