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Hi all,
Please critique this build based on the function and description below if you enjoy it. If you don't, but you still critique, please accept MHOapologies and my thanks.
~Oli
So my fiancee and I are first time pathfinder society players, and she mentioned that she might want to go Rogue for her next character (right now she is a Halfling bard named Snowflake Buttercookie, so this new idea both scares and intrigues me).
I am trying to find a support build that will help with her TWF sneak attacks (so having high AC, reach, and of course Crushing Blow and menacing weapons), but also allow me to exert some control over the battlefield. The necessity for a wand of true strike pretty well seals the deal for a spellcaster, but there are many options I haven't yet explored. Also, I happened to max out knowledge pretty bad in the process. If there is excess cheese, please let me know a better substitute.
Professor Khash gra'Ulgir
Half-Orc Kensei/Sensei/Ki Mystic/Qinnong Monk
(or just 'Professor' for short)
Gender Female, Size Medium, Age 63 Lawful Neutral
For nearly four decades she traveled the world cataloging the behaviors and social interactions of countless humanoid and intelligent beings, ingratiating herself in local community groups, while trying to minimize her impact on what she observed. When on occasion these behaviors became aggressive however, she was forced to improvise an exit quickly, without damaging the integrity of her research--or wiping out the individuals she had documented--in the process.
Arriving at the threshold of old age, Professor Khash gra'Ulgir now seeks out a few more adventures, and an opportunity to encourage others in 'observation with minimal impact'.
2) Crushing Blow to weaken the BBEG's and inspire courage and Menacing weapon enhancements to strengthen her allies.
*She does not deal damage directly when possible, nor encourages others to begin fights.
Traits
Maestro of the Society: +3rnds bardic perform
Wisdom in the Flesh: wis to 1 skill (disable device)
Racial Traits
Orc Blood
Acute Darkvision [90ft]
City-Raised [+2 know (local), whip and longsword proficient]
Scavenger [+2 appraise and perception to find hidden things]
Skilled [+1 skill rank /lvl]
Monk Vows (at Lvl 4)
Peace
Truth
Skills
Maxed out: Perception, Disable Device, Knowledge (Local)
Remaining skill points divided out over class skills, starting with knowledges.
Favored Class Monk (+1cmb vs grapple and +1/2 stun fist /lvl)
HP d8's
AC 20's-30's with buffs/situations
FRW full progession
Str 7 +4(pt buy)
Dex 12 -2
Con 15 -7
Int 12 -2
Wis 20 -17 (+2 racial)
Cha 7 +4
20 pt buy total
1 Investigator - Alchemy, Inspiration, Trap Finding
Feat: Weapon Finesse <replaced at level 3 with Crushing Blow>
2 Sensei/Ki Mystic/Qinggong - IUS, Stunning Fist, Scorpion Style,
Advice [as bardic perform]
3 SKQ - Insightful Strike [wis to atk w/ monk wpn]
Feat: Deific Obedience (Irori) [+4 sacred bonus to all knowledge]
4 SKQ - Ki Mystic [+2 all knowledge, spend 1 Ki for +4 insight on any
check], Advice (Inspire Competence), Ki Pool (1+wis+)
5 SKQ - Ki Power (Scorching Ray) [1 Ki pt], Ki Pool(1/2mnk+wis+2)
Feat: Mantis Style
6 SKQ - Advice (Inspire Courage +2), Mystic Insight [grant ally within
30' reroll on atk or save; 2 Ki pts], Ki Power (Hydraulic Push) [replaced next level by True Strike]
7 SKQ - Mystic Wisdom [grant ally within 30' benefit of one monk
ability (extra flurry, +4 dodge, +20 speed etc, but also here, True
Strike and Scorching Ray)]
Feat: Lingering Performance
8 SKQ - Ki Power (Cloak of Storms)
9 SKQ -
Feat: SF (Knowledge - Local)
10 SKQ - Advice (Inspire Greatness)
11 SKQ -
Feat: Master of Knowledge
Thanks for reading this far! ~OIB
1. Not sure what much is the level in Investigator doing for you. Want to trapfind? You'll be much better off with 2 levels in Vanguard Slayer, you want the BAB and Studied Target has no duration, so it will be more useful and reliable than low duration extracts and low uses on Inspiration. You can go for this dip much later since you won't find Magic Traps that are really death threatening until level 5-6.
2. Scorpion Style is no good. While your Wisdom may be high, without other ways to boost your DCs, it still won't be high enough to reduce an enemy's speed dramatically. You are better off taking Mantis Style earlier to then qualify for Mantis Wisdom -- +2 to stunning fist attemps is what a flurry-less class wants.
3. Talking of which, really consider picking a small race and using Mountain-Splitting Strike -- another +2 to your stunning fist attempts is nothing to scoff at. If the small race you pick is a Gnome, you also gain access to Bewildering Koan, which is OP.
4. Skill Focus seems like a waste... even as a Bard, I never get any skill focus unless its for a versatile performance skill because it's a triple dip. Also, what is Master of Knowledge? I've never heard of that feat.
5. You can't take Acute Darkvision if you've traded off Darkvision (and I see you have the Skilled racial trait).
6. To replace the SF feat, perhaps you want to take Jawbreaker? It essentially removes a caster from the fight if you hit them twice with Stunning Fist, and it opens up a ton of possibility for cooperation.
