A list to help you out: #Alert: great initiative bonus, no surprise. Especially good for positioning as a monk. #Defensive Duelist: proficiency bonus to the CA as long as you're fighting with a finesse weapon. Extra good to a kensei monk. Can be done once per round, as a reaction. #Grappler: Adv. on attacks against someone grappled, but mainly for the advantage on grappled creatures. #Mobile: even more mobility, with extra movement and the ability to kinda ignore difficult terrain, plus if you attack an enemy, it won't be able to hit back in an opportunity attack (personal note, be aware when fighting multiple opponents). #Martial Adept: You gain two maneuvers from the battle master, and 1d6 superiority dice, just for variety. Suggestions include: trip attack(?), reaching attack, evasive footwork and sweeping attack. All of this is already in the video, just getting the text out bc I always have a problem with lists if I can go on referencing as I watch
@@alfonsocruz6100 I can see why. With Astral Self you use your reach to hit and move without opportunity attacks but that doesn't help when they move on you.
Tough is super good if you pair it with a dragon ancestry sorcerer because the dragon ancestry sorcerer gets a plus-one innately to there HP every level up so by fourth level you should be getting anywhere between + 4 to + 8 HP every level A little tip take one level and dragon ancestry sorcerer And every other level in Wizard and watch your HP rise exponentially looking through the player handbook if you go hill dwarf Dragon sorcerer with the tough feet you'll have anywhere from + 5 to + 9 HP each level
Sentinel is amazingly useful. You choose to engage and disengage with your Ki abilities, but preventing enemies from retreating makes you a mobile stop-block if you intercept enemies
Honestly never thought about how effective defensive duelist can be for a monk. While it’s only for one attack roll, it’s a good way to potentially mitigate some melee damage. Monks can reduce fall damage, reduce a ranged weapons damage, and eventually gain proficiency in all saves and Rerolling failed saves. This can be a great way to round out a monks defense. I like mage slayer for monks. A monk has the ability to potentially bypass swathes of creatures with its high movement, medium size, and bonus action disengage features. This means that there’s a reasonably high chance a monk will be able to get to a caster even if they’re behind a bunch of creatures or even a great distance away. While a monk probably won’t be able to kill a caster outright, the monk with this feat would impose disadvantage on every concentration check caused by the hits, as well as potentially stunning the caster with stunning strikes on those same hits. A monk would most likely be able to close gaps if the caster teleported, and if the caster casts a spell while within 5 feet they would be potentially struck and stunned on their turn. Can really lock down casters by peppering them with a wall of concentration saves and stunning strike saves.
Couldn't recommend fey-touched enough. Choose hex as your choosable spell, and spend one bonus action to add it, and then you can add D6's to every subsequent attack. Misty step doesn't hurt either
I genuinely can't imagine making a monk without trying to get Crusher, Sentinel, and maybe Polearm Master at some point. Whether through ASI, level 1 bonus feats/divine boons, or any sort of non monetary quest rewards. Those 3 feats amplify so much of what the monk's class features aim to do.
Crusher counts for your unarmed as well. War hammers are versatile d10 you can still take your bonus action off hand or flurry of blows attack with it.
Mobile is so good. I use it on my one monk to run through enemy lines and split up attacks trying to stunning strike who I can to let my teamates have a fun time. And hit or miss, no opportunity attacks as i take back off lol.
Great picks. Of course healer is pretty highly regarded, but a monk had has the movement to make it work. I’m always the cleric and would welcome any help from others when it comes to healing.
Hey Richard, just thought of another feat for a monk: Fighting Initiate!! Playing a variant human, take this feat at level 1 and take the Unarmed Fighting style and you're dealing a d8 plus your Dex modifier AT LEVEL 1!!!!! Then, once you reach level 11(when your unarmed strikes become a d8 anyway), you can change it to the Defense fighting style and get a +1 to your AC. Never a bad thing IMHO!!
Grappler Pair this and a dip into level 1-2 barbarian and you have the classic strong man archetype plus you shutdown any mage on the field. Use one hand to choke them and the other to punch. Good luck casting a spell without vocal components
This made me think of using the Grappler along with the Astral Self Tradition since that on can replace strength checks with wisdom checks making grappling easier without having to boost strength.
