Fighter/Monk/?

Magrus · Post by **Magrus** » Thu Apr 28, 2005 10:34 pm

Well, after my experimenting with different builds this past week, I've moved away from what I first wanted to look at some more. I love the monk class, it's pretty much self-sufficient and I love the speed bonus you get. So I decided to toss 10 levels of fighter onto a monk first, getting the AB up high enough to add extra attacks to my monk build as I later added monk levels to him. I now hit more often, if for less damage than a pure monk of my level, plus I wound up with more hit points and feats, with a weapon specialization in unarmed.

So I became curious. Any thoughts on whether I should follow through on the rest of my levels as monk to garner the rest of the monk abilities, and just enough levels as a fighter to get Epic Weapon Specialization , or add a third, more beneficial class?

I've got the feats, H.P, Fort saves, AB and will eventually have brutal damage with my fists alone. The question is, to continue that, or add, say sneak attack with rogue levels, or spells with cleric levels for buffs.

It's a shame I can't choose unarmed for the WM class...that, would be perfect. 17-20 X3 unarmed threat range with 2d10 + strength bonus damage. That would rock.

JackOfClubs · Post by **JackOfClubs** » Fri Apr 29, 2005 1:33 pm

I'm partial to Rogues so I would advise adding a few levels for the sneak attack. (Well, maybe advise is too strong... I would certainly agree with such a choice, though sticking with Monk has its advantages.) In addition to the sneak attack, Rogues also have the Use Magic Device skill that will allow you to cast spells from scrolls.

koz-ivan · Post by **koz-ivan** » Sat Apr 30, 2005 2:47 pm

i've been considering a ftr / monk / dwarven defender...

rogue is a nice choice too.

Shadow Dancer's hide in plain sight could be usefull.

i'm not sure you really want 10 levels of ftr though.

my plan was to mix in some ftr early (4 levels) then focus on monk only until 4 ftr / monk 16, then more ftr for epic wf & spec, then go dd. that pattern should work well for your build too.

Magrus · Post by **Magrus** » Sat Apr 30, 2005 5:12 pm

I'll have to play with the F/M/DD combo and see what I can do. It has potential i think, but how to go about getting over a +16 AB before level 20, and getting my monk levels in early is a quandry. My goal in mixing the fighter and monk levels was to get high AB, HP, and more attacks with the monk's unarmed damage and speed.

koz-ivan · Post by **koz-ivan** » Sat Apr 30, 2005 5:39 pm

monk 16 / ftr 4 will have an ab of 16 and a fist damage of d20.

15/5 = ab of 16 fist damage d12
14/6 = ab of 16
13/7 = ab of 16
12/8 = ab of 17

imho monk 16 is the best break point, unless that 17 is of critical importance to you, since you lose the d20 damage die, and some side monk benefits( +1 ac, ki strike +3, quivering palm.)

Magrus · Post by **Magrus** » Sat Apr 30, 2005 5:54 pm

Hmm, that gets me where I want to be a lot better.

If I get at least 16 AB before level 20 I end up with 6 bare handed attacks.

I could then take enough monk levels to get to +5 ki strike (should be able to accomplish that around level 21 of monk if my wisdom is high enough). Then I could get 2 more levels of fighter to get Epic Weapon specialization, and finish as a DD.

Mirk · Post by **Mirk** » Sun May 01, 2005 2:18 pm

Unfortunately, number of attacks is capped at 5/round, 6 while Hasted. So there's no reason for a monk to get BAB above +13/+10/+7/+4/+1 (from the number of attacks point of view, of course - better BAB is always welcome, of course).

2 more attacks can be added if duel-weilding Kamas - thus giving the maximum of 6+2 (!) attacks/round - enabling this build (at least on paper) to effectievly use Parry in tough one-on-one fights. With Fighter levels you can spare the three feats for this, and you'll need high Dex for Dodge and Circle Kick anyway (which is a SUPERB feat for monks)

As to the third class issue - DD does indeed look as an intersting addition, as does Shadowdancer - totally different chars from roleplaying angle though. Just remeber to pick a class with Uncanny Dodge ability - all Monk's special AC modifiers don't work while flat-footed.

Magrus · Post by **Magrus** » Sun May 01, 2005 3:43 pm

Well, unless there's a bug that shows my monk/fighter combo as having 6 attacks per round with a BAB of 16 on the character sheet, and only allows me 5, then I have 6 base attacks per round. I'm not sure if FOB would add another, and if haste would add another or not, but thats what I read with a basic character and nothing done to him.

If you doubt me, I brought a character up to lvl 40 to see how it might turn out, if you do it yourself you can see. I ended up with a BAB of 35, and 6 attacks.

Edit: I'd have to grab Barbarian or Rogue levels which would make me get rid of my fighter levels and cause an experience penalty to get Uncanny dodge. The only way that would work would be to ditch the DD class, and dwarf as a race, pick a human and keep my fighter and barb/R levels even. OR, go for a Monk/Barbarian instead.