Monk is good with monk. In all seriousness I'd only take 1 or 2 non monk levels because so much is based on spending ki points so I really feel them missing. I could see an argument for fighter to get a fighting style and more weapon options (using the optional dedicated weapon monk feature from Tasha's) or cleric for a couple utility cantrips/spells.
I'm a big fan of Cleric since you get spellcasting and pick your domain at 1st-level so you can get a lot from it with just a single level dip. You'll probably be tempted to go to 3 (for 2nd level spells and more slots) and this is fine if you have a clear goal or a long running campaign.
But like Noksa says, you want levels in Monk for your Extra Attack and to get your Ki points up to a manageable level. I'm nearing the end of a Frostmaiden campaign with a Monk (Way of Kensei) 7 / Cleric (War Domain) 3 character and while I've had a blast playing them, it's been a juggling act at times since I wanted the spellcasting early but that meant delaying Extra Attack which hurt my combat performance for a while, though the access to spellcasting (and ability to slap +10 on a missed attack with Divine Guidance) took the edge off that a bit.
The most important question first and foremost should always be "Why do you want to multiclass?"
There are loads of things you can get out of it, but it helps to have a clear idea first either for character driven reasons, or something you want to be able to do that you don't think Monk alone can do. This may make it easier to give specific suggestions.
Druid and Ranger are both Wisdom based as well, so they can also multiclass well; personally I think Cleric's the easier one since it's more front-loaded than both. Druid you really want at least 2 levels, and Ranger you're looking at 3 to really get the most out of each, whereas Cleric may get you what you want with just the 1st level as there are just so many great domains to choose from with lots of neat 1st-level features.
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I wanted to multi-class because my party needs another sub-healer and I don't think a mercy monk is going to cut it, but at the same time, I wanted a monk for the spice and the damage they provide. So I was thinking dipping into druid, though my party already has a druid. What I'm leaning towards right now is a bard/monk for bardic inspiration and the cantrips. mending and dancing lights, and for the 1st level slots those are for cure wounds and maybe unseen servant cuz that helps in dungeons.
What I'm leaning towards right now is a bard/monk for bardic inspiration and the cantrips. mending and dancing lights, and for the 1st level slots those are for cure wounds and maybe unseen servant cuz that helps in dungeons.
What is your character's Charisma like?
Bardic Inspiration scales with Charisma and the number of levels you take in Bard, and it starts out as a long rest ability (you need at least five levels in Bard before it starts refreshing on short rest), so it's not the most friendly multiclassing ability. You also need at least three levels to take a sub-class. It's not unworkable, but it's not got the most direct synergy with Monk.
None of the spells you're looking at desperately needs a high spellcasting modifier, so it won't matter what you dip into, though you can get all but unseen servant from Cleric as well as Bard, and again Cleric will combine well since it uses Wisdom.
Also, I wouldn't discount the healing from Way of Mercy; keep in mind that your spellcasting when multiclassing is limited by the number of levels you take, only cantrips scale by character level, so you'd need to take quite a few levels to get a good number of spell slots (usually at least 3) if spellcasting is your primary goal. Way of Mercy's healing however only costs one Ki point, and Monks get their Ki back on a short rest, so Way of Mercy has a lot of capacity for healing depending upon how much Ki you spend on other abilities, you can also just dump all your leftover Ki into healing before taking a short rest.
Former D&D Beyond Customer of six years: With the axing of piecemeal purchasing, lack of meaningful development, and toxic moderation the site isn't worth paying for anymore. I remain a free user only until my groups are done migrating from DDB, and if necessary D&D, after which I'm done. There are better systems owned by better companies out there.
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For subhealer I'm not sure how much bang for the buck you get from multiclassing, every level you don't take in monk sacrifices a martial arts die of healing(1ki per hand of healing, gained at 1 ki per level) so you may gain a couple d8 of healing, but at the cost of several d6 - d10 depending on your monk level(as well as delayed progression on the dice size). You might get more utility from a feat like fey touched or one of the caster initiate feats.
