I dont mean to be offtopic but does any of you know of a tool to log back into an Instagram account..? I was dumb lost my password. I love any tips you can give me
@Leo Samir I really appreciate your reply. I found the site thru google and I'm in the hacking process now. I see it takes a while so I will reply here later when my account password hopefully is recovered.
I played a Tabaxi monk for a short bit and they seem made for this class especially with feline agility with the double movement, and Claws so you can have either bludgeoning or slashing damage. you also have a climbing speed. with their darkvision, I think they make the ultimate shadow monk.
Base speed + Dash x Feline Agility = 120ft of pure awesome. Saved myself and the Gnome cleric riding on my shoulders from a party wipe last sunday with that. :P
@@Roshiyu yeah and that's just the beginning also you can hide poison on each set of retractable claws switching them out to add poison into a massive one off attack for your flurry of poison blows, you get the proficiency for stealth and perception allowing you to effectively stealth alongside your rouge without being dead weight.
Drunken Tabaxi Monks are pretty good too. Disengage after every flurry of blows, climb speed so even if someone wants to chase after you after you disengage they still can't reach you without a bow...Plus, you can roleplay your "alchohol" as catnip. Lol
When I finally get everything ready and I start playing again my Tabaxi character is going to be a Way of the Ascendant Dragon Monk and yes I'm already aware of how ridiculously high her speed/movement is going to be thanks to base speed , Feline Agility, Unarmored Movement, and Step of the Wind + Wings Unfurled, along with having both Darkvision, and later on at level 17 Blind Sense thanks to the final ability granted to Way of the Ascendant Dragon Monks, along with having with three types of unarmed damage bludgeoning, slashing, and elemental damage thanks to both Claws, and the fact level 3 aka Way of the Ascendant Dragon level 1 grants access to Elemental Punches, and Kicks, along with the climbing speed.
I built a whole story line about a Shadow Kenku who's temple valued secrets and knowledge more than anything, so being able to repeat back whoever you have spied upon made him valuable
aarakocra monk is no. 1! (if you don't mind being a jerk to your DM) having such a significant flying capability, any encounter that is not enclosed, you will spend in the air. DM: "i will just put more archers in the combats", player: "I will just catch the arrows and throw them back." DM: "spells it is then" Player:"proficient in all saves. and take no damage on Dex save success. immune to disease and poison, also i can end frightened and charmed." DM: "then i will rip you from the sky" Player: "slow fall" DM:" well at least you don't have many options to fight back while in the air." Player:" oh btw Sun Soul."
Teenage Tortle Shadow Monk + 3 levels of Assassin Rogue = Teenaged Multiclassed Ninja Tortle. I would also add in 2 levels of Warlock for Mask of Many Faces and Devil's Sight. Then, you're basically a Faceless Man from Game of Thrones.
Nerdarchy yes but you can grapple form two spaces away And you don’t provoke opportunity attacks when you are 10 feet away So you can run around punching people with no consequence
@@BahamutZerodragon I think it would be called a flying bicycle buck... I'd imagine a Centaur's bicycle would look like a two seated one but with a really big bannana seat replacing the two individual seats... Centaur on a bicycle...
I played a Wood Elf Kensai Zen Archer in a one shot and he was really effective. And thematically, the idea of a character who could spend a hundred years mastering a weapon seemed to fit with the Kensai.
I'm a little late to this party, but I absolutely love my Firbolg monk. Being built backwards (i.e. higher WIS than DEX) really comes in handy with Open Hand Technique, because all those saves from 3rd-level abilities (and Stunning Strike) use your WIS modifier for DC. You can go AL-Legal w/ a DC of 17 in Tier 2 and still run +7 to hit even without magic items.
@@conradsmight587 With Tasha variant rules? They are more than fine once you're allowed to put your ASIs wherever you want them. Granted, you still won't get much use of your dragonborn breath weapon since it takes a full action to use and has a DC determined by your con rather than one of your main ability scores like dexterity or wisdom. If you go ascendant dragon monk, I might allow some homebrew. Either you take the ravenite dragonborn's vengeful strike (found in the Wildemount book) in place of your breath weapon or I possibly give you an extra damage resistance. If you normally breathe fire, you have resistance to fire, but also have so much of a fire within you that it keeps you warm against cold damage.
Add mobile and at 20 you have the ability to move a max 420 ft in a turn when using the racial ability. I had an open hand tabaxi monk who was essentially puss in boots as a Mexican wrestler. His movement was insane
I have my own party animal/alcoholic Tabaxi of the Drunken Fist named Whisk. His antics at the start wound up causing half of Waterdeep to catch fire but don't worry no child was left behind so we can still party. Also here is what he said to a PTSD party member when they first met at the tavern. Whisk- "Hey friend what are you oh sweet morning drinking! (Grabs the vodka bottle and necks it) WOOOOO! Party!" (Breaks it on his head)
I named mine spirits the introduction to the party was in a run down tavern full of orcs, goblins and bug bears ect. all wearing hats the rule was whomever had the fanciest hat was in charge you only get three tries a year so naturally i went to the barman i rolled a 22 a 21 and 26 first two failed third nat 20 so he left me in charge of the bar i raided it managed to get my hands on quite a few bottles before he came back with a fancier hat
Centaur Monk: My old Nemesis (scene pans to a flight of stairs). Stairs. (Manages to gallop up them really fast.) Leonin Rogue: He's an odd one. Tabaxi Paladin: Given the make-up of this party, you're onto something. Grung Cleric: Anyone want me to poison their weapons? Might need it.
Glad to see my bois the Aarakocra make it into a top something and glad it was the list I was waiting for the longest. It's got both of my biases since my first character was an Aarakocra monk of the open palm and you're correct in that movement buffs unless they state specifically that it's a certain type of movement apply to all movement types. I learned this and Xisira my boi with the Mobile feat had basically had Flyby and moved at like 90 feet of flight per turn. I can recall that one shot with Xi like the back of my hand from him giving the double "birds" to our Dragonborn douche,but I repeat myself, to getting my first natural 20 attack and caving that zombie's face so much I felt my fist through the back of it's head. He's in my top 3 easily.
Oh god I almost forgot the Purell hands joke. Before we fought the zombie crew of the ship we were on Xi put holy water on his hands so we joked that he wants to keep his hands clean. Ironically enough after the fight we're all caked in black blood the enemies except his hands and feet they stayed clean.
I think kobolds are pretty good monks since they get a dex bonus. Plus their pack tactics ability lets your flurrys of punches hit pretty relieable. Its also hilarious since kobolds are generally seen as wheak, but then you have this three foot tall creature spin kick an ork in the face xD
Tabaxi. Double movement for one round, climbing speed that starts at 20 and goes up, and the ability to do bludgeoning or slashing damage with unarmed attacks. Plus proficiency in two of the most important skills (stealth and perception) and a +2 in dexterity.
