I just started a Dragon Empires game with lv 5 PCs. One guy made a Monkey Monk (Varana Zen Archer to be exact).
He's got an Wis of 23 (Started 18 +2 Racial +2 Headband +1 lv 4), giving him a ki pool of 8.
He's also taken Snake Style (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/combat-feats/snake-style-combat-style) and has a gross Sense Motive Check of +18 (5 Ranks + 6 Wis + 3 Trained + 2 Snake Style + 2 Alertness). Normally his AC is 19, but with Snake Style, even an average roll makes his AC 28. Since it's an immediate action, does that mean he's only got it once a round and then back to his normal AC?
At level 5 now he can add +20 to Acro checks with 1 ki, where his check's are already wicked high. He's leaping across huge distances and running down 100ft cliffs that are supposed dangerous while the other PCs struggle.
He's basically an Exalt.
I don't even want to talk about the kind of damage he does with with 3 attacks, burning 1 ki to get another top tiered attack on a flurry. Even the fighter classes only get one attack still.
I guess I could hit him with Saving Throws, but he's a Monk, so those already are ridiculous. Especially the Will save.
Anyone have experiences with this sort of thing? The first session was rather frustrating.
Snake Style says: "You can use the result as your AC or touch AC against that attack."
So he only has good AC against one attack, any other attack against him before his next turn is going to be against AC19.
Also, remember that Immediate actions use up your Swift action for the next turn, so he won't be able to add an extra attack to his flurry (requires a Swift action to activate) that turn.
Otherwise, yes. Monks are supposed to have amazing acrobatics. That's their thing.
How's he getting 3 attacks by the way? You can't combine Rapid Shot with Flurry. It's explicitly stated in the Zen Archer rules.
Archers are always rather good in Pathfinder: being able to take full-attack actions more frequently due to not having to maneuver, laying down serious damage, and staying out of harm's reach. Fight in closed, twisting corridors with creatures that grapple, sunder, disarm, or otherwise mess him up. Opposing monks with Deflect Arrows will also lessen his damage output.
@ubiquitous: he's just doing a flurry (2 attacks) + 1 ki attack, for a total of 3. Completely normal.
@Hobgoblin Shogun: the question is really how much damage does the monk actually put on the table, and how well will it scale up? But... a zen archer is one of the few acknowledged strong archetypes/builds. Similar to bow-specialist fighters they get to do some pretty obscene bow damage later on - and still have most of the classic monk special abilities.
How to deal with him? His AC is relatively low when not using Snake Style - since Snake Style only applies to 1 attack, just attack with more things. Likewise, an effective approach is to steal/disarm/sunder his bow.
Also, the ki powers are very cool and all - but ki is a very limited resource. In my games I routinely save my ki just for the +4 dodge AC; which generally helps me more than an extra attack or running around faster or jumping further. Just have enough encounters for his ki to run out - or for him to save ki in case there is more after that.
I just started a Dragon Empires game with lv 5 PCs. One guy made a Monkey Monk (Varana Zen Archer to be exact).
He's got an Wis of 23 (Started 18 +2 Racial +2 Headband +1 lv 4), giving him a ki pool of 8.
He's also taken Snake Style (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/combat-feats/snake-style-combat-style) and has a gross Sense Motive Check of +18 (5 Ranks + 6 Wis + 3 Trained + 2 Snake Style + 2 Alertness). Normally his AC is 19, but with Snake Style, even an average roll makes his AC 28. Since it's an immediate action, does that mean he's only got it once a round and then back to his normal AC?
At level 5 now he can add +20 to Acro checks with 1 ki, where his check's are already wicked high. He's leaping across huge distances and running down 100ft cliffs that are supposed dangerous while the other PCs struggle.
He's basically an Exalt.
I don't even want to talk about the kind of damage he does with with 3 attacks, burning 1 ki to get another top tiered attack on a flurry. Even the fighter classes only get one attack still.
I guess I could hit him with Saving Throws, but he's a Monk, so those already are ridiculous. Especially the Will save.
Anyone have experiences with this sort of thing? The first session was rather frustrating.
Snake Sytle Sense Motive as AC s only one against one attack a round. Also note that he won't be able to use Ki in his next turn as an immediate action uses up your next swift action.
