I know this subject has been done to death. But everyone is saying how monks are so godawful powerful ... well I'm playing the game through, currently Level 12 Monk, and to be frank my guy is only doing about 14-25 damage per hit and is often outdone by Minsc and sanctimonious fool Keldorn. Meanwhile, in another game, my female Kensai character is chunking foes left and right with duel-wielding longsword+1/katana and doing equivalent damage! (My kensai has 18/87 strength, my monk 18/35). What's going on here?? Am I playing my monk all wrong?

Just be patient, I say. ;)

Let your monk get to the later levels and you'll see. All of the sudden huge magic resistance and damage(with stun ability) will show. Also the innate abilities are quite awesome.

Your monk has 18/35? He's no fighter, so he can "only" have 18! At least mine did so.

Monks are priest and only warriors gain exceptional Strength. It could be different for Monks, because they're more like warriors to me.

Oops ... was getting him confused with another kensai (evil this time) I am playing. As you can tell I seem to like the Oriental Adventures characters better ... :)

Heh, that's one of the many great things about BG2... There's a class for everyone to fit his playing style.

I've only used "holy warriors" (DC Fighter/Cleric and Inquisitor) so far and I enjoy them a lot. I think I'm going to play somethings different next time just to see how I like them.