This idea for a build came to me while I was looking through some notes i have. To answer griphook’s question first, I am not sure of the playability from lv 1 thru. This character really comes into his own later on when the monk levels allow you to have full monk damage and things like that. I will try this guy out one day, as his damage at lv 40 is passable.
The concept of this character is to make a nwn version of what a “real” martial artist is. I am sure that we have all heard of the old man, who when provoked by an assailant, wipes the floor with the attackers. One wonders how the old frail body is able to do that! The eastern concept of how this happens is “chi”. Having spent most of my life studying these arts, I was frustrated by nwn combat system and how it seemed to neglect this.
One day, a few weeks ago, I was reading a book on the internal arts and the translator used the term charisma in relation to the internal presence. That started me thinking… a charisma based Monk!! Here’s what I was thinking:
The training path of a martial artist starts off as a physical experience. One starts learning how to stand, walk, punch, kick, etc. This is represented in the build by the monk/fightr levels early on. You will notice that at lv 10 I take a paladin lvl. Why? Charisma based feats! A cleric doesn’t fit the concept, and a black guard isn’t my style. The paladin indicates the spiritual journey that an internalist goes through in the training, and it is appropriate (imho) that we wait till v 10 for this (I would have liked to wait longer, but using core classes means xp penalties and that just cant happen!). The other thing I wish could have been delayed was the imm to fear at lv 11. The feat fits the build so well, in fact, it is indispensable to the build (can you imagine an old master running from a confrontation that is necessary? LOL). It would have fit better, say after lv 33 or so, but what can we do! I took the initiative feats because a master would never let an opponent beat them to the punch, even if the attacker starts first. The only thing I wish I could have added was extra turning, to get extra divine feats, but what can you do!!
For fun, let's name him YANG (human/ lawful good)
str 14 dex 15 wis 12 Int 10 con 10 cha 15
01 monk1 dodge/ mobility 02 monk2 03 monk3 wpn foc: unarmed 04 monk4 cha 16 05 monk5 06 monk6 circle kick 07 monk7 08 monk8 cha 17 09 ftr1 improve init/power attack 10 pal1 11 pal2 12 ftr2 cha 18 blind fight/impr crit : unarmd 13 pal3 14 ftr3 15 pal4 Divine might 16 ftr4 cha 19 wpn spec: unarmd 17 ftr5 18 pal5 Divine shield 19 ftr6 spring attack 20 pal6 cha 20 21 monk9 epc wpn foc 22 monk10 23 monk11 24 ftr7 cha21 epic wpn spec 25 monk12 26 monk13 27 monk14 epic prowess 28 monk15 cha 22 29 monk16 30 monk17 great charisma I 31 monk18 32 monk19 cha 24 33 monk20 great charisma II 34 pal7 35 ftr8 superior initiative 36 monk21 cha 26 armor skin 37 monk22 38 pal8 39 ftr9 great charisma III 40 monk23 cha 28
ab 34/31/28/25/22/19 (base attack 28) dam 1-20+8 (19-20) saves for35/ref31/will30 sr 33
So there you have it. A build that, imho, reflects the training of a young lad to an old master in the internal martial arts. Why did I choose the skills I did? Concentration is obvious, who could break the concentration of a master! Discipline? He has spent his life learning to protect himself. Tumble? Please! The only one a lot of players would question is Heal. A true martial artist, as the training goes on, learns to heal as well as hurt. This is a must have, imho, to remain true to the build. Taunt is there for the ability to see the weakness in an opponent and use it for your advantage.
Some players may look at this and say, why divine might or shield? I don’t get it? Look at it this way: these are the feats that most closely represent what a master internalist would do in a fight. Their strength isn’t noticeable physically, but is held within. Divine might is turning the “chi” into an attack, shield is for the “iron shirt” defence. Both of these are not noticed all the time, but have the potential to be there for the master.
All in all, this was really an exercise in my creativeness to see if anyone could make a martial artist that you could imagine holding his own, even well into later life (80 or 90 human years). It would have been great to make a str based monk simpy for the improvement to AB, but that’s not the idea here.
Thanks for takin the time. Please post any comments about improving the build. I know the ab is low, and besides the novelty of the build, its not a super tough character.. or is it…
Peace
I forgot to point out one thing: I took the pal/ftr levels before lv 20, to mimic the training path AND to increase the ab of the build. If you notice, the ab is low for my liking. Oh well, you cant have everything!
(human/ lawful good)