Kenku have a great story potential for story based monk. What do Kenku do? Copycat. The Kenku janitor or gardener that has been watching the monastery students train for a decade could pick up mad skills. His quest is to find the greatest fighters and copy their moves.
Playing an 11th lvl Ferral tiefling shadow monk with the mobile feat and It’s really fun. I love using its tail as flavor for unarmed strikes and when describing acrobatic “parcour” movements. I managed to get bracers of defence and cloak of displacement for it. All I need now is either boots of speed for him to become a 120ft movement, uncatchable rocket & stun-machine that is displaced, can run on any surface and can teleport/shadowstep behind enemies or to safety... Or become invisble whenever he steps into shadows/dim light. Another option would be boots of flying to give him the ultimate 3D freedom of movement.
A good monk...Well, I like the kenku just because it's cool to be a kenku kensai. Honestly, I would freaking love the tortle as a race in general if not for the short lifespan, most tortoises live to be 200 years old or more. The air genassi would make a cool monk thematically...but, yea I think the wildhunt shifter is probably the best option overall.
Vid's a bit dated now, I'd love to see opinions on more recent additions.. Like a Kenku Way of Mercy monk.. (Post-errata) Kobold Way of the Ascendant Dragon.. Githzerai Way of the Astral Self..
Aarakocra sound pretty fun, probably the best mobility in the game, my friends and I are planning a Aarakocra-only campain, I don't know if i get monk or plaladin
I played an Aarakocra monk ranger. They were strong. Too bad I betrayed his instincts and went indoors wjen invited to have a drink with strangers. Had I not betrayed his instincts, he wouldn't have gotten paralyzed and ganked by Yakfolk
I played an aarakoa monk, he was over powered af. But my DM allowed my dive attack to be used as full action attacks, and added the claw slashing dmg dice to my unarmed strike dmg
As someone who owns most of the player-related books, except for "Acquisitions Incorporated", and having a bit of time on my hands (like most of us), I actually made up a list - mainly a mental one - of what race goes best to what class. Well, using the Standard Point Spread, no race has any issue doing the job of any class - the Volo's version of the Orc could be a Wizard (or an artificer) despite have a -2 intelligence penalty, and the Kobold could do the job of being a Barbarian, Fighter, Paladin, or strength-based Druid/Cleric, despite having a -2 penalty in Strength (wish that they'd reprint/mod some more of the Volo's races and monsterous races). Granted, some races/subraces do better in certain classes/subclasses, but even those can cause some eye-raising reactions - Hobgoblin Wizards anyone?
@@GrassPokeKing Well, I've heard that Volo's reprints got rid of the negative modifiers on the orc and kobold, and now I have Theros and Acquisitions Incorporated, so Orcs and Kobolds are better at the previously mentioned options. As for the Verdan (Acquisitions Incorporated) and the Leonin and Satyr (Theros), Verdan are good with Charisma-based stuff (same with satyr), and have an improved short rest healing ability (re-rolling 1s and 2s) which would be good with a martial class. Satyr like to jump, like a party, and like music. As for the Leonin - heartier Tabaxi who gave up the ability to run and climb to work on a roar that will cause folks to mess their pants - the one class they probably wouldn't be is Cleric, as they believe the Gods to be jerks who aren't worth worshiping, as per the lore. Still, even then, with a good enough backstory (like an orphaned cub being adopted by a group of priests), I don't see any real issues with any of the classes.
How about a Feral Tiefling? They get +2 to dexterity instead of charisma. The +1 to intelligence doesn't help. Their fire resistance and infernal legacy is really cool though.
Honestly there are tons of fun combinations. Mechanics and fun aren't exclusive to each other. If you think it'll be a fun character to play than it's a great build option. Nerdarchist Dave
What about Tabaxi it's a race perfect for the Monk Class top 3 stats for the Tabaxi in general are Dexterity, Wisdom, and Charisma, and generally benefit from ridiculously high speed/movement as a Monk due to a four-way combo of base speed, Feline Agility, Unarmored Movement, and Step of the Wind, two types of unarmed damage thanks to the Claws along with having a climbing speed, plus Darkvision.
Great video with a very unexpected ending! I like Aarakocra for monks although flight isn't as useful as people seem to think because in most campaigns you are going to spend a lot of time indoors or underground where there's not enough room to take flight. The class boost to speed also helps their slow walk speed though which is very useful. I also love the idea of a centaur monk running up walls.
These videos are fun, but basically any class/race combination can work. It's all up to the player and what flavor they're going for. Sometimes I think the least optimal combinations can be the funnest to play.
Remember when players made characters based on a roleplay concept ( that wasn't stupid) and not just because the stats/abilities peaked? We once called these games roleplay games for a reason. Now it's like taking an algebra pop quiz.
Me: Hey guys I got this awesome idea for a D&D character. Now just wait I think you'll like it. It's a monk and also a turtle. The GM: So basically Oogway? Me: No nothing like that at all oogway is a tortoise and I want to do a turtle! See completely different. GM: Ok ok. So what's the name? Me: Yawgoo GM: (facepalm)
Recently looked into the Kor and the Avens from plane shift something you would definitely have to talk to the dm about but both have pretty good stat combos with the class ultimately I picked a kalashtar because of the dual mind flavor as an rp anchor
Its fun. Im using the swiftstride and your movement is 45ft and 50 when shifted and whenever an enemy ends its turn near you you can use a reaction to move 10 ft away without opportunity attack
I honestly think than Hill Dwarves and Stout Halflings are a great choices, besides their fault in both main Characteristics, but they have nice things too.
I watched the vid and still a bit surprised that you passed up on kobolds and lizardfolk Kobolds: -2 STR isn't exactly a huge detriment to someone who isn't carrying any gear around anyways, and of course pack tactics is just sick, darkvision is nice, and being small but still having 30 foot movespeed is nice as well, and of course +2 Dex. Lizardfolk: they do get a wisdom bonus, they get extra skills, and they get a D6 bite which can be used as a unarmed attack, this means they can use Dexterity for their bite and can use it for every unarmed attack they make, so you're a monk that goes into a biting/feeding frenzy, and that D6 comes at character creation rather than waiting for your normal monk to get up to a D6 unarmed strike.
One of my favs I made was a drunken fist dragonborn. He’s green with poison breath which I interpreted as puke. There is also the dragon hide feat for that str based monk.
I play a wood elf monk in my current game, and I have found that this race works well with the monk class. The wood elf ability to hide in plain sight (in snow, heavy rain, mist...) And the extra 5ft movement is useful at early levels. They also get a +1 to wisdom as well as a +2 to dexterity. They do not get any increased damage or AC off the bat, but I play my character as a sort of Bruce Lee martial artist character, who utilises technique and agility above damage or brute strength.
