Hi I wanted start off by saying that this is the first time I've played d&d ever and when I created my character I was missing some key information regarding character creation.
For my first D&D campaign, I wanted to play a Monk. Our DM wanted us to start off at level 1 to ease all players into D&D and at session 0 the DM helped me create my character.
When I rolled for my stats, I got a 17, 11, 11, 11, 12, and a 16.
At the time my DM told me that the monk's most important stat was dexterity and suggested I make that my highest stat and I could put the rest of my rolls on whatever stat I wanted, so I did. With this in mind I choose the tabaxi as my race of choice because of the +2 to dexterity and choose the Folk Hero Background. However at the time I did not know how important wisdom was for a monk character or how constitution played a role at character health. Thus my final stats became:
Strength: 16
Dexterity: 19
Constitution: 11
Intelligence: 11
Wisdom: 11
Charisma: 13
Currently, the campaign has reached a point where I've reached level 3 and through some bad rolls for my character health (rolled a 1 for lvl 2, and a 2 for lvl 3), my health became less than ideal.
So my character currently has an AC of 14, an HP of 11, and is proficient with Acrobatics (+6), Athletics (+5), Animal Handling (+2), Perception (+2), Stealth (+6), and Survival (+2).
Now I haven't chosen my monastic tradition yet and I've recently learned bout how grappling can be useful for strength/athletics based characters.
So I want to know what are some tips and tricks that I can use to help my character survive better in fights and be able to do things well outside of combat.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
edit: Would it be better to increase my stats or go for a feat at level 4?
First of, you should ask to reassign ability scores. Swap wisdom and strength, then swap charisma and constitution. Then ask to use the average for hp. It means that everyone gets fair hp, and it works easily. I would say that if you don't reassign ability scores, then sun soul is the best option, maybe shadow. If you do reassign ability scores, then open hand and way of drunken master seem good.
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'The Cleverness of mushrooms always surprises me!' - Ivern Bramblefoot.
First of, you should ask to reassign ability scores. Swap wisdom and strength, then swap charisma and constitution. Then ask to use the average for hp. It means that everyone gets fair hp, and it works easily. I would say that if you don't reassign ability scores, then sun soul is the best option, maybe shadow. If you do reassign ability scores, then open hand and way of drunken master seem good.
I second this. if its your first campaign your dm should be sympathetic.
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“I will take responsibility for what I have done. [...] If must fall, I will rise each time a better man.” ― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer.
Agree with the others since you completed a session zero your DM was partially responsible for the stat allocation. You are a new player. Your DM should let you swap the numbers with no penalty. No harm no foul.
First of, you should ask to reassign ability scores. Swap wisdom and strength, then swap charisma and constitution. Then ask to use the average for hp. It means that everyone gets fair hp, and it works easily. I would say that if you don't reassign ability scores, then sun soul is the best option, maybe shadow. If you do reassign ability scores, then open hand and way of drunken master seem good.
I asked but my DM doesn’t feel comfortable doing that. The best he can do is offer to move 1 point of my abilities.
Plus I want to see what I can do with the current build.
The character build isn't optimized, but it's still totally viable. You're going to want to rely on your step of the wind and patient defense to keep out of the thick of battle, since you don't have the AC and health to take too many hits. If I had to recommend a subclass based on your character's strengths/weaknesses... I'd probably say Way of the Long Death, which allows you to build temp HP and in general makes you harder to kill, which will compensate for your low CON, but does rely on WIS, so it might not be perfect. Alternatively, Way of the Sun Soul would give you access to solid ranged attacks, which will allow your character to keep their distance so you won't have to worry as much about your low HP.
I'm actually surprised your DM wont let you swap some numbers around. Try not to dwell on it and put that 1 into wisdom. As long as you have fun it doesn't matter.
I think the SCAG subclasses are fairly underutilized, since the book only has a couple of new subclasses, so it's easy for them to get lost in the shuffle. The only thing that I see people consistently take from SCAG are Booming Blade and Green Flame Blade.
With my current build would it be better to choose ability score increase or getting a feat at level 4? I was thinking about going way of the shadow?
Do you have any ideas/strategies that you would recommend? Given that my character has points in strength I was thinking of grappling my opponents and drag them to spots that are silenced or hidden in darkness in Metal Gear fashion and try to take things out one at a time.
I'm actually surprised your DM wont let you swap some numbers around. Try not to dwell on it and put that 1 into wisdom. As long as you have fun it doesn't matter.
With my current build would it be better to choose ability score increase or getting a feat at level 4? I was thinking about going way of the shadow?
Do you have any ideas/strategies that you would recommend? Given that my character has points in strength I was thinking of grappling my opponents and drag them to spots that are silenced or hidden in darkness in Metal Gear fashion and try to take things out one at a time.
