Aarakocra is actually probably one of the best races for a monk... Their 50 feet fly speed is affected by unarmored movement so they get to go ridiculously fast even by level 2 (60 feet fly speed!!!)... They have also had ability scores that line up perfectly for a monk (DEX and WIS) although that is less important if you are using TCoE variant character creation rules... Ultimately, they make amazing monks because mobility is a big thing for monks (low HP, usually lower AC, and still need to be in melee) and aarakocra do that exceptionally well.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
“The mark of a successful DM is when you have caused more player deaths with doors than dragons, demons, or devils.”
I'm currently playing an Aarakocra Monk and it's great fun; the flying speed and mobility means you can get to pretty much anywhere on a battlefield in a single turn which works perfectly with how Monks are best used in battles with multiple enemies (singling out key targets to lock down or take down, usually anything ranged).
The Talons ability also gives you the option of slashing damage instead of bludgeoning on your unarmed strikes, and with talons being a natural weapon they can be combined with spells and abilities that apply specifically to weapons, which includes being able to poison them. Slashing versus bludgeoning is important if you want to go Way of the Kensei (or otherwise build for longsword proficiency) as if all your attacks do slashing damage then you can consider the new Slasher feat in Tasha's since it will benefit all of your melee attacks that way.
One thing I would say is that flight is a very abusable ability (playable Aarakocra are not permitted at all in Adventurer's League for this reason) so make sure you work with your DM to avoid cheesing too much. Easiest rule is to take off and land in a single turn, i.e- don't stay in the air all the time to cheese enemies that can't reach you; it works both ways anyway, as if you do do it all the time you'll only force the DM to throw a lot of ranged stuff at you that can knock you prone, which is dangerous when flying.
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.
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Just asking, how well could a bird monk just, work?
Aarakocra is actually probably one of the best races for a monk... Their 50 feet fly speed is affected by unarmored movement so they get to go ridiculously fast even by level 2 (60 feet fly speed!!!)... They have also had ability scores that line up perfectly for a monk (DEX and WIS) although that is less important if you are using TCoE variant character creation rules... Ultimately, they make amazing monks because mobility is a big thing for monks (low HP, usually lower AC, and still need to be in melee) and aarakocra do that exceptionally well.
“The mark of a successful DM is when you have caused more player deaths with doors than dragons, demons, or devils.”
I'm currently playing an Aarakocra Monk and it's great fun; the flying speed and mobility means you can get to pretty much anywhere on a battlefield in a single turn which works perfectly with how Monks are best used in battles with multiple enemies (singling out key targets to lock down or take down, usually anything ranged).
The Talons ability also gives you the option of slashing damage instead of bludgeoning on your unarmed strikes, and with talons being a natural weapon they can be combined with spells and abilities that apply specifically to weapons, which includes being able to poison them. Slashing versus bludgeoning is important if you want to go Way of the Kensei (or otherwise build for longsword proficiency) as if all your attacks do slashing damage then you can consider the new Slasher feat in Tasha's since it will benefit all of your melee attacks that way.
One thing I would say is that flight is a very abusable ability (playable Aarakocra are not permitted at all in Adventurer's League for this reason) so make sure you work with your DM to avoid cheesing too much. Easiest rule is to take off and land in a single turn, i.e- don't stay in the air all the time to cheese enemies that can't reach you; it works both ways anyway, as if you do do it all the time you'll only force the DM to throw a lot of ranged stuff at you that can knock you prone, which is dangerous when flying.
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.