I've always been a fan of finding interesting 'outside the box' options with characters in roleplaying games and all of the multi-classing options available in 5e offer a wide variety of interesting possibilities. After reading around for a while it seems like the conventional wisdom is that multi-classing is not ideal for Monks (MAD, losing out on Ki for non-Monk levels) and if you do, a quick one or two level dip into Fighter or Rogue is the most common recommendation. I can definitely see the value in those choices but I'm not necessarily looking for the strongest multi-class options but the most interesting.
Let's assume for the sake of argument that you meet the qualifications for any multi-class choice you would like to make. Obviously few (if any) characters would meet all those requirements (unless you rolled for attributes and rolled really well) but you could certainly build a character that prioritized Dex and Wis while still starting with a 13 in another relevant stat. I'm also assuming that you would be staying in the other class for awhile, at least 4-5 levels, so it wouldn't just be a dip and you would be there long enough to gain the benefit of a subclass. This also means I'm not looking at any of the high level abilities (10+) in either class since you're unlikely to ever get them. I've got a few of my thoughts on the pros and cons of the first couple options below.
Barbarian:
Another combat oriented class, some Monks are already Strength focused so the requirements may be relatively easy to meet.
Unarmored Defense doesn't double up but there is nothing stopping you from using Ki while you're Raging, the extra damage combined with all the attacks the Monk gets is nice.
If you stick around to level 5 you get more movement speed.
Totem Warrior seems like it would be a strong sub-class option but I'm not seeing a lot of others.
From a roleplaying perspective, you could make an interesting story about a clash of cultures and warrior virtues; either someone from a barbarian background who chooses to learn a new, more controlled way to fight or someone raised as a monk who learns the value of an older warrior tradition.
Bard:
Many varieties of Bard are more support based but there are a few more combat oriented (College of Swords, Whispers) subclasses.
Has the issue all spell casters will face of having Concentration spells running on a character who is likely to get hit more often than that class is used to.
A sneaky, infiltrator combo of a Way of Shadow/College of Whispers character could be fun.
Bards always offer a lot of fun roleplaying opportunities and being a Monk would definitely help you stand up better in the inevitable bar fights.
Cleric:
Monks already have good Wisdom so your primary spellcasting stat should be in good shape.
Clerics get a lot of great support spells that Monks would love, Spirit Shroud for example can be devastating when you're throwing out four attacks a turn and hindering their movement to boot. The Divine Strike abilities a number of domains get give you a bit of extra damage every turn too.
War Domain is a solid combat option with some good spells for a Monk.
If you went with Way of Mercy then this is a natural combo for more healing, conversely using the Hands of Harm abilities in conjunction with a Death domain Cleric could also be quite potent.
A Four Elements/Storm Domain combo would be interesting (think Raiden from Mortal Kombat), though probably not very effective.
Given their mutual interest in skulking in darkness, a Way of Shadow/Twilight Domain combo would have a lot of utility in perpetually dark areas.
Monks and Clerics can occupy a lot of the same roles in Eastern/Western media so a combo could be an interesting way to subvert expectations (the kindly priest who takes a more active role in protecting their flock for example. The Doctor Who episode "Tooth and Claw" also comes to mind).
I'd love to hear other thoughts on what has worked well from people who are more familiar with all the subclass options than I am.
Personally I think Druid is the best MC combo with Monks ... Martial Arts should work in Wild Shape, which synergizes well, and there's already the WIS double-dip. Honestly, going Four Elements Monk with Land Druid is probably the best way to get that "Avatar" feel, since you'll get to utilize cantrips like Mold Earth, Shape Water, and Produce Flame mixed in with Thunderwave and Absorb Elements.
A lot of Druid abilities are based on your level of the class so those will be weaker as a multi-class option.
Wild Shape still works with martial arts abilities in most cases so you can fulfill your Kung Fu Panda dreams, although unless you do Circle of the Moon then your combat potential is limited. With 6 levels of Moon Druid you could be a kung fu Cave Bear or Allosaurus, with 9 levels you could be a Giant Scorpion or Ankylosaurus ninja.
Some of the nature based abilities and spells of a Circle of the Land Druid could be a good way to simulate Naruto-like martial artists.
Character concepts might include a mystical hermit in close communion with nature or a different take on an elemental ninja if you didn't like what Four Elements has to offer (or you could do both)
Fighter:
An easy multi-class and you get a lot of built-in early benefits (like Action Surge) that made it a good choice for dip.
Initial list of Fighting Styles of limited use for a Monk but added ones in Tashas are very useful, Unarmed Fighting is especially good if you never plan to get enough levels of Monk to get your martial arts die up to a d8.
