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Baldur's Gate II
Monk Solo Guide
By Sumu the Judu
Version 1.2
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+=================+
|Table of Contents|
+=================+
1) Class Information
2) Abilities and Skills
3) Weapons, Armor and Items
4) Frequently Asked Questions
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* NOTE: The entirety of this guide is based off of version 26498, the latest *
* official version of Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal. *
*******************************************************************************
+==============================================================================
|1) Class Information |
+=========================+
Be aware that there is some wrong information about the monk floating around on
the internet, and even in the official game descriptions themselves.
The following is the "Kit Description" of the monk found within the game.
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| Advantages: |
| =========== |
| The monk can make 1 unarmed attack per round; he gains 1/2 an additional |
| attack every 3 levels. |
| As the monk increases in levels, the damage his fists inflicts does as well:|
| Level 1-2: 1-6 |
| Level 3-5: 1-8 |
| Level 6-8: 1-10 |
| Level 9-11: 1-12 |
| Level 12-14: 1-12 |
| Level 15-17: 1-20 |
| Level 18+: 1-20 |
| A monk's natural armor class gets better as he goes up in levels. His armor |
| class starts off at 9, and then decreases by 1 for every 2 levels. |
| Stunning blow, once per day for every 4 levels. All attacks in the next 6 |
| seconds force the victim to save or be stunned. |
| Monks have the Deflect Missiles ability. This gives them a -1 to their AC vs|
| missiles for every 3 levels. |
| The monk gains a +2 to save vs spells |
| A monk starts off moving at +2 move, then +1 move every 5 levels. |
| 5th level: Immunity to all diseases, and cannot be Slowed or Hasted. |
| 7th level: Lay on Hands to heal 2 hit points per level. |
| 8th level: -1 to speed factor. |
| 9th level: +1 to all saves. Immune to charm. The monk's fist is considered a|
| +1 weapon (+2 at 12th, +3 at 15th) |
| 11th level: Immune to poison. |
| 12th level: Another -1 to speed factor. Fists are considered +2 weapons. |
| 13th level: Quivering palm spell once per day. This spell gives them one |
| hand attack. If they hit an opponent, the opponent must save or die. |
| 14th level: The monk gains 3% magic resistance per level (ie 42 at 14th |
| level) |
| 15th level: Fists are considered +3 weapons |
| 20th level: Immune to non-magical weapons. |
| |
| Disadvantages: |
| ============== |
| The monk cannot wear armor |
| A monk can only use weapons available to the thief class (except 2 handed) |
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According to the Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal manual:
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| The monk's maximum level is 40. |
| The monk gains High-Level Class Abilities beginning at level 22. The monk |
| chooses from the fighter's pool of abilities. |
| The monk's magic resistance stops increasing at 78%. |
| 21st Level: +1 AC |
| 24th Level: +2 AC |
| 25th Level: His fists become +4 weapons. |
| 27th Level: +3 AC |
| 30th Level: +4 AC |
| 35th Level: +5 AC |
| 40th Level: +6 AC |
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The following information is based off of the actual game:
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| The monk uses the fighter's THAC0. The monk does NOT use the cleric's THAC0.|
| |
| The monk uses the cleric's saving throws as his base, but the monk will have|
| superior saving throws to the cleric due to his inherent bonuses. |
| |
| The monk uses the cleric's hit dice. Furthermore, the monk does not gain any|
| bonuses to his hit dice from having a constitution higher than 16. |
| |
| The maximum amount of hit points that can be healed from using Lay on Hands |
| is 40 HP. |
| |
| According to the game code, viewed through Infinity Explorer, the monk's |
| fists have a speed factor of 0, regardless of character level. |
| |
| The monk's fists have a range of 2, the same as halberds, spears and two |
| handed swords. |
| |
| The monk gains strength, NOT wisdom, from the Deck of Many Things. |
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The following are corrections to the descriptions found within the game and
manual, that have been found to be incorrect.
