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Wearing Power Armor to a Magic School (104/?)
First | Previous | Next Patreon | Official Subreddit | Series Wiki | Royal Road The Vunerian and I were caught in a standoff. My eyes locked onto its beady little black sown-on dots-for-eyes and the rounded little muzzle that kept it in a perpetual look of mouthless contemplation. My emotions refused to settle, as I was forced to reconcile between the massive cognitive dissonance between the disarmingly adorable orb-of-a-plush that was the Vunerian, and its doppelganger standing incredulously next to me. This forced my eyes to do several double-takes between the inexplicable object of my burning interest, and the comparably life-sized less-cuter version of it forced upon me by fate and circumstance. However, the physical similarities between the two didn’t die down with each cock of my head. No. If anything, they only steadily increased. From the proportions of the stuffed plush, all the way to the color of its fabric, and the shape of its head, and even the little outfit it wore — it was undeniably designed to resemble a Vunerian. The only real difference between this orb and Ilunor, was the addition of a little sewn-on miniature crown two sizes too small for its rounded head. This bygone conclusion was quickly confirmed by the tortle proprietor himself; the man taking a moment to address my non sequitur of a question. “They are indeed plush in form and factor.” He confirmed, giving a smile yet quirking his brow, almost confused. “It would seem to me that my lady has a certain affinity to the top-of-the-pile item in particular?” He gestured towards the Vunerian plush. “These stuffies are indeed quite the coveted collector’s item, Viscount Vunerian in particular being in short supply as of late.” The man paused for a moment, and with a surge of mana radiation, began lowering the plush down from its perch atop of the plush pyramid. The laid-back hard-sell tactic continued as I was presented with the orb-of-a-Vunerian that was Viscount Vunerian, or, as I was dying to call it… “I think I’ll call him King Kobold.” This seemed to be the last straw as the Vunerian stomped his way between me and the tortle, raising an arm towards the plush in the process. “You will do no such thing. His name is Viscount Vunerian, and I will hear no more of this spiteful slander!” He seethed between a soot-filled breath, before turning to the tortle proprietor with an ultimatum. “Shopkeeper. I demand that you return it. The newrealmer is clearly not deserving of such a coveted item.” However, instead of the situation escalating into yet another silent standoff, the opposite quickly transpired. As the shopkeeper began letting out a series of ragged-breathed laughs, completely defusing the Vunerian’s attempt at intensifying the situation. “I am but a humble shopkeeper, my lord. Withholding an item for purchase, is outside of my authority within the jurisdiction of crown herald lands.” The man replied with an almost faux-piety, as if straddling the line between expectant decorum and his own brand of senile joviality. “It is up to the fair knight, whether she wishes to follow through on my offer.” This prompted the Vunerian to grumble, turning towards me with an expectant glare. I could practically feel the burning, scathing warnings given off through that gesture alone. But they were warnings which I would not heed. “I’ll take it!” I beamed out, squishing the plushy tightly between my hands as I could just about make out the soft squishy polyfill and gel-like stuffing within it through my gloves’ haptic feedback; a soft, airy, pathetic sounding squeeeeeeeek being generated in the process. ‘Your worship pleases me!’ It squeaked out pathetically. “It has a fricking voice box?!” I uttered out in excitement, going for another big squeeze! ‘Guards, off with their tails!’ “This is incredible.” I cackled out through an ear-to-ear grin, finding my whole body jittering in the process. This realization, of course, warranted another big squeeze. ‘Taxes are due! I demand my taxes!’ “Emma… I believe this may just be a tad too much.” Thacea cautioned, gently gesturing to the now-steaming deluxe kobold next to me. Thalmin, however, clearly had other ideas in mind, as he moved up to pat me on the shoulder. “I’m curious to know what manner of muse inspired such a flavorful impression!” He proclaimed through a wide-eyed grin. “ENOUGH!” The Vunerian finally exploded, releasing a continuous flurry of steam from both of his nostrils. “Either forfeit your purchase, or be done with these displays of immature impulsivity!” I took a moment to once more exchange glances with Ilunor, my hand firmly clenched around the plushie’s belly. Surprisingly, the ultimatum wouldn’t come to an end by my own hands, but by another, unexpected set of clawed fingers — as Thalmin came in to gently poke the rounded thing’s belly, generating a prolonged squeeeeeeeek in the process. ‘Fear my ire, beware my wrath!’ “Well what do you know, I think he pulled the words right out of your mouth, Ilunor.” I chuckled lightly, before handing the plush off to the tortle. “I’ll take it!” “Splendid! I shall have it packaged post-haste.” The man announced, gently handing the plush over to a satyr assistant who’d skittered onto the scene not a few moments after the back and forth began. With the first knick-knack in tow, I feared what impulse purchases might come next. Though a part of me remained excited for the prospect of Field Cultural Research, as we moved deeper into the store, to the tune of a grumbling Vunerian. We eventually arrived at a section of the room with what looked to be a sight-seer book perched precariously on a plinth, flanked on three sides with a series of multicolored curtains that radiated a not-so-insignificant amount of mana. Though somewhat unnerving and looking like it’d be more at home at some cultish ritual, the display case on the very front of the plinth completely undermined and defused what threatening aura it had. As within this case, were a series of what I could only describe as— “Are those postcards?” I shot out. “Indeed they are, newrealmer.” The tortle responded, before gesturing to the setup with a venerable smile. “For this — is the imbuer of dreamscapes.” He announced proudly. “An artifice which imbues your likeness upon a predetermined landscape of your choosing, with whichever pose you wish to make at the time of the imbuement.” “A false-shard.” Ilunor announced, as if intending to further expand on the tortle’s talking points. “An intentional fake for that matter. A simple novelty with the intention of providing a fleeting moment of vapid entertainment to those possessing poor tastes, or simple inclinations.” The Vunerian hrrmphed, turning his nose up at the whole affair. However, by the time that he’d finished his tirade and turned back towards the setup, the Vunerian would find both me and the mercenary prince already posing behind the plinth — the tortle following suit with what appeared to be a wand in his hands. The look of disappointment on Ilunor’s face was immeasurable, and I could only imagine if this simple act of ‘poor taste’ was enough to ruin his day. Regardless of his personal reservations on the magical photo booth, Thalmin and I were downright having fun, as a mutual creative spark seemed to arc between us through nothing more than simple knowing glances. This was in spite of the obvious encumbrance in the way. So with little more than body language, we began vibing, cycling through pose, after pose, after pose — going from simple hand gestures, to parallel arm-raising, all the way to more complex and involved stances that required coordination that came in the form of just winging it and hoping for the best. The goofiest and most involved of which, involved what I could only describe as an inverse parallel ‘dab’ that bordered somewhere between a videogame emote and a genuine gym-approved flex. Though not everything was mindless whimsy, as all the while, the EVI maintained careful overwatch over the ‘mechanisms’ of the photobooth. The plinth and the precariously perched sight-seer book seemed to act like a ‘camera’, one that Kathan seemed to control with his wand, creating brief surges of mana radiation that were capped off by bright flashes of light seemingly emerging from within the curtains themselves. Following each surge, and after what sounded like the crackling of sizzling pork belly being cooked in a cast iron pan, came the final product of our mutual whimsy — a postcard, with our silly poses doctored onto it. Interestingly enough, the postcard actually cycled through several of our poses, even going so far as to change the ‘time of day’ within the background; sort of like a digital photo album. Though despite the obvious changes in time between each pose, it appeared as if almost all of the backgrounds seemed to either remain perpetually cloudy, or lacked any visible specks of starlight within the night sky. All in all, the photobooth ended up consuming a good fifteen minutes of our lives, though it appeared as if Thacea had fared somewhat better