I was today years old when I first watched this video…algorithm things. Also - a Tabaxi can use its own claws to make “Unarmed Attacks”. This, combined with the Slasher feat, makes it a great candidate for the Open Hand subclass. Knocking critters prone AND imposing a -10’ on their movement is very effective.
Just discovered this hidden gem of a channel. Please keep up the good work. I just made a tempest cleric and I feel confident about my choice because of you
I used to love the Mobile Option, but it forces you to attack the target to avoid their OP attack. The Evasive Footwork Battle Maneuver is far better, since you can add 1d6 to your AC AND pick another maneuver to boot. If you are a Monk, it is unlikely anyone on the board could outrun you anyway, so the bonus speed isn't always necessary 🥰 As a replacement for Mobile, I recommend Lucky, or Savage Attacker. Lucky can help a Monk avoid some hard hits (thereby preserving the need to heal which is a weakness of theirs) as well as land some clutch Stun Strikes (and is also useful for checks in Roleplay). Meanwhile, Savage Attacker can help you re-roll a low damage output and make the "death by a thousand cuts" tactic a bit less drawn out ☺️
A new feat from Tasha but the fighting in initiate feat and pick up unarmed fighting as either a first level feat or at 4th level. This boosts your punches up to d8s which you won’t get with your martial art die until 11 level. And then once you get to that point you can switch it out for another fighting style. Or you can pick up a fighting style for your monk. A shadow monk could make use of blind fighting and a kensei monk could use archery and any monk that uses a short sword could use dueling or interception
One of the biggest weaknesses of monks is that they don't really scale that well with feats, as there isn't really any feats that increase the damage of your typical monk. Which is one of the reasons why I really like a Kensei monk focused on archery, as then you can benefit from feats such as sharpshooter (and some of the ones coming out in Tasha's) to really boost your effectiveness.
At high lvls you kind of have to look at a monk as a fighter using a one handed weapon. defensive and damage over time till you can get that good hit in
@@OutlawWalker That changed to me with the Astral Self subclass, now I feel like am a Monk playing as a Monk, if u know what I mean (PUNCHES 4 EVERYONE and sometimes strategy [movement])
@@CURTIS017 all unarmed strikes bludgeoning damage which would make it that one of your unarmed strikes would make it that push them back by 5ft not to mention that on a critical all of your other attacks will be with advantage along with your teammates
i like to use logick to homebrew rules in game. Fir example - you can't catch arrow if you has weapon and grab someone, but you can instead use grabbed enemy as shield to cover yourself from projectile.
I would go with either Gunner or Weapon Master. With changes to the Monk from Tasha's, any weapon that is not Heavy or Special can become a Monk weapon for a day as part of their morning routines; both of these feats provide half-ASI for Dexterity, and additionally gives the Monk more options for weapons than just a stick and fists for the earlier levels. In addition, the Gunner feat would allow a Monk to be a gunkata master with enough time, depending on the Way of the Monk's choosing, as you would be able to shoot someone from point-blank range while kicking them.
I think polearm master/sentinel is underestimated for monks, especially if you take crusher too: using the quarterstaff, you can hit someone who comes near you, they don’t get to move, and if you have taken crusher you can shove them back (preventing them getting any hits on you, given they can’t move after sentinel).
I was thinking Magic Initiate. Druid for the cantrip Primal Savagery. A melee spell attack that does 1d10 acid damage. Or wizard for Shocking Grasp. A melee spell attack that does 1d8 lightning damage, the target can not use reactions until the end of your next turn. Shocking Grasp gets advantage against metal armor. I use this for build that don't get magic.
Alert: get to the top of the initiative order, four attacks (or more if you have ki points to spare) plus stunning strike. Yeah that's a helluva first round.
Wild Talent (Dexterity) UA allows you to boost your damage and opens up Telekinetic (UA) to supplement your incredible manouevrability with bonus action enemies-fly-into-your-fists.
Hey Richard, I'm kinda surprised that you didn't even bother mentioning the Crusher feat!! Think about it. The majority of damage dealt by monks is bludgeoning damage!! Why not augment that part of the character? Add +1 to Con and move creatures back 5 feet and when you crit with a bludgeoning attack, attacks against that creature have advantage until the end of your next turn!! Thoughts?
