There are four other players, but I don't know what they're going to be playing; I do, however, know that I want to play a monk. I've just always liked them, and I do want to go pure monk, or at least multiclass only once (this is aggravated by the fact that I only have access to Core, and use the SRD for most things). I don't know of any house-rules, and I don't know the DM very well; near as I can tell, the campaign is going to be a partial homebrew based on Greyhawk.
The character himself: the way I'm imagining him at the moment is mostly a combat-support role, with emphasis on taking out archers, M-Us, and other sniper-type characters.
Human. (Lawful Neutral)
Stats (Rolled):
14, 17, 15, 15, 15, 13
I was thinking of putting the 13 in Charisma, the 15's in CON/INT/WIS, the 17 in DEX, and the 14 in STR.
The feats I was looking at were Imp. Initiative, Stunning Fist, and Blind-Fight (plus Imp. Unarmed Strike) for first level. I'd like to keep the I.I., so that I can rush past front lines without worrying about AoO the first round, but I'm not sure if Blind-Fight shoud be kept.
Skills are something that I'm not entirely sure about.
I was looking at:
Listen
Spot
Move Silently
Knowledege (Arcana)
Tumble
Concentration
for maxing out (4 Ranks) and two ranks in Balance and Sense Motive.
So: 4 Ranks: Listen, Spot, Move Silently, Know(Arcana), Tumble, Concentrate
2 Ranks: Balance, Sense Motive
I didn't plan out level-by-level yet, but I did sort of plot out what I wanted at levels 5 and 10:
Level 5
Ability Bonus goes to Wisdom
Take Combat Reflexes as bonus feat, and Imp. Grapple
+2 Ranks in: Climb, Concentration, Know(Arcana), Spot, Tumble
+4 Ranks: Listen, Move Silently, Know(History)
So: 2 Ranks: Balance, Climb
4 Ranks: Know(History), Sense Motive,
6 Ranks: Know(Arcana), Concentrate, Spot, Tumble
8 Ranks: Listen, Move Silently
Ability Bonus goes to Wisdom
Take Combat Reflexes as bonus feat, and Imp. Grapple
+2 Ranks in: Climb, Concentration, Know(Arcana), Spot, Tumble
+4 Ranks: Listen, Move Silently, Know(History)
So: 2 Ranks: Balance, Climb
4 Ranks: Know(History), Sense Motive,
6 Ranks: Know(Arcana), Concentrate, Spot, Tumble
8 Ranks: Listen, Move Silently
Difficult, but it is possible to make some not completely terrible choices in those limitations...
can you use the psionic classes in the SRD? Psionic races? What about monster manual races? just the various options at www.d20srd.org ? How about some of the alternate system stuff found there?
Most of the good feats for monks with only core are infact in the MM, Ability focus (stunning fist) and improved natural attack are both great.
Having Improved Init. will help you to get across the battlefield without dying round one, as will maxed out ranks in spot. Dexterity is good for monks, but it takes backseat to Wis/Str (depending on your build)
I would suggest Maxing out Wis- that gives you higher AC (flatfooted or no), and, more importantly, makes your stunning fist attacks harder to resist.
ah...I don't necessarily agree with all of it, but check this out:
http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=978174
One other thing- Max out skill ranks more. Highly specialized in a few areas is far better than sub-par in many areas. Make sure that you consistently max out Spot/Tumble, which are key for what you want to do (attack first, far end of field), Listen is... okay, I suppose, as is Knowledge Arcana... but neither are particularly amazing. You will want to take 5 ranks in Balance as soon as you can (level 2) for the +2 synergy bonus to Tumble, then you can let it slide. Don't bother with MS unless you take Hide as well. Concentration... why is this even a monk skill? Good for PrCing, not much else.
Check out flaws (often allowed):
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/buildingCharacters/characterFlaws.htm
...finally, don't bother with weapons... well, maybe a sling, but that's just if all else fails
Thank you for the link, though - I'd read Zenzei's Guide to Monks (which LOrdMaul kindly linked to), and found Imp. Nat. Atk, but I couldn't find Ability Focus.LOrdMaul: Would it be better to put the 17 in Wis, a 15 in Str, and then the 14 in Int or Con?
As for Skills, I think i misread what Concentration does - I don't think I can do anything that would require it. Knowledge (Arcana) is there more in case I get into trouble, so I might be able to figure out just what I'm up against and whether to flee straight-out or not.