than Ilunor — as the princess actually spent her time browsing and appraising the hand-made knick-knacks with some degree of amusement. “Aaaaand that should be all of our most popular ‘destinations’.” Kathan spoke through an amused grin. That little announcement clearly elicited Thacea’s attention, as she walked forward to ‘collect’ us from our little side quest, only to be roped in by my eager arm as we committed to just one more photo. However, before we could continue, I couldn’t help but to let out a sigh, urging an otherwise haughty Ilunor to join us. “No, earthrealmer, I refuse to take part in these impetuous acts of tasteless—” He stopped in his tracks, letting out one yelp, as I reached out to grab him once he came into arm’s reach. Following which, Thalmin soon took over chaperone duties, holding onto his squirming form as I attempted to strike something of a pose with Thacea. A countdown quickly ensued following this. As in little more than— “One… two… three!” —was the photo snapped. A small sizzling later, and our peer group was immortalized with Elaseer in the background. With Ilunor squirming under one of Thalmin’s arms, the aforementioned prince holding as confident of a triumphant pose as he could given the circumstances, whilst Thacea remained almost entirely removed from the chaos in a more ‘reserved’ Victorian pose, separated from Ilunor and Thalmin by me, connected only by my arm draped across her shoulder. Two ‘V’s formed on each of my hands concluded the chaotic ensemble, as I couldn’t help but to grin at the finished product. “This is incredible work, Kathan, thank you.” I proclaimed with a wide dumb grin towards Kathan, the turtle once more going for a big bow, only to be interrupted by Ilunor who took one good look at the photo and grumbled. “If we are going to commit to such childish plays… then we are going to do it right. I demand a re-imbuement!” … 15 Minutes Later … The souvenir shop crawl continued with a preoccupied and absent-minded Ilunor. The Vunerian followed behind, flipping through the stack of postcards — of which he paid for — eagerly debating to himself of which one he looked the best in. We passed by not just novelty snow globes this time around, but little figurines of various mythical creatures, scale-models of anything and everything from coaches and wagons, all the way up to impressive spires and castles. The largest of which took up an entire section of the room, hidden behind a curtain to make its reveal all the more impressive. With a height about two physical stories tall, and a width and thickness that spanned a good twenty or so meters at its widest point, the scale ‘model’ was massive. However, that sheer massiveness wasn’t just surface-level either, as Kathan was more than eager to open up the thing using a series of spells, cutting away through the sheer bulk of it like a knife slicing straight through a layered cake; revealing the living guts within. The most impressive feature being one that Ilunor yawned at — the plumbing. As a cutaway showed that even that aspect was taken into account, giving the whole structure almost too much realism. This architectural marvel that looked to be a cross between the great European cathedrals of old, and some grand ancient megastructure like the pyramids, was later revealed to be an actual replica of some crownlands noble — a fact that Ilunor was surprisingly reluctant to continue touching upon as we eventually moved towards the final few novelty items of the store. One of which seemed to be your bog standard mirror. Though Kathan insisted through a joking breath that it was in actuality: “The Magic Mirror of Desire.” A magical artifact that apparently, did exactly as was promised on the label. Upon being asked how it worked, the man simply shrugged and replied cheekily. “Why don’t you take a gander in the mirror? Perhaps the answers you seek shall appear within.” Sure enough, the mirror did nothing for me. However, when Thalmin approached, its surface immediately began swirling. A sense of curiosity hit me, as we were all drawn to the sights and sounds the strange artifact was emitting, until— “Swords. You are looking… for magical swords!” A disembodied voice spoke, as the mirror quickly shifted to reveal what looked to be an elven blacksmith in front of a forge. “You look like a strapping young lad! Ready to fight, ready to tackle the world! What you need then, is a manasteel sword, enchanted and mana-shaped, from Banvardi’s forges! At Banvardi’s, we have all manner of weapons at your disposal! From polearms to greatswords, to battle axes and war scythes — at Banvardi’s — the only limit to lethality is your willingness to kill!” We all blinked rapidly at what was effectively just a— “That was an advertisement.” Thalmin uttered out in frustration. “So that’s the magic mirror of desire?” He turned to the shopkeeper, who merely shrugged and smiled. “Well, it is accurate is it not, your highness?” He responded, once again straddling the line between decorum and senile joviality. With an ‘I told you so’ look from Ilunor, and a nonplussed expression to move things along from Thacea, we finally landed on the last item of interest within the store. What appeared to be— “The sword of legend!” The storekeeper picked up the display case item, which was effectively a boring, run-of-the-mill looking ‘starter’ sword from any typical MMORPG. “Alright. What’s it supposed to—” “The sword of legend is an ancient, and dare I say it, legendary sword crafted from the original proprietor of Banvardi’s forges! Legends say that the sword shifts and contorts to fit the wielder, or more accurately, changes to personify the essence of its wielder.” The tortle explained, before shrugging. “But don’t take it from me, you can try it out for yourselves if you’d like. I assure you, there will be no hidden fees here.” He continued, actually maintaining a rather lax attitude for someone who should be peddling these more expensive items. Thalmin and Thacea, unsurprisingly, refused to participate. What was surprising however was Ilunor finally stepping up to the plate, grabbing hold of the sword from the hilt, and wielding it in a way that showed his lack of experience with anything larger than a butter knife. ALERT: LOCALIZED SURGE OF MANA-RADIATION DETECTED, 300% ABOVE BACKGROUND RADIATION LEVELS Though that lack of experience wouldn’t take away from what I could only describe as the manifestation of the rule of cool. A brief flash of light marked a change in the sword’s features, as it suddenly glowed an ethereal golden radiance, before turning into this almost semi-molten, yet-still solid blade of burning yellow gold. “Impressive! Very impressive.” Kathan remarked with an approving nod, as Ilunor began waving the thing around, like a kid in a toy shop. “A weapon isn’t a toy, Ilunor.” Thalmin cautioned with a growl, stepping in, and ripping the sword from his hand. “You should treat weapons, any weapon for that matter, with respect.” He chastised the Vunerian, before realizing that the sword had changed whilst in his hand. ALERT: LOCALIZED SURGE OF MANA-RADIATION DETECTED, 300% ABOVE BACKGROUND RADIATION LEVELS A gust of wind emanated from the blade. Which quickly turned the flaming molten rod of gold into what I could only describe as a shiny and polished sword coated in a thin layer of ice. Snow seemed to follow it wherever it went, as the mercenary prince examined it from hilt to tip. The shape of the sword itself soon changed from Ilunor’s rapier, to something more akin to a great sword. This seemed to at least amuse the mercenary prince, perhaps more than he let on, as he held it tightly in his hand for the longest while, refusing to even comment on it before handing it off to Thacea. The princess, meanwhile, seemed less than enthused about the gesture, but accepted regardless. However, upon fully grasping the blade— ALERT: LOCALIZED SURGE OF MANA-RADIATION DETECTED, 300% ABOVE BACKGROUND RADIATION LEVELS [ALERT: UNSTABLE SURGE OF MANA-RADIATION DETECTED: 171% ABOVE BACKGROUND RADIATION LEVELS… WARNING: ANOMALY DETECTED… RECALIBRATING… RECALIBRATING… ERROR! DETECTING 29 + 1 DISTINCT TYPES OF MANA-RADIATION.] —a deep and dark purplish hue quickly enveloped all light within a five meter radius. Following this, the blade itself started reshaping, forming into a shadowy purple blade made of pure dark flames; shaped into what the EVI quickly likened to as a ‘Cinquedea’. My heart skipped a beat, as the warning, along with the dark purplish shadows, put me in mind of the dark and disorienting void I hopped into on the fateful night of the warehouse explosion. Though that hiccup in the otherwise lighthearted mood of the scene was only momentary, as I laid my eyes on the object of Thacea’s supposed essence. Because if there was one word I could use to describe Thacea’s sword, that word would be edgy. And I really vibed with that aesthetic. The princess, however, quickly handed the sword away to the shopkeeper, who took it off her hands with little fuss. Though it was clear that both Thalmin and Ilunor were a bit bothered by the whole affair. As such, I took it upon