I'll be starting out as a 6th level monk in 3.5. High Dex and Wis, but everything else is low.
The plot twist is that he's blind. I'm currently working it out with the DM, but he really likes the idea and wants me to go through with it.
How should I play him, Veeky Forums? Any tips or ideas are appreciated.
Pic somewhat related: Is Big Boss a rogue, a fighter, or possibly a monk?
> monk
Don't.
> high dex low str
Ask DM if you can take the Pathfinder feat Deadly Agility. Also check out the PHB2 for damage buff feats for monks.
> blind
What the fuck user. Well I hope you get some extra feats for that. Or just say "blind but I have blindsense to 50 feet", that was a "dark gift" in a 5e adventurer's league game I was in. So if it's all official for that it should be importable to 3.5.
> Big Boss
I don't know or give a fuck about MGS but I would say rogue. Not everyone who's good at hand to hand combat is a monk, just like not every competent warrior is a fighter, necessarily.
>Big Boss
>Philosophy of independence, self-determination and self reliance
>Knowledge of old and modern weaponry
>Ex-soldier, with top military credentials
>Created martial art known as CQB
>Advanced theory and practice of highly skilled individual operators
>Fine leader of men
I'd retask a ranger.
Ask for bumping STR and Con to decent level and for blindsight.
>in 3.5
play something else
CQC
>monk
If you want to be mechanically inferior the party at all times at higher levels go for it.
It's a tier 5 class for a reason.
>How should I play him, Veeky Forums?
Don't. Ask your DM if you can use Unarmed Variant Swordsage from ToB (Book of Weaboo Fightan Magic).
Here's the reason why (inb4 >>>/reddit/)
reddit.com
I have blindsight, and sixth sense to some degree. Not to the level that my character is better off blind, but so that he isn't entirely disabled.
CQB: close quarters battle, a term more used to describe firearms that have been retooled to fight in close quarters
CQC: a more broad term describing combat at very short ranges and in narrow and constrictive enviroments
the two terms are somewhat interchangeable.
I know that, but in game its called CQC
My bad, either way Big Boss was one of it's two creators and arguably the one who propagated it's use.
His mentality too, the goal he had for the future of war and soldiers. His driving urge to free people from Government.
oh yeah, I was just nitpicking the acronym because I was able to type the post up before my brain told me "it doesn't matter"
I agree with what you said his class would be, if had to be something ot her than ranger then maybe like, rogue because hes sneaky and kill shit.
Maybe some kind of fighter, but that feels too bland and kind of ignores the sneaky spy part of snake
A rogue could work, as he was not a typical soldier, not an infantryman nor anything of the sort. Dropping the thievery aspect and finding a subclass that can focus more on utility and burst damage.
It looks like if I want to go through with this, I'm going to have to reach out to a lot of expansion books and things like that. I've heard Sword and Fist is useful.
some kind of assassin subclass, where he has a broad range of skills but they're all a means to the same end, which is murder
If there was a viable way to create ye Olde Big Boss, then I'd drop the blind monk idea entirely.
Not all should be geared towards murder, he was an operator, that extended solo for large periods of time. Intelligence gathering, history, politics, leadership and many more. This was all part of the identity of Big Boss. He was like a Renascence Man.
Had he just been a killer, he would of been a throwaway, a less cool Grey Fox.
same, half the monks I see are blind and its just a boring gimmick "he does the monk shit but its cool because he cant see"
I cant say shit though, because all I play is "really big monk whos cool because he does all the monk shit, but hes big and strong instead of bruce lee"
yeah, I didn't explain myself clearly, like he does know all that stuff, and hes incredible at it because he lives and breathes espionage, but it all stems from an inbuilt capacity and desire for that death dealing lifestyle.
Like when he's doing that intelligence gathering on a certain target, hes not just finding out what he does because he thinks the mark is an interesting man with cool hobbies, hes looking for chinks in his armor, blindspots in his field of vision, any avenue he can use to slide a dagger into the base of his skull.
It gets greyer when like, you're just tailing someone on route to a bigger fish to kill, but at the same time anything that isn't directly killing killing or destabilizing something is secondary, or at the very furthest tertiary
Think we'll have to disagree there, he was not a cold-blooded killer. He knew each person he killed had a cost, especially after having to kill The Boss. Up until that point one could argue he was a tool to be employed. But post-Snake Eater, is when the character became so much more.
that's cool, everyone has different brains, I'll even admit that you probably have an objectively better idea of what you're taking about just based on how very little experience experience I have with much of MGS lore so I'm just talking shit based on who I think of snake as.
also what the fuck is up with this captcha, I'm so close to just buying a pass since I've got refund money anyway
One of the assassin prestige classes allows you to get bonuses based on observing a target for three or more rounds. Sounds like what you're talking about, to some extent.
