Assumption: All 3.0/3.5 and all 3rd party material authorized by wizards are available and the DM is going by DMG CR against the party of 4. When I speak of a monk I mean a character who utilizes its core class features as the basis for the character. No optimizing, just not being foolish.

Objective:

• Explore overarching perception
• Examine class abilities
• FAQ/Misconceptions
• Next discussion will be developing strategies and monk builds

The class will be judged on its class abilities, adaptability, commitment, strength, and potential with a curve of regularity.

• Adaptability: How many situations can you use it in and adapt it with prestige classes?
• Commitment: How many levels do you need to take it?
• Strength: How powerful is this ability?
• Curve of regularity: How can you augment it with magic items, feats, or other abilities?

Adaptability and curve of regularity are intertwined.

Monk

At first players get excited because they’ll be able to deal damage with their own hands. They remember kung fu movies, breaking boards, mysticism, and other martial arts. Then they look at the level of damage progression to ensure they are standing with their melee counter parts, but this is their first mistake. A monk isn’t suppose to go toe to toe trading blows, deal massive amounts of damage, or take damage.

Monk is often the most misinterpreted class in several different ways. The monk is a very untraditional base class. Most classes build upon the basis of what they get. A monk builds on the basis of what they don’t need, to understand what they get. For instance, monks don’t need to put as much money into weapons or armor. Monks get two free hands because they don’t need to necessarily use those in combat. Monks can carry manacles, rope, nets, smoke powder, caltrops, potions, other various tools, and they are still armed. By making a stunning fist attack they can neutralize deadly casters or opponents, albeit at sacrificing a round of her own. Don’t tell me mages have spells that have no saves or spell resistance, because those spells are few and far between. The mages who have those spells at the ready require multiple spells to do any real damage to a character. While the rest of the party kills the one character. Monks naturally specialize in neutralizing potent foes where the party out numbers their adversary or in duels.

Key Stats:

1. Wisdom
2. Str/Dex
3. Con
4. Int
5. Cha

These stats are general and may vary depending on your build.

Primary class abilities

Class abilities will be judged on adaptability, strength, commitment, curve of regularity.

Flurry of Blows/Greater Flurry of Blows

I'll refer to these as FoB.

Flurry of blows is very similar to two-weapon fighting with two exceptions. One it must be used as a full-round action. Secondly, characters using two-weapon fighting usually have full BAB. To help understand the impact of two-weapon fighting and furry of blows I have made the following examples at level 20.

Full BAB TWF/ITWF                FoB W/ TWF/ITWF
+18/+18/+13/+13/+8/+3            +13/+13/+13/+13/+8/+8/+3 

Medium BAB TWF/ITWF              FoB 
+13/+13+8/+8/+3                  +15/+15/+15/+10/+5
    

Obviously, flurry of blows is superior to two weapon fighting. However, it is not superior to a character with higher BAB. Flurry synergizes against low AC opponents, increasing ones attack bonus, strength bonuses (full Str. is used for damage), damage boosts, and grappling if the character has the improved grapple feat. Monks can also generally use their weapons while grappling without penalty. One can also use place multiple stunning fists to neutralize a target.

Ex.) A Monk with haste and 4 levels in the kensai prestige class can potentially boost strength to +32. On the following turn he can move to his opponent, then make a full round attack with FoB. A monk synergizes with haste (his superior movement), and strength (full Str damage) more than any other fighter. In fact, FOB is TWF with full strength damage, except you are sacrificing at least one point of BAB until level five, two points until level nine, and three points until level 12. A monk wanting to prioritize melee should never go beyond sacrificing three points of BAB.

When a monk is making a special attack like grappling or tripping, he tends to target creatures with medium BAB or lower.

Weaknesses: Going against high AC and high BAB characters.

Additional Considerations: It’s important to note that these considerations vary at different levels of play. In addition, two-weapon fighting is dependent on dexterity, with the exception of the ranger. Rangers are the only class capable of NOT putting extremely high points in dexterity and still receive the feats. Fob can be useful if successfully sneaking up behind lone individuals, a character have extra modes of movement like haste or the Warrior of Darkness, if backed into a corner, or trading blows. It is useable by any class with a one level dip has little feat or prestige support. It is an extremely strong form of attack, but puts the monk in danger with no regular forms of armor and few hit points.