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| The monk actually gains High-Level Class Abilities beginning at level 20. He|
| will gain a total of 21 abilities at his maximum level of 40. |
| |
| The monk's fists become +3 weapons at level 18, not 15. He gains a bonus to |
| both damage and THAC0. |
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The progression of the monk's damage according to the Kit Description:
+-----------------------+
| Level 1-2: 1-6 |
| Level 3-5: 1-8 |
| Level 6-8: 1-10 |
| Level 9-11: 1-12 |
| Level 12-14: 1-12 |
| Level 15-17: 1-20 |
| Level 18+: 1-20 |
+-----------------------+
The actual progression of the monk's damage according to the game mechanics:
+---------------------------------------+
| Level 1-2: 1-6 (1d6) |
| Level 3-5: 1-8 (1d8) |
| Level 6-8: 1-10 (1d10) |
| Level 9-11: 2-13 (1d12+1) |
| Level 12-14: 3-14 (1d12+2) |
| Level 15-17: 3-22 (1d20+2) |
| Level 18-24: 4-23 (1d20+3) |
| Level 25+: 5-24 (1d20+4) |
+---------------------------------------+
When wearing the Gauntlets of Crushing and the Girdle of Fire Giant Strength,
the monk will do 38 maximum damage to an enemy with 0 physical resistance.
24 maximum damage from fists
10 damage from strength modification
+ 4 damage from the Gauntlets of Crushing
-----------------------------------------
38 total damage (37 damage wearing the Girdle of Frost Giant Strength)
Note: Testing was done by giving a monk the "Kai" ability using Shadow Keeper,
and then attacking an enemy with 0 physical resistance.
+==============================================================================
|2) Abilities and Skills |
+============================+
+----------+
|Attributes|
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Strength: 18 |
| Dexterity: 18 |
| Constitution: 16 |
| Intelligence: 18 |
| Wisdom: minimum |
| Charisma: minimum |
| |
| Having a high intelligence is ideal for fighting mindflayers, who |
| drain your intelligence upon each successful hit. You'll have plenty |
| of left over points, so you may as well put them here. |
| |
| Wisdom is unnecessary for a monk in Baldur's Gate II, despite what it |
| may do in the official rules of Dungeons & Dragons. |
| |
| Charisma may be kept at a minimum because you can get the Ring of |
| Human Influence, which sets your charisma to 18, at the beginning of |
| Chapter 2. |
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+--------------------+
|Weapon Proficiencies|
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| Single Weapon Style: You may as well put your first point here, considering |
| that all of your proficiencies will be in weapons that are single-handed. |
| |
| Long Sword: When playing a solo monk you will need a source of fire or acid |
| when fighting trolls, to finish them off when they're knocked out. The Sword|
| of Flame +1 is obtained early, and is much more affordable than the Scarlet |
| Ninja-To +3, which serves the same purpose for killing trolls. If you want |
| to use the Scarlet Ninja-To then put your point into Scimitar. |
| |
| Sling: If you want to fight Kangaxx then you need to be at level 25 in order|
| to hit him with your fists. Otherwise, you will need to use a sling such as |
| the Sling of Everard +5 in order to damage him. Also, there are a handful of|
| areas where you will need a ranged weapon to kill unreachable enemies. |
| |
| Dagger: Once you obtain it, Fire Tooth +3 is a great ranged weapon that can |
| serve to finish off trolls and kill unreachable enemies. |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+-------+
|Stealth|
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| Find Traps: Don't waste a single point here. |
| |
| Move Silently: Put ALL of your points here. Move Silently affects both your |
| ability to hide in shadows and to stay hidden. Hide in Shadows only affects |
| your ability to hide in shadows. |
| |
| Hide in Shadows: Only put points here after you have maximized Move Silently|
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+--------------------------+
|High-Level Class Abilities|
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| Whirlwind: Only put a single point here to unlock Greater Whirlwind |
| |
| Hardiness: When playing a solo monk, you want to have at least 6 Hardiness. |
| In the final official version of Throne of Bhaal, Hardiness stacks with |
| itself and other sources of physical resistance. Therefore, using Hardiness |
| three times consecutively will give you 120% physical resistance, which will|
| allow physical attacks to heal you. This ability is not necessary at all in |
| Shadows of Amn, but it is pivotal in defeating certain bosses in Throne of |
| Bhaal. Hardiness is especially important for a monk due to his low health, |
