need some help with D&D!!!

[Nigh Invulnerable]

Hey guys - 4E is okay. Not... you know, great or anything, but okay.

Of course, 3.5 is better.

And Pathfinder is better than 3.5

So... why not convince your DM to run a Pathfinder game instead? ^^

I second the Pathfinder advice. Instead of every class having identical power progressions and X+Y HP per level (thanks, 4th edition), Pathfinder gives each class a unique power set and progression. Also, PF takes the great things from 3.5 and mixes in a few changes that 4th ed implemented, such as blending skills like Hide and Move Silent into a single Stealth skill. One final thing I love about PF is that going all the way to 20th level in a single core class is actually worth it now, as most classes have some sort of awesome capstone power at said level.

 

[A Gent of Villainous Intent]

*Sigh*

First off, to the OP: http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/25065021/No_Paper_Tigers%21%21%21%21:_The_Monk_Handbook

Boom. Anything you need to know about Monks is right there.

Second: 4e is pretty good, especially for people who say "Screw that" to magic and prefer whumping things with a Warhammer.

 

[Danceofmasks]

Monk handbook is a nice read, but it sort of requires having the books (or rules compendium, if you're a ddi suscriber) handy for cross referencing.

Eh, equipment is one of the most critical factors when making a 4e character.
If people have been leveling their toons from scratch, at level 5 they should have a couple of level 6+ items.

If that's not cool, just prioritise: weapon/implement slot, armour slot, neck slot.
Monks run into a bit of a problem (a tiny one) in that their basic attacks are weapon attacks, whilst all their powers are implement attacks.
The repercussion is in feats, which will generally not buff both.

Having said all that, I'd recommend a stone fist build for someone not familiar with 4e, 'cos it's focused on hitting harder rather than tactical positioning and inflicting status effects.

All your monk powers are based off dex, which determines your hitroll, damroll, AC, and Reflex, so I'd recommend putting as much as you can into dex.

Now, stat-wise, half-orcs are the most suitable for a stone fist build, but it may clash with your style. I'm just gonna make a human here, for extra options.

As a human, I'd go with an initial statline of (assigning +2 to dexterity):
Str 18 Con 17 Dex 20 Int 12 Wis 16 Cha 15
Put all stat bumps from leveling into str/dex. Though at level 5 having str 19 dex 21 makes no difference whatsoever, level 8 shouldn't be too far away.

Feats:
L1)
Versatile Expertise (dagger, ki focus): +1 feat bonus to attack rolls when using either
Unarmored Agility: +2 feat bonus to AC while in cloth or no armour.
L2) Implement Focus (ki focus): +1 feat bonus to implement damage rolls while using ki focus. Meaning, it won't apply to your unarmed attacks.
L4) Improved Defenses: +1 feat bonus to fortitude, reflex, and will.

Skills:
Whatever you want, actually, you have the statline to support just about any spec.
I'd personally go all ninja with Acrobatics, Athletics, Insight, Perception, Stealth.

Powers (choosing the extra level 1 at-will instead of the heroic effort power):
At wills:
L1)
Crane's Wings: D10 damroll and targets fort. The jump tech can be useful vs ground-based hazards.
Five Storms: AoE around yourself, 'cos attacking more targets = damage multiplier. Shift tech excellent for positioning
Lion's Den: Very nice for stalling (attack, then use movement tech to shift 1 away). Allows you to off-tank for a couple of rounds if the party needs to heal or solve a puzzle or whatever.

Encounters:
L1)
Drunken Monkey: I know it's more of a centered breath power, but making a weak-willed target beat up on its buddy is just too much fun.
L3)
Enduring Mountain: Off-tanking tech, giving you temporary damage resistance as well as dealing decent AoE damage.

Dailies:
L1)
Stunning Palm: An AoE is probably more effective, but well timed use of this power allows you to shrug off some crowd control as well as possibly locking down a tough opponent for awhile.
L5)
Resonating Fist: Once again, an AoE is probably better .. but if your party is happy to do the "delay until after me" thing, you can help stack a whole bunch of extra damage on a boss.

Utilities:
L2)
Grasp the Wind: Just some extra anti crowd control tech.

Insofar as equipment goes, you want:
+2 ki focus (even if it has no other features), since it will boost most of the combat rolls you make.
+2 cloth armour if possible. If not, maybe a Robe of Contingency +1.
A neck slot item. Cloak of Distortion +1 is nice.

