Solo Monk

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I've been following a post on another board and I was inspired to do the same. So here goes, I'm now running a solo Monk.

Vassago LG Male Deep Gnome Monk of the Broken Ones 4
STR:16 DEX:20 CON:18 INT:3 WIS:16+1 CHA:1
Skills: Hide +1, Move Silently +1, Pickpocket +1, Diplomacy +3
Feats: Power Attack, Cleave
Weapons: 2-handed Greataxe, Crossbow, Fists

So far I have completed everything I could in Targos except for battling the goblin raids (wanted to wait until tonight). The only hit that I have recieved is when fighting the doppleganger. Other than that, I have been untouched by spell, trap or attack. For those interested, I inform you of my progress.

 

Be sure to utilize rings and amulets that allow you to cast the "Shield" spell in liberal quantities, otherwise your AC is going to suffer pretty badly. (There are several rings and amulets, get them all and use their charges up before resting.)

One can get up to 3 deflection from many items and monk's wouldn't want to use shield anyway. Also, the Golden Heart of <CHARNAME> provides you with Haste once you get to HOF. So, I suppose the only things you're REALLY missing from the optimal AC setup is Expertise and Barkskin. Not quite 72 AC, but should be doable.

Good luck!

 

what a coincidence, i decided to do a solo monk attempt as well. i was fantasizing about my past trek through baldurs gate 2 and Throne of bhaal as a solo monk and i just wanted to know if i can do it here too so... grrr! i stopped gaining experience in chapter 2 (fortress) because i have gotten too strong for dumb gobbys and orcs and im at a loss as to how to proceed.(didnt happen in baldurs gate) so far the only suggestion i read was to build a 2nd guy and i would start gaining again. yay, but problem is.. i would be a SOLO monk anymore. im going to tuff it out solo til i start gaining again and il have to be very cautious and hide alot (maybe even pass up a few battles) Vassago, good luck and keep everyone informed

[ November 20, 2004, 20:40: Message edited by: KahranRamsus ]

 

Kahran,
Actually, you could squat some levels, but then you'll end up worse once you take the levels. How did you build your Monk? I've found out that by tanking INT & CHA, I missed out on some small quests back in Targos. So far, I'm level 5 (playing Deep Gnome) and I have went through all of Targos and the first map of the Bridge quest. I'm still getting good experience so leveling up too fast hasn't been an issue. Cool thing is that I haven't even had to rest yet, although I did consume a healing potion after the 2nd wave in Targos and I used a flaming oil on the last wave. Those pesky goblins sure do like to huddle up when no one is around I suspect that the last two sections of the bridge is going to be tough and the fortress as well. Good thing I've been stocking up on potions. After completing the first section of the Bridge map, I went back to Targos because I finally had enough money to get the Executioner's Wife. I've noticed that my little Monk is having a hard time hitting these orcs and hopefully the +1 to attack will help.

 

it would seem that a deep gnome is the *only* way to go if you want a solo monk. i did squat early on (level 8 for me) and ive been able to at least fight monsters around me with little risk. Its fun harvesting all the loot and carting it to a nearby vendor and let the money flood in. i bought a mage armor ring (another +4 for my AC when envoked) and the executioners wife too i gave my fool the max wisdom (20) and took a blow on constitution (14) it allowed me at least 10 hp a level from which ive had 80 hps the last few hours of gameplay losing a few hundred experience on early quests is no real loss with the 4 skill points i started with, i dropped onto diplomacy in hopes of doing some early quests but only was able to do the hammer fetching and the given side quests in targos.

