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I've decided to try my first solo game. My favorite pc is a monk (so cool when he runs up and beats the critters down barehanded).

initial stats: not sure, but Dex, Str, and Wis are all 16. Char is 9 i think, and Int. and Con is 10. Well, not quite. I had 81 pts, and this is only 77.

Question. To officially say I "soloed" the game, can I use other characters to complete their specific quests? Like, get Nalia and do her quest. Get Jan and do his quest. etc. I need to get XP somehow.

Also, is it considered really cheesy to take Jan and abuse the fence. He's great for getting money. I started one game off w/ about 1.5 Million gp. kind of abusive. I love Jan.

Ive actually got the acorns and think I can get the Chaos Sword (cant use it, but maybe i can sell it. +, I need the XP)

Any advice on soloing with my Monk?

Finally, Ive never played w/ a cleric. What is the Cleric Stronghold?

Here are some clarifications:

1. Monks get the fighter stronghold (Nalia's keep), not clerics.

2. You don't need to have Nalia in your party to go through her keep.

3. A monk doesn't use much equipment, and therefore doesn't need much money.

4. Be careful with your monk until about level 14-15. They are kind of week until then. Than they become the most powerful level 15 character in the game.

I don't think you need worry about what it means to officially solo. Just have fun. When I solo'd a monk, I found I was kind of lonely by the time I got Imoen back, so I kept her for the rest of the game. Up until that point, I never had another character join me. That meant I missed some major (planar sphere) and many minor quests that require an NPC. Seeing as I was solo, I didn't need the xp anyway.

One tactic I have heard (but never tried) for time based NPC quests, is to pick up the NPC to start the clock, dump them, then pick them up again later to do their quest.

What you do with NPC's is up to you though. Just have fun.

Monk! My fav character!

Congrats on choosing arguably the most powerful class to play!

You may like to search through the SoA and ToB forums for Monk threads, there are quite a number of those.

first solo monk

Thanks. oh, i know the monk keep in Nalia's. I may also start another game so I can swithch back and forth. I'd use a Cleric or Cleric/Ranger maybe. So I was wondering what the cleric stronghold was.


In many monk threads, I keep seeing references to Greater Whilrwind. I thought that could only be used by Bards? Can I get my monk to do that? I boosted my Wisdom to 18, but that only gained me a second Horror (which is useful if the first one wears off). And, is Vampire Touch (or Vampire SometHing) very useful?

Greater Whirlwinds can be used by fighters, including monks. In fact, that is the only HLA that you need for that class, IMO. A couple of those in succession and you can kill dragons in no time, not forgetting Quivering palm. I don't personally find Vampiric Touch useful, that's just me. At low levels, I just use Hide in Shadows to get past powerful enemies.

Greater Whirlwind is a fighter High Level Ability (HLA). Monks use the fighter HLA list. These are only available if you have TOB installed. If you do have TOB installed, then you will get one HLA every time you level up after 2,950,000 xp, even if you hit that point in SOA.

The Cleric stonghold is the church of your alignment. If you are good, then that is Lathander. Personally I find the church the most boring stronghold.

If you are choosing between Cleric & Cleric/Ranger, I would suggest Cleric/Ranger. First, you get all the regular fighter bonuses - HP, THACO, # of attacks, weapon specialization, etc. But the best part is Rangers get druid spells, while Clerics get Cleric spells. The end result you get access to both lists for all spell levels. And last but not least, you can get the Ranger stronghold instead of the Clerics.

Lastly, personally I quite like Vampiric Touch as an ability. Moreso for mages than other classes mind you. It damages your oponent, and you get some of the hit-points. It will bring you over your max hp.

Let us know if you have any other questions.

Greater whirlwind

Thanks. Actually, I just got it, but I havent used it yet.

ooooo. A Ranger Stronghold?! Think I will play that character, since I am now "stuck."

If anyone still reads this old thread, how do I kill Balor with a solo monk? I dont remember how I killed him before, but I do know I had a whole party using lots of summons, spells, etc.

I have an amulet that supposedly gives me permanent protection from evil, but Balor clobbers me anyway. "Smack! Smack! The main character has died." His confusion spell went right through my magic resistance too. If i got close enough, I'd try for Whirlwind or Quivering. Dont have Deathblow yet.

balor --- Spoiler

Scratch that. The Balor Threads had some good ideas. Didnt know about the cubbyhole where he cant hit you. Or that he cant get out the door.

If my magic resistance holds up, he shuld be toast. Im L22, so I didnt expect confusion to hit me very easily anyway.

Maybe the Slayer form....

Level 22? Not many creatures can touch you at that level. I seldom make use of the Slayer form. If it's too tough for some reason, you can hide in shadows, hit and hide again.

Things always beat me up

Regardless of my level and character, things always seem to be able to beat me up easier than what they beat up other people on the forum. Guess Im not too adept at these games. But I definitely have now learned to hit, hide, repeat.

I came out of the underdark at around L30, and that Gilraythi assassin and his crew almost killed me before i ran and hid. Then I snuck up on the mage (hide in shadows) and unleashed a greater whirlwind. Death. then hid.

too bad I have to keep hiring thieves to open doors taht I cant force.

at this point Im overstrong. Games stops being fun. Especially since I figured out a super-cheese way to get the ring of Gaxx. I didnt even read it here first! But Im sure Im not the first to figure it out.

dont use cheese then?
go play at insane? install tactics mod etc. plenty of things that'll make it harder for you

Insane level?

I'm not THAT good. Actually, I'm now in ToB. Got harder. Immunity to normal weapons becomes a useless ability if EVERYONE has +2 or +3 weapons.

He he

The immunity to normal weapons is useful in ONE semi-serious fight I can think of - in Hell, do Wraith Sarevok last. His attack is non-magical so you can tank him pretty nicely - I think some of the Yaga Shura soldiers have weapons which can't hit you, too. Otherwise, yeah, it's pretty useless.