Tabaxi (VOLO) : Boosts to relevant stats, free skill proficiency in stuff you likely would have taken anyway, and a free dash? Sign me up for ear rubs.
^ This! I love my Tabaxi monk with the mobility feat movement is 50ft standard 100ft with feline agility and 150ft with dash! That's one mobile kitty!
I believe you may not be using the Feline Agility ability to the max. It says it doubles your speed for one turn so your speed would be 100ft for each movement. You'd be able to cover 200ft in one turn using a move and a Dash. If you were also 2nd level rogue, you could move+dash+dash for 300ft of movement. I like the idea of a grappling someone then using the boosted climb speed to drag them up a wall or a tree and then dropping them.
Quote from Tsorraught>>I like the idea of a grappling someone then using the boosted climb speed to drag them up a wall or a tree and then dropping them.
I mean, this is where the situation starts getting into strength checks. A grappled creature may have a movement of zero, but they can certainly still move. I would imagine it would be near impossible to drag a writhing, unwilling participant up a cliff.
What about backgrounds? What are some good ones to go with for a monk?
there are very few that don't work well... or rather they take more thoughtful approach to backstory.
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"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."
What about backgrounds? What are some good ones to go with for a monk?
Backgrounds are whatever you make of them. I don't see them as much of a mechanical part of the character (Even though it clearly is). Most of the features are campaign dependent as well as depending on the other players, so that's not something easy to judge. I personally prefer to pick them based on what i want to play flavour wise. Outlander if say I was after a wilderness bend (Bear handed bear hunter FTW), or noble if I wanted batman. So on and so forth, just go with what you like, the skills your likely to want are already in the monk list.
With XgtE out, changes to the Kensei section might be in order. I've not directly compared XgtE and the UA on which the OPs post was founded; however, there are significant errors as related to the current official material.
Way of the Kensei : Kensei is an interesting archtype from UA. Rather than their fists the monk focuses on their weapon, unfortunately that isn't all that much better. Path of the Kensei : You get a finesse greatsword or longsword, anything else is basically worth ignoring (except maybe a glaive). You also get to hit them for 1d4 extra as a bonus. Special note is it is applied to anything you hit so combine it with extra attack or haste. You can also pretend you didn't focus on weapons and just got shield proficiency that functions with your other features.
Kensei can't choose weapons with the Heavy or Special properties so greatsword and polearms are out (as are net, lances, etc).
The 1d4 applies only to ranged attacks with Kensei weapons, not all; however, it does apply to ranged attacks that are the result of Extra Attack or Haste still.
In order to gain the benefit of the +2 AC as per your shield comment, you must make an unarmed strike as part of your Attack action. Thus bonus actions such as flurry do not count toward proc'ing this +2 AC as they occur after the Attack action as a bonus action as per the PHB.
One with the Blade : Its basically Ki empowered strikes but for your weapon, you should already have a magic weapon by level 6 so its not that big a deal. Precise strike would be cooler if you could use ki to do it rather than the once per short rest.
Different tables different norms. If only all my level 6-10 characters had access to magic items, that'd be lovely. Worth noting as you did.
As for Precise strike, XgtE has an ability named Deft strike which allows you to spend 1 ki point when you hit a target to deal extra damage equal to the Martial Arts die but limits it to once on each of your turns (essentially once per turn no fun sneak attack OA type wording).
Sharpen the Blade : For a Minute pretend you have a +3 weapon, interestingly it also stacks if its already a + weapon.
Sharpen the Blade no longer stacks with magic weapons that grant a bonus to attack or damage rolls.
The rest of the guide, while being an opinion piece, is well-measured and rational. I'd probably have given Evasion more than grey as it becomes increasingly more valuable as damage dice start to out-scale Hit Dice when in more deadly encounters and at higher level encounters. Simply not taking damage can, situationally mind you, change the parties action economy and keep the party on the offensive rather than shifting members toward defensive roles.
As an aside, thematically Way of the Long Death appeals to me. While Quivering Palm, may indeed, be applied multiple times it does require application in one round and an action to cause the save vs. death or consolation 10d10 necrotic. Touch of the Long Death is a single action with save vs. (2-20)d6 necrotic (with 1-10 ki investment) save for half. As such, it's action economy is a bit better but the RP potential of activating Quivering palm days later isn't there.
How many attacks can a monk make with the different abilities? Particularly Flurry of Blows vs. Martial Arts with extra attack... Just want to make sure I am not thinking too many or too few.
How many attacks can a monk make with the different abilities? Particularly Flurry of Blows vs. Martial Arts with extra attack... Just want to make sure I am not thinking too many or too few.
It's my understanding that you can get 4 in a round using Flurry of Blows after 5th level...2 weapon or unarmed and then 2 more unarmed
Extra Attack
Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.
Since those two attacks count as one attack action - then spending 1 Ki point to FoB
Flurry of Blows
Immediately after you take the Attack action on your turn, you can spend 1 ki point to make two unarmed strikes as a bonus action.
I'd say that its not awful looking at it, but the issue is that there is probably better feats to grab.
