beginning a new campaign and I rolled for high strength (16), high dexterity (18) the rest was 14, 14, 13, 13. And the decided to go wit monk. I also want to try multi classing. Swashbuckler rogue was my first thought. Are there other options, that run well with a monk?
EDIT: Would like to add that the dm chose to make us roll for each stat so i could not choose where to place what i got. Also my monk is of the Vedalken race.. which with its racial trait, i was able to bump up my AC from a 15 to a17
As others have said, swapping that Str to Wis is the best option for a monk, and will serve you significantly better in ANY viable multi classing you might want to go for. Rogue, as you proposed, has as little need for Str as the Monk, it is more a dump stat for getting the most out of the character. Wis is a big help, as it bumps the DC for all your specials that have saving throws and it adds to your AC.
For multi-classing, Monk isn't the most multi class friendly out there. Ki comes with Monk levels and is your "battery" for all your special stuff. Losing out on getting more Ki hinders the Monk side pretty heavily. If you MUST, there are a few that are more symbiotic than others.
Cleric. Uses Wis, which should be pretty good on a Monk, and fits well thematically, as there are loads of Monk priests in lore of all kinds. Adds a great variety of spell options and such and generally blends well.
Rogue, uses Dex, which again is high for Monks, so stat wise slips right in. Added attacks, special attacks and so forth can all work pretty decently with the Monk skills, feeding off one another.
Druid, Stat wise another Wis casting class that your base stats work for. Thematically might be a little more of a reach, Nature Monk?
Ranger uses Dex and Wis, more stat coinciding, which is helpful.
Fighter can offer a lot of interesting blends as well, ending up with a serious melee damage machine, using Action Surge to land up to 7 strikes in a round (once you get second attack) and affords a lot of opportunities for Stunning Strike if you so desire.
I have a Monk I have considered multi classing and if I did, it would be Forge Cleric all the way. It fits thematically with his story and thus far, adventures and would be a huge help in filling gaps in our group. That might be something to consider as well, what would be best for the group overall. I'd strongly suggest taking at least 5 in Monk, to get the extra attack and Stunning strike, before grabbing another class. Also, by then, you should be able to really see what other class might be a big help to the group.
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Str 16 is important for grapple monks, if you’re interested in that playstyle. Athletics, stats needed for a couple levels of Barbarian, base jump distance... all good stuff, if you’re potentially interested in dragging people around and/or supplexing them! Obviously that 16 would do more for most monks in Wisdom, but if you want to be a buff monk, carry weight, jump distance, and grappling can feel nice.
Don’t worry about your low Wisdom on a monk, most subclasses only really use it for AC, and for Stunning Strike DC. AC can be decent enough with 20 Dex 14 wis (especially if you use ki to bonus action dodge against tough opponents), and stunning strike DC doesn’t need to be as high as other characters build for... because you can force multiple saves per turn against an enemy to force them to keep rolling until they roll poorly.
Monk levels are so fun to progress through, with new features coming constantly. If you do reach high tier play, you might consider multiclassing out after 14 levels though, features become “fluffier” or more niche after that point.
Shadow Monk is my default choice for monks that aren’t doing anything special: the spells, teleportation, and Invisibility add SO MUCH scouting utility, its very helpful for the party. They’re also excellent at reaching high-value targets IN battle, which is what Monks are all about, being targeted missile strikes.
The newer Mercy subclass is also very flexible and helpful for its team, but does want Wisdom a little more (still fine without it though).
Long Death is THE tankiest class in 5E once you get the ability to reject death with ki, so consider that too.
Monks are incentivized to take fewer feats, and more ASI, since theoretically 20 Dex+20 Wis has such clear benefits for their AC. But, again, if you reaaally want Sentinel, or Bludgeoner, or Mobile, or whatever... go for it, once you have 20 Dex and 14 Wis you’re “on par” with other melee fighters.
Dont get too excited about multiclassing Ranger, because monk and Ranger are both bonus-action heavy. You want to be bonus punching, not bonus Hunters Mark round 1, Bonus Slayers Prey round 2, oops they’re dead time to move Hunters Mark round 3.... by the time you land on a round where it’s all up and ready to buff you, the fight is over. Instead, if you must multi to find damage buffs, focus on classes which buff YOU rather than making an enemy vulnerable (e.g. Blood Hunter) or which hand out bonus damage without needing Bonus Actions (e.g. battlemaster, psi warrior, etc).