7. At later levels, I just love the interaction with the Unblinking Flame Style and Medusa's Wrath -- you should consider retraining Mantis Style for that combo (you can pick Medusa's Wrath with your 10th level bonus feat without having any other requisites).
It's interesting looking but my opinion is you seem to be trying a little too hard to max out your ki pool. Ki powers are great but in my opinion, not great enough to justify having such low strength and dexterity scores.
Some problems I see with this build.
- Your character is going to have a hard time hitting things. A strength or dex score of at least 16 would be a good idea if you plan on her being close to the front line.
- With a strength score of 7 even if you hit something for damage the damage will be low. In an out of combat context low strength means you'll have to what the character's encumbrance very carefully and things like climbing and swimming will pretty hard.
- A whip is a bit of an awkward choice for a monk since you won't be able to flurry with it. You might want to consider finding a way to get your character a proficiency in either the double chained kama or kusarigama (unfortunately weapon finesse applies to neither of these weapons).
- In most cases it is better for a monk to have more strength than dex because it does open up more weapon options and is less feat intensive. That being said if you really have your heart set on a max/min build dex based monks are viable given that you're willing to accept that at higher levels the only thing your monk might be useful for is combat manoeuvres.
A couple things that come in handy for a dex based monk are the agile manoeuvres feat for combat manoeuvres while unarmed, amulet of mighty fists with the agile enhancement for dex to damage with unarmed strikes.
I'm not really sure how you're planning on playing character but glancing at the outline you've given I feel the character might perform a little better if you tried to get dex and wisdom closer to even. In general monks partner fairly well with rogues since their higher mobility lets them move into flanks fairly easily. I have to admit I don't know all of the monk archetypes in full detail but I would be careful to check that you haven't picked one that sacrifices fast movement.
1. His character uses Wisdom to hit. His goal is to Stunning Fist, not to damage. He is maximizing that DC while also buffing the team
2. He is a monk. He has no items of any relevant encumbrance. Perhaps rope?
3. He is taking City-Raised because, otherwise, a Half-Orc only provides some weapon familiarities that are otherwise useless. City-Raised, however, grants him +2 to Knowledge (local) which is better than anything.
4. Again, WIS to attack, stunning fist not damage, etc. He only needs DEX for initiative and REF saves, and neither is crucial.
Try get one successful Stunning Fist with a non-Sensei, non-Martial Artist build. I dare you.
I missed the wisdom to hit part. Still 7 strength is something I naturally flinch at for a monk. Even though they don't really need weapons or armor, magical items can be quite useful and they do start to add up. Plus playing past level 5 going in with few to no weapons is hard on a monk. I could be wrong but I think with the given stats a Sacred Fist would probably end up being more versatile.
Re: Stunning Fist
I saw a NPC do it... once.
Yeah, Sacred Fist is good (it can take the Guided Hand feat after level 4 or 5 with retraining), but it doesn't get half the utility Sensei and Ki Mystic can provide.
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Thank you Secret Wizard and p-sto.
I didn't know the darkvision work around had been rewritten, that would be embarrassing. Unless it was pointed out in pitch black and my character couldn't see it. ;-)
The whip was the go to CMB weapon that would allow me to aggro the BBED and also possibly deal with minions nearby, but the kursarigama you mentioned and also the kyoketsu shoge listed right next to it are monk! so they work with Insightful Strike. Will number crunch on them later.
For encumbrance and swimming I had not thought of that at all. How horrible to drown carrying only the smallest part of the loot. I think I will invest in a handy haversack early and see how many ranks I want in swim so I know I won't drown.
For movement and also initiative, I might invest in some wands off the alchemist list. Since it's PFS, I feel like they are given out like candy sometimes.
Thank you all.
Also considering putting Feather Step in place of Scorching Ray for a Ki Power. It goes better with the pacifist, peaceful side of the character.
I wouldn't rely on True Strike/Whip. You're spending time and resources to set up the trick (though it is certainly effective. If you don't care about damage, you could easily get good at a couple of maneuvers and have them work consistently.
I've played a Maneuver Master Monk (focusing on Trip and Dirty Trick) and it made for a very effective battlefield control/party enabler type (though he was Str/Wis focused, to take advantage of the free attacks you can get from trip).
Dirty Trick is great because Rogues love blinded opponents, and it works on everything (while some things can't be tripped). If it's a blind opponent, you can impose other penalties.
You can also wield a reach weapon that threatens (as the whip does not without a feat).
At the basic level my suggestion is: have a combat skill you can use all the time, without requiring resource expenditure. Perhaps I just missed it when I skimmed the build.
Mmmh... if you are willing to take so many hits to your attack prowess for better Knowledge checks, I think the best combo is taking 1 level of Lore Shaman for WIS-to-Knowledge, then the Noble Scion - Scion of Peace feat so you can take a 13 on all knowledge skills, perception, sense motive, disable device (with the trait), survival if you ever used it, and heal.
Not that shabby, and it gives you a whole new list of spells for UMD.
Also please try to convince your finacee from TWF with a Rogue. Single weapon or 2H is much better and viable.
