I have determined the #1 reason why D&D online will not be anywhere near as successful as WoW

[kierthos]

You can't be a monk.

Yup, even ignoring the cludgy interface, the long loading times, etc.

You can't be a monk. It's like making a Pirates of the Carribean game and not allowing pirates.

I mean, they have bards in the game. Bards. The most useless class EVER. "I sing at the dire wolf."

Yeah...

Comments

[thalionar.livejournal.com]

Bards are not useless! In the game I'm in (admittedly, a pen and paper game), There have been several times when the Bardic Inspire Courage has tipped the scales, and the diplomacy... don't forget diplomacy...Why fight your way through something when you know you're going to get your asses kicked when you can talk your way in and then fight your way out if necessary?

[thalionar.livejournal.com]

drat... I should have used my bard icon...

[kierthos.livejournal.com]

You can get farther with a kind word and a greatsword then you can with just a kind word.

[thalionar.livejournal.com]

*laugh* there is that... but monks can't use greatswords (unless they multiclass ^_^)

[egearman.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but monks are largely useless too. Read On the Origin of the PCs to see why.

[kierthos.livejournal.com]

Who to the what now? What book are you talking about?

[egearman.livejournal.com]

The 'prequel' book for Order of the Stick.

[thalionar.livejournal.com]

www.giantitp.com

BEST STRIP EVAR!!!

I need to get a copy of Origin of the PCs...

[(Anonymous)]

As someone who played a monk in a D&D 3rd. game, monks are far from useless. I hit harder than every other physical powerhouse, was harder to hit, made every reflex save that came my way, beat the living snot out of mages left and right, handled my own in every bar fight (and we had 2 dwarves), and more. Granted, I was dripping magic items, but so was everyone else. Monks rock. The inability to play them in D&D online means there is no reason to play the game.

And while bards can be useful in groups, singly they're like mages without spells, or like rogues once WoW fixes that stupid stealth glitch that lets them walk while stealthed.
-GTF

[egearman.livejournal.com]

Well, being 'cracked out' on magic items helps any character.

But let's break things down a bit.

Yes, monks get great saves, but they aren't any better evasion than rogues.

Armor class while good at first, lags behind once the party starts to get armor based magic items, and the monk is going to be third or fourth to get any kind of bracers (first is wizard, then sorcerer, then rogue). Heck, unless it's a monk specific item, the monk is rarely first to get any type of item. Bonus to wisdom? Goes to the clerics or druids. Bonus to dex? Rogue. Strength? The front-line fighters that actually wear armor.

A monk's attack progression is not great, even with flurry, since it's only one extra attack with a -2 penalty.

The special abilities for a monk are largely subpar (reduced falling damage, improved jump/move).

Damage in poor as well. Yes, unarmed the monk is the best fighter. But all the fighter has to do is pick up a greataxe and you've got someone who typically hits more times and harder then the monk will.


All that being said, monks can be tremendously fun to play, but as a class, it does fail to live up to it's design intentions.