So, basically, soonish I will probably start a new campaign and as I can't help myself I kinda begun planning already... Now, I have two options I'm currently considering. The first option is really just a wizard with the lucky feat, not because it's great but because it fit the idea of the wizard.. Basically the idea was a young, kinda happy, traveler wizard who eventually would get drawn into whatever happens (I don't know the story yet). That in mind I started thinking about a character I made a long time ago for another game, but never played... Basically the same rough idea, though this one in particular (a lot cause of that setting it was made for) was actually a really good warrior who put his past life behind him, so essentially threw away his weapons and armor and just wandered without them.. And he was content this way. Thinking about this made me want to play a monk. Now, I have some issues with monks... But I love the concept.. kinda. Anyways I looked through the subclasses and they are all cool and fancy and... too much, either flashy deathstrike mega lazers of doom, or ninja lord sneakmasters or whatever.. Now, that's all fine if someone wants to play that but it's just... not what I had in mind :p I mean, way of the kensai felt close, but then again just.. It doesn't seem much fun, unless you're going for some kinda super archer really, the weapons.. The first one sure, then it's just adding more and more weapons as monk weapons.. I could just play a fighter (yes I know it would be different cause of other stuff.. but that's what I feel. Honestly, I'd rather play the samurai fighter instead).
Then I looked at way of Mercy again. At first I started glancing on it but it started with "they wear masks" and I was lost, but I came back just to check it out.. And.. I kinda like it.
Now... -Main Concept: Happy traveler guy, wanders around, gets caught up in stuff... Can heal! (and harm!). I'm thinking he might walk around with a quarterstaff since that's a good walking around tool, but not sure. Secondary concept: I accidentally looked at druidcraft, the cantrip, and... I kinda want it because I can totally see him leaning over a flower and making it blossom. Now... getting the cantrip can be tricky, I'm not sure if there's any way except taking the magic initiate feat? This would prevent me from both lucky, which I honestly mostly wanted on the wizard, but it kinda fits here too, just not sure if it's worth taking on a monk (they seem to get a bunch of re-roll options later) but also the mobility feat which seems like a pretty good thing to have, though I guess I could "just" use ki to do it instead. Clearly taking druidcraft is not optimal, but is there any other way to get it except the feat?
The advantage of the feat would be getting one more cantrip and a 1st level spell to use... And, while here as well it's clearly not the optimal choice I'd probably go with the guidance cantrip and either Detect poison and Disease OR Purify food and Drink. Most likely the detect spell though as I feel it fits better with Way of Mercy.
Also since I'm clearly not sane I really like the idea of the Healer feat.
Now, as you can see, if the feat goal is one or more of Lucky, Mobility, Healer and Magic initiate (with Detect poison/disease and druidcraft + maybe guidance).... For a monk.. It's gonna be a ASI problem really fast even as variant human ;) (oh yeah, I kinda wanna be human as well.. I guess half elf would work as well, just to mess the stats up ever worse :p)
So.. Problem solving decisions needed!
1: Race: V. Human or Half-elf (I could maybe use the +2 charisma for another stat with the optional rule for stat placements I think). I... think I could play a half-orc too. Not that it helps with stats ;) Spells: Druidcraft (can I get it somehow RAW? I was hoping half-woodelves could but nope) Feats (in order of how much I want them): Magic initiate (unless I can get druidcraft somewhere else), Mobility, Healer, Lucky + ?? is there anything else I "need" as monk? Stats: Most likely going by point buy, which... is kinda limited. And yeah, unless you haven't guessed it already, not a fan of dumpstats :p so, probably want 10 Str, 10 int and 10-12 charisma if possible. This is also part of why I kinda want mobility ASAP because I fear I'll have some troubles otherwise. With a point buy setup, what are bare minimum I can go for? I presume I'd need 16 wis at least, and 14 dex is probably a bit sad but... :S Also, 12 con?
Str 10, Int 10, cha 12, con 12 is 12points, 15 left... dex 13 wis 15 would be 15 points I think... So would work with both half elf and v.human.
How will I survive ;D
PS: I had another idea for a feat earlier taking the fighter initiate feat or something for a weapon style, where i'd obviously start out with unarmed style for some added damage but later would swap it out for interceptor, so I could use a reaction to help allies take less damage. I like the idea but seems just as impossible to implement really.
Is there a good multiclass option that could make all this work better? (ranger? druid?) Any advice is welcome, as long as it's trying to follow the concept somehow and not turn me into a ninja death monk that shoots lasers or have psychic arms or alcohol problems.
Going with your "happy wanderer" archetype I think either Healing Word or one of the animal spells (Animal Friendship or Speak with Animals) could be fitting. Just a thought though.
Drunken Master monk as a subclass could work! You don't have to play it as "drunk" ... could instead be just a smiley guy who dodges attacks with a smile on his face. Like a Mr. Magoo style "doesn't even realize he's barely avoiding doom" type.