Not statistically the best, but my Hill Dwarf Monk is a blast, especially since several of the traditional "dwarf weapons" are perfectly viable for his Kensai weapons(specifically battle axe and warhammer). :)
After we finish with Curse of Strad we are gonna start Water Deep and I was thinking about making a way of the sun tortle monk and having growths on his shell that come over the shoulders that are roughly cannon shaped and I'm gonna fire my radiant sun bolt out of them. Basically I'm playing Blastoise with hyper beam cannons instead of water cannons. I might just name him Kamex which is what Blastoise is called in Japan.
I’m way late to this party, but I just saw this. Please consider the tabaxi for a monk. They’re unlikely since it’s it’s not optimal by most standards, but she has been fun to play. Her unarmed attacks can be slashing instead of bludgeoning. She gets feline agility, which double speed is pretty sweet, and cat’s talent which gives proficiency to perception and stealth. You don’t get any bonuses for wisdom, but you can always just make it one of you higher scores.
My favourite monk jet was a warforged. It became a running joke that it didn't use flurry of blows but instead had something akin to a sledgehammer in its lower arms. It's personality was inspired by a mix of Whalle and Mr Data, and it's iabillity to comprehend any kind of joke ledd to quite a few outbursts of laughter. ^^
Kenku monk. Used to be a pirate in the crow's nest. Coveted gold and got as close to the feeling of flying as he could. Shipwrecked near a monastery. Joins and reforms from his greedy ways. Parrots his master's words of wisdom constantly. Eventually advances along the elemental path far enough that he can fly using "ride the wind".
What about hill dwarf? I recently made a 8th level monk with hill dwarf and it came out mechanically really well and is incredibly tanky. Side note he is a Luchadore called El Mano Fuerte.
@@certanmike typically not. However humans are good with everything. I mention them because they're less optimized but can be incredibly fun if you want to go outside the norm.
I played a Hill Dwarf Monk in a one-shot. The stats gave a nice headstart and I dumped ASI into his dex. He was fun to play (I picked Hill Dwarf just to throw people off).
Playing a Drunken Master Hill Dwarf monk with the Dwarven Fortitude feat right now. It's a lot of fun to play plus rolling a hit die on my patient defense is nice
Not so sure about it being the "best" race or build, but for me it's the most entertaining. Which is Aasimar (Protector) as a Monk - Way of the Sun Soul, it is straight up playing an angelic super saiyan in DnD setting. I mean, you get a mean amount of flight movement when transformed via the Monk's natural speed, and on top of which the additional radiant damage equal to your level to ALL of your attacks, and further combining that to the Way of the Sun Soul basically doing radiant hadoukens and kamehamehas. It's stupidly fun and entertaining to play having your character do their Aasimar transformation as a "power-up", again it's hilarious and I cannot overstate just how it's enormous amounts of fun.
They have created a series of Young Adventurer's Guides and the Warriors and Weapons one gives the example of a legendary Kenku shadow monk named Whey-Shu that sounds awesome.
I love my water genasi drunken master monk. They get boosts to Con and Wisdom and a swim speed so fighting in the water is no problem. Plus, the Shape Water cantrip has been a lot more useful than I originally thought. It's also great because I can flow the whiskey out of my flask during my attacks and truly become one with the booze :P
I'm a half elf dwarf way of the four elements monk who was beaten by shadow monks as a kid but was forced to be raised by them because my elven father left (I found my father 51 years later and he died a week after I met him to Hades) and my mom was a dwarf who was always in a war and couldn't raise a kid (also found her 51 years later and she is still alive, for now, but she said she doesn't love me anymore because I'm evil) P.s. I'm a CE who killed my uncle (accident) and a kid for hurting a cat. I also slapped a pet store owner and got my hand dunked in lava and then was beat by my group for being stupid and I blacked out from pain, woke up and immediately got sucker punched by my mom.
8:22 I think you meant 12 +con mod. I really like the winner of this video seems to make an interesting monk. I currently play a tanky way of 4 elements hill dwarf monk which has been a lot of fun.
If you're running with both Volos and Xanathars... Protector (Radiant) Aasimar Sun Soul Monk. Sure, you have a +2 charisma, which doesn't _help,_ but thematically it's all sunfire! And a Celestially-touched Monk makes sense. With a (temporary) flight speed (+unarmored movement!), _and_ a ranged attack using your martial die, means you can rain sunbolts down from above!
Sure why not. Just because we don't put something on our list doesn't mean we are saying don't play it or it isn't a viable character choice. It just didn't make our list. Nerdarchist Dave
I’m about to play a Centaur Drunken Monk and another player is gonna play a Goliath Chevalier Fighter that’s gonna be on my back the whole time, can’t wait to see how our DM reacts this.
I have a goblin monk name rev the extra goblin feature that lets me disengage or hide works pretty well as a shadow monk plus the bump to con dosent hurt
@@Tanglangfa Running a goblin monk as well, Vermie Mirelight, Open Hand reflavored to be more akin to western boxing e.g. her Stunning Strike's just a liver blow.
Gypsy Squid nice! I didn’t reflavor mine too much but he has boots of springing and striding, so he flies into battle like insane green ball of kung fu death. I picture a cross between Gonzo from the muppets and Yoda. Good times!
I like how Wildhunt Shifter can be themed as a tamed savage (like, monk/barbarian in theme if not in class). He shapeshifts as he loses his peaceful temper of something
A high level shadow monk ghostwise halfling sounds awesome! Take criminal, specifically hired killer, and you are either a ninja or an exiled monk who kills(or killed) for profit, or revenge or any other reason people kill each other. Now I both want to play this and throw it at my party...
Aereni Wood Elf is literal perfection for the monk. 2 Dex 1 Wis, obvious bonus. Age leads to a very long lived sage of the world. Years of meditation is great RP. Speed 35 has nice synergy. Dark Vision is just really hard to pass up. Keen Senses not only works well with monk stat's, but perception is a very monk thing. Fey Ancestry is a great RP tool to show self control. Trance. Meditate. Nuff said. Aereni Elf Expertise in a skill. I generally use this for Investigation as it fits the monk see all theme. Nothing gets by them. Mask of the Wild is being able to hide your very presence. Again a self control aspect. The Elf in general fits because of their lithe builds, along with awareness and age as mentioned above. Elves are very calm and tradition based too. And last but certainly not least. Elven Accuracy Feat. Reroll damage if you have advantage. Stunning Strike. If you can stun on your first hit, your next 3 will have advantage and can therefor all be rerolled for big damage. While I agree that there are a lot of strong choices and some can fit a great niche, like Way of the Shadow Feral Tielfing or a Way of Mercy House of Jorasco Halfling, Aereni just offers too many useful options for both combat and RP.
I recently just came up with the idea for a 5 player game to be all monks. 4 of them are way of the open hand, and the last one is tranquility. If the tranq monk can't stop a fight, then the fight would have to get past 4 monks using tranquility / dodge action. I dunno, just seems like a fun idea.
That's a really interesting idea! I'm not an expert on monks, but do you think it would have weaknesses? Most monks that I'm used to don't have much in the way of range capabilities, which could be problematic...