For a Kensei monk it would be decent if your trying to max out your armour, you combine that with agile parry and having some nice dex/wis for armor to get up into the twenties. I don't know how great that is scaling, might be great, might be meh. The question comes down to if you would rather use your reaction to likely be getting +3-4 AC versus something like say... Mobile? It is certainly pretty good though looking back on it and whenever I go back to do a proper revision on this when I get the new Mordekainens I'll add it.
It certainly isn't my first choice, but i rolled some pretty disgustingly good stats and can afford to get multiple feats so i was wondering if it was worth considering. Thanks for the input!
You are correct, a rapier then. Or just ask your DM if you can count monk weapons as finesse weapons. S'not the most game breaking thing in the world. My DM said he'd allow it.
Forgot UA: Eladrin and Gith. Githzerai monks in Limbo are D&D legend. And now you can play as one.
Probably off topic but has anyone ever thought about merging way of 4 elements with way of wu jen?
Am it the only person that likes way of the four elements? Maybe I'm just nostalgic.
Or, you know, do like a feral large cat and kill him, drag him into a tree and eat him.
What about backgrounds? What are some good ones to go with for a monk?
Nykkan Fharngnarthnost: Dragonborn Monk (4)...Coliseum of Conquest (3) {1W-6L} [Brewer]
Hans Stormsong: Human Monk (1)...Colosseum of Conquest (3) {0W-1L}
"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."
I see. I do know that XGtE helps out a lot in terms of helping hash out a backstory
Nykkan Fharngnarthnost: Dragonborn Monk (4)...Coliseum of Conquest (3) {1W-6L} [Brewer]
Hans Stormsong: Human Monk (1)...Colosseum of Conquest (3) {0W-1L}
Thanks for this. It was helpful in building my first monk.
"Intoxicated Furry"
I laughed out-loud at work when I read that. People are staring...
With XgtE out, changes to the Kensei section might be in order. I've not directly compared XgtE and the UA on which the OPs post was founded; however, there are significant errors as related to the current official material.
Kensei can't choose weapons with the Heavy or Special properties so greatsword and polearms are out (as are net, lances, etc).
The 1d4 applies only to ranged attacks with Kensei weapons, not all; however, it does apply to ranged attacks that are the result of Extra Attack or Haste still.
In order to gain the benefit of the +2 AC as per your shield comment, you must make an unarmed strike as part of your Attack action. Thus bonus actions such as flurry do not count toward proc'ing this +2 AC as they occur after the Attack action as a bonus action as per the PHB.
Different tables different norms. If only all my level 6-10 characters had access to magic items, that'd be lovely. Worth noting as you did.
As for Precise strike, XgtE has an ability named Deft strike which allows you to spend 1 ki point when you hit a target to deal extra damage equal to the Martial Arts die but limits it to once on each of your turns (essentially once per turn no fun sneak attack OA type wording).
Sharpen the Blade no longer stacks with magic weapons that grant a bonus to attack or damage rolls.
The rest of the guide, while being an opinion piece, is well-measured and rational. I'd probably have given Evasion more than grey as it becomes increasingly more valuable as damage dice start to out-scale Hit Dice when in more deadly encounters and at higher level encounters. Simply not taking damage can, situationally mind you, change the parties action economy and keep the party on the offensive rather than shifting members toward defensive roles.
As an aside, thematically Way of the Long Death appeals to me. While Quivering Palm, may indeed, be applied multiple times it does require application in one round and an action to cause the save vs. death or consolation 10d10 necrotic. Touch of the Long Death is a single action with save vs. (2-20)d6 necrotic (with 1-10 ki investment) save for half. As such, it's action economy is a bit better but the RP potential of activating Quivering palm days later isn't there.
How many attacks can a monk make with the different abilities? Particularly Flurry of Blows vs. Martial Arts with extra attack... Just want to make sure I am not thinking too many or too few.
Since those two attacks count as one attack action - then spending 1 Ki point to FoB
Skameros - Bugbear Barbarian - Out of the Abyss - By Kerrec
Follow your Arrow where it Points - Tabaxi Monk - Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus (by Pokepaladdy)
Citron Pumpkinfoam - Fairy Monk - Project Point: Team Longsword
I noticed that Defensive duelist wasn't on the listed Feats.
How well would it work with a kensei monk that has a longsword?
I'd say that its not awful looking at it, but the issue is that there is probably better feats to grab.
For a Kensei monk it would be decent if your trying to max out your armour, you combine that with agile parry and having some nice dex/wis for armor to get up into the twenties. I don't know how great that is scaling, might be great, might be meh. The question comes down to if you would rather use your reaction to likely be getting +3-4 AC versus something like say... Mobile? It is certainly pretty good though looking back on it and whenever I go back to do a proper revision on this when I get the new Mordekainens I'll add it.
Thanks for the future addition
It certainly isn't my first choice, but i rolled some pretty disgustingly good stats and can afford to get multiple feats so i was wondering if it was worth considering. Thanks for the input!
Defensive Duelist requires you to use a finesse weapon. Longswordw do not count as finesse even when they count as a Kensei weapon.
"Time is money. Nobody knows how much time they have, but you can always count how much time you spent. So spend it wisely."
You are correct, a rapier then. Or just ask your DM if you can count monk weapons as finesse weapons. S'not the most game breaking thing in the world. My DM said he'd allow it.