Weapon Questions

I am planning my next party. I have never played a monk beyond a few levels. Is it better for them to go unarmed or with some of the monk weapons? If weapons, which is best/most fun to watch it crit?

Furthermore, I typical lead evil parties and I am going to try a good one for once. What weapon types are Fragrach and Scather?

Also, Melany is best played as a druid correct?

Thanks mucho
-Ranth

 

I read the Monk thread and realize that Kamas are the best weapon for Monks.

 

I dont play ToEE with monks becose they are too far of the kind of game that presents a huge number of heavy armours and unbalanced weapons.
But I have played Oriental Adventures a lot, and I shall say somethings about then.
In the first levels, ya dont need to bore about weapons. Just let yer monk to kick and pummel anythnig in sight, with bare hands and a bad attitude. Its enough.
But at some moment, will be better to take some weapons. The main motives are: Better chance to hit. With marterwork weapons, or a magic couple of then, ya have better chances to hit. DR. Even with the amazing damage dealed with bare hands, a monk shall find some oponents that have a DR too hight to hit withou a magical weapon. A couple of MW kama works wonderfully with storm of blows - no idea if this is the name of the hability to deal a extra unarmed strike of the monks. Its a translation of the translation, actually...
But, of course, ya shall just take a amulet of might fists and never even touch a wepon with yer monk. It's totally possible.

Fragrach and Scather are both bastard swords. They are best weared by a caotic good character.

Meleny its a first level druid when she join the party. The best way of evolve her is to keep the patch of druidism. Her stats are not quite good for anything but a druid or a cleric, maybe.

 

Having never played a good party, is a pally any better than a fighter? I know he gets spells, but I am not sure if he needs them since a druid and mage would out power his spells. This is that I am thinking of my group makeup:

Pally/Fighter - Eventually Dual Wield Scather and Fragrach ( I want to kill Iuz)
Ranger - Archery (I want to see the amazing crit shots for 100+ damage that I hear about)
Mage
Monk
Druid - Melany - Healer

I kinda of want to play classes I normally dont play, like pally, druid, and monk. That being said, I dont want to suck.

 

I don't think a pally can wield fraggy and/or scather because they are chaotic swords and a pally is about being lawful. If you try, you may very well end up losing your paladinhood. I would advise against paladins anyways. I just played my first one through to level 20 and they basically kinda suck. The spells that they get in no way make up for the feats they lose by being a paladin and not a fighter.

I just played my first game through with an all hybrid party, monk, paladin, druid, bard and sorcerer. While they all do have their moments, they are hybrids, a mesh of other straight classes. In my non-professional opinion, straight classes completely rule the zoo.

My power party is 3 fighters, a cleric and a wizard. When I beat the game with them, I got a different movie at the end. It told the story of their rise to godhood and creating their own pantheon, after demolishing Iuz, Vecna, Kas and assorted others. The real circle of eight mages became their disciples and peace reigned until the end of days while everyone enjoyed paradise while not having to die. They only problem they ever faced was over population, because no one had anything else to do but beget.

 

Playing a Paladin will limit your completion of some of the side quests (ex: brothel) and all Temple faction quests. Doing them will cause your Paladin to "fall" and lose his abilities until you pay an indulgence to Terjon.

Keep away from Paladins and you can freely do all the "good" storylines, completely, without that issue.

 

IMO the best class to wield Frag or Scather has to be a straight fighter or ftr/barbarian. Obviously you don't need the BAB to hit with these weapons, but all the bonus fighter feats can be put to awesome use: maxing out Power Attack will add as many points damage to each hit as you have BAB (or 1.5 x as many if you use the sword two-handed.) Combat Expertise will increase your AC, also at the cost of a meaningless drop in BAB. Weapon Specialization adds damage to bypass monsters' DR. Weapon Focus is rather meaningless except as a means to getting specialization, unfortunately. Another fun feat to use is Improved Critical (double the critical hits = double the monster-slaying fun!) There's no way you could get all those feats without taking quite a few levels of fighter. I usually build a Barb. 3 Ftr x to get the most out of those blades.

