Unarmed monk feats

[Sab1]

I want to make an umarmed monk but unsure of the feats to take. I will probably go the never before used 20/10 monk/rogue route.

I know weap fin, weap focus, blind fight, and imp crit. I want to take imp parry to try the new parry system.

In epic I assume epic weap spec, armor skin, epic dodge, and prowess.

Is there anything that's a must have for an unarmed monk or feats that would be nice to have?

[Pavor Nocturnus]

I want to make an umarmed monk but unsure of the feats to take. I will probably go the never before used 20/10 monk/rogue route.

I know weap fin, weap focus, blind fight, and imp crit. I want to take imp parry to try the new parry system.

In epic I assume epic weap spec, armor skin, epic dodge, and prowess.

Is there anything that's a must have for an unarmed monk or feats that would be nice to have?

Is your character going to be a human?

Also, do keep in mind that only fighters can take weapon specialization feats. I think the 'spec' in your post is just a typo, though.

I would have suggested Expertise + Improved Expertise, but seeing as you're mainly going to use Parry Mode, you may consider skipping those. However, for those high AB (N)PCs that you will not be able to hit/damage (even with the extra 5 AB from Parry Mode), Improved Expertise can still be very useful when, for example, guarding someone.

Toughness, saving throw feats (e.g., Great Fortitude) and Skill Foci feats (Parry, for example!) may fill up that space quite well, too. If Improved Parry works with Arelith's Parry System (can somebody confirm?), then pick this, maybe.

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As an alternative to your build, I would suggest 16 monk/10 rogue/4 fighter. This way, you can nab Weapon Specialization + Epic Weapon Specialization for an extra 6 damage per hit which, for a monk, is a lot. To still be able to take 10 rogue levels for Epic Dodge, you'd have to keep it at 4 fighter levels, meaning you will not be able to have that extra attack per round (4th fighter level needs to be taken in epic), but I think it is still definitely worth it. Taking all 4 fighter levels in epic even grants you another epic bonus feat, which may be spent on Epic Prowess, for example. The 16 monk levels still give you the highest damage from monk possible, 1d20.

"But what about the damage reduction, mind immunity and glowing eyes?"

Well, the damage reduction is worthless, I can tell you. It merely grants resistance against unenchanted weapons, which only low-level enemies have. As an epic monk, you would be able to easily beat those, with or without the damage reduction.

The mind immunity you can fix by popping a clarity potion (it is that easy), and if you want a high will save anyway, you may even consider taking Iron Will (as you may have room left for one feat, as a human). Besides, a monk has high saves by themselves already, combined with a relatively high Wisdom modifier, and the Still Mind feat.

The glowing eyes, I've always thought to be disadvantageous rather than awesome, because they give away your character's alignment immediately.

If you want me to work out this build for you, shoot me a PM.

[yellowcateyes]

Is there anything that's a must have for an unarmed monk or feats that would be nice to have?

Imp. Expertise. Though you mentioned taking parry, I.E. is still good to have when you're tanking multiple enemies.

Imp. Crit is optional for you, given how marginal an improvement it makes for an unarmed fighter. If you're running short on pre-epic feats, I wouldn't think twice about dropping it.

In epic levels, see if you can fit in ESF Discipline as you're a non-STR meleer.

[Sab1]

OOPs my bad I meant weapon focus.

I have never used the parry system so anxious to see what it's like.

[Baron Saturday]

Okay, so. With parry you want your skill up to at least 60. This isn't terribly hard to do:

33 ranks + 12 equipment + 3 skill focus + 4 improved parry* + 10 epic skill focus = 62
And that doesn't even count dexterity.

Other things to keep in mind:

• No matter what, parry can only block 3 incoming attacks/rounds, one in each flurry. This means that, when attacked by multiple foes, even if they only have 1 APR, one of them could still hit if they attack at the same time. It also mean that with parry mode on, you're limited to 3 (admittedly beefed-up) APR unless you get a cleave.
• Parry works very well with the epic dodge feat, making you able to flat-out ignore up to 4 attacks/round.
• Parry CANNOT block natural 20s. However, it can potentially activate on the critical threat roll to prevent them from being critical hits.
• With careful timing, you can actually queue up special attacks during a riposte. I don't have this down reliably yet, but I have managed to do riposte stunning fists and called shots.
• Parry mode and the PDK Protector's unlimited rallying cry work very well together, giving you a way to draw aggro in a party. Since Rallying Cry is an instant feat, it can be used while in parry mode without canceling out of the mode.
• Parry is situational. It is best used by a tank in a party, or in 1v1 fights. In group fights, parry mode has the same problem as circle kick: It spreads your damage out among multiple targets.
• Parry mode and circle kick actually work quite well together, effectively giving you an extra riposte attack/round. Unfortunately, circle kick is a trap feat in EVERY OTHER SITUATION, so I don't actually recommend it.
• Take Expertise/IE anyway. Just do it. You still need to have a high AC for those times when parry mode isn't effective.

