I was making a backup character for a game and decided to make a war magic wizard/monk. I stuck to the book narrative for the war magic subclass and as the story for him in my head grew, I decided that during the war in which he served an enemy got through the line that was defending him and managed to get a hit in. after which he took some basic martial training to keep him alive better. nothing too fancy.
I have no monk experience so take with that what you will. So, your 2 levels in monk have got you : +2 AC from Wis (good). Improved unarmed attacks (not particularly sweet from a wizard pov), and twice per short rest you can either dodge, disengage, or do another unarmed strike.
If those levels were put into wizard you'd have an ability score improvement, another wizard cantrip, another 1st level slot, and THREE 2nd level slots. assuming a wizard build, one of thos WIS points could have gone to DEX so the AC difference would be -1.
So is +1 AC. two free dodge/disengage actions, and a slightly harder punch worth the cantrip, the first level slot, the three second level slots AND the mystic arcanum bonus? That's for you to decide. And honestly, i'm looking at this from a wizard multiclassing to monk point of view. I haven't considered what a monk loses or gains from the multiclass.
Don’t forget about Mage Armor which doesn’t stack with the Monk’s AC calculation.
You're giving up a lot as a Wizard for those few levels of Monk. Both in the short term, delaying your Ability Score Increase until 6th level, and in the long term.
I was more or less seeing if i can make a wizard with the ability to survive when he's been closed in on. monk seemed to give good options that would mesh with my characters sensibilities . the rest of the game i would have him focus all on wizard. for his ability bonuses i was considering putting them into intelligence first and wis second. though am considering taking athlete and dropping a point into dexterity. would bring his armor class up by one and there's something about a highly mobile wizard i like.
You might want to consider a L3 War magic wizard/ L1 hexblade warlock instead.
You'd need to bring your CHA uo to at least 13 (drop DEX to 14, drop WIS to 12, bring CHA to 14.
This would allow you access to martial weapons, medium armor & shields. It allows you to use CHA (instead of DEX or STR) with a weapon you chose at the end of a long rest. It grants you a 1st level spell slot you recover at the end of a short rest (Great for casting Mage Armor).
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Watch your back, conserve your ammo, and NEVER cut a deal with a dragon!
The problem with multiclassing out of the wizard class lies with just how awesome the wizard class is. Even a one or two level dip can really delay access to important higher level spells.
I've always wanted to make a monk/wizard character but, as the rules are currently, you are taking a big hit in order to do it. Plus its a very MAD build. So you have two strikes against it. You might be ok playing a monk with a couple levels of wizard but a wizard with a couple levels of monk is kinda ******.
Mechanically I would say you would be better off with one level of War domain cleric. No impact to spell slots, gain armor, shield and martial weapons, plus some nifty minor healing. In almost every way you will be better off with one level of cleric over two levels of monk.
I know the idea has an appeal but I fear you would regret the monk levels pretty quickly. Consider that those two levels of monk are delaying your access to Fireball until 7th level! Starting at 5th level you will really start to notice your character falling behind and you won't feel caught up in power until a much higher level.
Agreed. Plus if your wizard has Mage Armor, Shield and Misty Step prepared then you have everything that you need for those rare times when you get caught in melee combat by mistake.
3 levels of Hexblade warlock can get you Mage Armor at will (Invocation), Shield as a 1st level spell, and Misty Spell as a 2nd level spell. It grants you a Patron and a Pact Boon. In addition you get 2 2nd level spell slots that you get back after a short rest.
By 20th level, you can still get 17th level as Wizard and access to 9th level spells. While what you get at 18th, 18th, and 20th level as a wizard is nice, I find what you get for those 3 levels of warlock far exceeds the top 3 levels of wizard abilities (IMO).
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Watch your back, conserve your ammo, and NEVER cut a deal with a dragon!
For surviving close in fights for a few seconds longer as a wizard you want mage armour and nice dex, but con provides a few more hits and helps prevent nasty concentration failures at the wrong moment. Abjuration specialisation would be better for the odd round of defense as full wizard rather than monk - that replenishable ward is awesome.
Out healing minor damage with stage magician skills and 'healomancy' could also help. (necromancer grim harvest and a spell lasting multiple rounds that deals damage - ie cloud of dagger or dragon breath and drop a wing clipped bird or docile stage rabbit into the area every round, ta da a free action heal you bunny killer you.
Warlock hexblade has been mentioned but just 2 levels in warlock will get you invocations - one of which could be fiendish vigor for a reusable 1d4+4 temporary hit points. Bladeward with that up can really lower the damage you take BUT a 2necro or abjurer / 2 warlock? you may lose some spell casting but you end up with utility magic.
The commentary on taking early dips is accurate. Hypothetical x3/y7 characters may seem great, but playing up through those early levels will leave you more vulnerable quite often and if your going to lean on your party to offset that vulnerability for that? Then why not accept that one player cant do everything and rely on your friends to work with you to avoid your wizard being hurt to often.
All that said, thematically I love the idea that after being hurt in the war the wizard devoted himself to learning more about the honourable art of fisticuffs. :)
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https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/6875451
I was making a backup character for a game and decided to make a war magic wizard/monk. I stuck to the book narrative for the war magic subclass and as the story for him in my head grew, I decided that during the war in which he served an enemy got through the line that was defending him and managed to get a hit in. after which he took some basic martial training to keep him alive better. nothing too fancy.
what you think of this build?