If you manage or plan to get both, they really will work with about any class, just because they can't miss even if you aren't proficient with bastard sword. Rogues do amazing sneak attacks with them, and it's always fun to use a cleric as your "can't miss" tank. But like Necro said, a lawful character will suffer a level drop when equipping them.

 

Any character that is not chaotic good will take a 5 hp or more hit with Fragarach or Scather The swords only work to their full potential with a chaotic good character.

Unfortunately it will cause the endless AoO loop if used in the fire node or fire temple if wielded by a chaotic good character. If wielded by other alignments the AoO loop will not happen since other alignments do not get unlimited AoO attempts.

The quest in the brothel will not cause the paladin to fall. The quest in the temple will because you are serving evil. Aslo the assassination quest will cause the paladin to fall.

I have played with a paladin and he rocked! I use him to cast spells I would normally have my cleric or druid cast once the paladin levels up. I can then free up the cleric or druid to focus on putting different spells at that level. The paladin can also lay hands, smite evil and remove disease. At the third level they are immune to disease and fear spells or fear spell-like abilities. The Balor Guardian likes to use fear to great effect. But cast greater invisibility on the paladin and put him in front of the Balor with Scather or Fragarach and commence the beatdown. By that time the paladin can attack twice or thrice at a time. Make sure you get the blue elven armor with a high Dex. Have fun!
But YMMV.

 

I played, twice, a high STR & DEX halforc monk, duel wielding kamas, and he has as many kills as the rest of the party combined except a basic fighter. No, he will not do the most damage per hit, but he will he more often than a duel wielding ranger, or a sword and board fighter. I would send my fighter, barbarian, or paladin against the big boss in an encounter, but the monk, with his movement and tumbling, could get deep into a fight, avoid most damage, and take out that wizard in the back, or that group of gargoyles before they crowd the party. Or my favorite, using him as a decoy, drawing large groups to him, but away from the party for the wiz or soc to blast away with fireballs or ice storms while he evades the magic.

He may not make a small 3-4 man party, but he will always make my 6 man team. Just watching him spin and slash is like watch art, as he lays waste to everything around him.

 

Well, I have played a party entirely formed by Paladins, and shall say that its the most easy way to finish tha game. They are hard to beat, and theyr imunities are lots god agains tath boring deseases ya will get through the game. They have excelent saves and good special abilities, like Smite Evil and Turn Undead - with improved turning, they're good as any cleric to due with undeads. Lay on hands dont causes AoO, and this is very handful, too.
And try to beat that Balron with a party of fighter! Bah! But with paladins, imune to fear and with three Smite evil each - at the point ya meet the Balron - believe me, its a piece of cake!
Just one pal in the party its not soooo good, but its useful too. The aura of courage its hadfull, as lay on hands in a fighter character.
They have all the feats of a fighter? Of course not. But no fighter shall cure itself, or kill a lot of undeads with just one action. And they - the fighters - become deseased, requiring a lot of rest.

They dont deal with the evil. They destroy the evil. They dont play with whores, they punish prostituition. They dont walk along pirats, they purge piracy.

Prepare ya self to be a tyranic good bringer and just have fun!

 

I found that Pal 6 / Ftr x works well. Cure disease and 2 1st level spells. Divine Favor is helpful.

For those who want a Scather wielding Paladin, just console an alignment change to CG. You keep your abilities but cannot level up any further in Paladin, which you can't do anyway if you take fighter levels.

 

Played a bit last night, up to getting Melany, and she is worthless. You put a Scimitar and shield in her hands, with no armor, and she is allready encurmbered... does she have 8 strength?

I may roll a druid and play that way.

 

I suppose I must be patient with her. Maybe I will give her a sling, or a spear, but I hate doing that when she is proficent in scimitars.... grr.

Can druids dual wield? That would be cool (for a normal PC, not her).

 

Meleny is probably the second best NPC you can have from Hommlet (Elmo being the best, of course). I added her to a party I was playing before, and she was probably more useful than 2 of my PCs. Sure, she can't carry anything, but with the magic chest, who cares. Give her a sling to start (not a great AC so she shouldn't go into melee), but best is entangle spell right away (one of the best spells, IMO) and wild shape. Once she could wild shape in my game, I almost never had her stay as a human.