I've been wanting to make a Shadar-Kai Monk with the Way of Shadow archetype character, but with a twist, so was thinking of multiclassing into a Rogue to at least level 3 to gain a Rogue archetype as well.
Been thinking either Phantom or Soulknife. Phantom because he has the Haunted One background, so it would thematically fit, but I also find the Soulknife really interesting so I can use a Psychic Blade when doing Sneak Attacks which only appears in hand when used, so my otherwise Monk character would have both hands free for doing cool Monk moves.
Note: Also I kinda like the idea of my character being a mix of Nightcrawler and Psylocke thematically, using the shadows and the Shadar-Kai racial ability to bamf around, doing acrobatic attacks and using Psi Blades to deal a bit of extra damage when sneaking around.
I'm thinking with starting as a Rogue for 3 levels to get the archetype, and then go Shadow Monk for the rest.
So I'm just wanting some external input, and thought this was the place to go.
Is this a viable build? Which Rogue archetype do you think would be a better choice between Phantom or Soulknife for this build? Is there maybe something else I should be looking out for, maybe certain Feats I could choose, like Telekinetic or Shadow Touched?
The damage output of such a build will be an issue (comparatively to other classes/subclasses) at higher levels.
Even optimized, your best outcome (before feats) is 68 damage at level 20.
On the first attack you can use your psychic blades (Dealing 1 d6+5 damage). This will then allow you to get 2d6 additional damage from sneak attack.
Follow up with a punch on your 2nd attack and activate flurry of blows with a bonus action. This will net you an additional 3 d6+5 (or 3 d10+5 at later levels).
The issue is, if you miss with your first attack, you have only one of two options. You either go with the punch in order to get flurry of blows or go with another psychic blade attack and use your bonus action for a 3rd blade attack then get sneak attack. You have to choose between sneak attack or flurry of blows if you miss your first shot. With flurry of blows allowing you to Stun the target.
Good news is that you are using mostly Monk features; therefore you can move around the battlefield and choose how you want to engage. You can nearly guarantee advantage if you punch first, stun the target, and then use your blades. Alternatively, use your blades from the cover of shadow, run in and stun the target. Either way, you are nearly always going to have options for having advantage.
Feats to add:
Skulker: If you miss with your ranged attack, you don't give your position away. Even better since your blades leave no mark and disappear after you hit or miss.
Sharpshooter: -5 to attack but gives you a solid +10 to damage for your ranged psychic blade attacks. (Assuming they all hit) 30+15 + 5d6. (50 - 75 damage)
Sentinel: If an enemy attacks another character other than you, you get to attack them using a reaction. This ties into the Monk's Opportunist feature that allows you to attack an enemy that is hit by another character. Basically, if you are within 5ft of the enemy and it attacks or gets attacked, you get to attack them as a reaction and their speed is reduced to 0 meaning that they can't get away... though if you are using stunning strike on them they are sol anyways.
So, generally speaking, a three level dip is a major investment for a running build. You typically end up just feeling like you're underperforming in both classes rather than supplementing one with features from the other. My strong advice is to start in your primary class and run with that until you hit level 5 at the very least before you start looking at dips; pretty much all classes will note a distinct bump in their performance at that level. While Rogue and Shadow Monk initially seem like an intuitive combination, in practice it's actually kinda impractical. The sneak attack bonus is nice but not major- (~7 damage on average, assuming you can consistently meet the requirements), and Monks are fairly reliant on their Ki pool, which will be notably impacted by a three level dip. It's worth weighing that against having three extra Ki points for things like Stunning Strike or Flurry of Blows or casting the spells a Shadow monk gets. Cunning Action is an upgrade for Monks, but in my experience Mobile can cover the biggest consideration there, and the occasions where you really want to Disengage or Dash in the middle of combat are rare enough that I'm not sure it's worth a two level detour. Finally, while having more skills and expertise is always nice, you can get those via feats as well, and if your party already has a Rogue or Bard you do want to be mindful of not intruding overmuch on their role. Also, the Monk class wants enough investment in both DEX and WIS that putting off an ASI for three levels can bite hard enough to notice.