Goblin! They can dodge, disengage or dash as a bonus action without spending a ki point, freeing them up to be mobile without sacrificing flurry of blows use, plus they get that nice +2 Dex.
Playing a monk, I had a lot of fun except for one thing: I felt that I was a jack of no trades and master of none. I was a Kenku Drunken Master, and felt that the subclass was just, designed strange, and the forced use of simple weapons was crippling me. I couldn't really take a hit, and I couldn't deal damage. The only way I actually could excel was to work with my GM and we homebrewed some raptor gauntlets after taking down the THunderking Trex of Tomb of Annihilation (with some really good survival rolls.) Maybe my dice weren't happy with me, but afterwards, I felt like I could be useful instead of just, there.
I've been playing a Shadow Drow Monk lately that I absolutely love. At level 1 I've gone +3 dex, +1 Con, +2 Wis, and +1 Cha for social situations. The rest is at 0. She's a full on narcissistic NE slave owner chasing down an escaped slave (who was my previous character). I really want to play more but the other players in my party have busy lives D:
I’m planning on running a githzerai monk also. You can get a feat and 20 in both dex and wis with point buy by lvl 20. I was thinking magic initiate for find familiar and some illusion cantrips.
well, with a little freedom to making a race. a Rhox would make a great str based monk. take the loxodon race, remove the trunk. add a horn and general look of a rhino. add a gore/charge attack and presto! a Rhox.
I once made a dwarf con based monk. It was weird, but fun. Also, I think Firbolg Monks seem thematically awesome. Off topic but I think the Gith would make awesome Jedi.
In my opinion hill dwarf is actually one of the best monks out there, because their +1 to health each level does the thing monks so need and basically turns the monk hit dice into a 1d10, then you can always change the weapon proficiencies so you can have the perfect monk weapon, and finally, the best feature is that dwarves get access to the dwarven fortitude feat which combos so so well with patient defense, basicly allowing you to cast a lvl 1 cure wounds on yourself, and take the dodge action, as a bonus action.
Tabaxi Barbarian/Tranquility Monk. Learning to control his anger but pushed to far they release the beast and rage. Bonus points if there is someone who can throw you in the party for a Ki enhanced fast ball special.
Protecter Aasimar into Sun Soul Monk = Divine Captain Marvel. Plus the thematics of a group of Genasi going Elemental Monk focusing on their respective elements can't be ignored.
the new Mordenkainen's rework makes a Oogway-style Tortle monk even more viable- With _three_ floating points you can be a force to be reckoned with, and if you focus Dex and Wis you basically get extra armor and damage for early levels since your unarmed attacks bump all the way up to a d6 for the first four levels, then when your Dex and Wis scores finally surpass you can ignore your base AC in favor of Unarmored Defense! Way of Mercy is perfect for an Oogway style build, since he learned how to heal with ki from the pandas. Give that boy a stick and watch him wreck.
Yay giving the shifter some love! I was not expecting the shifter to be number one but I'm pleasantly surprised. My top three was gunna be the tortel dunno if I spelled that right, shifter, then wood elf as number one. So I'm excited thanks guys for another fun episode.
A grung monk would be a great build. You get the dex buff, plus the poison skin synergy with unarmored is nice. Jumping and climbing speed is decent for the race.
I'm playing a Kensai Tortle Monk at the moment. It's funny, when I first made the idea, my head didn't immediately go to TMNT. When I started doing some research into feasibility, I couldn't believe I didn't think of it.
Is there a reason you don't include the Plane Shift books? The Hawk- Headed Aven and the Aetherborn both seem to be solid choices to me, especially the Aven. It's like the Aarakocra but with better stats
those are considered unearthed arcana, and since they only use official source books for these, things like plane shift and other unearthed arcana, as well as 3rd party races, don't get included
@@thurismundbotheric7598 I saw nothing to indicate in either book that they are considered Unearthed Arcana. Where do you come by this information? They are put out by wizards of the coast for D&D 5e as far as I know
@@theonlymatthew.l Mike Mearls confirmed they are not offical in an AMA a while back: www.sageadvice.eu/2018/04/17/are-the-plane-shift-articles-considered-official-material/
@@dreambrother16 that seems to be referring to articles. There are actual full-fledged books at this point published by wizards of the coast for 5th edition Dungeons & Dragons. I'm not convinced that the sage advice covers the books, I think it just covers the preseeding articles. Edit: I'm not saying that I'm right, I'm just looking for further clarification
I've played a Tortle Kensai Monk / Barbarian. Next level would have been Ancestral or Giant Turtle (Bear) Totem. It was a lot of fun playing the pensive Monk, ready to defend his friends at any moment.
Halfling Drunken Master Monk is great. Half-Elf is my favorite monk to play though with the cliché backstory of being abandoned as a baby at the monastery.
Currently playing a gold dragonborn monk. While it doesn't have any stat increases that benefits the monk... It's inherit resistance and breath weapon add some extra zing. Definitely want to try the tortle out and the wild hunt shifter.
Best race for a monk is the Aarakorca, once you hit level 5 you can stun someone grapple them (they auto-fail the check) then fly like 150ft up in the air and let go. Boom 15d6 falling damage AT LEVEL 5 and your fly speed increases as your Unarmored movement does.
Base speed + Dash x Feline Agility = 120ft at level one for movement. Add in extra movement from feats and abilities, and you have a monk that moves faster then a birb, even within cramped/non-flyable quarters. :D
I don't know if this race made it to 5th ed, but Thri-Kreen from Dark Sun. I made a French Baker Thri-Kreen monk with a ridiculous accent. He wore a white chef coat as his cloth armor and a twirling mustache he can emote with, as his only magic item.
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Nerdarchy lizardfolk are superior to tortles
In your opinion which subclass is better? Drunken Master or Way of The Open Hand?
I dont mean to be offtopic but does any of you know of a tool to log back into an Instagram account..?
I was dumb lost my password. I love any tips you can give me
@Kash Chandler Instablaster ;)
@Leo Samir I really appreciate your reply. I found the site thru google and I'm in the hacking process now.
I see it takes a while so I will reply here later when my account password hopefully is recovered.
I played a Tabaxi monk for a short bit and they seem made for this class especially with feline agility with the double movement, and Claws so you can have either bludgeoning or slashing damage. you also have a climbing speed. with their darkvision, I think they make the ultimate shadow monk.
We had a player use a Shadow Tabaxi. Safe to say they lived longest of that group of characters. Oh yeah, they also went assassain rogue.
Base speed + Dash x Feline Agility = 120ft of pure awesome.
Saved myself and the Gnome cleric riding on my shoulders from a party wipe last sunday with that. :P
@@Roshiyu yeah and that's just the beginning also you can hide poison on each set of retractable claws switching them out to add poison into a massive one off attack for your flurry of poison blows, you get the proficiency for stealth and perception allowing you to effectively stealth alongside your rouge without being dead weight.
