Multi-class monk LV X/sorcerer LV1/RDD LV10, is it powerful?

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As said in the topic, I need comments on this build's strong and weak points, so that I can judge whether this is a nice multi-class or not.
Race: Human
Starting stats:

str 10
dex 16
con 14
int 10
wis 16
cha 10
Thanks in advance.

 

Some remarks:

1) Since you're going the RDD route, you're going to make a strength Monk, not a weapon Finesse Monk. So get a 14 in dex instead and raise your str to 14 too.

2) Well, this is more a warning of a bug concerning prestige classes and the human (or Half-Elf) race. Make sure your Monk levels are always higher (or maybe the same) as your RDD levels, never lower. Otherwise you'll get an XP penalty because then the RDD is your highest class and both Sorc and Monk levels will count towards your penalty.

For the rest this build looks solid. Have fun with it.

 

Prestige classes don't count when it comes to determining favored classes.

Therefore, Sorc1/RDD10/Monk X should work perfectly well.

But you should pump more points into Strength instead of Dexterity since you're going the RDD route.

 

Ok. Thanks alot!
But if you were to compare the bonus between monk and RDD, do you think the RDD's bonus are good enough to replace that of a monk's?(Example is the RDD's str bonus good enough when compared with the +5 or more of a pure monk's fist?)

 

I don't quite understand the question. What bonusses should be replaced? The Monk doesn't get any bonusses to hit or damage. They only get a bonus to bypass damage reduction, and the damage range of their fists increases, but that increase maxes out at level 16 anyways. The only thing that is a disadvantage compared to a pure Monk is less Spell resistance.

If I would take this build, I'd run up my Monk to level 21 (need to get epic with Monk for epic Ki Strike feats) then take one level of Sorc and continue as RDD until level 10 and then finish the Monk levels.

 

I think he is asking if he can skimp on otherwise necessary Monk Attributes (such as strength), knowing that he will be gaining 8 to STR from the RDD bonuses.

I would say, yes...go for it. Use your 30 point build to pump up your WIS and DEX, something that the RDD doesn't help anyway, then take 4 levels of Monk, one of Sorcerer, then RDD for the next 10. From there on out take Monk, and you should have a pretty stout Monk.

You also don't need to have 21 levels of Monk to get Epic monk feats...you just need a level 21 character and level up in monk (of course, you need to be due a feat)

You could start with a build like 12/15/12/10/16/10
and end up at

22/18/14/12/16/12 by level 20

Of course, take human to avoid penalty.

 

Well, my bad on the Ki strike. Indeed you only need epic char, not epic Monk. But on the other side you need Ki Strike +3, so you will have to wait before being able to take epic Ki Strike. If Hacken Slashs explanation is correct, I'd agree with him and put alot of points in Wis, you'll need it anyway for the Ki Strike feats. The bonus of the RDD class is enough for your str boost.

My take on stats would be:
str 14
dex 14
con 14
int 10
wis 15
cha 10

and human too. Put everything you get in Wisdom. I'm going to change my levels in function of the new information. First run your Monk up till level 16, there you get all the important bonusses for a fist-using Monk: Ki Strike +3 and the base damage of your fists maxes out at 1d20. Then get your one level of Sorc and get the ten RDD levels. Then continue as Monk.

 

I think you would also be missing out on some epic level speed increases here. If I remember correctly the monk gains an additional speed increase every three levels in the epic range. I set up a small xp boost module to test various builds and I can tell you that a level 40 monk's running speed is unreal. I will have to try a level 29 monk out to see how much the speed difference is.

Also, it seems to me that it might be better to take two bard levels instead of a sorcerer level in order to gain the use of instruments and lich lyrics. I have never played as a bard so I don't know if the lich lyrics modified song is any good but it certainly sounds so from the description.

 

Monks and Bards have alignment conflict...but if they could go together I would agree with you completely.

 

It can be done. I have never actually seen anyone try a bard-monk mix but I have seen the barbarian-dwarven defender mix that you discussed in one of the other threads. In practical terms, it pretty well requires an alignment shifter module or character editor but I personally have no problems with that as I disagree with the bard/monk/barbarian alignment rules.

 

I got inspired by this thread's sugestions and made a monk 29/sorc 1/ RDD 10.He had this stats:
Str:40
Dex:14
Con:16
Int:10
Wis:14
Cha:12

 

I prefer my monks with a bit more AC. I'd go with more Dex and, perhaps, more Wis. I'll have to try another one out.

 

Thanks for all the infos! So it seems that this multi-class is not bad after all.

 

Mine ended up with somewhat different stats. She is, perhaps, a more well-rounded character. The final stats were 30, 18, 16, 12, 16, 12. Naked as a newborn, she's got an AC of 36, does 1-20(+10) damage with a first attack bonus of about 36 (IIRC).

Bsides being immune to fire damage, she has 10 points of resistance to both acid and cold. She can pick a lock after disarming many traps without you even knowing she's there. It looks like a decent character to play.

Lately, I've been looking into the combination of Monk, Rogue, and Fighter/CoT. A stealthy character can start a fight by knocking an opponent on his backside and following up with a flurry of sneak-attack blows. It's quite effective since you can automatically perform a sneak attack on a prone opponent. An extra 5d6 of damage gets through most any damage resistance. My first build was a Monk 20 / Rogue 10 / Fighter 10. He was awesome!