I wouldn't go with Fighting Initiate, personally. If you want a more martial feel, go with Martial Adept.
Druid/Monk MC is always intriguing to me, but I'm a little too much of a min/maxer to ever commit to it. It would get you the cantrip you want, and at Druid 2 you could take either Dreams for your extra healing or Land for some extra spellcasting (unfortunately doesn't kick in until Druid 3 though) per whatever flavor you want. Grassland or Coast could maybe get you what you want. It's too bad that not all of the Druid subclasses get an alternative use for their wildshape a la Wildfire, because then it could make it more flavorful.
Ranger/Monk MC could work. Rangers get Druid cantrips thanks to Tasha's now, so that could get you Druidcraft.
Going with your "happy wanderer" archetype I think either Healing Word or one of the animal spells (Animal Friendship or Speak with Animals) could be fitting. Just a thought though.
Drunken Master monk as a subclass could work! You don't have to play it as "drunk" ... could instead be just a smiley guy who dodges attacks with a smile on his face. Like a Mr. Magoo style "doesn't even realize he's barely avoiding doom" type.
I wouldn't go with Fighting Initiate, personally. If you want a more martial feel, go with Martial Adept.
Druid/Monk MC is always intriguing to me, but I'm a little too much of a min/maxer to ever commit to it. It would get you the cantrip you want, and at Druid 2 you could take either Dreams for your extra healing or Land for some extra spellcasting (unfortunately doesn't kick in until Druid 3 though) per whatever flavor you want. Grassland or Coast could maybe get you what you want. It's too bad that not all of the Druid subclasses get an alternative use for their wildshape a la Wildfire, because then it could make it more flavorful.
Ranger/Monk MC could work. Rangers get Druid cantrips thanks to Tasha's now, so that could get you Druidcraft.
Yeah, healing word is a good spell and would be much better tbh, the others just felt more along the lines of way of mercy, but healing word could probably be easy to implement without it feeling off, it wouldn't be usable often so using the same feeling as the reason they could sense poison (with ki or something) they could make a single weak force healing at range.
Drunken master comment, yeah, I mean I'd have to rethink the concept a bit but it might work if used like you said. Made me rethink the subclass at least.
Fighting initiate vs martial adept, I was thinking that the former would be able to at first deal some more damage (partly because I don't like d4's ;D ) and like I said later it could be turned into the interception style.. With all that movement I get later (and mobility) I could jump forward, strike a few enemies and perhaps position myself next to a weak ally, maybe a mage or perhaps a melee fighter who is bloodied and use the reaction to prevent some damage. Since it's just a reaction it could be used all day long. Also I like the idea of standing next to an ally and sweeping out with the quarterstaff to push away someones attack, or block it. (Though, I seem to recall a similar maneuver as well, but with the fighting style it would just use the reaction... There is a weapon style that gives superiority dice and a maneuver or two as well on the other hand, so I could technically get that instead later... hmm)
Instead taking martial adept would get me just one die to use/short rest and I think it's just a d6 unless you already have them? Though I might be thinking of some other skill.. It could let me use a few more interesting moves though, so I'm not all against it! The main issues I have with battle maneuvers and such is that I think all fighters should have them with maybe Con modifier uses/day. Sure for balance it could have been and stayed at d6's but I do believe it's a more "generic" fighter ability and could be limited to certain maneuvers only, but not even sure about that. The Battle master wouldn't even need to change much, if anything... If you have 1-5 extra uses it would just make them more useful and varied... If the normal fighter had 1-5 uses at d6, with maybe 2-3 maneuvers, the battle master would have 5-9 uses with 5-6 known maneuvers and it would increase the dice used making it better.. But I guess this is a whole other discussion, the point was mainly that it's a thing that just disappoints me because I think it is a feature lacking already (not that it's bad, just that I think it would have made fighters more fun and interesting, without making them especially more overpowered). Moving on though :p There are a few cool maneuvers that could be fun on this character for sure!
Bait and switch - Changing places with another creature. I love this idea, imagining either some kinda backflip over a friend, or leaping over them while pushing them back and landing in front of them. Adding the superiority roll to AC for both is great too AND it's not an action of any kind, just need the superiority dice and 5 movement. This is awesome. Disarming attack - I think there's an optional rule about disarming that I will talk to the DM about using, because I think it should be possible anyways.. Doesn't mean the maneuver would be useless, but less useful if the rule is in use. Still, disarming is cool, even though it's hardly useful unless played right ;) Brace could be cool, though I'd probably be better off just taking polearm master in that case and use the quarterstaff to do this everytime someone comes into reach instead of once/short rest... Even then it's probably not worth it, since it doesn't increase stats (though I guess you could make a stunning attack that way which would be pretty nice). Distracting strike could be nice to use with a rogue, while parry and riposte would be some added defence and offence.. Both requiring a reaction though. Trip attack, while in a way fitting, seems like it would be easier to use by simply grappling and throwing them to the ground.
