Pure Monk Build help

[Aila]

Trying to build a pure monk that is focused on Quarterstaff and Spell Resistance.

Any help?

[Peppermint]

I'm sure you already know the answer to that request. "There's no way to make that build good."

Monks gain perks almost exclusively to unarmed attacks when going pure. You'll get no mileage out of going pure with a quarterstaff.

Why are you determined to go pure?

[Aila]

I just love Monk. I don't want to be play any other class.

I've pretty much resigned myself that I'll be leaving Arelith but I was hoping to some how salvage my build. I can see now that really isn't possible with staying pure monk which is what I want.

[Peppermint]

All right. Genuine question.

Why do you feel that multiclassing would make your monk feel less like a monk? What would you lose mechanically, that would make it play like something non-monk-like?

[Aila]

I believe you RP the classes you take. There is nothing in her RP that would suggest she is a rogue or a fighter or any other class. She lives and breathes monk, not another class.

[Peppermint]

Understood.

Given the generic nature of most monk multiclass options, I'm not going to pretend to understand or agree with your point of view. I'm not really bothered by a martial artist character taking levels in a class that makes them generically better at fighting. Character development and the creation of meaningful conflict are by far the more interesting aspects of roleplay to me.

However, I will respect your point of view. I can't tell you how to enjoy the game.

Either way, It sounds like your definition of roleplay and the Arelith version differ pretty significantly. If you can't find enjoyment within those constraints, then it is indeed probably not the server for you.

I hope that doesn't sound rude. I really do wish you all the best in finding a server that better suits your tastes.

[The GrumpyCat]

I'm sure you already know the answer to that request. "There's no way to make that build good."

Monks gain perks almost exclusively to unarmed attacks when going pure. You'll get no mileage out of going pure with a quarterstaff.

Why are you determined to go pure?

Pardon me for asking Peppermint, and to an extent Alia- but what do you mean by 'good'?

Do you mean:
'I want this build to be vaugly competent and not die in the majority of PVE encounters?'

or
'I want this Build to be god tier and able to solo everything on it's own and destroy everyone in pvp?'

I think we need to set our expectations here to the right level.

Personally when I ask for build advice, I look a lot more to the former than the latter and such you'd be suprised about what help a 'good' build can be.

I'd love to offer advice for Alia but I'm awful at builds myself.

[Peppermint]

A pure monk would tank fine. But a pure monk with a quarterstaff isn't going to do much aside from that.

If the intention is to make a character that can go into dungeons with other PCs and press the guard button, it'll fill that niche. It just won't do much else.

There's not much to discuss with respect to a build. Pure monks are simple. Start with 16-17 dexterity, 13-14 intelligence, and roughly 14 points in constitution and wisdom. Strength and charisma are dump stats.

Gift dexterity and then either constitution or wisdom.

Grab all the combat feats: Weapon Finesse, Ambidexterity, Two-Weapon Fighting, Improved Two-Weapon Fighting, Improved Expertise, Improved Critical*, Blind Fight, Epic Weapon Focus, Epic Prowess, Armor Skin, Epic Skill Focus: Discipline. Take Great Dexterity if starting with an even dexterity score.

(* Drop this if you lack sufficient feats pre-epic.)

Max Discipline and Heal. Put 30 points in Tumble. Hide/Move Silently, Spot, Listen, and Spellcraft are all nice to have.

[Aila]

Pardon me for asking Peppermint, and to an extent Alia- but what do you mean by 'good'?

Do you mean:
'I want this build to be vaugly competent and not die in the majority of PVE encounters?'

or
'I want this Build to be god tier and able to solo everything on it's own and destroy everyone in pvp?'

I think we need to set our expectations here to the right level.

Personally when I ask for build advice, I look a lot more to the former than the latter and such you'd be suprised about what help a 'good' build can be.

I'd love to offer advice for Alia but I'm awful at builds myself.