Gets an ASI at 6th level which most other options don't, could help make up for one you might miss out on from multi-classing.
Battle Master maneuvers add a whole new bag of tricks, an Open Hand/Battle Master could be throwing so much crazy stuff at your opponents that they would never know what was coming next. This is especially handy because many of the maneuvers simply modify existing attacks and don't require a separate action. Use also get your superiority dice back on a short rest, just like your Ki, so you will be back at full power.
Champion is good for the improved critical for your many attacks but doesn't do much more.
Echo Knight could be a really cool setup, although you can't use your bonus unarmed attack through the Echo and the use of a bonus action to switch places might limit a Monk's use a little bit.
Psi-Warrior could also be fun, although many of its abilities go off Intelligence, which is often a dump stat, and restore on a long rest. At least your dice would be based on proficiency bonus which in unaffected by multi-classing.
Rune Knight could be interesting, a lot of the rune abilities would be very good for a Monk, though you're only going to get 2, maybe 3 of them and the options from what they are inscribed on may be limited. Having a martial artist trained by giants (bonus points if you're a Halfling or other small race) who can grow huge sounds like an awesome character.
Paladin:
Could be a really cool combo but the most difficult to meet the requirements for, needed two stats at 13 that a Monk doesn't usually prioritize.
Like with the Cleric, monks can occupy a similar niche of a "religious warrior" in western/eastern media, though Paladins are much more likely to be heavily armed and armored, which Monks can't take advantage of.
Divine Smite is going to be a great damage bonus for a Monk if you don't want to use the spell slots on spells. Auras will likely be very helpful although you will never get the increased range.
Some of the self-sacrifice type abilities are going to be more dangerous to use without the high hp that usually goes along with being a Paladin.
Oath of Conquest is going to be a nasty combination, though it might be difficult to run as a PC.
Oath of Glory will give you some fun stuff, especially if you want to grapple people. Oath of Vengeance does too, moving half your movement is even better with Monk speed and if you stick around for 9 levels both can give you Haste, which is nothing to sneeze at.
An Oathbreaker could be a very interesting evil monk. An undead or undead controlling Monk is not something I've seen before which makes it automatically more interesting to me.
Personally I think Druid is the best MC combo with Monks ... Martial Arts should work in Wild Shape, which synergizes well, and there's already the WIS double-dip. Honestly, going Four Elements Monk with Land Druid is probably the best way to get that "Avatar" feel, since you'll get to utilize cantrips like Mold Earth, Shape Water, and Produce Flame mixed in with Thunderwave and Absorb Elements.
Sorry, for some reason this didn't show up for me until after I posted but clearly we had some of the same ideas on Druids. I had a friend who wanted to play an 'Avatar' style Monk in a one shot I ran, he also wanted to be a Halfling so we made him a Lotusden Halfling and decided the spells he got from that were more Earth themed than Plant themed to make up for the lack of any Earth-type abilities before 17th level. It seemed to work pretty well for him. That is one of the things I've liked about 5e, there seem to be a lot of different ways to get to the kind of character that you want if you can get creative.
They use exactly the same attributes as the Monk, I'm a little surprised I haven't heard more about this as a multi-class combo before.
Gets Fighting Styles, not as many are good for Monks but you do have a few possibilities.
Natural Explorer may be useful for some character concepts but Deft Explorer from Tasha's has some really good abilities for Monks (double proficiency is always good and you could end up a very fast climber/swimmer). Similarly, Favored Foe is probably more useful that Favored Enemy unless you are working that into your character concept.
The Ranger staple spell, Hunter's Mark, is going to be a very effective spell for a Monk since it effects all attacks instead of just one like a lot of other spells/abilities.
Gloom Stalker is an amazing combo, Dread Ambusher could let you get 5 attacks on the first turn, with a damage bonus, extra movement and an initiative bonus to boot. Umbral Sight could be really cool under the right circumstances, especially if you combo it with the Blind Fighting style. A Drow Way of Shadow/Gloom Stalker would be an amazing combo and a truly terrifying antagonist in the Underdark.
Horizon Walker could be a really cool "guardian of the plane" type Monk, which is a common role for monks in fiction. You get a lot of cool teleportation tricks the longer you stay around (plus Haste at level 9), if you can get 11 levels in Distant Strike will have you hopping all over the map, although with Monk speed it might be overkill.
Hunter has some good abilities but it might be tricky to find ones that are universally useful, Monster Slayer might be better against single targets for a more Witcher-type martial artist.
Rogue:
The other most common Monk multi-class and you already have a good Dexterity.
