|
Your donations keep RPGWatch running!
RPGWatch Forums » Games » General RPG » Nwn 1 monk

Default Nwn 1 monk

January 19th, 2012, 17:00
Since we don't have a dedicated subforum for Nwn 1 I made this topic here. I hope it's not a problem.

I started playing Nwn 1 (currently joggling it with Morrowind and DDO when I can find a party) with a rogue. I was thinking of multiclassing to Shadowdancer around level 10. All is well, especially with my cleric hireling that heals and deals with undead, except that mages kick my ass. And I mean even at the start of the game… As far as my n00bish knowledge of D&D goes, monks are the "anti-mage" class and I was thinking of making one in order to ease my pain. I also know that the class gets some nice resistances and useful later on. My only problem is that I never played a monk and have no idea what to except and how to start. I've looked over the internet for some guides but I didn't find one that enlightened me. Is the monk a sneaky class? Is it powerful against more than 2-3 mobs? How the hell can the points be distributed if I want to play a char with high charisma/persuade skill but be effective in combat at the same time? Are fists the best choice for them?

Ty for your time ^_^
bloodlover is offline

bloodlover

Sentinel

#1

Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Vivec, Morrowind
Posts: 489
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)

Default 

January 19th, 2012, 20:32
A monk under the D&D 3.X ruleset is basically a fighter with some extra goodies. It is a rather straight forward class to play, and while it can in theory invest in some stealth skills, I don't think that is the way to go.

The problem with the monk class is its stat distribution. It relies on 4 different stats: Str (damage), Dex (AC), Wis (Also AC and some abilities) and Con (HP). It also starts relatively weak, as it relies on its fists (it can in theory use other weapons, but in my experience, the ruleset encourages you to use your fists as your primary weapons), which starts out dealing 1D3+Str bonus damage (or was it 1D4, I don't quite remember), but your fists level up with you, and later on your fists will deal a lot more damage (if my memory serves they peak at 1D20+Str+glove bonuses). My recommendation as far as stats goes would be to prioritize Str & Wis, followed by high Con and an alright Dex. Sadly Cha is not an important stat for monks, so talking won't be its strong side.

It is powerful against multiple targets, once it gets started. At lower levels, it will feel like a fighter would be the better option, but a high level monk is an incredibly powerful character. I would not consider it a strictly anti-mage character, or even exceptionally good against mages, though it does get some resistance bonuses later on, and its reliance on Wis means that your Will save will probably be above average through the entire game.
Fnord is offline

Fnord

Fnord's Avatar
SasqWatch

#2

Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Posts: 1,756
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)

Default 

January 20th, 2012, 13:31
A good way to build a monk is to buff out you armor class as much as you can and tank by relaying on you armor class instead of your hit points, between your base armor class bonus, your wisdom/dex bonus, +armor monk robes and other armor bonus items(ring/amulets) you can easily end up with 20-30 armor early on.

Combine that with the spell resistance and immunities that monks get later on you can become very hard to damage.

The downside is that you need to focus all/most of your equpment on armor class bonus so you might not be able to spare the room for some cool items you find and the monk is the greatest damage dealer to start with so fights will take longer the many other classes.
Firestorm is offline

Firestorm

Firestorm's Avatar
exp Looter

#3

Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 119
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)

Default 

January 20th, 2012, 15:27
Monks generally become powerhouses at later levels. I don't think there's any class that's easier to play on higher levels than a well built monk.

A few tips on playing a monk:
- Max the Tumble skill. Always. Every 5 ranks will increase your armor class by 1.
- Wisdom is used for a lot of skill checks in addition to increasing your armor class. It's more important than dexterity.
- Strength still determines your damage, so while it's certainly possible to make a dex/wis based monk that's primarily a tank, I generally prefer to pump up str a bit to boost damage.
- You need 4 levels of a fighter type class before reaching level 20 to get the highest number of attacks. I prefer 4x Fighter to get some nice bonus feats here and there.
- Kamas can be used while using flurry of blows, and will not negate monk bonuses. However, they generally work a lot better in HotU and NWN2 than NWN OC, mainly because there are so few Kamas with high elemental damage in NWN OC.
- If you're going to play a Monk all the way through HotU, you might consider a kama build. A kama build typically requires dual wielding + 4 levels of Fighter that you use to get weapon specialization (kama) after you already have weapon focus (kama).

That's all I can think of on the fly.
Maylander is offline

Maylander

SasqWatch
Original Sin Donor

#4

Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Bergen
Posts: 7,467
Mentioned: 42 Post(s)
Send a message via MSN to Maylander

Default 

January 20th, 2012, 16:03
The monk is a very straightforward class with an excellent combination of damage and protection.

If you're into maximum damage output, however, it's not the ideal choice. Also, I find monks among the most boring classes to play, because they're not ideally suited for loot whoring

But, it's a fine starter choice.

That said, a straight up strength based fighter with greatsword and good mind-immunity equipment might be even easier.

DArtagnan

Guest

#5

Posts: n/a
Mentioned: Post(s)

Default 

January 20th, 2012, 21:33
Certainly easier at the start.
Thrasher is offline

Thrasher

Thrasher's Avatar
Wheeee!

#6

Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Studio City, CA
Posts: 15,603
Mentioned: 16 Post(s)

Default 

January 20th, 2012, 22:35
Monks are great for killing wizards. If I recall they get the best saving throws in the game. At level 13 you get spell resistance +10 + your level. Immunity to poison and disease helps. Also monks are the fastest class so you can close on wizards quickly.

If you use kama's and want to get the most possible attacks.(10 I believe) Maylander is right you will need to take levels in a fighter class. I perfer ranger as you get two handed fighting and ambidexterity feats free. You don't need either feat if you go unarmed as the don't apply to unarmed attacks.

You definitively don't have to loot options of a fighter but you do still have kama's, gauntlets, robes, boots, cloaks, rings, amulets, gloves and even shields if you take a level of fighter. (unless they fixed that.)

I go strength, dex, wis for stats> the thinking is not getting hit rather than soaking up damage. you get plenty of items in game to boost stats even more.

If I remember correctly if you keep pumping points into persuade you should pass most persuasion checks with out needing high charisma.

That's the best I can remember it's been a while. There should be plenty of guides out there though with a simple google search.

sakichop

Guest

#7

Posts: n/a
Mentioned: Post(s)

Default 

January 21st, 2012, 20:17
Screw that then. I already made level 6 with my rogue. Spellcasters are still a pain to kill but so far it's going well.
bloodlover is offline

bloodlover

Sentinel

#8

Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Vivec, Morrowind
Posts: 489
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
RPGWatch Forums » Games » General RPG » Nwn 1 monk

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

All times are GMT +2. The time now is 06:42.
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2022, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
vBulletin Security provided by DragonByte Security (Pro) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2022 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.
User Alert System provided by Advanced User Tagging (Lite) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2022 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.
Copyright by RPGWatch