The druid combination is actually kinda cool. Like you said 1 level would get me the cantrips I wanted, I'd also get some extra spells. I wasn't planning on being a spellcaster (like a real spellcaster, not just druidcraft :p) but I do kinda like the Dreams path for this kinda character... Some extra healing, at range, is always handy tbh.. And the theme would work well with a half-elf at least. Though, I wonder, if I would take this path maybe I'd be "better" off doing a bit more serious multiclassing.. For some real spellusage, maybe around 5 levels of monk for the extra attack, some more Ki and stunning strike.. Then more into druid. Worth considering.
And ranger, I recently played a ranger so while it would get me the druidcraft and I might be able to make some good use of either some terrain or skill usage.. Not sure, maybe some subclass could add something good for it too, but by then it's a whole 3 levels. :/ The only subclass I really feel would be really useful for a monk is the monster hunter though which just happens to be the one I just used.. And even then, not sure it's that great tbh.
I think full monk feels better, though a variation for dream druid might work..
Going with your "happy wanderer" archetype I think either Healing Word or one of the animal spells (Animal Friendship or Speak with Animals) could be fitting. Just a thought though.
Drunken Master monk as a subclass could work! You don't have to play it as "drunk" ... could instead be just a smiley guy who dodges attacks with a smile on his face. Like a Mr. Magoo style "doesn't even realize he's barely avoiding doom" type.
I wouldn't go with Fighting Initiate, personally. If you want a more martial feel, go with Martial Adept.
Druid/Monk MC is always intriguing to me, but I'm a little too much of a min/maxer to ever commit to it. It would get you the cantrip you want, and at Druid 2 you could take either Dreams for your extra healing or Land for some extra spellcasting (unfortunately doesn't kick in until Druid 3 though) per whatever flavor you want. Grassland or Coast could maybe get you what you want. It's too bad that not all of the Druid subclasses get an alternative use for their wildshape a la Wildfire, because then it could make it more flavorful.
Ranger/Monk MC could work. Rangers get Druid cantrips thanks to Tasha's now, so that could get you Druidcraft.
Yeah, healing word is a good spell and would be much better tbh, the others just felt more along the lines of way of mercy, but healing word could probably be easy to implement without it feeling off, it wouldn't be usable often so using the same feeling as the reason they could sense poison (with ki or something) they could make a single weak force healing at range.
Drunken master comment, yeah, I mean I'd have to rethink the concept a bit but it might work if used like you said. Made me rethink the subclass at least.
Fighting initiate vs martial adept, I was thinking that the former would be able to at first deal some more damage (partly because I don't like d4's ;D ) and like I said later it could be turned into the interception style.. With all that movement I get later (and mobility) I could jump forward, strike a few enemies and perhaps position myself next to a weak ally, maybe a mage or perhaps a melee fighter who is bloodied and use the reaction to prevent some damage. Since it's just a reaction it could be used all day long. Also I like the idea of standing next to an ally and sweeping out with the quarterstaff to push away someones attack, or block it. (Though, I seem to recall a similar maneuver as well, but with the fighting style it would just use the reaction... There is a weapon style that gives superiority dice and a maneuver or two as well on the other hand, so I could technically get that instead later... hmm)
Instead taking martial adept would get me just one die to use/short rest and I think it's just a d6 unless you already have them? Though I might be thinking of some other skill.. It could let me use a few more interesting moves though, so I'm not all against it! The main issues I have with battle maneuvers and such is that I think all fighters should have them with maybe Con modifier uses/day. Sure for balance it could have been and stayed at d6's but I do believe it's a more "generic" fighter ability and could be limited to certain maneuvers only, but not even sure about that. The Battle master wouldn't even need to change much, if anything... If you have 1-5 extra uses it would just make them more useful and varied... If the normal fighter had 1-5 uses at d6, with maybe 2-3 maneuvers, the battle master would have 5-9 uses with 5-6 known maneuvers and it would increase the dice used making it better.. But I guess this is a whole other discussion, the point was mainly that it's a thing that just disappoints me because I think it is a feature lacking already (not that it's bad, just that I think it would have made fighters more fun and interesting, without making them especially more overpowered). Moving on though :p There are a few cool maneuvers that could be fun on this character for sure!
Bait and switch - Changing places with another creature. I love this idea, imagining either some kinda backflip over a friend, or leaping over them while pushing them back and landing in front of them. Adding the superiority roll to AC for both is great too AND it's not an action of any kind, just need the superiority dice and 5 movement. This is awesome. Disarming attack - I think there's an optional rule about disarming that I will talk to the DM about using, because I think it should be possible anyways.. Doesn't mean the maneuver would be useless, but less useful if the rule is in use. Still, disarming is cool, even though it's hardly useful unless played right ;) Brace could be cool, though I'd probably be better off just taking polearm master in that case and use the quarterstaff to do this everytime someone comes into reach instead of once/short rest... Even then it's probably not worth it, since it doesn't increase stats (though I guess you could make a stunning attack that way which would be pretty nice). Distracting strike could be nice to use with a rogue, while parry and riposte would be some added defence and offence.. Both requiring a reaction though. Trip attack, while in a way fitting, seems like it would be easier to use by simply grappling and throwing them to the ground.