[ November 27, 2004, 18:17: Message edited by: KahranRamsus ]

 

**Update**

I've reached the entrance to the Goblin Fortress. I started out this phase at level 6 with 4 levels squatted. I wanted to get at least level 7 for Wholeness of Body, so I used Dale Keeper to change my xp to level up once and then used it again to return my xp back to what it was. Now, I'm level 7 with 6 squatted and almost 7 squatted (I have 131,000+ xp). I've decided I'm going to use Dale Keeper to bump myself up 2 more levels before entering the Fortress. The caves have really taken a toll on me, I've had to use a lot of potions and quite a few reloads. I'm hoping to stay at level 9 for awhile through chapter 2, but will have to see how hard the ice palace is going to be. I've done almost all of the fighting using my fists and only used my greataxe when fighting Hardened Ice Trolls (b/c u get a bonus w/ slashing attack). I've pretty much had to buff my Monk with Mirror Image, Blur and Invisibility before each fight. I've had to change my tactics on some fights which has brought about some interesting results. With my high spell resistance, when fighting the goblin camps, I would attack the wrog riders instead of the goblin sorcerers. The reason for this is because the sorcerers would cast web and that would keep some of them away and allow me to take the others out without getting swarmed. It's nice to run around (quickly, I might add) while the enemies become trapped in their own web

 

You are really in deep stuff if you plan on going to the Ice Palace with a solo monk. I know you would like to go solo, but if you do you will have a tough time.

Although, the Dale Keeper can help you with your xp problem, I hope you can find more honorable ways to level up. Try going on side quests, and using enchanted items to help you until you get to a more powerful level

 

@Dalakdan,
I'm not adding xp using Dale Keeper, I'm only using Dale Keeper to advance 1 or 2 levels instead of taking all of the levels. I advanced to level 6, then squatted 4 levels. I wanted to only go up one level not 4, so I used DK to reduce my xp so that I would only go up 1 level. Then loaded my game, advanced, saved and went back into DK and added the xp back that I reduced. My xp actually didn't change, I only changed it so that I would advance a small amount of levels instead of all the ones that I had squatted.

 

level 8 did the trick for me (level 6 was just not enough at the fortress) i was still able to gain xp from the most worthless gobbos and near infinite other thingys that pour outta holes like beetles outside oswalds ship. (i just sat there and fought fought fought til they ran dry. the warg riders and hardened ice trolls gave me some nasty bumps not to mention i could be potentially stunned by every mage type but my great axe became my primary weapon because it did more damage then my low damage fist (my strength made it near impossible to get quick kills. 18 at the time because i got 2 points for the 8 levels i did acknowledge) i carried a x-bow with me for the sole purpose of sittin in the stable under the horde fortress and shooting the 439056743845745874 things that chased me thru the caves. i had to stealth kill mages so they couldnt stun me and take advantages of bottlenecks in the winding caves. at 8th level, i was still able to take out the ice fortress (slowly, i chugged alot of potions) and completed about 4 levels in the battle square (buy all the fire potions you can get your grimmy paws on because they will be in high demand later, so many snow trolls...)
as of last week: after being stunned by EVERY SINGLE INDIGINOUS MONSTER IN UNDERDARK, ahem, i decided it was time to level up....ah, level 30..side quests are useless to me now. i knew my patience and the 49857435748673620586 times i had to reload would pay off so i celebrated by destroying malavons camp (well i didnt reload that many times but i knew i wasnt going to get by there with a lv 8 monk. stunned by mushrooms, stunned by ettercaps, stunned by drow priestesses,that #&$@%@&! mindflayer, the list went on) two final tidbits.. i didnt know that oswald leaves ya a handy dandy greater resist potion when his ship gets mended, didnt help me that much but im glad to know its there, and.. STAY AWAY FROM OOZING THINGS UNLESS YOU HAVE TONS OF FIRE CHUCKING THINGS

favorite quote when playing IWDII: "DIE ORC!"
annoying observation: i cant kill the kids at the outpost near the haunted forest, NOOOOO!
annoying observation #2: tuffest enemy, support beam... (until sherincal anyway)
annoying observation #3: reloading a game because you get trapped by TWO+ puddings and your outta fire stuffs (started before monk refuge and is a current delima in dragons eye)

 

Monk with great axe. ´Wonder why I do.

Ohh I read why now!

