Playable in PvE from 1-40. Truly shines in low magic environments where self-buffs allow his melee to catch up to other characters.

Human, Any Lawful

Str 10
Dex 10
Con 16
Int 14
Wis 16
Cha 8

1 Clc (1): Luck of Heroes*, Combat Casting, See # note for Domains
2 Mnk (1):
3 Clc (2): Extend Spell
4 Clc (3): +1 wis
5 Clc (4):
6 Mnk (2): Zen Archery&
7 Mnk (3):
8 Clc (5): +1 wis
9 Clc (6): Weapon Focus (Kama)%
10 Clc (7):
11 Mnk (4):
12 Mnk (5): +1 wis, Toughness*
13 Mnk (6):
14 Clc (8):
15 Clc (9): Blind-Fight
16 Mnk (7): +1 wis
17 Mnk (8):
18 Clc (10): Silent Spell**
19 Clc (11):
20 Clc (12): +1 wis
21 Mnk (9): Epic Weapon Focus (Kama)%
22 Mnk (10):
23 Mnk (11):
24 Mnk (12): +1 wis, Improved Combat Casting
25 Clc (13):
26 Clc (14):
27 Clc (15): Epic Prowess
28 Mnk (13): +1 wis
29 Mnk (14):
30 Mnk (15): Great Wis 1
31 Mnk (16):
32 Clc (16): +1 wis
33 Clc (17): Great Wis 2
34 Mnk (17):
35 Mnk (18):
36 Clc (18): +1 wis, Great Wis 3
37 Mnk (19):
38 Clc (19):
39 Rog (1): Great Wis 4
40 Mnk (20): +1 wis

# - Cleric domain choice should probably include Trickery due to Trickery Rogue skill bonus - both Trickery and Travel are in-character, other useful domains are war and animal.

* - Optional feat
** - Very optional feat, used mainly for spell duplication
% - Kama chosen for greater magic weapon/darkfire buffed melee purposes. Could sub for missile weapon or unarmed.
& - Zen archery chosen without weapon focus for melee/ranged adaptability.

Ending Vitals:
Skills - 226 points. Discipline, Tumble, Concentration, Use Magic Device. Can invest in spellcraft (your saves are good and you have mind immunity and improved evasion so this is totally optional), but my suggestion is to spread the leftovers around rogue skills to boost with Trickery domain power.

Wis 30

AB +29 Melee, +36 Ranged

AC 33
478 max hp
Fort 28 Reflex 21 Will 35

The FAQ:
Q: What sort of build is this? A wisdom monk/cleric who mostly takes combat feats and grabs a rogue level at the end... it doesn't seem to make much sense.
A: My philosophy behind the build was to build a reasonably self-sufficient buffing and healing cleric with a workable buffed melee capability, workable ranged capability, 9th level divine spellcasting, and strong personal defenses. The rogue level adds a midget sneak attack, but is actually there as a skill dump for utility purposes.

The character is mainly meant for low magic worlds where his buffs will bring his AB more or less in line with characters on the 3/4 AB progression.

Q: Why focus on self sufficiency and defense though? Why not build for more offense via buffed melee with a focus on dex or strength for AB?
A: The character's overall concept is that of a wandering holy man or wise sage who isn't necessarily out to kill enemies so much as avoid being killed while helping others. He's got a base DC 40 stunning fist he can use 20 times a day to disable an opponent without killing them, though he'll almost surely have to buff up to land it.

He makes a good teammate because he can handle aggro reasonably well while providing front line healing support and aura buff/debuff spells like Holy Aura and Battletide.

Q: Why go for rogue skills in a party player? Won't parties have rogues?
A: Not necessarily, and having a capability is always better than not having it.

Q: Why not take more caster levels at the expense of Monk?
A: It's very possible to go 23 cleric/16 monk/1 rogue in this build. This will get you a cleric epic bonus feat while preserving the 1d20 monk damage dice if you don't want to use a kama, but it costs you a point of monk bonus AC, some movement speed, empty body, and immunity to mind spells.

I felt empty body freeing you from memorizing improved invisibilities, but more important the other monk bonuses, were worthwhile comparatively.

Q: Why not focus in a ranged weapon?
A: In a medium or high magic environment you probably should. In a low magic environment, combining kama focus with your buff magic can let your melee power catch up to other characters, giving you a broader capability and more options in combat.
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Experience is the mother of good judgement; bad judgement is the father of experience.

Edited By griphook on 10/30/05 23:15

'Nother interesting build, Xylo. You've been quite prolific as of late. This is what I deem to be a Niche Character. In other words, I wished all my parties had a player who had the patience and discipline to play a hard to hit Healer/Buff Supporter. There is a market for such things, as we once had a player who had an Epic Dodging Healer/Buff Provider with high AC. We liked him.

Quote: Posted 10/28/05 01:28:29 (GMT) -- Xylophone

Q: Why not take more caster levels at the expense of Monk?
A: It's very possible to go 23 cleric/16 monk/1 rogue in this build. This will get you a cleric epic bonus feat while preserving the 1d20 monk damage dice if you don't want to use a kama, but it costs you a point of monk bonus AC, some movement speed, empty body, and immunity to mind spells.
You really aren't losing anything by going with only 16 Monk. The 1 AC is easily replaced, there are more than enough Improved Invis's from Trickery Domain(supported by max spellslot power and 30 natural Wis) to replace Empty Body, and with a 35 Will, how worried can one really be about Mind-affecting spells?
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Ariel, Ookla, RIDE! I've got a big backlog of builds from when I wasn't connected to the net but still had NWN to keep me busy... especially monk builds, since doing creative things with monk is a build-hobby of mine. I save posting them for days when I have the time to write the explanations and hopefully a story for them. I think this thread would really benefit from having a story because the build is very RP-ish, and hopefully I'll get around to making one for it soon.

By shedding enough monk levels for cleric and rearranging some combat feats towards casting feats, you can have a somewhat effective casting offense if you want. You probably would come out ahead on raw power that way.

I just envisoned him as a wandering monk with cleric powers to heal and defend, and a versatile, if subpar outside of a lowmagic world, offense. My monk bias showing - I felt if I didn't take enough monk levels it would stop being a monk build and start being a cleric build
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Experience is the mother of good judgement; bad judgement is the father of experience. With all those levels, you are both anyhow.

Now, story!