[Sab1]

Imp crit might get pushed aside then if exp, imp exp, skill focus, and epic skill focus are recommended.

[Astral]

Imp crit might get pushed aside then if exp, imp exp, skill focus, and epic skill focus are recommended.

I would replace Skill Focus: Parry for imp crit, most definitely. It worth losing 3 parry ranks for effectively doubling your chance to enter crit opportunity (meaning rolling threat roll). I know imp expertise is very useful for unarmed monks because in some situations you'd rather just hit the ac button when tanking multiple foes at once instead of using parry. The build route is 3 rogue, 16 monk, 7 rogue, 4 monk. have fun, this is my first build to make it to epics on arelith so many years ago and I absolutely loved it.

[Lorkas]

I have a level 30 parry character. It's good at low levels, but at mid levels and up, IE>Parry by far for survivability, even 1-on-1 with most of the mobs. Even having already committed 33 ranks to it, I still prefer IE.

You can get to the point where you can block anything from basically any PC and most NPCs in Arelith, aside from natural 20s and attacks above 3-per-round. The big trouble (aside from fighting more than 1-on-1 and the fact that everything that will melee you gets at least 4 attacks per round) is that when you have parry mode on, you lose the 10 AC you could've gotten from IE, and you kill much more slowly since you're getting a maximum of 3 (4 with circle kick?) attacks per round as opposed to your full monk UBAB attack schedule. Killing more slowly means more opportunities for them to deal damage to you. Against the vast majority of encounters above level 13-15 or so, IE is the flat out superior defensive combat mode.

[Astral]

Circle kick?

Never. Ever.

[Lorkas]

Circle kick?

Never. Ever.

I mentioned it only because of the recent thread suggesting that someone was planning to take it on a parry character. Otherwise, yea, it's not worth even considering.

[Baron Saturday]

Parry mode and circle kick actually work quite well together, effectively giving you an extra riposte attack/round. Unfortunately, circle kick is a trap feat in EVERY OTHER SITUATION, so I don't actually recommend it.

Seriously, don't take circle kick. That was a bit of mechanical trivia, NOT a recommendation. Circle kick will make your character demonstrably worse.

[Astral]

Parry mode and circle kick actually work quite well together, effectively giving you an extra riposte attack/round. Unfortunately, circle kick is a trap feat in EVERY OTHER SITUATION, so I don't actually recommend it.

Seriously, don't take circle kick. That was a bit of mechanical trivia, NOT a recommendation. Circle kick will make your character demonstrably worse.

Wait really?

So with circle kick and epic dodge you can effectively avoid 5 attacks per round from a single target and riposte 3, then get another aoo as a 4th attack? It's pretty insane in 1v1 duel.

[Baron Saturday]

Parry mode and circle kick actually work quite well together, effectively giving you an extra riposte attack/round. Unfortunately, circle kick is a trap feat in EVERY OTHER SITUATION, so I don't actually recommend it.

Seriously, don't take circle kick. That was a bit of mechanical trivia, NOT a recommendation. Circle kick will make your character demonstrably worse.

Wait really?

So with circle kick and epic dodge you can effectively avoid 5 attacks per round from a single target and riposte 3, then get another aoo as a 4th attack? It's pretty insane in 1v1 duel.

Hah, I wish! No, to clarify: With circle kick you still only get to parry 3 attacks/round, and circle kick itself only functions if you're fighting multiple opponent's in melee. So you'd parry, riposte, and if that riposte hits, then you get another riposte against a nearby enemy who isn't the enemy you parried. You don't get another parry, just another attack with the riposte ab and damage buff.

[Barradoor]

r1: Expertise, Improved Expertise
r3: Weapon Finesse
m6: Weapon Focus: Unarmed Strike
r9: Blind Fight
m12: Unarmed Strike Critical
m15: Improved Parry
m18: Toughness
r21: Armor Skin
m24: Epic Weapon Focus
m27: Epic Skill Focus: Parry
r30: Defensive Roll, Epic Dodge

Is what I did on my parry monk. It's a fun tank.

[Astral]

r1: Expertise, Improved Expertise
r3: Weapon Finesse
m6: Weapon Focus: Unarmed Strike
r9: Blind Fight
m12: Unarmed Strike Critical
m15: Improved Parry
m18: Toughness
r21: Armor Skin
m24: Epic Weapon Focus
m27: Epic Skill Focus: Parry
r30: Defensive Roll, Epic Dodge

Is what I did on my parry monk. It's a fun tank.

You missed epic skill focus: discipline there. I'd recommend switching epic parry for epic discipline, since by the time you're lvl 27 the parry skill has a very diminished return.