On an opponent that is prone, you can use a contested grappling attack using a str or dex check. On a successful str check you grab the opponent limb injuring it (giving it a -2 to its attacks or -5 feet of movement). On a successful dex check you apply a hold to the opponents neck and begin to squeeze (causing 1d6+ dex mod dmg and opponent is restrained) opponent can make a dex or str check (dc15) on its turn to get free. On a failed save during its turn it suffers 1d6+ dex mod and remains restrained. What do you think?
I took Unarmed Fighting style to turn my d4 unarmed strikes into d8's, though I only took it because our DM allowed us to have a feat at level 1 and I thought potentially doubling my damage output from the getgo was hilarious
Take any of the Student feats from the Strixhaven backgrounds, that gives you the Strixhaven Initiate feat for free, with that you can get you Mage Armor, now your AC is 13+Dex+Wis for 8hours. Human variant as race, take Fighting Initiate and get unarmed combat, bumps your unarmed damage to d8 at 1st level, when it gets higher through level progressing you can swap to another feature from Fighting Initiate like Blind Fighting.
Mage Armor is great but you can only benefit from one type of AC calculation when you have multiple sources. So between: 10 + DEX (Default AC calculation) 10 + DEX + WIS (Monk's Unarmored Defense) 13 + DEX (Mage Armor) You generally take the highest pick. The Shield Spell is usually very nifty.
don't take grappler, shove the creature you are grappling to get it prone and you get the same effect as the first point and a better effect than the second, all without expending an ability score improvement
Now that Tasha's Guide to Everything is out and monks have the Dedicated Weapon option, the Weapon Master feat doesn't suck so much. Half ASI (+1 Dex) and proficiency in 4 weapons (one of which can become a monk weapon after a rest, as long as it lacks the heavy and/or special properties), and you don't need to be a Kensei to do it! A longsword can be used two-handed (versatile) for 1d10 damage certainly beats a short sword or even a spear!
Yeah dips are pretty crazy if you think about it, pretty sure there's no Multiple Atribute penalty for cleric you could grab something really crazy worst case you have to stay an extra level on account of the channel divinity being so decent. Marked for death is great on an assassin although I believe it's redundant if you have surprise or they haven't gone yet, or some other rogue. Needs to be a single big attack though.
Alert - You can’t be surprised while you are conscious. Elf Trance - Elves don’t need to sleep. Instead, they meditate deeply, remaining semiconscious, for 4 hours a day. Would this mean you can't be surprised during trance as well?
That's an interesting thought. In my opinion since the wording for alert says "conscious" and the trance says "semiconscious" I would rule that one can be surprised while in a trance. Though I'm sure there are plenty who would disagree.
@@TheRPGDaily Thanks for the reply. Even my DM isn't sure as it is somewhat unclear. Semiconscious would suggest some kind of consciousness, then again the semi part suggests it's not entirely so. I'll have a talk with the DM again about this. Maybe we can figure something out, for example a disadvantage or just some kind of roll to determine if you notice or not.
@@TheRPGDaily I have a Wood Elf Kensei Monk, the more exotic races are not available in our campain, only the basic. But I gotta say, it works like a charm. I'm not the main tank but kinda work like a very mobile combination and versatile 2nd tank and damage dealer. Basically, a tank, melee and ranged. Thinking about picking the Sharpshooter feat next. Can recommend playing one, extremely fun.
@owatahfuhlyem No worries, both my GM and myself feel the same now after discussing it for quite a while. It sometimes takes some time to think it through. Besides, a long rest of only 4 hrs is already benefit enough AND the Alert feat on itself as well. My character still took it because it's a wonderful feat.
Or crusher. Doesn’t pump a stat as well as the others but now each of you punches let you push a target so it can make a great tag team with a spell casters control spell especially if you’re able to get a stun off.
A short question. When should you take a feat and when a stat? Arent stats in most cases better? Because, your Ac rise. As your chance to hit a enemy? The observant feat would be good, when the monk has the role of the scout. But it is unclear for me, if it is good, to invest in passiv preception. Because, what i read is, that the gm decided, if he use the passiv check. or let the dice activ role (with this feat, my monk would have a passiv preception of 20, witth lvl 4).
If you must play a monk, take almost no feats. The only exception I can think of is half elf (with custom origin +2 Dex +1 wis ) taking EA to round out an odd dex Stat. If you get to the last asi you can take a feat now that you're 20 in wis and dex. If you go variant human fey touched isn't terrible, but the hex is going to get in the way of martial arts. Honestly, though, just don't roll a monk. They are a very poorly designed class. Unless the rest of the party is playing very unoptimized builds, by level 10 you're going to feel terrible. If you want to punch people to death, varient human fighter with tavern brawler and unarmed fighting style is going to feel MUCH better.