myself to quickly request the sword from Kathan, hoping to defuse the situation. And defuse it I did… As I grabbed hold of its hilt, expecting something equally grand, epic, or at the very least… interesting to happen if only to distract the two. Instead, the whole thing outright flopped like a wet noodle. The seemingly solid mass that was its metal blade, somehow losing all semblance of its structure, deflating and thus collapsing in on itself into a sad sagging heap. Ilunor, seizing the opportunity, broke out into uncontrollable laughter. Thalmin, meanwhile, attempted to mask what was clearly a similar reaction… to varying degrees of success as he tried to look away… only to bare his fangs in a dumb grin as he couldn’t help but to look back at it. “Now now, first-years, this…” Kathan paused, letting out a chortle in the process. “... was to be expected.” He proclaimed, grabbing the sword back from me as he quickly placed it back into its case. “The newrealmer is clearly wearing some form of a mana-masking suit of armor. Thus, the sword of legend had nothing to draw its attenuation from, resulting in… the admittedly amusing sight.” The laughter from the Vunerian was slow to die down, and continued all the way until we reached the cash register. It was here that his smile began to wane, as the damage from our little sidequest was laid out to bare. “One Vunerian Soft Toy, Fifty-five unique instances of imbued memorabilia [CLOSEST APPROX: Postcards], one novelty desk ornament, one weather globe, one figurine, and one intermediate-sized model ship.” He rattled on, as he quickly turned towards the rest of the items we perused. “Unlike most stores, I do not charge for any interactions with my exhibits. The experience garnered from watching the youthful toying around with these enchanted amusements… is in itself priceless to me.” He explained in a heartfelt instance of earnesty. “Your total comes to three-hundred gold. One-hundred and eighty for the imbued memorabilia, and one-hundred and twenty for the rest of the items.” Ilunor promptly began the exchange of currency, once again allowing for it to float up and into the man’s cash register from his purse, resulting in a grateful bow from the tortle. “It was a pleasure, my lords, ladies, and highnesses. Please, if you ever feel the need to peruse my wares, know that I am always open. It’s not like I have much else to be responsible for, after all.” He ended that goodbye off on a somewhat dour note. One that I ended up bringing up to the Vunerian as I posed a simple and straightforward question. “Ilunor… what exactly did that noble shop owner mean by that—” “It’s a matter of noble familial dynamics, earthrealmer.” Ilunor cut me off before I could finish that question. “I’d rather not touch such a topic, if at all possible.” It was with a nod of acknowledgement that I filed that topic under ‘to be discussed’, along with a flurry of other subjects I needed to address when we got back to the dorms, or when the opportunity arose to finally address them. Nexus. The Crown Herald Town of Elaseer. Ambassadorial District. The Adventurer’s Guild Hall of Elaseer. Local Time: 1710 Hours. Emma We arrived, admittedly, a bit later than expected. However, this tardiness was definitely not reflected in the sheer flurry of activity we arrived to find the guild hall in. Because even before we arrived through those now-open double doors, we were met with the sight of exactly what I’d expected from a fantasy realm. Actual, honest to god, adventurers. With gear and equipment as varied and diverse as the sheer number of species present — from elves of various heritages, to lizardmen, satyrs, kobolds, and even snake-like hybrid humanoids. Though there were many more whose species I could not discern just yet, owing to the layers of enchanted armor completely obscuring their form. All in all though, the once-spacious hall was now packed. And it was clear why that was, as we quickly found out we were more than partially to blame for what seemed to be a whole day’s worth of commotion. “The legitimacy of this job is y7%w&l [ERROR T-201A. 72% Approx: suspicious], I think.” “That’s my thought too… except it’s got the boss’ stamp i#< [ERROR T-201A… approx N/A.] on it.” “That ain’t something you see il7%$d [ERROR T-201A…. 59% Approx: everyday] now is it?” “Hey, any of you desperate enough to pick up that cabbage merchant’s quest?” “You dumb or something? He’s offering up quarter-barons to catch some mythical creature, and not even the real kind!” However, the adventurer’s various reactions weren’t the first thing on my list of worries. As I quickly turned towards the EVI, my eyes scrolled through the list of error codes in the field manual. “EVI, T-201A, that’s a translation issue right?” “Correct, Cadet Booker. I am unable to parse certain words as they do not exist within my existing reference language databases. Nor am I able to ascertain their meaning to an acceptable margin of error, as seen within the working language databases. Current approximate translations are being conducted through inferential analysis-by-context.” “I’m assuming you’re able to do this because most of the words spoken are still in High Nexian? Grammar too?” “Correct, Cadet Booker. Although the quality of translation will be proportionally impacted by the frequency and density of High Nexian used within a given unit-set of translation.” “That makes sense… I’m assuming it's also the unconventional ways they’d use High Nexian too, that’d make things even that much more complicated?” “Affirmative.” “Gotcha. Well, we have contingencies for this. Just keep me posted on the expansion of the working language database, and I’ll see if we can buy some Common Nexian to High Nexian dictionaries somewhere later. That’ll definitely give you something to chew on, EVI.” I chuckled inwardly, prompting the EVI to respond with a set of loading bars— … … —before simply marking the ticket as resolved. No sooner was that little tangent resolved, did the guild commander finally arrive on scene, approaching me with a vibe of discretion as we were quickly ushered to a quieter part of the room; with only a scant few eyes on us. Most of the adventurers more than likely saw us as just some rich academy students not worth paying much mind to. “So, what’s the news?” I promptly asked the guild commander with a level of barely-restrained excitement. To which I first received a sigh in response, causing my anticipation to waver, and my anxiety to heighten. “I’m afraid there are no takers yet, my lady.” He announced a matter of factly. “This… actually may take more time than we had initially assumed.” I felt as if we’d hit our first real brick wall in this whole day of breakthroughs and whimsy, as I shuffled and slumped in my armor, crossing my arms in the process. “Alright then.” I sighed, before turning towards the gang with a noticeable level of melancholy. “You guys can head off to do other things in town. I’m more than happy to wait here until we get someone, or until curfew’s up and we have to head back up.” A series of nods followed, as thoughts and concerns over whether even waiting until night would net me a single taker. However, these thoughts, worries, and concerns, suddenly took the backseat, as a voice boomed loudly from deep within the crowd. “Ah! Yes! This quest shall do!” Two voices rang out at about the same time, as I turned to face what I could only describe as the most stereotypical fantasy protagonist I could imagine, with an entire adventuring party to boot. The man responsible for that proud proclamation, was a blond-haired elf, dressed in fine plate armor that glowed with an iridescent fire, seemingly emanating from within the polish itself. Next to him, was… what seemed to be a kobold, but upon closer inspection, was clearly not. As he stood a good bit taller than most kobolds I’ve seen thus far, and his muzzle was just that much more sharpened and longer too. Beside the Vunerian was an avinor dressed in what was comparable to renaissance-era mercenary armor, with all of the flashiness that that entailed. Finally, there was a fire elemental, who quite literally gave the group a radiant aura. This group, radiating with both energy, experience, and above all wealth, held up the job listing high in the air. It only took me a moment to realize that the listing wasn’t ours however. As I turned to look at the source of the other voice, emanating from a good few feet below the elf’s larger than life presence. There, next to the radiant group, was a smaller, more disheveled collection of adventurers. A dwarf, who I could only assume was its leader, held up my job listing as high up as he could above a helmet far too battered and scuffed to be worn. Next to him, was a small kobold, dressed in a tunic two-sizes too large for her, wearing what I could only describe as a single piece of platemail that covered them from their chest to their shins. Continuing the questionable ensemble was a bat, wearing just casual commoner attire, with only a lute and a simple bow on his back. Finally, there was a bear, his eyes worn and almost lifeless, glancing over to the fire elemental of the premium group. “This heat is far too intense for me…” He groaned out, before slumping his head back onto the table with a loud thud. First | Previous | Next (Author’s Note: The souvenir shop continues to be a point of pure joy for Emma, as the Kobold King is now part of her hoard! I had a lot of fun with this chapter, as I really enjoyed writing the gang finally being able to shed a bit of their noble and mission facades, interacting as just friends, without the weight of expectant decorum or anything else coming in the way of a good day out! The culmination of this could honestly be seen with the postcard photobooth scene, as I honestly enjoyed writing the gang as they posed for that photo, as it really vibes with their dynamics for me! I hope you guys enjoy! :D The next Two Chapters are already up on Patreon if you guys are interested in getting early access to future chapters!) [If you guys want to help support me and these stories, here's my ko-fi ! And my Patreon for early chapter releases (Chapter 105 and Chapter 106 of this story is already out on there!)] submitted by /u/Jcb112 to r/HFY [link] [comments]
