Monk Guide

## Role

\*\*\*\*Damage: Lots of potential, though some may opt for a defensive build

\*\*Debuff: Some ki powers help with this

\*\*Support: a few tricks, but not many

\*\*Utility: decent skill count

\*\*\*Tank: a lot of strong defensive abilities, despite lower HP

## Ability Scores

\*\*\*\*Power\*:Probably your main stat, unless you go for a weapons finesse build

\*Finesse\*\*\*\*: probably a dump stat, unless weapon finesse build (see above)

\*\*\*Grace: good for ac with no armor and initiative

\*\*\*Vitality: everybody needs it, but hopefully your other abilities will shield you more

\*\*\*Stature\*: Good for unarmed damage or exploits, weapon finesse build may dump

\*\*Intellect: skills are nice but you have a decent amount already

\*\*\*\*Acumen: helpful for AC and all monk ki powers and plenty of feats

\*\*\*Resolve: Ki Power DCs and some other abilities use resolve

\*Ego: not much use

\*Charm:dump it

## Basics

\*\*\*D8 HD: its enough, but you want defensive abilities to stay up

\*\*\*3 +I Skill Points: a decent amount, but your int likely won’t give many more

\*\*\*Class Skills: It’ll give you what you need

\*\*\*\*\*Good Resistances: Absolutely fantastic. You’re dumping I and C you’ll have 2 weak spots

\*Proficiencies: A very small selection, but you have the tools to make up for it

\*\*\*\*CB: Congrats, you’re a martial character

## Features

\*\*\*\*\*Unarmed Fighting: Very strong and needed to support the unarmored playstyle

\*\*\*\*AC Bonus: Helps you keep a great AC, and TED

\*\*\*Bonus Speed: Without armor you should be very fast

\*\*Unarmed Damage: nice boost, but slow progression

\*\*\*\*Flurry: Effectively bonus feats with easier to calculate twf damage.

\*\*\*Bonus Feats:All great sources of combat abilities for monks

\*\*\*Ki Pool: A pretty small pool, helped by vows.

\*\*\*\*\*Vows: Awesome flavor boosters and good ways to boost Ki

\*\*\*\*Truth: ⅕ low points, but you have bad deception anyway

\*\*\*Enlightenment: ⅙ You don’t have many skill points to spare, low cost, low reward

\*\*Slaying: Some campaigns will find this much more useful that others

\*\*Unseen:½  Early access to feats, lots of ki but at a HIGH price, better at high levels

\*Poverty\*\*\*\*\*: 1 per lvl. variation depending on availability of magic items in your setting

\*\*\*\*Rest:⅓  making new characters is fun, or make a 2nd monk, or 3rd...

\*\*\*Calm:¼  These can be pretty common, but there are lots of ways to get buffs

\*\*\*\*First Weapon:⅕  Unarmed strike is great so why not

\*\*\*Silence: ⅙ you have bad charm and shouldn’t talk anyway

\*\*\*Mundane:⅓ rough if your party has casters

\*\*Purity:⅕ low points for making healing really inconvenient

\*\*Nonviolence: ⅓ lose a round of damage, find some way to buff up in that time

\*\*\*\*Cleanliness:⅕ Easy RP, grab a stick to smack those gross things

\*\*\*Hunger: ¼ fairly low cost, worse if you have an alchemist in the party

\*Burden: ½ Harsh penalties, hard to justify

\*\*\*Selflessness: ¼ a little patience goes a long way

\*\*\*\*Ki Powers: Lots of powerful abilities

Level 3:

\*\*Acrobatic:(1) Occasionally useful

\*\*\*\*Additional Attack:(1) Great for extra damage to make the best of full attacks

\*\*\*Bypassing:(1) Good for hefty enemies with lots of DR and weird bypassing restrictions

\*\*\*Defense:(1) Very Strong, but stops you from flurrying

\*\*\*Evasion: (0+) Nice for avoiding AoE damage

\*\*\*\*Leap Before you Look: (1)Great for making hits count, but eats through ki quickly

\*\*Message: Good if you don’t have a friendly caster

\*\*Might Swing: it’s a nice feat, you’ll probably have it already

\*\*\*Precise strike: Nice against high AC targets

\*\*Quick Draw: ok if you use manufactured weapons

\*\*Slow Fall: situational, but imaging falling to your death and having just enough time to think “oh man i wish i had picked slow fall instead of --- SPLAT

\*\*Speed: You’re already fast, why?