It's unlikely to be worth a deep enough multiclass for things like greater restoration.
That said two levels of druid let's you take the dreams subclass for some utility spells an a couple d6 of long range healing
edit: you might get similar milage from celestial warlock which at lvl 2 gives invocations, 2 spell slots for cure wounds on a short rest, and 2d6 healing at range per long rest. Unfortunately it would be cha based instead of wis
Wizard: In terms of power Bladesinger is just about the best multiclass with anything that does not wear heavy armor, although it is MAD. I would look at a 16 Dex, 16 Wisdom, 15 Intelligence half elf or mountain dwarf and go from there. For Monk you could pick Kensei or Merci
Other options are Fighter, Rogue, Cleric or Ranger since the don't require any new abilities to multiclass from Monk:
Fighter: Fighter with unarmed fighting style will boost martial arts damage. I would take Monk 2 then fighter 1 then Monk5 then fighter 3 then Monk11 then fighter 4 and change fighting styles. Battlemaster is probably the subclass I would use, although Eldritch Knight is a good option too. If you want an archer monk you can go Arcane Archer and Kensei, I would still take unarmed fighting style and you would be pretty good at both.
Rogue: A Rogue 4 combined with Kensai or shadow Monk is good. Take Rogue first to get the short sword proficiency. Swashbuckler or Arcane Trickster would be my subclass choices
Ranger: A Ranger would work really well with Monk. I would probably look at Gloom Stalker and Shadow Monk. Fey Wanderer or Swarmkeeper would work well too. Fey Wanderer would pair well with Long Death if you go to level 7 in Ranger. I think with any of these you definitely want to boost Wisdom first.
Cleric: Probably the most difficult of the SAD builds. Thematically Grave or death works well.
I've been thinking of multi-classing my monk a level or two into bard, just because I based him on David Carradine's kung fu character with the flute. It would also allow him to cure wounds on himself as an action, counteracting low HP if he gets hit
See that's what i was thinking but if you read above someone said that that's a bad idea. I don't personally know who David Carradine is but the idea sounds cool.
See that's what i was thinking but if you read above someone said that that's a bad idea. I don't personally know who David Carradine is but the idea sounds cool.
Basically its just hard to pull off, it takes high DEX and high WIS for the monk ac and abilities, you also need some CON so you can take a hit as a mele character. If you multi-class into bard suddenly you need to prioritize charisma. For example if you are using the official multi-class rules, a bard monk would require at least 13 DEX WIS and CHA so using standard array(15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8) the highest CON you could have is 12. I'm not sure what aspects of the Character you mentioned you wanted, but it may be easier to use a background to get your instrument(entertainer gives performance and an instrument) and a feat to get some minor magic usage (Personally I'm fond of fey touched, but magic initiate cleric or druid would probably be the most effective one that gives a healing spell)
All of that said it is Doable and my feedback earlier in the thread was referring to a Mersey Monk as a Sub healer where the addition of cure woulds may not be worth the lost Monk level(s) (a couple casts of d8 +modifier using your action vs 1 use per monk level of Monk die + wis which could be used by replacing 1 of the bonus attacks from flurry of blows, the math comes out okay at low level but as the monk die gets bigger the math shifts)
See that's what i was thinking but if you read above someone said that that's a bad idea. I don't personally know who David Carradine is but the idea sounds cool.
I hope I didn't give the wrong impression!
It's not that it's a bad idea; if something fits a character's theme then that is the best possible reason to do it, and is something I wish people would focus on more. Often on the forums the focus is on what's optimal, but you don't have to make an optimal choice to have fun. However that doesn't mean you shouldn't make a choice without considering possible alternatives.
My intention was just to make clear what the potential difficulties can or will be; Bard as a class is quite Charisma dependent, whereas Monks are usually built around Dexterity, Wisdom and Constitution, so you don't have a lot of ability score points left for Charisma as well. If you have Bard in mind early on then this isn't so much of a problem as you can choose what scores you're willing to sacrifice a bit in order to put some points into Charisma. For example, if you want Bard so that you have access to healing and support spells, then you may be able to get by with a lower Constitution score, as you won't need as many hit-points if your goal is to start out supporting the party and then close to melee range only when you're needed (rather than getting stuck in straight away and taking a lot of damage).