I'd like to know how he is 'running down a 100 foot cliff'. At best they can ignore 30' with slow fall ability + acrobatics check. Otherwise it's not acrobatics - it's climb - and jumps can only go up to your maximum movement speed.
You can use the anti archer spell, it's called fickle winds.
Is he marginalizing the other members of the party? If so, he's overpowered.
So, how does he stack up against the other members of the party?
I just started a Dragon Empires game with lv 5 PCs. One guy made a Monkey Monk (Varana Zen Archer to be exact).
I don't even want to talk about the kind of damage he does with with 3 attacks, burning 1 ki to get another top tiered attack on a flurry. Even the fighter classes only get one attack still.
Flurry adds 1 attack. Burning Ki only boosts1 extra.
So he has 3 with flurry 8 times/day, but 2 attacks the rest.Unless DM is going easy mode with 1 battle/day, he will mostly be just two.
He has a +6 Wisdom Modifier if he has 19 AC, he has no rings of Protection or amulet of Natural armor and has 14 Dex or average Dex with one of each.
Is he using a longbow or short bow?
I'm assuming longbow: 1d8 + Str (if mighty bow) + magic is not that high damage. I'd guess not that high Str either.
So please do discuss his damage.
So he has 1 great AC/rd, then bad AC; has low damage and attacks/rd.
That Fighter? He could have better AC all the time (except that 1/rd sense motive thingy) and 1 less attacks/rd (Flurry adds a -2 hit penalty just like Rapid Shot). Heck, Fighter could have Manyshot and have 3 attacks/rd too.
Fighter AC could be 8 Full plate +3 Dex + 1 Deflection +1 NA +1 trait =24 AC, 4 less 1 /rd but better overall.
Do you want to neutralize him or see if he is legit?
A monk who has good defense against one attack a round, can jump well, and can make 3 whole attacks a turn? The horror.
Zen Archer is strong because archery is strong, and they're the least MAD monk variant, as they get WIS to Attk with a bow, but they're still going to need STR to add bonus damage with a composite bow. Unless this monk has a super STR score to go with his maxed out DEX, he's probably doing, what, 1d8+4 or 5 on each hit (assuming a 14 or 16 STR score and Deadly Aim). A 2 handing Fighter is probably doing 2d6+12 or more on each hit and is more accurate.
Snake Sytle Sense Motive as AC s only one against one attack a round. Also note that he won't be able to use Ki in his next turn as an immediate action uses up your next swift action.
I'd like to know how he is 'running down a 100 foot cliff'. At best they can ignore 30' with slow fall ability + acrobatics check. Otherwise it's not acrobatics - it's climb - and jumps can only go up to your maximum movement speed.
He's a Varna, they have a racial climb speed. While it's not accurate to say he's "running" down a cliff, it's close enough to what's going on.
Also, they're level 4, in one level wizards start casting fly and laughing at the chumps who have to climb things.
28 AC is not even that high. A level 5 fighter can easily match that.
+10 : +1 Fullplate
+1 : Armour expert trait
+2 : 14 dex
+1 : Ring of deflection
----
24 AC
Add a +1 shield for another +3.
Perhaps the other characters are built poorly, and the monk looks good standing next to them?
More detail on the monk, the other PCs, and the opponents would help us a great deal.
Zen Archers are indeed pretty terrifying. They can fire against opponents at point blank without incurring AoOs, they do lots of damage on a full round action, they are mobile enough to capitalize on any environmental advantages, and they achieve a decent AC (any archer would though).
The biggest con that they suffer is how boring archers are. My turn? Full attack with ki. My turn again? Full attack with ki. You mean they're not dead yet? Yeah, full attack without ki, probably should be enough without it. They scale fine into later levels, but they don't get reality rending magics as casters would.
There are spells meant to shutdown archers like Fickle Winds, which are pretty annoying because of how little counterplay they offer. There is some though, in that the winds create a cylinder, so if the archer can get directly blow or above his target he can still shoot. That'll probably require him to fly though. Alternatively, hope that your mage will dispel the winds.
Huh. Okay, here's a cinematic image:
A zen archer fires at an opponent, to find that they have fickle winds up. On his next turn, the archer charges towards the protected enemy. Before reaching him, the monk jumps and takes a huge leap over the bad guy. While directly upside-down in mid-air, the Monk fires off his bow and sinks an arrow (or two) into the enemy. The guy falls dead while the Monk lands safely some distance down.