Full BAB TWF/ITWF LVL 6         Monk FoB LVL6
+4/+4/-1/-2                     +3/+3         

Full BAB TWF/ITWF LVL 11        Monk FoB LVL11
+9/+9/+6/+4/+1                  +8/+8/+8+3

Monk FoB W/TWF/ITWF LVL11
+6/+6/+6/+6/+2/+1

• Adaptability: 3
• Strength: 9
• Commitment: 6
• Curve: 6
• Feature Rating: 6/10

PS: TWF on a medium BAB character, charisma, yah!!

Unarmed Speed Bonus

Increases the character’s maneuverability, making them more agile on the battlefield. This synergizes well with running, jumping, charging, tumbling, hiding, moving silently, reaching a destination, and spells/grafts or other features that depend upon a character’s land speed. It allows for hit and run tactics. In addition, it can be increased with prestige classes such as Darkness Warrior, Wild Runner, Barbarian, fist of the forest, a monk belt, grafts, and a few others.

Weaknesses: Mounted players can achieve similar speeds, and have the advantage of “higher ground”. However, only the paladin or a prestige class giving a special mount will survive battle.

• Adaptability: 6
• Strength: 8
• Commitment: 8 (four levels for thirty feet with a monk belt)
• Curve: 8
• Feature Rating: 7.5/10

AC Bonus

This is the bread and butter of a monk. Monk is one of the few classes that can easily obtain an incredibly high AC with supporting prestige classes as long as they devote enough ability points in wisdom. This bonus scales as magic items are more readily available. In early parts of a scenario heavy armor is far better, and easier to maintain. However, boosts to wisdom & dexterity, coupled with spell armor will exceed the fighter’s ability to defend against traditional forms of attack. In addition a monk is easier to support with spells making him a nice money saver.

• Adaptability: 7
• Strength: 9
• Commitment: 6
• Curve: 8
• Feature Rating: 7.5/10

Unarmed Strike

The best part about unarmed strike is that your hands are free and your weapons cannot be taken from you without cutting off your limbs. Unarmed damage doesn’t scale well vs melee weapons until very late and by then there are far better prestige classes one could have chosen to increase damage, although sacrificing stunning fist for the draconic variant will allow you to multiply your damage several folds.

• Adaptability: 10
• Strength: 5
• Commitment: 3
• Curve: 5
• Feature Rating: 5.75
• Three bonus feats

Secondary Class abilities

Evasion/improved evasion

Useful against traps or spells with reflex saves. Nothing like shooting a fireball into a throng of orcs a monk distracted and led into the killing ground. Monks excel at being the “bait”, only to have the monk use the orc bodies as shields preventing all damage.

Still mind

+2 saves against enchantments. Considering mind enchantments are often battle turner this ability helps shore up monks defense.

Ki-strike

Helpful in overcoming damage reduction, damage reduction is slightly a problem but can be overcome.

Slow fall, purity of body, wholeness of body:

These are all small abilities they may be of some use once in a while but rarely make the difference.

Diamond Body

Monks become immune to poison. Think out of the box. Perhaps you’re a monk who studies fighting styles of the viper, cobra, or rattlesnake. Use poison, as often as possible. Harvest and sell when possible. This is a great secondary ability although it comes a bit late.

Most monks are best left between the levels of 4 – 11 so I will not mention other abilities.

Few people stick with any base class all the way through and monks should not be an exception.

General thoughts

The monk is vary stat dependent. This is both a positive and a negative. At the beginning of the game this creates a lot of difficulty for the monk. However, at the end of the game when all stats can be raised the monk actually benefits more than any other character.

• Medium BAB for a melee character (Bad)
• Great saves (good)
• Stealth skill set (good)
• Medium HP (BAD for melee)
• A monk is capable of handling conflicts without killing (good) ex. Stealth, paralyzing through feats, running away, or running past the problem.

This makes monk a very fragile class with excellent abilities that need to accentuated with feats or using feats and multiclassing to shore up their weaknesses.

FAQ/Misconceptions

Q: So you’re saying I can’t tank?