 

I had thought about just going up to 8 b/c you get 1D10 from fists, but at level 9 you get Improved Evasion and all of those orcs shooting arrows at you before you enter the building inside the fort is a pain in the hiney. So you stuck w/ 8 until the underdark and was able to jump straight to 30?! Quite impressive. I've been wondering if I could survive chapter 2 at level 9. I guess there's hope. I currently fight mainly with my fists, but have a greataxe, crossbow and a fire dagger of some sort as back up. I decided to hang on to the fire dagger as that would come in handy in chapter 2. Unforunately, I've had to use most of my fire potions and have cleaned oswald out. I think I'm down to 7 flaming oils and 3 of the ones that you can get from oswald (don't remember the name off hand). I've thought of switching to great sword b/c they use 2 dice, but then I'd have to spend a feat or two in order to be able to use them w/o penalties. I know that I had a human druid weilding Wandering Sky and he rocked w/ a strength of 18.

 

i think the feat slots you get when you finally level up are precious and must be spent with care. 1 monk vs all leaves you with having to make up for several different kinds of attacks used against you.(i still fall victim to charm person even though the monk bio says im immune to charm person at 20th level, whats up with that? but since im solo, everyone just sits around while my guy regenerates in front of their faces, lol) i had picked up some fire bolts to beat up slimes early on but not enough to wipe them out before multiplying a few times so i gave up on it which cost me the side quests before the monk asylum. when i finally threw down the gauntlet at those stinkin driders and leveled up, i tossed all my attribute points into strength (for obvious reasons) +2 to dex as well and spread my feats all across the board as far as bonuses to my saves. i still kept my great axe even though i had a necklace that i got at the orc fortress that casted beast claw which increases your hit/damage/speed and changes your damage from blunt to slashing where im at now, i no longer had a use for it and have a better necklace only problem was that my guy is now subject to fear and has been hit by it so take my advice and keep that collar until after the guardian in kaldahar. that beast beat the tar out of me and chased me around the block because of the fear. the boots of grounding i hoarded helped out in this fight too i think.

annoying memory of the start of my monk campaign: doing a side quest involving talking to the cat lady and tellin her son on the boat that shes ok. i yapped at the guy to tell him his ma was ok and 1 gobbo runs up and attacks. the ship was up in arms and i ran to help out to find out that i was behind one of the shipmates and got trapped on the gang plank by the captain and the other bozo. i was like, ok il let this guy kill it then...minutes passed but he only manages to put it to SLEEP!!! twenty minutes passed so, stunned in disbelief was forced to do a restart because of 1 STINKIN GOBLIN!! Arrgggghh

 

Charm, such an interesting spell when the baddies cast it. I got charmed while cleaning out the Goblin Fortress and had like 6-7 baddies standing around waiting for it to wear off. Only bad thing was that my mirror image and blur wore off before the charm did. Still, I survived and only had to use like one or two of the lesser health potions to keep me out of having to reload. To my surprise, the part inside the building in the Fortress was really easy. I guess because I managed to not get as overwhelmed by baddies like outside the building. I still think the key to winning a battle against numerous foes is picking a good spot to fight. For the most part, I kept my back against a wall to eliminate being completely surrounded. And if one of their mages casted web, I was on the move to try and thin them out more. It's easier to take out 3 foes standing next to you while the other 7 are entangled in web than to have all 10 hitting on you at once. Stunning attacks are becoming more useful too. In some of the more grossly outnumbered battles, I've used all 12 of my stunning attacks. I'm considering continuing to increase my Wisdom just for the sake of Stunning Attacks because it makes it harder for them to save against it.

Won't let me reply to my own post, so I'm appending an update here:

I've cleared out most of the first level of the Ice Palace. The hardest fight so far has been with the Ranger you run into on the way to the Ice Palace. He kept panicing my Monk and apparently I couldn't save against it. I think I ended up fighting that battle like 4 times before finally killing him. The Remorhazes were only a problem if I didn't Mirror Image and Blur myself before the fight, including the queen. Crystal golems didn't hit me either as long as I was blurred and mirrored. The Ice Golem Champions gave me some problems until I remembered that I had a Flaming Star +1 mace in my bag of holding. I've also switched to using Great Swords now that I found Winged Blight. That makes killing them Auriles easy. Now it's just a matter of 2 to 3 hits with it and they are gone. I copied down my stats to show how I've done:

Vassago Male Deep Gnome Lawfully Good Monk of the Broken Ones 9
Current XP 242567 (10 levels squatted)
STR 16 DEX 20 +1 CON 18 INT 3 WIS 18 +1 CHA 1 +1
Skills: Hide, Move Silently, Pick Pocket & Diplomacy
Feats: Deflect Arrows, Dirty Fighting, Dodge, Improved Evasion, Axe 1, Great Sword 1, Crossbow 1, Mace 1, Missle 1, Quarterstaff 1, Small Blade 1, Stunning Attack

Equipment:
Yeti Skin Cloak: +1 Cold Resistance
Winter Wolf Hat: +1 Cold Resistance +1 CHA
Lucky Knucky: +1 to all saving throws
Sash of the Black Raven: +1 Attack Bonus to all attacks & Immunity to Confusion & Feeblemind
Chameleon Ring of Dexterity: +1 to hide, +1 DEX
Ring of the Wise: +1 WIS
Periapt of Wound Closure: Increased regeneration rate
Witherbranch Boots: Immune to Entangle

Weapons:
Winged Blight (Two-handed Great Sword)
Damage: 2d6 +1
Attack Bonus: +1
Enchantment: +1
Damage Type: Slashing
Special:
Bane: +3 Attack Bonus vs Humans
+2D6+3 Damamge Bonus vs Humans

Flaming Star +1 (One-handed Mace)
Damage: 1D8 +1
Attack Bonus: +1
Enchantment: +1
Damage Type: Bludgeoning
Special: Flame +1D6 Fire

Heavy Crossbow +1
Damage: +3
Attack Bonus +3
Bolt +1 (1D8+1, AB +1, E +1)
Bolt +2 (1D8+2, AB +2, E +2)
Sparking Bolts +1 (1D8, AB +1, E +1, Shock +1D6 Electrical)

I've also got Gauntlets of Weapon Skill (+1 Attack Bonus), but I prefer to have the Periapt of Wound Closure equipped for now.

[ December 06, 2004, 16:09: Message edited by: Vassago ]

 

i opted for the ring of regeneration so i could wear the gauntlets and carried that damn periapt with me forever hoping to find a buyer for it. (its worth 2k) failing to do so, i tossed it when i was getting so much loot i got tired of looking at it. i guzzled a great deal of all my healing potions and im sure il run into more before i get to the final dungeon. i had held off playin for a bit so i could spank the tar out of some terrorists in socom, and move a friends stuff around his house so he can have some remodeling done. il have to get back to ye with my guys current stats and armaments.

favorite monk pastime: killing jon irenicus with a maxed out monk before he could even throw up his defenses...BOOYA (BGII)

worst monk pastime: falling victim to finger of death if it is cast before i get the kill vs demi lich. Darn you lich!!(BGII)

 

does the feat cleave work for monks? because fists aren't counted as melee weapons (at least I think so)

 

Yes, Cleave and greater cleave work for monks.

As an update of my progress, I have completed the Fell Woods. My Monk is now level 12 with 11 levels squatted (350,000+ xp). I'm wondering if maybe I can get him up to 30 before the end of the game. Of course in order to do that I need 150,000+ xp.

 

cleave works for monks? how come?

 

Why not?
Cleave only allows you an extra attack against an enemy if you dont have to reach for one. As such anyone fighting in melee can Cleave so long as they are surrounded.

Hey Vassago!
I already had a Human Barbarian[10]/BattleGaurd of Tempus[8] with 2 squatted levels at the fell woods.
Along with a DeepGnome with 7 levels taken and 9 squatted.
And an Aasimar Pally[3] with 12 levels to be taken.

Soloing aint that useful in IWD2 I guess. But tougher, eh?

 

@Shrikant,
There has been times where it has been tough. Unforunately I haven't had a chance to play lately. I just finished building my new computer and have been too busy playing Medal of Honor Pacific Assult. I'm planning on picking back up on my game sometime this week though. I think I'm going to take all of my squatted levels and just tear through what's left. Just imagine, a level 24 Monk in the Fell Woods. I can probably go back to BS and finish it off as well. Since you can only get to level 30, it seems kind of pointless to continue level squatting. I'll probably keep a save before I level just in case I want to go back and see how quickly I squat up to the remaining 6 levels.

 

well soloing IWD2 is really difficult i wish you good luck,you will need it