How would that work, mechanically?
Sounds like Shot on the Run, though you'd only get one attack.
Do keep in mind that using an immediate action for snake style restricts your next turn, as you lose your swift action (thats needed to spend ki points)
so its actually fairly difficult for him to do both every round. and by difficult I mean impossible.
In my experience, the best way to fix a monk that is causing you problems is to go get a brute squad and give the monk a thorough beating with very large sticks. He may have a great AC against one attack a round, but two or three ogres should still easily be able to work him over in a few rounds without too much trouble. With a d8 HD and not being able to pump his Con as much if he wants to be a threat, he will find his HP disappear very quickly against a heavy hitter.
An zen archer isn't meant to be standing toe to toe and can run really fast and has great acrobatics... I don't understand why this monk would be standing around these hypothetical ogres as opposed to getting away and then continuing to full attack with clustered shots.
I also don't see the huge appeal of Snake Style for a build like this even if it didn't have the action economy problems already brought up; you're not primarily standing in the front, so why bother (unless you really want to be prepared against rays)?
A level 5 Zen Archer has a speed of 40 ft if I am not mistaken, which also happens to be the base speed of ogres according to the prd. Unless the monk is always going to be fighting in a field where he has plenty of time to pepper them with arrows while they approach, the ogres can get to him and the monk can't outrun them yet. Once the gap is closed, the monk will have to spend Ki like crazy to keep the ogres off long enough to take a shot without getting clobbered.
Let's get if I can get to everyone.
One of the PCs is a Nagaji Samurai. Nothing too complicated about him. Katana, swings it, does damage.
The other PC is a Tengu Oracle (whatever the Tengu specific archetype is). He's a high Str build, but still doesn't do much beyond a few minor spells and swinging a katana around.
The Monk has a Str of 14 or 16 and a +1 Mighty Composite to Match for Str Damage. That and Deadly Aim. Since he's swinging with his Wis for Attack Rolls, so with Flurry and Ki Bump it's +10/+10/+10 each attack doing 1d8+(5or6), making him do 6-42 damage thereabouts.
The other PCs only get one attack, the Tengu definitely doesn't swing as hard or hit as often and the Monk gets in before anything really happens as the Tengu casts blur on himself and maybe gets one guy.
Some people brought up MAD, which is true. Think he has a CHA of 5 or something. He rolled once really terribly on a Diplomacy check, but it didn't effect much. I supposed I could have more dire RP situations and I often do. But this game is more of an homage to classic samurai movies. I'll see.
The Monkey's mobility is really what's the icing on the cake for me. He's got that 30 ft climb and something close to +40 (it's a little less, I don't remember what it is) Acro with the Ki Bump. Bum rushing him seems all well and good. But he's exceptionally good as getting away.
What I really don't want to happen is have all the encounters be all about the Monkey Monk and how I'm going to screw him.
Good advice though to everyone who mentioned in about the Immediate action and Swift action thing. Very good to know.
Don't forget cover! Many times I have seen an archer deemed "overpowered" only to discover that the GM is not using the rules for cover correctly, or that his monsters stand conspicuously in the open to get shot at, even when it's unnecessary.
@Kimera757
No, he doesn't have cleave. Though I've never though cleave was that good. He's Weapon Focus/Specialization Katana and Power Attack I believe.
He's a Zen Archer, which at LV 3 let's them use Wis for attack rolls.
And I do use point buy. Mine is a little high (26 pts), but since everyone uses it should be balanced. I don't mind tweaking enemies and my encounters tend to be against well prepared enemies that use the environment to their advantage.
The monk climbing a tree is exactly what he'll do. +40 Acro around, supported by that Climb speed and tail. He just jumps onto roofs or hangs from trees with his tail while raining death and the other PCs weakly swing their swords around.
And again, I don't want to make all the encounters about "how to f%@! the Monk". It's not all about him. He ain't Tony Shalhoub with a tail.
Taking notes for my next zen archer.
If it's an homage to the old Samurai movies, bamboo forests, misty mornings, dim sunsets, paper walls, cramped temples and smoky battlefields are all entirely appropriate.
Environment is a big deal. Use it, abuse it, love it. Free thematic descriptions and an edge for whoever can use it the best.
