He's correct. The Canon Main Character is a Fighter named Abdel Adrian. Just throwing that wee bit out there.


On topic though, You don't -need- armor. A Monk's abilities are more about dodging the blows, then accepting them and carrying on. While its true that monks don't get the really cool abilities until later on, a low level monk is still a cool experience to play as. And For Team Players(Those who play BG like a strategy RPG), its a very interesting take on the game, as your Monk will rely on buffs/teammates more often. I for one, would have loved to play a true monk in BG.

My best advice is to roll high for STR, DEX, and CON*, and focus on giving your monk lots of items that help to avoid hits (Boots of Avoidance, etc.), because his main weakness early on is that he's easy to hit. High dexterity in particular will help to improve your armor class, which is obviously weak initially because you can't wear armor.

A Monk is a fast-hitting offense character, not a tank. Don't try to use him as a front-line damage sponge; he's better as a second-line fighter, because his fists have the reach of a two-handed weapon (one of the special perks of the Monk class), so he can hit while standing back behind your front-liners. Monks are also good for running past enemy fighters and attacking the magic-users; their stealth skills can help with this too.

One other weakness you'll have is that your fists can't hit enemies that can only be hurt by magic weapons. This isn't a huge deal in BG1 (and in BG2, you'll have magic fists), but remember that you have a couple of weapon proficiency points, and you can use those weapons to fight monsters you can't hit with fists. I put one point in Longsword and one in Sling; the latter is the only missile weapon you can use, and it's usually a good idea to fight those types of enemies from afar.

*I rolled a Monk with 17/17/18/12/13/14 in about 10 minutes, and you can always sacrifice more WIS or CHA to max out STR and DEX. I made sure the CON was maxed so that I could eventually get 20 CON in BG2 (+1 with the tome in BG1, and +1 with the Machine of Lum the Mad in Watcher's Keep in BG2), which allows you to regenerate health -- a very useful skill for a fighter type with relatively low HP.

EDIT: I noticed you're playing the canon party. I did too, so don't worry -- I relied on the exact same party balance you're using, and I did just fine.

OK. One last question (since I can't find that info anywhere). At which point does monk starts to gain abilities that make them decent fighters? I know that they get new abilities at almost every levels, but I can't find that info (on which ability is learned and what they do) anywhere. Then again, I may have been looking in the wrong places.

I just hope that a monk isn't useless for the entirety of the first game.

This FAQ starts off with a great breakdown of Monk abilities by level:
http://www.gamefaqs.com/pc/258273-baldurs-gate-ii-shadows-of-amn/faqs/65329

Most of this information is in the game too; you can go to your character page and select "Kit Description" to get the breakdown.

First, and most important, in BG1 your monk cannot rise above level 8 (with TotSC) without a level cap removal cheat. Having said that, he/she will get the following abilities (these are level-up abilities, additional to innate abilities):

Level 5 - Immunity to disease (irrelevant in BG1), cannot be slowed or hasted.
Level 7 - Lay on Hands (for a maximum of 16 HP, it's meh!)
Level 8 - Attack speed -1

Be aware that, for a monk, putting points in CON above 16 is a complete waste in BG1.

I wouldn't say it's irrelevant, though it's not likely to change your tactics a whole lot. Ghasts and Ghouls (or at least one of the two types) can give you diseases, and Wraith Spiders seem to be able to as well. At mid levels, I found it somewhat useful to front-line the Monk against these enemy types; at higher levels, I was able to kill them solo with the Monk to avoid the risk of anyone else getting diseased.

Lay Hands is pretty good healing relative to most of your other healing sources in BG1; healing potions and Heal Light Wounds only give 8 hp, Heal Medium Wounds is comparable to or slightly weaker than Lay Hands, and Heal Critical is only slightly better. It's also a very good way to heal yourself mid-combat, because it's considerably faster to use than a healing spell. You can use it in the middle of a melee without breaking stride or taking up your healer's attention; or if you're seriously injured, you can duck the Monk out of combat, cast, and rush back in.

It's irrelevant. Baldur's Gate does not have disease. There is no such affliction to be immune to. Ghouls can only paralyze. Ghasts can paralyze and inflict a THAC0 penalty. That's it, unless you're using the BG2 engine.

Ah, I understand. My apologies -- though if someone is looking for advice to play a Monk in BG1, they're most likely using the BG2 engine.