Likely going to lock you into a melee Rogue instead of a ranged one, unless you go Kensei.
Cunning Action is good for reducing the amount of Ki you need when you aren't attacking and Sneak Attack is always great, although it won't work with unarmed attacks so many sure you hit with your finesse monk weapon.
Uncanny Dodge is good, having a choice between that and Deflect Projectiles can let you choose which is better depending on the circumstances. Also gets Evasion at level 7 if you'd rather get more Rogue levels and not lose that advantage.
Has downside of getting subclass abilities at 3 and 9 so you will have to devote a significant amount of levels to Rogue if you want that second subclass ability.
Phantom could be a fun subclass as a soul stealing Monk (I'm envisioning Shang Tsung) but you don't get Soul Trinkets until level 9 so that feature will take a very long time to come online.
Soulknife also creates a cool mental image but mechanically doesn't combo well with a Monk. Psychic Blades doesn't do anything you can't already do with your unarmed strikes and likely at better damage, the only real advantage is that they can be thrown. I guess being finesse weapons they would let you sneak attack with them which your hands can't do. Soul Blades at level 9 augments them enough to maybe make them useful, maybe?
Swashbuckler has some handy abilities, although if you are Open Hand or take the Mobile feat then Fancy Footwork is pointless.
Sorcerer:
This is going to be another very difficult multi-class, it runs off Charisma which isn't a big problem by itself but it also get resources to power its abilities each level like Monks do (Sorcery points / Ki) so both are hampered by multi-classing and reducing the amount of that resource you have available. You won't have a lot of Sorcery points available for the more expensive Metamagic options unless you start sacrificing spell slots, you're probably only going to get 2 Metamagic options as well.
A Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer in combination with a Way of the Ascendant Dragon Monk could be a neat option for fans of dragons and choosing what types of elemental damage you want to do, that versatility definitely comes in handy at times. You could even be Dragonborn if you wanted to triple down, although at that point you're duplicating a lot of abilities.
Using Aberrant Mind to cast your psionic spells without components would be a cool way to integrate spells seamlessly into your martial arts but you won't have enough Sorcery points to do that very often.
Divine Soul makes you a Monk/Sorcerer/Cleric if that is something you really wanted to do, unfortunately it doesn't really synergize with even Way of Mercy because the abilities only work on spells.
Way of Shadow and Shadow Sorcery mimic each other too closely to be useful.
A Four Elements/Storm Sorcerer combo could function similarly to the Four Elements/Tempest Cleric except the Sorcerer abilities only work on spells so that limits your options a little.
I've always loved the image of a monk multiclassed with a Swarm Ranger. A murder of crows flocking around the lone newcomer in town, etc etc. Very thematic and cool to me
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I know what you're thinking: "In that flurry of blows, did he use all his ki points, or save one?" Well, are ya feeling lucky, punk?
They use exactly the same attributes as the Monk, I'm a little surprised I haven't heard more about this as a multi-class combo before.
Gets Fighting Styles, not as many are good for Monks but you do have a few possibilities.
Natural Explorer may be useful for some character concepts but Deft Explorer from Tasha's has some really good abilities for Monks (double proficiency is always good and you could end up a very fast climber/swimmer). Similarly, Favored Foe is probably more useful that Favored Enemy unless you are working that into your character concept.
The Ranger staple spell, Hunter's Mark, is going to be a very effective spell for a Monk since it effects all attacks instead of just one like a lot of other spells/abilities.
Gloom Stalker is an amazing combo, Dread Ambusher could let you get 5 attacks on the first turn, with a damage bonus, extra movement and an initiative bonus to boot. Umbral Sight could be really cool under the right circumstances, especially if you combo it with the Blind Fighting style. A Drow Way of Shadow/Gloom Stalker would be an amazing combo and a truly terrifying antagonist in the Underdark.
^^^^^^ This. I did this exact same thing. Also, scout rogue gets to move half you speed as a reaction. Get out of there fast!
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"The Doomvault... Probably full of unicorns and rainbows." -An imaginary quote
I've always loved the image of a monk multiclassed with a Swarm Ranger. A murder of crows flocking around the lone newcomer in town, etc etc. Very thematic and cool to me
I've found that a lot of these multi-classes make a very cool picture or concept but don't end up working as well as I would like, mechanically speaking. This one in particular seemed like you could do a lot of fun movement tricks with it, I imagine an Open Hand/Swarmkeeper fighting a mob of enemies as they knock some around the room, others are carried away by their swarm and being really hard to pin down but Monks are already pretty hard to pin down so I wasn't sure how much of an advantage is actually was. Flinging crows/leaves/bugs at your enemies all over the battlefield as you dance around is definitely a cool mental image though.