The monkey monk will probably love the idea of a bamboo forest at first- he can climb anywhere with impunity, pretty much. But getting a clear shot off can be a hideous problem, and if he does sneak up on someone close enough to rain murder from above, odds are they can slice his support out from under him, delivering him into weapon range (and making him happy he has slow fall).
Mist and soft cover will mess with him, but with how speedy and agile he is, it shouldn't lock him out entirely. In the meantime, his melee buddies don't need to worry about it in the same way.
A Monks fast movement only gets at his land speed, not any other speeds givin by race. But I'm thinkin that takin away your friends toys ain't gonna get ya anything but trouble. Don't play HIM down, play them UP. Iffin you got a tank, make him think he's the best tank ever. Let him hold off mass amounts of minions while enemy archers exchange fire with your monkey. Do . . . something for the oracle. Think what these characters would do in lord of the rings, then have them do it.
If it's an homage to the old Samurai movies, bamboo forests, misty mornings, dim sunsets, paper walls, cramped temples and smoky battlefields are all entirely appropriate.
Environment is a big deal. Use it, abuse it, love it. Free thematic descriptions and an edge for whoever can use it the best.
The monkey monk will probably love the idea of a bamboo forest at first- he can climb anywhere with impunity, pretty much. But getting a clear shot off can be a hideous problem, and if he does sneak up on someone close enough to rain murder from above, odds are they can slice his support out from under him, delivering him into weapon range (and making him happy he has slow fall).
Mist and soft cover will mess with him, but with how speedy and agile he is, it shouldn't lock him out entirely. In the meantime, his melee buddies don't need to worry about it in the same way.
Sounds neat, but welcome to Improved Precise Shot, a Zen Archer bonus feat option (and probably the best one) at level 6.
I agree with Errant's suggestion of playing the other characters up rather than playing the Monk down. Maybe introduce some annoying flying enemies for the Monk to deal with while the badass ground opponent has some protection against arrows, like the Deflect Arrows feat.
Sounds neat, but welcome to Improved Precise Shot, a Zen Archer bonus feat option (and probably the best one) at level 6.
It still isn't a cure-all. Total cover and concealment still apply, and all of these things still shorten the effective range of the archer without hampering the melee allies anywhere near so bad. Plus, good environments turn a bland fight awesome, so it's something to do anyway.
You can look at the Web or Obscuring Mist spells and power down their effects for an idea of how bamboo forests or paper and chime strewn temples might act.
Also, at level 6 the Samurai is picking up a second attack, while the Oracle is getting 3rd level spells, so they will likely step it up, too.
First OP, this monk is gimping himself with Snake Style. Aside from the issue of Snake Style being an immediate action he has another issue. Most Ki Archers will begin to use Ki Arrows to up their damage die for the Bow after this level when their unarmed die begins to exceed a d8. This ability ALSO costs a Ki and a swift, so all in all, this monk really shouldn't be using Snake Style in the long run.
No, he doesn't have cleave. Though I've never though cleave was that good. He's Weapon Focus/Specialization Katana and Power Attack I believe.
Secondly, how is the Samurai not do damage? Its sorta their thing.
With his challenge, which lasts the duration of an encounter against 1 enemy, nets him his level in damage alone(+5 if he's the same level as the monk). If he's Power Attacking, that's another +6 at this level of BAB. You said he has specialization too, so that's another +2. Assuming he has a strength bonus of 18, that's 1.5 times his STR mod for +6. The Katana has a very good crit range, and comprable weapon damage with a d8.
Aside from the number of attacks, he's attacking once a round against his challenge for 1d8 + 19(14 vs nonchallenges) a hit. I cannot see how the Samurai does less than the archer per hit. He's only going to get more powerful as his BAB increases and gets more attacks.
At 5th Level(without crits, other feats, or gear):
The Archer averages(while burning Ki), 31.5 Damage a turn. Which he can do for ~5 8 turns a day.
The Samurai averages(with his challenge), 23.5 damage a turn. Which he can do to to 2 targets consistantly a day(since he has 2 challenges).
That's really not too shabby. And next level they'll both get new attacks, but the Samurai's damage will over all rise(since every level nets him a +1 damage and he's not taking TWF penalties.
6th level:
Archer: ~42 damage a turn, assuming all hit.
Samurai: ~49 damage if both attacks hit.
8th Level:
Archer(with now an exra attack & more BAB for DA/PA): ~54.5
Samurai: ~56 Dmg
11th Level:
Archer: ~65
Samurai: ~91.5
The Samurai will slowly edge out the monk on damage if he gets his attack bonus high enough.