Str 16 is important for grapple monks, if you’re interested in that playstyle. Athletics, stats needed for a couple levels of Barbarian, base jump distance... all good stuff, if you’re potentially interested in dragging people around and/or supplexing them! Obviously that 16 would do more for most monks in Wisdom, but if you want to be a buff monk, carry weight, jump distance, and grappling can feel nice.
Don’t worry about your low Wisdom on a monk, most subclasses only really use it for AC, and for Stunning Strike DC. AC can be decent enough with 20 Dex 14 wis (especially if you use ki to bonus action dodge against tough opponents), and stunning strike DC doesn’t need to be as high as other characters build for... because you can force multiple saves per turn against an enemy to force them to keep rolling until they roll poorly.
Monk levels are so fun to progress through, with new features coming constantly. If you do reach high tier play, you might consider multiclassing out after 14 levels though, features become “fluffier” or more niche after that point.
Shadow Monk is my default choice for monks that aren’t doing anything special: the spells, teleportation, and Invisibility add SO MUCH scouting utility, its very helpful for the party. They’re also excellent at reaching high-value targets IN battle, which is what Monks are all about, being targeted missile strikes.
The newer Mercy subclass is also very flexible and helpful for its team, but does want Wisdom a little more (still fine without it though).
Long Death is THE tankiest class in 5E once you get the ability to reject death with ki, so consider that too.
Monks are incentivized to take fewer feats, and more ASI, since theoretically 20 Dex+20 Wis has such clear benefits for their AC. But, again, if you reaaally want Sentinel, or Bludgeoner, or Mobile, or whatever... go for it, once you have 20 Dex and 14 Wis you’re “on par” with other melee fighters.
Dont get too excited about multiclassing Ranger, because monk and Ranger are both bonus-action heavy. You want to be bonus punching, not bonus Hunters Mark round 1, Bonus Slayers Prey round 2, oops they’re dead time to move Hunters Mark round 3.... by the time you land on a round where it’s all up and ready to buff you, the fight is over. Instead, if you must multi to find damage buffs, focus on classes which buff YOU rather than making an enemy vulnerable (e.g. Blood Hunter) or which hand out bonus damage without needing Bonus Actions (e.g. battlemaster, psi warrior, etc).
You could go hunter ranger with colossus slayer for the extra d8 If they are wounded once per turn. skip hunters mark and use your bonus action as usual. Might not be the best but works.
our dm chose to make us roll for each stat. Starting wit str, dex, con and so on... didnt get to choose where to place what i got.
Damn, that's old school.
Multiclass-wise, if you're going to go for anything I give a hard recommend to Cleric. First of all, you've got synergy with WIS, since both classes rely so heavily on the stat. Secondly, Cleric gives you Subclass bonuses right away on level 1, so you can take a single level dip into Cleric and get access to all level 1 Cleric spells (since Clerics prepare their spells after a long rest, rather than simply having spells known), plus additional spells based on the domain you choose, and 3 cantrips. Plus you also gain unique subclass features right away... you could take Tempest Domain and get a lightning counter-attack you can use as a reaction, or go Forge Cleric and turn your monk weapon into a +1 weapon... or even grant that +1 bonus to one of your allies' weapons or armor.
Most importantly... you get all that with a single level dip, so you still get a lot of customization without slowing down your progress as a monk too terribly much. You're going to want all the Ki you can get, because it's your bread, your butter, your whole damn breakfast.
Oh, so that’s BEFORE racial modifiers? Holy hell, you can be ANYTHING with those rolls. Barbarians are actually more MAD than monks (want Str at 20 AND Dex at least 14 AND con as high as it can go), so you’ve actually got a darn good spread for a Barb too...
Rogue 2/Shadow Monk 1-14 would be very good. Use a Rapier or short sword or dagger main hand (sneak attack). If you do want a Rogue 3 subclass, you’re correct that swashbuckler fits well with monks solo striker role, even though your initiative bonus will be minor. Soul knife works too... very redundant with your own martial arts, but as simple finesse weapons, they will take on Monk damage due AND be sneak attack eligible, which is nice. You would really have to twist my arm to talk me into taking rogue past 3, though, if you’re doing monk too... a Monk 14/Rogue 6 is much better than a Rogue 14/Monk 6 (or whatever), monk should be in the captains chair.