| but when combined with his high magic resistance the monk will be virtually |
| invincible to all attacks, with the exception of a few, such as Imprisonment,
| Implosion, and a dragon's wing buffet. |
| |
| The official description for Hardiness: |
| +--------------------------------------------------------------------+|
| | Calling upon hidden reserves of strength during times of danger, a ||
| | warrior can use the Hardiness ability to gain 40% resistance to all||
| | forms of physical damage. The ability lasts for 1 round every 2 ||
| | levels of the warrior. ||
| +--------------------------------------------------------------------+|
| The official description for Resist Magic: |
| +--------------------------------------------------------------------+|
| | This ability allows the warrior to temporarily tap a great inner ||
| | strength and fight off the effects of malevolent magic. For 4 ||
| | rounds the warrior's magic resistance is set to 50%. This is not ||
| | cumulative with other forms of magic resistance so if the warrior ||
| | already has 50% magic resistance or greater, the ability is ||
| | useless. ||
| +--------------------------------------------------------------------+|
| As you can see, Hardiness is meant to increase physical resistance by |
| 40%; it is not meant to set physical resistance to 40%. On the other |
| hand, when it comes to Resist Magic, the magical counterpart to Hard- |
| iness, the game explicitly states that magic resistance is set to 50%.|
| |
| Greater Whirlwind: Put the rest of your points into this ability. Keep in |
| mind that Greater Whirlwind is a status-enhancing special ability, and not |
| an actual attack. It has a casting speed of 0, allowing you to cast it and |
| get off the maximum number of attacks in the same round. With effective use |
| of the game's pause function you should easily be able to attack 10 times |
| every round, consecutively, for as many Greater Whirlwinds that you have. |
| |
| Critical Strike: By itself, Critical Strike is inferior to Greater Whirlwind,
| but when used together with Improved Haste it becomes extremely deadly. |
| As the monk cannot be hasted, he cannot take advantage of the Improved Haste|
| and Critical Strike combination. On the plus side, the monk never has to |
| bother with preparations, or worry about enemies dispelling the Improved |
| Haste. Critical Strike does NOT give criticals against most bosses and |
| enemies wearing helmets; but it does guarantee a successful hit against them,
| except in the case of a critical miss. However, keep in mind that a mere |
| THAC0 of -10 is enough to consistently hit enemies such as the Demogorgon |
| who has -12 AC. Furthermore, Critical Strike does NOT grant maximum damage |
| like Kai. Therefore, the main advantage of Critical Strike (when used with |
| Improved Haste) over Greater Whirlwind is in taking out groups of weak to |
| medium enemies slightly faster than you could with Greater Whirlwind. In |
| Shadows of Amn, you rarely have to worry about your Improved Haste getting |
| dispelled, but in Throne of Bhaal the bosses dispel effects much more |
| frequently, in which case you may wish you had gone with Greater Whirlwind. |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+==============================================================================
|3) Weapons, Armor and Items |
+============================+
+---------+
|Equipment|
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Gauntlets of Crushing: You will need to side with the King in the Sahuagin |
| City in order to obtain them. There is absolutely no reason to not use this |
| powerful item. |
| |
| Pale Green Ioun Stone: Choose whichever ioun stone you prefer. |
| |
| Amulet of Power: This item is useable by monks in the final official version|
| of Throne of Bhaal. Be aware, that this item completely takes the challenge |
| out of fighting vampires and shades. |
| |
| Ring of Protection +3 |
| |
| Ring of Gaxx |
| |
| Ring of Free Action: The sole disadvantage of this ring is that the wearer |
| cannot be hasted; however, this disadvantage is a major one because Improved|
| Haste is one of the most powerful spells in the entire game. This obviously |
| does not apply to the monk, who cannot be hasted in the first place. There- |
| fore, the Ring of Free Action is an excellent item to hold onto and use when|
| facing powerful enemies that cast movement debilitating spells, until your |
| magic resistance becomes very high. The Ring of Free Action really shines in|
| Throne of Bhaal, when powerful enemies such as the Demogorgon, Sendai and |
| Melissan cast Implosion, which ignores magic resistance. The Ring of Free |
