I just made a level 5 FirbolgMonk (ability scores STR 16 DEX 18 CON 14 INT 8 WIS 16 CHA 11), as a backup character for an ongoing campaign I'm in.
His current AC is 17 (no armor) and his HP is 38.
While the AC isn't bad per se, the HP is a liiittle too low for my comfort (especially since he's going to be up in the face of the enemies in combat) and I'm looking for ways to boost either of them just a bit.
Does anyone know of a magic item that could help here? Perferably not too rare, I was hoping to bargain with my DM on letting him have one magic item from the start.
Alternatively, if there is a handy feat that could help with this (though that means I'd have to swap the ability score improvement on my CON and DEX for a feat instead).
Feat for HP: Tough + 2 hp per level (Same as +4 to con). Would make your HP 48 if your Con does not go down, 43 if your con goes down.
Feats for Defense:
Martial Adept grants you some battle maneuvers from the Battlemaster Fighter sub-class. That includes Evasive Footwork that grants an + to AC and Parry that reduces damage.
Magical Adept grants you 2 cantrips and one first level spell, which could be Mage Armor or Shield.
Without knowing what Way of the Monk you chose,* my advice is limited, however, I would recommend either:
Don’t change anything for the moment and grab the Mobile feat at 8th level. Monks want to get in the enemies’ faces in combat, but they don’t have to want to stay there.
Take Monk to at least 6th, then picking up two levels of Ranger (using the replacement features from Tasha’s if possible), one next, and the other before the end of Tier-2. That will get you:
Two Hit Dice that are d10s (instead of the Monk’s d8s)
Access to several fighting styles that Monks can take excellent advantage of (like Thrown Weapon Fighting for those Darts Javelins that’ll be your “counts as” throwing stars)
Deft Explorer and Favored Foe (the only bummer is that the Deft Explorer options are now level-locked so you can’t skip Canny for Roving, but Canny doesn’t suck)
And two 1st-level spells and two slots to cast them (there’s a rather nasty (nasty) combo of [Tooltip Not Found] and then a quick switch to Favored Foe on the same Attack that is far more effective than it has any right to be, and something like Cure Wounds can help with survivability.
I was admittedly eyeing the Tough feat, but I've apparently been sleeping on the Martial Adept one! That's seems like a fun option with a lot of possibilities. Thanks!
I'll admit that I was mainly making him stronk for backstory reasons, but 14 should still suffice (especially since he's proficient in Athletics) so I did as you said! Those 43 HP sits much better than the previous 38. Thanks!
I am intending to play him as a pacifist (which apparently is very unconventional in D&D, and seems to incite heated discussions online, so just know that the players in this case are very close friends and a RP heavy group who knows where they have each other, it's all gud). The plan is to have him mainly pull aggro in order to keep the enemies from going after the others, provide flanking, take the Dodge action while the other party members take out the threat, and as of the way of Mercy; punch people back to life. However, his current AC and HP felt a little too lacking for such an endevour, so I'm just looking for options that could potentially deal with that.
I did not consider multiclassing (I keep forgetting that's something you can totally do), so I'll keep that in mind as well! Thank you.
Then you put your 4th lvl ASI in +1 to DEX and CON?
The race already is suboptimal for a monk since STR is useless which is still fine, but Tasha's custom origin optional rules allow you to trade that +1 str to dex instead if your DM allows.
In any case, depending on your skill proficiencies, I would instead suggest to assign:
STR 13+1 racial if you can't move it to dex
DEX 17+1 racial instead of to STR if you can
CON 15/INT 8/WIS 15+2 racial/CHA 11
I say based on skill proficiencies because CHA could be more useful if you picked up some face skills but its not like that +1 will change a whole lot either.
Then you could either grab mobile/tough/any other feat you want or a +1 CON/+1 WIS or even a +2 DEX if your DM lets you put that +1 racial to it bringing you up to 20 DEX at lvl 4.
Edit: Had this reply typed out for awhile but could not send it right away, my bad!
[magicItem]Amulet of Health[/amulet of health] is another magic item that would boost your HP. In theory that would allow you to dump Con, but if I was DM I might allow the amulet as a starting item for a creature with 14 Con but not to a character with 8 Con.
Agree with most of the rest of what has been posted but wouldn't recommend multi-classing, monks don't multi class well you want all the ki you can get. On top of that monks get some really powerful features like evasion, the ability to run up walls (one way to avoid pressure plates), purity of body and diamond soul that you want to get as soon as possible.
I am intending to play him as a pacifist (which apparently is very unconventional in D&D, and seems to incite heated discussions online, so just know that the players in this case are very close friends and a RP heavy group who knows where they have each other, it's all gud). The plan is to have him mainly pull aggro in order to keep the enemies from going after the others, provide flanking, take the Dodge action while the other party members take out the threat, and as of the way of Mercy; punch people back to life. However, his current AC and HP felt a little too lacking for such an endevour, so I'm just looking for options that could potentially deal with that.
I did not consider multiclassing (I keep forgetting that's something you can totally do), so I'll keep that in mind as well! Thank you.
