hi i am but a simple commoner but i post my opinion, or rather, argument
It's called protection from magic (the scroll...which monks can not use). For a good real-time hour, you are immune from all magic.
hmm i might be mistaken, but i happen to play a monk and use protection from magic scroll occasionally; maybe its toned down in the patch, but it works like a dream in ToB + SoA w/o patches
Also a Paladin weilding Crom-Faeyr and quaffing 1 potion of magic shielding *easily* breaches 100% MR....and even w/o the potion has a base MR of 75% which isn't shabby.
i would say monk already breaches without potion of magic shielding so doesnt even have to waste good money on the potion... w/ potions, i say monks would easily breach 150% MR for those who use lower resistance on your character, which you wont encounter often, i might add.
In SoA and ToB, however, the traps *aren't* that tough. I find that even Nalia is likely to disarm most traps, and Imoen is almost certainly will. Give Imoen 4-5 potions of master thievery and you have all the thief you will ever need for the best of the game (give her the Harper's Amulet and the Ring of Danger Sense as well).
maybe you didnt read the item description carefully enough... either that or the descriptions is wrong... the item description for potion of master theivery does
not mention anything about traps... just lock picking and pickpocketing... and yes, i do take great pride in my ability to read every danm item i get.
The only one that is a real pest is stunning...and even that isn't true for all fighting types (only the pure fighter). The Cavalier and Inquisitor are almost immune to these type of attacks AND (especially the Inquisitor) has MR that is near Monk Level with the right gear (Holy Avenger+Amulet of Seldarine+Bonuses from Hell+Bonuses from Machine = 75% MR BEFORE Potions or other special items are factored in).
yeah yeah i agree that might be true but monk gets more MR than heavily equipped paladin w/o any items or even hell bonuses. face it you can
never beat a monk w/ MR... if a monk used all items + hell bonuses he would be over 100% w/o having to prepare for a battle... and with wisdom of 18, a monk's saving throw is low enough honestly, i think you are covering monk's advantages and exaggerating only their disadvantages. but i do think fighter could take any class one-on-one (dont mention spellcasters they are not discussion; they absolutely win tho)...
also i think someone said that there was a way for a monk to disarm a trap... i didnt play monks for too much but i cant figure out a way to actually disarm a trap... i know they detect them but there is no way to disarm them with thieving skill button because monks dont have one could somebody tell me?