Gloom Stalker is an amazing combo, Dread Ambusher could let you get 5 attacks on the first turn, with a damage bonus, extra movement and an initiative bonus to boot. Umbral Sight could be really cool under the right circumstances, especially if you combo it with the Blind Fighting style. A Drow Way of Shadow/Gloom Stalker would be an amazing combo and a truly terrifying antagonist in the Underdark.
^^^^^^ This. I did this exact same thing. Also, scout rogue gets to move half you speed as a reaction. Get out of there fast!
I'd really like to hear your experience, was it as good as it sounds? I first started looking at Ranger options because my friend playing a Rogue was thinking about multi-classing over to one and now that I've considered it more I think I might want to make my Monk a Ranger too.
Gloom Stalker is an amazing combo, Dread Ambusher could let you get 5 attacks on the first turn, with a damage bonus, extra movement and an initiative bonus to boot. Umbral Sight could be really cool under the right circumstances, especially if you combo it with the Blind Fighting style. A Drow Way of Shadow/Gloom Stalker would be an amazing combo and a truly terrifying antagonist in the Underdark.
^^^^^^ This. I did this exact same thing. Also, scout rogue gets to move half you speed as a reaction. Get out of there fast!
I'd really like to hear your experience, was it as good as it sounds? I first started looking at Ranger options because my friend playing a Rogue was thinking about multi-classing over to one and now that I've considered it more I think I might want to make my Monk a Ranger too.
I´m playing him here and a lower level version that does not have shadow step yet in my home game. It is good so far.
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Pronouns: he/him/his.
My posting scheduled is irregular: sometimes I can post twice a week, sometimes twice a day. I may also respond to quick questions, but ignore harder responses in favor of time.
My location is where my character for my home game is (we're doing the wild beyond the witchlight).
"The Doomvault... Probably full of unicorns and rainbows." -An imaginary quote
Surprised no one has mentioned Spore druid. Symbiotic Entity is free temp HP, +1d6 to every hit, and you get an offensive Reaction as well. It does take an action to activate, but it lasts 10 minutes so you have a bit more freedom to activate it ahead of time. Also just a lot of fun flavor comes with it.
Cleric offers so much from only 1-2 levels that it's a good choice for almost any class. I played a high level Mercy monk with 2 levels in Peace Cleric, and the dip was definitely worth it. Emboldening Bond is just really strong on anyone, and Balm of Peace worked well with my "Healing punches" motif.
Surprised no one has mentioned Spore druid. Symbiotic Entity is free temp HP, +1d6 to every hit, and you get an offensive Reaction as well. It does take an action to activate, but it lasts 10 minutes so you have a bit more freedom to activate it ahead of time. Also just a lot of fun flavor comes with it.
I think missed some of that when I was looking over the Druid subclasses. Halo of Spores probably isn't worth the use of your reaction at first but once you get to level 6 with Symbiotic Entity I can see that being quite effective. You can get plenty of uses out of it, you get Wild Shape uses back on a short rest like Ki, although in combat you are likely to burn through those temporary hp quickly meaning you may have to use both Symbiotic Entity activations in the same fight.
Personally I think Druid is the best MC combo with Monks ... Martial Arts should work in Wild Shape, which synergizes well, and there's already the WIS double-dip. Honestly, going Four Elements Monk with Land Druid is probably the best way to get that "Avatar" feel, since you'll get to utilize cantrips like Mold Earth, Shape Water, and Produce Flame mixed in with Thunderwave and Absorb Elements.
Bear in mind - heheh - that natural weapons do not count as unarmed strikes for the purpose of martial arts and Flurry of Blows. You can make unarmed strikes while in wild shape - any creature can make an unarmed strike - but you wouldn't get to use the weapon damage of the creature's natural weapons (ie. bite/claw for the bear). Instead you'd make an unarmed strike in place of the multiattack of the creature, if it has it, at (monk die + creature str/dex mod).
Bear in mind - heheh - that natural weapons do not count as unarmed strikes for the purpose of martial arts and Flurry of Blows. You can make unarmed strikes while in wild shape - any creature can make an unarmed strike - but you wouldn't get to use the weapon damage of the creature's natural weapons (ie. bite/claw for the bear). Instead you'd make an unarmed strike in place of the multiattack of the creature, if it has it, at (monk die + creature str/dex mod).
