I was thinking of some monk builds and one idea I kind of liked was an Astral Self monk that uses a whip so they can keep their distance but still get full attacks. (Whips and astral arm unarmed strikes with reach)
I would start with Mountain Dwarf for the two +2’s to stats and use the Tasha’s rules to swap my Dwarven Combat Training weapon proficiencies to get the whip. And Dedicated Weapon to make it a monk weapon.
Now, of course, the damage will be low (scaling with Martial Arts die) but the goal isn’t an optimized build.
Any thoughts on this idea? Not sure if I would get the chance to play it, but with a lack of 1D&D UA’s I’m just trying to keep myself busy, lol.
Side note: the other idea was go Four Elements and flavor Fangs of the Fire Snake and Sweeping Cinder Strike (Burning Hands) as my whip flaming up and striking my enemies (SCS as multiple whips striking out at targets in the cone). Same idea with Water Whip or Fist of Unbroken Air flavored as whip attacks (but no mechanical changes).
I mean there's no reason it wouldn't work; the main issue is that when you're using the astral arms then you might as well not use the whip since you'll have the same reach, and the arms deal force damage which is usually better.
The main advantage of the whip in this case is that it lets you retain reach when you're not using the Astral Arms, though this is only usually when you're not planning to use the bonus action for unarmed strikes (as you'll need to close to 5 feet anyway).
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I mean there's no reason it wouldn't work; the main issue is that when you're using the astral arms then you might as well not use the whip since you'll have the same reach, and the arms deal force damage which is usually better.
The main advantage of the whip in this case is that it lets you retain reach when you're not using the Astral Arms, though this is only usually when you're not planning to use the bonus action for unarmed strikes (as you'll need to close to 5 feet anyway).
That is true. This is more of a concept build than an optimized build. My original idea was the Four Elements monk I mentioned at the end of the post. The idea for Astral monk came after when I considered (as you stated) needing to close the distance anyway when I no longer had the Ki for FotFS etc.
Yeah, I think Astral Self is definitely the more viable as a way to gain the reach as it's hard to beat 1 Ki for 10 minutes, along with its other benefits.
In fact it makes Fangs of the Fire Snake quite a bit worse by comparison, as having a reach of 15 feet instead of 10 feet is rarely going to matter, fire damage is more commonly resisted, and while the extra damage on a hit isn't terrible it's only adding to the speed at which you'd burn through your Ki. And when you factor in the area blast when activating Astral Arms it doesn't even have that much of a damage advantage either anymore. Four Elements definitely needs some major improvements in OneD&D!
Astral Self should be able to have the arms active in most fights from a fairly early level (depending on your access to short rests), and it's such a good ability. You could maybe discuss with your DM the possibility of having Fangs of the Fire Snake behave more like Astral Arms, i.e- 1 Ki for 10 minutes, maybe steal one or two of the other benefits?
Of course the major benefit of whips, which I should have mentioned in my first post, is that it's just really, reallyfun to go around whipping enemies as a player character.
One other thing I forgot to mention as well, is another option for when you're low on Ki is… double whips! You'll need the Dual Wielder feat for that option, but it gives you an extra +1 AC when holding the pair (equivalent to defence fighting style), and while you still wouldn't have the two-weapon fighting style, the trade off for losing the +DEX on the bonus attack's damage is maintaining your reach and mobility, so it's not a bad option to have. Probably not the most optimal, but the image of a monk going into battle in a flurry of whip and magical arm strikes is hard to pass up!
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.
I've been working on a 5th rogue assassin and sneak attack bonus with a whip, being a finesse weapon, counts. This makes the whip damage far more appealing. If I hold off on movement for the turn (Steady Aim), or attack an allies enemy, I gain full advantage of the extra 3d6 to the base damage. Any thoughts?
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I was thinking of some monk builds and one idea I kind of liked was an Astral Self monk that uses a whip so they can keep their distance but still get full attacks. (Whips and astral arm unarmed strikes with reach)
I would start with Mountain Dwarf for the two +2’s to stats and use the Tasha’s rules to swap my Dwarven Combat Training weapon proficiencies to get the whip. And Dedicated Weapon to make it a monk weapon.
Now, of course, the damage will be low (scaling with Martial Arts die) but the goal isn’t an optimized build.
Any thoughts on this idea? Not sure if I would get the chance to play it, but with a lack of 1D&D UA’s I’m just trying to keep myself busy, lol.
Side note: the other idea was go Four Elements and flavor Fangs of the Fire Snake and Sweeping Cinder Strike (Burning Hands) as my whip flaming up and striking my enemies (SCS as multiple whips striking out at targets in the cone). Same idea with Water Whip or Fist of Unbroken Air flavored as whip attacks (but no mechanical changes).
EZD6 by DM Scotty
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/397599/EZD6-Core-Rulebook?
I mean there's no reason it wouldn't work; the main issue is that when you're using the astral arms then you might as well not use the whip since you'll have the same reach, and the arms deal force damage which is usually better.
The main advantage of the whip in this case is that it lets you retain reach when you're not using the Astral Arms, though this is only usually when you're not planning to use the bonus action for unarmed strikes (as you'll need to close to 5 feet anyway).
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.
That is true. This is more of a concept build than an optimized build. My original idea was the Four Elements monk I mentioned at the end of the post. The idea for Astral monk came after when I considered (as you stated) needing to close the distance anyway when I no longer had the Ki for FotFS etc.
EZD6 by DM Scotty
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/397599/EZD6-Core-Rulebook?
Yeah, I think Astral Self is definitely the more viable as a way to gain the reach as it's hard to beat 1 Ki for 10 minutes, along with its other benefits.
In fact it makes Fangs of the Fire Snake quite a bit worse by comparison, as having a reach of 15 feet instead of 10 feet is rarely going to matter, fire damage is more commonly resisted, and while the extra damage on a hit isn't terrible it's only adding to the speed at which you'd burn through your Ki. And when you factor in the area blast when activating Astral Arms it doesn't even have that much of a damage advantage either anymore. Four Elements definitely needs some major improvements in OneD&D!
Astral Self should be able to have the arms active in most fights from a fairly early level (depending on your access to short rests), and it's such a good ability. You could maybe discuss with your DM the possibility of having Fangs of the Fire Snake behave more like Astral Arms, i.e- 1 Ki for 10 minutes, maybe steal one or two of the other benefits?
Of course the major benefit of whips, which I should have mentioned in my first post, is that it's just really, really fun to go around whipping enemies as a player character.
One other thing I forgot to mention as well, is another option for when you're low on Ki is… double whips! You'll need the Dual Wielder feat for that option, but it gives you an extra +1 AC when holding the pair (equivalent to defence fighting style), and while you still wouldn't have the two-weapon fighting style, the trade off for losing the +DEX on the bonus attack's damage is maintaining your reach and mobility, so it's not a bad option to have. Probably not the most optimal, but the image of a monk going into battle in a flurry of whip and magical arm strikes is hard to pass up!
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.
I've been working on a 5th rogue assassin and sneak attack bonus with a whip, being a finesse weapon, counts. This makes the whip damage far more appealing. If I hold off on movement for the turn (Steady Aim), or attack an allies enemy, I gain full advantage of the extra 3d6 to the base damage. Any thoughts?