I have no monk experience so take with that what you will. So, your 2 levels in monk have got you : +2 AC from Wis (good). Improved unarmed attacks (not particularly sweet from a wizard pov), and twice per short rest you can either dodge, disengage, or do another unarmed strike.
If those levels were put into wizard you'd have an ability score improvement, another wizard cantrip, another 1st level slot, and THREE 2nd level slots. assuming a wizard build, one of thos WIS points could have gone to DEX so the AC difference would be -1.
So is +1 AC. two free dodge/disengage actions, and a slightly harder punch worth the cantrip, the first level slot, the three second level slots AND the mystic arcanum bonus? That's for you to decide. And honestly, i'm looking at this from a wizard multiclassing to monk point of view. I haven't considered what a monk loses or gains from the multiclass.
Dril-lvl 4 Wizard-Forest Gnome-The Bounders https://www.dndbeyond.com/profile/HumbleHubris86/characters/3314145
Croak- lvl 3 Fighter- Half-Orc- The Wizard's Challenge https://www.dndbeyond.com/profile/HumbleHubris86/characters/3773609
Barbara: lvl 3 Ancestral Barbarian- Red Skies Mourning https://www.dndbeyond.com/profile/HumbleHubris86/characters/4593374
Don’t forget about Mage Armor which doesn’t stack with the Monk’s AC calculation.
You're giving up a lot as a Wizard for those few levels of Monk. Both in the short term, delaying your Ability Score Increase until 6th level, and in the long term.
Professional computer geek
You could also transfer that training into the Tough feat once you get to an ASI.
I've got a War Mage myself that I considered dipping into Fighter before resigning myself to just hunt for an Animated Shield.
I was more or less seeing if i can make a wizard with the ability to survive when he's been closed in on. monk seemed to give good options that would mesh with my characters sensibilities . the rest of the game i would have him focus all on wizard. for his ability bonuses i was considering putting them into intelligence first and wis second. though am considering taking athlete and dropping a point into dexterity. would bring his armor class up by one and there's something about a highly mobile wizard i like.
You might want to consider a L3 War magic wizard/ L1 hexblade warlock instead.
You'd need to bring your CHA uo to at least 13 (drop DEX to 14, drop WIS to 12, bring CHA to 14.
This would allow you access to martial weapons, medium armor & shields. It allows you to use CHA (instead of DEX or STR) with a weapon you chose at the end of a long rest. It grants you a 1st level spell slot you recover at the end of a short rest (Great for casting Mage Armor).
Watch your back, conserve your ammo,
and NEVER cut a deal with a dragon!
The problem with multiclassing out of the wizard class lies with just how awesome the wizard class is. Even a one or two level dip can really delay access to important higher level spells.
I've always wanted to make a monk/wizard character but, as the rules are currently, you are taking a big hit in order to do it. Plus its a very MAD build. So you have two strikes against it. You might be ok playing a monk with a couple levels of wizard but a wizard with a couple levels of monk is kinda ******.
Mechanically I would say you would be better off with one level of War domain cleric. No impact to spell slots, gain armor, shield and martial weapons, plus some nifty minor healing. In almost every way you will be better off with one level of cleric over two levels of monk.
I know the idea has an appeal but I fear you would regret the monk levels pretty quickly. Consider that those two levels of monk are delaying your access to Fireball until 7th level! Starting at 5th level you will really start to notice your character falling behind and you won't feel caught up in power until a much higher level.
Current Characters I am playing: Dr Konstantin van Wulf | Taegen Willowrun | Mad Magnar
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Agreed. Plus if your wizard has Mage Armor, Shield and Misty Step prepared then you have everything that you need for those rare times when you get caught in melee combat by mistake.
Professional computer geek
3 levels of Hexblade warlock can get you Mage Armor at will (Invocation), Shield as a 1st level spell, and Misty Spell as a 2nd level spell. It grants you a Patron and a Pact Boon. In addition you get 2 2nd level spell slots that you get back after a short rest.
By 20th level, you can still get 17th level as Wizard and access to 9th level spells. While what you get at 18th, 18th, and 20th level as a wizard is nice, I find what you get for those 3 levels of warlock far exceeds the top 3 levels of wizard abilities (IMO).
Watch your back, conserve your ammo,
and NEVER cut a deal with a dragon!
For surviving close in fights for a few seconds longer as a wizard you want mage armour and nice dex, but con provides a few more hits and helps prevent nasty concentration failures at the wrong moment. Abjuration specialisation would be better for the odd round of defense as full wizard rather than monk - that replenishable ward is awesome.
Out healing minor damage with stage magician skills and 'healomancy' could also help. (necromancer grim harvest and a spell lasting multiple rounds that deals damage - ie cloud of dagger or dragon breath and drop a wing clipped bird or docile stage rabbit into the area every round, ta da a free action heal you bunny killer you.
Warlock hexblade has been mentioned but just 2 levels in warlock will get you invocations - one of which could be fiendish vigor for a reusable 1d4+4 temporary hit points. Bladeward with that up can really lower the damage you take BUT a 2necro or abjurer / 2 warlock? you may lose some spell casting but you end up with utility magic.
The commentary on taking early dips is accurate. Hypothetical x3/y7 characters may seem great, but playing up through those early levels will leave you more vulnerable quite often and if your going to lean on your party to offset that vulnerability for that? Then why not accept that one player cant do everything and rely on your friends to work with you to avoid your wizard being hurt to often.
All that said, thematically I love the idea that after being hurt in the war the wizard devoted himself to learning more about the honourable art of fisticuffs. :)