| Action will make you completely immune to the stunning effect of Implosion. |
| |
| Ring of Human Influence |
| |
| Girdle of (Hill/Frost/Fire) Giant Strength |
| |
| Boots of Avoidance / Boots of Grounding / Gargoyle Boots |
| |
| Cloak of the Sewers |
| |
| Cloak of Mirroring: Keep this thing around for when you fight elder orbs. |
| |
| Big Metal Unit: This brings the AC of a monk down to -14, and works with |
| all of the items listed above to bring his total AC down to -20. Also, it |
| provides bonuses of -3 to piercing and missile, and -4 to slashing attacks. |
| Keep in mind, that by the time you assemble this item, AC becomes much less |
| useful. |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+----------------+
|Optional Weapons|
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Ilbratha +1: This short sword allows you to cast Mirror Image once per day. |
| This weapon's ability is useful throughout the entire game. |
| |
| Sword of Flame +1: This long sword will allow you to finish off trolls. |
| |
| Scarlet Ninja-To +3: This weapon will also allow you to finish off trolls. |
| There's no reason to carry around both the Sword of Flame and the Scarlet |
| Ninja-To; you can just choose one. |
| |
| Fire Tooth +3: Once you obtain it, this dagger can replace the above two |
| weapons. |
| |
| Sling of Everard +5: Buy this weapon if you want to kill Kangaxx before you |
| you reach character level 25. |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+-----+
|Items|
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Protection from Undead Scroll: You can purchase several of these, but only |
| truly need about two for fighting demi-liches, such as Kangaxx, who cast |
| imprisonment. Beware that using this item completely takes the fight out of |
| those enemies. They would be easy anyway with the monk's magic resistance, |
| if it weren't for imprisonment. |
| |
| Protection from Magic Scroll: There are only two of these things in the game|
| as far as I know. Well, it's fortunate that you only need them against two |
| enemies. Save one for the demogorgon, and the other for the final battle |
| against Amelissan. You need one of these, against the demogorgon to become |
| immune to his Implosion attack. He should go down easily with one of these, |
| 3 stacked Hardiness, and several Greater Whirlwinds. |
| |
| Wand of Cloudkill: This item is useable by monks in the final official |
| version of Throne of Bhaal. Combined with the monk's natural immunity to |
| poison, and his ability to stealth, the wand of cloudkill becomes a potent |
| weapon, whether to save time and tedium against mobs of weaker enemies, or |
| to take down tough enemies that you otherwise wouldn't be able to at lower |
| character levels. Sell the one you find in Chapter 1 to a merchant, and buy |
| it back to completely replenish the 50 charges. |
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* NOTE: These questions and answers specifically apply to a solo-running monk *
*******************************************************************************
Q: Is the solo monk a difficult class to play until you get to level 14?
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Not at all. Use the Wand of Cloudkill. A solo monk is actually easier to |
| play than a grouped one, since he doesn't have to share experience; unlike |
| other warrior classes, the monk's performance is more correlated with his |
| experience level, rather than his equipment. When running solo, you'll find |
| yourself at level 14 in no time at all. Furthermore, you don't have to worry|
| about hurting allies while you're filling up entire dungeons full of deadly |
| cloudkill fumes. |
| |
| In the beginning of Chapter 2, your priorities should be to recharge your |
| Wand of Cloudkill, purchase the Girdle of Hill Giant Strength as soon as |
| possible, and receive the Amulet of Power from the Shadow Thieves. Consider-|
| ing that the monk doesn't need to purchase many things at all, you'll be |
| able to acquire these items rather quickly with the help of the Ring of |
| Human Influence. Running solo, you'll be gaining character levels at a |
| blazing speed, which means that you'll be getting high magic resistance in |
| no time. Once you do, there won't be a single fight in Shadows of Amn that |
| should pose a serious challenge. |
| |
| Because solo characters gain character levels so quickly, your monk will be |
| able to actually enjoy many of his abilities, such as the immunity to non- |
| magical weapons, LONG before they become redundant due to quest rewards or |
| powerful items obtained late in the game. |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Q: How should I deal with vampires?