I enjoy a good bear pun. So this would mean you would still make the attack at your normal Martial Arts die damage, but your bonus would come from the animal you transformed into, correct? Flurry of Blows could only be used with these unarmed strikes and, if I'm reading this correctly, the bonus unarmed attack Monks get when they take the Attack action only comes when their initial attack is unarmed or with a Monk weapon so using the natural weapons of a creature you've transformed into would preclude that as well. I think I need to revise my assessment that most Monk abilities still work when transformed. Stunning Strike still works fine so you can stun your enemies with a ferocious Cave Bear bite (I would certainly be stunned if one bit me) but your ability to claw would be limited.
I don't see anything requiring both of your attacks (once you've hit level 5) to be unarmed or with a Monk weapon so could you make an Allosaurus bite attack with your first attack, an unarmed attack with your second and then make a bonus unarmed attack (or two with Flurry of Blows)?
Monk subclasses that make less use of Flurry of Blows might be better combinations for this, Astral Self would be a good combo because you could likely max out your Wisdom and an Astral Allosaurus just sounds amazing.
I need to correct myself, I just reread the monk traits. Flurry can be done when you take the attack action, it doesn't have to be a monk weapon or unarmed attack, but multiattack is it's own action, not the attack action. It's the Martial Arts bonus action attack that requires the monk weapon or unarmed attack, my mistake.
So if you can do a single bite or claw using the attack action - I'm not 100% on creature rules - then you could bite and then flurry for two follow up unarmed strike using [monk die + creature's mod either Str or Dex].
Stunning Strike only requires that you hit with a melee weapon attack, which natural weapons qualify for, so as far as I'm aware you could multiattack and use Stunning Strike.
Good for a tanky sort of martial artist, or a some sort of Dragon Ball build.
Fighter:
The two-level dip is pretty standard stuff and a decent addition to your char.
Gunslinger fighter + monk could be extremely cool ( gun fu Jackie Chan/gun kata Keanu Reeves sort of vibe, possibly even mandalorian ), you could use your action to make attack(s) with guns and use your bonus action to flurry of blows as it does not need you to use monk weapons/unarmed strike, plus gunslinger fighter and monk use the same stats so it's not even MAD.
Paladin:
A teensy bit MAD, but if you just usin' divine smite with your unarmed strikes then you're fine, very cool narrative-wise, holy martial artist sworn to an oath.
Ranger:
Same abilities so not MAD at all, could make for a very unique character.
I need to correct myself, I just reread the monk traits. Flurry can be done when you take the attack action, it doesn't have to be a monk weapon or unarmed attack, but multiattack is it's own action, not the attack action. It's the Martial Arts bonus action attack that requires the monk weapon or unarmed attack, my mistake.
So if you can do a single bite or claw using the attack action - I'm not 100% on creature rules - then you could bite and then flurry for two follow up unarmed strike using [monk die + creature's mod either Str or Dex].
Stunning Strike only requires that you hit with a melee weapon attack, which natural weapons qualify for, so as far as I'm aware you could multiattack and use Stunning Strike.
Ahh, you are correct. I thought Flurry of Blows just replaced the bonus unarmed attack (which you couldn't take if you attacked with a natural weapon) but it doesn't say that, it just says you have to have used the Attack action.
I can see another way to abuse this as a Monk (or really any combat multi-class) that Druids can't. If you have multiple attacks in your normal form, would that also carry over to the beast form? I know you can't use Multi-attack in combination with Extra Attack but would there be anything stopping you from using Extra Attack with a beast form that usually only has one attack? I'm looking at Ankylosuarus for example. Normally it can attack once with its 4d6+4 tail attack, if you Wild Shaped into one of those, could you make two of those tail attacks and then Flurry of Blows for two more unarmed martial arts attacks?
The two-level dip is pretty standard stuff and a decent addition to your char.
Gunslinger fighter + monk could be extremely cool ( gun fu Jackie Chan/gun kata Keanu Reeves sort of vibe, possibly even mandalorian ), you could use your action to make attack(s) with guns and use your bonus action to flurry of blows as it does not need you to use monk weapons/unarmed strike, plus gunslinger fighter and monk use the same stats so it's not even MAD.
That's a cool idea, I didn't even look at Gunslinger when I was looking at the other Fighter subclasses. You would lose out on your bonus unarmed attack unless you spend the Ki on Flurry of Blows but the Grit points are based on your Wisdom modifier so you would probably be decent there. How awesome would it be to duel an enemy gunslinger, use Deflect Projectiles to catch the bullet they fire at you, load it into your own gun and fire it right back at them.
I've always loved the image of a monk multiclassed with a Swarm Ranger. A murder of crows flocking around the lone newcomer in town, etc etc. Very thematic and cool to me
Lol same I wanted to play Itatchi Uchiha, Shadow Monk/SwarmKeeper Ranger using illusions and stuff, might work with Kohan using paper cranes as your swarms
The last few classes are all spellcasters but I think there are still some interesting options here.