You're going to need to work out a means of entirely subduing your enemies. Or, maybe relax your stance such that you only subdue instead of kill with your attacks... but simply never attacking is more than a little problematic in this game. I mean, maybe your table can handle it, but at even a remotely typical table it means you're only a liability to your team.
If you do consider multiclassing and you're certain about being a pacifist, consider Cleric Peace domain. This would give you solid options to use your actions to really benefit your allies without your only real option being to just stand there dodging every round.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
I'm probably laughing.
It is apparently so hard to program Aberrant Mind and Clockwork Soul spell-swapping into dndbeyond they had to remake the game without it rather than implement it.
Interesting that you went with Way of Mercy for a pacifist, their version of “mercy” is fairly akin to euthanasia. (“Shhh, don’t fight it. Just close your eyes and head to the light and all your pains and worries will disappear. Eerything will be all better, I promise.” 🤫😴😵) Another possible interpretation of “pacifistic” is a “thou shall not kill” approach, which may likely be easier to execute as a Monk. Between Stunning Strike and the (also completely doable) option to declaim nonlethal damage with melee weapon attacks (including unarmed strikes). That play style would dovetail more readily with the Monk core class features and inherent design elements leading the class towards high mobility and attack spamming. (Another added benefit, if you always declare nonlethal punches then your party will actually have captured enemies to interrogate rather than a series of occasions when someone would say “5|-|¡7, we forgot to leave one of them alive again!” 😂😂) Monks are generally very well suited a rinse & repeat of:
Suddenly covering high (and preferably unanticipated) amounts of ground
Punching (literally) far above their weight to deliver a (hopefully) devastating blow to whichever target is both relatively high value and fairly exposure at the time
Expeditiously getting the eff outta there before anybody sent to investigate the horrid screaming and pillars of smoke can arrive
Leading those units on a merry chance wherever the rest of the Monk’s allies aren’t
Maneuvering around to hit another juicy, isolated backline target (and collecting another pursuer as a bonus)
And eventually leading all of the collected pursuing units directly into a trap laid by those aforementioned allies.
Monks were basically designed to excel at the same tactics used by light cavalry and mounted/mobile infantry. They are excellent in that capacity, because they were designed to be. I’m not saying that they have to be used that way, only that they fill that niche in the design space. So anything that either enhances a Monk’s ability to perform those tasks or to take advantage of them are typically going to be both easier to fit, and yield high results. Monks only have a d8 hit die (like Rogues) as opposed to the d10/12 enjoyed by the other Martial/Martial(ish) classes and with lower AC because their best defense is to not be wherever the attacks are going (like Rogues). For Monks, the best defense is most frequently a good offense, combined with being able to run awaaayy….
So focusing on high HP & AC will typically require more squeezing and possibly yield a less satisfying amount of juice for a Monk than pursuing other goals might. Things associated with mobility, damage output, and some tricks that will either add to or utilize those things and fit quite nicely up the Monk’s sleeves will often take less consideration and satisfy a customer on the very next combat encounter.*s The added hit-and-run capacity from Mobile will often prevent more damage than the HP from Tough would cover if you plan your positioning carefully, and counting on any specific magic items is a gamble at many tables. Again, that’s not to suggest focusing on HP & AC is in any way “wrong,” or “bad,” just that it’s often easier to play to a character’s strengths rather than attempting to cover a PC’s perceived weaknesses in this edition. 🤷♂️
Do me a solid and let us know whatever you decide please. I’d appreciate it at least.
*That’s a lot of the reason I recommend a 2 level dip into Ranger for many folks looking for build advice for a Monk. Favored Foe is a decent bump to damage output, and a sleeve-sized tricksy thing. Canny is a little less obviously advantageous than Roving was/would be, but grabbing an Expertise isn’t nothing. Picking up a Fighting Style is desirable enough that they made a feat for it (just avoid the Unarmed Fighting Style, it’s a trap for a Monk). Finally, two 1st-level Ranger spells could lean towards mobility, damage output, and/or tricksiness depending on which two one picks. Zephyr’s Strike that I recommended qualifies as all three, but Absorb Elements, Ensnaring Strike, Fog Cloud, Goodberry, Hail of Thorns, Hunter’s Mark, Jump, and Longstrider are all strong picks for a Monk (the hard part is picking just two). The downside is the delay in Ki/Martial Arts progression and possibly awesome features like Evasion.. However, if taken at “the right levels” (determined on a campaign by campaign basis), and with truly beneficial selections of Fighting Style and Spells, IMO the juice is well worth the squeeze. (The only other really advantageous multiclass for Monks I am aware of is 4 into Druid, but that’s a much heavier investment than 2 into Ranger.)