The druid combination is actually kinda cool. Like you said 1 level would get me the cantrips I wanted, I'd also get some extra spells. I wasn't planning on being a spellcaster (like a real spellcaster, not just druidcraft :p) but I do kinda like the Dreams path for this kinda character... Some extra healing, at range, is always handy tbh.. And the theme would work well with a half-elf at least. Though, I wonder, if I would take this path maybe I'd be "better" off doing a bit more serious multiclassing.. For some real spellusage, maybe around 5 levels of monk for the extra attack, some more Ki and stunning strike.. Then more into druid. Worth considering.
And ranger, I recently played a ranger so while it would get me the druidcraft and I might be able to make some good use of either some terrain or skill usage.. Not sure, maybe some subclass could add something good for it too, but by then it's a whole 3 levels. :/ The only subclass I really feel would be really useful for a monk is the monster hunter though which just happens to be the one I just used.. And even then, not sure it's that great tbh.
I think full monk feels better, though a variation for dream druid might work..
Thanks for the advice btw :)
Keep in mind, others on these boards have analyzed why Fighting Initiate - Unarmed Fighting is actually worse for a monk than simply going with +2 DEX. It seems wrong, but the math works out. Search out some of the discussions here (there are several) and read over them yourself.
Playing a druid monk right now, and honestly multi classing from a meta standpoint is very difficult... especially as a moon Druid. I've only invested 1 level in Monk, and really want to go down the Mercy Monk with her, but as Druid (or any caster really) theres a lot to lose by deviating from your core class.
With that said, play what you imagine. I don't imagine my monk druid as super Flashy or acrobatic. Very simple swing with the staff, straight kick or knee to the chest or leg (or groin, because that's always funny!). Martial arts strikes dont have to be supernatural unless you want them to be.
I also took the Healer Feat as level 1 variant human, which again, isnt the best use from a meta play, but it fits her character. Lots of use for out of combat healing, but its not great in combat when you have access to Mercy's hands of Healing (or healing word).
I honestly think Martial Adept and Fighting Style are not too great of an investment or not beneficial enough for an ASI for a monk. As a Straight Monk, Crusher is great for the +1 Con and being able to push a target for free when you hit with a bludgeoning melee attack.
Lucky is always Good, but I always think of it more as a flavoring for the characters, so if it works with the image of a monk for you, go for it. Mobility is good for both flavor and gameplay, if you want to be a hit and run character... or someone wise enough to not stay in the frey of a fight for extended periods of time
Ranger Monk vs Druid is a worthy trade for build.. you can get your Cantrips and a few utility spells that might fit your idea for the character image. Being a guide of the sorts from the ranger could help fit your wiser experienced image. Not sure if you want to get to a subclass, but the beast Hunter might be a good specialized combatant type.
Going with your "happy wanderer" archetype I think either Healing Word or one of the animal spells (Animal Friendship or Speak with Animals) could be fitting. Just a thought though.
Drunken Master monk as a subclass could work! You don't have to play it as "drunk" ... could instead be just a smiley guy who dodges attacks with a smile on his face. Like a Mr. Magoo style "doesn't even realize he's barely avoiding doom" type.
I wouldn't go with Fighting Initiate, personally. If you want a more martial feel, go with Martial Adept.
Druid/Monk MC is always intriguing to me, but I'm a little too much of a min/maxer to ever commit to it. It would get you the cantrip you want, and at Druid 2 you could take either Dreams for your extra healing or Land for some extra spellcasting (unfortunately doesn't kick in until Druid 3 though) per whatever flavor you want. Grassland or Coast could maybe get you what you want. It's too bad that not all of the Druid subclasses get an alternative use for their wildshape a la Wildfire, because then it could make it more flavorful.
Ranger/Monk MC could work. Rangers get Druid cantrips thanks to Tasha's now, so that could get you Druidcraft.
Yeah, healing word is a good spell and would be much better tbh, the others just felt more along the lines of way of mercy, but healing word could probably be easy to implement without it feeling off, it wouldn't be usable often so using the same feeling as the reason they could sense poison (with ki or something) they could make a single weak force healing at range.
Drunken master comment, yeah, I mean I'd have to rethink the concept a bit but it might work if used like you said. Made me rethink the subclass at least.