7th level:

\*\*\*\*Block:(2) very strong, can shut down many foes

\*Curing\*\*\*\*:(1) 4 stars if you don’t have a healer or are taking a vow that stops healing

\*\*\*Dimension Door:(2) Strange, spooky, and useful

\*\*\*\*Mobile Strikes:(4) Incredibly strong, would be 5 stars if it weren’t so expensive

\*\*Remove fear:(1) Fear immunity would be better, but this is the next best thing

\*\*Remove Disease:(1) ok if you’re in diseasey situations a lot

11th level:

\*\*\*\*Brace for Impact:(1) good defensive ability with no impact on your flurry

\*\*\*\*Elemental:(1+)cool damage boost.

\*\*Greater Grapple, Greater Trip, Greater shove, Greater Reposition: Feats are nice

\*\*Improved Evasion: situational

\*\*\*Iron Body: Good if you have no caster friends.

\*\*\*\*Pain: Brutal AoE. no resistance on the damage

\*\*Regeneration: It might come in handy

15th level:

\*\*\*\*Spell Immunity:(2) very good spell defense

\*\*Marked Heart:(3) very cool, but limited usefulness

19th level:

\*\*\*Greater Vital Strike: (1)falcon punch is fun

\*\*\*\*Break:(3) very strong ability, relatively cheap

\*\*\*\*Empty:(3) you really are a menace

\*\*\*Flawless Psyche:(0+) your resistances were already good, but now they are absurd

\*\*\*Force:(3)strong, but you have other damage sources

\*\*\*Alter:(4) strong but limited utility

\*\*Scream:(3) not your best opinion or debuffs or damage

\*\*\*\*\*Time Stop:(5) Hammertime

\*\*\*Perfection: Nice cap, nothing crazy

## Species

\*\*\*\*Human: Good stats, and the feat is greatly needed

\*\*\*\*Dwarf: not much offensive power but +2 to three of your most important stats is sweet

\*\*\*Elf: Wood Elf makes for a good defensive monk

\*\*\*Half-Elf: Pretty good when that I is switched to G

\*\*\*\*Half-Orc: promotes an offensive high damage build

\*\*Halfling: Float like a butterfly, sting like a butterfly

\*\*Gnome: Slightly worse than halfling

\*\*\*Goblin:good for a weapon finesse or ranged build

##### Easy Build:

Species: Half-Orc, +2 A, take Battle Scarred and Scouts

Ability Scores: P > A > V > G > S > R > F > E > C > I

Feats: Tough, Weapon Focus, Runner, Weapon Specialization, Improved Unarmed Strike, Greater Unarmed Strike, Master Unarmed Strike, True Unarmed Strike, Resistor(I & C)

Traits: Catching Hands, Rugged, Retreat, Meditative, Nerd, Unwanted

Bonus Feats: Improved Trip, Greater Trip, Trip Strike, High Ground, Punishing Fall, Stay Down

Vows: Vow of Rest, Vow of the first Weapon

Ki Powers: Additional Attack, Defense, Curing, Mobile Strikes, Pain, Elemental, Iron Body, Spell Immunity, Break

Equipment: Nothing!

Playstyle: Attack with caution, but punish enemies hard with a flurry whenever possible. No armor and d8 hd means you’re softer than other melee classes, so try to exploit any enemy weaknesses.