Drunken Tabaxi Monks are pretty good too. Disengage after every flurry of blows, climb speed so even if someone wants to chase after you after you disengage they still can't reach you without a bow...Plus, you can roleplay your "alchohol" as catnip. Lol
When I finally get everything ready and I start playing again my Tabaxi character is going to be a Way of the Ascendant Dragon Monk and yes I'm already aware of how ridiculously high her speed/movement is going to be thanks to base speed , Feline Agility, Unarmored Movement, and Step of the Wind + Wings Unfurled, along with having both Darkvision, and later on at level 17 Blind Sense thanks to the final ability granted to Way of the Ascendant Dragon Monks, along with having with three types of unarmed damage bludgeoning, slashing, and elemental damage thanks to both Claws, and the fact level 3 aka Way of the Ascendant Dragon level 1 grants access to Elemental Punches, and Kicks, along with the climbing speed.
A murder of Shadow Kenku is a potentially fatal encounter.
Puntastic choice.
Nerdarchist Dave
@@Nerdarchy or is it a Conspiracy of Kenku?
I built a whole story line about a Shadow Kenku who's temple valued secrets and knowledge more than anything, so being able to repeat back whoever you have spied upon made him valuable
Kenku shadow monk is one of my favorite characters. :)
You would be robbed blind if a ministry murder deside to come for your gold
aarakocra monk is no. 1! (if you don't mind being a jerk to your DM) having such a significant flying capability, any encounter that is not enclosed, you will spend in the air.
DM: "i will just put more archers in the combats",
player: "I will just catch the arrows and throw them back."
DM: "spells it is then"
Player:"proficient in all saves. and take no damage on Dex save success. immune to disease and poison, also i can end frightened and charmed."
DM: "then i will rip you from the sky"
Player: "slow fall"
DM:" well at least you don't have many options to fight back while in the air."
Player:" oh btw Sun Soul."
Laser monk for the win.
Nerdarchist Dave
Everybody brave until they piss off the DM.
I’m the jerk...lmfao but my DM allowed it soooooo 🤷🏼♂️🤷🏼♂️🤷🏼♂️🤷🏼♂️
Teenage Tortle Shadow Monk, hero in a half shell, tortle power!
Oh Also Githzerai Is good for monk.
Both are fun choices.
Nerdarchist Dave
Teenage Tortle Shadow Monk + 3 levels of Assassin Rogue = Teenaged Multiclassed Ninja Tortle. I would also add in 2 levels of Warlock for Mask of Many Faces and Devil's Sight. Then, you're basically a Faceless Man from Game of Thrones.
The Last Ronin, Kenjutsu Monk/Assassin Rogue? More for fun and flavor.
Bugbear are the only race that have natural 10ft reach
That makes them the best monks
Plus whip 🙂
Reach ain't what it used to be.
Nerdarchist Dave
Nerdarchy yes but you can grapple form two spaces away
And you don’t provoke opportunity attacks when you are 10 feet away
So you can run around punching people with no consequence
RatchildUK yes plus whip gives you that dankn 15ft
I am planning on making a drunken master bugbear, who the party meet at a tavern lol
My Minotaur luchador monk was fun! He was the only survivor of our campaign at lvl 17 and thus the legend of El Toro was born.
El Toro Fuerte never removes his mask
I love this
a centaur monk would be terrifying.
Imagine a centaur that does a flying kick. Or better, the bicycle kick of Liu Kang from Mortal Kombat
I almost went centaur monk for my next character.
Nerdarchist Dave
@@Nerdarchy yeah i love centaurs. they are almost as amazing as dragonborns.
@@cavareenvius7886 what about that spinning kick from that one character from street fighter i think.
@@BahamutZerodragon I think it would be called a flying bicycle buck... I'd imagine a Centaur's bicycle would look like a two seated one but with a really big bannana seat replacing the two individual seats...
Centaur on a bicycle...
I personally like the Trance feature of Wood Elves, to tie in the whole meditative Monk vibe.
Apelings are pretty fun,, they just seem like they’ll be better with hand to hand combat,,
I played a Wood Elf Kensai Zen Archer in a one shot and he was really effective. And thematically, the idea of a character who could spend a hundred years mastering a weapon seemed to fit with the Kensai.
I'm a little late to this party, but I absolutely love my Firbolg monk. Being built backwards (i.e. higher WIS than DEX) really comes in handy with Open Hand Technique, because all those saves from 3rd-level abilities (and Stunning Strike) use your WIS modifier for DC. You can go AL-Legal w/ a DC of 17 in Tier 2 and still run +7 to hit even without magic items.
I just figured out what I need.
A trio of monks: 1 dragonborn, 1 tiger-striped tabaxi and 1 aarakocra with a crane head
I'd make it a quintet with a Yuan-Ti and Thri-Keen Monk.
Is dragonborne good for monks ?
@@conradsmight587 With Tasha variant rules? They are more than fine once you're allowed to put your ASIs wherever you want them. Granted, you still won't get much use of your dragonborn breath weapon since it takes a full action to use and has a DC determined by your con rather than one of your main ability scores like dexterity or wisdom.
If you go ascendant dragon monk, I might allow some homebrew. Either you take the ravenite dragonborn's vengeful strike (found in the Wildemount book) in place of your breath weapon or I possibly give you an extra damage resistance. If you normally breathe fire, you have resistance to fire, but also have so much of a fire within you that it keeps you warm against cold damage.
I recently joined a campain and i am running a Tabaxi monk with the way of the drunken fist and i am loving it so much fun
Add mobile and at 20 you have the ability to move a max 420 ft in a turn when using the racial ability. I had an open hand tabaxi monk who was essentially puss in boots as a Mexican wrestler. His movement was insane
That is crazy i will definetly look into that thank you for the insight much appreciated
I have my own party animal/alcoholic Tabaxi of the Drunken Fist named Whisk. His antics at the start wound up causing half of Waterdeep to catch fire but don't worry no child was left behind so we can still party. Also here is what he said to a PTSD party member when they first met at the tavern. Whisk- "Hey friend what are you oh sweet morning drinking! (Grabs the vodka bottle and necks it) WOOOOO! Party!" (Breaks it on his head)
I named mine spirits the introduction to the party was in a run down tavern full of orcs, goblins and bug bears ect. all wearing hats the rule was whomever had the fanciest hat was in charge you only get three tries a year so naturally i went to the barman i rolled a 22 a 21 and 26 first two failed third nat 20 so he left me in charge of the bar i raided it managed to get my hands on quite a few bottles before he came back with a fancier hat
I had a lot of fun playing a drunken master tortle.
Nerdarchist Dave
Centaur Monk: My old Nemesis (scene pans to a flight of stairs). Stairs. (Manages to gallop up them really fast.)
Leonin Rogue: He's an odd one.
Tabaxi Paladin: Given the make-up of this party, you're onto something.
