Hi everyone
First of all, I'm sorry for my english but it's not my mother tongue and I have not practiced it for a long time.
I've got this concept of character since a few weeks, but i don't know how to build it.
To be simple, I want to build an almost Yoda character and for that, I thought a Sensei Monk was a good choice :
Gnome middle-aged LB/LN (20pts build)
Monk Sensei/Ki Mystic/Lotus/Qinggong
FOR : 8
DEX : 14
CON : 14
INT : 12
WIS : 16
CHA : 14
Traits : Helpful and Honored Fist of the Society
The "high" CHA-stat is for the feat Bewildering Koan.
I thought taking Combat Reflexe and Bodyguard lvl 1, but I admit that i don't know how to be efficient with the feats.
I hope you can help me a little to build this character.
In advance, thank you
You're going to do so little damage in combat that enemies may not notice you're there. If you're OK with being a pure support character maybe that's not a problem, but be aware of it - once your ki & performance rounds run out the only thing you can do is aid another.
You might consider investing in a combat maneuver or the scorpion style line of feats once you get past level 1 to give you something else to do in a fight.
Are there going to be enough frontline types that a support character of this kind is a good idea?
Being a pure support character is what I search to play :D I want to control and help my allies ^^
And yeah, I search another things to do to help my party with control, etc.
It's the first character of the party right now.
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1. While I agree that Sensei fits what you're going for, I'd drop Ki Mystic & Lotus as they're both rather weak. If you want a different archetype, I'd suggest Drunken Master, as all of the temporary ki it gives you for each fight will help you power your Sensei abilities & Bewildering Koan.
2. Since you only have Charisma in order to have a decent Bluff, you could easily drop it down somewhat and take the Fast Talker trait to make Bluff a class skill. (gets you +4 total to Bluff) Skill Focus might be an eventual option.
3. Even with Helpful - aid another is usually a poor option unless your whole build is dedicated to it. (I've seen builds which give +8 or +10.) You might consider grabbing an Agile AoMF ASAP to make your damage halfway decent.
I picked Bodyguard, just to buff my mates, but I'm open to all options that fulfill what I ask.
If I don't pick Lotus, maybe the Mantis School could be interesting ?
I'm going to read the drunken Master archetype :)
Thank you
With the Sensei archetype I can transfer my Ki-power to my allies, so I don't know if giving some additional damages to my allies is better than a reroll. (Difference between Ki Mystic and Drunken Master)
If I don't pick Lotus Archetype, I keep stunning fist so maybe can I try to focus on that, with a maneuver which doesn't depend on the size ?
Allow me a little Up with this topic.
I just want more advices and/or ideas if it's possible. :D
Thank you a lot
Could you post your build when it finishes ? With the evolution that you want him to take? It's could be very nice :D
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With the Sensei archetype I can transfer my Ki-power to my allies, so I don't know if giving some additional damages to my allies is better than a reroll. (Difference between Ki Mystic and Drunken Master)
If I don't pick Lotus Archetype, I keep stunning fist so maybe can I try to focus on that, with a maneuver which doesn't depend on the size ?
As DrakeRoberts said - the Drunken Master's boost to damage is actually pretty weak. The reason to go Drunken Master is for all of the drunken ki. Even if you don't get Fast Drinker (allows you to drink booze for more ki as a swift action - but requires a Con of 18) you will start every encounter with temporary ki to power your abilities. Plus you won't ever have to burn ki on giving the entire group Barkskin! (since it's used out of combat)
In addition, while Stunning Fist is normally a bit weak since the DC isn't usually high enough, Sensei are the one archetype for whom it's solid because of their ability to have Wisdom be their primary stat rather than secondary or tertiary.
I see, how works Drunken Master with alcohol ? Fortitude test ?
Maybe take the way of the mantis, etc ?
Sensei+drunken master is my favorite build in the game. It offers so many options its not even funny. Multiclassing into ninja is a new favorite trick of mine, shadow clone or vanishing trick are just SOOOO good when you can share them.
Interesting, but it's around the 2nd level of Ninja. Is it not too late ?
No way. Being able to drink, then apply such good defensive buffs for free is amazing! 4 levels in ninja also gives you some other stuff to do outside of combaàt.
What kind of build would you advice me so ?
the big downside to drunken master is that you are no longer like yoda... mechanically it is clearly better but it will definitely change the feel of the character. that is not necessarily bad, but it is something you should consider.
When I think about a character, I start with a model, after I try to see what can be done and what can't be.
So I took all informations I can because at the end, I don't really want an exactly yoda-clone. It's more like an inspiration or a prequel to the Character I want :D
(Sorry for my english :/ )
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Also, as a gnome I'd take the Fell Magic trait. Chill Touch and Touch of Fatigue based on Wisdom is a great option to add some damage or debuffing on a high wisdom monk. And since you also have a decent CHA, take Dangerously Curious for the ability to UMD a wand of recharge innate magic to have it up as much as you want.
With the Fast Talker Trait, I can reduce my Cha to redistribute in other stats. It's better no ?
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Fast Talker only applies to bluff checks. UMD is going to be more useful, as every monk should have a wand of mage armor anyway, and its a pain having to ask another party member to activate your wand. That said, if you wanted to dump CHA and raise Int, Clever Wordplay will change one of them to int based and raise your skill points.
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Hey, the "wise old drunkard" is a trope for a reason. This might actually turn into more of a Mr. Miyagi hitting the bottle too hard. And Zui Quan (Drunken Fist) is a real fighting style with roots in both Shaolin as well as Daoist style martial arts.
It is a real fighting style - but it doesn't actually involve getting drunk. It's just a reference to the odd movements.
I have to admit, I'm a bit lost with all traits, and options I have now :
Between the ninja-dip, Cha-dump or not, etc
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I have to admit, I'm a bit lost with all traits, and options I have now :
Between the ninja-dip, Cha-dump or not, etc
All can be viable - it depends what vibe you want to go for. Though I will say - the ninja dip isn't really viable until you already have 10+ levels in Sensei (so you can affect your whole group with the ninja abilities), so I wouldn't worry about it too much right now.
If you have a fellow group member who can cast Mage Armor, I wouldn't worry about UMD myself. (since it's not PFS, you might get a Pearl of Power instead of a wand of Mage Armor anyway)
I looked at building a yoda as well, I went Sensei/Ninja only. Ninja just for the group abilities and the sneak attack to add damage. Remember you can feint (bluff check) to leave an opponent flat footed and add sneak attack damage. I would drop all other classes from your build otherwise it would water it down to much. Look at the Monkey Style feats, add wisdom to acrobatics and climb, also the Wisdom of the Flesh trait "Substitute any one Str, Dex, or Con based skill and use your Wisdom modifier instead".
@Statboy : I'm not really interesting with damage to be honnest :p
But I see why it's interesting to take Monkey Style etc
I want to go for a Sensei Gnome who can use Bewildering Koan, not really focus on damage but more on Support and maybe control
- Drunken Master has some advantages in comparison with Ki Mystic
- Dump the CHA or not, taking Fast Talker ?
If I go with a Stunning Fist focused for the control what can do when i'm going to run out of SFist ?
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If I go with a Stunning Fist focused for the control what can do when i'm going to run out of SFist ?
Not initially - but if you really don't want to focus on melee, you could jack up your Con to 18, grab the Fast Drinker feat, a Ring of Ki Mastery, and just go crazy with Scorching Ray. It's not amazing damage, but combined with your Sensei buffing you'd certainly pull your weight.
Focusing on melee is not a problem, I just want another option than using only Stunning Fist.
But Thank you, I forget the Pew-Pew Option :D