Hunter 3 or Gloomstalker 3 are options too, but the other subclasses use too many bonus actions. Would not take either of those past 3 though, either.
Dont look for synergy in Barbarian, unless you’re grappling. None of its subclasses play nice with Dex based unarmed strikes, so jump/carry enhancements from Beast or Totem and damage resistance is all the class has to offer you.
Fighter DOES have synergy. Battlemaster, Champion, and Psi Warrior are fine... but stopping at 2 for Action Surge and Blind Fighting is honestly enough.
And Cleric is ok, as long as you’re not attacking/forcing saves with spells. Twilight 2 would be quite good for a shadow monk, I suppose
One thing I wanna say, RAW, you can't use DEX-based unarmed strikes with sneak attack, and if yo' DM is as old school as I think, have some table talk with him before getting to serious with rogue.
I played what I called a "Stronk" (Barb 1/ monk 8 ) for a little bit, I used four elements but open hand could be great, knocking people around, tanking and healing yourself with wholeness of body, rage damage boosted the heck out of my punches, I barely felt pain with rage resistance plus high AC, and it was all-around a ridiculously fun experience.
Good for a tanky sort of martial artist, or a some sort of Dragon Ball build.
You could make use of your high STR and just don't pay attention to DEX and go STR monk.
Fighter:
The two-level dip is pretty standard stuff and a decent addition to your char.
Gunslinger fighter + monk could be extremely cool ( gun fu Jackie Chan/gun kata Keanu Reeves sort of vibe, possibly even mandalorian ), you could use your action to make attack(s) with guns and use your bonus action to flurry of blows as it does not need you to use monk weapons/unarmed strike, plus gunslinger fighter and monk use the same stats so it's not even MAD.
Your low WIS could cause grit shortages so I don't recommend this.
Paladin:
A teensy bit MAD, but if you just usin' divine smite with your unarmed strikes then you'll be dealing godlike damage at higher levels, very cool narrative-wise, holy martial artist sworn to an oath.
Ranger:
Same abilities so not MAD at all, could make for a very unique character.
One thing I wanna say, RAW, you can't use DEX-based unarmed strikes with sneak attack, and if yo' DM is as old school as I think, have some table talk with him before getting to serious with rogue.
Dm is Flexible.. only went old school for the way we did our stats.
One thing I wanna say, RAW, you can't use DEX-based unarmed strikes with sneak attack, and if yo' DM is as old school as I think, have some table talk with him before getting to serious with rogue.
Dm is Flexible.. only went old school for the way we did our stats
Glad you have a flexible DM, also, one-level cleric dip is pretty standard stuff and is quite good, never gave it a go though, as I was the bozo who took 2 levels in wizard :p.
A monk has as many, or more chances to land a dagger attack as a rogue does. No, unarmed strikes can’t sneak attack, but since daggers hit for the same Damage dice as unarmed strikes, that really only rules out your bonus attacks.
Hey, nothing bozo about that. Notably, if you ever get your hands on a Staff of Power you 100% can use it as a devastating melee weapon (it’s a quarterstaff +2!) and you get access to Shield (from your wizard levels) and WALL OF FORCE. With Diamond Soul you can lock yourself and an enemy in a dome or square with WoF and monks can generally 1vs1 almost anything. With access to +5 AC reaction, Diamond Soul, and Stunning Strike? Woof.
RE: rogues
honestly, have not met a single DM that hasn’t house ruled monk weapons count as finesse. It’s stupid not to, and flies in the face of the dexterous “know where to punch” concept of monks and rogues.
I played what I called a "Stronk" (Barb 1/ monk 8 ) for a little bit, I used four elements but open hand could be great, knocking people around, tanking and healing yourself with wholeness of body, rage damage boosted the heck out of my punches, I barely felt pain with rage resistance plus high AC, and it was all-around a ridiculously fun experience.
Good for a tanky sort of martial artist, or a some sort of Dragon Ball build.
You could make use of your high STR and just don't pay attention to DEX and go STR monk.
Fighter:
The two-level dip is pretty standard stuff and a decent addition to your char.
Gunslinger fighter + monk could be extremely cool ( gun fu Jackie Chan/gun kata Keanu Reeves sort of vibe, possibly even mandalorian ), you could use your action to make attack(s) with guns and use your bonus action to flurry of blows as it does not need you to use monk weapons/unarmed strike, plus gunslinger fighter and monk use the same stats so it's not even MAD.
