Gestalt Unchained Monk / Kineticist (build advice)

[Rylar]

Trying to figure out how to build this. I know I want high AC especially touch. Earth element is top of my options followed by air (not set though).

Stat array 18-13

I'm thinking high con/wis/dex/str or Dex/Con/Wis/Str.... Also unsure if I should put my +2 into the 18, 17, or 16. At level 4 if I put it in the 16 that will give me 3 18's. If I put it in the 17 or 18 that gives me 20,18,16.

Not sure what forms or other talents he wants at this point. Not sure what feats to pick. I know I want a large part of what he does to be fighting with his fist, but I also want a range attack when I need it. I also want to incorporate as many elements as possible over time. Fire will probably be incorporated via monk abilities.

[Phntm888]

A level 1 Gestalt Unchained Monk/Kineticist, hmm?

I think you would want to do something like this:

Dwarf Kineticist 1/Unchained Monk 1

Str 15
Dex 18
Con 17 -> 19
Int 14
Wis 16 -> 18
Cha 13 -> 11

Feats: Improved Unarmed Strike, Stunning Fist (DC 14), Dodge (Monk bonus), Weapon Finesse

HP: 14
Regular AC 19, touch AC 19, flat-footed AC 14, plus the Earth Defense talent gives you DR/-.

+5 to hit with your earth blast and your unarmed strike, which does 1d6+2 damage.

The Dwarven Kineticist favored class bonus benefits the damage on you Kinetic Blast, making Dwarf a solid - and thematic - racial choice

That something like you were looking for?

EDIT: For a Kineticist, Constitution pretty much has to be your highest ability score, since that governs the amount of Burn you have. This build gives you 7 points of Burn at level 1. That only increases with Constitution, and there's no way to mitigate Burn outside of Kineticist class features like gather power and infusion specialization.

If you want to be Human, your Charisma will be 2 higher, and your Wisdom will be 2 lower. For a Human, you can switch Constitution and Dexterity, putting the +2 in Dex instead of Con. Choose Toughness for your Human Bonus feat, since you'll probably take a bit of nonlethal damage from Burn. Gives you 17 HP.

[Rylar]

Yes. Good call on dwarf.
Do you think I should take kinetic fists? It's always felt a bit weak to me, but it's thematic.
Forgot I needed weapon finesse for UA fighting (so thanks for pointing that out).

[Phntm888]

Until you get Infusion Specialization at level 5, you won't be able to Gather Power to reduce the Burn cost and Flurry in the same round. Kinetic Fist is a weaker infusion (I'm partial to Kinetic Blade/Whip myself), but once you have Infusion specialization, it's a free extra 1d6 (2d6 at level 6) damage on your unarmed strike that applies to all of the attacks in your Flurry. The Gestalt with Unchained Monk can make better use of it than the base Kineticist, hands down.

One of the advantages you have is that the Kineticist is light on necessary feats. If you find yourself at range with any frequency, you'll want to pick up Point Blank Shot/Precise Shot, but otherwise your feat selection is wide open. If you get Kinetic Whip you'll want Combat Reflexes for the AoOs, but you've basically got all your needed feats taken care of by level 7.

You don't need Weapon Finesse for Unarmed Fighting, but since your Dex is going to be higher than your Strength anyway, you might as well get it, plus it can apply to Kinetic Blade if you go that route.

[Rylar]

"You deal an additional 1d6 points of damage per 3 dice of your kinetic blast's damage (minimum 1d6), and this damage is of the same type as your kinetic blast's damage."

This means I won't get the 2nd d6 until blast does 6d6 damage right? That's at level 11? 9d6 (3d6 fists) at 17?

Can I flurry with the whip/blade somehow?

[Phntm888]

Nope, you're right, totally misread Kinetic Fist there. You are correct that the second d6 doesn't come until level 11. That is much weaker than my misreading made it.

By RAW, you cannot flurry with the whip/blade. Since this is a Gestalt game, you may be able to talk to your GM about allowing you do so, however, it would be up to them if you could, and if the flurry with the kinetic blade/whip used your kinetic blast damage or your unarmed strike damage.

The Elemental Ascetic archetype for Kineticist gets Kinetic Fist for free at a cost of 0 burn and the ability to use it to make a flurry of blows as the monk, but the armor bonus that archetype gives is the same as the Unchained Monk, which means they won't stack, and it's costly to give up your elemental defense talent for an ability you can't use.

The Elemental Annihilator archetype for Kineticist gets Devastating Infusion, which locks your damage into 1d8+Con mod (does not increase, composite blast damage does not apply), but once you get Flurry of Devastation at level 6, you can apply the effects of Two-Weapon Fighting to Devastating Infusion, which means you might be able to use Devastating Infusion with your flurry of blows. The archetype gives up all utility wild talents and your level 1, 3, 5, and 9 infusions, however, so you're sacrificing quite a bit for that ability. Again, it would be up to your GM whether or not you can use Devastating Infusion with flurry of blows.

[Melkiador]

I'd be tempted to make a scaled fist/overwhelming soul work.