Grung Cleric: Anyone want me to poison their weapons? Might need it.
Glad to see my bois the Aarakocra make it into a top something and glad it was the list I was waiting for the longest. It's got both of my biases since my first character was an Aarakocra monk of the open palm and you're correct in that movement buffs unless they state specifically that it's a certain type of movement apply to all movement types. I learned this and Xisira my boi with the Mobile feat had basically had Flyby and moved at like 90 feet of flight per turn. I can recall that one shot with Xi like the back of my hand from him giving the double "birds" to our Dragonborn douche,but I repeat myself, to getting my first natural 20 attack and caving that zombie's face so much I felt my fist through the back of it's head. He's in my top 3 easily.
Oh god I almost forgot the Purell hands joke. Before we fought the zombie crew of the ship we were on Xi put holy water on his hands so we joked that he wants to keep his hands clean. Ironically enough after the fight we're all caked in black blood the enemies except his hands and feet they stayed clean.
Aarakocra is super mobile to begin with. But as a dm I see a flying aarakocra I wanna use a sleep spell.
Nerdarchist Dave
@@Nerdarchy Or Tasha's Hideous Laughter ...
I think kobolds are pretty good monks since they get a dex bonus.
Plus their pack tactics ability lets your flurrys of punches hit pretty relieable.
Its also hilarious since kobolds are generally seen as wheak, but then you have this three foot tall creature spin kick an ork in the face xD
Tabaxi. Double movement for one round, climbing speed that starts at 20 and goes up, and the ability to do bludgeoning or slashing damage with unarmed attacks. Plus proficiency in two of the most important skills (stealth and perception) and a +2 in dexterity.
Kenku have a great story potential for story based monk.
What do Kenku do? Copycat.
The Kenku janitor or gardener that has been watching the monastery students train for a decade could pick up mad skills. His quest is to find the greatest fighters and copy their moves.
This is pretty much Crane from Kung Fu Panda. Except that Crane flies.
@@Nurk0m0rath except that crane actually has his own fighting style (not inducive to kenku) and also has original speech and thought
Playing an 11th lvl Ferral tiefling shadow monk with the mobile feat and It’s really fun.
I love using its tail as flavor for unarmed strikes and when describing acrobatic “parcour” movements.
I managed to get bracers of defence and cloak of displacement for it.
All I need now is either boots of speed for him to become a 120ft movement, uncatchable rocket & stun-machine that is displaced, can run on any surface and can teleport/shadowstep behind enemies or to safety... Or become invisble whenever he steps into shadows/dim light.
Another option would be boots of flying to give him the ultimate 3D freedom of movement.
A good monk...Well, I like the kenku just because it's cool to be a kenku kensai. Honestly, I would freaking love the tortle as a race in general if not for the short lifespan, most tortoises live to be 200 years old or more. The air genassi would make a cool monk thematically...but, yea I think the wildhunt shifter is probably the best option overall.
We were kind of surprised by the wildhunt shifter ourselves.
Nerdarchist Dave
Loxodon actually can punch people with their trunk. It says so in the trunk section
Vid's a bit dated now, I'd love to see opinions on more recent additions..
Like a Kenku Way of Mercy monk..
(Post-errata) Kobold Way of the Ascendant Dragon..
Githzerai Way of the Astral Self..
Aarakocra sound pretty fun, probably the best mobility in the game, my friends and I are planning a Aarakocra-only campain, I don't know if i get monk or plaladin
I played an Aarakocra monk ranger. They were strong. Too bad I betrayed his instincts and went indoors wjen invited to have a drink with strangers. Had I not betrayed his instincts, he wouldn't have gotten paralyzed and ganked by Yakfolk
I played an aarakoa monk, he was over powered af. But my DM allowed my dive attack to be used as full action attacks, and added the claw slashing dmg dice to my unarmed strike dmg
I'm waiting for them to release a cannon Psionic class, as I can see a lot of potential for a Psionic Wis based Monk Archetype.
You guys make my day, no matter what you talk about.
Thanks for the kind words.
Nerdarchist Dave
I shall be playing an Aarakocra Monk pretty soon, first time as a Monk, is I’m a little worried.
But still excited!
As someone who owns most of the player-related books, except for "Acquisitions Incorporated", and having a bit of time on my hands (like most of us), I actually made up a list - mainly a mental one - of what race goes best to what class. Well, using the Standard Point Spread, no race has any issue doing the job of any class - the Volo's version of the Orc could be a Wizard (or an artificer) despite have a -2 intelligence penalty, and the Kobold could do the job of being a Barbarian, Fighter, Paladin, or strength-based Druid/Cleric, despite having a -2 penalty in Strength (wish that they'd reprint/mod some more of the Volo's races and monsterous races). Granted, some races/subraces do better in certain classes/subclasses, but even those can cause some eye-raising reactions - Hobgoblin Wizards anyone?
Can we hear your opinion after Tasha's Cauldron is released?
@@GrassPokeKing Well, I've heard that Volo's reprints got rid of the negative modifiers on the orc and kobold, and now I have Theros and Acquisitions Incorporated, so Orcs and Kobolds are better at the previously mentioned options. As for the Verdan (Acquisitions Incorporated) and the Leonin and Satyr (Theros), Verdan are good with Charisma-based stuff (same with satyr), and have an improved short rest healing ability (re-rolling 1s and 2s) which would be good with a martial class. Satyr like to jump, like a party, and like music. As for the Leonin - heartier Tabaxi who gave up the ability to run and climb to work on a roar that will cause folks to mess their pants - the one class they probably wouldn't be is Cleric, as they believe the Gods to be jerks who aren't worth worshiping, as per the lore. Still, even then, with a good enough backstory (like an orphaned cub being adopted by a group of priests), I don't see any real issues with any of the classes.
How about a Feral Tiefling? They get +2 to dexterity instead of charisma. The +1 to intelligence doesn't help. Their fire resistance and infernal legacy is really cool though.
Honestly there are tons of fun combinations. Mechanics and fun aren't exclusive to each other. If you think it'll be a fun character to play than it's a great build option.
Nerdarchist Dave
What about Tabaxi it's a race perfect for the Monk Class top 3 stats for the Tabaxi in general are Dexterity, Wisdom, and Charisma, and generally benefit from ridiculously high speed/movement as a Monk due to a four-way combo of base speed, Feline Agility, Unarmored Movement, and Step of the Wind, two types of unarmed damage thanks to the Claws along with having a climbing speed, plus Darkvision.
Great video with a very unexpected ending! I like Aarakocra for monks although flight isn't as useful as people seem to think because in most campaigns you are going to spend a lot of time indoors or underground where there's not enough room to take flight. The class boost to speed also helps their slow walk speed though which is very useful. I also love the idea of a centaur monk running up walls.
These videos are fun, but basically any class/race combination can work. It's all up to the player and what flavor they're going for. Sometimes I think the least optimal combinations can be the funnest to play.