So here's my advice, let the monk do his thing. Let him enjoy his time in the sun. Eventually, the casters and the samurai will pass him by as they each do their own thing.
Is he marginalizing the other members of the party? If so, he's overpowered.
OR
They're weak characters.
Marginalizing other players is a problem of social etiquette, not game balance. Players should be rewarded for system mastery -- that's the entire point of playing the game in the first place. There's more than one possible reason the other players aren't performing well in comparison, if, indeed, they aren't.
But there's a practical limit to optimization. When you overshine your party members you either get kicked under the table, or draw the nerd bat from the GM.
Either way, it's not sustainable to be Superman when your hanging out with Aqualad and Gleep the wonder monkey.
Placing special obstacles for the players who have a higher level of system mastery is certainly possible. The DM has perfect control over what challenges each player faces, and there's nothing wrong or difficult about raising the bar for the more experienced players.
By contrast, limiting your more experienced players is absolutely wrong and unjustifiable. If the player doesn't get bored or frustrated, he still has little motivation to continue "playing" in a game where his decisions don't matter.
Sustainable schmainable. Don't throw inapplicable buzzwords at a complex problem as if it's all neat and tidy like that.
There's nothing wrong with outshining the rest of the party. If the newer or less capable players feel jealousy, that's a problem they should correct in themselves, not a reason for a better player to be forced to underperform. Similarly, the weaker players should be using the opportunity to learn how to be better at the game rather than whining and expecting everything be arranged to suit them.
I disagree with this so completely it's hard for me to even imagine we're playing the same game.
I don't play RPGs to get better at them. I don't play to show off how good I am at character building. I don't play to be rewarded for system mastery.
I play to role-play being a different person in a different world doing things I can't in real life. I play to live in and create stories in genres I enjoy. Sometimes I just play to hang out with my friends and bash some orcs.
I don't think building more powerful characters always leads to more enjoyable games. I don't think that optimization or system mastery are goals to aimed for, because I don't think they always lead to more fun.
I agree with this to a point. However, if your character is meant to be a consumate BA fighter, your mastery of combat(the system) is reinforcing your character.
Say you have 3 fighters. The first is John the Indomittable. He's always calm and rational, and while not the party leader, when it comes to Martial matters they always asking John what to do. He's also, REALLY hard to kill and quite capable of soloing a lot of enemies. In this instance, I'd say it's okay for John's player to optimize and make John the best fighter he can be, since it reinforces the character he wants to play.
Next you have Roger the swift. He's sort of a braggart, and everyone in the party sorta makes fun of him for being so boastful and not always being able to back it up. In combat, Roger's very fast and almost always acts first... Beyond that though, he doesn't do much damage nor is he very good at hitting. He drags the party down and is almost always a liability in combat. In this instance, Roger's probably not playing the character he wants, since he can't back up his talk in combat(unless of course he wants to be a lame braggart).
Finally we have Gordan the Lucky. Gordan's good friends with his fellow adventurer, and he strives to help each of them accomplish their goals. In combat though, he's very ineffectual without the aid of his friends. His builds a "mess" and he sorta tries to do everything. But in this instance, it's okay since his group is on level with him and ultimately he's having fun and playing the character he wants.
Point is, optimization can reinforce character concepts. It's not always needed, especially with the right group, characters like "Gordon" can get by. But that doesn't mean that characters like Roger don't need some optimization if they're underperforming, and that optimized characters like John are bad/wrong. A player's capacity to roleplay is sorta secondary to thier combat ability imo.
To be honest, things will even out over the next three levels. The oracle can be a hard to build class, but his insane daily allotment of spells will be invaluable to any party. The samurai should start dealing tons of damage as he gets some more BAB, vital magical items and some feats.
Some classes and builds peak earlier than others. An elf wizard with pumped int and the magical lineage trait sleep plus the persistent spell feat can pump out double save or suck sleeps with lvl2 slots. Color spray might be a better spell for this combo, but this character will see his trait go to waste as he levels up.
This monk won't have such a thing happening to him per se, but it just goes to show that he's closer to his peak/potential than the others at this point in time.
To be honest, things will even out over the next three levels. The oracle can be a hard to build class, but his insane daily allotment of spells will be invaluable to any party. The samurai should start dealing tons of damage as he gets some more BAB, vital magical items and some feats.
