Monk

Description: Monks are versatile warriors skilled at fighting without weapons or armor. Good-aligned monks serve as protectors of the people, while evil monks make ideal spies and assassins. Though they don't cast spells, monks channel a subtle energy, called ki. This energy allows them to perform amazing feats, such as healing themselves, catching arrows in flight, and dodging blows with lightning speed. Their mundane and ki-based abilities grow with experience, granting them more power over themselves and their environment. Monks suffer unique penalties to their abilities if they wear armor, as doing so violates their rigid oaths. A monk wearing armor loses their Wisdom and level based armor class bonuses, their movement speed, and their additional unarmed attacks per round.

Alignment Restrictions: Any lawful

Hit Die: d8

Proficiencies: Armor (Robes), Weapons (Monk)

Skill Points: (Int mod * 4 at 1st level) 4 + Int mod

Class Skills: Balance, Climb, Concentration, Craft, Diplomacy, Escape Artist, Hide, Jump, Knowledge (arcana), Knowledge (religion), Listen, Move Silently, Perform, Profession, Sense Motive, Spot, Swim and Tumble.

Base Attack Bonus progression: Medium

Primary Saving Throw(s): Fortitude, Reflex, Will

Special: The monk retains his unarmed attack bonus when fighting with a kama, nunchaku, quarterstaff, sai, shuriken, and siangham. Any other weapon will only allow normal combat abilities like other classes.

When wearing armor, using a shield, or carrying a medium or heavy load, a monk loses her AC bonus, as well as her fast movement and flurry of blows abilities.

Special Abilities & Feats

 * Level 1 AC Bonus, Furry of Blows, Unarmed strike, Bonus feat (Improved Grapple or Stunning Fist)
 * Level 2 Evasion, Bonus feat (Combat Reflexes or Deflect Arrows)
 * Level 3 Still Mind
 * Level 4 Ki Strike (Magic), Slow Fall (20ft)
 * Level 5 Purity of Body
 * Level 6 Slow Fall (30ft), Bonus Feat (Improved Disarm or Improved Trip)
 * Level 7 Wholeness of Body
 * Level 8 Slow Fall (40ft)
 * Level 9 Improved Evasion
 * Level 10 Ki Strike (Lawful), Slow Fall (50ft)
 * Level 11 Diamond Body, Greater Flurry
 * Level 12 Abundant step, Slow Fall (60ft)
 * Level 13 Diamond Soul
 * Level 14 Slow Fall (70ft)
 * Level 15 Quivering Palm
 * Level 16 Ki Strike (Adamantite), Slow Fall (80ft)
 * Level 17 Timeless body, Tongue of the Sun and Moon
 * Level 18 Slow Fall (90ft)
 * Level 19 Empty Body
 * Level 20 Perfect self, Slow Fall (any distance)

Monk Bonus Feats
At 1st level, a monk may select either Improved Grapple or Stunning Fist as a bonus feat. At 2nd level, she may select either Combat Reflexes or Deflect Arrows as a bonus feat. At 6th level, she may select either Improved Disarm or Improved Trip as a bonus feat. A monk need not have any of the prerequisites normally required for these feats to select them.

Unarmed Damage, AC Bonuses and Monk Speed

 * A monk's Unarmed Base Attack Bonus (UBAB) is still affected by multiclassing. Characters may gain additional attacks by taking a higher BAB progression class (e.g. Fighter levels), or reduced attacks from taking a lower BAB progression class (e.g. Wizard levels).


 * First Unarmed Damage stat is from Medium size, and the second stats is from Small size, the third is for Large size.

Ex-Monks
A monk who becomes nonlawful cannot gain new levels as a monk but retains all monk abilities. Like a member of any other class, a monk may be a multiclass character, but multiclass monks face a special restriction. A monk who gains a new class or (if already multiclass) raises another class by a level may never again raise her monk level, though she retains all her monk abilities.

Pre-release notes

 * The skills Climb, Jump and Swim have been confirmed as not being implemented in NWN2. This will likely affect the Slow Fall which deals with drops in height.
 * Improved Grapple may be excluded as there are implementation difficulties related to animation.
 * Both aging and languages were not in NWN. If this is repeated for NWN2 it is unlikely that Timeless Body and Tongue of the Sun and Moon will be of any use and most likely not implemented.

NWN comparison

 * The Discipline and Parry skills were created by NWN and are not features of DnD 3.5. It is unlikely that they will re-appear in NWN2 as they were not considered particularly successful.
 * Changes in Damage Reduction mean that it is no longer only bypassed depending on the level of magical enchantment but by as wider range of values including materials and alignment.
 * Monks can use a wider range of weapons than NWN's kama and still retain their unarmed bonuses.

External resources

 * NWNWiki:Monk