Other items to look out for:
Iron Armbands of Power (heroic tier, L6): gives you +2 to all melee damrolls. Note that AoEs are not melee attacks, and you don't roll anything for flurry of blows (so you don't get any damroll bonuses).
+1 dagger of whatever: Just as a ranged option, 'cos magical thrown weapons return to you. Also, if you get to paragon tier, you can go for Starblade Flurry for dealing even more bonus damage, at range, every time you flurry.
Some emergency consumables, such as healing.
Magic items for your other slots, such as feet, head, hands, etc.

 

[chaosyoshimage]

I don't get this game, my brother should have bought a Player's Handbook instead of the Red Starter Box, it's horrendously confusing. He bought a Monster Manuel to, but I think we need a Dungeon's Master guide for that to be any helpful, too. All these books add to being expensive. I know this has nothing to do with the OP's problem, I just thought I'd hijack the thread with my own D&D woes...

 

[Danceofmasks]

I don't get this game, my brother should have bought a Player's Handbook instead of the Red Starter Box, it's horrendously confusing. He bought a Monster Manuel to, but I think we need a Dungeon's Master guide for that to be any helpful, too. All these books add to being expensive. I know this has nothing to do with the OP's problem, I just thought I'd hijack the thread with my own D&D woes...

To get an idea of how 4e plays, the easiest way is to just jump right into an adventure (the starter box has one I'm sure), and use pregenerated characters.
Sure, you'll have a few hiccups at first, like "what does dazed mean?" etc. but if you just have your character's powers in front of you, it's a lot less confusing.

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

Why don't you find a good DM who also runs an actually good version of D&D, and bring your friends to play with that guy?

 

[ecoho]

Monk handbook is a nice read, but it sort of requires having the books (or rules compendium, if you're a ddi suscriber) handy for cross referencing.

Eh, equipment is one of the most critical factors when making a 4e character.
If people have been leveling their toons from scratch, at level 5 they should have a couple of level 6+ items.

If that's not cool, just prioritise: weapon/implement slot, armour slot, neck slot.
Monks run into a bit of a problem (a tiny one) in that their basic attacks are weapon attacks, whilst all their powers are implement attacks.
The repercussion is in feats, which will generally not buff both.

Having said all that, I'd recommend a stone fist build for someone not familiar with 4e, 'cos it's focused on hitting harder rather than tactical positioning and inflicting status effects.

All your monk powers are based off dex, which determines your hitroll, damroll, AC, and Reflex, so I'd recommend putting as much as you can into dex.

Now, stat-wise, half-orcs are the most suitable for a stone fist build, but it may clash with your style. I'm just gonna make a human here, for extra options.

As a human, I'd go with an initial statline of (assigning +2 to dexterity):
Str 18 Con 17 Dex 20 Int 12 Wis 16 Cha 15
Put all stat bumps from leveling into str/dex. Though at level 5 having str 19 dex 21 makes no difference whatsoever, level 8 shouldn't be too far away.

Feats:
L1)
Versatile Expertise (dagger, ki focus): +1 feat bonus to attack rolls when using either
Unarmored Agility: +2 feat bonus to AC while in cloth or no armour.
L2) Implement Focus (ki focus): +1 feat bonus to implement damage rolls while using ki focus. Meaning, it won't apply to your unarmed attacks.
L4) Improved Defenses: +1 feat bonus to fortitude, reflex, and will.

Skills:
Whatever you want, actually, you have the statline to support just about any spec.
I'd personally go all ninja with Acrobatics, Athletics, Insight, Perception, Stealth.

Powers (choosing the extra level 1 at-will instead of the heroic effort power):
At wills:
L1)
Crane's Wings: D10 damroll and targets fort. The jump tech can be useful vs ground-based hazards.
Five Storms: AoE around yourself, 'cos attacking more targets = damage multiplier. Shift tech excellent for positioning
Lion's Den: Very nice for stalling (attack, then use movement tech to shift 1 away). Allows you to off-tank for a couple of rounds if the party needs to heal or solve a puzzle or whatever.

Encounters:
L1)
Drunken Monkey: I know it's more of a centered breath power, but making a weak-willed target beat up on its buddy is just too much fun.
L3)
Enduring Mountain: Off-tanking tech, giving you temporary damage resistance as well as dealing decent AoE damage.