Point is it helps to have a clear plan, and clear idea of what you want Bard for; you don't need to be a Bard to play an instrument, you just need a musical instrument proficiency (which you can get from numerous backgrounds, or from training if your DM gives you downtime for that), and for certain support spells Cleric is an easier path, as you can even get a few Bard-like bonuses if you go Trickery Domain.
A single level in Bard isn't a bad investment, especially if you can get a +3 in Charisma as it'll give you a decent amount of Bardic Inspiration uses, and a workable spellcasting bonus. Two levels is maybe less impressive (though Jack of All Trades is a nice bonus). I'd say you want to be planning for at least three levels to really get the most out of Bard though, as you'll get a sub-class and many sub-classes have really good 3rd level features, and that's on top of 2nd-level spell slots. If you know you're going to be playing a long running campaign you could even go to 5th-level in Bard for 3rd-level spells (hypnotic pattern is one of my favourite control spells in the game), as well as Bardic Inspiration resetting on a short rest. The difficult balancing act is that every level in another class is a level lost in Monk, and Monks really need those levels to gain a manageable amount of Ki; when multiclassing as a spell caster you can potentially take some spells to counteract that, and it's hard to put a value on the added out of combat utility of spellcasting. But this is why Cleric is often a better multiclass option for Monks, as you can get a lot of out of just a single level dip, so it's great for shorter campaigns.
You should always do what fits your character best, even if it's not optimal; the point I was trying to make is that depending upon what you want for the character there may be other options that give you the same basic benefits. So yeah, Bard can work, just be aware of the potential drawbacks, and make sure it's definitely Bard that you need.
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I've been thinking of multi-classing my monk a level or two into bard, just because I based him on David Carradine's kung fu character with the flute. It would also allow him to cure wounds on himself as an action, counteracting low HP if he gets hit
Monks, by default, have access to the flute or other musical instruments, as a proficiency at level 1. At least in the DDB character builder, they do. So you can play the flute just like David Carradine. You could even take a background, or make a custom one in the Builder, that has Performance as a skill proficiency if you want to be really good with the flute. But you can have proficiency, and I always select flute when I make a monk in DDB for the very same reason.
See that's what i was thinking but if you read above someone said that that's a bad idea. I don't personally know who David Carradine is but the idea sounds cool.
David Carradine was an American actor that played the character Kwai Chang Caine "Grasshopper" in the American TV series Kung Fu in the 70's. You may also know him from Quentin Tarrantino's Kill Bill Vol 1 and 2 as Bill. Interestingly enough, if what I read is correct, Bruce Lee was originally considered for the role in Kung Fu, but was deemed "too Asian" for the show, so they cast David Carradine.
Personally, if you want some healing, and don't want to spread your ability scores too thin, then Cleric would be my pick.
Funny, because you can push up to 3 times per turn. You basically move opponents around to your liking. If a spellcaster makes "wall of fire" you just push more opponents into the fire. In addition you receive spells such as "Hunter's Mark", "Zephyr Strike", "Snare", "Absorb Elements", "Cure Wounds" and don't forget the feature "Fighting Style".
If you take "Druidic Warrior." as "fighting style", you can access the spell "Create Bonfire" which is not like "wall of fire", but can be useful.
There would be a ranger spell perfect for the monk, too bad it's not official "Falling Spider's Spite".
I had considered trying Tiefling Monk Way Of The Ascendant Dragon/ Druid Circle of Wildfire?
There are a few questions you want to ask then, as far as if it's going to be a good idea or not. This is moreso from a mechanical optimization standpoint though, obviously theming and roleplay are important and some combinations can be surprisingly effective outside the white room with proper context to the decisions.
"What level do I want to multiclass, and in what ratio?" Multiclassing early vs late is a big question. If you do it from the start, you need to compare and contrast what features you do/don't get access to and how badly they are delayed. Getting extra attack all the way at level 7+ instead of 5 means that for those levels you need to somehow have something equally as worthwhile in comparison to what you'd get.
