Lol, I'm getting the sense that people REALLLLLLLY hate monks... 🤔
Edit: I've never actually played 5e or 4e and barely, if at all, 3.5, long story, christian "satanic panic" parents, physical/emotional abuse and trauma, fun, delicious dark ages of my childhood, etc. so I'm sorely out of the loop admittedly.
No, I like monks just fine. I just hate seeing them in armor.
A level 5 monk has 8 unique core class features. Wearing armor or a shield completely shuts off 3 of them and weakens 2 more. And they are all the ones from the first 3 levels (the higher level features fair better, but you still lose a chunk of your main kit).
A level 1 monk in armor is the closest thing to a level 0 character that exists. At level 2, you just have patient defense and step of the wind options for Ki, but rogue's cunning action is strictly better. At level 3 you finally get subclass features and half of deflect missiles. And after that only unarmored movement upgrades and Ki empowered strikes are hindered by armor.
Ultimately, it is your character. But I feel compelled to tell you that it less than suboptimal and if it is just for flavor, there are more useful options.
Lol, I'm getting the sense that people REALLLLLLLY hate monks... 🤔
Edit: I've never actually played 5e or 4e and barely, if at all, 3.5, long story, christian "satanic panic" parents, physical/emotional abuse and trauma, fun, delicious dark ages of my childhood, etc. so I'm sorely out of the loop admittedly.
No, I like monks just fine. I just hate seeing them in armor.
A level 5 monk has 8 unique core class features. Wearing armor or a shield completely shuts off 3 of them and weakens 2 more. And they are all the ones from the first 3 levels (the higher level features fair better, but you still lose a chunk of your main kit).
A level 1 monk in armor is the closest thing to a level 0 character that exists. At level 2, you just have patient defense and step of the wind options for Ki, but rogue's cunning action is strictly better. At level 3 you finally get subclass features and half of deflect missiles. And after that only unarmored movement upgrades and Ki empowered strikes are hindered by armor.
Ultimately, it is your character. But I feel compelled to tell you that it less than suboptimal and if it is just for flavor, there are more useful options.
Ah makes sense, looking at my build further, she's wearing "Pride Silk" which I think is technically C.R. and not actually WOTC, has a base ac of 10. The shield problem is easy enough to solve.
There are many different options you could choose to get the flavor you want for the backstory. The issue seems to be that you have certain stereotypical ideas of what each class represents and are trying to pick the class that seems to fit your backstory based on the impressions you have of what they are.
However, the classes are groups of mechanical abilities, they don't dictate the culture/philosophy/outlook of the character - those are things you choose. All the class provides is specific mechanics.
Consider your cleric character - she comes from an island of warriors - she is and always has been primarily a cleric. Her dexterity is poor, wisdom is good. You seem to think that studying the self, focusing on mental and spiritual development means monk and/or cleric. However, the samurai, a classic archetype focused on self development, is based on the fighter class. In fact, EVERY class could be a character who focuses on self development and self awareness.
A rogue would be a fine basis for a ninja type warrior - stealthy and silent.
Lore bard could also work well with a knowledge cleric as a character focused on the collection of knowledge/spying rather than emphasizing the "entertainment" aspect of the class. The skills and additional expertise might be very useful for a spy. You also retain the spell slot progression of a full caster but it does need at least 13 charisma.
However, you want something from a warrior culture ..
- fighter works well - battlemaster, samurai etc - all characters who spent some time focused on the martial aspects of self-awareness and self-development
- ranger could work well - they have some spells that might be useful for a spy - 3 levels of gloomstalker might fit well with a warrior island culture where everyone is trained to live and hunt in the wilds and be self-sufficient. Rangers can easily have a focus on meditation, self development and awareness of the natural world around them.
- paladin - focused on drawing the power from within themselves and devoting their lives to an oath - depending on the oath it might fit well with an island warrior culture. Perhaps a character chosen to defend their people who develops along other paths becoming a cleric as the better way for her to help her people.
- monk - in this case monk doesn't really add anything to the character except the idea of being a character focused on martial arts and self-development - but that can apply to ANY warrior class.
