any value in monk lvls for cleric?

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Running a 4person party, each char filling multiple roles.

I user the Cleric for Summoning, some damage spells (Talos), after battle healing, but also as a backup melee fighter.

She has a Bastard sword and the blocking dagger - can't recall the name but is +3AC. With a wisdom of 22, I'm wondering if 2 lvls in Monk might make sense, to buff up her AC as well as get deflect, stunning blow, plus maybe some monk special items.

Debated adding a level of ranger as well, to get the ambi + 2weapon skills on top.

Any thoughts?

 

The monk bonus to AC only works if you aren't wearing armor. But that is fine, because you can still wear a robe and/or get the sorcerer to cast Mage Armor on you.

You also get +2 to all saves and Evasion.

So it seems a decent idea if you aren't worried about exp penalties.

 

Monk is sometimes a good idea for a cleric but usually if it is one of those rare armour-less clerics. GIven that clerics tend to have low dexterity this usually makes it a bit tricky to go without armour but you can make it work.

 

It is only worth it if your AC bonus WIS and DEX stack is higher than the Armour AC + max DEX bonus (that is if you get the best armours in the game it doesn't really make sense).
You only need one level of Monk to get Evasion (a great perk!) and be able to use Monk only items.
IMHO two levels are not worth the trouble.
If your character is human you can take one level of Ranger (for the feat -a pity you can't choose "humans" as racial enemy in IWD2) and one level of Monk and the rest as Cleric without any penalties.
Don't mix in too many classes (I used to do this) as it is detrimental to the efficiency of your character (that's especially true about spellcasters).

 

If you're wearing the "best" armors in the game you probably lose Evasion, since it requires light armor or less.

You should add 4 to the "armorless" calculation, because Mage Armor lasts one hour per caster level, so it will take almost nothing from the mage to cast it on him.

 

@JT: If you don't take a Monk level you won't care about Evasion anyway and it depends on your DEX stat. You can add Mage Armour that's true. Barkskin too (doesn't last that much though).

The point I tried to make is that taking a level may sound like a good idea, adding versatility to a character build but it has drawbacks since it will take the character behind in his/her spellcasting progression (spell levels and effects).

 

There are so many party slots in this game that you could easily try BOTH types of characters in the same party and see how they compared!

 

It depends on the way you play the game, whether your Cleric is going to be a spellcaster and buffer or a frontliner. I like my meatshields to have Evasion so that my casters don't have to worry too much when they cast area spells.
Two different options which are both viable.
The problem is that true power = magic. A Monk or Ranger level is not going to make a spellcaster better (Paladin would be a better choice -especially for a Sorcerer- in order to get better saves).

 

Monk[1] gives you +2 to all saves. That and the ability to use a few Monk only items (you will find a pretty good one for sale in Targos itself) are the only reasons to take a Monk level for a Cleric.

Taking one non-cleric level won't hurt you too much. Unless your Cleric is a Drow.

 

For the exp penalty, my understanding is that it only kicks in on pure humans if you take more than 2 levels in your non primary class.

Since my party is only 4 people, the cleric is my 'utility infielder' as it were. She does summons before battles, heals after, and does melee or lightning spells during battle.

I jacked around a bit with Dale Keeper to see how it looks, and with bracers +4 (chap3), ring protect +2, and her 22WIS, her AC get far better than anyone else in the party, around a 24 at start of Chap4.

 

If your Cleric is Human or a Female Drow, I think adding 3 levels of Monk is great (so you get the bonus to speed as well). I would not do this until after reaching level 20 though, since it will seriously hurt your spellcasting abilities.

If you're already using a bastard sword and the blocking dagger, I hope you already took the two weapon fighting and ambidexterity feats, making the ranger class kinda pointless!

BTW, wearing anything in the armor slot, even a robe, will negate the monk AC bonus.

 

Thats incorrect. You get penalties to XP depending on how many classes are more than 1 level away from each other (favoured classes are ignored).
A Human Monk[1]/Ranger[1]/Fighter[2]/Paladin[2]/Cleric[x] won't get any XP penalties. Cleric is ignored and the rest are all +/-1 of each other.
Human Monk[1]/Ranger[1]/Fighter[2]/Paladin[3]/Cleric[x] gets 20% XP penalty since Pally is +2 away from Monk and Ranger.
Human Monk[1]/Ranger[1]/Fighter[4]/Paladin[3]/Cleric[x] gets 40% XP penalty since Monk & Ranger are +2 or more away from Fighter & Paladin.

 

You've got to be careful because certain orders have some multiclass restrictions meaning that if you take a level in a class other than the one which is allowed you will not be able to get extra levels in your Paladin or Monk class.
For instance a Paladin of Helm can gain levels in Fighter without losing the ability to level up as a Paladin, a Paladin of Mystra can become a wizard, etc. This is important when you want more than one level as Paladin or Monk.

 

I wouldn't add another class before the cleric has reached level 20 because the gain in spell slots and spell duration and effects is just too useful.

Exeption: If you want to add a paladin level do it at the first level up at chapter5.

You should tell your cleric's stats since it is hard to give good advice without knowing them.

 

Cleric -

Akasha StormMistress
Race = Human
Align = LawfulEvil

effective lvl13
Cleric (talos) - lvl11
Monk (dark order) - lvl2

Str = 16
Dex = 13 (14 with item)
Con = 18
Int = 08
Wis = 22
Cha = 03

Currently dual wielding
* Bastard's Son
* Sulo's Hook
(+9 and +3 without the Ambi or Dual Wield feat!)

AC = 26

 

Well, at least you will never be able to turn undead...

 

turn undead pretty regularly, actually.
Not sure why that happens, if CHA is supposed to govern it?

In the ice temple, she "turn"ed (converted) many of the shadows in the burial room, and when I put her in the Battle Squares, she turned every one that came at her.

Given the infrequency of undead in the game, and the content I saw on boards about how Turning sucked, I figured was an easy decision to buff up her melee abilities over turning.

 

Well the CHA stat should have affected quite drastically how many undeads you could affect with each turn undead. So i guess they forgot to add that to the game then. buggy those 3-0 rules in this game at times