Going in late means that you need to consider how good later features and feature progression is compared to the early level utility and features of another class. If you go monk 6 for the archetype feature and then dip out, you lose out on stuff like evasion, ki progression, stillness of mind, and another feat. This is an example, and one that monk as a class specifically struggles with. If you are dipping later on you need to look to see what features aren't important to you and compare that to an early game druid spell list.
"Are the combinations actually synergistic?" There is a big difference between a character who has features that all make them really good at specific things, and someone who has a bunch of features that do different things. When planning out a multiclass you need to think about how you want to actually PLAY the character, and what your turns should typically look like. This is an important step, though relatively easy and objective. If you have a bunch of options that require a bonus action, then they are competing with each other if they are all things you want to regularly be doing, but might be ok to all have as options if they are situational. If you have a lot of spells but they are all concentration then they are also competing with each other and so on. Do some features need you to be at different ranges to work well?
Initially I'm confused mechanically on how these two would actually work together. The wildfire spirit requires your bonus action to do things, when as a monk you already have a lot of demand for your bonus action, and druid has a handful of really great bonus action spells that would also compete for your action economy. The wildfire druid also has a poor spell list for a few level dip, since burning hands sucks and doesn't scale well and cure wounds is both already on the druid list and isn't the best healing spell. Sure the flavour of "all the fire" exists I suppose, but mechanically you are trading/delaying good monk features for some druid stuff that requires more of those levels to scale and don't have synergy.
"Are there better combinations for what I actually want to accomplish?" This is perhaps the most killjoy part of the process, where you actually examine all your possible options and start pruning. You initially have some idea that you think sounds cool but doesn't work well on paper. It's important to remember that just because the initial idea doesn't work well doesn't mean that the entire idea is flawed, just the first draft (which is to be expected if you aren't familiar with everything). I don't really think this combinations makes that cut, because of reasons mentioned above.
If you wanted to have a fiery monk with support options (I'm assuming a 2 level dip), then I would suggest picking a druid class that is more frontloaded than wildfire. Dreams (Ranged bonus action healing is great to either pick up the backline who got fireballed while you ran in to melee, or to pick up the frontline if you are playing a more mixed range/long range combat style), Spores (ten minute transformation that relies on you avoiding being hit, which with good spacing or buffs should be reasonable, and weaponizing your reaction to do damage), Stars (Guidance is an amazing cantrip to support any skill checks, and is especially important to have at least one person capable of doing it. Even in combat scenarios it at least adds to initiative if you don't have a concentration spell you precast for combat. Guiding bolt is a good action spell that does great damage and supports allies, and all the starry form options are great), and Shephard (Utility to freely speak to animals constantly, and the reasonably good support totem placements) are all more useful options for a druidic circle.
Just take the Healer Feat on a regular ol' Mercy Monk. Healer is actually incredibly good. Something like Vhuman Mercy Monk with Healer will both be a competent healer AND get to experience the monk features without interruption.
Any class that will give you a quick bonus damage per hit... Hex and hunter's mark are great for monks because you get so many attacks that they really begin to stack and make up for the lackluster damage that monks do.
Or my favorite is way of shadow 6/swashbuckler *. Solo a baddie for insta-sneak. Use shadow's ultimate mobility to always be in solo situations.
I've played the Half Drow Shadow Ninja twice now...
1st is cross with Fighter for blindfighting up to 10' away and darkness.
2nd was crossed with warlock hexblade for devil's sight.
Both had great utility. You don't need a real high Char for the warlock as you will pick only some support spells..shield meaning you never get hit when darkness is up. I think I like hte fighter slightly better as you can start with it and get the Con Save to never drop your darkness....Hexblades curse is a nice benefit though..
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I don't know what's good for monks I haven't played one before.
And...?