@@jameshernandez4112 Per short rest, Fighters get 1-2 Action Surges. Monks get 2-6 Flurries of Blows. Also, Tavern Brawler's redundant with Unarmed Fighting Style. For d8, get a lvl 1 Monk with Fighting Initiate (Unarmed Fighting Style), then switch Styles when your Martial Arts reaches d8.
I think this could be really nice to take early on if you're not playing to high levels, but it eventually begins to overlap with other monk stuff. Like at level 7 you can shrug off charmed or frightened (which a lot of wis saves are trying to achieve), and at 14 (though realistically most campaigns don't get there) you get prof in all saving throws. I think unless you start with it as a variant human, might be better to just increase wisdom normally. Personally I just played a monk with Sentinel and really enjoyed it... more attacks! Give me more! It's probably not as powerful compared to some other feats, but it certainly was fun to shout "SENTINEL ATTACK!" when my DM hit my allies.
I think Observant feat would be better for Monks for the +1 in Wis. You get the ability shrug status effects off common for Wisdom saves at early levels, and later on, you get to have proficiency on all saving throws. At least with Observant, you get to utilize the feat at all levels.
Magic initiative Kensei Monk: Apply Hex and Booming blade to your Kensei modifiers and you become a true force of nature. I used this combo on a hydra and obliterated it in three turns!
Booming Blade is not applied to a weapon, it takes your action to cast and makes you roll one attack,. It's not the same as taking an Attack Action. You cannot make multiple attacks nor spend the bonus action on Flurry of Blows, though.
@@b_olson542 you mean someone wants to follow the rules? Oh what a madman! Anyway I'm just pointing out that this doesn't work, plenty of people would care about the rules and not allow it on their table. The correct information never hurts anyone
Dude. You are just highlighting semantic difference between how the rules apply and what the man is saying. Chill out! And stop 💩💩ing on a guy having fun with a monk build.
@@b_olson542 it's not semantics. And I'm not saying they should stop, I'm helping anyone who would want to try it and not realize it doesn't work. If they don't care that it goes against the rules, it's their choice.
unless your starting at level 4 or using a variant human you don't get any feats at the start. once you hit level 4 you can take one if your DM is allowing feats.
DMs should give a starter feat and the opportunity for decent stats out the gate, otherwise you're essentially just playing warhammer. Hummans should get +1 to everything and 2 feats.
A list to help you out:
#Alert: great initiative bonus, no surprise. Especially good for positioning as a monk.
#Defensive Duelist: proficiency bonus to the CA as long as you're fighting with a finesse weapon. Extra good to a kensei monk. Can be done once per round, as a reaction.
#Grappler: Adv. on attacks against someone grappled, but mainly for the advantage on grappled creatures.
#Mobile: even more mobility, with extra movement and the ability to kinda ignore difficult terrain, plus if you attack an enemy, it won't be able to hit back in an opportunity attack (personal note, be aware when fighting multiple opponents).
#Martial Adept: You gain two maneuvers from the battle master, and 1d6 superiority dice, just for variety. Suggestions include: trip attack(?), reaching attack, evasive footwork and sweeping attack.
All of this is already in the video, just getting the text out bc I always have a problem with lists if I can go on referencing as I watch
May be boring but I love tough feat. Amount of times that the extra hp helped is just too good.
When I was building my 5th level Astral Self Monk I had a hard time deciding between Tough and Mobile feat.
I choosed Mobile
@@alfonsocruz6100 I can see why. With Astral Self you use your reach to hit and move without opportunity attacks but that doesn't help when they move on you.
Tough is super good if you pair it with a dragon ancestry sorcerer because the dragon ancestry sorcerer gets a plus-one innately to there HP every level up so by fourth level you should be getting anywhere between + 4 to + 8 HP every level
A little tip take one level and dragon ancestry sorcerer And every other level in Wizard and watch your HP rise exponentially
looking through the player handbook if you go hill dwarf Dragon sorcerer with the tough feet you'll have anywhere from + 5 to + 9 HP each level
Agreed, I'm playing a monk for the first time, and despite the good AC dodge tank, as soon as they catch you, you're very squishy with that 1D8 hp
I KNOW. My level 11 wizard had 80 health. Taking the tough feat, he bumped up to 111. THIRTY ONE HEALTH IN ONE LEVEL UP FOR A WIZARD IS INSANE
The Observant feat is pretty great.