Some classes and builds peak earlier than others. An elf wizard with pumped int and the magical lineage trait sleep plus the persistent spell feat can pump out double save or suck sleeps with lvl2 slots. Color spray might be a better spell for this combo, but this character will see his trait go to waste as he levels up.
This monk won't have such a thing happening to him per se, but it just goes to show that he's closer to his peak/potential than the others at this point in time.
I agree with Krass. It just seems to be an issue of one character playing an Archer(a pretty strong option in PF no matter the class) and two other classes that havent had time to reach a level they can shine at. It will probably even out as you move forward. At this level you haven't thrown alot of creatures with DR yet (which hurts an archer more unless he has cluster shot), the enemy casters are squishy and dont have a ton of defensive spells yet, and melee have less options to get to ranged combatants. In a few levels this will change.
From what you have said so far, the other characters in the party seem underpowered more than the monk seems overpowered. The Oracle is a spontaneous caster, which means his bag of tricks is not enormous at that level and depending on archetype he won't get good until later on. Oracles tend to be support characters unless they have specific builds.
The Samurai could be a lot more powerful. He is using a single, two-handed weapon and can only make a single attack a round as a result. If he could get Haste or was using a pair of Wakazashi's instead of a single Katana, he would come close to matching the Monk in terms of attacks per round.
As others have said, archer characters have some very good things going for them, and they get them at earlier levels than other characters. Even a Fighter set up for archery would have enough feats to have Rapid Shot, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Deadly Aim, Weapon Focus and Weapon Specialization at level 5.
Using your point buy a Fighter could have 18,16,14,10,8,7
Str 16
Dex 18
+2 Dex from Human, and a +2 Dex item, so Dex 22
At 5th level assuming a +1 weapon, he would have BAB+5, +6 Dex, +1 Weapon Focus, +1 Weapon Training, -2 Rapid Shot, -2 Deadly Aim. That's two attacks at +10 for d8+9, with +1 atk/dmg within 30 feet of his target, and ignoring the penalties for firing into melee. And I'm sure I missed a few possible sources of extra attack and damage because I went through that pretty fast. Next level the Fighter also gets Manyshot and an extra attack, so 2 at his highest BAB which fire 3 arrows, and a third shot at -5. I also didn't completely cheese ALL of his mental stats down to a 7 in order to kick his strength up to an 18 for an extra point of damage.
The point is, no he's not overpowered. The point buy you gave him is overpowered and the rest of your group did not take advantage of it nearly as well as he did.
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I'm not going to go too far with this, since it leads directly to the standard optimization/roleplay flamewar.
Then why'd you start it?
Look. It's not a secret that there's more than one type of player. To rant and rave about how the game ought to be played is the very exact thing guaranteed to destroy the experience for everyone.
The goal ought to be ensure that everyone enjoys the game -- regardless of what each individual sees as the "goal" of the experience. Be it roleplay, rollplay, or more commonly, a combination of the two -- everyone should be enabled to have fun.
So when roleplayers get that churlish little pout going on about how powergamers should be arbitrarily limited just to suit the power level of whatever precious mary sue they're playing, I simply can't feel anything but rage and hatred. Go be selfish somewhere else.
If I'm at a table, I expect everyone to be included. And yes. That may mean that the powergamers get to be powergamers. Too bad. Why should you care? Your goal is roleplay, isn't it? So roleplay. His powergaming shouldn't have anything to do with how you behave. Let him have his fun in his own way, and you have your fun in your way.
There isn't a right and wrong way to play this game unless it's to assert that someone else is "doing it wrong".
***Example build info***
The point is, no he's not overpowered. The point buy you gave him is overpowered and the rest of your group did not take advantage of it nearly as well as he did.
I agree with this statement. I have a Zen Archer in my group now, and we are 5th level. He is having problem hitting due to cover rules and is probably the lowest dps in the group. He is going to have a big upside at level 6 when he gets Improved Precise shot. I think this will help him come up into line with the rest of the group.
Just to reiterate what everyone else said: He did some serious min/maxing to get a 23 WIS at level 5. The Samurai could have done the same thing wtih STR and would be close to the monk in damage and anything he challenged he would be able to surpass the monk. The Oracle is a caster, he will scale better than the other two.