Warlock:
A Monk that has a mystical connection to and gains power from a higher (often malevolent) power is a common trope so I can see a Warlock/Monk making a lot of sense.
A spellcaster that completely recharges on a short rest also synergizes well with Monks regaining their Ki.
A traditional Eldritch Blast/Agonizing Blast Warlock might be harder to play since you probably can't max out your Charisma in a multi-class like this, but Eldritch Blast would remain a good ranged option that Monks don't usually have.
The fact that all your spells will be upcast (most likely capping out at 3rd or 4th level) makes certain spells much more valuable than if they were cast at their initial level. Armor of Agathys is a nasty surprise, especially against large numbers of weaker attackers since they all take the full damage until the temp hp is gone. Hex is always great and very useful if you plan on grappling people. Charm/Hold Person can hit small groups at once. If you can get ability to cast level 5 spells an upcast Spirit Shroud is adding 2d8 to all of your damage rolls, not much is going to be alive when that minute ends.
Invocations that give you "at will" or "once per short rest" abilities are probably preferable for a character like this. A Way of Shadow Monk with Devil's Sight and Mask of Many Faces could be a very strong infiltrator/assassin, especially if they were a Hexblade. Some of the really good Invocations have level requirements you likely won't get to unfortunately.
As for which Pact to choose, Pact of the Blade would be the obvious choice but Pact of the Chain could be a lot of fun and Pact of the Tome would really let you play up the spell casting element, especially if you combined it with Book of Ancient Secrets.
The Archfey patron lets you Frighten or Charm nearby enemies would be great for crowd control and Misty Escape can get you out of trouble fast while setting you up for your next attack. The Fiend giving temporary hp every time you kill an enemy would be very good for someone who excels at killing smaller targets and Dark One's Own Luck is just all purpose useful. Genie adds some elemental options similar to some of the other spellcasting classes along with a little bit of extra damage and some resistance. The Undead patron's Form of Dread is a good start but when combined with Grave Touched it boosts the damage on all your attacks, in addition to making them necrotic damage.
I made Hexblade its own bullet point because I'm guessing this is what most people immediately thought of for a Monk/Warlock combo. Pretty much all the abilities it gets are great. The expanded spell list is great (Shield, Blur, various Smites), all the Hexblade Curse features are outstanding (extra damage based on proficiency bonus which is unaffected by multi-classing, improved critical for your 3-4 attacks each turn and you heal when the target finally dies, restores with your Ki on a short rest). Hex Warrior doesn't do much for Monks but after Hexblade Curse it doesn't need to. Accursed Specter is gravy, Armor of Hexes is awesome if you put that many levels in.
Wizard:
Needs Intelligence which is often a dump stat for Monks but it certainly can be done.
Gets less hp each level which can be a liability for a combat focused character (liability shared by Sorcerer which I didn't note there).
Has more spell options than any other class, adding a lot of versatility to customize your character how you would like.
A lot of Wizard abilities recharge on a long rest, which isn't ideal for a Monk.
Bladesinger is a good combo to maximize AC and a bit easier to access now that it isn't Elf exclusive. Bladesong basically makes you better at all the things Monks want to be good at and gives you a bonus to Concentration checks, something that is hard to come by for a multi-class build like this. The extra attack doesn't do anything for you but the ability to cast a cantrip in place of one of your attacks opens up some options.
Arcane Ward for Abjuration wizards provides some extra protection, which is always nice, and there are several Abjuration spells that a character like this would want to have handy (Shield, Counterspell, Protection from Good/Evil/Energy), although you probably wouldn't be using it to protect anyone else.
Conjuration could have its uses, Benign Transposition could get a lot of use and there are plenty of good Conjuration spells to recharge it.
I have a Divination wizard in my party right now and I can say that those Portent rolls are amazing, forcing someone to auto-fail a Stunning Strike has saved our butts more times than I can count, having that in one package would be pretty great.
Enchantment has some great abilities and none of them are dependent on Enchantment spells. Hypnotic Gaze is like an alternative Stunning Strike and Instinctive Charm will definitely get used, unfortunately both are only once per long rest.
Illusion would be good for an infiltrator/spy type character
War Magic is, unsurprisingly, a good combination. All of its early abilities will be helpful, particularly the boost to your saving throws since that is often the bane of high AC characters
Artificer:
Monks and technology don't usually mix so the Monk/Artificer combo is going to be an unusual one, which doesn't make it bad it just might take more work to come up with a workable character concept that many of the other multiclass options.