+1 to wisdom, +5 to both passive perception and passive investigation, & the read lips ability is great for RP
Yeah thats another feat that would work well with almost any class!
@@TheRPGDaily I feel it works even better with tounge of sun and moon
Sentinel is amazingly useful. You choose to engage and disengage with your Ki abilities, but preventing enemies from retreating makes you a mobile stop-block if you intercept enemies
Honestly never thought about how effective defensive duelist can be for a monk. While it’s only for one attack roll, it’s a good way to potentially mitigate some melee damage.
Monks can reduce fall damage, reduce a ranged weapons damage, and eventually gain proficiency in all saves and Rerolling failed saves. This can be a great way to round out a monks defense.
I like mage slayer for monks. A monk has the ability to potentially bypass swathes of creatures with its high movement, medium size, and bonus action disengage features. This means that there’s a reasonably high chance a monk will be able to get to a caster even if they’re behind a bunch of creatures or even a great distance away. While a monk probably won’t be able to kill a caster outright, the monk with this feat would impose disadvantage on every concentration check caused by the hits, as well as potentially stunning the caster with stunning strikes on those same hits. A monk would most likely be able to close gaps if the caster teleported, and if the caster casts a spell while within 5 feet they would be potentially struck and stunned on their turn. Can really lock down casters by peppering them with a wall of concentration saves and stunning strike saves.
Yeah I can see mage slayer working very well in that context, which would probably happen quite a bit depending on the campaign.
And then it becomes the Running Back beating up the nerd.
Couldn't recommend fey-touched enough. Choose hex as your choosable spell, and spend one bonus action to add it, and then you can add D6's to every subsequent attack. Misty step doesn't hurt either
I genuinely can't imagine making a monk without trying to get Crusher, Sentinel, and maybe Polearm Master at some point. Whether through ASI, level 1 bonus feats/divine boons, or any sort of non monetary quest rewards. Those 3 feats amplify so much of what the monk's class features aim to do.
Crusher counts for your unarmed as well. War hammers are versatile d10 you can still take your bonus action off hand or flurry of blows attack with it.
Mobile is so good. I use it on my one monk to run through enemy lines and split up attacks trying to stunning strike who I can to let my teamates have a fun time. And hit or miss, no opportunity attacks as i take back off lol.
I can't picture a monk without it!
Great picks. Of course healer is pretty highly regarded, but a monk had has the movement to make it work.
I’m always the cleric and would welcome any help from others when it comes to healing.
With a cleric of life it's nearly annoying if you as another player has something to heal... that is so awesome.
Hey Richard, just thought of another feat for a monk: Fighting Initiate!! Playing a variant human, take this feat at level 1 and take the Unarmed Fighting style and you're dealing a d8 plus your Dex modifier AT LEVEL 1!!!!! Then, once you reach level 11(when your unarmed strikes become a d8 anyway), you can change it to the Defense fighting style and get a +1 to your AC. Never a bad thing IMHO!!
Grappler
Pair this and a dip into level 1-2 barbarian and you have the classic strong man archetype
plus you shutdown any mage on the field. Use one hand to choke them and the other to punch. Good luck casting a spell without vocal components
This made me think of using the Grappler along with the Astral Self Tradition since that on can replace strength checks with wisdom checks making grappling easier without having to boost strength.
I was today years old when I first watched this video…algorithm things.
Also - a Tabaxi can use its own claws to make “Unarmed Attacks”.
This, combined with the Slasher feat, makes it a great candidate for the Open Hand subclass.
Knocking critters prone AND imposing a -10’ on their movement is very effective.
Just discovered this hidden gem of a channel. Please keep up the good work. I just made a tempest cleric and I feel confident about my choice because of you
I'm glad you found the channel! The world is crazy but I'll be back in no time!