Monk is good with monk. In all seriousness I'd only take 1 or 2 non monk levels because so much is based on spending ki points so I really feel them missing. I could see an argument for fighter to get a fighting style and more weapon options (using the optional dedicated weapon monk feature from Tasha's) or cleric for a couple utility cantrips/spells.
I'm a big fan of Cleric since you get spellcasting and pick your domain at 1st-level so you can get a lot from it with just a single level dip. You'll probably be tempted to go to 3 (for 2nd level spells and more slots) and this is fine if you have a clear goal or a long running campaign.
But like Noksa says, you want levels in Monk for your Extra Attack and to get your Ki points up to a manageable level. I'm nearing the end of a Frostmaiden campaign with a Monk (Way of Kensei) 7 / Cleric (War Domain) 3 character and while I've had a blast playing them, it's been a juggling act at times since I wanted the spellcasting early but that meant delaying Extra Attack which hurt my combat performance for a while, though the access to spellcasting (and ability to slap +10 on a missed attack with Divine Guidance) took the edge off that a bit.
The most important question first and foremost should always be "Why do you want to multiclass?"
There are loads of things you can get out of it, but it helps to have a clear idea first either for character driven reasons, or something you want to be able to do that you don't think Monk alone can do. This may make it easier to give specific suggestions.
Druid and Ranger are both Wisdom based as well, so they can also multiclass well; personally I think Cleric's the easier one since it's more front-loaded than both. Druid you really want at least 2 levels, and Ranger you're looking at 3 to really get the most out of each, whereas Cleric may get you what you want with just the 1st level as there are just so many great domains to choose from with lots of neat 1st-level features.
Former D&D Beyond Customer of six years: With the axing of piecemeal purchasing, lack of meaningful development, and toxic moderation the site isn't worth paying for anymore. I remain a free user only until my groups are done migrating from DDB, and if necessary D&D, after which I'm done. There are better systems owned by better companies out there.
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I wanted to multi-class because my party needs another sub-healer and I don't think a mercy monk is going to cut it, but at the same time, I wanted a monk for the spice and the damage they provide. So I was thinking dipping into druid, though my party already has a druid. What I'm leaning towards right now is a bard/monk for bardic inspiration and the cantrips. mending and dancing lights, and for the 1st level slots those are for cure wounds and maybe unseen servant cuz that helps in dungeons.
And...?
What is your character's Charisma like?
Bardic Inspiration scales with Charisma and the number of levels you take in Bard, and it starts out as a long rest ability (you need at least five levels in Bard before it starts refreshing on short rest), so it's not the most friendly multiclassing ability. You also need at least three levels to take a sub-class. It's not unworkable, but it's not got the most direct synergy with Monk.
None of the spells you're looking at desperately needs a high spellcasting modifier, so it won't matter what you dip into, though you can get all but unseen servant from Cleric as well as Bard, and again Cleric will combine well since it uses Wisdom.
Also, I wouldn't discount the healing from Way of Mercy; keep in mind that your spellcasting when multiclassing is limited by the number of levels you take, only cantrips scale by character level, so you'd need to take quite a few levels to get a good number of spell slots (usually at least 3) if spellcasting is your primary goal. Way of Mercy's healing however only costs one Ki point, and Monks get their Ki back on a short rest, so Way of Mercy has a lot of capacity for healing depending upon how much Ki you spend on other abilities, you can also just dump all your leftover Ki into healing before taking a short rest.
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Ok, I think I'll try a cleric monk. Thank you for all your help.
And...?
For subhealer I'm not sure how much bang for the buck you get from multiclassing, every level you don't take in monk sacrifices a martial arts die of healing(1ki per hand of healing, gained at 1 ki per level) so you may gain a couple d8 of healing, but at the cost of several d6 - d10 depending on your monk level(as well as delayed progression on the dice size). You might get more utility from a feat like fey touched or one of the caster initiate feats.
It's unlikely to be worth a deep enough multiclass for things like greater restoration.
