Monks , Need Help

So I got Co8 8.1,the newest Temple+ and a heart full of dreams. I thought that I would have some fun with characters that I seldom play.
I put together a party consisting of :
1.Bard-played Zaxis before but a PC Bard could be awsome-o, especially with new "rules".
2.Druid-same as above.Played Meleny.
3.Wizard? Ok. Actually played one before. I chickened out. Need a full-on wizard.
4.Dwarven Defender. Nuff said!
5.Arcane Archer.Didn't happen. Long story. Now she is a Fighter/Wizard. Still cool,promise.
6.Monk.Well...Cool yet problematic.

Always loved Monks. Always will. Always had problems "keeping up" with other player classes. In this game/genre I am having the same old difficulty. I'll just come out and say it; I just can't hit. Or deal the damage the "other guy" does .
So here it is: Do I buy a kama and imbue the heck out of it? Do I go all stealthy and do all of the necessary functions associated with those skills? Do I hound spellcasters and if I do what do I do in my spare time (when I'm not killing wizards)?Guard my wizard? An unworthy task for a PC? Secondary fighter. So far he cannot fill that task to my satisfaction.
Do I go back in time and give him four levels of fighter? Or is there something I'm missing?

 

Thanks. Forgot about the AC and the flurry of blows bonuses from levels. I might use an enchanted weapon until level 10. Kama or quarter staff.Now i have access to greater invisibility. And we all know what that means.
I also have to choose which gear that I want; belt of giant strength or monks belt, gloves of Dexterity or gauntlets of ogre power, which amulet and tattoos.

 

You need to turn to Meleny for help - Amulet of Mighty Fists +5 may cost her 6000XPs and the party 36000GPS but they are available when Meleny is level 5 and better still Meleny's Greater Magical Claw spells stack on top!!!

More bad news for Meleny - Amulet of Mighty Fists and Greater Magical Claw enhance attack rolls for (ranged) touch attacks too.

 

The short answer is that Monks are the least powerful base class in ToEE. They seem like they don't need much gear, but they aren't casters, and therefore need gear! They can't flurry with reach weapons (which all melee characters in ToEE should use). They can move fast, but can't full attack if they take more than a 5' step. Their image (class flavor) just doesn't mesh with the rules they were given. You could just play a Druid with a Monk's Belt (or be a LN Human Druid with a Monk1 dip) and call it done.

I'm a big fan of small CRPG parties due to minimal EXP/gear splitting and, generally, better pathfinding existing for smaller parties. This also means having characters with higher stats and more 'cheese'/bug exploits/etc. Just remember, it's possible to solo your way to level 4 in ToEE without ever entering the Moathouse/Nulb/Temple and without grinding one bit! (For the same amount of EXP, you could also bring a party of 2 characters to level 3.)

 

Agree with much that has been said. I managed to make a pretty decent party with 3 monk characters plus some spellcasters. One was monk all the way, 1 took 3 rogue levels first for sneak attack, and 1 was Ronald who I think I levelled to 3 as a cleric first. They needed pretty extensive decking out with +6 items and magic weapons (masterwork kamas from Ah Fong all round, iirc). This hammered my casters pretty hard, but at least I had the cash from selling off the variety of fighter-orientated magic weaponry found in the Temple and elsewhere.

 

Yes. Definitely need to gear up.

 

Finally decided on gear (conditionally).
Amulet of Mighty Fists -this foregoes the
amulets of health and natural armor.
Monks Belt -foregoes belt of giant strength
Bracers of Armor
Gloves of Hedrick -these grant +6 to strength if I am not mistaken.
Boots of Speed
Ioune Stones? -a dexterity boost?
Cloak of Resistance of course.
Did I miss something? Please let me know. Playing a 'full-on' monk is something that I am experimenting with. Good times

 

Ring of protection?
Remind me what the Mank's Belt does for you- I think in ToEE it gives access 5o the abundant step class feature (dimension door) bit doew it do anything else? Could potentially swap it out for Str belt and wear Dex gloves- guess it depends a hit what you start with stats wise. Str potions are more readily found in the Temple than Dex, though I gu3ss you could get your friendly divine casters to huff you with whatever you don't have an item of before the big fights.
On the subject of enlisting the help of divine casters, I believe that monks with a single level of cleric can use wands of any cleric spell up to 4th level that your buddy can craft- divine power, enlarge person, holy smite etc, if you pick your domains right.

 

Forgot about rings. Defenetly ring of protection as high as I can find or make. Monks Belt will give me unarmed damage and AC as a monk 5 levels higher.

 

You can load up on Ioun Stones to boost your wisdom and constitution too. Basically, anything you don't boost with a belt or gloves can get +2 from an Ioun Stone (they just don't stack with the other boosters).

 

Finally got Amulet of Mighty Fists +5. Can't seem to craft Monks Belt even though I seemingly meet the requirements.

 

I actually did not know this. Super powered Disintegrates here I come~!

Considering how much XP the amulet requires, you might not have enough for the Belt. IIRC, ToEE doesn't allow you to dip below the number XP needed to reach the crafter's current level.

If you want to run with fisticuffs, pure Monk is probably the best way to go. +1 damage from Weapon Specialisation isn't really worth it when Monk levels directly increase the damage die of your punches. The bonus feats from Fighter levels are quite nice though.

If you want to run around with weapons though, multiclassing is a pretty good idea. I prefer Rogue if you're running Kamas since you get a lot of attacks out of Flurry of Blows which works wonders with Sneak Attack. I personally am a huge fan of running quarterstaves and going with a Druid multiclass, though in the end, the Monk's martial capabilities are only just secondaries to the Druid's spells and summons. I 'm generally only getting the levels for that delicious AC bonus.

I still haven't tested if the Monk bonuses work with Wild Shape. Would be pretty amazing if it did.

 

A wild shaped monk would be ridiculously sweet.