The tortle in the thumbnail is asserting dominance
It's very clearly the Loxodon, they can make unarmed strikes with their trunk
Remember when players made characters based on a roleplay concept ( that wasn't stupid) and not just because the stats/abilities peaked? We once called these games roleplay games for a reason. Now it's like taking an algebra pop quiz.
You talk like making a character based on the role-playing concept and making it mechanically sound are mutually exclusive. They aren't..
A monk tourtle would be like a TMNT
Yup it would. We just need a player race that is a rat now.
Nerdarchist Dave
@@Nerdarchy Ratfolk. Or reformed WereRat.
Or master Oogway
Me: Hey guys I got this awesome idea for a D&D character. Now just wait I think you'll like it. It's a monk and also a turtle.
The GM: So basically Oogway?
Me: No nothing like that at all oogway is a tortoise and I want to do a turtle! See completely different.
GM: Ok ok. So what's the name?
Me: Yawgoo
GM: (facepalm)
Recently looked into the Kor and the Avens from plane shift something you would definitely have to talk to the dm about but both have pretty good stat combos with the class ultimately I picked a kalashtar because of the dual mind flavor as an rp anchor
back in my 3.5 days I made a centaur monk, and....yeah, that is not something you want charging headlong at you :O
I just started playing and I'm commenting 3 years later but I love my leonin monk.
Welcome to the hobby.
Nerdarchist Dave
Githzerai would be a great choice!
Love the topic.
Thanks Guys!
I never really thought about the Shifter as a monk, I will have to make one to give it a try
Its fun. Im using the swiftstride and your movement is 45ft and 50 when shifted and whenever an enemy ends its turn near you you can use a reaction to move 10 ft away without opportunity attack
I honestly think than Hill Dwarves and Stout Halflings are a great choices, besides their fault in both main Characteristics, but they have nice things too.
I play a Hill Dwarf Monk. One of my favorite things is being able to increase my AC every level.
I watched the vid and still a bit surprised that you passed up on kobolds and lizardfolk
Kobolds: -2 STR isn't exactly a huge detriment to someone who isn't carrying any gear around anyways, and of course pack tactics is just sick, darkvision is nice, and being small but still having 30 foot movespeed is nice as well, and of course +2 Dex.
Lizardfolk: they do get a wisdom bonus, they get extra skills, and they get a D6 bite which can be used as a unarmed attack, this means they can use Dexterity for their bite and can use it for every unarmed attack they make, so you're a monk that goes into a biting/feeding frenzy, and that D6 comes at character creation rather than waiting for your normal monk to get up to a D6 unarmed strike.
Go Go Kobold!!!
Played a Kobold Monk in an earlier version. Loved it.
One of my favs I made was a drunken fist dragonborn. He’s green with poison breath which I interpreted as puke. There is also the dragon hide feat for that str based monk.
And now you have me trying to figure out how to work out Storm Shadow or Snake Eyes as an AL character...
I play a wood elf monk in my current game, and I have found that this race works well with the monk class. The wood elf ability to hide in plain sight (in snow, heavy rain, mist...) And the extra 5ft movement is useful at early levels. They also get a +1 to wisdom as well as a +2 to dexterity. They do not get any increased damage or AC off the bat, but I play my character as a sort of Bruce Lee martial artist character, who utilises technique and agility above damage or brute strength.
Not statistically the best, but my Hill Dwarf Monk is a blast, especially since several of the traditional "dwarf weapons" are perfectly viable for his Kensai weapons(specifically battle axe and warhammer). :)
An air gensai would be great aesthetically and you get a +1 to dex with its levitate ability it’s super nifty
After we finish with Curse of Strad we are gonna start Water Deep and I was thinking about making a way of the sun tortle monk and having growths on his shell that come over the shoulders that are roughly cannon shaped and I'm gonna fire my radiant sun bolt out of them. Basically I'm playing Blastoise with hyper beam cannons instead of water cannons. I might just name him Kamex which is what Blastoise is called in Japan.
I had a simic hybrid monk and it was awesome.
I’m way late to this party, but I just saw this. Please consider the tabaxi for a monk. They’re unlikely since it’s it’s not optimal by most standards, but she has been fun to play. Her unarmed attacks can be slashing instead of bludgeoning. She gets feline agility, which double speed is pretty sweet, and cat’s talent which gives proficiency to perception and stealth. You don’t get any bonuses for wisdom, but you can always just make it one of you higher scores.
My favourite monk jet was a warforged. It became a running joke that it didn't use flurry of blows but instead had something akin to a sledgehammer in its lower arms. It's personality was inspired by a mix of Whalle and Mr Data, and it's iabillity to comprehend any kind of joke ledd to quite a few outbursts of laughter. ^^
Kenku monk.
Used to be a pirate in the crow's nest. Coveted gold and got as close to the feeling of flying as he could. Shipwrecked near a monastery. Joins and reforms from his greedy ways. Parrots his master's words of wisdom constantly. Eventually advances along the elemental path far enough that he can fly using "ride the wind".
What about hill dwarf? I recently made a 8th level monk with hill dwarf and it came out mechanically really well and is incredibly tanky. Side note he is a Luchadore called El Mano Fuerte.
They are good but are they better than human with feat
@@certanmike typically not. However humans are good with everything. I mention them because they're less optimized but can be incredibly fun if you want to go outside the norm.
I played a Hill Dwarf Monk in a one-shot. The stats gave a nice headstart and I dumped ASI into his dex. He was fun to play (I picked Hill Dwarf just to throw people off).
Playing a Drunken Master Hill Dwarf monk with the Dwarven Fortitude feat right now. It's a lot of fun to play plus rolling a hit die on my patient defense is nice
Hill dwarf adds tankiness to any class. Resistance to poison and advantage on poison saves is another bonus.
-Nerdarchist Dave
Not so sure about it being the "best" race or build, but for me it's the most entertaining. Which is Aasimar (Protector) as a Monk - Way of the Sun Soul, it is straight up playing an angelic super saiyan in DnD setting. I mean, you get a mean amount of flight movement when transformed via the Monk's natural speed, and on top of which the additional radiant damage equal to your level to ALL of your attacks, and further combining that to the Way of the Sun Soul basically doing radiant hadoukens and kamehamehas. It's stupidly fun and entertaining to play having your character do their Aasimar transformation as a "power-up", again it's hilarious and I cannot overstate just how it's enormous amounts of fun.
They have created a series of Young Adventurer's Guides and the Warriors and Weapons one gives the example of a legendary Kenku shadow monk named Whey-Shu that sounds awesome.
That does sound awesome.
