Rasaad sucks...
I played through Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition knowing little about the new recruitable characters, and I picked up Neera and Rasaad when I ran into them. Dorn I didn't pick up because I was in a generally good-aligned party, and it didn't make IC sense for me to recruit him. Anyway, I play through most of the game, and I've found that our monk dressed in my favorite color is a bit... underwhelming.
First, there's the fact that he doesn't get magical fists until level 9, which means I have to have him carry around a subpar weapon to be able to hurt creatures immune to normal weapons. Then there's his terrible constitution for a frontline fighter. And finally, his increased movement speed makes him annoying when I'm moving the party; he tends to walk ahead of the group, and gets aggro'd by just about everything unless I constantly micromanage him to the back of the party. Low constitution + no armor + walking in front of the party = lots of deaths and annoying reloads. So far, Rasaad has died the most times out of my party.
When I got to the Cloakwood and ran into Coran, I decided enough was enough and ditched Rasaad. In exchange for a lousy frontline fighter, I get a backup thief to pick locks and disarm traps (Imoen is currently dualled to mage and doesn't have access to her thief abilities). And here I thought the BG:EE version of the monk class would be better than its abysmal D&D 3e and D&D 3.5 versions...
First, there's the fact that he doesn't get magical fists until level 9, which means I have to have him carry around a subpar weapon to be able to hurt creatures immune to normal weapons. Then there's his terrible constitution for a frontline fighter. And finally, his increased movement speed makes him annoying when I'm moving the party; he tends to walk ahead of the group, and gets aggro'd by just about everything unless I constantly micromanage him to the back of the party. Low constitution + no armor + walking in front of the party = lots of deaths and annoying reloads. So far, Rasaad has died the most times out of my party.
When I got to the Cloakwood and ran into Coran, I decided enough was enough and ditched Rasaad. In exchange for a lousy frontline fighter, I get a backup thief to pick locks and disarm traps (Imoen is currently dualled to mage and doesn't have access to her thief abilities). And here I thought the BG:EE version of the monk class would be better than its abysmal D&D 3e and D&D 3.5 versions...
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It has one of the steepest curves in terms of power though. Due to the level cap the monk never gets very strong by level 8, so yes a monk will be weaker in BG:EE than other classes.
When he returns in BG2:EE I expect him to get a lot more love. That being said, I beat the game from start to finish with him and found him to be very useful (Although there were more powerful alternatives) but his boots make him faster so he can stealth explore, his stunning palm is great in certain situations to lock certain enemies down while my heavy hitters cleaned up other enemies, and for normal times I give him a slot in sling and used him ranged.
But yeah, if you want to maximize your power in all 6 party slots a monk is going to be a bad choice till at least early teens.
Not a big deal, but extras to AC.
p.s.: no spoilers :-)
Rasaad is good
Still picking up Coran should make up for a lot. He is not as much a backup thief, as he is the strongest archer and with that the strongest character in the game.
I gave Dorn the Boots of Speed, so he is normally the first one on the scene. Then comes Rasaad, slinging away! Viconia crashes in after that, and the rest of the party mops up. He makes for a very good scout, especially with his speed, and is the bane of spellcasters (alongside of my Fallen Archer, that is!). He also has very good saves, that made for a very good Sirene killer (after Baeloth cast detect Invisible, of course). I gave Rasaad the Gauntlets of Dex, for the AC and Ranged to hit boost.
The fact is, if Rasaad isn't on the frontline attacking with his fists he is not fulfilling his true potential and will be on par with other non-frontline characters (like a Thief or Cleric) but have no where near the utility of another class. Giving him a magical sword to attack with? Doesn't work, 1 attack per round. Having him use a sling? Doesn't work, 1 attack per round. The Cleric can do that as well but has all these nifty spells additionally. The truth of the matter is that if you're not knee deep in the shit on the frontlines with the other bruisers you're wasting your time with Rasaad. Sadly, that's where playing Rasaad is the most annoying due to the sheer volume of micromanaging required and it's why you find so many people complaining about his effectiveness.