Regarding the specific subclass options, it's worth noting that the Psychic Blades don't really add anything to your damage in melee; by level 5 a bare handed Monk will be using d6's for all of their attack rolls, and by level 6 all unarmed attacks will be magical, so there's no advantage from damage type. The Phantom's damage feature is also going to scale poorly if you only dip into Rogue, since you'll only be getting a single extra d6 maybe three or four times per day. Both classes do add a bit to your skill utility as well, but I'm not sure either of those is really worth a three level dip, particularly if you're taking the levels one at a time rather than assembling a level 10+ character to start with. If you really want one of them, I'd say go with Soulknife. It scales a bit better in the absence of additional class levels.
Really, if you're looking to focus on a Monk build, I'd advise against dipping for either subclass; you get a little bit of skill support, but Monks are sufficiently reliant on Ki that being 3 points behind for your overall level isn't worth squeezing out a few more skills and points of sneak attack damage. If you've got your heart set on the dip anyways, Soulknife will scale better as a secondary pick. Honestly, though, Tasha's comes with a number of half feats that can let you get a bit of that spooky/psionic effect while still building up your main class levels. Shadow Touched and Telepathy will both let you take +1 to WIS with them, and can probably give you a lot of the utility you're looking for. Likewise, Skill Expert gives you +1 to any ability, an additional skill, and one expertise, if you want to get a bit of skill monkey going.
Psychic Blade is not a Monk weapon so damage would not scale with your martial arts die so at high levels you would be better off just using a dagger or your fist. You also couldn't use any Monk abilities that key off of Monk weapons.
I would also go to level 4 Rogue to get the ASI.
Shadow Touched is a great feat in general. If you got that I would look at either Cause Fear or False Life as your first level spell.
Psychic Blade is not a Monk weapon so damage would not scale with your martial arts die so at high levels you would be better off just using a dagger or your fist. You also couldn't use any Monk abilities that key off of Monk weapons.
Actually, Psychic Blade does qualify as a Monk weapon; Monks have proficiency with all simple weapons, and Psychic Blades are specifically described in the feature as a simple weapon. To quote from the feature:
This magic blade is a simple melee weapon with the finesse and thrown properties.
Also, neither subclass' damage dealing feature is particularly useful to a Monk, and Phantom has the weaker skill enhancing feature at level 3; if you just want an additional skill or tool prof, take a feat. Soulknife is better for making rolls and running the classic psychic comms. Granted, it's still a rather shaky multiclass, particularly if it's being built up mid-campaign. The 4th level for the ASI makes sense, but that also leaves Monk trailing even farther behind for the total character level.
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The damage output of such a build will be an issue (comparatively to other classes/subclasses) at higher levels.
Even optimized, your best outcome (before feats) is 68 damage at level 20.
On the first attack you can use your psychic blades (Dealing 1 d6+5 damage). This will then allow you to get 2d6 additional damage from sneak attack.
Follow up with a punch on your 2nd attack and activate flurry of blows with a bonus action. This will net you an additional 3 d6+5 (or 3 d10+5 at later levels).
The issue is, if you miss with your first attack, you have only one of two options. You either go with the punch in order to get flurry of blows or go with another psychic blade attack and use your bonus action for a 3rd blade attack then get sneak attack. You have to choose between sneak attack or flurry of blows if you miss your first shot. With flurry of blows allowing you to Stun the target.
Good news is that you are using mostly Monk features; therefore you can move around the battlefield and choose how you want to engage. You can nearly guarantee advantage if you punch first, stun the target, and then use your blades. Alternatively, use your blades from the cover of shadow, run in and stun the target. Either way, you are nearly always going to have options for having advantage.
Feats to add:
Skulker: If you miss with your ranged attack, you don't give your position away. Even better since your blades leave no mark and disappear after you hit or miss.