Interesting that you went with Way of Mercy for a pacifist, their version of “mercy” is fairly akin to euthanasia. (“Shhh, don’t fight it. Just close your eyes and head to the light and all your pains and worries will disappear. Eerything will be all better, I promise.” 🤫😴😵) Another possible interpretation of “pacifistic” is a “thou shall not kill” approach, which may likely be easier to execute as a Monk. Between Stunning Strike and the (also completely doable) option to declaim nonlethal damage with melee weapon attacks (including unarmed strikes). That play style would dovetail more readily with the Monk core class features and inherent design elements leading the class towards high mobility and attack spamming. (Another added benefit, if you always declare nonlethal punches then your party will actually have captured enemies to interrogate rather than a series of occasions when someone would say “5|-|¡7, we forgot to leave one of them alive again!” 😂😂) Monks are generally very well suited a rinse & repeat of:
Suddenly covering high (and preferably unanticipated) amounts of ground
Punching (literally) far above their weight to deliver a (hopefully) devastating blow to whichever target is both relatively high value and fairly exposure at the time
Expeditiously getting the eff outta there before anybody sent to investigate the horrid screaming and pillars of smoke can arrive
Leading those units on a merry chance wherever the rest of the Monk’s allies aren’t
Maneuvering around to hit another juicy, isolated backline target (and collecting another pursuer as a bonus)
And eventually leading all of the collected pursuing units directly into a trap laid by those aforementioned allies.
Monks were basically designed to excel at the same tactics used by light cavalry and mounted/mobile infantry. They are excellent in that capacity, because they were designed to be. I’m not saying that they have to be used that way, only that they fill that niche in the design space. So anything that either enhances a Monk’s ability to perform those tasks or to take advantage of them are typically going to be both easier to fit, and yield high results. Monks only have a d8 hit die (like Rogues) as opposed to the d10/12 enjoyed by the other Martial/Martial(ish) classes and with lower AC because their best defense is to not be wherever the attacks are going (like Rogues). For Monks, the best defense is most frequently a good offense, combined with being able to run awaaayy….
So focusing on high HP & AC will typically require more squeezing and possibly yield a less satisfying amount of juice for a Monk than pursuing other goals might. Things associated with mobility, damage output, and some tricks that will either add to or utilize those things and fit quite nicely up the Monk’s sleeves will often take less consideration and satisfy a customer on the very next combat encounter.*s The added hit-and-run capacity from Mobile will often prevent more damage than the HP from Tough would cover if you plan your positioning carefully, and counting on any specific magic items is a gamble at many tables. Again, that’s not to suggest focusing on HP & AC is in any way “wrong,” or “bad,” just that it’s often easier to play to a character’s strengths rather than attempting to cover a PC’s perceived weaknesses in this edition. 🤷♂️
Do me a solid and let us know whatever you decide please. I’d appreciate it at least.
*That’s a lot of the reason I recommend a 2 level dip into Ranger for many folks looking for build advice for a Monk. Favored Foe is a decent bump to damage output, and a sleeve-sized tricksy thing. Canny is a little less obviously advantageous than Roving was/would be, but grabbing an Expertise isn’t nothing. Picking up a Fighting Style is desirable enough that they made a feat for it (just avoid the Unarmed Fighting Style, it’s a trap for a Monk). Finally, two 1st-level Ranger spells could lean towards mobility, damage output, and/or tricksiness depending on which two one picks. Zephyr’s Strike that I recommended qualifies as all three, but Absorb Elements, Ensnaring Strike, Fog Cloud, Goodberry, Hail of Thorns, Hunter’s Mark, Jump, and Longstrider are all strong picks for a Monk (the hard part is picking just two). The downside is the delay in Ki/Martial Arts progression and possibly awesome features like Evasion.. However, if taken at “the right levels” (determined on a campaign by campaign basis), and with truly beneficial selections of Fighting Style and Spells, IMO the juice is well worth the squeeze. (The only other really advantageous multiclass for Monks I am aware of is 4 into Druid, but that’s a much heavier investment than 2 into Ranger.)
Thank you so much for such a detailed answer! And you have no idea how much I appreciate that you're not immediately critical to the concept of a pacifist monk. 😅
Even though I didn't mention it, you picked up on that this character totally can still "hurt" enemies without killing them. He is generally put off by the idea of taking another life, but using violence in self defense is definitely an option he can take.
I understand that it's not uncomplicated to play a pacifist monk, so I definitely expect there to be some challenges. And if those challenges become too overpowering, then hey, that's an excellent valid in-game reason for this character to do some introspection and figure out what is important and how to balance his beliefs while also protecting the party.
At the moment, the only thing I've done is to swap the STR to a higher CON, which makes me feel more at ease to go through with my original idea of having him draw fire rather than bringing a lot of hurt. But depending how well that goes, you have given me a lot of options for how to play this character down the road, should it go sideways.
Thanks again for your investment in this matter! I highly appreciate it.
I am intending to play him as a pacifist (which apparently is very unconventional in D&D, and seems to incite heated discussions online, so just know that the players in this case are very close friends and a RP heavy group who knows where they have each other, it's all gud). The plan is to have him mainly pull aggro in order to keep the enemies from going after the others, provide flanking, take the Dodge action while the other party members take out the threat, and as of the way of Mercy; punch people back to life. However, his current AC and HP felt a little too lacking for such an endevour, so I'm just looking for options that could potentially deal with that.
I did not consider multiclassing (I keep forgetting that's something you can totally do), so I'll keep that in mind as well! Thank you.