Your low WIS could cause grit shortages so I don't recommend this.
Paladin:
A teensy bit MAD, but if you just usin' divine smite with your unarmed strikes then you'll be dealing godlike damage at higher levels, very cool narrative-wise, holy martial artist sworn to an oath.
Ranger:
Same abilities so not MAD at all, could make for a very unique character.
Just wanna say that with the right stat rolls, one of my dream builds is a 14 Kensei/6 Paladin. With Diamond Soul AND the Aura of Protection you simply aren’t going to be stopped by any save spells, which is conceivably one of the few ways to reliably put down Monks.
Hey, nothing bozo about that. Notably, if you ever get your hands on a Staff of Power you 100% can use it as a devastating melee weapon (it’s a quarterstaff +2!) and you get access to Shield (from your wizard levels) and WALL OF FORCE. With Diamond Soul you can lock yourself and an enemy in a dome or square with WoF and monks can generally 1vs1 almost anything. With access to +5 AC reaction, Diamond Soul, and Stunning Strike? Woof.
RE: rogues
honestly, have not met a single DM that hasn’t house ruled monk weapons count as finesse. It’s stupid not to, and flies in the face of the dexterous “know where to punch” concept of monks and rogues.
You don’t have to house rule monk weapons are finesse. Dagger, shortsword are already finesse. And if you take Rogue you have proficiency in rapier which, with dedicated weapon, becomes a monk weapon so those can all be used for sneak attack on your attack action. Only your bonus action unarmed strikes are not eligible for sneak attack
beginning a new campaign and I rolled for high strength (16), high dexterity (18) the rest was 14, 14, 13, 13. And the decided to go wit monk. I also want to try multi classing. Swashbuckler rogue was my first thought. Are there other options, that run well with a monk?
EDIT: Would like to add that the dm chose to make us roll for each stat so i could not choose where to place what i got. Also my monk is of the Vedalken race.. which with its racial trait, i was able to bump up my AC from a 15 to a17
So monks don't combine well with rogues at all[*], just because you can't sneak attack with a punch. The nature of having your stat points assigned for you is that you should generally force yourself into a class you have the right stats for and figure out how to have fun from there. Did your GM let you use the Tasha's rules to reassign your stat points, so you became AC 17 by having Wis14 and adding 2 to it by changing the Vedalken racial modifier to +2 Wis, so you're now Wis 16? How debatable is your race? Can you swap to a race with an additional stat point - half elf or mountain dwarf - to solve any stat issues you might have?
As you are, I'd recommend coming up with a fun Barbarian build - Barbarians like Str/Con/Dex like monks like Dex/Wis/Con, and since you've been forced to have good Dex and Str, Barbarian seems like the way to go. I'm not directly aware of any fun Barbarian/Monk builds, so I can't really speak to any, sorry. :/
[*] They don't do it well, but they do it a lot better than they used to, since Tasha's will let you declare a rapier (or a whip!) a monk weapon if you're proficient with it, and the same book means that as soon as you have a subclass, spending a ki point during your action lets you bonus action stab with said rapier. If we could dump your Str in favor of higher Wis, I'm confident we could dial up your Stunning Strike to excellent levels.
Hey, nothing bozo about that. Notably, if you ever get your hands on a Staff of Power you 100% can use it as a devastating melee weapon (it’s a quarterstaff +2!) and you get access to Shield (from your wizard levels) and WALL OF FORCE. With Diamond Soul you can lock yourself and an enemy in a dome or square with WoF and monks can generally 1vs1 almost anything. With access to +5 AC reaction, Diamond Soul, and Stunning Strike? Woof.
RE: rogues
honestly, have not met a single DM that hasn’t house ruled monk weapons count as finesse. It’s stupid not to, and flies in the face of the dexterous “know where to punch” concept of monks and rogues.
You don’t have to house rule monk weapons are finesse. Dagger, shortsword are already finesse. And if you take Rogue you have proficiency in rapier which, with dedicated weapon, becomes a monk weapon so those can all be used for sneak attack on your attack action. Only your bonus action unarmed strikes are not eligible for sneak attack
Yes, I understand that. And frankly I still think it’s dumb and serves no purpose other than having to put a dagger in your hand. Would absolutely guarantee that if a “5.5E” ever came out Monk fists can count as finesse when using DEX.