Fighting initiate vs martial adept, I was thinking that the former would be able to at first deal some more damage (partly because I don't like d4's ;D ) and like I said later it could be turned into the interception style.. With all that movement I get later (and mobility) I could jump forward, strike a few enemies and perhaps position myself next to a weak ally, maybe a mage or perhaps a melee fighter who is bloodied and use the reaction to prevent some damage. Since it's just a reaction it could be used all day long. Also I like the idea of standing next to an ally and sweeping out with the quarterstaff to push away someones attack, or block it. (Though, I seem to recall a similar maneuver as well, but with the fighting style it would just use the reaction... There is a weapon style that gives superiority dice and a maneuver or two as well on the other hand, so I could technically get that instead later... hmm)
Instead taking martial adept would get me just one die to use/short rest and I think it's just a d6 unless you already have them? Though I might be thinking of some other skill.. It could let me use a few more interesting moves though, so I'm not all against it! The main issues I have with battle maneuvers and such is that I think all fighters should have them with maybe Con modifier uses/day. Sure for balance it could have been and stayed at d6's but I do believe it's a more "generic" fighter ability and could be limited to certain maneuvers only, but not even sure about that. The Battle master wouldn't even need to change much, if anything... If you have 1-5 extra uses it would just make them more useful and varied... If the normal fighter had 1-5 uses at d6, with maybe 2-3 maneuvers, the battle master would have 5-9 uses with 5-6 known maneuvers and it would increase the dice used making it better.. But I guess this is a whole other discussion, the point was mainly that it's a thing that just disappoints me because I think it is a feature lacking already (not that it's bad, just that I think it would have made fighters more fun and interesting, without making them especially more overpowered). Moving on though :p There are a few cool maneuvers that could be fun on this character for sure!
Bait and switch - Changing places with another creature. I love this idea, imagining either some kinda backflip over a friend, or leaping over them while pushing them back and landing in front of them. Adding the superiority roll to AC for both is great too AND it's not an action of any kind, just need the superiority dice and 5 movement. This is awesome. Disarming attack - I think there's an optional rule about disarming that I will talk to the DM about using, because I think it should be possible anyways.. Doesn't mean the maneuver would be useless, but less useful if the rule is in use. Still, disarming is cool, even though it's hardly useful unless played right ;) Brace could be cool, though I'd probably be better off just taking polearm master in that case and use the quarterstaff to do this everytime someone comes into reach instead of once/short rest... Even then it's probably not worth it, since it doesn't increase stats (though I guess you could make a stunning attack that way which would be pretty nice). Distracting strike could be nice to use with a rogue, while parry and riposte would be some added defence and offence.. Both requiring a reaction though. Trip attack, while in a way fitting, seems like it would be easier to use by simply grappling and throwing them to the ground.
The druid combination is actually kinda cool. Like you said 1 level would get me the cantrips I wanted, I'd also get some extra spells. I wasn't planning on being a spellcaster (like a real spellcaster, not just druidcraft :p) but I do kinda like the Dreams path for this kinda character... Some extra healing, at range, is always handy tbh.. And the theme would work well with a half-elf at least. Though, I wonder, if I would take this path maybe I'd be "better" off doing a bit more serious multiclassing.. For some real spellusage, maybe around 5 levels of monk for the extra attack, some more Ki and stunning strike.. Then more into druid. Worth considering.
And ranger, I recently played a ranger so while it would get me the druidcraft and I might be able to make some good use of either some terrain or skill usage.. Not sure, maybe some subclass could add something good for it too, but by then it's a whole 3 levels. :/ The only subclass I really feel would be really useful for a monk is the monster hunter though which just happens to be the one I just used.. And even then, not sure it's that great tbh.
I think full monk feels better, though a variation for dream druid might work..
Thanks for the advice btw :)
Keep in mind, others on these boards have analyzed why Fighting Initiate - Unarmed Fighting is actually worse for a monk than simply going with +2 DEX. It seems wrong, but the math works out. Search out some of the discussions here (there are several) and read over them yourself.
Yeah, I mean, unless I can roll stats and manage to roll so high I max out wis and dex really fast, this variant would most likely only come into effect if I played a variant human which gets a free feat, which wouldn't take the spot of a +2 dex anyways... And even so, it would probably be behind a few other feats even so.. But I just put it in there because I thought about it, especially since it would increase damage a bit early on (as a free feat, not compared to a dex ASI) and later on could be swapped out for other options like that deflecting interception style to protect allies.
But like I said, it's not a priority and would require either variant human free feat, OR very high rolls (which tbh most likely won't be an option)... But hey, we might roll background stuff and randomly get a weapon style or something ;)
Playing a druid monk right now, and honestly multi classing from a meta standpoint is very difficult... especially as a moon Druid. I've only invested 1 level in Monk, and really want to go down the Mercy Monk with her, but as Druid (or any caster really) theres a lot to lose by deviating from your core class.
With that said, play what you imagine. I don't imagine my monk druid as super Flashy or acrobatic. Very simple swing with the staff, straight kick or knee to the chest or leg (or groin, because that's always funny!). Martial arts strikes dont have to be supernatural unless you want them to be.
I also took the Healer Feat as level 1 variant human, which again, isnt the best use from a meta play, but it fits her character. Lots of use for out of combat healing, but its not great in combat when you have access to Mercy's hands of Healing (or healing word).