You're going to need to work out a means of entirely subduing your enemies. Or, maybe relax your stance such that you only subdue instead of kill with your attacks... but simply never attacking is more than a little problematic in this game. I mean, maybe your table can handle it, but at even a remotely typical table it means you're only a liability to your team.
If you do consider multiclassing and you're certain about being a pacifist, consider Cleric Peace domain. This would give you solid options to use your actions to really benefit your allies without your only real option being to just stand there dodging every round.
I see now that keeping the details about my pacifist monk vague to avoid another tedious discussion about what you should and should not play in D&D may have had quite the opposite effect... In case anyone else are concerned about me "being a liability" to my team, here are the deets:
Why do I want to play a pacifist Monk (of Mercy)?
Pacifist is a spectrum and does not necessarily mean that you never fight. In this context, it means that my character will never throw the first punch and will first of all find other ways to settle a dispute. He is not above using violence or "a show of force" if the situation rightfully calls for it. He wouldn't be happy about it, but self defense is absolutely a thing.
The Monk Class doesn't require weapons, which works very well for a pacifist who does not want to touch a weapon because of Backstory Trauma™.
Do I even have to mention Stunning Strike?
He can provide flanking to the melee attackers of the group, giving them advantage and allowing them a higher chance to finish off a hostile creature (even if he himself doesn't attack every single turn).
He can draw fire from enemies by getting up in their faces, which keeps the rest of the party safe. The dodge action as well as Deflect Missiles should allow him to mostly avoid incoming attacks while at the same time keeping the enemy busy (most of the party largely favor ranged attacks anyway).
Monk of Mercy allows healing abilities, and the pacifist will prioritize healing above all. Like a walking, running, jumping defibrillator.
He's a firbolg, and in any encounter involving beasts he will try to speak with them to propose a peacful solution rather than having the encounter end with needless slaughter.
Firbolgs are also considered "Large", which means that he can drag "Small" allies away from overwhelming enemies WITHOUT loosing half of his movement. Bonus Action Step of the Wind, and they'll be far away from enemy fire.
No, our DM does not use EXP when leveling. All we need to do is to survive encounters or find creative solutions to earn milestones.
For extra fun context; the character is heavily inspired by the soldier Desmond Doss.
Sure. If I wanted to play a pacifistic healer, there are other classes that would make that role tremendously uncomplicated (Read: boring). But a pacifist monk? That is interesting to me. That combo immediately brings a story element to the character and I am very intrigued to explore what you can do with that. Worst case scenario, the character realizes that his aversion towards violence has negative consequences on people he cares about, which would lead to a cool storybeat and character growth where his personal experiences are reshaping his values and forces him to figure out how to balance them in this group.
Hence why the only thing I really wanted to ask about was ways to boost AC or HP. Not whether this is a "good" choice or not.
(I appologize if this reply turned a little bit too salty, but people ending up focusing on the "pacifist/monk" part instead of the question at hand was exactly what I was afraid of, and I only revealed the context to that one person who genuinly asked about the subclass in order to help, and someone taking that info to tell me how "problematic" the idea is was very much not the unsolicited advice I was looking for and does in fact not answer my original query.)
I am intending to play him as a pacifist (which apparently is very unconventional in D&D, and seems to incite heated discussions online, so just know that the players in this case are very close friends and a RP heavy group who knows where they have each other, it's all gud). The plan is to have him mainly pull aggro in order to keep the enemies from going after the others, provide flanking, take the Dodge action while the other party members take out the threat, and as of the way of Mercy; punch people back to life. However, his current AC and HP felt a little too lacking for such an endevour, so I'm just looking for options that could potentially deal with that.
I did not consider multiclassing (I keep forgetting that's something you can totally do), so I'll keep that in mind as well! Thank you.
You're going to need to work out a means of entirely subduing your enemies. Or, maybe relax your stance such that you only subdue instead of kill with your attacks... but simply never attacking is more than a little problematic in this game. I mean, maybe your table can handle it, but at even a remotely typical table it means you're only a liability to your team.
If you do consider multiclassing and you're certain about being a pacifist, consider Cleric Peace domain. This would give you solid options to use your actions to really benefit your allies without your only real option being to just stand there dodging every round.
I see now that keeping the details about my pacifist monk vague to avoid another tedious discussion about what you should and should not play in D&D may have had quite the opposite effect... In case anyone else are concerned about me "being a liability" to my team, here are the deets:
Why do I want to play a pacifist Monk (of Mercy)?
Pacifist is a spectrum and does not necessarily mean that you never fight. In this context, it means that my character will never throw the first punch and will first of all find other ways to settle a dispute. He is not above using violence or "a show of force" if the situation rightfully calls for it. He wouldn't be happy about it, but self defense is absolutely a thing.
The Monk Class doesn't require weapons, which works very well for a pacifist who does not want to touch a weapon because of Backstory Trauma™.
Do I even have to mention Stunning Strike?
He can provide flanking to the melee attackers of the group, giving them advantage and allowing them a higher chance to finish off a hostile creature (even if he himself doesn't attack every single turn).