Sharpshooter: -5 to attack but gives you a solid +10 to damage for your ranged psychic blade attacks. (Assuming they all hit) 30+15 + 5d6. (50 - 75 damage)
Sentinel: If an enemy attacks another character other than you, you get to attack them using a reaction. This ties into the Monk's Opportunist feature that allows you to attack an enemy that is hit by another character. Basically, if you are within 5ft of the enemy and it attacks or gets attacked, you get to attack them as a reaction and their speed is reduced to 0 meaning that they can't get away... though if you are using stunning strike on them they are sol anyways.
Mobility: because it's Monk...
So, generally speaking, a three level dip is a major investment for a running build. You typically end up just feeling like you're underperforming in both classes rather than supplementing one with features from the other. My strong advice is to start in your primary class and run with that until you hit level 5 at the very least before you start looking at dips; pretty much all classes will note a distinct bump in their performance at that level. While Rogue and Shadow Monk initially seem like an intuitive combination, in practice it's actually kinda impractical. The sneak attack bonus is nice but not major- (~7 damage on average, assuming you can consistently meet the requirements), and Monks are fairly reliant on their Ki pool, which will be notably impacted by a three level dip. It's worth weighing that against having three extra Ki points for things like Stunning Strike or Flurry of Blows or casting the spells a Shadow monk gets. Cunning Action is an upgrade for Monks, but in my experience Mobile can cover the biggest consideration there, and the occasions where you really want to Disengage or Dash in the middle of combat are rare enough that I'm not sure it's worth a two level detour. Finally, while having more skills and expertise is always nice, you can get those via feats as well, and if your party already has a Rogue or Bard you do want to be mindful of not intruding overmuch on their role. Also, the Monk class wants enough investment in both DEX and WIS that putting off an ASI for three levels can bite hard enough to notice.
Regarding the specific subclass options, it's worth noting that the Psychic Blades don't really add anything to your damage in melee; by level 5 a bare handed Monk will be using d6's for all of their attack rolls, and by level 6 all unarmed attacks will be magical, so there's no advantage from damage type. The Phantom's damage feature is also going to scale poorly if you only dip into Rogue, since you'll only be getting a single extra d6 maybe three or four times per day. Both classes do add a bit to your skill utility as well, but I'm not sure either of those is really worth a three level dip, particularly if you're taking the levels one at a time rather than assembling a level 10+ character to start with. If you really want one of them, I'd say go with Soulknife. It scales a bit better in the absence of additional class levels.
Really, if you're looking to focus on a Monk build, I'd advise against dipping for either subclass; you get a little bit of skill support, but Monks are sufficiently reliant on Ki that being 3 points behind for your overall level isn't worth squeezing out a few more skills and points of sneak attack damage. If you've got your heart set on the dip anyways, Soulknife will scale better as a secondary pick. Honestly, though, Tasha's comes with a number of half feats that can let you get a bit of that spooky/psionic effect while still building up your main class levels. Shadow Touched and Telepathy will both let you take +1 to WIS with them, and can probably give you a lot of the utility you're looking for. Likewise, Skill Expert gives you +1 to any ability, an additional skill, and one expertise, if you want to get a bit of skill monkey going.
I think Phantom is a better multiclass for this.
Psychic Blade is not a Monk weapon so damage would not scale with your martial arts die so at high levels you would be better off just using a dagger or your fist. You also couldn't use any Monk abilities that key off of Monk weapons.
I would also go to level 4 Rogue to get the ASI.
Shadow Touched is a great feat in general. If you got that I would look at either Cause Fear or False Life as your first level spell.
Actually, Psychic Blade does qualify as a Monk weapon; Monks have proficiency with all simple weapons, and Psychic Blades are specifically described in the feature as a simple weapon. To quote from the feature:
Also, neither subclass' damage dealing feature is particularly useful to a Monk, and Phantom has the weaker skill enhancing feature at level 3; if you just want an additional skill or tool prof, take a feat. Soulknife is better for making rolls and running the classic psychic comms. Granted, it's still a rather shaky multiclass, particularly if it's being built up mid-campaign. The 4th level for the ASI makes sense, but that also leaves Monk trailing even farther behind for the total character level.