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Jcb112 |
Nov 10, 2024 |
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The best sustained single target damage, Optimal TB OH Monk complete build guide
Intro In a party of four, a dedicated single target damage dealer is a classic pick. For those who have played Monk before, it should come as no surprise that Monk is the clear choice for this party slot. Starting in early act 1, all the way until late act 3, Tavern Brawler Open Hand Monk is one of the best sustained single target damage dealers in the game. Though there are numerous exceptionally powerful builds competing for the same slot - namely Swords Bard and Sorlock - an optimally built Monk will outperform all of them. In short, this build will: Deal extremely high sustained single target damage Off-role as a DEX class for stealth/thievery needs Provide on-demand hard CC Have the best mobility in the game Avoid or mitigate tons of damage Benefit from the best itemization of any build in the game Disclaimer: This build guide is part of a series of party-building guides for a playthrough using what I’ve dubbed the Nightmare Difficulty modlist, not the base game. Said modlist makes the game significantly harder than the base game and will require optimization and min-maxing to complete a playthrough. See this playlist for examples of encounters, and their difficulty, with this modlist enabled. The modlist is in the description of every video. That said, this build will work really well in a regular Tactician playthrough(maybe even too well), and I highly recommend it for Astarion! PS. I see like 4-5 Monk related questions on this sub per day. I hope that this guide answers them all, but please leave a comment if I missed something. Leveling, Stat distribution & Feats Guidelines The end goal of this build is to reach 8 Open Hand Monk / 4 Thief Rogue. If you are curious about 9/3, see the FAQ. Your final build should open Rogue due to better opening bonuses. Late game, your best stat(by a small margin) is WIS. See WIS scaling for more details. You are going to get loads of strength anyway, so focus on stacking WIS. The truly optimal pick for this build is Astarion, more on why later. If you are going a custom character - race choice is largely irrelevant for this build, but wood elf provides a nice bonus to movement and Githyanki are always great. Leveling process You will need to respec at least once to do this optimally. Doing it more leads to smoother build progression, but I kept it to just once for the sake of brevity. At the very start of the game, open with Monk. Take the Way of the Open Hand subclass, and stick with Monk until you reach level 7. Start with: 17 CON, 16 DEX. Dump STR to 8. Rest is whatever you want. Take thievery proficiencies(slight of hand, stealth). You are going to be really squishy early on. Take high CON to help offset this. DEX is good for meeting checks but there are no checks that +3(16 DEX) with buffs wont suffice for. You should not be taking WIS early on. Make sure you get Mage Armor from somewhere. At level 4 feat, take Tavern Brawler with +1 CON. At level 7, go to withers and respec. This time, open Rogue for just the first level, and put the other 6 into Way of the Open Hand Monk. Take: 17 DEX, 16 WIS, 15 CON. Dump STR, CHA and INT to 8. Take thievery proficiencies and expertise(slight of hand, stealth). You will have two Proficiencies left for whatever you want. At level 4(Monk) feat, take Tavern Brawler with +1 CON. Keep leveling Monk until you are back to level 6 Monk. At this point, stop leveling Monk, and start adding levels to Rogue. At level 3 Rogue, take the Thief subclass. Add one more level and reach level 4 Rogue. At level 4(Rogue) feat, take ASI, and take +1 DEX and +1 WIS. You should now have 18 DEX and 17 WIS. This is technically not optimal, and the perfect play here is to take DEX + CON until you can get WIS to an even number. If you want to respec a third time at 12, do that instead. Now level Monk to 8. At level 8(Monk) feat, take ASI, and take +2 WIS. You should now have 19 WIS. Regardless of how you arrive there, this is what your stats and feats should be at level 12: 18 DEX, 19 WIS, 16 CON. Tavern Brawler, +1 CON | ASI +DEX, +WIS | ASI +WIS, +WIS It's possible to reach 21 WIS with no gear if you get +2 from the magic mirror in act 3. Monk is also a decent candidate for Hag's hair +1 WIS. There is however another build in my "ideal" party that is probably better for Hag's hair, so I would bite the bullet on the odd number for now. Gear/Itemization & Consumables Monk's have zero overlap with other builds for gearing. This is amazing and a core reason to pick monk over some of the other great single target damage dealers. On top of that, there is more gear specific to monk builds in BG3 than there is gear specific to any other class. The game just constantly feeds you insanely good gear options from start to finish, and having a Monk allows you to really capitalize on that gear. Gloves There is a plethora of great gloves for Monks throughout the game: Gloves of Cinder and Sizzle(Fire, Easiest to get), Seraphic Pugilist Gloves(Radiant), Snow-Dusted Monastery Gloves(Cold), Thunderpalm Strikers(Thunder), Servitor of the Black Hand Gloves(Force) and Flawed Helldusk Gloves(Necrotic) Each of these gloves adds a 1d4 roll to an unarmed attack, with varying elemental damage types. Some have extra bonuses, but just use which ever one you like most, or the one that has the best damage type for the situation. You'll be using these until deep into act 3. The Sparkle Hands are available early and more or less as good as any elemental pair. Gloves of Thievery are also available early and great for passing checks. Gloves of Soul Catching are your best in slot gloves by far, but only available deep into act 3. House of Hope is a tough fight at this difficulty level so be prepared to work for these. The sheer damage they provide on top of saving throw advantage is bonkers. Top 3 item in the entire game IMO. Gauntlets of Frost Giant Strength are your only real option if you don't like elixirs. Key Items The Graceful Cloth(Early), Vest of Soul Rejuvenation Yuan-Ti Scale Mail & Armour of Agility Vest of Soul Rejuvenation is straight up your best option no matter what in the late game due to WIS scaling and other unarmored bonuses. Until then, The Graceful Cloth is good, but the DEX scaling medium armors are also viable if you are Githyanki and can wear Medium Armor. Boots of Uninhibited Kushigo These are your best boots and become seriously good as you approach +5/+6 WIS modifier. The Deathstalker Mantle or Cloak of Displacement Both are good defensive options, albeit in different ways. The first is durge specific and I'm not entirely sold that it's even better defensively, since you wont always land a killing blow to proc it. Having both for different situations is the correct play. Sentient Amulet) or Khalid's Gift If you used Hag's Hair for +1 WIS on your monk, you can just keep the Sentient Amulet forever. Doing so is likely optimal because it can restore up 1d8 Ki points on use once upgraded(do the quest associated with it). This comment sums it up well. If you use the Hag's Hair on a different character, Khalid's Gift becomes a good option as it will give you an even WIS score. Other Items Ring of Protection Shifting Corpus Ring or Crusher's Ring or The Sparkswall Ring slots are mostly utility and I recommend picking defensive options. Special consideration should be given to resistance rings like The Sparkswall since you will never have an option to use a resistance elixir. Ring of Protection might be overall better on a caster - but works here too. The Watersparklers are a particularly interesting option to use before Kushigo boots - see this post for details. Horns of the Berserker or Helldusk Helmet On paper Horns are an extra 1d4 necrotic damage, which is good(thanks to u/Vesorias for pointing out the in-game tooltip is misleading). Can't