>operator
Operative. He was CIA.
There is functionally no difference, they are the same. Though an Operative can imply a non-combat role, Operator implies a far more physical job in the context of conflict.
"Operator" was made up by Delta operators specifically to distinguish themselves from CIA operatives.
So, basically what I said above? That may be were it started but it has grown and moved on since the original use.
I bet you also misuse "tier".
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I played a blind character once. Trick was to abuse Detect Magic. You can find any mother fucker over the level of 4 with that. Maybe dip into wizard or something for it. Or see if you can find an item.
CQC is a broad term in real life, but in the Metal Gear universe it is the name of a particular martial art developed by The Boss and Naked Snake that was made specifically to be practical on the modern battlefield.
It is basically various grips and throws from other selected martial arts modified to focus more on disarming enemies and being able to excecute the moves while wielding a weapon yourself.
It's kind of a stupid name but if you consider that "Karate" literally means "martial art" in its original language it kind of makes sense.
Kojima did the exact same thing here, taking words from another language that sound cool to name something even if it doesn't translate well back.
>Kojima did the exact same thing here, taking words from another language that sound cool to name something even if it doesn't translate well back.
When I think about it this happens all the time in Metal Gear but I don't even notice anymore because I'm too used to it.
Big Boss is one retarded fucking name but l can't help but associate it with something badass, it doesn't cross my mind how it sounds to people who don't know the series..
Big Boss sounds a little more reasonable when you know that his other name was Venom Snake or Punished Snake, and that most people just called him Boss.
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>Big Boss
>Venom Snake
user, I...
Wait, wasn't it though? Am I wrong or something?
Have you finished The Phantom Pain?
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No, but I've heard there was some kind of big twist/unfinished plotline. Which is pretty much my main reason for not completing it.
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Venom Snake is the Ground Zeroes medic given cosmetic surgery and hypnotherapy to act as a body double for Big Boss.
As a monk you'll need all the help you can get, both from builds and your DM. Being blind sucks, but I guess you can get tremorsense or blindsense pretty easily as you level. Also, ask your DM if you can get a bonus feat from that blindness, you'll need it. Ask him as "I've heard about flaws or something this week..." so you don't give the impression you only took blindness to powergame.
The thing to remember is, a monk is already a shitty class. If you want to play a great character, you'll have to PrC out before you reach 6th lv, because every level of monk is a level not spent on great stuff. Sacred Fist, Fist of the Forest, Bear Warrior, get out of the base monk as soon as you can.
This link will help you (Monk's Handbook):
brilliantgameologists.com
And remember, you're going Monk for the fluff. Fighter is a better melee specialist and Swordsage is a better everything (specially unarmed fighter). Play hard on your fluff or go home.
Oh, and grab an item of "Blood in the Wind". Gives your unarmed attacks a big range, so you can always full-attack. Combine it with your fluff and say your sixth-sense lets you "feel the wind to find your foes", kinda like how the Force works for jedis.
I still feel kinda bad for him, but at the same time he was Big Boss. Everyone but Ocelot and Miller thought he was Big Boss, he acted like Big Boss, and he had the same goal in the end. Two Big Bosses.
Twin Snakes.
>MGS2
>"no matter how hard you try, you can not turn one person into another. We failed despite being the Illuminati that controlls the entire world with all its resources and having an(other) artificial intelligence on our side that is smart enough to literally controll the public perception to whatever the fuck it wants"
>MGSV TPP
>"Just kidding we had that shit down already in the 80s without the help of almost god-like AIs"
>The man we tried to recreate, who is himself a copy of a man we wanted to create was able to create a copy of himself without any of the resources we posses in a hospital in Cyprus...
>Damn it GW.
>A+/A++ stats when S-rank staff are common fodder by the end of the game
>CQC is noticeably less slick in TPP compared to GZ
>most TPP players play with reflex mode on and boatloads of tranquilizers and still get into combat alerts
>killed by a rookie on his first mission in MG1
Yeah, nah. Venom's a jobber.
They COULDN'T turn VS into big boss. He was losing his stability, his clarity, and his morale. He was falling in love with Quiet. He was having hallucinations.
The turning point is that BB eventually told him, and he CHOSE to live his life as Big Boss. And as points out, he wasn't very good at it.
Get a non-shit class with Shadow Hand/Setting Sun from BoNS.