He can draw fire from enemies by getting up in their faces, which keeps the rest of the party safe. The dodge action as well as Deflect Missiles should allow him to mostly avoid incoming attacks while at the same time keeping the enemy busy (most of the party largely favor ranged attacks anyway).
Monk of Mercy allows healing abilities, and the pacifist will prioritize healing above all. Like a walking, running, jumping defibrillator.
He's a firbolg, and in any encounter involving beasts he will try to speak with them to propose a peacful solution rather than having the encounter end with needless slaughter.
Firbolgs are also considered "Large", which means that he can drag "Small" allies away from overwhelming enemies WITHOUT loosing half of his movement. Bonus Action Step of the Wind, and they'll be far away from enemy fire.
No, our DM does not use EXP when leveling. All we need to do is to survive encounters or find creative solutions to earn milestones.
For extra fun context; the character is heavily inspired by the soldier Desmond Doss.
Sure. If I wanted to play a pacifistic healer, there are other classes that would make that role tremendously uncomplicated (Read: boring). But a pacifist monk? That is interesting to me. That combo immediately brings a story element to the character and I am very intrigued to explore what you can do with that. Worst case scenario, the character realizes that his aversion towards violence has negative consequences on people he cares about, which would lead to a cool storybeat and character growth where his personal experiences are reshaping his values and forces him to figure out how to balance them in this group.
Hence why the only thing I really wanted to ask about was ways to boost AC or HP. Not whether this is a "good" choice or not.
(I appologize if this reply turned a little bit too salty, but people ending up focusing on the "pacifist/monk" part instead of the question at hand was exactly what I was afraid of, and I only revealed the context to that one person who genuinly asked about the subclass in order to help, and someone taking that info to tell me how "problematic" the idea is was very much not the unsolicited advice I was looking for and does in fact not answer my original query.)
The recommendation for Peace Domain cleric stands. Take a look, it offers great non-offence options.
I've played a "pacifist" monk/cleric before and this domain is fantastic for it. I'm not being critical in the way you think I am. You just need to, in practice, have actions available to you when offense is off the table for moral/ethical/rp reasons. You can't let yourself get into a situation too often where you can't do anything but dodge because you will get flack for that eventually. It is a great concept but you need to make doubly sure you're always contributing even when attacking isn't an option.
Gives you access to:
Sanctuary - BA to ward someone from getting attacked
Extra Skill - Insight or Persuasion would be helpful
Emboldening Bond - links allies so they can add a d4 to any attack, save, or skill check. Stacks with both Guidance and Bless!
Guidance and Bless!
It isn't about becoming a healer, it is about giving you thematically on-point options to use when attacking isn't an option.
It is apparently so hard to program Aberrant Mind and Clockwork Soul spell-swapping into dndbeyond they had to remake the game without it rather than implement it.
I am intending to play him as a pacifist (which apparently is very unconventional in D&D, and seems to incite heated discussions online, so just know that the players in this case are very close friends and a RP heavy group who knows where they have each other, it's all gud). The plan is to have him mainly pull aggro in order to keep the enemies from going after the others, provide flanking, take the Dodge action while the other party members take out the threat, and as of the way of Mercy; punch people back to life. However, his current AC and HP felt a little too lacking for such an endevour, so I'm just looking for options that could potentially deal with that.
I did not consider multiclassing (I keep forgetting that's something you can totally do), so I'll keep that in mind as well! Thank you.
You're going to need to work out a means of entirely subduing your enemies. Or, maybe relax your stance such that you only subdue instead of kill with your attacks... but simply never attacking is more than a little problematic in this game. I mean, maybe your table can handle it, but at even a remotely typical table it means you're only a liability to your team.
If you do consider multiclassing and you're certain about being a pacifist, consider Cleric Peace domain. This would give you solid options to use your actions to really benefit your allies without your only real option being to just stand there dodging every round.
I see now that keeping the details about my pacifist monk vague to avoid another tedious discussion about what you should and should not play in D&D may have had quite the opposite effect... In case anyone else are concerned about me "being a liability" to my team, here are the deets:
Why do I want to play a pacifist Monk (of Mercy)?
Pacifist is a spectrum and does not necessarily mean that you never fight. In this context, it means that my character will never throw the first punch and will first of all find other ways to settle a dispute. He is not above using violence or "a show of force" if the situation rightfully calls for it. He wouldn't be happy about it, but self defense is absolutely a thing.
The Monk Class doesn't require weapons, which works very well for a pacifist who does not want to touch a weapon because of Backstory Trauma™.
Do I even have to mention Stunning Strike?
He can provide flanking to the melee attackers of the group, giving them advantage and allowing them a higher chance to finish off a hostile creature (even if he himself doesn't attack every single turn).
He can draw fire from enemies by getting up in their faces, which keeps the rest of the party safe. The dodge action as well as Deflect Missiles should allow him to mostly avoid incoming attacks while at the same time keeping the enemy busy (most of the party largely favor ranged attacks anyway).
Monk of Mercy allows healing abilities, and the pacifist will prioritize healing above all. Like a walking, running, jumping defibrillator.