really go wrong there. On the other hand, Helldusk Helmet provides a collection of useful buffs, especially crit immunity, which is great to avoid random 0-100 KOs. Both are great but crit immunity is just too strong to pass up. Gontr Mael is a good stat stick for self haste. Consumables There's a great deal of discussion circling the two elixirs and their respective power: Elixir of Hill Giant Strength & Elixir of Cloud Giant Strength Regardless of how you feel about them, this build will be as close to optimal as it can be, and will be using them to feed Tavern Brawler damage and increase jump distance. Elixir of Hill Giant Strength gives 21 strength. As soon as you reach the Druid Grove in act 1, you should never leave camp without drinking one. Auntie Ethel will sell 3 every time you long rest, make sure to buy them every time you do. Avoid actually fighting Ethel until deep into act 1 to get the most out of this. This should be the elixir you use for like 90% of the game. Elixir of Cloud Giant Strength gives 27 strength. These are harder to get but should be used before every one of the major encounters in act 3. Depending on your in-game choices, you need 10-16 to cover every single encounter you want them for. These can be bought with some consistency from Stylin' Horst & Oliver Tefoco. You can also loot 10+ of them easily throughout act 3, so having enough should not be a challenge. My personal thoughts on the elixir discussion are in the FAQ for those curious. Abilities and Passives Psionic Overload is a Illithid Power that adds a 1d4 Psychic damage-rider die to each punch for 10 turns. Since Monks can put out between 6 and 10 punches per turn at full build, using this early in a fight lets it generate a lot of value for a single action investment. This is a super good pickup and the main Illithid Power of note for Monks. Also recommend peeking at the Illithid powers part in the FAQ. Flurry of Blows is your bread and butter damage and doesn't really need an explanation. Only thing of note to mention here is that Stagger tends to be underused, but is particularly great at disabling some extremely dangerous boss's reactions. Patient Defence is a good defensive tool, especially earlier on when you are not swimming in defensive gear and pushing 22+ AC. Step of the Wind: Dash and Step of the Wind: Disengage are beyond broken when combined with high STR from an elixir and Monk's unarmored movement buff. You can just jump across the battlefield indefinitely and have great impact on the tempo of a fight. I can't list all the possible uses of these concisely, so just keep in mind: if a task requires someone to move to a far corner of the fight, then back to the group, use this. Dash is most of the time better than disengage since reaction damage is only really relevant when it comes from bosses. Deflect Missiles is pretty good(and looks awesome) when fighting general enemies. KI point shortage is however a very real problem in longer fights, and so I don't recommend using many on this reaction unless it's a seriously dangerous projectile. Kushigo Counter is a better reaction anyway. Stunning Strike) is crazy. In the base game this is just completely broken. It is slightly more balanced in the context of this guide, but even then, it's an absurdly good ability. At this difficulty, most of act 3's enemies will have built in CC resistance and/or absurdly high bonuses to CON saving throws - some bosses especially are functionally immune to being Stunned due to saving rolls or passives. It is possible to stun some of them, just way less likely than in the base game. That said, just about every boss in act 2 onward has at least a few procs worth of Legendary Resistance. A hasted monk will be able to break off four of these procs in 1 turn with stunning strike. For like 75% of the hard encounters a Monk can remove the buff(s) solo. Level 6 Monk gets 3 key passives: Manifestation of Body, Mind and Soul. Each deals 1d4 + WIS modifier elemental damage. Only one can be active at a time: activate the one that is appropriate to that part of the game. Soul for example is really good in most of act 2. Ki Empowered Strikes is often glossed over but is an exceptionally strong passive. Basically, there are two kinds of resistance for martial damage: Physical and Magical. For example, a fighter swinging their sword is dealing physical damage - and Physical is more common as a resistance than magical. Bosses usually have both, but not average enemies. This passive allows your punches to deal Magical damage, which is less common as a resistance. Basically you bypass a lot of resistance to bludgeoning damage. Wholeness of Body is a once-per-long-rest HP & KI point regenerator, and your one and only "burst" damage setup. This will heal you for your x 3 HP, and regenerate half your max KI points immediately. For 3 turns after, you get an additional KI point back each turn, and an extra bonus action. Overall this ability is really flexible and can be used in a lot of tricky situations, but the best general use case is 1 turn before your party intends to deal burst damage. Basically right before your entire party dumps their resources and damage into trying to kill something, use it. By then you've probably used a bunch of your KI already, so it should get all of it's value as a regenerator as well. Core build mechanics Tavern Brawler and Elixirs Tavern Brawler adds double your STR modifier as flat damage to each unarmed attack(punch). If you are using a 21(+5) STR elixir, you are adding 10 flat damage to each punch. If you are using a 27(+8) STR elixir, you are adding 16 flat damage to each punch. Since a full build Monk can hit 6 - 10 punches per turn, your elixir of choice + TB is adding either 60 - 100 or 96 - 160 damage per turn. The value per elixir is so high that nothing else is worth drinking. Wisdom scaling and Armor choice Earlier I mentioned that WIS is going to be your best stat. Lets explore why that's the case: Unarmoured Defence) is a passive that will add your WIS modifier to your AC if you don't wear any armor or a shield. The end game goal is 22 WIS, which results in the passive granting a whopping +6 AC. Note: Mage armor does not stack with Unarmoured Defence. This is why you don't want WIS until your first respec. Your active Manifestation of X passive will add 1d4 + WIS modifier to each punch. Your boots will add your WIS modifier to each punch. As of patch 3, your WIS modifier does not contribute to your DC. This is likely a bug, but at the moment, if you run this build, it will scale with STR. To summarize, increasing your WIS modifier by 1 nets you 1 AC and 2 Damage per punch, which is only marginally better than Strength, which nets you 1 DC and 2 Damage per punch. DEX off-role and Evasion I recommend reaching 18 DEX(+4 modifier) for this build. What does this even achieve, since your damage is coming from STR and WIS? Quite a bit, actually: Not wearing Armor adds your DEX modifier to your AC with no cap/penalty. So you will get +4 AC. Having decent DEX allows you to meet common DEX checks for your party(Slight of Hand in specific). Take your +4 modifier, add +8 from proficiency + expertise(rogue) , as well as guidance(or advantage) from a Cleric, and you can meet 30 DC checks without needing a nat 20. The real game changer here is Evasion, a passive you pick up at level 7 Monk. This ends up flying under the radar for so many Monk players, but is a highlight of the class. Most AOE damage spells require you to roll DEX save. If you pass it, the damage is halved. Some AOE spells are CON, not DEX. Common ones are DEX though. Evasion halves the damage even on a failed saving roll, meaning that you will always at least cut the damage of DEX save spells in half. But that's if you fail the roll. If you pass it, you now take zero damage. You will have many ways to increase saving roll bonus and get advantage, so you'll pass the check often, even against crazy high DC bosses. Even in the base game this is awesome. But specifically in the context of this guide: AI behavior mods change AI to try always use AOE spells if they can deal more damage, and because of difficulty being upscaled so much, they will get more(and better) spells. Chain lightning, Call Lightning, Ice Storm and Fireball are common, and are all DEX saves, making Evasion a disgustingly high value passive. Astarion? If you have not seen his quest in full, perhaps skip this next part. You've been warned. If you let Astarion ascend at the end of the Szarr Palace fight, each of his unarmed attacks will deal an additional 1d10 necrotic damage. This is basically equal to your 1d10 force gloves. If you are chasing a perfect build, this will always be the correct play. Keep in mind that doing this may not align with your story, and I am a firm advocate of trying to stay in-line with your character even in runs like this. Total damage output and AC With 22 WIS, 18 DEX and your best in slot chestplate, you will have a very respectable 22 AC. As for damage... assuming that: You used 27 STR elixir You used Psionic Overload Character is Astarion and you have done what I mention