Giving Rasaad a sling is very good IMHO. It works very well. Dorna bashes, Rasaad slings, Vikki comes up and either bashes further with The Stupifier or heals Dorna if needed. The rest of the party does what they do. Works very well for me. Rasaad can quickly dart in to help out if Dorna is Paralysed, Turned to Stone, whatever.
Once Dorna got charmed by Sirenes. I just had Rasaad kite her, keeping her busy until Vikki could Hold her.
I use Rasaad as my "ace in the hole, wildcard get out of jail free" sort of character - he is immensely flexible in just about any situation.
- Monk's stealth is crap, Rasaad will have less than 100 points total at exp cap.
- Stunning Fist is ok but you actually need to hit something.
- Everything else you mentioned is either irrelevant to BG1 or simply irrelevant.
The only thing whih makes a Monk stand out over other characters in BG1 is their apr (and even then when you consider the benefits of dual wielding, GM, and the fact monks can't be hasted after level 5, it's unimpressive). Any other warrior could use a sling just as well as Rasaad if not better, and if you're gonna use him at range you may as well have him use darts since they get 3 apr and have better ammo choices.
I also think that everything that Rasaad can do can be done more easily and better by another class. The whole sneak in and stun a caster routine is far harder to accomplish than simply having a cleric cast silence on them, that way they are effectively useless but it will also silence that caster and any other casters surrounding them. His melee capabilities are outshone by a fighter with two-weapon fighting and haste, his ranged attacks are crappy too. Give Montaron a sling and watch him put Rasaad to shame.
I think the root of the problem with the monk class, from just about every iteration of DnD that I've played, is that they don't have a niche that they fill better than any other class can. They can do a little bit of everything, but when they do it it's mediocre. In 3rd edition and 3.5 everything the monk could do could be done better and at earlier levels by a wizard. Wanna fall from high distances safely? The 1st level feather fall spell does it WAAY better than the slow fall monk ability. Want a bunch of natural attacks per round? A polymorph spell and tenser's transformation will make a wizard attack more reliably (higher base attack bonus) and deal far more damage. Wanna move fast? Again, 1st level wizard spell: expeditious retreat.
I find that even in BG:EE this is true. Rasaad's scouting abilities are nothing compared to a thief with high move silently and hide (plus the added bonuses of backstabbing) even a wizard with invisibility or a cleric with sanctuary can fill this role better because it is more reliable. As I pointed out earlier there just doesn't seem to be any niche that I need a monk to fill and coupling that with Rasaad's mediocre stat array I say he stinks.
When I first played through BG:EE I had him for my entire run through. He got less crappy by the end of the game but was still the weakest link by a long stretch. Now, I use him to pick up the Big Fisted Belt and then boot his ass to the curb every time.
You just have to have him surgically target mages and archers. Stun the mages whenever possible (or disrupt their casting). And then have him tie up archers into melee where they are much weaker. He's fun to use that way. Even after I got him to level 6 I continued to use him that way, rather than having him slug it out toe-to-toe with a heavily armored enemy tank.
That's no more micromanaged than controlling any other characters.
He can also kite tanks while hurling darts of wounding and stunning at them, which is kind of fun.
I would have liked to see some of the city characters make brief appearances before big giving you the opportunity to recruit them for a select chapter in certain areas but o well...does that mod still work?
2nd edition monk:
Monks are cloistered priests and adepts who seek enlightenment through the
rigorous training of mind, body, and spirit. Monks are extremely skilled in unarmed
combat and have access to several unusual spheres of spells. Monks Divine spells are
competition, divinity of mankind, literature/poetry, magic,
oracles/prophecy, peace, time, and wisdom.
*Source DnD*
Incredible Hulk:
- Massive melee damage
- Incredibly resilient
- Jumps a long way
- Green
Rasaad
- Terrible melee damage
- Fragile
- Runs slightly fast
- Not green