(Though, tbf, STR based rogues smacking people with a rapier still count as “finesse” so what even is logic 😂)
beginning a new campaign and I rolled for high strength (16), high dexterity (18) the rest was 14, 14, 13, 13. And the decided to go wit monk. I also want to try multi classing. Swashbuckler rogue was my first thought. Are there other options, that run well with a monk?
EDIT: Would like to add that the dm chose to make us roll for each stat so i could not choose where to place what i got. Also my monk is of the Vedalken race.. which with its racial trait, i was able to bump up my AC from a 15 to a17
So monks don't combine well with rogues at all, just because you can't sneak attack with a punch. The nature of having your stat points assigned for you is that you should generally force yourself into a class you have the right stats for and figure out how to have fun from there. Did your GM let you use the Tasha's rules to reassign your stat points, so you became AC 17 by having Wis14 and adding 2 to it by changing the Vedalken racial modifier to +2 Wis, so you're now Wis 16? How debatable is your race? Can you swap to a race with an additional stat point - half elf or mountain dwarf - to solve any stat issues you might have?
As you are, I'd recommend coming up with a fun Barbarian build - Barbarians like Str/Con/Dex like monks like Dex/Wis/Con, and since you've been forced to have good Dex and Str, Barbarian seems like the way to go. I'm not directly aware of any fun Barbarian/Monk builds, so I can't really speak to any, sorry. :/
17 Mercy/3 Bear Totem would be fairly crazy. Diamond Soul, Evasion, and resistance to all except psychic. Flavor it as a nature-ish monk that didn’t want to be a Druid.
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beginning a new campaign and I rolled for high strength (16), high dexterity (18) the rest was 14, 14, 13, 13. And the decided to go wit monk. I also want to try multi classing. Swashbuckler rogue was my first thought. Are there other options, that run well with a monk?
EDIT: Would like to add that the dm chose to make us roll for each stat so i could not choose where to place what i got. Also my monk is of the Vedalken race.. which with its racial trait, i was able to bump up my AC from a 15 to a17
Monks are dex wis, why did you put the 16 in strength?
What kind of Monk?
From a pure gameplay perspective, Kensei/War Cleric or Mercy/Spore Druid will all rock your socks, to say nothing of a Gloom Stalker.
and yeah, yikes, 16 STR? Switch that to WIS.
As others have said, swapping that Str to Wis is the best option for a monk, and will serve you significantly better in ANY viable multi classing you might want to go for. Rogue, as you proposed, has as little need for Str as the Monk, it is more a dump stat for getting the most out of the character. Wis is a big help, as it bumps the DC for all your specials that have saving throws and it adds to your AC.
For multi-classing, Monk isn't the most multi class friendly out there. Ki comes with Monk levels and is your "battery" for all your special stuff. Losing out on getting more Ki hinders the Monk side pretty heavily. If you MUST, there are a few that are more symbiotic than others.
Cleric. Uses Wis, which should be pretty good on a Monk, and fits well thematically, as there are loads of Monk priests in lore of all kinds. Adds a great variety of spell options and such and generally blends well.
Rogue, uses Dex, which again is high for Monks, so stat wise slips right in. Added attacks, special attacks and so forth can all work pretty decently with the Monk skills, feeding off one another.
Druid, Stat wise another Wis casting class that your base stats work for. Thematically might be a little more of a reach, Nature Monk?
Ranger uses Dex and Wis, more stat coinciding, which is helpful.
Fighter can offer a lot of interesting blends as well, ending up with a serious melee damage machine, using Action Surge to land up to 7 strikes in a round (once you get second attack) and affords a lot of opportunities for Stunning Strike if you so desire.
I have a Monk I have considered multi classing and if I did, it would be Forge Cleric all the way. It fits thematically with his story and thus far, adventures and would be a huge help in filling gaps in our group. That might be something to consider as well, what would be best for the group overall. I'd strongly suggest taking at least 5 in Monk, to get the extra attack and Stunning strike, before grabbing another class. Also, by then, you should be able to really see what other class might be a big help to the group.
Talk to your Players. Talk to your DM. If more people used this advice, there would be 24.74% fewer threads on Tactics, Rules and DM discussions.
Str 16 is important for grapple monks, if you’re interested in that playstyle. Athletics, stats needed for a couple levels of Barbarian, base jump distance... all good stuff, if you’re potentially interested in dragging people around and/or supplexing them! Obviously that 16 would do more for most monks in Wisdom, but if you want to be a buff monk, carry weight, jump distance, and grappling can feel nice.
