paladin monk ac

[SunieWitch]

Hey all!

I'm very much struggling to get the AC needed to survive low epic areas where some have over 30 AB and yellow mobs have nearly 40 AC. Imagine in the highest ECL areas and DM summoned mobs I'd be looking at 40-50 AB enemies.

I need a monk paladin build that will survive ecl 30 yellow mobs in the highest epic areas one on one. I'm completely stumped. Can anyone offer builds that can solo a single epic yellow mob with 48 AB that has paladin and monk in the build?

[Hendrak]

Hey, have a look at this one for some ideas:

http://nwn2db.com/build/?270567

AB is actual higher. Disadvantage is "low" Ac which can be buffed up a bit. More AC,better saves if you go the other way (Monk25/Pal5) as Fist Fighter.

Overall i found it difficult to get the AC on the Paladin/Monk. Always calculate Ac/DmgAB first.

For what build did you go?

[Sun Wukong]

http://nwn2db.com/build/?283502 <= I did put this build together a while back...

As for the AC the build gets:

10 (Base)
+4 (Dexterity Modifier with +4 item)
+5 (Wisdom Modifier with Owl's Wisdom)
+3 (Tumble)
+4 (Enchantment Bonus Robes)
+4 (Natural Armor Amulet)
+4 (Dodge Boots)
+4 (Deflection ring/helmet)
+3 (Sacred Fist PRC AC)
+10 (Divine Shield AC)
= 51

As for damage:
2d6 (Monk Fists)
+ 10 (Strength modifier with buffs)
+ 4 (Enchantment Bonus Gauntlets)
+ 20 (Epic Divine Might)
+ 15 (Sacred Flames, with Owl's Wisdom)
+ 3 (Divine Favor)
= 59~ per hit, 8 attacks per round.

And finally the AB:
29 (BAB)
+4 (Gauntlet)
+10 (Strength modifier with buffs.)
+3 (Divine Favor)
-2 (Flurry of Blows.)
= 44

Attacks done at: 44/39/34/29/24/19/44/44, which means it will do more than fine on BGTSCC.

[Arn]

I suggest essentially a Wisdom Monk, with a splash of 5 levels of Paladin.

Take Intuitive Strike, Great Wisdom feats, Blazing Aura. You can use staff with Intuitive Strike, but you won't be wearing armor. Blazing Aura will help a bit with low damage from staff. The nice thing about using a staff is that you won't need +4 EB gloves, so you can wear +4 Dex bracers from Doron Amar to increase your AC more.

Paladin levels mean you should get access to full Heal ranks, which a pure monk does not get. Paladin CHA save bonuses means you have a greater chance to resist instant death effects, which are pretty much the only thing a Wisdom monk fears in PvE.

Your original post said you were concerned with survivability in PvE, and this build should be pretty hard to kill. Mi-Le is a pure monk, and can reliably solo the Vault of the Dead.

Oh yeah, and you get 35 SR, which is nothing to sneeze at.

[Hendrak]

Arn is right. Altough it depends which route you wanna go. Paladin levels give very nice spell and make a good build for EDM/DS. If you prefer monk and dip into Paladin you should also aim for EDM i guess. Theres no other reason to dip into paladin mechanically.

You could also enter Steadfest Determination to deal with Death instant spells.

BTW i am playing a CON monk splash and can solo Vault and many other places too, with some wands tough.

[Arn]

I considered EDM too, but decided against recommending it because the point spread is too thin; not enough points left over to crank up Wisdom. IIRC, EDM requires a hefty 21 Strength and 21 Charisma, which I had totally forgotten about until I went to nwn2db!

[Hendrak]

I think overall WIS and Blazing Aura is better than EDM for monk.

But if i want more Paladin levels for spellcasting i would go the build i posted. you can even enhance AC by 3 if you wear a mithral chainmail!

[electric mayhem]

Curious about the hidden abilities and functions not stated.

Pure Wis monk has awesome AC and AB, but like mentioned, low saves and fear of insta high DC death spells. But with death magic imm wand, should be all sweet. Enemies that would cast these instant death spells typically lead with a Mord's to dispell you on first contact. So have some throwaway spells in place for it to dispell, like Shield. Then pop Death wand on. And wail on their old bones like crazy.
Having decent INT score can go a long way to getting good points into Diplo, Heal, Spot, Listen, UMD, Tumble as a base.

[Sun Wukong]

Even a wisdom based monk can get high Hide and Move Silently skills, and possibly spare quite many equipment slots for those + stealth skill items. You still want the AC first and foremost, but if the AC item also boosts stealth there is literally no harm in it.

Thus, you can just mostly stay undetected, move with monk speed, and whack that caster before it even gets the chance to throw the first spell.