He's a firbolg, and in any encounter involving beasts he will try to speak with them to propose a peacful solution rather than having the encounter end with needless slaughter.
Firbolgs are also considered "Large", which means that he can drag "Small" allies away from overwhelming enemies WITHOUT loosing half of his movement. Bonus Action Step of the Wind, and they'll be far away from enemy fire.
No, our DM does not use EXP when leveling. All we need to do is to survive encounters or find creative solutions to earn milestones.
For extra fun context; the character is heavily inspired by the soldier Desmond Doss.
Sure. If I wanted to play a pacifistic healer, there are other classes that would make that role tremendously uncomplicated (Read: boring). But a pacifist monk? That is interesting to me. That combo immediately brings a story element to the character and I am very intrigued to explore what you can do with that. Worst case scenario, the character realizes that his aversion towards violence has negative consequences on people he cares about, which would lead to a cool storybeat and character growth where his personal experiences are reshaping his values and forces him to figure out how to balance them in this group.
Hence why the only thing I really wanted to ask about was ways to boost AC or HP. Not whether this is a "good" choice or not.
(I appologize if this reply turned a little bit too salty, but people ending up focusing on the "pacifist/monk" part instead of the question at hand was exactly what I was afraid of, and I only revealed the context to that one person who genuinly asked about the subclass in order to help, and someone taking that info to tell me how "problematic" the idea is was very much not the unsolicited advice I was looking for and does in fact not answer my original query.)
The recommendation for Peace Domain cleric stands. Take a look, it offers great non-offence options.
I've played a "pacifist" monk/cleric before and this domain is fantastic for it. I'm not being critical in the way you think I am. You just need to, in practice, have actions available to you when offense is off the table for moral/ethical/rp reasons. You can't let yourself get into a situation too often where you can't do anything but dodge because you will get flack for that eventually. It is a great concept but you need to make doubly sure you're always contributing even when attacking isn't an option.
Gives you access to:
Sanctuary - BA to ward someone from getting attacked
Extra Skill - Insight or Persuasion would be helpful
Emboldening Bond - links allies so they can add a d4 to any attack, save, or skill check. Stacks with both Guidance and Bless!
Guidance and Bless!
It isn't about becoming a healer, it is about giving you thematically on-point options to use when attacking isn't an option.
Thank you so much for answering and clarifying!
I'll admit that I initially read your first reply as being critical to the whole concept (having seen plenty of it in other places, I was expecting it here as well). But as I gave it another read I got a better sense of your intentions and it sounded like you just genuinly wanted to help. I sincerely appologize for my rather passive aggressive response and I'm very relieved that you didn't take offense and instead took the time to explain your point further.
I am very happy to hear that you've played a pacifist monk yourself! It does give me more confidence to potentially dip my toes into multiclassing (something I've honestly never done before). The perks you listed doesn't sound bad at all!
So thanks again for taking the time to tell me this! I may have to come up with a reason for him to multiclass into the Peace Domain (at the moment, he isn't very religious at all), but as this is only a backup character I have plenty of time to plan! (....hopefully. 😅)
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
I just made a level 5 Firbolg Monk (ability scores STR 16 DEX 18 CON 14 INT 8 WIS 16 CHA 11), as a backup character for an ongoing campaign I'm in.
His current AC is 17 (no armor) and his HP is 38.
While the AC isn't bad per se, the HP is a liiittle too low for my comfort (especially since he's going to be up in the face of the enemies in combat) and I'm looking for ways to boost either of them just a bit.
Does anyone know of a magic item that could help here?
Perferably not too rare, I was hoping to bargain with my DM on letting him have one magic item from the start.
Alternatively, if there is a handy feat that could help with this (though that means I'd have to swap the ability score improvement on my CON and DEX for a feat instead).
Feat for HP: Tough + 2 hp per level (Same as +4 to con). Would make your HP 48 if your Con does not go down, 43 if your con goes down.
Feats for Defense:
Martial Adept grants you some battle maneuvers from the Battlemaster Fighter sub-class. That includes Evasive Footwork that grants an + to AC and Parry that reduces damage.
Magical Adept grants you 2 cantrips and one first level spell, which could be Mage Armor or Shield.
Bracers of Defense, Ring of Protection, or Cloak of Protection to boost AC.
I would swap your STR and CON, Monks don't really need STR, so a 14 should be fine there, and gives you a CON 16 if you keep your current first ASI.
Birgit | Shifter | Sorcerer | Dragonlords
Shayone | Hobgoblin | Sorcerer | Netherdeep
Without knowing what Way of the Monk you chose,* my advice is limited, however, I would recommend either:
DartsJavelins that’ll be your “counts as” throwing stars)*(What subclass did you choose anyway?)
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
I was admittedly eyeing the Tough feat, but I've apparently been sleeping on the Martial Adept one! That's seems like a fun option with a lot of possibilities. Thanks!
That's invaluable suggestions! Thanks a ton for sharing these.
I'll admit that I was mainly making him stronk for backstory reasons, but 14 should still suffice (especially since he's proficient in Athletics) so I did as you said! Those 43 HP sits much better than the previous 38. Thanks!
