If you're keeping the Monk as the primary and you're looking for some killer padding. I highly suggest going Gloomstalker Ranger.
In my test builds for a level 8 character I went 5 Kensei / 3 Gloomstalker as a Wood Elf. The synergy with the Dex/Wisom/MS with the natural use of the Monk was just too good to pass up. BattleAxe/Longbow for Kensei weapons. This gives you a battleaxe using DEX?!?! Well isn't that just a pretty image. I picture a monk using the momentum of the axe to fluidly throw himself in to the attacks like a living whirlwind. Archery for the ranger fighting style and suddenly you're beyond a deady threat at range.
Why Ranger? Well golly gee, how about that wisdom+ to initiative and some very nice supporting spells. Hunter's Mark, oh my! Longstrider with an already natural 45ms, your opponents will be calling you road runner. Throw in absorb elements to handle saving your hide from casters. Dread Ambusher gives you two 1d10 attacks and your unarmed attack for the +AC. If that hits, even more damage. with ever more additional move speed.
You can effectively walk(or is it sprint in this case?) in to the first round of Melee Combat at 65ms and swing 1d10+D, 1d10+D, (if you hit add another 1d8), 1d6+D (Hello +2AC), (options!!) Flurry? 1d6+D, 1d6+D on the pile.. Stunning Strike? Cause why let that big ugly get in to your back line.
Feats for that ASI? Mobile sure seems broken, are you sure you're not a ninja? Alert because by the gods you will go first! And as I hear it, just flat out raising your DEX and/or WIS is like the gift that keeps on giving.
P.S. - Tell your DM I apologize sincerely for tipping you off to this build.
If you're keeping the Monk as the primary and you're looking for some killer padding. I highly suggest going Gloomstalker Ranger.
In my test builds for a level 8 character I went 5 Kensei / 3 Gloomstalker as a Wood Elf. The synergy with the Dex/Wisom/MS with the natural use of the Monk was just too good to pass up. BattleAxe/Longbow for Kensei weapons. This gives you a battleaxe using DEX?!?! Well isn't that just a pretty image. I picture a monk using the momentum of the axe to fluidly throw himself in to the attacks like a living whirlwind. Archery for the ranger fighting style and suddenly you're beyond a deady threat at range.
Why Ranger? Well golly gee, how about that wisdom+ to initiative and some very nice supporting spells. Hunter's Mark, oh my! Longstrider with an already natural 45ms, your opponents will be calling you road runner. Throw in absorb elements to handle saving your hide from casters. Dread Ambusher gives you two 1d10 attacks and your unarmed attack for the +AC. If that hits, even more damage. with ever more additional move speed.
You can effectively walk(or is it sprint in this case?) in to the first round of Melee Combat at 65ms and swing 1d10+D, 1d10+D, (if you hit add another 1d8), 1d6+D (Hello +2AC), (options!!) Flurry? 1d6+D, 1d6+D on the pile.. Stunning Strike? Cause why let that big ugly get in to your back line.
Feats for that ASI? Mobile sure seems broken, are you sure you're not a ninja? Alert because by the gods you will go first! And as I hear it, just flat out raising your DEX and/or WIS is like the gift that keeps on giving.
P.S. - Tell your DM I apologize sincerely for tipping you off to this build.
Don't forget about the spell Zephyr Strike.
You move like the wind. Until the spell ends, your movement doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks.
Once before the spell ends, you can give yourself advantage on one weapon attack roll on your turn. That attack deals an extra 1d8 force damage on a hit. Whether you hit or miss, your walking speed increases by 30 feet until the end of that turn.
Stack that with Dread Ambusher and imagine the possibilities.
For a one trick combat pony, take up to 5 levels of monk then multi class into warlock for cloud of daggers. Stunning strike bad guy/monster or spend ki point to attempt to knock them prone then cast cloud of dagger and enjoy rolling lots of d4’s of damage. If/when they move out of that spell eldritch blast them back into it with pushing/pulling invocation(s).
For making all the saves, take a 6 level dip into paladin oath of the ancients, to be able to add CHA modifier to saves, and by 14th level of monk, gain profiency in all saves!
For insane movement choose Taboxi, and multi class with Barbarian (totem of the Elk), proceed to enjoy 200+ feet of movement every other round!