I used to love the Mobile Option, but it forces you to attack the target to avoid their OP attack. The Evasive Footwork Battle Maneuver is far better, since you can add 1d6 to your AC AND pick another maneuver to boot. If you are a Monk, it is unlikely anyone on the board could outrun you anyway, so the bonus speed isn't always necessary 🥰
As a replacement for Mobile, I recommend Lucky, or Savage Attacker. Lucky can help a Monk avoid some hard hits (thereby preserving the need to heal which is a weakness of theirs) as well as land some clutch Stun Strikes (and is also useful for checks in Roleplay). Meanwhile, Savage Attacker can help you re-roll a low damage output and make the "death by a thousand cuts" tactic a bit less drawn out ☺️
A new feat from Tasha but the fighting in initiate feat and pick up unarmed fighting as either a first level feat or at 4th level. This boosts your punches up to d8s which you won’t get with your martial art die until 11 level. And then once you get to that point you can switch it out for another fighting style. Or you can pick up a fighting style for your monk. A shadow monk could make use of blind fighting and a kensei monk could use archery and any monk that uses a short sword could use dueling or interception
One of the biggest weaknesses of monks is that they don't really scale that well with feats, as there isn't really any feats that increase the damage of your typical monk. Which is one of the reasons why I really like a Kensei monk focused on archery, as then you can benefit from feats such as sharpshooter (and some of the ones coming out in Tasha's) to really boost your effectiveness.
That's a good point! I haven't played monks to a high level yet. but i can see what you mean.
At high lvls you kind of have to look at a monk as a fighter using a one handed weapon. defensive and damage over time till you can get that good hit in
@@OutlawWalker That changed to me with the Astral Self subclass, now I feel like am a Monk playing as a Monk, if u know what I mean
(PUNCHES 4 EVERYONE and sometimes strategy [movement])
I chose magic initiate for hex and it’s great for kensei
There is one in tashas which I know it wasn’t released yet I recommend crusher feat
Why crusher
@@CURTIS017 all unarmed strikes bludgeoning damage which would make it that one of your unarmed strikes would make it that push them back by 5ft not to mention that on a critical all of your other attacks will be with advantage along with your teammates
i like to use logick to homebrew rules in game.
Fir example - you can't catch arrow if you has weapon and grab someone, but you can instead use grabbed enemy as shield to cover yourself from projectile.
I would go with either Gunner or Weapon Master.
With changes to the Monk from Tasha's, any weapon that is not Heavy or Special can become a Monk weapon for a day as part of their morning routines; both of these feats provide half-ASI for Dexterity, and additionally gives the Monk more options for weapons than just a stick and fists for the earlier levels. In addition, the Gunner feat would allow a Monk to be a gunkata master with enough time, depending on the Way of the Monk's choosing, as you would be able to shoot someone from point-blank range while kicking them.
I think polearm master/sentinel is underestimated for monks, especially if you take crusher too: using the quarterstaff, you can hit someone who comes near you, they don’t get to move, and if you have taken crusher you can shove them back (preventing them getting any hits on you, given they can’t move after sentinel).
I was thinking Magic Initiate. Druid for the cantrip Primal Savagery. A melee spell attack that does 1d10 acid damage. Or wizard for Shocking Grasp. A melee spell attack that does 1d8 lightning damage, the target can not use reactions until the end of your next turn. Shocking Grasp gets advantage against metal armor. I use this for build that don't get magic.
Fae touched: +1 wis, Misty Step and Bless,
Shadow Touched +1 wis, Invis and Inflict wounds
Those ones are great! Thanks for sharing!
Alert: get to the top of the initiative order, four attacks (or more if you have ki points to spare) plus stunning strike.
Yeah that's a helluva first round.
Magic Initiate (Druid) with the Thorn Whip and Shileilagh cantrips and Fog spell.
Wild Talent (Dexterity) UA allows you to boost your damage and opens up Telekinetic (UA) to supplement your incredible manouevrability with bonus action enemies-fly-into-your-fists.
Hey Richard, I'm kinda surprised that you didn't even bother mentioning the Crusher feat!! Think about it. The majority of damage dealt by monks is bludgeoning damage!! Why not augment that part of the character? Add +1 to Con and move creatures back 5 feet and when you crit with a bludgeoning attack, attacks against that creature have advantage until the end of your next turn!! Thoughts?
On an opponent that is prone, you can use a contested grappling attack using a str or dex check. On a successful str check you grab the opponent limb injuring it (giving it a -2 to its attacks or -5 feet of movement). On a successful dex check you apply a hold to the opponents neck and begin to squeeze (causing 1d6+ dex mod dmg and opponent is restrained) opponent can make a dex or str check (dc15) on its turn to get free. On a failed save during its turn it suffers 1d6+ dex mod and remains restrained. What do you think?