I honestly think Martial Adept and Fighting Style are must haves or too beneficial for a monk. As a Straight Monk, Crushes is great for the +1 Con and being able to push a target for free when you hit with a bludgeoning melee attack.
Lucky is always Good, but I always think of it more as a flavoring for the characters, so if it works with the image of a monk for you, go for it. Mobility is good for both flavor and gameplay, if you want to be a hit and run character... or someone wise enough to not stay in the frey of a fight for extended periods of time
Ranger Monk vs Druid is a worthy trade for build.. you can get your Cantrips and a few utility spells that might fit your idea for the character image. Being a guide of the sorts from the ranger could help fit your wiser experienced image. Not sure if you want to get to a subclass, but the beast Hunter might be a good specialized combatant type.
Yeah, I agree with the lucky being flavoring, that's how I use it as well. Same for healer really, it works VERY well for a rogue (thief) which can use it as a bonus action (use item) in combat, but otherwise it's more of a out of combat thingy.. As you said. In this case it would mostly be as a kind of combination for the flavor really, I like the idea of using healers kit and such, plus it would perhaps save a few ki points here and there.
That ranger idea, more of a guide, is interesting actually and worth considering. Thanks! Also, I agree with the druid multiclass thoughts.. In reality, it's probably mostly a waste since you lose spells, and spells are spells so.. If I did go that path I'm unsure how many monk levels I would take. It would be a whole other theme tbh, more into the druid role I think.. Though I guess around 5-6 levels for extra attack and such could probably be ok for a more martial focus. Not better, but probably ok at least...
I don't know much about what the story will be but I know the plan is for very high level characters eventually. This does make the idea of losing spells a bit sad though, since it's not often one gets to do that ;D
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So, basically, soonish I will probably start a new campaign and as I can't help myself I kinda begun planning already... Now, I have two options I'm currently considering. The first option is really just a wizard with the lucky feat, not because it's great but because it fit the idea of the wizard.. Basically the idea was a young, kinda happy, traveler wizard who eventually would get drawn into whatever happens (I don't know the story yet). That in mind I started thinking about a character I made a long time ago for another game, but never played... Basically the same rough idea, though this one in particular (a lot cause of that setting it was made for) was actually a really good warrior who put his past life behind him, so essentially threw away his weapons and armor and just wandered without them.. And he was content this way. Thinking about this made me want to play a monk. Now, I have some issues with monks... But I love the concept.. kinda. Anyways I looked through the subclasses and they are all cool and fancy and... too much, either flashy deathstrike mega lazers of doom, or ninja lord sneakmasters or whatever.. Now, that's all fine if someone wants to play that but it's just... not what I had in mind :p I mean, way of the kensai felt close, but then again just.. It doesn't seem much fun, unless you're going for some kinda super archer really, the weapons.. The first one sure, then it's just adding more and more weapons as monk weapons.. I could just play a fighter (yes I know it would be different cause of other stuff.. but that's what I feel. Honestly, I'd rather play the samurai fighter instead).
Then I looked at way of Mercy again. At first I started glancing on it but it started with "they wear masks" and I was lost, but I came back just to check it out.. And.. I kinda like it.
Now... -Main Concept: Happy traveler guy, wanders around, gets caught up in stuff... Can heal! (and harm!). I'm thinking he might walk around with a quarterstaff since that's a good walking around tool, but not sure.
Secondary concept: I accidentally looked at druidcraft, the cantrip, and... I kinda want it because I can totally see him leaning over a flower and making it blossom. Now... getting the cantrip can be tricky, I'm not sure if there's any way except taking the magic initiate feat? This would prevent me from both lucky, which I honestly mostly wanted on the wizard, but it kinda fits here too, just not sure if it's worth taking on a monk (they seem to get a bunch of re-roll options later) but also the mobility feat which seems like a pretty good thing to have, though I guess I could "just" use ki to do it instead. Clearly taking druidcraft is not optimal, but is there any other way to get it except the feat?
The advantage of the feat would be getting one more cantrip and a 1st level spell to use... And, while here as well it's clearly not the optimal choice I'd probably go with the guidance cantrip and either Detect poison and Disease OR Purify food and Drink. Most likely the detect spell though as I feel it fits better with Way of Mercy.
Also since I'm clearly not sane I really like the idea of the Healer feat.
Now, as you can see, if the feat goal is one or more of Lucky, Mobility, Healer and Magic initiate (with Detect poison/disease and druidcraft + maybe guidance).... For a monk.. It's gonna be a ASI problem really fast even as variant human ;) (oh yeah, I kinda wanna be human as well.. I guess half elf would work as well, just to mess the stats up ever worse :p)
So.. Problem solving decisions needed!
1: Race: V. Human or Half-elf (I could maybe use the +2 charisma for another stat with the optional rule for stat placements I think). I... think I could play a half-orc too. Not that it helps with stats ;)
Spells: Druidcraft (can I get it somehow RAW? I was hoping half-woodelves could but nope)
Feats (in order of how much I want them): Magic initiate (unless I can get druidcraft somewhere else), Mobility, Healer, Lucky + ?? is there anything else I "need" as monk?
