Monk

The Pros and Cons of a Monk

The monk's wide range of abilities makes her an effective combatant against all sorts of foes.

Monk Assets

When you choose a monk, you get effective fighting ability plus an array of useful talents -- some of which are quite handy for moving around and avoiding damage. Below are several assets you have going for you when you play a monk.

• • Unarmed Strike: A monk's hands and feet (and the rest of her body, when necessary) are effective weapons when she begins play, and they just keep getting better as she progresses. At higher levels, her unarmed strikes can overcome a foe's damage reduction and even slay her opponents outright. In addition, the monk's flurry of blows ability allows extra unarmed attacks, which can be very handy when she faces large numbers of fairly weak foes.

• • Fairly Good Attack Bonus: A monk's base attack bonus -- +3 per four levels -- is second only to that of the most martial classes, such as the fighter. Though it's not the best in the game, it does give the monk a decent chance for success when attacking.

• • Bonus Feats: As she attains higher levels, the monk can choose from a small number of bonus feats that expand her options in combat.

• • Good Fortitude, Reflex, and Will Saves: A monk uses the best save progression in the game for all saves (see Table 3-1 in the Player's Handbook). This natural mental and physical resilience helps her resist most effects that attack her body or her mind.

• • Defensive Abilities: As she attains higher levels, the monk gains the ability to evade damage from area attacks, an extra saving throw bonus against enchantment spells, and immunity to disease, poison, and even the ravages of old age.

• • Fast Movement: When a monk reaches 3rd level, she gains increased speed whenever she isn't wearing armor or carrying a medium or heavy load. At higher levels, she takes her place among the fastest land creatures in the game. At 12th level, she can literally step out of the real world and reappear a short distance away.

• • Good Skill Selection: The monk has a substantial list of class skills that can improve her perception, self-sufficiency, and agility.

• • Ki Strike Ability: The monk's innate ability to bypass certain types of Damage Reduction (first magic, then lawful, then adamantine) means she often has a head start on getting through the Damage Reduction of certain monsters. While it isn't extremely flexible, since it only works on unarmed attacks and only becomes available as the monk goes up in levels, it's nevertheless an edge monks have over other classes.

• • Improved Grapple as a Bonus Feat Choice: Even though grappling is not the best option all the time in combat, a monk who selects Improved Grapple has an edge over other PCs. A monk's natural weapons can be used to cause real damage in a grapple, whereas other grappling PCs must either cause nonlethal damage or use weapons -- which almost always means suffering a penalty to attack while in a grapple.

Monk Weaknesses

The monk's many advantages come at a price. Here are a few of the disadvantages you should keep in mind if you're considering a monk character.

• • Mediocre Armor Class: A monk has no proficiency with armor or shields, but she gains a level-based Armor Class bonus and can use her Wisdom bonus (if any) to improve Armor Class. These improvements allow her a reasonable Armor Class, but not a great one. As a result, she tends to be more vulnerable to damage in battle than other martial characters.

• • Mediocre Hit Points: The monk's 8-sided Hit Dice give her a respectable number of hit points. As a fighting character, however, she has few hit points to spare -- especially given her fairly weak Armor Class.

• • Poor Weapon Selection: A monk's unarmed strikes don't always do the job in combat, but she has few other options. She is proficient with only a handful of weapons, and none of them are terribly effective.

• • Fewer Magic Item and "Buff Up" Spell Choices: Many of the most combat-effective magic items and spells in the game are geared toward weapon or equipment users. Monks have a more difficult time picking up random items and using them effectively. The monk usually has to focus on more general, and more expensive, magic items and spells to increase her abilities in combat.