Thank you all for your help - I think I'm going to go through it again sometime today and change a few things.
Con is good for everyone- you too. Int is nice for a few extra skills, but 12+ is usually considered sufficient. Cha is a dump stat. However, (with exception depending on how long you anticipate the game lasting) there is no mechanical difference between a 15 and a 14, except in carrying capacity. Normally, it is advised that you put all stat bonuses on the same stat, but if you do not foresee clearing level 12, then you may as well put 1 in Wis, and the next in... Str or Dex, probably. Con if your DM has been using a lot of poisons/Fortitude targetting spells.
Ability Focus is in the Monster Manual. Here it is via the SRD
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsterFeats.htm#abilityFocus
Get yourself potions of mage armor or a wand of mage armor if you have a friendly wizard or sorcerer, it's cheaper than getting bracers of armor and it doesn't take up an item slot.
However, damage aside, Monk 20 is one of the most survivable characters out there. Seriously, you get bunches of attacks, and between High AC, Evasion, SR, and all good saves... well, monks have been known to walk out of TPK encounters (though they stand little chance of winning said fight)
+1 Mage Armor. Get some way to have it cast daily (though I dislike wands/potions... money you'll never get back. I'd actually prefer taking one level of Specialized Wizard first). You can wait until later levels, if you have to. A use activated item that casts Mage Armor is still cheaper than bracers.
However, damage aside, Monk 20 is one of the most survivable characters out there. Seriously, you get bunches of attacks, and between High AC, Evasion, SR, and all good saves... well, monks have been known to walk out of TPK encounters (though they stand little chance of winning said fight)
And don't forget that by that point, they can run like a cheetah and off cliffs (or up walls, if you take that monk variant).
And don't forget that by that point, they can run like a cheetah and off cliffs (or up walls, if you take that monk variant).
...technically, cheetah's still faster on a charge. =P
must say, one of my favorite (though seldom, if ever used) tactics for high level Monks in Mountains is to grapple an opponent, then drag them off a cliff. 'course, you can only do that at half speed... which is still faster than most characters taking a single move...
I don't see the need for more than 15 ranks in Tumble (usually less) how many people are you going to tumble past/over at half speed (granted as high as that is) in one round?
If you get more books later anything that lets you do more with stunning fist can be a good idea, PHB2 has many options for improvement.
On ranged weapons: shuriken's are cheap, and can be enchanted to deal decent damage while closing. If made out of adamantine and given returning most DM's will allow them to be reused.
1) No psionics for the first 10 levels or so, due to plot points.
2) (Relatively) low-magic, in regards to items/weapons, but from what he's said, it won't be too dangerous - we're not going to be fighting monsters for the most part, but other character classes.
3) Other Party Members: Elven rogue (TWF, N), Human Cleric (Buff/Debuff specialist, more-or-less, NG), Dwarf Fighter (LG), and a Half-Elven MU (Wizard, I think ..., LN).
I've changed it a bit: 17 is in Wis, 14 is in Int; Ability Focus (Stunning Fist) instead of Blind-fight, 4 Ranks in Balance, Jump, Know(Arcana), MS, Spot, Tumble, and 2 in Know(Hist). Imp. Nat. Atk. will have to wait until later, due to the +4 BAB requirement, but I can handle that.
Thank you all for your help.
By the way. Your build is coming along quite nicely- I'm sure it can still be tweaked for more effect, but I give it the Core CO seal of approval.
The one thing I find comes in tremendously handy with monks is the pounce ability. It's great with their high speeds. The problem is getting it in core. There's a psionic power called Psionic Lion's Charge, but like you said, no psionics for 10 levels or so.
There's also expansion for extra reach and damage, force screen for extra AC (and as a shield bonus which monks normally don't get), dimension swap for battlefield fun, psionic freedom of movement, hustle for extra mobility, and inertial armor for your own personal superior version of mage armor.
Inside of pure core..once again INA is very good for you,snag a Monk's Belt ASAP.
meh. It's good. Great, in fact, as other armor/damage bonuses get expensive.
...but make sure you have all the +1 enhancement items first. Bane, in particular, blows Monk's belt out of the water, if you know what you'll be facing (based on this and that, it shouldn't cost anything extra to get weapon bonuses on your fists- you just need a focus of some sort)
Oh, also. An at will item that casts Mage Armor at CL 1 is cheaper than a 3/day at CL 8. You just need to make sure to cast it every hour that you travel (alternately, you could argue the 'continuous' item line)