Don’t worry about your low Wisdom on a monk, most subclasses only really use it for AC, and for Stunning Strike DC. AC can be decent enough with 20 Dex 14 wis (especially if you use ki to bonus action dodge against tough opponents), and stunning strike DC doesn’t need to be as high as other characters build for... because you can force multiple saves per turn against an enemy to force them to keep rolling until they roll poorly.
Monk levels are so fun to progress through, with new features coming constantly. If you do reach high tier play, you might consider multiclassing out after 14 levels though, features become “fluffier” or more niche after that point.
Shadow Monk is my default choice for monks that aren’t doing anything special: the spells, teleportation, and Invisibility add SO MUCH scouting utility, its very helpful for the party. They’re also excellent at reaching high-value targets IN battle, which is what Monks are all about, being targeted missile strikes.
The newer Mercy subclass is also very flexible and helpful for its team, but does want Wisdom a little more (still fine without it though).
Long Death is THE tankiest class in 5E once you get the ability to reject death with ki, so consider that too.
Monks are incentivized to take fewer feats, and more ASI, since theoretically 20 Dex+20 Wis has such clear benefits for their AC. But, again, if you reaaally want Sentinel, or Bludgeoner, or Mobile, or whatever... go for it, once you have 20 Dex and 14 Wis you’re “on par” with other melee fighters.
Dont get too excited about multiclassing Ranger, because monk and Ranger are both bonus-action heavy. You want to be bonus punching, not bonus Hunters Mark round 1, Bonus Slayers Prey round 2, oops they’re dead time to move Hunters Mark round 3.... by the time you land on a round where it’s all up and ready to buff you, the fight is over. Instead, if you must multi to find damage buffs, focus on classes which buff YOU rather than making an enemy vulnerable (e.g. Blood Hunter) or which hand out bonus damage without needing Bonus Actions (e.g. battlemaster, psi warrior, etc).
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I'm going to make this way harder than it needs to be.
You could go hunter ranger with colossus slayer for the extra d8 If they are wounded once per turn. skip hunters mark and use your bonus action as usual. Might not be the best but works.
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our dm chose to make us roll for each stat. Starting wit str, dex, con and so on... didnt get to choose where to place what i got.
Damn, that's old school.
Multiclass-wise, if you're going to go for anything I give a hard recommend to Cleric. First of all, you've got synergy with WIS, since both classes rely so heavily on the stat. Secondly, Cleric gives you Subclass bonuses right away on level 1, so you can take a single level dip into Cleric and get access to all level 1 Cleric spells (since Clerics prepare their spells after a long rest, rather than simply having spells known), plus additional spells based on the domain you choose, and 3 cantrips. Plus you also gain unique subclass features right away... you could take Tempest Domain and get a lightning counter-attack you can use as a reaction, or go Forge Cleric and turn your monk weapon into a +1 weapon... or even grant that +1 bonus to one of your allies' weapons or armor.
Most importantly... you get all that with a single level dip, so you still get a lot of customization without slowing down your progress as a monk too terribly much. You're going to want all the Ki you can get, because it's your bread, your butter, your whole damn breakfast.
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Oh, so that’s BEFORE racial modifiers? Holy hell, you can be ANYTHING with those rolls. Barbarians are actually more MAD than monks (want Str at 20 AND Dex at least 14 AND con as high as it can go), so you’ve actually got a darn good spread for a Barb too...
Rogue 2/Shadow Monk 1-14 would be very good. Use a Rapier or short sword or dagger main hand (sneak attack). If you do want a Rogue 3 subclass, you’re correct that swashbuckler fits well with monks solo striker role, even though your initiative bonus will be minor. Soul knife works too... very redundant with your own martial arts, but as simple finesse weapons, they will take on Monk damage due AND be sneak attack eligible, which is nice. You would really have to twist my arm to talk me into taking rogue past 3, though, if you’re doing monk too... a Monk 14/Rogue 6 is much better than a Rogue 14/Monk 6 (or whatever), monk should be in the captains chair.
Hunter 3 or Gloomstalker 3 are options too, but the other subclasses use too many bonus actions. Would not take either of those past 3 though, either.