- rogue - focus on skills - completely compatible with a character who is entirely aware of their surroundings - developing their abilities to observe, remain centered etc - very good choice for a certain type of warrior. Also, some of the rogue and/or bard abilities are very useful for a spy.
Anyway, in the end, play what you like - but the philosophy/goals/focus of the character are something that is decided by the player, not by the class and archetype choices. There are lots of choices that could fit your desired character objectives better than picking "monk" because "everyone knows monks do martial arts stuff and are focused on self-development" - martial arts, self development, ascetic lifestyle are not limited by class - they are a player/character choice. All "monk" does is provide a set of mechanics.
Fair enough. Haven't actually seen that movie I think.
You’ve never seen Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade?!? Heathen.
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No, I like monks just fine. I just hate seeing them in armor.
A level 5 monk has 8 unique core class features. Wearing armor or a shield completely shuts off 3 of them and weakens 2 more. And they are all the ones from the first 3 levels (the higher level features fair better, but you still lose a chunk of your main kit).
A level 1 monk in armor is the closest thing to a level 0 character that exists. At level 2, you just have patient defense and step of the wind options for Ki, but rogue's cunning action is strictly better. At level 3 you finally get subclass features and half of deflect missiles. And after that only unarmored movement upgrades and Ki empowered strikes are hindered by armor.
Ultimately, it is your character. But I feel compelled to tell you that it less than suboptimal and if it is just for flavor, there are more useful options.
Ah makes sense, looking at my build further, she's wearing "Pride Silk" which I think is technically C.R. and not actually WOTC, has a base ac of 10. The shield problem is easy enough to solve.
Ohhhhh Indy yeah of course 💕
The real question, have you watched Drop Dead Fred? 😈
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101775/
I have, yes. I’m kinda surprised anyone else has though. 😂😂
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It takes a special breed of twisted and demented to have watched it. 😁
There are many different options you could choose to get the flavor you want for the backstory. The issue seems to be that you have certain stereotypical ideas of what each class represents and are trying to pick the class that seems to fit your backstory based on the impressions you have of what they are.
However, the classes are groups of mechanical abilities, they don't dictate the culture/philosophy/outlook of the character - those are things you choose. All the class provides is specific mechanics.
Consider your cleric character - she comes from an island of warriors - she is and always has been primarily a cleric. Her dexterity is poor, wisdom is good. You seem to think that studying the self, focusing on mental and spiritual development means monk and/or cleric. However, the samurai, a classic archetype focused on self development, is based on the fighter class. In fact, EVERY class could be a character who focuses on self development and self awareness.
A rogue would be a fine basis for a ninja type warrior - stealthy and silent.
Lore bard could also work well with a knowledge cleric as a character focused on the collection of knowledge/spying rather than emphasizing the "entertainment" aspect of the class. The skills and additional expertise might be very useful for a spy. You also retain the spell slot progression of a full caster but it does need at least 13 charisma.
However, you want something from a warrior culture ..
- fighter works well - battlemaster, samurai etc - all characters who spent some time focused on the martial aspects of self-awareness and self-development
- ranger could work well - they have some spells that might be useful for a spy - 3 levels of gloomstalker might fit well with a warrior island culture where everyone is trained to live and hunt in the wilds and be self-sufficient. Rangers can easily have a focus on meditation, self development and awareness of the natural world around them.
- paladin - focused on drawing the power from within themselves and devoting their lives to an oath - depending on the oath it might fit well with an island warrior culture. Perhaps a character chosen to defend their people who develops along other paths becoming a cleric as the better way for her to help her people.
- monk - in this case monk doesn't really add anything to the character except the idea of being a character focused on martial arts and self-development - but that can apply to ANY warrior class.
- rogue - focus on skills - completely compatible with a character who is entirely aware of their surroundings - developing their abilities to observe, remain centered etc - very good choice for a certain type of warrior. Also, some of the rogue and/or bard abilities are very useful for a spy.
Anyway, in the end, play what you like - but the philosophy/goals/focus of the character are something that is decided by the player, not by the class and archetype choices. There are lots of choices that could fit your desired character objectives better than picking "monk" because "everyone knows monks do martial arts stuff and are focused on self-development" - martial arts, self development, ascetic lifestyle are not limited by class - they are a player/character choice. All "monk" does is provide a set of mechanics.