>there was a point where we should have stopped
>we've gone so far past it we can't see the stop sign any more
Neat. I had a game with a blind monk as well. He was going to use his sense of sound to perceive things more, kind of like daredevil. Took some houseruling, but it basically gave him blindsense/blindsight/blind fighting/whatever it was called, and a small bonus to perception when based on sounds, and of course can't even make any attempt to spot. Also took extra damage from any sort of sonic based attacks, and if there was too much noise from the environment, he would start to get miss chance, like concealment for sight based people.
It worked out pretty balanced over all, and helped me DM a little better since it kept me in the mindset of describing more than just the sight of things. It was also a hilarious experience seeing him try to communicate with a mute NPC when no one else was present to mediate lol
>but hes big instead of bruce lee*
FTFY. Bruce Lee was small, but that sure as shit doesn't mean he wasn't strong. He did pushups with almost 300 lbs on his back for fuck's sake.
For general monk advice, i have some.
First, Most of your bonus feat choices for your class feature are awful. Do not by any means get improved grapple, or try to grapple at all, as the system is entirely rigged against the player. Its only worth it sometimes if you full build into it.
Stunning fist isn't bad if you have high Wis, and can use magic items to increase the DC. Probably won't work on most bosses, but on medium size enemies, its great. If you use it in one on one combat, its devestating if you can get it off once per round, as that means you simply keep hitting the guy for no backlash.
Deflect arrows is neat, but entirely situational and probably not terribly useful. This is another one where you need to go all in on it, which a blind motherfucker probably won't. Skip this for combat reflexes. Its also situational, but has far more use to it. Combat reflexes also acts as a prerequisite for a lot of generally good feats.
For the level 6 ones, disarm and trip aren't bad. Trip is generally more useful though, as attested to by every wolf ever.
Next, post level 6 your options as a monk get significantly worse, the best things being immunity to poison, losing flurry's penalty, and spell resistance. Good things, but too many dead levels. Wholeness of body sounds neat for utility, but its pretty weak. Improved evasion is cool, but you have pretty good reflex already. Level 13 is the absolute latest to dip out of monk, and most people recommend dipping out at 6.
Gonna continue in another post, with some less general advice. Gimme a sec to write it up.
1. Do you have access to everything forever?
2. Do you really want to be blind?
Decisive Strike Monk/Psychic Warrior with Tashalatorra Feat
Your only way to not suck man ass as a monk in 3.5. That or unarmed swordsage renamed as "monk".
As for blind? nope, nope nope, the only way to not be shit as a blind characters is being 10th level char and spend 4 feats (I remember beng 4), you end having blindsense and other stuff but till then you're SHIT, you'll miss 90% of your attacks, all attacks will pretty much hit you and you'll run into stuff every damn minute
>Monk
>Blind
>Dex over Str
You're already dead, user
Try to go for that Tashalatora build with psychic warrior levels after 2 or so monk levels instead of straight monk. Look it up, it's good stuff.
Next, see if your DM will allow you to take improved natural attack. Its one of the few ways for an unarmed monk to stay competitive. Monks belt also helps with this.
Try and get a ring of force shield. It doesn't actually count as a shield for the armored VS unarmored thing monks have, and even if it does it disappears and appears at will. Its a desperately needed boost to your AC. It can also be used to smack things like puddings and ghosts, two things you normally wouldn't smack. Unfortunately, that does shield bash damage, but its better than being dissolved or not hitting at all.
You are fast as fuck. Use it to your advantage. Most people can move 30 feet or less, you have 50. this can be used in all sorts of ways to avoid things like AoO or get into a good position.
Since you are blind with no actual blindsense or tremor sense, get blindfight. It ain't perfect, but you won't get your shit pushed in because you can't see.
When you dip out, see if your DM won't let you take lion totem barbarian. Rage and pounce are both things that greatly help a monk, in just about all respects. Rage increases str and con, which is never a bad thing, and pounce lets you flurry on a charge. Monks don't lose any of their abilities for being non-lawful, they simply can't level in monk anymore. When you dip out though, it'll probably be for good.
Seriously consider your prestige options. you will need something, and its best to consider this early.
weapon focus for your unarmed strike. At that level, the minus to your attack is just -1. which WF would cancel out. not a great boost, but better than a negative.
Consider skill tricks that improve mobility, especially the one that lets you turn once during a charge.
Get tumble to at least 5. The bonuses it gives to the fighting defensively and full defense actions can't be ignored easily. Synergies are great. Otherwise, spot, listen, etc as per the norm.
Boost your STR ASAP.
Okay, but the "rookie" in question was an in-his-prime, far more trained clone of Big Boss.
If someone was hypno'd into being me, and then had to fight what was basically a better version of me, I don't think the alternate me would win.
Giving the answer I always give when I see these threads, make him a mall karate teacher with a greasy mullet and aviators who went to the setting's version of asia once