above You are full build(gear and stats) Your punch with no external riders will deal up to (1d8 + 21) + (1d4 + 6) + (1d4) + (1d10) + (1d10), for an absurd grand total of 31 - 62 damage per punch. With no additional buffs, you can punch 6 times per turn at level 12 for an average of 282 damage. With haste(you're a good class to use haste on) + Wholeness of Body bonus action, you can punch 10 times per turn for a disgusting average of 472 damage. Happy punching. Note: Reduce the per punch average by ~1 if you run 8/4 over 9/3. FAQ I tried to keep the guide itself as objective as possible, and applicable to regular Tactician. Just keep in mind: a lot of what's in the FAQ is from my experience completing a full playthrough with hyper-upscaled(modded) difficulty. Of course a lot of it applies to the base game, but remember that what I say here is based on a slightly different experience. Why not go 9/3 over 8/4? Short answer: You can. 9/3 is situationally better in the base game when enemies have small health pools and fights are shorter. That said, Ki Resonance is not a good use of a Ki point in the context of this guide. Ki point shortage is very real and becomes super noticeable in act 3. Also, the AOE damage is fairly low compared to casters. If you really need AOE, it is justifiable. Long answer: I have used both in my own playthrough, and I don't think 9/3 is worth losing 1 WIS. First of all, Ki points should be spent exclusively on stunning strike, flurry of blows and occasionally on step of the wind/patient defence during the hard fights in act 3. At most, a Monk can use 18(19-26 with amulet) Ki points in a fight. Many act 3 fights will be 10-20 turns long, and you will need to heavily consider how you invest your Ki. There is also a common argument to go 9/3 so you can equip a stat stick. I don't buy into this one bit since it limits your regular punches to 1 per target. Going 9/3 loses your third feat(ASI +2 WIS) which gives you +1 AC and 2 extra damage per punch. Now, to be clear: the damage gained using a Ki point on Resonating Blast has the potential to be higher then when used on a flurry. Used on 5 targets, for example, is 15d6 to each. But, an ideal party should have a dedicated caster that will bring AOE damage - and their per turn AOE damage will be like 20 times higher than a Monk. Just let them focus on AOE. My advice is to really lean into the build philosophy: pushing sustained single target damage per turn to its limit. Trying to do AOE damage will just distract you from doing what you are good at. What about a 2 fighter dip? No. Doing this at full build sacrifices either Evasion and a feat or 2 feats. Nothing fighter offers is worth it. A 1 fighter dip for the first few levels just for heavy armor is alright, but it delays acquiring Tavern Brawler to level 5, or only works until level 4 which is pointless anyway. In the base game I think this is probably okay but I seriously do not recommend it on upscaled difficulty. Having your Monk put out tons of damage is going to help you get through a fairly sluggish level 4. Level 5 your casters get some great spells which makes things smoother. Is the 23 CON necklace worth it? Given that, in my ideal party, Monk is probably the only class that is going to have low CON, it looks like a good idea on paper. In practice however, Monk is basically an evasion tank. You will outright avoid and dampen more damage than literally any other build in the game barring dedicated tank/defense builds. Between saving throw advantage + evasion, 22 AC(realistically this can reach 25 with haste and ring), patient defence, crit immunity and your cloak of choice, you can reasonably stand up to even the most absurd damage output of late act 3's encounters. So overall, I would say give it to a different party member. Thoughts on Elixirs? Using strength elixirs is obviously really strong and allows Monk to pretty comfortably dump their ability points into WIS and DEX and use their best-in-slot gloves. Reaching the height of 27 strength(+8 modifier) for so little investment sits on the border of game breaking. Is it too strong for the base game? Yes. Does this level of difficulty warrant using it? Yes. I think this is exactly what mods should do - enable you to make near perfect characters without feeling like you are going far outside of the games balance. The other problem is cheesing vendors to get stupidly high numbers of these, either through spamming long rest without resources, or leveling up. Personally I don’t advocate for doing this; it’s just silly and totally unnecessary. You’ll need to long rest a bunch anyway due to using more resources per fight - you shouldn't need to cheese this. Just loot and trade for gold, go to a trader after long resting and buy them. There are, frankly, way bigger offenders in the consumables department(looking at you scrolls), and I will be recommending stockpiling them when I tackle the damage caster guide. Is TB OH Monk really the best build for this slot? Short Answer: In my opinion, yes. There are just too many independently strong mechanics coming together in this build: good (not great) damage output, insane crowd control, mobility, gearing, survivability, and a DEX off-role. All of it's major competition have their own advantages, don't get me wrong: Titanstring Ranger, Pierceadin & TB Throw can do 600+ DPR SSB has astronomically high burst Acuity + Band Swords Bard is a powerful damage/controller hybrid Sorlock is a Sorcerer So yes - there are some major benefits to running any of the other competing builds in the same slot, but due to the sheer number of categories Monk excels in is too high to ignore. It may not win in damage, but overall, it's the clear winner in my eyes. Ok but Hamarhraft does more damage? Sure. But it also is based on a collection of clearly bugged interactions and is just outright not fun to play. TB OH Monk probably borders on being just outside the games balance, but it is a thematically cool build, is insanely fun to play, and does not rely on breaking damage rider mechanics to work. Not to mention, it's balance is way more in line with the rest of the game when you play with difficulty mods, which I am advocating for. Monk can make use of a lot of other Illithid Powers, why not mention them? I am completely for using these. They are cool and fun to use. Thing is, the sheer number of options make it impossible to fit into a build specific guide. There are just too many bases to cover and it's really better suited to it's own guide. Other than what I’ve mentioned already, the only other one that I might consider specific to this build is Mind Sanctuary which allows bonus actions and actions to be used interchangeably. This allows using bonus actions for stunning strikes and actions for flurry of blows. What else do I run in my party to go along with Monk? For base game Tactician, literally whatever you want. If you’re a min-maxer, or want to try your hand at a much harder modded playthrough, I made guides for the other 3 party members. Each build is meant to be used in combination with the other 3 - keep it mind. See the finished Life Cleric guide here. See the finished Lockadin guide here. See the finished Sorcerer guide here. Edits: 10/28 clarifications and syntax fixes. submitted by /u/Prestigious_Juice341 to r/BG3Builds [link] [comments]
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r/BG3Builds |
Prestigious_Juice341 |
Oct 6, 2023 |
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If you're a fan of extremely crispy foods, then you'll probably love Goulash جلاش (not the stew) or Börek. It's the savoury cousin of Baklava that is filled with Meat or Spinach, and is one of the crispiest foods in existence. Full Recipe inside
Baklava is definitely the most popular dessert in the Middle East, with dozens of different shapes, sizes and fillings of baklava, it begs the question - has anyone made a "savoury Baklava"? The answer to that is Yes, there are many varieties of "savoury baklava" that are served throughout the Middle East and Balkan region. You may know this as Börek (Burek, Brek) or Spanakopita, but in Egypt and parts of the Middle East we call it Goulash; layers upon layers of crispy Phyllo (Filo) pastry surrounding a filling made of lightly spiced ground beef. More than being a recipe, Goulash or Borek is a cooking technique that can be applied to any filling you can think of. The result is an extremely crispy pastry filled with a delicious savoury centre. If you want to see how I assemble the Goulash, check out the full recipe video here What is Goulash (جلاش أو كلاج) Goulash in the traditional sense of the word refers to a baked Phyllo pastry that is filled with a savoury stuffing. This pastry usually has 16+ layers of phyllo dough, which itself is divided into a top and bottom layer that sandwich the filling. For those of you unfamiliar with Phyllo (Filo), it is an ultra thin pastry sheet (we're talking thinner than paper) that when baked turns extremely crispy. On it's own Phyllo is completely tasteless, and baking a single sheet will not produce a memorable meal. However, when you layer multiple