Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer Creatures
Frozen Sick
D&D Beyond Basic Rules
Basic Rules (2014)
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Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer CreaturesFrozen SickD&D Beyond Basic RulesBasic Rules (2014)Sign in to view your library & saved favorites.
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Having just discovered that simple melee weapons, when thrown, still benefit from the monk’s Martial Arts die, I wanted to try something new. This makes me eager to build a monk who specializes in throwing weapons.
By taking at least one level in fighter, I can give my character Nick (dagger) and Vex (hand axe), along with the Two-Weapon Fighting style. Since both weapons have the thrown property, they work perfectly for ranged combat as well.
Now that I think about it, this monk could deal piercing, slashing and bludgeoning damage, all in a single turn. Ideally, returnable throwing weapons would be best, but even just throwing them, dashing to engage in melee, and retrieving them at the end of the turn wouldn’t be bad.
Does anyone know if picking up a thrown weapon requires a bonus action? That could be a problem.
Since we’re going for variety, I’m considering adding Open Hand Techniques and the Slasher feat. Given the build is already diverse, why not make the character an Aasimar with the Wayfarer background and the Lucky feat? Between the Aasimar’s healing ability, the fighter’s Second Wind, and the monk’s Wholeness of Body (Open hand feature), this character would be very durable.
Now I need to decide: Is it worth starting as a fighter to gain Perception, but lose the Dexterity saving throw proficiency in favor of Constitution? Obviously, this becomes irrelevant once the monk reaches 14th level.
The Wayfarer background gives Stealth and Insigh.
For skills, I’d take Acrobatics and Athletics as a monk, and Acrobatics and Perception as a fighter. What a dilemma!
If you have any additional tips for this build, let me know.
Picking up one weapon uses your free object interaction. When you make an attack as part of the attack action, you can equip or unequip a weapon, and picking it up to wield is equipping.
The main problem I see with your idea is your bonus action attacks, which have to be unarmed. They're a significant percentage of a monk's combat power, and they're not all that compatible with thrown weapons. Yes, you can throw and then close for the bonus action strikes, but at that point, why are you throwing?
So I can attack someone without entering their range and attacking another enemy in melee combat, or to attack a flying enemy, or to attack an enemy that’s too far away to reach, or ... But mostly because I liked the idea and it seems fun.
Another cool thing would be to use stunning strike on a mid-air enemy with a thrown Monk weapon.
While this monk won’t throw weapons every turn, they can do so when necessary (strictly limited to the main action, not the bonus action). At least this prevents them from being restricted to melee attacks alone. This build isn’t about a monk focused entirely on throwing weapons; rather, it’s about a monk who can deliver a variety of attacks and adapt to diverse situations. Perhaps when the Kensei subclass is released, it will be possible to build a monk who throws weapons with every single attack.