A: No, I’m saying a monk should never be your primary tank except for specific circumstances. In many situations a monk will have better AC than any other party member, great saves, but won’t have the hit points or supply as much damage. There are good monk tank builds, but you’re no longer a monk if you ignore your maneuverability.

Q: Should I grapple, disarm, or sunder?

A: These are very situational abilities that can be selected as bonus feats with different monk variants. Monks are better at dealing damage in a grapple than most others but full BAB characters are better at getting a favorable grapple. In fact, monks who have a hard time hitting often do a much better job at doing damage in a grapple because its no longer an armor check, but a grapple check. Making those flurry whiffs into flurry hits. Imagine UFC when someone is being kneed in the ribs by a monk, +4 grapple helps out with the negatives of flurry of blows and low BAB.

Disarming or sundering a foes weapon is difficult because an unarmed strike counts as a light weapon, which means they receive a -4 on their check. However, a monk only needs to disarm or sunder a warrior’s weapon once or twice to leave the user ineffective for the rest of the encounter.(remember the monks hands are free so he can hold them) A monk doesn’t need to succeed on the first, second, or third attempt to take powerful weapon wielders out of a fight. However, these abilities are often not useful when fighting monsters.

Q: I’m adept at slaying mages?

A: No, a monk has the maneuverability, and stealth skill set to reach mages and temporarily neutralize them. Although, there are a few monk builds that are “mage killers” and do so at a high success rate, from my experience. A monk intending to neutralize a mage should be able to do so in one round. In addition, this comparison isn’t PVP its PVE based on CR. At high levels a monk should have enough magic items to make up for most of his deficiencies and you have more survivability than any other melee class going up against a caster, with the possible exception of ToB classes.

Q: Sword Sage is better?

A: For most purposes yes, but it has some limitations monks don’t.

Q: I’m stealthy, have speed, so I’m a scout.

A: Yes, but not if traps or wards are in place you won’t be able to handle the situation alone unless you’re a throat stabbing monk with sneak. Luckily, with high saves and possible resistance you’ll save any initial blunders. In addition, if your DM is good at splitting up the party, or timed scenarios monks often benefit due to their speed.

Q: Without magic or magic items monks suck.

A: The game is made and written with great consideration to magic items and friendly party buffing. Monks without magic items or buffing is like wizards never being able to find the scroll they want.

Q: Doesn’t a fighter make a better grappler?

A: Not exactly, there are many problems with this argument. First fighters don’t make better grapplers early in the game. The BAB differential isn’t that different, a fighter will only have a +1 to +2 in strength over a monk, and on the defensive a fighter doesn’t have escape artists. However, a monk can flurry in the grapple giving him consecutive rolls. Even at higher levels fighters don’t necessarily make better grapples, they are different grapplers. Fighters will be able to successfully hold a grapple, but monks will do far greater damage in the grapple. In essence it doesn’t make sense for a fighter to become a grappler if there is a monk doing so in the party. The fighter has to sacrifice two feats. A monk sacrifices one feat out of limited choices. A monk sacrifices far less and a fighter is better off with a weapon. At level 11 a draconic variant monk with the monk belt has 4 attacks with his furry of blows that will deal 2d8+3d6 per punch by sacrificing stunning fist. This isn’t even optimization. It’s a simple question of strategy, and functioning in the party. If I have a wizard grappled am I going to ready an action to hurt his concentration? Will I pin him making him unable to cast spells with verbal components? A stealthy monk with better movement speed can do this much better than a fighter. A fighter is more likely to one shot or two shot the wizard if he attacks with a weapon. But as I said earlier, damage should never be a monk’s primary concern.

Q: Do druids and spell casters make better grapplers?

A: Yes, but only for a short period. Once anti-magic field and dispelling becomes common with items it’s no longer an issue.

Q: Does improved natural attack increase my unarmed strike damage?

A: Per RAW yes, under the entry for the Monk's Unarmed Strike in the SRD it says:

A monk’s unarmed strike is treated both as a manufactured weapon and a natural weapon for the purpose of spells and effects that enhance or improve either manufactured weapons or natural weapons.

Q: Does Improved Unarmed Strike Stack with the monk belt?

A: Per RAW no.

Q: If I am bigger will I do more damage?

A: Yes, but so would other melee characters