First of all what I want is my concept build of maxing out SR to 48 back... I was willing to sacrifice everything for it basically. I didn't care about the monk buffs. I didn't care about monk speed. I just wanted the SR, it was the whole point of making a Monk for me.

I don't care about pvp. I won't pvp unless absolutely forced to. I find it boring in NWN. If I want pvp I have several other games I can play , that I do play, for the pvp. I play NWN for the PvM aspect.

So I guess what I really want will never happen so me even making this thread was pretty pointless.

I do apologize for wasting people's time. I'll say my goodbye and move on.

Thanks for the fun!

[RedGiant]

What was said above is not right, and no one should chase you off for not agreeing with their view of multiclassing...let alone somehow tie that to roleplaying.

I totally agree with your view, and I, for example, would not take fighter levels on a monk myself unless they bloody-well served in an army, trained with a mercenary company, or otherwise had some commensurate life experience to warrant it.

As for the build, much of what Peppermint said was fine. If you want to max our SR, well that's devoting every epic feat to it, which could put you as high as 44. If PvP is not your game, this is still very healthy SR for PvE.

Again, while not optimal, dex quarterstaff opens a non-intuitive option which you might find fun...ergo, parry. Maxing out parry with full dex, plus potentially improved parry, and skill focus parry, along with your high SR might make for an interesting tanking option. Arelith parry also grants +5 AB, so you could potentially make up for some of your AB loss due to epic SR feats. Furthermore dropping even one of your epic SR feats (then 42 SR) would allow for epic skill focus parry, which could put you into the stratosphere there.

Arelith Parry:
Parried attacks have +5 AB and damage bonus equal to half the parry skill up to 20 ranks, and 1/4 beyond 20 ranks. Skill bonus from items count. Parry is a toggled mode.

Hard core players here might scoff, but I have a very enjoyable parry dual-wielder, who, with careful engagements, rarely receives a scratch in PvE...so far well into early epics. Its doubly fun because, as stated above, parry is a mode. So, with a button click, you can take care of combat and free yourself up for witty banter all the while.

Just a thought. Hope you stay!

[Peppermint]

I'm not trying to chase off any players. Why would I do that? I play here. The more players the better!

I am, however, trying not to be misleading. A pure quarterstaff monk will be a functional tank, but it's not going to do much damage. If that's okay by Aila, great. If not, the poster is going to be very unhappy. I'm not going to mince words about it or pretend there's some secret solution that will resolve the problem.

As for parry--that's an option, sure. I even considered mentioning it. However, going that route trades 8* APR for 3. While occasionally useful, that's not an advantage to build a character around.

(* 9 APR if hasted.)

[Aelryn Bloodmoon]

Trying to build a pure monk that is focused on Quarterstaff and Spell Resistance.

Any help?

Might I suggest incorporating a "badass" component to your idea to make it work? Build for UA and SR, but wield a staff most of the time. Then when something is actually important to your monk you can drop the stick and beat someone like a drum with your fists.

You'll still be a passable guard most of the time.

[malcolm_mountainslayer]

I believe you RP the classes you take. There is nothing in her RP that would suggest she is a rogue or a fighter or any other class. She lives and breathes monk, not another class.

Hold your staff lass!

As much are i share your gripes about arelith how a class is used simply as a building block with the actaul in game RP determining the essence of your character, I also remember it is only arelith that allows awesome things mike a viable rogue or qaurter staff being a monk weapon! (Vanilla nwn has qaurterstaff 100% useless to monks).

Now if the the pure essence of a monk self perfection, perhaps a qaurterstaff would rightfully only hold back a pure monk.

However all is not lost for your concept! May I suggest to you a 23 monk/7 weaponmaster?

Weaponmasters also incorporate ki and are about making their weapon an extension of their body. What business does a super 100% devoted monk have in using a qaurterstaff if its not an extension to their body? Getting the 7 lvls of weapon master before level 20 will net you an Extra attack per round, better crits and 23 monk can hit your 32 SR. Also since you wil be taking monk lvls in epic range, you can still take improve SRfeats if you wish