I have a level 5 human kensai monk, and have been looking into possible fighter multi-class for the last couple levels. First of all I have some suggestions:
- get a flametouge lonsword! Kensei monks beg to have them: with shrpen the blade you can have a plus 3 flame tounge long sword for one minute
- human variant with Savage attacker feat: at third level, you can swing your kensai'd longsword with 2 hands and then make an unarmed strike, and re roll wichever damage die you don't like
Also, can I get any help with my battle master multi class on this character:
-When to multiclass? Level 11 monk or higher?
-should I do battlemaster, how many levels of fighter?
So with my Shadow Monk I really wanted to make a multiclass, after some research I found that I really only wanted 1 lvl, so I could still aquire my lvl 18 monk abilities and lvl 19 ASI.
With the rogue not being too useful until lvl 3, I ended up going with Tempest Domain Cleric. The added healing spells are definetely a big help to the party, but the main reason I chose the Tempest domain specifically is for Wrath of the Storm.
2d8 lightning or thunder damage as a reaction to being attacked by an enemy within 5 ft is a huge bonus for stacking damage. And with a wisdom of 20 I can use this reaction 5 times between long rests.
There may be a better multiclass but for me this sold it.
I currently play a Human Variant Way of the Shadow Monk and Inquisitive Rogue multiclass, currently at a 6/3 split. I've enjoyed it a lot, and it's pretty strong and very versatile. Probably one of my most favorite multiclasses I've done
monk is an interesting multiclass ive taken advantage of in the past, i have found success in multiclassing what some would say are not complimentary classes. the key in my opinion is to ignore the "martial arts" feature and take full advantage of your ki and other features while still wearing armor and using shields. you may ask how do you use fury of blows? the short answer is tavern brawler can let you use d4's, a more interesting answer is that some races actually give you replacement unarmed strike variants in the form of specifically worded natural weapons. tabaxi and minotaur come to mind.
in the past i played a plate wearing dwarf fighter 2/monk X and he was one of the most successful front line characters ive ever played. i took advantage of their ability to dodge as a bonus action with the dwarven fortitude and the item periapt of wound closure, this allowed me to heal 1d8+con x 2 when i dodged. i was very difficult to hit with my absurdly high armor class and giving my opponents disadvantage on top of it while self healing. this on top of the monks basic kit making them have a surprising amount of damage negation/evasion and the ability to just cancel some common status effects we were quite the rock. sadly, playing this way doesnt make you any less MAD. i still needed wisdom for my stunning strikes and constitution for hp more than ever but you need to replace dexterity with strength. if you resolve yourself to not using stunning strikes(i dont advise this) you can skimp on wisdom. one bonus here is both the feats i took also gave stat bonuses so it wasnt to taxing on stats (tavern brawler and dwarven fortitude). in hindsight this build can become so much more than it currently is if you use other races and focus less on the gimmick of self healing i was doing and i hope this sparks a small amount of creativity in someone and i begin to see some more armor wearing monks in the world.
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If you're keeping the Monk as the primary and you're looking for some killer padding. I highly suggest going Gloomstalker Ranger.
In my test builds for a level 8 character I went 5 Kensei / 3 Gloomstalker as a Wood Elf. The synergy with the Dex/Wisom/MS with the natural use of the Monk was just too good to pass up. BattleAxe/Longbow for Kensei weapons. This gives you a battleaxe using DEX?!?! Well isn't that just a pretty image. I picture a monk using the momentum of the axe to fluidly throw himself in to the attacks like a living whirlwind. Archery for the ranger fighting style and suddenly you're beyond a deady threat at range.
Why Ranger? Well golly gee, how about that wisdom+ to initiative and some very nice supporting spells. Hunter's Mark, oh my! Longstrider with an already natural 45ms, your opponents will be calling you road runner. Throw in absorb elements to handle saving your hide from casters. Dread Ambusher gives you two 1d10 attacks and your unarmed attack for the +AC. If that hits, even more damage. with ever more additional move speed.
You can effectively walk(or is it sprint in this case?) in to the first round of Melee Combat at 65ms and swing 1d10+D, 1d10+D, (if you hit add another 1d8), 1d6+D (Hello +2AC), (options!!) Flurry? 1d6+D, 1d6+D on the pile.. Stunning Strike? Cause why let that big ugly get in to your back line.
Feats for that ASI? Mobile sure seems broken, are you sure you're not a ninja? Alert because by the gods you will go first!
