I've been playing a Half Elf Kensei Monk in a campaign that is apparently going to around level 12, and just reached level 5. For story reasons, namely contact with a powerful cursed ring affecting my character's Ki, the DM and I have decided that I'll be switching my Monastic Tradition to the Way of Shadow. I wasn't necessarily planning on this play style but it seems like the infiltrator/stealth character niche needs to be filled in our group anyway and the Shadow path seems pretty fun!
Current Stats: STR 8 - DEX 18 - CON 14 - INT 8 - WIS 17 - CHA 12
Party Makeup: Light Cleric, Paladin (idk his Oath), Bear Totem Barbarian, Wild Magic Sorcerer
My main question is how well does the Shadow Subclass play as the party's stealthiest character? I'm aware that Shadow Monk is a good Mage Slayer class since they get Silence and multiple attacks to potentially break concentration spells, but can they reliably stay undetected without a Rogue dip or praying that there will be dim light and shadows available for most of the combat or infiltration encounters?
Since I know this game isn't going to level 20, that does make multi-classing a more tempting option to me. A few levels in Rogue, Ranger, or Trickster Cleric seem like they'd be really fun, but I'm not sure if I should wait until Monk 7 or 8 to start that due to my not-stellar stats. I could also just forget about a multi-class in favor of maxed out Ki points. Any advice you have about this build or play style is greatly appreciated, and thanks for reading!
Way of Shadow is great as a Rogue stand-in, the 6th level teleportation makes it nearly impossible to keep you in one place.
I don't have any specific recommendations, just a few ideas of what I'd consider myself:
Rogue is the obvious multi-class option, as sneak attack, bonus proficiencies and expertise are really good. 2nd level gives you Cunning Action (no more Ki cost to disengage or dash), and at 3rd level there are lots of good sub-classes that could mesh really well. Swashbuckler is great for making sneak attacks more easily (you can pretty much do them every single turn) and might very loosely suit the transition from Kensei.
While your party already has a Cleric, the Cleric class as a whole multi-classes well with Monk due to being Wisdom based. I'm currently playing a Kensei Monk + War Domain Cleric and get a lot of mileage out of the War Domain bonuses (Divine Favor and Shield of Faith as spells, cantrips, War Priest for bonus action weapon attacks and so-on). Trickery Domain could further bolster Way of Shadow quite nicely. Since Clerics pick a domain at 1st level, you may only need a 1 or 2 level dip to get what you want from it.
I've been recently considering multi-classes from Monk to Ranger; the main problem is you may not get a lot out of the first level, though it does give you exploration boosts (and Tasha's Cauldron will be adding alternate features that might fit you better) but at 2nd level you get access to Hunter's Mark for bonus damage, plus a fighting style (though the choices are a bit limited). At 3rd level the sub-classes can add a lot; Hunter/Monster Hunter, Gloom Stalker and Horizon Walker are all ones I'd look at.
Druid is also an option; I believe most Monk abilities do actually work with wildshape, though by multi-classing you won't get very powerful forms to shift into.
Monks are great for multi-classing, and you're already at level 5 so you don't need to worry about getting your extra attack late. I'd definitely grab level 6 in Way of Shadow before doing it though.
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Hello good people!
I've been playing a Half Elf Kensei Monk in a campaign that is apparently going to around level 12, and just reached level 5. For story reasons, namely contact with a powerful cursed ring affecting my character's Ki, the DM and I have decided that I'll be switching my Monastic Tradition to the Way of Shadow. I wasn't necessarily planning on this play style but it seems like the infiltrator/stealth character niche needs to be filled in our group anyway and the Shadow path seems pretty fun!
Current Stats: STR 8 - DEX 18 - CON 14 - INT 8 - WIS 17 - CHA 12
Party Makeup: Light Cleric, Paladin (idk his Oath), Bear Totem Barbarian, Wild Magic Sorcerer
My main question is how well does the Shadow Subclass play as the party's stealthiest character? I'm aware that Shadow Monk is a good Mage Slayer class since they get Silence and multiple attacks to potentially break concentration spells, but can they reliably stay undetected without a Rogue dip or praying that there will be dim light and shadows available for most of the combat or infiltration encounters?
Since I know this game isn't going to level 20, that does make multi-classing a more tempting option to me. A few levels in Rogue, Ranger, or Trickster Cleric seem like they'd be really fun, but I'm not sure if I should wait until Monk 7 or 8 to start that due to my not-stellar stats. I could also just forget about a multi-class in favor of maxed out Ki points. Any advice you have about this build or play style is greatly appreciated, and thanks for reading!
Way of Shadow is great as a Rogue stand-in, the 6th level teleportation makes it nearly impossible to keep you in one place.
I don't have any specific recommendations, just a few ideas of what I'd consider myself:
Monks are great for multi-classing, and you're already at level 5 so you don't need to worry about getting your extra attack late. I'd definitely grab level 6 in Way of Shadow before doing it though.
Former D&D Beyond Customer of six years: With the axing of piecemeal purchasing, lack of meaningful development, and toxic moderation the site isn't worth paying for anymore. I remain a free user only until my groups are done migrating from DDB, and if necessary D&D, after which I'm done. There are better systems owned by better companies out there.
I have unsubscribed from all topics and will not reply to messages. My homebrew is now 100% unsupported.