I mean its what it says on the tin, how do you think a one armed monk would play out? (not including prosthetic limbs)
Before Tasha's there wasn't really much reason to go one-handed only for a Monk, as you can do an extra one damage on average using a versatile weapon with both hands, and you can always switch to one-handed temporarily when you need to, e.g- for grappling, and you can kick, headbutt extra for unarmed strikes in flurry of blows etc.
But post-Tasha's we now have access to the Fighting Initiate feat which means you can take the Duelling fighting style for extra damage on one-handed if that's your theme, so in place of 1 extra average damage you get +2 instead, though it's not particularly optimal unless your campaign has free feats (some campaigns give a free "flavour" feat during character creation to further reinforce your character idea).
I've always found it a bit weird that Monks don't get to pick a weapon-based fighting style, as it would open up so much more choice in weapons, as mechanically there's just no reason to not take a quarterstaff or spear every time.
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.
you can always get a club or quaterstaff and pick up the shillelagh cantrip either by multiclassing into druid or picking up the magic initiate feat either as your first feat or thanks to variant human / custom lineage
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
i am soup, with too many ideas (all of them very spicy) who has made sufficient homebrew material and character to last an thousand human lifetimes
By RAW, there is nothing preventing you from using Martial Arts with one arm. You just can't use the Versatility feature of a weapons like a Staff or Spear
If you're asking how it would play out from a RP perspective... I'm not sure if you're familiar with the some of the Martial Arts, where a person fights intentionally with One hand tied behind their back.. A couple of different southern Kung Fu styles incorporate a Left-Handed Form, so its not anything out of the real of realism if you want to base it off something.
For a more modern reference, Oro from Street Fighter fights with 1-arm to "balance" the playing field.
At low levels, you will obviously have problems Climbing up a ladder with 1-arm (up to your DM on he wants to play that), but eventually your monk will literally be able to run up a ladder and wouldn't need a second arm to climb it.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
I mean its what it says on the tin, how do you think a one armed monk would play out? (not including prosthetic limbs)
Nothing about playing a monk says that it requires two hands, except for two-handed/versatile weapons.
This. If you went unarmed strikes only you don’t even need arms. They can be kicks and knees. Truly unarmed in this case.
EZD6 by DM Scotty
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/397599/EZD6-Core-Rulebook?
Before Tasha's there wasn't really much reason to go one-handed only for a Monk, as you can do an extra one damage on average using a versatile weapon with both hands, and you can always switch to one-handed temporarily when you need to, e.g- for grappling, and you can kick, headbutt extra for unarmed strikes in flurry of blows etc.
But post-Tasha's we now have access to the Fighting Initiate feat which means you can take the Duelling fighting style for extra damage on one-handed if that's your theme, so in place of 1 extra average damage you get +2 instead, though it's not particularly optimal unless your campaign has free feats (some campaigns give a free "flavour" feat during character creation to further reinforce your character idea).
I've always found it a bit weird that Monks don't get to pick a weapon-based fighting style, as it would open up so much more choice in weapons, as mechanically there's just no reason to not take a quarterstaff or spear every time.
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.
Astral self who summons a replacement ghost hand.
I have a weird sense of humor.
I also make maps.(That's a link)
I'd be keen to see a homebrew monk subclass called Way of the Lonesome Palm could pan out.
you can always get a club or quaterstaff and pick up the shillelagh cantrip either by multiclassing into druid or picking up the magic initiate feat either as your first feat or thanks to variant human / custom lineage
i am soup, with too many ideas (all of them very spicy) who has made sufficient homebrew material and character to last an thousand human lifetimes
By RAW, there is nothing preventing you from using Martial Arts with one arm. You just can't use the Versatility feature of a weapons like a Staff or Spear
If you're asking how it would play out from a RP perspective... I'm not sure if you're familiar with the some of the Martial Arts, where a person fights intentionally with One hand tied behind their back.. A couple of different southern Kung Fu styles incorporate a Left-Handed Form, so its not anything out of the real of realism if you want to base it off something.
For a more modern reference, Oro from Street Fighter fights with 1-arm to "balance" the playing field.
At low levels, you will obviously have problems Climbing up a ladder with 1-arm (up to your DM on he wants to play that), but eventually your monk will literally be able to run up a ladder and wouldn't need a second arm to climb it.