Vaelith's page

dimensional dervish is super cool but its true value gets diminished by your flying kick. so if youre in a position when you can use flying kick or dimensional dervish, the swift action and ki youre using is competing with an extra attack or another ki power you could have used instead

mysterious stranger is right in that dimensional agility removes a big restriction though so you may want the first feat if you think those situations will come up a lot

improved initiative is good for an unchained monk because flying kick means youre (often) able to fullattack even in the first round. if youre wasting your first turn moving up to enemies then going first doesnt matter much, but for you it does

hands sight is not super good. but hands autonomy can save your life if you stock up on anti-condition potions. id take that over darkvision and antiflanking

Hmm so would u suggest going a bit of both routes? Just grab dimensional agility then go the possessed hand chain. Although for dimensional dervish, I can always retrain flying kick to get something else

I would probably go with Leg Sweep instead of Elbow Smash. Knocking someone prone puts them at a disadvantage and they provoke an AoO when they stand up.

Is tripping really worth it at later level? Wouldn't just getting an extra attack more reliable?

The value of improved Initiative depends on the character. If the character gains a significant advantage from going first it is good. For a spell caster that needs to get off a spell or a rogue who gets sneak attack if they act before others in the first round it is decent. For a martial character it is not as valuable. Dimensional Dervish is a lot better than improved Initiative. It is fairly decent for something like a sorcerer’s bloodline feat, or if your build is complete and you don’t have anything else to take.

That does make sense.

While we are on the topic, do you have any suggestions on ki power and style strikes?

My plan rn is:
- Wind Step (windstep master archetype)-> Barkskin-> Abundant Step-> Ki Leech-> Diamond Soul-> Empty Body(maybe)-> ??

- For style strike its Flying Kick at 5th lvl, then Elbow Smash, Shattering Punch and Spin Kick, but Im not sure in which order to take which style.

if you think your game will hit 20th+ level then I'd stay in Unch Monk.

Otherwise (I saw the 17th level limit) with Int 12+ I'd multiclass into Wiz(diviner)1 BO Amulet with Magical Knack. It will let you bypass UMD for most Arcane wands (as spell lists, Spellcraft & CstrLvl is a better mechanic) and such and give you mage armor, shield, long arm, obscuring mist, vanish, etc. Use an Aegis of Recovery (later Amulet of Mighty Fists) as your BO. +1 INIT and act in surprise round are bonuses. Magic is pretty prevalent and those spells will give you tricks that stay handy as you level up. It also means your can use your Ki pool for martial things as your spells cover most magical tricks.
If it is Wis 12+ the Sorceror BL:wildblooded(celestial) empyreal or Druid {for barkskin:T2 & Ki pool} are good choices (just not as good as diviner above). Cleric can work for a preferred weapon that you can use with your Monk abilities but the spell list isn't great and the powers scale with level.

Monks have ability score needs across the board (aka MAD). With a 20 point buy you could go very general with [14,14,12,13,14,10] or a more focused [16,14,10,13,12,10], then apply racial points. You'll get headband and belt later for ability boosts. Human, aasimar(never say no to just bonuses!), half-elf, half-orc, catfolk, tengu.

Unc Monk Guide (discussion) from ZG

I have been spending a bit of time reading the guide haha. We are playing 25 point buys and I am going aasimar, so the MAD issue is somewhat manageable. I do see the appeal for dipping, it is probably more optimal, but I dont really want to multiclass for story reason as well as to not delay my class feature. Appreciate the advice tho!

ummm unchained Monk

ummm indeed ._.

Dimensional Ability removes a major limitation on dimensional door. Since abundant step is a move action it allows you to teleport your full distance and still do other things including a single attack. This allows you to do things like teleport and grab an item. You also can also get your AoO’s after you teleport and can perform immediate actions. If you need to accomplish an action like pulling a lever to turn something on or off you can accomplish that in a single turn. Too me that is much better than a +1 insight bonus and a minor once a day ability.

Dimensional Assault does not give as much to the monk but still lets you perform a charge. For someone using dimension door as a spell it is a lot more valuable. For the monk it is basically a feat tax for Dimensional Dervish.

Dimensional Dervish is pure gold. It allows you to move between attacks on a full attack. You can also use abundant step as a swift action. Being able to attack foes that are spread out all other the place is something very difficult to achieve. The rest of the feats in the build are really good.

Improved initiative is not that good of a feat so diminish the second build. Iron will may be useful for an unchained monk depending on his WIS. Those feats kind of diminish the second build. This build has as many if not more dead feats as the other build.

Thanks alot. I think I will go with your advice. Although I have always heard Improved Initiative as a generally good feat. This is the first time I seen someone said it's not good lol.

Since the object of the game is to have fun you kind of answered your own question. You said the first option is more fun and flavorful. As long as the campaign will go high enough that you actually get to play the character after the build comes online the first build would be my recommendation.

The dimensional feat chain actually gives you useful abilities with each feat. The ability to act after using dimension door can be very useful even if you cannot attack. Dimensional Assault has an incredibly long range. The ability to attack from over a half mile away is pretty good. In my opinion this build actually has the better progression of abilities as well as a higher end result.

Thank you for the answer!

I believe I’m going to have fun with either of the two builds. For me, optimization is part of the fun as well, so I’m trying to balance mechanical payoff with flavor and theme. The Dimensional feat chain feels cooler and has a high-impact payoff later on, but I also enjoy a build that gives me useful returns at every level. Just trying to weigh which path gives me the most satisfying experience across the whole campaign, not just at the end.
Could you clarify why you feel the first build has the better progression overall? From an optimization standpoint, I find the first 2 feats of the chain are underwhelming when compared to what I get out of Possessed Hand/Hand's Sight.

So I am relatively new to 1e, and I am planning out an unchained monk for the campaign I'm playing, and I'm having trouble deciding which route is more optimal to go after lvl 8. The campaign is til lvl 17, and we are using Elephant in the Room and Automatic Bonus Progression.

I am going Crane Style feat chain, so the build is fixed until level 8. After that there are 2 ways I can go with the build:

- Dimensional Agility -> Dimensional Assault -> Dimensional Dervish -> Dimensional Savant -> Outflank

- Possessed Hand -> Hand's Sight -> Iron Will -> Improved Initiative -> Counterpunch

The first route is more fun and flavorful, but only come online at level 13. I would have to spend 5 levels before that with 2 not very useful feats. Ki usage should not be a problem with Human fcb, ki leech, and items. But un-monk also have Flying Kick, which makes Dimensional Dervish slightly less worth it.

The second route give small but very useful bonuses, but I get immediate returns on every feats I spent. It is less interesting but more well-rounded overall I think.

So I guess my question here is how much am I giving up by going the first route? Is it worth it with the Dimensional feat chain if I already have flying kick?

Thanks for the advice!