Stats: Most likely going by point buy, which... is kinda limited. And yeah, unless you haven't guessed it already, not a fan of dumpstats :p so, probably want 10 Str, 10 int and 10-12 charisma if possible. This is also part of why I kinda want mobility ASAP because I fear I'll have some troubles otherwise. With a point buy setup, what are bare minimum I can go for? I presume I'd need 16 wis at least, and 14 dex is probably a bit sad but... :S Also, 12 con?
Str 10, Int 10, cha 12, con 12 is 12points, 15 left... dex 13 wis 15 would be 15 points I think... So would work with both half elf and v.human.
How will I survive ;D
PS: I had another idea for a feat earlier taking the fighter initiate feat or something for a weapon style, where i'd obviously start out with unarmed style for some added damage but later would swap it out for interceptor, so I could use a reaction to help allies take less damage. I like the idea but seems just as impossible to implement really.
Is there a good multiclass option that could make all this work better? (ranger? druid?) Any advice is welcome, as long as it's trying to follow the concept somehow and not turn me into a ninja death monk that shoots lasers or have psychic arms or alcohol problems.
Going with your "happy wanderer" archetype I think either Healing Word or one of the animal spells (Animal Friendship or Speak with Animals) could be fitting. Just a thought though.
Drunken Master monk as a subclass could work! You don't have to play it as "drunk" ... could instead be just a smiley guy who dodges attacks with a smile on his face. Like a Mr. Magoo style "doesn't even realize he's barely avoiding doom" type.
I wouldn't go with Fighting Initiate, personally. If you want a more martial feel, go with Martial Adept.
Druid/Monk MC is always intriguing to me, but I'm a little too much of a min/maxer to ever commit to it. It would get you the cantrip you want, and at Druid 2 you could take either Dreams for your extra healing or Land for some extra spellcasting (unfortunately doesn't kick in until Druid 3 though) per whatever flavor you want. Grassland or Coast could maybe get you what you want. It's too bad that not all of the Druid subclasses get an alternative use for their wildshape a la Wildfire, because then it could make it more flavorful.
Ranger/Monk MC could work. Rangers get Druid cantrips thanks to Tasha's now, so that could get you Druidcraft.
Yeah, healing word is a good spell and would be much better tbh, the others just felt more along the lines of way of mercy, but healing word could probably be easy to implement without it feeling off, it wouldn't be usable often so using the same feeling as the reason they could sense poison (with ki or something) they could make a single weak force healing at range.
Drunken master comment, yeah, I mean I'd have to rethink the concept a bit but it might work if used like you said. Made me rethink the subclass at least.
Fighting initiate vs martial adept, I was thinking that the former would be able to at first deal some more damage (partly because I don't like d4's ;D ) and like I said later it could be turned into the interception style.. With all that movement I get later (and mobility) I could jump forward, strike a few enemies and perhaps position myself next to a weak ally, maybe a mage or perhaps a melee fighter who is bloodied and use the reaction to prevent some damage. Since it's just a reaction it could be used all day long. Also I like the idea of standing next to an ally and sweeping out with the quarterstaff to push away someones attack, or block it. (Though, I seem to recall a similar maneuver as well, but with the fighting style it would just use the reaction... There is a weapon style that gives superiority dice and a maneuver or two as well on the other hand, so I could technically get that instead later... hmm)
Instead taking martial adept would get me just one die to use/short rest and I think it's just a d6 unless you already have them? Though I might be thinking of some other skill.. It could let me use a few more interesting moves though, so I'm not all against it! The main issues I have with battle maneuvers and such is that I think all fighters should have them with maybe Con modifier uses/day. Sure for balance it could have been and stayed at d6's but I do believe it's a more "generic" fighter ability and could be limited to certain maneuvers only, but not even sure about that. The Battle master wouldn't even need to change much, if anything... If you have 1-5 extra uses it would just make them more useful and varied... If the normal fighter had 1-5 uses at d6, with maybe 2-3 maneuvers, the battle master would have 5-9 uses with 5-6 known maneuvers and it would increase the dice used making it better.. But I guess this is a whole other discussion, the point was mainly that it's a thing that just disappoints me because I think it is a feature lacking already (not that it's bad, just that I think it would have made fighters more fun and interesting, without making them especially more overpowered).
Moving on though :p There are a few cool maneuvers that could be fun on this character for sure!
Bait and switch - Changing places with another creature. I love this idea, imagining either some kinda backflip over a friend, or leaping over them while pushing them back and landing in front of them. Adding the superiority roll to AC for both is great too AND it's not an action of any kind, just need the superiority dice and 5 movement. This is awesome.