That said two levels of druid let's you take the dreams subclass for some utility spells an a couple d6 of long range healing
edit: you might get similar milage from celestial warlock which at lvl 2 gives invocations, 2 spell slots for cure wounds on a short rest, and 2d6 healing at range per long rest. Unfortunately it would be cha based instead of wis
Wizard: In terms of power Bladesinger is just about the best multiclass with anything that does not wear heavy armor, although it is MAD. I would look at a 16 Dex, 16 Wisdom, 15 Intelligence half elf or mountain dwarf and go from there. For Monk you could pick Kensei or Merci
Other options are Fighter, Rogue, Cleric or Ranger since the don't require any new abilities to multiclass from Monk:
Fighter: Fighter with unarmed fighting style will boost martial arts damage. I would take Monk 2 then fighter 1 then Monk5 then fighter 3 then Monk11 then fighter 4 and change fighting styles. Battlemaster is probably the subclass I would use, although Eldritch Knight is a good option too. If you want an archer monk you can go Arcane Archer and Kensei, I would still take unarmed fighting style and you would be pretty good at both.
Rogue: A Rogue 4 combined with Kensai or shadow Monk is good. Take Rogue first to get the short sword proficiency. Swashbuckler or Arcane Trickster would be my subclass choices
Ranger: A Ranger would work really well with Monk. I would probably look at Gloom Stalker and Shadow Monk. Fey Wanderer or Swarmkeeper would work well too. Fey Wanderer would pair well with Long Death if you go to level 7 in Ranger. I think with any of these you definitely want to boost Wisdom first.
Cleric: Probably the most difficult of the SAD builds. Thematically Grave or death works well.
I've been thinking of multi-classing my monk a level or two into bard, just because I based him on David Carradine's kung fu character with the flute. It would also allow him to cure wounds on himself as an action, counteracting low HP if he gets hit
See that's what i was thinking but if you read above someone said that that's a bad idea. I don't personally know who David Carradine is but the idea sounds cool.
And...?
Basically its just hard to pull off, it takes high DEX and high WIS for the monk ac and abilities, you also need some CON so you can take a hit as a mele character. If you multi-class into bard suddenly you need to prioritize charisma. For example if you are using the official multi-class rules, a bard monk would require at least 13 DEX WIS and CHA so using standard array(15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8) the highest CON you could have is 12. I'm not sure what aspects of the Character you mentioned you wanted, but it may be easier to use a background to get your instrument(entertainer gives performance and an instrument) and a feat to get some minor magic usage (Personally I'm fond of fey touched, but magic initiate cleric or druid would probably be the most effective one that gives a healing spell)
All of that said it is Doable and my feedback earlier in the thread was referring to a Mersey Monk as a Sub healer where the addition of cure woulds may not be worth the lost Monk level(s) (a couple casts of d8 +modifier using your action vs 1 use per monk level of Monk die + wis which could be used by replacing 1 of the bonus attacks from flurry of blows, the math comes out okay at low level but as the monk die gets bigger the math shifts)
I hope I didn't give the wrong impression!
It's not that it's a bad idea; if something fits a character's theme then that is the best possible reason to do it, and is something I wish people would focus on more. Often on the forums the focus is on what's optimal, but you don't have to make an optimal choice to have fun. However that doesn't mean you shouldn't make a choice without considering possible alternatives.
My intention was just to make clear what the potential difficulties can or will be; Bard as a class is quite Charisma dependent, whereas Monks are usually built around Dexterity, Wisdom and Constitution, so you don't have a lot of ability score points left for Charisma as well. If you have Bard in mind early on then this isn't so much of a problem as you can choose what scores you're willing to sacrifice a bit in order to put some points into Charisma. For example, if you want Bard so that you have access to healing and support spells, then you may be able to get by with a lower Constitution score, as you won't need as many hit-points if your goal is to start out supporting the party and then close to melee range only when you're needed (rather than getting stuck in straight away and taking a lot of damage).
Point is it helps to have a clear plan, and clear idea of what you want Bard for; you don't need to be a Bard to play an instrument, you just need a musical instrument proficiency (which you can get from numerous backgrounds, or from training if your DM gives you downtime for that), and for certain support spells Cleric is an easier path, as you can even get a few Bard-like bonuses if you go Trickery Domain.