Has fewer subclasses than any other class, one of which Monks would be totally precluded from taking.
You will never get to the point where you can attune extra magic items, which would be a very useful ability. You can make some of the lower level, non attunement items but a lot of the infusions are only for armor, shields or other things you can't use
Alchemist's Elixirs are useful but random and you only get one at a time. Artillerist gives you some ranged options but don't really do anything to synergize with Monks. Battle Smith has some good spells but commanding the Steel Defender requires your bonus action so it will be difficult to get it to do much.
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I've always been a fan of finding interesting 'outside the box' options with characters in roleplaying games and all of the multi-classing options available in 5e offer a wide variety of interesting possibilities. After reading around for a while it seems like the conventional wisdom is that multi-classing is not ideal for Monks (MAD, losing out on Ki for non-Monk levels) and if you do, a quick one or two level dip into Fighter or Rogue is the most common recommendation. I can definitely see the value in those choices but I'm not necessarily looking for the strongest multi-class options but the most interesting.
Let's assume for the sake of argument that you meet the qualifications for any multi-class choice you would like to make. Obviously few (if any) characters would meet all those requirements (unless you rolled for attributes and rolled really well) but you could certainly build a character that prioritized Dex and Wis while still starting with a 13 in another relevant stat. I'm also assuming that you would be staying in the other class for awhile, at least 4-5 levels, so it wouldn't just be a dip and you would be there long enough to gain the benefit of a subclass. This also means I'm not looking at any of the high level abilities (10+) in either class since you're unlikely to ever get them. I've got a few of my thoughts on the pros and cons of the first couple options below.
Barbarian:
Bard:
Cleric:
I'd love to hear other thoughts on what has worked well from people who are more familiar with all the subclass options than I am.
Personally I think Druid is the best MC combo with Monks ... Martial Arts should work in Wild Shape, which synergizes well, and there's already the WIS double-dip. Honestly, going Four Elements Monk with Land Druid is probably the best way to get that "Avatar" feel, since you'll get to utilize cantrips like Mold Earth, Shape Water, and Produce Flame mixed in with Thunderwave and Absorb Elements.
A few more multi-class thoughts:
Druid:
Fighter:
Paladin:
Sorry, for some reason this didn't show up for me until after I posted but clearly we had some of the same ideas on Druids. I had a friend who wanted to play an 'Avatar' style Monk in a one shot I ran, he also wanted to be a Halfling so we made him a Lotusden Halfling and decided the spells he got from that were more Earth themed than Plant themed to make up for the lack of any Earth-type abilities before 17th level. It seemed to work pretty well for him. That is one of the things I've liked about 5e, there seem to be a lot of different ways to get to the kind of character that you want if you can get creative.
Ranger:
Rogue:
Sorcerer:
I've always loved the image of a monk multiclassed with a Swarm Ranger. A murder of crows flocking around the lone newcomer in town, etc etc. Very thematic and cool to me
I know what you're thinking: "In that flurry of blows, did he use all his ki points, or save one?" Well, are ya feeling lucky, punk?
^^^^^^ This. I did this exact same thing. Also, scout rogue gets to move half you speed as a reaction. Get out of there fast!
Pronouns: he/him/his.
My posting scheduled is irregular: sometimes I can post twice a week, sometimes twice a day. I may also respond to quick questions, but ignore harder responses in favor of time.
My location is where my character for my home game is (we're doing the wild beyond the witchlight).
"The Doomvault... Probably full of unicorns and rainbows." -An imaginary quote
I've found that a lot of these multi-classes make a very cool picture or concept but don't end up working as well as I would like, mechanically speaking. This one in particular seemed like you could do a lot of fun movement tricks with it, I imagine an Open Hand/Swarmkeeper fighting a mob of enemies as they knock some around the room, others are carried away by their swarm and being really hard to pin down but Monks are already pretty hard to pin down so I wasn't sure how much of an advantage is actually was. Flinging crows/leaves/bugs at your enemies all over the battlefield as you dance around is definitely a cool mental image though.
I'd really like to hear your experience, was it as good as it sounds? I first started looking at Ranger options because my friend playing a Rogue was thinking about multi-classing over to one and now that I've considered it more I think I might want to make my Monk a Ranger too.
I´m playing him here and a lower level version that does not have shadow step yet in my home game. It is good so far.
Pronouns: he/him/his.
My posting scheduled is irregular: sometimes I can post twice a week, sometimes twice a day. I may also respond to quick questions, but ignore harder responses in favor of time.
My location is where my character for my home game is (we're doing the wild beyond the witchlight).