Disarming attack - I think there's an optional rule about disarming that I will talk to the DM about using, because I think it should be possible anyways.. Doesn't mean the maneuver would be useless, but less useful if the rule is in use. Still, disarming is cool, even though it's hardly useful unless played right ;)
Brace could be cool, though I'd probably be better off just taking polearm master in that case and use the quarterstaff to do this everytime someone comes into reach instead of once/short rest... Even then it's probably not worth it, since it doesn't increase stats (though I guess you could make a stunning attack that way which would be pretty nice).
Distracting strike could be nice to use with a rogue, while parry and riposte would be some added defence and offence.. Both requiring a reaction though.
Trip attack, while in a way fitting, seems like it would be easier to use by simply grappling and throwing them to the ground.
The druid combination is actually kinda cool. Like you said 1 level would get me the cantrips I wanted, I'd also get some extra spells. I wasn't planning on being a spellcaster (like a real spellcaster, not just druidcraft :p) but I do kinda like the Dreams path for this kinda character... Some extra healing, at range, is always handy tbh.. And the theme would work well with a half-elf at least. Though, I wonder, if I would take this path maybe I'd be "better" off doing a bit more serious multiclassing.. For some real spellusage, maybe around 5 levels of monk for the extra attack, some more Ki and stunning strike.. Then more into druid. Worth considering.
And ranger, I recently played a ranger so while it would get me the druidcraft and I might be able to make some good use of either some terrain or skill usage.. Not sure, maybe some subclass could add something good for it too, but by then it's a whole 3 levels. :/ The only subclass I really feel would be really useful for a monk is the monster hunter though which just happens to be the one I just used.. And even then, not sure it's that great tbh.
I think full monk feels better, though a variation for dream druid might work..
Thanks for the advice btw :)
Keep in mind, others on these boards have analyzed why Fighting Initiate - Unarmed Fighting is actually worse for a monk than simply going with +2 DEX. It seems wrong, but the math works out. Search out some of the discussions here (there are several) and read over them yourself.
Playing a druid monk right now, and honestly multi classing from a meta standpoint is very difficult... especially as a moon Druid. I've only invested 1 level in Monk, and really want to go down the Mercy Monk with her, but as Druid (or any caster really) theres a lot to lose by deviating from your core class.
With that said, play what you imagine. I don't imagine my monk druid as super Flashy or acrobatic. Very simple swing with the staff, straight kick or knee to the chest or leg (or groin, because that's always funny!). Martial arts strikes dont have to be supernatural unless you want them to be.
I also took the Healer Feat as level 1 variant human, which again, isnt the best use from a meta play, but it fits her character. Lots of use for out of combat healing, but its not great in combat when you have access to Mercy's hands of Healing (or healing word).
I honestly think Martial Adept and Fighting Style are not too great of an investment or not beneficial enough for an ASI for a monk. As a Straight Monk, Crusher is great for the +1 Con and being able to push a target for free when you hit with a bludgeoning melee attack.
Lucky is always Good, but I always think of it more as a flavoring for the characters, so if it works with the image of a monk for you, go for it. Mobility is good for both flavor and gameplay, if you want to be a hit and run character... or someone wise enough to not stay in the frey of a fight for extended periods of time
Ranger Monk vs Druid is a worthy trade for build.. you can get your Cantrips and a few utility spells that might fit your idea for the character image. Being a guide of the sorts from the ranger could help fit your wiser experienced image. Not sure if you want to get to a subclass, but the beast Hunter might be a good specialized combatant type.
Yeah, I mean, unless I can roll stats and manage to roll so high I max out wis and dex really fast, this variant would most likely only come into effect if I played a variant human which gets a free feat, which wouldn't take the spot of a +2 dex anyways... And even so, it would probably be behind a few other feats even so.. But I just put it in there because I thought about it, especially since it would increase damage a bit early on (as a free feat, not compared to a dex ASI) and later on could be swapped out for other options like that deflecting interception style to protect allies.
But like I said, it's not a priority and would require either variant human free feat, OR very high rolls (which tbh most likely won't be an option)... But hey, we might roll background stuff and randomly get a weapon style or something ;)
Yeah, I agree with the lucky being flavoring, that's how I use it as well. Same for healer really, it works VERY well for a rogue (thief) which can use it as a bonus action (use item) in combat, but otherwise it's more of a out of combat thingy.. As you said. In this case it would mostly be as a kind of combination for the flavor really, I like the idea of using healers kit and such, plus it would perhaps save a few ki points here and there.
That ranger idea, more of a guide, is interesting actually and worth considering. Thanks! Also, I agree with the druid multiclass thoughts.. In reality, it's probably mostly a waste since you lose spells, and spells are spells so.. If I did go that path I'm unsure how many monk levels I would take. It would be a whole other theme tbh, more into the druid role I think.. Though I guess around 5-6 levels for extra attack and such could probably be ok for a more martial focus. Not better, but probably ok at least...
I don't know much about what the story will be but I know the plan is for very high level characters eventually. This does make the idea of losing spells a bit sad though, since it's not often one gets to do that ;D