Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Ectoplasmoid 12-23-04, 07:55 AM	I bring this character to you, gentlemen, because you are the best. I made the foolish, foolish mistake of not reading mean_liar's monk thread before handing in my character. /flattery So I'm basically stuck with the character I handed in. Now, assuming this can be salvaged, what can I do in future levels to improve it? Ving Shifter (Cliffwalk) Monk-1 12 str 16 dex 12 con 16 int 12 wis 6 cha Hp- 9 BAB: +0 Saves: Fort +3, ref +5, Will +3 Attacks: +1 Melee or -1/-1 Flurry of blows (1d6+1 , Unarmed Strike) or + 3 ranged or +1/+1 flurry of throws (1d4+1, Sai or 1d2+1, Shuriken) Feats: Kung Fu Genius, Improved Unarmed Strike, Stunning Fist. Skills: Jump +7, Tumble +7, Climb +7, Balance +9, Hide +7, Move Silently +7, Spot +3, Listen +3 Speed: 30 feet AC: 16(+3 dex, +3int)(17 while shifting) Equipment- 3 sais, 25 shuriken, monk's outfit, 1 day's trail rations, 3 gp 5 sp P.S. Yes I know this character stinks. but only constructive comments can help at this point.
Aramil Liadon 12-23-04, 08:32 AM	You got a high Int, why not go monk/wizard/enlighted fist? (CA)
ninjarabbit 12-23-04, 08:52 AM	At some point you may want to take 3 levels of swashbuckler to get weapon finesse and int mod to your damage.
NateNate 12-23-04, 09:10 AM	I nearly choked on my M&Ms when I first read that character. You have some very good suggestions here, probably even enough to make this character work. I think your biggest problem at this point will be the multiclass XP penalty. Take a few more in Monk (minimum to get the class features to qualify for Enlightened Fist but I don't have CA), three in Swashbuckler, and as many as you need in Wizard. Once Enlightened Fist is maxed out, take Eldritch Knight if you have any levels left. If you can get a Monk's Tattoo (MoF) you should take Craft Wondrous Item, since it will also help with the Monk's Belt and anything else you get. Be sure to pick up Rapid Stunning a few times so you can Vampiric Touch with every attack.
ksbsnowowl 12-23-04, 10:18 AM	You didn't list your available sources, so I'm not sure if this will work for you or not, but once you've taken some levels in Swashbuckler, and perhaps Enlightened Fist, Shou Disciple could help. It'll increase your unarmed damage (not sure if enlighted fist does anything of the sort), provide you with 5 levels of Full BAB, grant you 2 bonus feats, and give you the ability to flurry with any melee weapon.
ninjarabbit 12-23-04, 10:56 AM	I'd go monk2/swashbuckler3/wizard3/enlightenedfist10 and you have 2 levels to play with, I suggest one more level of wizard and a level of dragonslayer or take a level of dragonslayer and a level of spellsword since you already have the tumble ranks, you should take dodge for that feat tree, and iron will is the only thing that you're going out of your way for. You'll finish off with a BAB 14, CL 13, and are effectively a 12th level monk.
Ectoplasmoid 12-23-04, 11:29 AM	Optimizelicious! Thanks, I knew you guys could help. What do you guys think of Monk 5/CAdv Thief-Acrobat 5/Assasin 10? It bascically gives up some nifty monk abilites for +5d6 sneak attack, death attack, HIPS, IUD, 4th level spells, +2 dodge to AC, Improved Evasion, and sundry acrobatics up the yinyang. My main concern with this build is the comparatively low BAB, so you could change around the levels to add in some Swashbuckler. Also, Would different class' bonuses to AC ffrom the same stat would stack-for instance, the Swashbuckler and the Kung fu Genius Monk's Int to AC?
Iaimeki 02-14-05, 06:48 PM	My personal thought: You have two decent directions to go with this character: wizard/enlightened fist and swashbuckler. I wrote a long thread on enlightened fist here: http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=365456&page=1&pp=30. I think the most important point is that if you go enlightened fist, you need to focus on your casting. Casting that is substantially lower-level than your character level is not that useful (and you will have neither the HP, the class abilities, or the full BAB of half-casters like Hexblade, Paladin, Ranger). If you want to go swashbuckler, you have a lot more options. If you want to use weapons, Shou Disciple is a good choice. There are also some non-monk PrCs that might work well (like dervish, obviously). However, with that stat distribution, you want Two-Weapon fighting, without question: you have the Dex already, and since swashbuckler's insightful strike applies to all melee attacks, you want to max out the number of attacks you get. Flurry, which stacks with Two-Weapon fighting, is one of the best ways to do this.
PhaedrusXY 02-14-05, 07:06 PM	I'd suggest monk2/swashbuckler3/ShouDisciple5/InvisibleBlade5. Finish with whatever you want. You'll get Int to AC again, Int to damage, Weapon Finesse for free, and you can flurry with any weapon. You'll also have a base attack of 14 at level 15. Adding 4 more levels of monk, if your DM lets you go back to it, would be great if you think you can get a Monk's Belt and Monk's tattoo. That will get you the unarmed damage of a 20th level monk, and the best Flurry of Blows (with any weapon). I agree you should take the TWF feats, but I don't know how hard it will be to fit it in with the Shou Disciple and Invisible Blade prereqs. See if you can use the "revised" requirements for Invisible Blade that the original author suggests in a thread on here somewhere. (It was only two feats, instead of 4, and no ranged feats). You also don't need the last level of Shou Disciple, as you will be using light weapons (kukri, daggers, or punching dagger) to get the Invisible Blades AC bonus. Since you can use them in your Flurry of Blows, you only really need to make one attack with the dagger, and the rest can be unarmed strikes. ;)
Lusden Veharo 02-14-05, 08:31 PM	Fixed pre-reqs are Weapon Focus(any Invisible Blade weapon) and Combat Expertise.