A single level in Bard isn't a bad investment, especially if you can get a +3 in Charisma as it'll give you a decent amount of Bardic Inspiration uses, and a workable spellcasting bonus. Two levels is maybe less impressive (though Jack of All Trades is a nice bonus). I'd say you want to be planning for at least three levels to really get the most out of Bard though, as you'll get a sub-class and many sub-classes have really good 3rd level features, and that's on top of 2nd-level spell slots. If you know you're going to be playing a long running campaign you could even go to 5th-level in Bard for 3rd-level spells (hypnotic pattern is one of my favourite control spells in the game), as well as Bardic Inspiration resetting on a short rest. The difficult balancing act is that every level in another class is a level lost in Monk, and Monks really need those levels to gain a manageable amount of Ki; when multiclassing as a spell caster you can potentially take some spells to counteract that, and it's hard to put a value on the added out of combat utility of spellcasting. But this is why Cleric is often a better multiclass option for Monks, as you can get a lot of out of just a single level dip, so it's great for shorter campaigns.
You should always do what fits your character best, even if it's not optimal; the point I was trying to make is that depending upon what you want for the character there may be other options that give you the same basic benefits. So yeah, Bard can work, just be aware of the potential drawbacks, and make sure it's definitely Bard that you need.
Former D&D Beyond Customer of six years: With the axing of piecemeal purchasing, lack of meaningful development, and toxic moderation the site isn't worth paying for anymore. I remain a free user only until my groups are done migrating from DDB, and if necessary D&D, after which I'm done. There are better systems owned by better companies out there.
I have unsubscribed from all topics and will not reply to messages. My homebrew is now 100% unsupported.
Half-Elven Monk 5 (Way of Shadow) / Bard 4 (Lore)
Take Magic Initiate (Warlock) feat to get Hex.
Stealthy skill monkey with great damage from the Hex. Plus some healing ability through Bard.
https://ddb.ac/characters/72160037/KrLzzS
Monks, by default, have access to the flute or other musical instruments, as a proficiency at level 1. At least in the DDB character builder, they do. So you can play the flute just like David Carradine. You could even take a background, or make a custom one in the Builder, that has Performance as a skill proficiency if you want to be really good with the flute. But you can have proficiency, and I always select flute when I make a monk in DDB for the very same reason.
David Carradine was an American actor that played the character Kwai Chang Caine "Grasshopper" in the American TV series Kung Fu in the 70's. You may also know him from Quentin Tarrantino's Kill Bill Vol 1 and 2 as Bill. Interestingly enough, if what I read is correct, Bruce Lee was originally considered for the role in Kung Fu, but was deemed "too Asian" for the show, so they cast David Carradine.
Personally, if you want some healing, and don't want to spread your ability scores too thin, then Cleric would be my pick.
EZD6 by DM Scotty
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/397599/EZD6-Core-Rulebook?
human variant (feat crusher)
str: 8
dex: 16 [+1human]
con: 14 [+1crusher]
int: 10
wis: 16 [+1human]
cha: 10
Monk - Open Hand
Ranger - Swarmkeeper
Funny, because you can push up to 3 times per turn. You basically move opponents around to your liking. If a spellcaster makes "wall of fire" you just push more opponents into the fire.
In addition you receive spells such as "Hunter's Mark", "Zephyr Strike", "Snare", "Absorb Elements", "Cure Wounds" and don't forget the feature "Fighting Style".
If you take "Druidic Warrior." as "fighting style", you can access the spell "Create Bonfire" which is not like "wall of fire", but can be useful.
There would be a ranger spell perfect for the monk, too bad it's not official "Falling Spider's Spite".
I had considered trying Tiefling Monk Way Of The Ascendant Dragon/ Druid Circle of Wildfire?
There are a few questions you want to ask then, as far as if it's going to be a good idea or not. This is moreso from a mechanical optimization standpoint though, obviously theming and roleplay are important and some combinations can be surprisingly effective outside the white room with proper context to the decisions.