Grappler and alert my 2 favorite for a monk!
An alert monk. Sheesh.
I took Unarmed Fighting style to turn my d4 unarmed strikes into d8's, though I only took it because our DM allowed us to have a feat at level 1 and I thought potentially doubling my damage output from the getgo was hilarious
So Martial Adept, just 1 maneuver per short rest? Is that really worth it?
Take any of the Student feats from the Strixhaven backgrounds, that gives you the Strixhaven Initiate feat for free, with that you can get you Mage Armor, now your AC is 13+Dex+Wis for 8hours. Human variant as race, take Fighting Initiate and get unarmed combat, bumps your unarmed damage to d8 at 1st level, when it gets higher through level progressing you can swap to another feature from Fighting Initiate like Blind Fighting.
Mage Armor is great but you can only benefit from one type of AC calculation when you have multiple sources.
So between:
10 + DEX (Default AC calculation)
10 + DEX + WIS (Monk's Unarmored Defense)
13 + DEX (Mage Armor)
You generally take the highest pick. The Shield Spell is usually very nifty.
I play a Grung Way of Mercy / Cleric Death Domain multiclass that picked up the poisoner and healer feats. Loads of fun
That does sound fun!
don't take grappler, shove the creature you are grappling to get it prone and you get the same effect as the first point and a better effect than the second, all without expending an ability score improvement
Now that Tasha's Guide to Everything is out and monks have the Dedicated Weapon option, the Weapon Master feat doesn't suck so much. Half ASI (+1 Dex) and proficiency in 4 weapons (one of which can become a monk weapon after a rest, as long as it lacks the heavy and/or special properties), and you don't need to be a Kensei to do it! A longsword can be used two-handed (versatile) for 1d10 damage certainly beats a short sword or even a spear!
I'd say take a 1-level dip for that proficiency + 1 short-rest spell slot + 2 cantrips + Hex + Shield + Hexblade's Curse instead.
Yeah dips are pretty crazy if you think about it, pretty sure there's no Multiple Atribute penalty for cleric you could grab something really crazy worst case you have to stay an extra level on account of the channel divinity being so decent.
Marked for death is great on an assassin although I believe it's redundant if you have surprise or they haven't gone yet, or some other rogue. Needs to be a single big attack though.
Alert - You can’t be surprised while you are conscious.
Elf Trance - Elves don’t need to sleep. Instead, they meditate deeply, remaining semiconscious, for 4 hours a day.
Would this mean you can't be surprised during trance as well?
That's an interesting thought. In my opinion since the wording for alert says "conscious" and the trance says "semiconscious" I would rule that one can be surprised while in a trance. Though I'm sure there are plenty who would disagree.
@@TheRPGDaily Thanks for the reply. Even my DM isn't sure as it is somewhat unclear. Semiconscious would suggest some kind of consciousness, then again the semi part suggests it's not entirely so. I'll have a talk with the DM again about this. Maybe we can figure something out, for example a disadvantage or just some kind of roll to determine if you notice or not.
@@TheRPGDaily I have a Wood Elf Kensei Monk, the more exotic races are not available in our campain, only the basic. But I gotta say, it works like a charm. I'm not the main tank but kinda work like a very mobile combination and versatile 2nd tank and damage dealer. Basically, a tank, melee and ranged. Thinking about picking the Sharpshooter feat next. Can recommend playing one, extremely fun.
@@joost9098 yeah every DM will judge it differently for different reasons. Its always a good idea to talk it out!
@owatahfuhlyem No worries, both my GM and myself feel the same now after discussing it for quite a while. It sometimes takes some time to think it through. Besides, a long rest of only 4 hrs is already benefit enough AND the Alert feat on itself as well. My character still took it because it's a wonderful feat.
Polearm master
Get opportunity attacks when people come into your reach and use that to stunning strike so they can't attack.
I'm only level 6 but I really, REALLY, love Sentinel.
Piercer is worth a look too. Ability score increase plus making almost every melee or ranged monk weapon more potent.
Or crusher. Doesn’t pump a stat as well as the others but now each of you punches let you push a target so it can make a great tag team with a spell casters control spell especially if you’re able to get a stun off.
A short question. When should you take a feat and when a stat?