Dont look for synergy in Barbarian, unless you’re grappling. None of its subclasses play nice with Dex based unarmed strikes, so jump/carry enhancements from Beast or Totem and damage resistance is all the class has to offer you.
Fighter DOES have synergy. Battlemaster, Champion, and Psi Warrior are fine... but stopping at 2 for Action Surge and Blind Fighting is honestly enough.
And Cleric is ok, as long as you’re not attacking/forcing saves with spells. Twilight 2 would be quite good for a shadow monk, I suppose
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I'm going to make this way harder than it needs to be.
One thing I wanna say, RAW, you can't use DEX-based unarmed strikes with sneak attack, and if yo' DM is as old school as I think, have some table talk with him before getting to serious with rogue.
Mystic v3 should be official, nuff said.
I'll just share a bit of my experience.
Barbarian:
Fighter:
Paladin:
Ranger:
Mystic v3 should be official, nuff said.
Dm is Flexible.. only went old school for the way we did our stats.
Glad you have a flexible DM, also, one-level cleric dip is pretty standard stuff and is quite good, never gave it a go though, as I was the bozo who took 2 levels in wizard :p.
Mystic v3 should be official, nuff said.
A monk has as many, or more chances to land a dagger attack as a rogue does. No, unarmed strikes can’t sneak attack, but since daggers hit for the same Damage dice as unarmed strikes, that really only rules out your bonus attacks.
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I'm going to make this way harder than it needs to be.
Hey, nothing bozo about that. Notably, if you ever get your hands on a Staff of Power you 100% can use it as a devastating melee weapon (it’s a quarterstaff +2!) and you get access to Shield (from your wizard levels) and WALL OF FORCE. With Diamond Soul you can lock yourself and an enemy in a dome or square with WoF and monks can generally 1vs1 almost anything. With access to +5 AC reaction, Diamond Soul, and Stunning Strike? Woof.
RE: rogues
honestly, have not met a single DM that hasn’t house ruled monk weapons count as finesse. It’s stupid not to, and flies in the face of the dexterous “know where to punch” concept of monks and rogues.
Just wanna say that with the right stat rolls, one of my dream builds is a 14 Kensei/6 Paladin. With Diamond Soul AND the Aura of Protection you simply aren’t going to be stopped by any save spells, which is conceivably one of the few ways to reliably put down Monks.
You don’t have to house rule monk weapons are finesse. Dagger, shortsword are already finesse. And if you take Rogue you have proficiency in rapier which, with dedicated weapon, becomes a monk weapon so those can all be used for sneak attack on your attack action. Only your bonus action unarmed strikes are not eligible for sneak attack
EZD6 by DM Scotty
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/397599/EZD6-Core-Rulebook?
So monks don't combine well with rogues at all[*], just because you can't sneak attack with a punch. The nature of having your stat points assigned for you is that you should generally force yourself into a class you have the right stats for and figure out how to have fun from there. Did your GM let you use the Tasha's rules to reassign your stat points, so you became AC 17 by having Wis14 and adding 2 to it by changing the Vedalken racial modifier to +2 Wis, so you're now Wis 16? How debatable is your race? Can you swap to a race with an additional stat point - half elf or mountain dwarf - to solve any stat issues you might have?
As you are, I'd recommend coming up with a fun Barbarian build - Barbarians like Str/Con/Dex like monks like Dex/Wis/Con, and since you've been forced to have good Dex and Str, Barbarian seems like the way to go. I'm not directly aware of any fun Barbarian/Monk builds, so I can't really speak to any, sorry. :/
[*] They don't do it well, but they do it a lot better than they used to, since Tasha's will let you declare a rapier (or a whip!) a monk weapon if you're proficient with it, and the same book means that as soon as you have a subclass, spending a ki point during your action lets you bonus action stab with said rapier. If we could dump your Str in favor of higher Wis, I'm confident we could dial up your Stunning Strike to excellent levels.
Yes, I understand that. And frankly I still think it’s dumb and serves no purpose other than having to put a dagger in your hand. Would absolutely guarantee that if a “5.5E” ever came out Monk fists can count as finesse when using DEX.
(Though, tbf, STR based rogues smacking people with a rapier still count as “finesse” so what even is logic 😂)
17 Mercy/3 Bear Totem would be fairly crazy. Diamond Soul, Evasion, and resistance to all except psychic. Flavor it as a nature-ish monk that didn’t want to be a Druid.