Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Mazoshi Aug 19, 2015 13:14:59	Hey guys i just joined a game for HOTDQ from what i was told it can be very brutal as such the dm gave us 3 extra points to play with and encouraged min/max. but i decided that i wanted to make my character a little different and wanted to hear if people think it could work out.   Level 1 Monk Str 8 Dex 18 Con 14 Int 12 Wis 16 Cha 10   So i plan to go 6 more levels into monk to get evasion then to take 3 levels into ranger for the following benifits. Then the rest into Monk   Fighting style - Mariner (Climb speed, swim speed, and +1 ac yes please) Spell Casting - Goodberry, Curewounds, and hunter's mark (mainly Hunter's mark) Colossus Slayer - Extra 1d8 per round   Okay i get some fluffy abilitys too but mainly going for extra ac, spells, and Colossus Slayer   So at Level 10 it will look like this (3 Ranger - Hunter) (7 Monk - Open Hand)   Str 8 Dex 20 Con 14 Int 12 Wis 16 Cha 10   +9 to hit without a magical item and +5 on the damage rolls   4 attacks total due to extra attack at 5 and 2 flurry from one Ki point. 2d8+10+2d6+1d8 on my quarterstaff attack's followed by 2d6+10+2d6 thats with flurry of blows and on the pretense everything hits and a base AC of 19 it kinda makes sense that i take some levels in ranger with my wood elf background but wanted to get peoples thoughts on if this is a good build.    I am no good at math but if we half all the damage if it all hits it equals about 50-DPR thats with spending 1 Ki point.   So what do you all think from a min/max point of view is this more effective than if i went solo monk 1-10?
#2 Mazzy Aug 19, 2015 20:59:43	The biggest problem here is that activating or moving Hunter's Mark takes a bonus action, and so does martial arts/flurry. The second problem is that you are a mediocre AC melee character and hunter's mark is concentration.   So you would have to give up your extra monk attacks on the first round to cast Hunter's Mark (probably a DPR loss), and then not lose concentration for a full round while you stand next to the enemy you put huinter's mark on, and hope he stays around for a while because if you move it again, there goes another round of monk bonus action attacks.   Just go straight monk.
(Reply to #2) Yunru	Mazzy wrote:
#4 Mazoshi Aug 20, 2015 6:25:02	I can sort of see what you mean about the bonus attack's but as for ac i don't see how you can say a base class of 19 without armour is low as i belive the only other class that can get better AC without armor is a Barbarian.   Yeah the bonus action is a little bit of an issue but it does last up to 1 hour.   what about going 3 level's Rogue and taking swashbuckler and re-order my stats to these,   Level 1 Monk Str 8 Dex 18 Con 14 Int 10 Wis 16 Cha 12   So my weapon would change to a d6 but i would also gain some kickass abilitys.   Sneak attack 2d6 extra a round as long as 1/4 attacks hit Expertise Great for roleplay Cunning action beter than wasting a Ki point to do this Swashbuckler - So always get sneak attack on attack rolls that hit, just making an attack stops my foe from making opportunity attacks against me and a +1 to init   Compaired with what i lost 3 Ki Perfect self - most groups take short rests Empty body - Probly the only skill i would regreat not having but with evasion and prof in all saves and reroll saves its kinda hard to hit me with a spell.   Now at max giving that i could and would probly have got myself a +3 flametongue as there is no reason you cant enhance a weapons + bonus although it would be very costly i would be rolling out this   +13 to hit 2d6+16+4d6+2d6 so thats 2 sword attacks  ability and magic bonus, fire damage, sneak Followed by Flurry of blows 2d10+10    So if i hit smack bang in the middle of all the damage rolls and all attacks hit looking at 60 damage per round not to add after i finished attacking i can move the rest of my speed and since my base would be 60 i can probly move well far out of the reach of my foes.
#5 jaappleton Aug 20, 2015 4:29:03	AC 19 is low? Fourth Edition forums are that way :P
#6 Mazzy Aug 20, 2015 12:03:33	Yunru wrote:
#7 Mazzy Aug 20, 2015 12:45:24	Mazoshi wrote:
(Reply to #6) Yunru	Mazzy wrote:
#9 jaappleton Aug 20, 2015 16:33:57	Plus, a Monk can only naturally ever achieve a 20 AC as a maximum. Barbarian can achieve 22, with the help of a Shield. To say that 19 is low is just... It's blatantly false.
#10 Mazzy Aug 21, 2015 13:02:58	jaappleton wrote:
(Reply to #10) Yunru	Mazzy wrote:
#12 ezrider23 Aug 22, 2015 10:39:28	Mazoshi wrote:
#13 ZHDarkstar Aug 23, 2015 9:22:52	Your original build could work if you play a Variant Human and take the Mobility feat. It'd lessen your chances of losing concentration, as you could hit and run against solo targets with ease.   If you don't mind dumping Int as well I'd consider the following progression instead, which works really well as a Half-Elf.   Fighter 1 (gives you your Mariner FS, Second Wind for 1d10+1 HP per short rest and Con save proficiency to start) Monk 1 (ditch your armor for UAD and Martial Arts) Warlock 1 (Fiend pact grants Cha+Warlock level Temp HP per kill and Hex>Hunter's Mark. Eldritch Blast becomes a backup ranged attack, aka Ki Blasts :P) Warlock 2 (give your EB a little extra damage and knockback to isolate enemies) Monk 2-7   Monk is already a short rest based class, so pairing it with others like it works better than tacking on a long rest class like Ranger. It might be a little bit of a MAD build, but the Half-Elf's racial bonuses to ability scores can shore that up.
#14 Omnilicious Aug 24, 2015 10:08:41	On a side note I was trying to build an archer dude with some flair and I have to say that Ranger doesn't add much. Was rather disapointed. I found mixing Bard (to steal Ranger spells) with warrior ended up making a better archer with a hell of a lot better magic to draw upon.    Ranger may work out well at higher levels but sure isn't a class to dip into.
#15 ZHDarkstar Aug 24, 2015 12:08:34	Ranger is a decent class to dip into for either 2, 3, or 5 levels based on what it'll add to your primary class, be it a Fighting Style, Hunter's Mark/Colossus Slayer, Extra Attack, or Goodberry/Cure Wounds. I have a Nature Cleric/Hunter Ranger that I took 5 levels of Ranger in to gain everything listed above except for Cure Wounds, as I prefer Healing Word for combat healing instead. While my first two turns use my bonus actions to cast Shillelagh and Hunter's Mark, I'm capable of doing up to 3d8+1d4+3d6+18 damage by turn 3, thanks to Polearm Master. All of this is at 6th level because of Dueling, Colossus Slayer, Hunter's Mark, and Polearm Master. Adding Ranger levels to a Nature Cleric is yielding me a better melee Druid than a going straight Druid. Adding the same amount of levels to a Moon Druid would greatly increase the damage potential of the combat-oriented wildshape forms, as you can maintain concentration spells while wildshaped. To me, Ranger is like a spice that doesn't taste right when added to simply any recipe, but works fantastically when added to the right build.   Cleric, Druid, and Rogue are the three classes that can benefit the most from Ranger levels. Monks somehow fail to synergize the same amount, even though they share the same primary stats. Although, that could change very much if a Zen Archer subclass for Monk ever appears. Then a 2 dip for Archery and Hunter's Mark could be a nice addition.
#16 Coredump00 Aug 24, 2015 12:39:24	Yep, my archer is great, and has 5 Ranger levels....