Monk Cleric Build - Seeking some input

[Kornholio]

Hi guys and gals

Pretty new to the server and looking to re-roll to a monk-cleric hybrid.
Never played monk before so any input is appreciated.

I've looked around and tried out some stuff on NWNDB and in the JEGS module.

Looking at 2 build ideas
1) Monk/8 Cleric/12 SF/10 - More spells less brute force cl26 Epic Spell
2) Monk/20 Cleric/3 SF/7 - less spells, Dispellable but stronger attack & immunities Cl13

Some questions...
1) How do Monks fare on the low magic server? Mid-End game damage & Surviability
2) Does Fiery Fist work on the server? Some issue in JEGS not activating
3) Is there a minimum Monk lvl needed for Intuitive Attack to kick in? (error reading in JEGs)
4) Thoughts on Cleave vs Steadfast Determination vs Extra Stunning Attacks
5) Thoughts on Blazing Aura vs More Spells & x2 Sacred Flames

Any other input is welcome.
Thanks in advance

[Karond]

1.) Pretty well. AC and to a lesser extent AB is where they tend to be hurting, but the speed, SR, improved knockdown, mind immunity, improved evasion etc. makes up for it. SD monks, pure monk, or wisdom monks do work best.

2.) It does. Just be wary that it doesn't last that long. Best for wisdom monks due to the duration.

3.) Yes, 20 levels. Technically, you need 2/3rd of your levels to be monk, which means 20 at level 30...but when levelling up, it kicks in as long as you abide to this rule (like, 6 monk, 3 shadowdancer).

4.) Cleave isn't that useful, nor is power attack. Extra stunning attacks is so-so for wisdom monks, bad for everyone else. Steadfast is fantastic. With 20 levels of monk and thus mind immunity, together with improved evasion, the only save you are actually concerned about is fortitude. Steadfast helps vs rolls of 1, then it's all about using +fortitude equipment to become really resilient.

5.) Aura is decent if you can afford it.

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Other input? If you really want to go down the sacred fist route, make sure you get as high a CL as possible. Dispels suck, recasting often sucks, and being reliant on short-term spells that are easily dispelled sucks even more. The dispel fix means anything less than CL30 is at risk vs greater dispel in its current form.

[Tekill]

A good Monk build is very viable on this server. Damage may be a bit low but with all the attacks and survivability, it tends to balance out.
I was thinking of something similar for an cleric/monk (a great combination I must add) for an UD character. But I got hung up while trying to pick: a God, the domains available to each specific God and also a viable UD monk backstory (i.e., there can't be many monk orders/monasteries in the UD...Dark Moon mayhaps...).
I simply could not decide so I gave up- but not until after I found a great Intuitive strike build and guide that matches one of your build ideas.

http://nwn2db.com/build/?120554

This build looks like a lot of fun and tough. But-

Basically, because of the: a)intuitive strike rules, b) the three classes before lvl 20 rule and, c) domain/God rule, it really limits how you are going to build your cleric/monk if you want Intuitive strike and a specific god or domains. (I'm not complaining as it seems its strict as it is, for balance reasons).
If you not too concerned about having too many divine power spells memorized (str domain) I would recommend domains such as darkness, law, war, knowledge, healing- to give a bit of elbow room, to help you customize the build to you desire.

I have not seen it in action but it looks amazing on paper.
It is informative at the very least.

[Kornholio]

Thanks for all the excellent feedback guys

Did not know about the '20' rule...
Does that mean no more than +20 Ability Modifier for each Ability Stat?

Tried out some of the builds last night.
Avg was about 50 AC & 50 AB with around 30+Damage per hit

Looking at an Assassin build now. Monk + Hips & Sneak.

Thanks again for the input.

[Theodore01]

Did not know about the '20' rule...

http://www.bgtscc.net/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=36831

[Kornholio]

Thanks Theodore
I know about the 3/20 Rule for Classes, I was actually referring to this:

"4. Intuitive Attack counts towards the +20 cap. It's unlikely you hit that cap with a non-buffer considering the low/medium magic setting, but it's still something to be aware of if also relying on scrolls/wands. A Monk 20/Divine Champion 10 can get 34 Wisdom, that's already +12 counting towards the cap if STR/DEX are at 10, and that is without counting in monk gloves. If you decide to add a divine class you'll get even closer to the +20 limit."

Source: http://nwn2db.com/build/?120554

My bad for not being clearer.

Any input on the above statement?

[Thorsson]

Yes. Intuitive Attack is arguably a waste of time on a Cleric/Monk/SF; you will definitely hit the cap if fully buffed up. However you may decide to forego the short term buffs like Divine Favor & Prayer. In that case IA would still be useful. However M20/Cl3/SF7 (say) would have short-lived buffs and be open to dispels if the CL bug gets fixed.

That aside, the question is whether you build for the longtime threatened CL fix. If so you want 25CL and that means, assuming you use Practiced Caster, you need Cleric13 with SF10 or Cleric15 with SF7. Neither of those is a particularly good stop for Monk's Flurry - Monk 5 reduces the penalty to -1, 9 removes it and 11 gets Greater. Going the Str route I might be tempted to have Monk at 6 for IKD: Cl14/SF10/Mo6 say.

[chad878262]

and be open to dispels if the CL bug gets fixed.

The dispel bug IS a part of the update, as it was the first time when we had to pull it back out. Any build should understand that if your CL is below 30 you are subject to Greater Dispel so certain areas of the server are going to become impossible if your build is reliant on buffs with low CL. 29 should be ok, but below that it obviously get incrementally more difficult, especially when the mobs have greater dispel in an area.

So if the short duration/low CL buffs are icing, then no worries, but if you rely on those buffs to survive / do damage or otherwise make your build "viable" then you should consider a different build.

[Thorsson]

I hope that sense is seen and GDM is taken back to correct levels. Fixing the bug is good news, but then other changes, which were only there because of the bug, need to be removed.

CL30 is fairly easy for Arcanes to reach; not so Clerics. Here you would have to go Cleric20/SF7/M3 to make CL30, which really wouldn't make a lot of sense.

[chad878262]

Not to mention Dragon slayer, black flame zealot and other partial/half progression prc's become somewhat useless... whose going to make a rogue/cleric/bfz when they will never reach cl 30 on an already weaker build?

However, as it stands now the changes are staying in with dispel fix.

On the other side it does make the fs/rogue/bg (or cleric/paladin) edm/ew builds a little less powerful, though as favored souls it's not like they can't re-buff. You should have to give up something to be a gish (arcane or divine) so leaving dispels as is does make casters more likely to remain mostly/all pure, but I do think many prcs will become useless for large portions of the server content.