sheets on top of each other and utilise a sweet or savoury filling, the phyllo completely transforms into the perfect vehicle for serving the filling. The most common kind of Goulash that is served in the Middle East is a tray baked goulash that is stuffed with minced beef and onion. This is usually served as a side dish at dinner parties and is a common fixture during the month of Ramadan. There are many kinds of savoury phyllo pastries that exist in the region, and one you've probably seen before is Greek Strifti or Turkish Kol boregi. These are shaped like a spiral and are made by rolling a long sheet of phyllo around the filling before coiling and baking it. Another common kind is Sigara Boregi(cigarette borek) or Asabe Goulash(finger Goulash), these range in size and thickness from the size of a pinkie finger to a spring roll, and contain a wide array of fillings. Probably the most common kind of Phyllo pastry in the Middle East is Sambousek, however calling it a phyllo pastry is a bit of a misnomer. Depending upon the household, Sambousek can either be made with Phyllo Pastry, Spring Roll pastry, or a beautiful bubbly dough (Check out my recipe here). Like the shape, there is also a large variation in the fillings and anything you can think of can be used in a Goulash. The most common filling in the Middle East is a minced meat and onion filling, this is lightly spiced with salt, pepper and whatever the local spice blend is. Sometimes pine nuts are added to the meat filling, however in a tray of goulash, it's usually kept to just the beef and onion. Another common filling is cooked spinach, this features very heavily in the Greek and Turkish varieties where it's usually accompanied by Feta Cheese. One filling I really enjoy is a tangy spinach filling, that is made with Sumac and Pomegranate molasses and contrasts well with the heaviness you can get from all the butter in the dish. The only restriction on the filling is that it can't contain too much liquid, as moisture can impede the cooking of the phyllo. In theory you could make a cheeseburger or chicken tandoori goulash, for the ultimate crispy snack. Making goulash is pretty much an identical process to making a tray of Baklava, except some extra steps are taken towards the end to keep the savoury filling in place. It starts by coating a baking dish in a layer of clarified butter or oil, then laying in a single layer of phyllo pastry. That layer is then liberally coated in another layer of butter or oil, before a second layer of phyllo is added on top of it. This process called lamination is repeated over and over again until a sufficiently thick pastry base has been formed (I'd recommend a minimum of 8 layers). By laminating the pastry we are accomplishing two things; firstly we're creating a barrier between each layer that will prevent it from sticking to the ones above and below it, and secondly we are introducing fat which will crisp up the phyllo but also help it rise. Now it's important to note that clarified butter or ghee is nearly always used when making Goulash, and that's because it has had the milk solids removed and prevents the phyllo from burning. If you try to make this with regular butter you'll find it harder to work with and more susceptible to burning. Once the base has been assembled, a pre cooked filling is added to the baking dish and distributed evenly over the pastry. This should be laid to a depth of about 1 - 1.5cm (3/8 - 5/8in) deep. When filled, a layer of phyllo is placed on top of the filling and the lamination process begins again. This time around you want to use more sheets than in the base, and the more layers you add, the higher the phyllo will rise in the oven (I find a 40:60 split works well). Before adding the last layer, it's best to trim off any excess phyllo from the dish to ensure you get a nice clean top. Once assembled the goulash has to be cut into individual servings as it's too delicate to cut when cooked, and unlike the traditional diamonds of Baklava, this is usually cut into large squares. Prior to baking the last step is to coat the entire goulash in an egg wash. Rather than serve to give the goulash a nice exterior colour, this egg wash seeps down into the filling and functions as a glue to bind the filling and phyllo layers together. The goulash is then baked until the top layers of phyllo turn completely golden brown, before being removed and allowed to cool before serving. If done right, the phyllo layers will have puffed up on the top, and the filling will be suspended in place between the top and bottom layers of pastry. If you've worked with Phyllo pastry before then you'll know it requires patience and time to assemble this goulash. One shortcut my family does when short on time, is to use pre-rolled puff pastry sheets in place of the phyllo. Although this is definitely not an authentic version, a lot of our dinner guests have thoroughly enjoyed it and gone on to make it themselves. It's a huge time saver, because rather than laying individual sheets and laminating them, you can just place a pre rolled sheet in the dish then top it with the filling. This can either be made exactly like the Phyllo version with a top and bottom layer, or you can add a third middle layer of pastry. One draw back of doing this is that the Puff pastry will not crisp up as well as the phyllo, you sacrifice texture for time when using puff pastry. Another draw back is that the puff pastry layers in the middle and bottom will not fully expand and can have a soft squishy texture. I personally find that texture to be quite enjoyable, but to avoid it, you can roll out a single sheet of puff pastry into 2 thin layers to replace them. Cultural Context It's not definitively known which came first, the Baklava or the Borek, however it's almost certain that it originated in either the Ottoman or Byzantine Empire. A number of sources have suggested the food is of nomadic Turkic origin, but what we do know is that this food spread far and wide in the Ottoman empire. The same Borek that's made in Bosnia and Croatia can be found in Egypt and Jordan. As the borek made its way across the Caucasus and central Asia, the fillings changed to reflect the tastes of the local cuisine, foods such as anchovies or local cheeses made their way into it. The Borek then made their way to Mongol ruled China where the recipe was recorded in a 14th century dietary book called Yinshan Zhengyao (飮膳正要, Important Principles of Food and Drink). Borek became a huge part of Ottoman cuisine, where it was often served at court feasts and enjoyed by the regular public alike. At one point it is said there were 4 times more Borek shops in Istanbul than bakeries. More History here Traditionally most boreks are made with a pastry dough called yufka (similar but not identical to phyllo), however it seems that most recipes interchange yufka for filo pastry based on availability. The use of fresh phyllo dough is important when making borek as filo can easily tear or break if it dries out. In most bakeries that make Borek, they either make the Phyllo themselves or purchase it fresh everyday from a phyllo maker. What's interesting about the naming of Goulash (or Güllaç), is that it's also the name of a dessert in some parts of the Middle East and Turkey. In Egypt, this dessert is made by soaking phyllo sheets in sweetened milk, whereas in Turkey a thin pastry made from flour and cornstarch is used instead. Flavour Profile With goulash, the flavour you taste will directly depend upon the filling you add to it. The classic ground meat and onion filling is usually lightly spiced and seasoned to get that classic browned beef flavour, I think it goes great with the Goulash and it's a good introduction to the versatility of this dish. However if you fill the goulash with spinach or cheese, those are what you would taste instead. One thing you may notice about goulash, is the buttery flavour you get from the laminated pastry sheets. It's more of a background flavour and the stronger your filling tastes, the less you'll notice it. Rather than the flavour being important here, it's the crispy texture of the goulash that matters. You'll have three distinct layers in your goulash and should be able to feel each one as you bite into it. The bottom and top layer are both extremely crispy and firm, the texture you get from them is similar to that of potato chips but a lot more delicate and multi layered. Then you have the filling, which usually is quite soft, but depending on what you use, might have some chewiness. The contrasts between the crispy outer layers and the soft filling is what makes borek or goulash so great. Ingredients The following amounts are suitable for a 9 X 12 inch (22 X 30 cm) baking dish. Phyllo Goulash: 500g (1lb) Phyllo (Filo) pastry 250g (1/2 lb) Butter For Puff Pastry Goulash: Half the ingredients for the beef filling 2 300g (10.5 oz) packets of pre-rolled puff pastry Beef filling: 1kg (2 lbs) Beef Mince 2 Medium Brown (Spanish) onions 3 Garlic cloves 2 Tbsp Olive Oil 2 Tsp Salt 1/2 Tsp Pepper 1/2 Tsp Bharat or Middle Eastern 7 spice (Optional) substitute with your