Dailies:
L1)
Stunning Palm: An AoE is probably more effective, but well timed use of this power allows you to shrug off some crowd control as well as possibly locking down a tough opponent for awhile.
L5)
Resonating Fist: Once again, an AoE is probably better .. but if your party is happy to do the "delay until after me" thing, you can help stack a whole bunch of extra damage on a boss.

Utilities:
L2)
Grasp the Wind: Just some extra anti crowd control tech.

Insofar as equipment goes, you want:
+2 ki focus (even if it has no other features), since it will boost most of the combat rolls you make.
+2 cloth armour if possible. If not, maybe a Robe of Contingency +1.
A neck slot item. Cloak of Distortion +1 is nice.

Other items to look out for:
Iron Armbands of Power (heroic tier, L6): gives you +2 to all melee damrolls. Note that AoEs are not melee attacks, and you don't roll anything for flurry of blows (so you don't get any damroll bonuses).
+1 dagger of whatever: Just as a ranged option, 'cos magical thrown weapons return to you. Also, if you get to paragon tier, you can go for Starblade Flurry for dealing even more bonus damage, at range, every time you flurry.
Some emergency consumables, such as healing.
Magic items for your other slots, such as feet, head, hands, etc.

first i should probably clarify i dont know the 4.0 rules for a monk (this will be changed in op and i feel stupid for not putting it up there) i do however know how to play in 4.0 (i know 3.5 monk btw i tend to enjoy finesse to straight up beat them into the ground, so what build would suit me best?

 

[Danceofmasks]

first i should probably clarify i dont know the 4.0 rules for a monk (this will be changed in op and i feel stupid for not putting it up there) i do however know how to play in 4.0 (i know 3.5 monk btw i tend to enjoy finesse to straight up beat them into the ground, so what build would suit me best?

Hmm.
Depends a fair bit on your party, I guess.
Personally, I like stone fist anyway due to having strength. Having a decent MBA is very handy for party synergy, especially if your friends are running characters that can grant extra attacks.
Also, you'll find that since your attacks are implement-based, they miss out on proficiency bonus and usually targets reflex or fort in compensation. Some foes will have ref and/or fort on par with their AC (skirmishers usually, but some bosses too), so having that MBA can be handy for those (and you can charge for +1 hitroll).

If you want more CC, just take more powers that do what you want .. if they're referencing wisdom or constitution as a secondary stat, you'll have enough to get by regardless.

Maybe go iron soul if you envision your character as more of a weapon wielding monk, but I found that centered breath doesn't quite generate enough CC to compensate for a weaker MBA.

Since you're familiar with 4e in general, I'll just describe Monk's main mechanics:
You play powers and hit stuff, just like everyone else.
Monk powers are "full disciplines," which have an attack tech as well as a movement tech. In a single round, if you choose to use a full discipline, you get to use both its attack tech as well as its movement tech.
Flurry of blows is their damage thing. If you hit something, you can trigger flurry to dish out some extra pain. Centered breath moves stuff around, stone fist hits harder, iron soul makes prevents them from shifting. Benefits are upgraded if they were not part of the triggering attack .. so I guess monks are supposed to be ok at fighting multiple foes (I say supposed to, but their damage output is weaksauce compared to controllers spec'ed for half decent static damroll bonuses).

You're also very mobile, but that might backfire 'cos monk AC is somewhat underwhelming.

 

[Versuvius]

Your problem is that your playing 4ed.

 

[StBishop]

ok so i need to build a lvl5 monk using 4.0 rules problem is i dont know 4.0 rules that well an lets just say my DM isnt very reasonable about using 3.5 characters.(went ballistic on me for even asking...)

In defense of the DM, the systems are so different I don't see how you could use a 3.5 character in a 4.0 game.

Using 4.0? That I can't defend, but characters from different rules systems just don't mix.

Yeah I'd just roll my eyes if you asked to use a 3.5 char in a 4th ed campaign. It wouldn't even work.

Try using a Dragon Age: Origin's character in WoW. It's probably easier than the conversion from 3.5 to 4th ed.

That being said, there's no reason you can't have a 3.5 char's personality etc shifted over to a 4.0 char of the same name with similar skills using 4.0 rules and have it be the same dude.

I'll do up a lvl 5 monk and edit it in for you fix it to suit your play style.

You will need the players handbook 1 and the (which ever one has the monk in it) players handbook too (2 I think).

EDIT: Yeah the above guide is almost the best I could come up with to a tee, but more eloquently and succinctly presented. Also, it's got more specific advice for equipment so yeah.

Also, PH3 for monk, not 2.