I'd say take an ASI and boost aid and dex by 1 each
I think ASI is probably the best option, but in case you're interested in feats, I think there are 3 that I would recommend with your decision to go Way of Shadow Monk...
Skulker makes it easier for you to stealth (playing into the ninja-like aspect of Shadow Monks), and also allows you to keep stealth if you miss with a ranged attack... not too useful, since your only reliable ranged attack is using darts. But if you can combine them with the right poison it might make it easier for you to rely on them. It also lets you perceive in dim light without disadvantage (tabaxis have dark vision, but keep in mind that complete darkness is considered dim light for you. So that means you never have disadvantage due to lighting)
Alternately, there's the Tough feat. This one's much simpler... you just get two extra health for each of your character levels... so right off the bat at level 4 that gives you 8 additional health, and guarantees two additional HP each level gain. It's one of those feats that isn't ideal, but it can cover for stat weaknesses.
The other feat to pick is mobile. Right off the bat, you get an additional 10 feet to your moving speed. So as a Tabaxi monk, that moves you up to a 50 ft. movement speed, and if the mood strikes you, you can use your feline agility to rocket 100 ft in a single round... or even use your action to dash 200 ft in 6 seconds (also, dashing allows you to ignore difficult terrain). Also, anyone you attempt an attack against (the attack doesn't need to land) doesn't get an opportunity attack against you. So if you use both attacks plus a flurry of blows, you can run past 4 guys without worrying about opportunity attacks. And once you start gaining more Ki you can comfortably slap a few stunning strike attempts in among that.
So I started this reply with the intent to recommend skulker, since it fits better thematically, but when actually describing mobile I realized that's probably the one I would recommend most. Unless your DM builds massive maps, you're nearly guaranteed to always be able to cover any distance between yourself and a target each round... or at least you'll be able to rush in, deal damage, then get out of range before they get to retaliate.
Add it to dex and con...and remind your DM when you increase constitution you get hp retroactively. So if your Con "modifier" (not score) goes up by one at say level 4 you get 4 extra HP not 1. It's on page 15 of the Players Handbook. Im saying this cause I feel like you have an inexperienced DM. (reguardless of what they say their credentials are)
As for feats number one for monks is the mobile feat. I'd also think about tough or alert.
I'd try to max wisdom over feat with your build. Stunning strike can shut down the DMs big bad guy like nothing else.
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Hi I wanted start off by saying that this is the first time I've played d&d ever and when I created my character I was missing some key information regarding character creation.
For my first D&D campaign, I wanted to play a Monk. Our DM wanted us to start off at level 1 to ease all players into D&D and at session 0 the DM helped me create my character.
When I rolled for my stats, I got a 17, 11, 11, 11, 12, and a 16.
At the time my DM told me that the monk's most important stat was dexterity and suggested I make that my highest stat and I could put the rest of my rolls on whatever stat I wanted, so I did. With this in mind I choose the tabaxi as my race of choice because of the +2 to dexterity and choose the Folk Hero Background. However at the time I did not know how important wisdom was for a monk character or how constitution played a role at character health. Thus my final stats became:
Currently, the campaign has reached a point where I've reached level 3 and through some bad rolls for my character health (rolled a 1 for lvl 2, and a 2 for lvl 3), my health became less than ideal.
So my character currently has an AC of 14, an HP of 11, and is proficient with Acrobatics (+6), Athletics (+5), Animal Handling (+2), Perception (+2), Stealth (+6), and Survival (+2).
Now I haven't chosen my monastic tradition yet and I've recently learned bout how grappling can be useful for strength/athletics based characters.
So I want to know what are some tips and tricks that I can use to help my character survive better in fights and be able to do things well outside of combat.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
edit: Would it be better to increase my stats or go for a feat at level 4?
First of, you should ask to reassign ability scores. Swap wisdom and strength, then swap charisma and constitution. Then ask to use the average for hp. It means that everyone gets fair hp, and it works easily. I would say that if you don't reassign ability scores, then sun soul is the best option, maybe shadow. If you do reassign ability scores, then open hand and way of drunken master seem good.
'The Cleverness of mushrooms always surprises me!' - Ivern Bramblefoot.
I'll worldbuild for your DnD games!
Just a D&D enjoyer, check out my fiverr page if you need any worldbuilding done for ya!
I second this. if its your first campaign your dm should be sympathetic.
“I will take responsibility for what I have done. [...] If must fall, I will rise each time a better man.” ― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer.
Agree with the others since you completed a session zero your DM was partially responsible for the stat allocation. You are a new player. Your DM should let you swap the numbers with no penalty. No harm no foul.