"The Doomvault... Probably full of unicorns and rainbows." -An imaginary quote
Surprised no one has mentioned Spore druid. Symbiotic Entity is free temp HP, +1d6 to every hit, and you get an offensive Reaction as well. It does take an action to activate, but it lasts 10 minutes so you have a bit more freedom to activate it ahead of time. Also just a lot of fun flavor comes with it.
Cleric offers so much from only 1-2 levels that it's a good choice for almost any class. I played a high level Mercy monk with 2 levels in Peace Cleric, and the dip was definitely worth it. Emboldening Bond is just really strong on anyone, and Balm of Peace worked well with my "Healing punches" motif.
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm
I think missed some of that when I was looking over the Druid subclasses. Halo of Spores probably isn't worth the use of your reaction at first but once you get to level 6 with Symbiotic Entity I can see that being quite effective. You can get plenty of uses out of it, you get Wild Shape uses back on a short rest like Ki, although in combat you are likely to burn through those temporary hp quickly meaning you may have to use both Symbiotic Entity activations in the same fight.
Bear in mind - heheh - that natural weapons do not count as unarmed strikes for the purpose of martial arts and Flurry of Blows. You can make unarmed strikes while in wild shape - any creature can make an unarmed strike - but you wouldn't get to use the weapon damage of the creature's natural weapons (ie. bite/claw for the bear). Instead you'd make an unarmed strike in place of the multiattack of the creature, if it has it, at (monk die + creature str/dex mod).
I enjoy a good bear pun. So this would mean you would still make the attack at your normal Martial Arts die damage, but your bonus would come from the animal you transformed into, correct? Flurry of Blows could only be used with these unarmed strikes and, if I'm reading this correctly, the bonus unarmed attack Monks get when they take the Attack action only comes when their initial attack is unarmed or with a Monk weapon so using the natural weapons of a creature you've transformed into would preclude that as well. I think I need to revise my assessment that most Monk abilities still work when transformed. Stunning Strike still works fine so you can stun your enemies with a ferocious Cave Bear bite (I would certainly be stunned if one bit me) but your ability to claw would be limited.
I don't see anything requiring both of your attacks (once you've hit level 5) to be unarmed or with a Monk weapon so could you make an Allosaurus bite attack with your first attack, an unarmed attack with your second and then make a bonus unarmed attack (or two with Flurry of Blows)?
Monk subclasses that make less use of Flurry of Blows might be better combinations for this, Astral Self would be a good combo because you could likely max out your Wisdom and an Astral Allosaurus just sounds amazing.
I need to correct myself, I just reread the monk traits. Flurry can be done when you take the attack action, it doesn't have to be a monk weapon or unarmed attack, but multiattack is it's own action, not the attack action. It's the Martial Arts bonus action attack that requires the monk weapon or unarmed attack, my mistake.
So if you can do a single bite or claw using the attack action - I'm not 100% on creature rules - then you could bite and then flurry for two follow up unarmed strike using [monk die + creature's mod either Str or Dex].
Stunning Strike only requires that you hit with a melee weapon attack, which natural weapons qualify for, so as far as I'm aware you could multiattack and use Stunning Strike.
Barbarian:
Fighter:
Paladin:
Ranger:
Mystic v3 should be official, nuff said.
Ahh, you are correct. I thought Flurry of Blows just replaced the bonus unarmed attack (which you couldn't take if you attacked with a natural weapon) but it doesn't say that, it just says you have to have used the Attack action.
I can see another way to abuse this as a Monk (or really any combat multi-class) that Druids can't. If you have multiple attacks in your normal form, would that also carry over to the beast form? I know you can't use Multi-attack in combination with Extra Attack but would there be anything stopping you from using Extra Attack with a beast form that usually only has one attack? I'm looking at Ankylosuarus for example. Normally it can attack once with its 4d6+4 tail attack, if you Wild Shaped into one of those, could you make two of those tail attacks and then Flurry of Blows for two more unarmed martial arts attacks?
That's a cool idea, I didn't even look at Gunslinger when I was looking at the other Fighter subclasses. You would lose out on your bonus unarmed attack unless you spend the Ki on Flurry of Blows but the Grit points are based on your Wisdom modifier so you would probably be decent there. How awesome would it be to duel an enemy gunslinger, use Deflect Projectiles to catch the bullet they fire at you, load it into your own gun and fire it right back at them.
Lol same I wanted to play Itatchi Uchiha, Shadow Monk/SwarmKeeper Ranger using illusions and stuff, might work with Kohan using paper cranes as your swarms
The last few classes are all spellcasters but I think there are still some interesting options here.
Warlock:
Wizard:
Artificer: