Hey guys, I'm new to D&D and English is not my main language. So, if what i'm saying sounds dumb, it's probably because it is. Please be patient and explain to me why i'm wrong if possible.
I'm a fan of monks, and would like to play a way of mercy. We haven't started our campaign yet, and i have no idea what my friends are gonna play. So everything is still on the theory side of things for now.
It may sound dumb, but i didn't want to focus on tanking, dealing damage or being a full support, but kinda of a .... jack of all trades? Which is funny to me, because i love the idea of doing these as a monk, and i don't know why, but the idea o playing a bard sounds so boring. The idea would be to mostly focus on killing the enemies, but if the tank goes down, i can tank for a bit (with tough feat maybe?), or if the cleric goes down or decides to invest in different spells, i can heal, buff, or resurrect him if needed (at later levels).
I was thinking how to optimize, like having a long range melee attack with either bugbear, or whip, with the dedicated weapon feature for a hit and dash strategy. But then I would need martial arts weapon proficiency from another place. Or i can forgo all that and take mobile (although that sounds boring). But anyway, this part i will decide later, but recommendations are welcome.
My initial plan was to build a pure monk, but then i remembered about multiclassing. Taking multiple levels in multiclass may be a downside, but i don't think 1 level dips would hurt a lot, all i would be loosing is perfect self and 1 max KI pool. I've seen a lot of posts talking about how multiclassing with monk is bad, but i'm falling to see why, especially 1 level dips.
Problem is multiclass with what? I was considering cleric. I would get some utility spells to help the team, and there are a lot of good options when it comes to sub-classes. If i take Peace, Emboldening bond is already game breaking. With twilight i get faerie fire, martial weapons proficiency for whip, and darkvision, so i could take variant human or other classes that don't have darkvision and still be able to see in the dark. There is also tempest and light domains that gives reaction options, etc. And all that is only talking about the cleric, there are other possibilities, like the druid, getting thorn whip and basically becoming scorpion from mortal kombat (GET OVER HERE!). I'm new to D&D and i feel overwhelmed, but also eager to try and make a fun character for me.
Any help is appreciated, maybe having another persons opinion may help me see the bigger picture here.
The question is, is your dm going to enforce multiclass requirements? Barbarian monk is pretty awesome on paper if you don't need the strength requirement. Rage is amazing, cutting martial damage in half along with monk's other defensive options will certainly land you in the demi-tank category, with one small problem: you are MAD.. dexterity and wisdom are an absolute must, not only for your damage and AC but also the DC on your ki abilities like stunning strike. So how far are you going to be able to pump Constitution when you're already looking at feats? I think human variant here is excellent, take mobile or crusher with the free feat and tough at your 1st or 2nd ASI before starting to pump Dex and Wisdom.. others might think differently I'm not an expert.
In dnd, in combat healing is for the MOST part very inefficient even if you are a life cleric, if your dm has tuned the fight right there's just no way your healer is going to be healing enough to erase the damage the encounter will dish out (with situational exceptions) and so in most cases healing is best done as a bonus action just to get people above 0; way of mercy can do that perfectly fine with hands of healing. Between poisoning enemies pretty regularly and eventually having your heal option tied into your attack bonus (flurry) with stuns if you want them and monk's great base speed, you're definitely going to want either mobile or crusher to be able to move around freely without taking opportunity attacks. I know you said whip but I don't think that'll work out as well as you think it will because you still want to be within 5 feet for your flurry, so being able to get out regularly is pretty necessary. What I'm saying is that I don't think dipping into cleric is necessary; or worth it, you'll do just fine as an emergency medic.
Remember that with this build you're a jack of all trades (and master of none)... you're probably not going to tank the BBEG more than 2 or 3 rounds. You'll stabilize the barbarian up from 0 so he can take his turn before the real healer hits him with the 80hp or whatever burst heal to buy him a round or two while you try to cripple the enemy with stuns or poison. You'll get your hits in and everything counts, but don't be ashamed if they feel like pinpricks next to some other members of your party.
But to answer again, I think if you set aside multiclass requirements a dip in barbarian might be the best thing for you if you're really looking to min-max like that.
A one level dip isn't too bad. Even a three level dip will still get you your subclass capstone if you go to level 20. Which most campaigns do not. I've considered a 3 level dip in Ranger for Hunter's Colossus Slayer. But three levels does mean you are delayed in Ki a bit more. Barbarian can be good, but I think you would be fine with any class that has Dex or Wis prerequisites, if you really want to multiclass.
It is because Monk are so dependent on Ki and they get some good abilities at most levels, that multiclassing is frowned upon by many. But do what you think you will have the most fun with. Personally, I think Cleric or Druid would be fun to 1 level dip into. Some spells could be a good addition to the Monk.
It is because Monk are so dependent on Ki and they get some good abilities at most levels, that multiclassing is frowned upon by many.
that and i think also a matter of bonus action economy. monk has quite a few options available as a bonus action so adding more is hard to pull off. and then theres just bonus action/feature overlap like monk rogue; evasion, uncanny dodge, step of the wind, proficiencies are all very similar. sure pick up healing word as a bonus action but wait; what about my flurry of blows, with the healing hand. taking dodge as a bonus action is just patient defense without the ki point. dashing as a bonus is just step of the wind without the ki point, etc etc.
ive read a lot of reccomendations of trying to fit passable ranged options within your build for those times where you cant close the gap.
druid cleric seems interesting.. 2 dip into cleric for life cleric and 1 into druid for broken goodberry combo and a handful of utility cantrips?
edit i guess you only need 1 in cleric for the op heal boost
Thank you for the answers; there is a lot to consider. Regarding a few points you guys raised:
Regarding what the DM is allowing, the only thing he said was "do whatever you want, as long as it is in the rules", so I guess that the requirements for barbarians are mandatory since it is in the rules.
About the whip, you are right. I was under the impression that all my attacks were going to be with the whip; I forgot that the flurry is with unarmed attacks. So the only solution would be bugbear...? That kind of sucks; personally, I'm not a big fan of bugbears. Although, after what you said, it got me thinking if 5 feet of distance would help at all. Guess less than I think;
I wasn't thinking of tanking with this class specifically; I was just trying to give an example of what I meant by jack of all trades. The scenario that Tibryn described where the barbarian goes down is basically what I had imagined as well. It's not that I want to do that. It is more like, if the worst case scenario happens and the barbarian goes down and I'm the only frontliner left, even if it's for 2 rounds till he is back, to even barely hold on, which I think would be very useful,
Same thing with the multiclass. The 20th monk level is kind of... meh. So taking some spells or other class features sounded nice. My idea was more of a support role with that. Not to heal during battle exactly. More like one more person that can buff the party before the fight, kind of way. Like, taking a cleric as an example, if I take bless, guidance, bane, detect magic, sanctuary, etc. and buff our team before battle or a skill check, our survivability increases by a lot. If there is a cleric, he can focus on other spells or save his spell slots that are more important than mine for something else. Plus, I have no idea what the other members of my group will be playing, so maybe there will be no clerics, and I'm the only one that can cast those.
Plus, another thing is ranged attacks. In case I get stuck in some difficult terrain or some spell and can't walk, if there are no enemies around me, I'm useless. Which is why I thought that some cantrips might help, like toll the dead. (I don't know if equipping a shortbow is considered an action. If it is, then attacking with a cantrip would be more effective, no?);
Regarding the 20th level, our DM said he was planning to run a medium to long campaing to level 20. His idea is to lower the requirements to level so that we can level up every time we make a session, or every 2 sessions. He just wants to let us try to come up with whatever concepts we have and see how it performs and feels.
But thanks again for answering my questions.
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Hey guys, I'm new to D&D and English is not my main language. So, if what i'm saying sounds dumb, it's probably because it is. Please be patient and explain to me why i'm wrong if possible.
I'm a fan of monks, and would like to play a way of mercy. We haven't started our campaign yet, and i have no idea what my friends are gonna play. So everything is still on the theory side of things for now.
It may sound dumb, but i didn't want to focus on tanking, dealing damage or being a full support, but kinda of a .... jack of all trades? Which is funny to me, because i love the idea of doing these as a monk, and i don't know why, but the idea o playing a bard sounds so boring. The idea would be to mostly focus on killing the enemies, but if the tank goes down, i can tank for a bit (with tough feat maybe?), or if the cleric goes down or decides to invest in different spells, i can heal, buff, or resurrect him if needed (at later levels).
I was thinking how to optimize, like having a long range melee attack with either bugbear, or whip, with the dedicated weapon feature for a hit and dash strategy. But then I would need martial arts weapon proficiency from another place. Or i can forgo all that and take mobile (although that sounds boring). But anyway, this part i will decide later, but recommendations are welcome.
My initial plan was to build a pure monk, but then i remembered about multiclassing. Taking multiple levels in multiclass may be a downside, but i don't think 1 level dips would hurt a lot, all i would be loosing is perfect self and 1 max KI pool. I've seen a lot of posts talking about how multiclassing with monk is bad, but i'm falling to see why, especially 1 level dips.
Problem is multiclass with what? I was considering cleric. I would get some utility spells to help the team, and there are a lot of good options when it comes to sub-classes. If i take Peace, Emboldening bond is already game breaking. With twilight i get faerie fire, martial weapons proficiency for whip, and darkvision, so i could take variant human or other classes that don't have darkvision and still be able to see in the dark. There is also tempest and light domains that gives reaction options, etc. And all that is only talking about the cleric, there are other possibilities, like the druid, getting thorn whip and basically becoming scorpion from mortal kombat (GET OVER HERE!). I'm new to D&D and i feel overwhelmed, but also eager to try and make a fun character for me.
Any help is appreciated, maybe having another persons opinion may help me see the bigger picture here.
The question is, is your dm going to enforce multiclass requirements? Barbarian monk is pretty awesome on paper if you don't need the strength requirement. Rage is amazing, cutting martial damage in half along with monk's other defensive options will certainly land you in the demi-tank category, with one small problem: you are MAD.. dexterity and wisdom are an absolute must, not only for your damage and AC but also the DC on your ki abilities like stunning strike. So how far are you going to be able to pump Constitution when you're already looking at feats? I think human variant here is excellent, take mobile or crusher with the free feat and tough at your 1st or 2nd ASI before starting to pump Dex and Wisdom.. others might think differently I'm not an expert.