Arent stats in most cases better? Because, your Ac rise. As your chance to hit a enemy?
The observant feat would be good, when the monk has the role of the scout. But it is unclear for me, if it is good, to invest in passiv preception. Because, what i read is, that the gm decided, if he use the passiv check. or let the dice activ role (with this feat, my monk would have a passiv preception of 20, witth lvl 4).
If you must play a monk, take almost no feats. The only exception I can think of is half elf (with custom origin +2 Dex +1 wis ) taking EA to round out an odd dex Stat. If you get to the last asi you can take a feat now that you're 20 in wis and dex. If you go variant human fey touched isn't terrible, but the hex is going to get in the way of martial arts.
Honestly, though, just don't roll a monk. They are a very poorly designed class. Unless the rest of the party is playing very unoptimized builds, by level 10 you're going to feel terrible.
If you want to punch people to death, varient human fighter with tavern brawler and unarmed fighting style is going to feel MUCH better.
@@jameshernandez4112 Per short rest, Fighters get 1-2 Action Surges. Monks get 2-6 Flurries of Blows. Also, Tavern Brawler's redundant with Unarmed Fighting Style.
For d8, get a lvl 1 Monk with Fighting Initiate (Unarmed Fighting Style), then switch Styles when your Martial Arts reaches d8.
Mobile and Crusher!!
Sleeper pick: Resilient. Pick wisdom for extra AC and proficiency is an especially important saving throw.
I think this could be really nice to take early on if you're not playing to high levels, but it eventually begins to overlap with other monk stuff. Like at level 7 you can shrug off charmed or frightened (which a lot of wis saves are trying to achieve), and at 14 (though realistically most campaigns don't get there) you get prof in all saving throws. I think unless you start with it as a variant human, might be better to just increase wisdom normally. Personally I just played a monk with Sentinel and really enjoyed it... more attacks! Give me more! It's probably not as powerful compared to some other feats, but it certainly was fun to shout "SENTINEL ATTACK!" when my DM hit my allies.
I think Observant feat would be better for Monks for the +1 in Wis. You get the ability shrug status effects off common for Wisdom saves at early levels, and later on, you get to have proficiency on all saving throws. At least with Observant, you get to utilize the feat at all levels.
Ring of the Ram is also fantastic.
Monks only have 2 feets - Dindor
Defensive duelist doesn't stack with DEX+WIS bonus AC calc. So you can do it but your AC will drop by your WIS bonus.
I am very interested in seeing where you had found this stated? My researching didn't come up with anything like this restriction.
@@TheRPGDaily Looking now. I could have sworn I saw clarification on that on a WOTC forum but maybe I'm mistaken because now I can't locate it.
If a DM says I cannot take a legal feat, he is not a worthy DM.
Fighting Initiate into Unarmed Fighting
Skill Expert
distracted by the cute DM...
Magic initiative Kensei Monk:
Apply Hex and Booming blade to your Kensei modifiers and you become a true force of nature.
I used this combo on a hydra and obliterated it in three turns!
Booming Blade is not applied to a weapon, it takes your action to cast and makes you roll one attack,. It's not the same as taking an Attack Action. You cannot make multiple attacks nor spend the bonus action on Flurry of Blows, though.
Rules lawyer type. ☝️☝️
@@b_olson542 you mean someone wants to follow the rules? Oh what a madman!
Anyway I'm just pointing out that this doesn't work, plenty of people would care about the rules and not allow it on their table. The correct information never hurts anyone
Dude. You are just highlighting semantic difference between how the rules apply and what the man is saying. Chill out!
And stop 💩💩ing on a guy having fun with a monk build.
@@b_olson542 it's not semantics. And I'm not saying they should stop, I'm helping anyone who would want to try it and not realize it doesn't work. If they don't care that it goes against the rules, it's their choice.
Am I the only one who likes Sentinel rather than Defensive Duelist? Observant rather than Grappler?
What about magic initiate feat
I made my char a monk draconic do I get any of these feats from the beginning?
unless your starting at level 4 or using a variant human you don't get any feats at the start. once you hit level 4 you can take one if your DM is allowing feats.
@@TheRPGDaily Variant human doesn't exist.
DMs should give a starter feat and the opportunity for decent stats out the gate, otherwise you're essentially just playing warhammer. Hummans should get +1 to everything and 2 feats.
Crusher?