"What level do I want to multiclass, and in what ratio?" Multiclassing early vs late is a big question. If you do it from the start, you need to compare and contrast what features you do/don't get access to and how badly they are delayed. Getting extra attack all the way at level 7+ instead of 5 means that for those levels you need to somehow have something equally as worthwhile in comparison to what you'd get.
Going in late means that you need to consider how good later features and feature progression is compared to the early level utility and features of another class. If you go monk 6 for the archetype feature and then dip out, you lose out on stuff like evasion, ki progression, stillness of mind, and another feat. This is an example, and one that monk as a class specifically struggles with. If you are dipping later on you need to look to see what features aren't important to you and compare that to an early game druid spell list.
"Are the combinations actually synergistic?" There is a big difference between a character who has features that all make them really good at specific things, and someone who has a bunch of features that do different things. When planning out a multiclass you need to think about how you want to actually PLAY the character, and what your turns should typically look like. This is an important step, though relatively easy and objective. If you have a bunch of options that require a bonus action, then they are competing with each other if they are all things you want to regularly be doing, but might be ok to all have as options if they are situational. If you have a lot of spells but they are all concentration then they are also competing with each other and so on. Do some features need you to be at different ranges to work well?
Initially I'm confused mechanically on how these two would actually work together. The wildfire spirit requires your bonus action to do things, when as a monk you already have a lot of demand for your bonus action, and druid has a handful of really great bonus action spells that would also compete for your action economy. The wildfire druid also has a poor spell list for a few level dip, since burning hands sucks and doesn't scale well and cure wounds is both already on the druid list and isn't the best healing spell. Sure the flavour of "all the fire" exists I suppose, but mechanically you are trading/delaying good monk features for some druid stuff that requires more of those levels to scale and don't have synergy.
"Are there better combinations for what I actually want to accomplish?" This is perhaps the most killjoy part of the process, where you actually examine all your possible options and start pruning. You initially have some idea that you think sounds cool but doesn't work well on paper. It's important to remember that just because the initial idea doesn't work well doesn't mean that the entire idea is flawed, just the first draft (which is to be expected if you aren't familiar with everything). I don't really think this combinations makes that cut, because of reasons mentioned above.
If you wanted to have a fiery monk with support options (I'm assuming a 2 level dip), then I would suggest picking a druid class that is more frontloaded than wildfire. Dreams (Ranged bonus action healing is great to either pick up the backline who got fireballed while you ran in to melee, or to pick up the frontline if you are playing a more mixed range/long range combat style), Spores (ten minute transformation that relies on you avoiding being hit, which with good spacing or buffs should be reasonable, and weaponizing your reaction to do damage), Stars (Guidance is an amazing cantrip to support any skill checks, and is especially important to have at least one person capable of doing it. Even in combat scenarios it at least adds to initiative if you don't have a concentration spell you precast for combat. Guiding bolt is a good action spell that does great damage and supports allies, and all the starry form options are great), and Shephard (Utility to freely speak to animals constantly, and the reasonably good support totem placements) are all more useful options for a druidic circle.
Just take the Healer Feat on a regular ol' Mercy Monk. Healer is actually incredibly good. Something like Vhuman Mercy Monk with Healer will both be a competent healer AND get to experience the monk features without interruption.
Any class that will give you a quick bonus damage per hit... Hex and hunter's mark are great for monks because you get so many attacks that they really begin to stack and make up for the lackluster damage that monks do.
Or my favorite is way of shadow 6/swashbuckler *. Solo a baddie for insta-sneak. Use shadow's ultimate mobility to always be in solo situations.
I've played the Half Drow Shadow Ninja twice now...
1st is cross with Fighter for blindfighting up to 10' away and darkness.
2nd was crossed with warlock hexblade for devil's sight.
Both had great utility. You don't need a real high Char for the warlock as you will pick only some support spells..shield meaning you never get hit when darkness is up. I think I like hte fighter slightly better as you can start with it and get the Con Save to never drop your darkness....Hexblades curse is a nice benefit though..