He's a Monk of Mercy! 💪
I am intending to play him as a pacifist (which apparently is very unconventional in D&D, and seems to incite heated discussions online, so just know that the players in this case are very close friends and a RP heavy group who knows where they have each other, it's all gud). The plan is to have him mainly pull aggro in order to keep the enemies from going after the others, provide flanking, take the Dodge action while the other party members take out the threat, and as of the way of Mercy; punch people back to life. However, his current AC and HP felt a little too lacking for such an endevour, so I'm just looking for options that could potentially deal with that.
I did not consider multiclassing (I keep forgetting that's something you can totally do), so I'll keep that in mind as well! Thank you.
With such stats I assume you rolled for them? STR is basically as useful as INT for your Monk.
In order, your stats should be DEX > CON = WIS at first at least.
The only exception to this is the Way of the Astral Monk which basically flips WIS and DEX in priority.
Based on what you said, I guess you rolled/started with the following stats?
STR 15+1 racial/DEX 17/CON 13/INT 8/WIS 15+2 racial/CHA 11
Then you put your 4th lvl ASI in +1 to DEX and CON?
The race already is suboptimal for a monk since STR is useless which is still fine, but Tasha's custom origin optional rules allow you to trade that +1 str to dex instead if your DM allows.
In any case, depending on your skill proficiencies, I would instead suggest to assign:
STR 13+1 racial if you can't move it to dex
DEX 17+1 racial instead of to STR if you can
CON 15/INT 8/WIS 15+2 racial/CHA 11
I say based on skill proficiencies because CHA could be more useful if you picked up some face skills but its not like that +1 will change a whole lot either.
Then you could either grab mobile/tough/any other feat you want or a +1 CON/+1 WIS or even a +2 DEX if your DM lets you put that +1 racial to it bringing you up to 20 DEX at lvl 4.
Edit: Had this reply typed out for awhile but could not send it right away, my bad!
[magicItem]Amulet of Health[/amulet of health] is another magic item that would boost your HP. In theory that would allow you to dump Con, but if I was DM I might allow the amulet as a starting item for a creature with 14 Con but not to a character with 8 Con.
Agree with most of the rest of what has been posted but wouldn't recommend multi-classing, monks don't multi class well you want all the ki you can get. On top of that monks get some really powerful features like evasion, the ability to run up walls (one way to avoid pressure plates), purity of body and diamond soul that you want to get as soon as possible.
Belt of Dwarvenkind is a very good item to boost HP. My usual take to shore up this weakness with Monks is also Hill Dwarf.
You're going to need to work out a means of entirely subduing your enemies. Or, maybe relax your stance such that you only subdue instead of kill with your attacks... but simply never attacking is more than a little problematic in this game. I mean, maybe your table can handle it, but at even a remotely typical table it means you're only a liability to your team.
If you do consider multiclassing and you're certain about being a pacifist, consider Cleric Peace domain. This would give you solid options to use your actions to really benefit your allies without your only real option being to just stand there dodging every round.
I'm probably laughing.
It is apparently so hard to program Aberrant Mind and Clockwork Soul spell-swapping into dndbeyond they had to remake the game without it rather than implement it.
Interesting that you went with Way of Mercy for a pacifist, their version of “mercy” is fairly akin to euthanasia. (“Shhh, don’t fight it. Just close your eyes and head to the light and all your pains and worries will disappear. Eerything will be all better, I promise.” 🤫😴😵) Another possible interpretation of “pacifistic” is a “thou shall not kill” approach, which may likely be easier to execute as a Monk. Between Stunning Strike and the (also completely doable) option to declaim nonlethal damage with melee weapon attacks (including unarmed strikes). That play style would dovetail more readily with the Monk core class features and inherent design elements leading the class towards high mobility and attack spamming. (Another added benefit, if you always declare nonlethal punches then your party will actually have captured enemies to interrogate rather than a series of occasions when someone would say “5|-|¡7, we forgot to leave one of them alive again!” 😂😂) Monks are generally very well suited a rinse & repeat of:
Monks were basically designed to excel at the same tactics used by light cavalry and mounted/mobile infantry. They are excellent in that capacity, because they were designed to be. I’m not saying that they have to be used that way, only that they fill that niche in the design space. So anything that either enhances a Monk’s ability to perform those tasks or to take advantage of them are typically going to be both easier to fit, and yield high results. Monks only have a d8 hit die (like Rogues) as opposed to the d10/12 enjoyed by the other Martial/Martial(ish) classes and with lower AC because their best defense is to not be wherever the attacks are going (like Rogues). For Monks, the best defense is most frequently a good offense, combined with being able to run awaaayy….
So focusing on high HP & AC will typically require more squeezing and possibly yield a less satisfying amount of juice for a Monk than pursuing other goals might. Things associated with mobility, damage output, and some tricks that will either add to or utilize those things and fit quite nicely up the Monk’s sleeves will often take less consideration and satisfy a customer on the very next combat encounter.*s The added hit-and-run capacity from Mobile will often prevent more damage than the HP from Tough would cover if you plan your positioning carefully, and counting on any specific magic items is a gamble at many tables. Again, that’s not to suggest focusing on HP & AC is in any way “wrong,” or “bad,” just that it’s often easier to play to a character’s strengths rather than attempting to cover a PC’s perceived weaknesses in this edition. 🤷♂️
Do me a solid and let us know whatever you decide please. I’d appreciate it at least.