favourite spice blend Egg wash: 150ml (2/3c) whole milk 1 Large Egg or 2 Small Eggs Directions To make the Beef Filling: Dice the onions into small cubes and mince your garlic Add Olive oil to a pan on medium-high heat and add the onions, Saute for 2-3 minutes Once the onions have softened a little add the garlic and saute for 5 minutes until the onions turn opaque, if you would like to add some other vegetables, then add them in with the garlic Once soft and opaque, add the Salt, Pepper & any other seasonings you would like to the onions, stir, then push to one side of the pan Add the Minced beef to the pan and press in firmly, allow it to brown on that side for 5 minutes Break the meat into smaller sections and flip over, allow it to fry for a few more minutes before breaking it up into tiny pieces with your spatula Mix the onions into the meat and cook until a deep brown colour, remove and set aside How to clarify butter: Place your 250g stick of butter in a pot to melt on high heat until completely liquified Allow it to come to a boil and it will foam up. Once it has boiled for a few minutes the foam will evaporate Your clarified butter is done cooking when you can see the bottom of the pot through the golden melted butter, pour out into a jug to cool Note: Make sure not to pour out any of the cooked milk solids into the jug. You will likely not use all of the clarified butter in this recipe, don't feel you have to How to assemble the Phyllo: Prepare a 9 X 12 inch (22 X 30 cm) deep baking dish by brushing the base and walls with clarified butter Lay your first phyllo sheet in the dish allowing any excess to run up the walls of the dish. (You may need to slice your phyllo sheets in half to fit in the dish) Using a pastry brush, coat the sheet of phyllo from corner to corner with a thin layer of clarified butter. (You must coat all the surface including any excess pastry) Place another Phyllo sheet on top, and press out any air bubbles. Allow it to adhere to the sheet below it. Coat it in butter once more and repeat this process until you have a minimum of 8 layers of phyllo Using a sharp knife, trim off any excess phyllo that is running up the walls of the dish Brush your topmost layer of phyllo with butter, then pour on your meat filling. Spread it out into one even layer from edge to edge Place a sheet of Phyllo on top of the filling and then repeat the layering/laminating process with a minimum of 8 layers of Phyllo When adding your last layer of Phyllo, trim any excess off the walls before placing it, then brush the top surface with butter Using a sharp knife slice your pastry into equal sized portions, use a ruler to get accurate edges Whisk together your milk and egg into an egg wash and then pour it evenly over the Goulash Bake in a 180c or 350f oven for 40 minutes, rotating at the halfway point. Remove when it is Golden Brown all over and bubbling Allow to cool for a minimum of half an hour before serving. If there is a lot of butter bubbling in the dish when it comes out of the oven DO NOT pour it out, that will cool and redistribute back into the goulash. Removing it will ruin the dish How to assemble the Puff Pastry Version: Prepare a 9 X 12 inch (22 X 30 cm) deep baking dish by brushing the base and walls with clarified butter Roll out one sheet of puff pastry to twice the size of your baking dish then cut in half. These will become your bottom and middle layer of pastry Add a layer of the rolled puff pastry to the bottom of the dish and trim off any excess Add half of your filling on top of the pastry in an even manner Lay the second rolled layer of puff pastry on top Add the remaining fill on top of this layer of puff pastry Add a full sheet of puff pastry on top, then slice into equal sized portions Whisk together your milk and egg into an egg wash and then pour it evenly over the Goulash Bake for 40-50 minutes until the top layer puffs up well Allow to cool for 20 minutes before eating When making the puff pastry version, you only need to do about half to two thirds of the filling amount. You will also need 2 300g (10.5 oz) pre-rolled puff pastry sheets. Note: The bottom two layers will not puff up, due to the weight of the layers above them and the egg wash holding everything in place. Ingredients The following amounts are suitable for a 9 X 12 inch (22 X 30 cm) baking dish. Phyllo Goulash: 500g (1lb) Phyllo (Filo) pastry 250g (1/2 lb) Butter For Puff Pastry Goulash: Half the ingredients for the beef filling 2 300g (10.5 oz) packets of pre-rolled puff pastry Beef filling: 1kg (2 lbs) Beef Mince 2 Medium Brown (Spanish) onions 3 Garlic cloves 2 Tbsp Olive Oil 2 Tsp Salt 1/2 Tsp Pepper 1/2 Tsp Bharat or Middle Eastern 7 spice (Optional) substitute with your favourite spice blend Egg wash: 150ml (2/3c) whole milk 1 Large Egg or 2 Small Eggs Directions To make the Beef Filling: Dice the onions into small cubes and mince your garlic Add Olive oil to a pan on medium-high heat and add the onions, Saute for 2-3 minutes Once the onions have softened a little add the garlic and saute for 5 minutes until the onions turn opaque, if you would like to add some other vegetables, then add them in with the garlic Once soft and opaque, add the Salt, Pepper & any other seasonings you would like to the onions, stir, then push to one side of the pan Add the Minced beef to the pan and press in firmly, allow it to brown on that side for 5 minutes Break the meat into smaller sections and flip over, allow it to fry for a few more minutes before breaking it up into tiny pieces with your spatula Mix the onions into the meat and cook until a deep brown colour, remove and set aside How to clarify butter: Place your 250g stick of butter in a pot to melt on high heat until completely liquified Allow it to come to a boil and it will foam up. Once it has boiled for a few minutes the foam will evaporate Your clarified butter is done cooking when you can see the bottom of the pot through the golden melted butter, pour out into a jug to cool Note: Make sure not to pour out any of the cooked milk solids into the jug. You will likely not use all of the clarified butter in this recipe, don't feel you have to How to assemble the Phyllo: Prepare a 9 X 12 inch (22 X 30 cm) deep baking dish by brushing the base and walls with clarified butter Lay your first phyllo sheet in the dish allowing any excess to run up the walls of the dish. (You may need to slice your phyllo sheets in half to fit in the dish) Using a pastry brush, coat the sheet of phyllo from corner to corner with a thin layer of clarified butter. (You must coat all the surface including any excess pastry) Place another Phyllo sheet on top, and press out any air bubbles. Allow it to adhere to the sheet below it. Coat it in butter once more and repeat this process until you have a minimum of 8 layers of phyllo Using a sharp knife, trim off any excess phyllo that is running up the walls of the dish Brush your topmost layer of phyllo with butter, then pour on your meat filling. Spread it out into one even layer from edge to edge Place a sheet of Phyllo on top of the filling and then repeat the layering/laminating process with a minimum of 8 layers of Phyllo When adding your last layer of Phyllo, trim any excess off the walls before placing it, then brush the top surface with butter Using a sharp knife slice your pastry into equal sized portions, use a ruler to get accurate edges Whisk together your milk and egg into an egg wash and then pour it evenly over the Goulash Bake in a 180c or 350f oven for 40 minutes, rotating at the halfway point. Remove when it is Golden Brown all over and bubbling Allow to cool for a minimum of half an hour before serving. If there is a lot of butter bubbling in the dish when it comes out of the oven DO NOT pour it out, that will cool and redistribute back into the goulash. Removing it will ruin the dish How to assemble the Puff Pastry Version: Prepare a 9 X 12 inch (22 X 30 cm) deep baking dish by brushing the base and walls with clarified butter Roll out one sheet of puff pastry to twice the size of your baking dish then cut in half. These will become your bottom and middle layer of pastry Add a layer of the rolled puff pastry to the bottom of the dish and trim off any excess Add half of your filling on top of the pastry in an even manner Lay the second rolled layer of puff pastry on top Add the remaining fill on top of this layer of puff pastry Add a full sheet of puff pastry on top, then slice into equal sized portions Whisk together your milk and egg into an egg wash and then pour it evenly over the Goulash Bake for 40-50 minutes until the top layer puffs up well Allow to cool for 20 minutes before eating When making the puff pastry version, you only need to do about half to two thirds of the filling amount. You will also need 2 300g (10.5 oz) pre-rolled puff pastry sheets. Note: The bottom two layers will not puff up, due to the weight of the layers above them and the eggwash holding everything in place. submitted by /u/ObiEff to r/Cooking [link] [comments]
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r/Cooking |
ObiEff |
Jan 27, 2021 |
Canada
