Spoiler Warning for RotRL Chapter 1 - My Monk Experience

[Kazumetsa Raijin]

So, my first Rise of the Runelords game, and my first Pathfinder campaign, we wrapped up the first chapter in the depths of Thistletop with the defeat of a VERY wicked beast.

The experience with my Monk:
Well, I must say his damage is pretty pitiful. However, his survivability is far superior to my fellow party members.

Spoiler:

In one room, there were several incorporeal creatures(3 or 4) and they were hitting our touch AC instead of regular. It really hurt our Magus a good bit as his Dex was rather low and he didn't have much bonuses to anything else. For once my Monk was actually killing things, nearly killed all 3. The magus was struggling to hit them, and even when he did his damage suffered greatly. Mine was halved but I whittled away at them, eventually killing them. The Magus ended up taking 9 or 10 points of total strength ability damage and ended up having to get several restorations casted on him along with sleeping it off. My touch AC stayed around 25(with mage armor) the whole fight.

In the bigger room, the beast would take either 3 or 4 swings as a full round action, only twice out of the 5 rounds it actually hit me with a claw or two. I had purchased a wand of mage armor and given it to my wizard friend to cast on me at the start of potentially rough fights. Then he would cast bark skin on myself and I would use a ki point every round to add an extra +4 AC. After the first round of only using the ki point for AC I learned it was wiser to jack up my AC more with Full Defense. I took one attack doing 11 damage out of my 33 total health. My Vanaras cringed in pain as he's forgotten what being hit felt like. After going full defense, my AC was up to 37 for that fight and I kept doing it for many rounds. I was then untouchable it seemed except with a crit possibly. AC bonuses of ALL kinds stack super well with the Monk. The Wizard summoned two Earth Elementals that smacked for a continuous 24 ish damage total(or each?) every round. They also gave us flanking which helped the Magus finish the beast off.

It was only one creature, but it was a really nasty one. I 'think' it's base attack for melee was around +16. I've no idea what it's AC was at but it was certainly hard to hit for everyone.

The Magus smacked it one or two good times, the wizard and ranger pelted it, and our cleric decided to heal me after the two nasty attacks I received.

Monk's damage is pitiful, but their controlling and defenses are pretty outstanding so far. We are at level 4 currently and just shy of level 5.

Added spoiler tag. --Jessica

[Lumiere Dawnbringer]

your DM seems to be following the strategy of "Hit the Tank" when the tank is easy to ignore.

an important part of tanking, is landing a potent hit.

[CWheezy]

You have a magic weapon? I am jealous. When we did it, we had no magic, so we had to run

[Kazumetsa Raijin]

Thank you for the Spoiler Tag Jessica!! I have no idea how to add that.

@Lumiere, that is the first time he's done that. I think he was deliberately attacking me because he can never hit me otherwise in nearly all of the battles we've been through. Landing a potent hit is good and all, but surviving is much better. That Bargast(I think) could have killed any one of us in one full attack with ease. Myself and one other were standing in the 10 foot wide hallway, making it reveal itself and trying to prevent it from hitting anyone.

@CWheezy, Yep! Monk's get the Ki Strike Magic at level 4. Now all of my IUS attacks count as such. It's convenient!

[Rynjin]

Just for future reference, spoiler tags are [.spoiler][./spoiler] (without the periods).

I don't really have any input on the topic though.

[Kazumetsa Raijin]

Thanks Rynjin! I'll remember this :D

[Abadar]

Kazumetsa Raijin wrote:

I'll remember this

Uhhh... sounds menacing. Look out Raijin.

[Rynjin]

He's after my name. >.>

<.<

There can be only one!