*That’s a lot of the reason I recommend a 2 level dip into Ranger for many folks looking for build advice for a Monk. Favored Foe is a decent bump to damage output, and a sleeve-sized tricksy thing. Canny is a little less obviously advantageous than Roving was/would be, but grabbing an Expertise isn’t nothing. Picking up a Fighting Style is desirable enough that they made a feat for it (just avoid the Unarmed Fighting Style, it’s a trap for a Monk). Finally, two 1st-level Ranger spells could lean towards mobility, damage output, and/or tricksiness depending on which two one picks. Zephyr’s Strike that I recommended qualifies as all three, but Absorb Elements, Ensnaring Strike, Fog Cloud, Goodberry, Hail of Thorns, Hunter’s Mark, Jump, and Longstrider are all strong picks for a Monk (the hard part is picking just two). The downside is the delay in Ki/Martial Arts progression and possibly awesome features like Evasion.. However, if taken at “the right levels” (determined on a campaign by campaign basis), and with truly beneficial selections of Fighting Style and Spells, IMO the juice is well worth the squeeze. (The only other really advantageous multiclass for Monks I am aware of is 4 into Druid, but that’s a much heavier investment than 2 into Ranger.)
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
Thank you so much for such a detailed answer! And you have no idea how much I appreciate that you're not immediately critical to the concept of a pacifist monk. 😅
Even though I didn't mention it, you picked up on that this character totally can still "hurt" enemies without killing them. He is generally put off by the idea of taking another life, but using violence in self defense is definitely an option he can take.
I understand that it's not uncomplicated to play a pacifist monk, so I definitely expect there to be some challenges. And if those challenges become too overpowering, then hey, that's an excellent valid in-game reason for this character to do some introspection and figure out what is important and how to balance his beliefs while also protecting the party.
At the moment, the only thing I've done is to swap the STR to a higher CON, which makes me feel more at ease to go through with my original idea of having him draw fire rather than bringing a lot of hurt. But depending how well that goes, you have given me a lot of options for how to play this character down the road, should it go sideways.
Thanks again for your investment in this matter! I highly appreciate it.
I see now that keeping the details about my pacifist monk vague to avoid another tedious discussion about what you should and should not play in D&D may have had quite the opposite effect... In case anyone else are concerned about me "being a liability" to my team, here are the deets:
Why do I want to play a pacifist Monk (of Mercy)?
Sure. If I wanted to play a pacifistic healer, there are other classes that would make that role tremendously uncomplicated (Read: boring).
But a pacifist monk? That is interesting to me. That combo immediately brings a story element to the character and I am very intrigued to explore what you can do with that. Worst case scenario, the character realizes that his aversion towards violence has negative consequences on people he cares about, which would lead to a cool storybeat and character growth where his personal experiences are reshaping his values and forces him to figure out how to balance them in this group.
Hence why the only thing I really wanted to ask about was ways to boost AC or HP.
Not whether this is a "good" choice or not.
(I appologize if this reply turned a little bit too salty, but people ending up focusing on the "pacifist/monk" part instead of the question at hand was exactly what I was afraid of, and I only revealed the context to that one person who genuinly asked about the subclass in order to help, and someone taking that info to tell me how "problematic" the idea is was very much not the unsolicited advice I was looking for and does in fact not answer my original query.)
The recommendation for Peace Domain cleric stands. Take a look, it offers great non-offence options.
I've played a "pacifist" monk/cleric before and this domain is fantastic for it. I'm not being critical in the way you think I am. You just need to, in practice, have actions available to you when offense is off the table for moral/ethical/rp reasons. You can't let yourself get into a situation too often where you can't do anything but dodge because you will get flack for that eventually. It is a great concept but you need to make doubly sure you're always contributing even when attacking isn't an option.
Gives you access to:
It isn't about becoming a healer, it is about giving you thematically on-point options to use when attacking isn't an option.
I'm probably laughing.
It is apparently so hard to program Aberrant Mind and Clockwork Soul spell-swapping into dndbeyond they had to remake the game without it rather than implement it.
Thank you so much for answering and clarifying!
I'll admit that I initially read your first reply as being critical to the whole concept (having seen plenty of it in other places, I was expecting it here as well). But as I gave it another read I got a better sense of your intentions and it sounded like you just genuinly wanted to help. I sincerely appologize for my rather passive aggressive response and I'm very relieved that you didn't take offense and instead took the time to explain your point further.
I am very happy to hear that you've played a pacifist monk yourself! It does give me more confidence to potentially dip my toes into multiclassing (something I've honestly never done before). The perks you listed doesn't sound bad at all!
So thanks again for taking the time to tell me this! I may have to come up with a reason for him to multiclass into the Peace Domain (at the moment, he isn't very religious at all), but as this is only a backup character I have plenty of time to plan! (....hopefully. 😅)