And as I hear it, just flat out raising your DEX and/or WIS is like the gift that keeps on giving.
P.S. - Tell your DM I apologize sincerely for tipping you off to this build.
Don't forget about the spell Zephyr Strike.
You move like the wind. Until the spell ends, your movement doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks.
Once before the spell ends, you can give yourself advantage on one weapon attack roll on your turn. That attack deals an extra 1d8 force damage on a hit. Whether you hit or miss, your walking speed increases by 30 feet until the end of that turn.
Stack that with Dread Ambusher and imagine the possibilities.
For a one trick combat pony, take up to 5 levels of monk then multi class into warlock for cloud of daggers. Stunning strike bad guy/monster or spend ki point to attempt to knock them prone then cast cloud of dagger and enjoy rolling lots of d4’s of damage. If/when they move out of that spell eldritch blast them back into it with pushing/pulling invocation(s).
For making all the saves, take a 6 level dip into paladin oath of the ancients, to be able to add CHA modifier to saves, and by 14th level of monk, gain profiency in all saves!
For insane movement choose Taboxi, and multi class with Barbarian (totem of the Elk), proceed to enjoy 200+ feet of movement every other round!
I have a level 5 human kensai monk, and have been looking into possible fighter multi-class for the last couple levels. First of all I have some suggestions:
- get a flametouge lonsword! Kensei monks beg to have them: with shrpen the blade you can have a plus 3 flame tounge long sword for one minute
- human variant with Savage attacker feat: at third level, you can swing your kensai'd longsword with 2 hands and then make an unarmed strike, and re roll wichever damage die you don't like
Also, can I get any help with my battle master multi class on this character:
-When to multiclass? Level 11 monk or higher?
-should I do battlemaster, how many levels of fighter?
So with my Shadow Monk I really wanted to make a multiclass, after some research I found that I really only wanted 1 lvl, so I could still aquire my lvl 18 monk abilities and lvl 19 ASI.
With the rogue not being too useful until lvl 3, I ended up going with Tempest Domain Cleric. The added healing spells are definetely a big help to the party, but the main reason I chose the Tempest domain specifically is for Wrath of the Storm.
2d8 lightning or thunder damage as a reaction to being attacked by an enemy within 5 ft is a huge bonus for stacking damage. And with a wisdom of 20 I can use this reaction 5 times between long rests.
There may be a better multiclass but for me this sold it.
I currently play a Human Variant Way of the Shadow Monk and Inquisitive Rogue multiclass, currently at a 6/3 split. I've enjoyed it a lot, and it's pretty strong and very versatile. Probably one of my most favorite multiclasses I've done
Yeah if you can commit to 3 levels, the rogue is a major game changing multiclass. Really thought about that combo.
I have a Monk 2/ Eldritch Knight 3 and it's great to have so much combat flexibility, spells and Booming Blade-Disengage shenanigans.
monk is an interesting multiclass ive taken advantage of in the past, i have found success in multiclassing what some would say are not complimentary classes. the key in my opinion is to ignore the "martial arts" feature and take full advantage of your ki and other features while still wearing armor and using shields. you may ask how do you use fury of blows? the short answer is tavern brawler can let you use d4's, a more interesting answer is that some races actually give you replacement unarmed strike variants in the form of specifically worded natural weapons. tabaxi and minotaur come to mind.
in the past i played a plate wearing dwarf fighter 2/monk X and he was one of the most successful front line characters ive ever played. i took advantage of their ability to dodge as a bonus action with the dwarven fortitude and the item periapt of wound closure, this allowed me to heal 1d8+con x 2 when i dodged. i was very difficult to hit with my absurdly high armor class and giving my opponents disadvantage on top of it while self healing. this on top of the monks basic kit making them have a surprising amount of damage negation/evasion and the ability to just cancel some common status effects we were quite the rock. sadly, playing this way doesnt make you any less MAD. i still needed wisdom for my stunning strikes and constitution for hp more than ever but you need to replace dexterity with strength. if you resolve yourself to not using stunning strikes(i dont advise this) you can skimp on wisdom. one bonus here is both the feats i took also gave stat bonuses so it wasnt to taxing on stats (tavern brawler and dwarven fortitude). in hindsight this build can become so much more than it currently is if you use other races and focus less on the gimmick of self healing i was doing and i hope this sparks a small amount of creativity in someone and i begin to see some more armor wearing monks in the world.