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Don't try to finish all the quests in Chapter 2 before paying the Shadow |
| Thieves. You only need to finish a major quest or two to raise 15,000 gold. |
| Promptly go pay the Shadow Thieves, do a couple quests for them, thank them |
| for the Amulet of Power, and THEN go finish all the quests in Chapter 2. |
| With the Amulet of Power, killing vampires should be effortless. |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Q: How should I deal with mindflayers?
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| I prefer to save them for later, until I've levelled up a bit. At around 18 |
| or so and with decent equipment, you shouldn't have too many problems with |
| them. |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Q: How should I deal with dragons?
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Quivering Palm works on every dragon in Shadows of Amn as far as I know. |
| Keep in mind that after activating the ability, you're getting as many |
| chances as you have attacks per round. It's surprising to see how many |
| enemies actually fail their saving throw against this move. Just make sure |
| that you have 4 attacks per round and your THAC0 is augmented by the |
| Gauntlets of Crushing if you want to improve your chances. On a side note, |
| one time, using Quivering Palm, I got lucky with the saving throws and |
| killed 3 fire giants in a single round. I'm not claiming that Quivering Palm|
| is even a good ability, but its fun to use once in a while. |
| |
| Another way to kill dragons when you're low level is to use the Wand of |
| Cloudkill. From a distance, while your enemy is hidden by the fog of war, |
| use the Wand of Cloudkill and immediately hide in shadows; repeat as |
| necessary. |
| |
| If you're level 20 or above and have some Hardiness and Greater Whirlwinds |
| then you can finally go toe-to-toe with dragons. As a matter of fact, as |
| long as you have 3 Hardiness, you can take on any enemy, with the exception |
| of a few. The monk's fantastic magic resistance combined with 120% physical |
| resistance makes him nearly unkillable. |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Q: Is the monk's magic resistance overrated? Is the Cloak of Mirroring better?
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| The Cloak of Mirroring is a very powerful item, but it does not stop debili-|
| tating spells. Debilitating spells such as stun and maze are much deadlier |
| than the direct damage spells that the cloak negates. Some may argue that |
| saving throws take the danger out of debilitating spells, but in a solo game|
| even if you were to fail just 1 out of 10 spells, that one failure can mean |
| a game over. Maze, in particular, is the bane of many solo characters as |
| there is no saving throw at all, and is a fairly common spell. Fortunately, |
| the monk doesn't have to worry about any debilitating spell or any spell at |
| all, save for imprisonment. |
| |
| You only have to worry about imprisonment from the two demiliches in the |
| game, and against those two you can use Protection from Undead scrolls to |
| turn them into sitting ducks. |
| |
| However, even as a monk, it may be wise to hold onto the Cloak of Mirroring,|
| as it works to completely negate damage from elder orbs. |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Q: How do I deal with the Throne of Bhaal bosses?
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Many of the Throne of Bhaal bosses have 2 or more forms. Kill the first form|
| normally using a few Greater Whirlwinds. Against the second form, cast |
| Hardiness 3 times before you go on the offensive; constantly move and avoid |
| the enemy while casting 1 Hardiness per round. Once you have 120% physical |
| resistance, you can go to work on the enemy with Greater Whirlwinds. |
| |
| You didn't sell your Wand of Cloudkill, did you? Cloudkills are awesome |
| against the many forms of Sendai. You only need to use Hardiness against her|
| final form. |
| |
| Against Abazigal, you may have to use two sets of 3 Hardiness. |
| |
| Amelissan can be tough because you cannot rest to replenish your Hardiness |
| in between each bout with her. Save your Hardiness for the final two forms, |
| and use hit and run tactics while spamming cloudkills. When she is down to |
| her last two forms, you can finally use your second Protection from Magic |
| scroll (which should last for the rest of the battle), prepare 3 Hardiness, |
| then proceed to rip her to shreds with Greater Whirlwinds. |
| |
| Additionally, you may wear the Ring of Free Action against bosses that cast |
| Implosion to become immune to its stunning effect. |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
