Question About Monks

[BeyondZork]

1) Do monks need to remain Lawful to continue advancing levels in that class (i.e. can there be a neutral good monk who can still level as monk)?

2) What's the issue with circle kick (is there a bug)?

3) Are there any other melee weapons besides a kama that they can use while retaining their unarmed bonuses?

Thanks!

[Ravan Seiryu]

1) Yes, they need to be Lawful to advance.

2) It used to make you aquire new target and if it was beyond your reach, you stood around doing nothing till new target was clicked. But now, you only attack those in your range. But it will still aquire new target and thus will give you trouble when trying to focus on killing one opponent.

3) No

[Sickocrow]

1) yes.

2) It's been fixed, you no longer switch targets when you circle kick. It occasionally can break your attack flow though.

3) No.

[Pathos Street]

1) Do monks need to remain Lawful to continue advancing levels in that class (i.e. can there be a neutral good monk who can still level as monk)?

Yes, you must remain lawful to continue advancing as a monk.

2) What's the issue with circle kick (is there a bug)?

IIRC, sometimes after a circle kick, the character used to cease combat and become flat-footed, or switch targets or something like that. This, to my knowledge, has been fixed. Someone please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

3) Are there any other melee weapons besides a kama that they can use while retaining their unarmed bonuses?

Not that I am aware of.

Thanks!

No prob!


edit: darn it, i never get in first

[pincushionman]

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Ha ha! Ha ha! Sometimes I love these boards, and all the addicted people that come with them.

[BeyondZork]

Thanks all

(Wonders what's so unique about a kama compared to a sicle or a dagger)

[Glofindel]

(Wonders what's so unique about a kama compared to a sicle or a dagger)

I used to wonder about this also until I saw some Masters do Kama routines.
There definatly is a difference, and a reason why it is only Kamas.

[Midknight]

There definatly is a difference, and a reason why it is only Kamas.

Actually, in the d20 rule system, monks can count daggers, sais and quarterstaves as monk weapons... but this isn't implemented in NWN due to how the engine works, supposedly.

But yes, there is a world of difference between a sickle and a kama - just look at how far back and how much more constrained the cutting edge on a sickle is compared to a kama.

[Kharkiv]

Ok, just got to reading this and I did run across something in La'Or that you can use besides a kama, its called a spade, you can get a regular spade there and also an improved spade with one rune. I'm not 100% sure that it has no negatives, but the disctription said it was used by early monks in Avlis.

Willian Patson

[BeyondZork]

Hmm, that sounds cool (spade).

No, I understand the physical difference, and I understand that if like a specific order of monks grew up for generations using only a kama in the fields to, say, gather crops, that this would be the only tool they're extremely handy with. I guess I'm wondering why the only monks that can exist in NWN are those who have extraordinary proficiency only with a kama. Couldn't there be a particular "kung-fu" type monastery that trains their monks to use a quarterstaff or something? (just wondering)

[BeyondZork]

Edit: Actually, I guess if you want your monk character to be handy with a quartertaff, well, give them weapon focus feats in it. But then why the bonus for kama at all?

[Vichan Lyonsen]

Ok, just got to reading this and I did run across something in La'Or that you can use besides a kama, its called a spade, you can get a regular spade there and also an improved spade with one rune. I'm not 100% sure that it has no negatives, but the disctription said it was used by early monks in Avlis.

Willian Patson

The only weapon you can get the monks ability with is teh kama - only because its hardcoded into the NwN engine - the only exception would be if there are any new CeP weapons based on the kama then they too would get it I believe..

So unless the spade was built from the kama model (or whatever its called) then all youve got there is a nifty description.

[Midknight]

That's correct. To be more precise, the "Base Item" line of the weapon must be 'Kama' - a different base item will not count as a monk weapon.

[korak]

I had really wanted to build a Monk that was exceptional at hand to hand combat. I had planned on making him a weapon master with focus on his hands, but for weapon master you cannot pick unarmed as a weapon of choice. I wish that rule was changed. Is that a 3.x rule or just something with NWN?

[Midknight]

Correct, that is a 3.0 rule. Monks cannot be weapon masters. In fact, in PnP, monks who multiclass lose the ability to take levels in the monk class.

The idea behind the weapon master, too, is that the character basically becomes so proficient with the weapon that it becomes an extension of his own body... hard to do when your arm is already an extension of your body.

Besides, monks are already exceptional at hand to hand unarmed combat - that's the point of the class in the first place - they're the best at fighting unarmed - it's not like fighters and barbarians can't be decent unarmed fighters either (with Improved Unarmed Strike); it's just that the monk is supposed to be the best at it already - you can't get any better, in other words.

[Aloro]

But then why the bonus for kama at all?

In 3rd edition, Monks get three special weapons - one each of blunt, piercing, and edged. Those are the nunchaku, siangham, and kama; all of these weapons do 1d6 base damage. Monks can fight with them using all their nifty Monk abilities like Flurry of Blows - so in a sense using those weapons counts as "unarmed combat". However, from 8th level on, Monks do more damage unarmed than wielding any of their special class weapons, so very few mid and high level monks use weapons at all.

In NWN, the only Monk special weapon implemented by Bioware was the kama. Don't ask me why.

- Aloro

[BeyondZork]

In NWN, the only Monk special weapon implemented by Bioware was the kama. Don't ask me why.

- Aloro

I won't and I won't question Bioware either. Surely they could never have DREAMED of a PW as deep as Avlis when they created NWN, the players and developers here could ask for SO MUCH that Bioware couldn't possibly give, who knew that their market computer game engine would become in essence a way of cyber-life for so many people (I'm not there yet! but can appreciate)?

[Nob]

Correct, that is a 3.0 rule. Monks cannot be weapon masters. In fact, in PnP, monks who multiclass lose the ability to take levels in the monk class.

Not quite accurate.

Check Sword and Fist:
"Monks who choose this path may select unarmed attacks[snip]..."

Weapon Master, Drunken Master, Red Avenger are all classes that a monk can multi-class into without the multi-classing restriction coming into play.

[Tony Wazz]

Soooo, why doesn't one of the nifty coders make a set weapons like Sais or something alse that seems right, from the base Kama, for Monks to use? Or has this been done?

[tindertwiggy]

The nifty avlis coders already have to-do lists miles long.

[dougnoel]

Soooo, why doesn't one of the nifty coders make a set weapons like Sais or something alse that seems right, from the base Kama, for Monks to use? Or has this been done?

Two reasons:

1.) Someone would have to make a new model that used the kama animations.

2.) They would do slicing damage like kamas instead of blunt damage like they should.