Yes
I exist, and I guess so does this
What would you guys say about my subclass choice? Do they seem right?
'The Cleverness of mushrooms always surprises me!' - Ivern Bramblefoot.
I'll worldbuild for your DnD games!
Just a D&D enjoyer, check out my fiverr page if you need any worldbuilding done for ya!
Id say thats not a bad idea
I exist, and I guess so does this
they look good
I exist, and I guess so does this
I asked but my DM doesn’t feel comfortable doing that. The best he can do is offer to move 1 point of my abilities.
Plus I want to see what I can do with the current build.
The character build isn't optimized, but it's still totally viable. You're going to want to rely on your step of the wind and patient defense to keep out of the thick of battle, since you don't have the AC and health to take too many hits. If I had to recommend a subclass based on your character's strengths/weaknesses... I'd probably say Way of the Long Death, which allows you to build temp HP and in general makes you harder to kill, which will compensate for your low CON, but does rely on WIS, so it might not be perfect. Alternatively, Way of the Sun Soul would give you access to solid ranged attacks, which will allow your character to keep their distance so you won't have to worry as much about your low HP.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
I'm actually surprised your DM wont let you swap some numbers around. Try not to dwell on it and put that 1 into wisdom. As long as you have fun it doesn't matter.
What is way of long death from?
'The Cleverness of mushrooms always surprises me!' - Ivern Bramblefoot.
I'll worldbuild for your DnD games!
Just a D&D enjoyer, check out my fiverr page if you need any worldbuilding done for ya!
It's from Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
Cool. I had never heard of it before.
'The Cleverness of mushrooms always surprises me!' - Ivern Bramblefoot.
I'll worldbuild for your DnD games!
Just a D&D enjoyer, check out my fiverr page if you need any worldbuilding done for ya!
I think the SCAG subclasses are fairly underutilized, since the book only has a couple of new subclasses, so it's easy for them to get lost in the shuffle. The only thing that I see people consistently take from SCAG are Booming Blade and Green Flame Blade.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
With my current build would it be better to choose ability score increase or getting a feat at level 4? I was thinking about going way of the shadow?
Do you have any ideas/strategies that you would recommend? Given that my character has points in strength I was thinking of grappling my opponents and drag them to spots that are silenced or hidden in darkness in Metal Gear fashion and try to take things out one at a time.
Thank you so much, I'll do the best I can.
I'd say take an ASI and boost aid and dex by 1 each
I exist, and I guess so does this
I think ASI is probably the best option, but in case you're interested in feats, I think there are 3 that I would recommend with your decision to go Way of Shadow Monk...
Skulker makes it easier for you to stealth (playing into the ninja-like aspect of Shadow Monks), and also allows you to keep stealth if you miss with a ranged attack... not too useful, since your only reliable ranged attack is using darts. But if you can combine them with the right poison it might make it easier for you to rely on them. It also lets you perceive in dim light without disadvantage (tabaxis have dark vision, but keep in mind that complete darkness is considered dim light for you. So that means you never have disadvantage due to lighting)
Alternately, there's the Tough feat. This one's much simpler... you just get two extra health for each of your character levels... so right off the bat at level 4 that gives you 8 additional health, and guarantees two additional HP each level gain. It's one of those feats that isn't ideal, but it can cover for stat weaknesses.
The other feat to pick is mobile. Right off the bat, you get an additional 10 feet to your moving speed. So as a Tabaxi monk, that moves you up to a 50 ft. movement speed, and if the mood strikes you, you can use your feline agility to rocket 100 ft in a single round... or even use your action to dash 200 ft in 6 seconds (also, dashing allows you to ignore difficult terrain). Also, anyone you attempt an attack against (the attack doesn't need to land) doesn't get an opportunity attack against you. So if you use both attacks plus a flurry of blows, you can run past 4 guys without worrying about opportunity attacks. And once you start gaining more Ki you can comfortably slap a few stunning strike attempts in among that.
So I started this reply with the intent to recommend skulker, since it fits better thematically, but when actually describing mobile I realized that's probably the one I would recommend most. Unless your DM builds massive maps, you're nearly guaranteed to always be able to cover any distance between yourself and a target each round... or at least you'll be able to rush in, deal damage, then get out of range before they get to retaliate.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
Ability score improvement.
Add it to dex and con...and remind your DM when you increase constitution you get hp retroactively. So if your Con "modifier" (not score) goes up by one at say level 4 you get 4 extra HP not 1. It's on page 15 of the Players Handbook. Im saying this cause I feel like you have an inexperienced DM. (reguardless of what they say their credentials are)
As for feats number one for monks is the mobile feat. I'd also think about tough or alert.
I'd try to max wisdom over feat with your build. Stunning strike can shut down the DMs big bad guy like nothing else.