i'm going with a samsaran so after racial adjust my stats look like
str 10 dex 16 con 10 int 18 wis 17 cha 11
i was playing around with how much magus and monk in the beginning so thats what im sort of after also any advice or something i missed?
you decide.
ultimately 3 lvls of cleric and 10 lvls in mystic theurge(MT) is a set thing with abadar as deity under protection and travel domains.
but as a spell caster i want a decent ac for my caster.
the monk will be master of many styles and my magus will be kensai.
So i'm looking at dex, int, and wisdom all thrown into the ac mix.
which brings it back to should i just take one l,2,or 3 lvls monk and the rest magus before going MT?
AND the other part that influences that is, well with a master of many styles(MoMS)which style is most beneficial? monkey seems like a foregone conclusion but dragon has me laughing at watching my guy haul ass over some ruins to get away from whatever. but then again snake or tiger add piercing or slashing damage and marid style adds 5ft reach. so sort of an overload of flavor there.
...Also i'm taking alternate racial trait mystic past life which should garner me some spells i dont normally get...if that opens some avenues like permancy or magic fang down the road.
Either way whats your opinion? Thanks for the help.
What level are you starting at? I can help but feel that this build is going to be weak at some (or most) levels.
Overall I think it gets confused, without much synergy between the classes.
- Both the cleric and the magus can function as a melee spellcaster. But applying MT is only getting you +5 BAB over 10 lvls.
- Your casting abilities are taking a serious hit from the different classes.
- The magus got some nice abilities, which you loose by going prestige class. In itself the spellcasting isn't that inspired.
- The monk gives you some points of AC as well as a combat style. Not really worth it, as you loose the ability to cast in light armor - or a mithril breastplate. If you really want to be monk, crane style is your best defensive ability. But in my opinion, you should drop the monk levels entirely.
As with any mystic theurge, you're going to be below-average at low levels, and won't really accumulate strength until you've leveled up to the point of training your prestige class for a few levels.
You're also playing a lot of generally-melee roles (monk, magus, sometimes cleric) and pairing them with a prestige class (and a build in general) that's rather weak in melee.
Overall though, you could make this work. If you start at higher levels you could definitely make this work. If you start at low levels though, you're likely to die before reaching any real amount of power. Such is the danger of the mystic theurge.
(The best time to play a theurge is when you find yourself in a campaign that starts at 20th level. Be warned if you attempt one elsewhere.)
First off don't do it...
I wouldn't go so far as to say don't play something just because it's not a great option. Just don't go in expecting it to be great.
You'll have a tougher time of it, but it's certainly still doable (barring a killer GM of course).
thanks i think i just needed to be talked off the ledge, nothins set in stone so i'm not gonna go that route.
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"It's a trap!"
-General Akbar-
First off don't do it.
1) Mystic Theurge is weak because you start so far behind.
2) Monk levels are going to make you even FARTHER behind.
3) Mystic Theurg works best with full caster not partial casters.If you REALLY want to do a monk/Mystic Theurge (and I recommend against it). Consider Monk/cleric (Irori)/Empyreal blooded Sorereror).
Monk 2/Sorceror 4/cleric 4/MT 10 This will give you 7th level spells arcane and divine and lets you focus on wisdom only.
Don't go Master of Styles, Crane stance does not stack with spell casting. Crane stance works when fighting defensively and that requires you to make melee attacks which means you are not casting.
actually this doesn't seem all that awful--I mean, it's inefficient (compared to most of what's usually seen) and doesn't really hit its stride until really high levels, but with everything centered on wis and a great thematic combination, I could definitely see some good roleplaying opportunities in this, also this screams "touch of serenity" to me for some reason. Nice job there.
I think the important questions - some of them have already been asked here - are:
1. What level do you start?
2. To what level will you play, i.e. does your game finish at level 16 or such?
3. Is your stat array and are the classes set?
4. What is supposed to be your specialty, i.e. what distinguishes you, what defines your role in the low to mid levels (if playing them), and what after?
5. Do you want to be in melee, ranged, or just casting in combat?
In general I think:
- You can use partial casters, but then the class features should make up for it
- I generally advise not to go for a balanced casting class distribution, but to pull ahead with one and then follow up with the other later, i.e. not wizard 3/cleric 3, but rather something like cleric 7/wizard 3/MT 10
- Monk is cool for dipping. If you just do it for the AC bonus you should reconsider though IMO - loss of caster levels is not worth it IMO
Sample ideas, aimed at stat synergy, may require rearranging scores and not necessarily be the best at casting:
1. WIS: Zen Archer 3/cleric 3/empyreal sorcerer 4/MT 10 - great for ranged, everything on WIS, good AC, can melee OK and shoot really well
2. WIS: Sensei 2/cleric 3/empyreal sorcerer 4/MT 10/XX 1 - more for melee, minor buffs, attacks with WIS, some bardic feats and spells useful to you (like saving finale to your sorcerer class)
3. WIS: cleric 6/empyreal sorcerer 4/MT 10 - your cleric levels will provide you with decent spells and HP to pull through the low levels, you can wear armor so long, then switch to sorcerer to get that "other" magic in there
4. CHA: Oracle 6/sorcerer 4/MT 10 - runs off charisma, get some of your racial bonuses in there, no domains though
5. CHA: Paladin 7/sorcerer 4/MT 9 - unusual, very survivable and combat capable, no domains though, fewer spells. You could take that archetype with domains, though, and are free in your choice of sorcerer levels
6. CHA: Bard 5/oracle 4/MT 10/XX 1 - unusual, inspire courage will offset all of your loss in to-hit and damage if you want to fight, no domains. Wear armor.
7. WIS: Ranger 7/Empyreal sorcerer 4/MT 9 - really strange, not much of MT casting, but interesting and survivable, lots of skills so you can easily reassign int scores to con or str or such. no domains though
8. WIS: Inquisitor 5/empyreal sorcerer 4/MT 10/XX 1 - inquisitor is quite mighty, bane will help a lot in combat. Not really strong on the divine side of casting, only one domain.
Then there are of course all the wizard/magus/witch/... Int-focused and divine caster class combinations. In the end you can make everything work, but it depends on the 5 questions I wrote in the beginning :-)