In dnd, in combat healing is for the MOST part very inefficient even if you are a life cleric, if your dm has tuned the fight right there's just no way your healer is going to be healing enough to erase the damage the encounter will dish out (with situational exceptions) and so in most cases healing is best done as a bonus action just to get people above 0; way of mercy can do that perfectly fine with hands of healing. Between poisoning enemies pretty regularly and eventually having your heal option tied into your attack bonus (flurry) with stuns if you want them and monk's great base speed, you're definitely going to want either mobile or crusher to be able to move around freely without taking opportunity attacks. I know you said whip but I don't think that'll work out as well as you think it will because you still want to be within 5 feet for your flurry, so being able to get out regularly is pretty necessary. What I'm saying is that I don't think dipping into cleric is necessary; or worth it, you'll do just fine as an emergency medic.
Remember that with this build you're a jack of all trades (and master of none)... you're probably not going to tank the BBEG more than 2 or 3 rounds. You'll stabilize the barbarian up from 0 so he can take his turn before the real healer hits him with the 80hp or whatever burst heal to buy him a round or two while you try to cripple the enemy with stuns or poison. You'll get your hits in and everything counts, but don't be ashamed if they feel like pinpricks next to some other members of your party.
But to answer again, I think if you set aside multiclass requirements a dip in barbarian might be the best thing for you if you're really looking to min-max like that.
A one level dip isn't too bad. Even a three level dip will still get you your subclass capstone if you go to level 20. Which most campaigns do not. I've considered a 3 level dip in Ranger for Hunter's Colossus Slayer. But three levels does mean you are delayed in Ki a bit more. Barbarian can be good, but I think you would be fine with any class that has Dex or Wis prerequisites, if you really want to multiclass.
It is because Monk are so dependent on Ki and they get some good abilities at most levels, that multiclassing is frowned upon by many. But do what you think you will have the most fun with. Personally, I think Cleric or Druid would be fun to 1 level dip into. Some spells could be a good addition to the Monk.
EZD6 by DM Scotty
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/397599/EZD6-Core-Rulebook?
that and i think also a matter of bonus action economy. monk has quite a few options available as a bonus action so adding more is hard to pull off. and then theres just bonus action/feature overlap like monk rogue; evasion, uncanny dodge, step of the wind, proficiencies are all very similar. sure pick up healing word as a bonus action but wait; what about my flurry of blows, with the healing hand. taking dodge as a bonus action is just patient defense without the ki point. dashing as a bonus is just step of the wind without the ki point, etc etc.
ive read a lot of reccomendations of trying to fit passable ranged options within your build for those times where you cant close the gap.
druid cleric seems interesting.. 2 dip into cleric for life cleric and 1 into druid for broken goodberry combo and a handful of utility cantrips?
edit i guess you only need 1 in cleric for the op heal boost
Thank you for the answers; there is a lot to consider. Regarding a few points you guys raised:
Regarding what the DM is allowing, the only thing he said was "do whatever you want, as long as it is in the rules", so I guess that the requirements for barbarians are mandatory since it is in the rules.
About the whip, you are right. I was under the impression that all my attacks were going to be with the whip; I forgot that the flurry is with unarmed attacks. So the only solution would be bugbear...? That kind of sucks; personally, I'm not a big fan of bugbears. Although, after what you said, it got me thinking if 5 feet of distance would help at all. Guess less than I think;
I wasn't thinking of tanking with this class specifically; I was just trying to give an example of what I meant by jack of all trades. The scenario that Tibryn described where the barbarian goes down is basically what I had imagined as well. It's not that I want to do that. It is more like, if the worst case scenario happens and the barbarian goes down and I'm the only frontliner left, even if it's for 2 rounds till he is back, to even barely hold on, which I think would be very useful,
Same thing with the multiclass. The 20th monk level is kind of... meh. So taking some spells or other class features sounded nice. My idea was more of a support role with that. Not to heal during battle exactly. More like one more person that can buff the party before the fight, kind of way. Like, taking a cleric as an example, if I take bless, guidance, bane, detect magic, sanctuary, etc. and buff our team before battle or a skill check, our survivability increases by a lot. If there is a cleric, he can focus on other spells or save his spell slots that are more important than mine for something else. Plus, I have no idea what the other members of my group will be playing, so maybe there will be no clerics, and I'm the only one that can cast those.
Plus, another thing is ranged attacks. In case I get stuck in some difficult terrain or some spell and can't walk, if there are no enemies around me, I'm useless. Which is why I thought that some cantrips might help, like toll the dead. (I don't know if equipping a shortbow is considered an action. If it is, then attacking with a cantrip would be more effective, no?);
Regarding the 20th level, our DM said he was planning to run a medium to long campaing to level 20. His idea is to lower the requirements to level so that we can level up every time we make a session, or every 2 sessions. He just wants to let us try to come up with whatever concepts we have and see how it performs and feels.
But thanks again for answering my questions.