Nerdarchist Dave
I love my water genasi drunken master monk. They get boosts to Con and Wisdom and a swim speed so fighting in the water is no problem. Plus, the Shape Water cantrip has been a lot more useful than I originally thought. It's also great because I can flow the whiskey out of my flask during my attacks and truly become one with the booze :P
Don’t forget hill dwarf, con +1 hp per lvl is very useful for a melee fighter with a d8 hit die. And +1 wis doesn’t hurt
I'm a half elf dwarf way of the four elements monk who was beaten by shadow monks as a kid but was forced to be raised by them because my elven father left (I found my father 51 years later and he died a week after I met him to Hades) and my mom was a dwarf who was always in a war and couldn't raise a kid (also found her 51 years later and she is still alive, for now, but she said she doesn't love me anymore because I'm evil)
P.s. I'm a CE who killed my uncle (accident) and a kid for hurting a cat. I also slapped a pet store owner and got my hand dunked in lava and then was beat by my group for being stupid and I blacked out from pain, woke up and immediately got sucker punched by my mom.
8:22 I think you meant 12 +con mod. I really like the winner of this video seems to make an interesting monk. I currently play a tanky way of 4 elements hill dwarf monk which has been a lot of fun.
If you're running with both Volos and Xanathars... Protector (Radiant) Aasimar Sun Soul Monk.
Sure, you have a +2 charisma, which doesn't _help,_ but thematically it's all sunfire! And a Celestially-touched Monk makes sense.
With a (temporary) flight speed (+unarmored movement!), _and_ a ranged attack using your martial die, means you can rain sunbolts down from above!
Sure why not. Just because we don't put something on our list doesn't mean we are saying don't play it or it isn't a viable character choice. It just didn't make our list.
Nerdarchist Dave
A teenage midevil shadow monk tortle
I'm actually rolling one of those in a campaign named Renbrandt. Made me sad no one understood the reference.
@@heromcdohl a hero in a half shell
Tortule power
Midevil? . . . medieval?
#1 whatever character is who, not what, you want to play :)
which ends up here, as a goliath exile dex monk, in my case.
I’m about to play a Centaur Drunken Monk and another player is gonna play a Goliath Chevalier Fighter that’s gonna be on my back the whole time, can’t wait to see how our DM reacts this.
I have a goblin monk name rev the extra goblin feature that lets me disengage or hide works pretty well as a shadow monk plus the bump to con dosent hurt
rob martinez goblin is the clear winner. Mine’s name is Grot Snotgobbla.
@@Tanglangfa Running a goblin monk as well, Vermie Mirelight, Open Hand reflavored to be more akin to western boxing e.g. her Stunning Strike's just a liver blow.
Gypsy Squid nice! I didn’t reflavor mine too much but he has boots of springing and striding, so he flies into battle like insane green ball of kung fu death. I picture a cross between Gonzo from the muppets and Yoda. Good times!
I like how Wildhunt Shifter can be themed as a tamed savage (like, monk/barbarian in theme if not in class). He shapeshifts as he loses his peaceful temper of something
Yes, trunk training, add 1 to ether your strength or dexterity, you can now use your trunk as an in armed attack capable of grappling.
A high level shadow monk ghostwise halfling sounds awesome! Take criminal, specifically hired killer, and you are either a ninja or an exiled monk who kills(or killed) for profit, or revenge or any other reason people kill each other. Now I both want to play this and throw it at my party...
Aereni Wood Elf is literal perfection for the monk.
2 Dex 1 Wis, obvious bonus.
Age leads to a very long lived sage of the world. Years of meditation is great RP.
Speed 35 has nice synergy.
Dark Vision is just really hard to pass up.
Keen Senses not only works well with monk stat's, but perception is a very monk thing.
Fey Ancestry is a great RP tool to show self control.
Trance. Meditate. Nuff said.
Aereni Elf Expertise in a skill. I generally use this for Investigation as it fits the monk see all theme. Nothing gets by them.
Mask of the Wild is being able to hide your very presence. Again a self control aspect.
The Elf in general fits because of their lithe builds, along with awareness and age as mentioned above. Elves are very calm and tradition based too.
And last but certainly not least. Elven Accuracy Feat. Reroll damage if you have advantage. Stunning Strike. If you can stun on your first hit, your next 3 will have advantage and can therefor all be rerolled for big damage.
While I agree that there are a lot of strong choices and some can fit a great niche, like Way of the Shadow Feral Tielfing or a Way of Mercy House of Jorasco Halfling, Aereni just offers too many useful options for both combat and RP.
I recently just came up with the idea for a 5 player game to be all monks. 4 of them are way of the open hand, and the last one is tranquility. If the tranq monk can't stop a fight, then the fight would have to get past 4 monks using tranquility / dodge action. I dunno, just seems like a fun idea.
That's a really interesting idea! I'm not an expert on monks, but do you think it would have weaknesses? Most monks that I'm used to don't have much in the way of range capabilities, which could be problematic...
Goblin! They can dodge, disengage or dash as a bonus action without spending a ki point, freeing them up to be mobile without sacrificing flurry of blows use, plus they get that nice +2 Dex.
Playing a monk, I had a lot of fun except for one thing: I felt that I was a jack of no trades and master of none. I was a Kenku Drunken Master, and felt that the subclass was just, designed strange, and the forced use of simple weapons was crippling me. I couldn't really take a hit, and I couldn't deal damage. The only way I actually could excel was to work with my GM and we homebrewed some raptor gauntlets after taking down the THunderking Trex of Tomb of Annihilation (with some really good survival rolls.) Maybe my dice weren't happy with me, but afterwards, I felt like I could be useful instead of just, there.
I've been playing a Shadow Drow Monk lately that I absolutely love. At level 1 I've gone +3 dex, +1 Con, +2 Wis, and +1 Cha for social situations. The rest is at 0. She's a full on narcissistic NE slave owner chasing down an escaped slave (who was my previous character). I really want to play more but the other players in my party have busy lives D:
I've been playing a Githzerai monk/cleric.. been having a blast with it..
I’m planning on running a githzerai monk also. You can get a feat and 20 in both dex and wis with point buy by lvl 20.
I was thinking magic initiate for find familiar and some illusion cantrips.
@@RatchildUK That could be wicked.. mine is a Monk (open hand)/ Cleric (order domain) focusing more on spell casting..
@@RatchildUK As a Shadow Monk, you automatically get the Minor Illusion cantrip.
Patrick Lyons I was planning open palm.
@@RatchildUK the main reason for open hand with my build, is for the option to push targets back 15ft, so I can move, and keep spell casting..
I've made a Stout Halfling and a Hill Dwarf Monks in 2 different campaigns, and it was AWESOME
I've a fondness for the wee and stout folk.
Nerdarchist Dave
well, with a little freedom to making a race. a Rhox would make a great str based monk. take the loxodon race, remove the trunk. add a horn and general look of a rhino. add a gore/charge attack and presto! a Rhox.
I once made a dwarf con based monk. It was weird, but fun.
Also, I think Firbolg Monks seem thematically awesome.
Off topic but I think the Gith would make awesome Jedi.
In my opinion hill dwarf is actually one of the best monks out there, because their +1 to health each level does the thing monks so need and basically turns the monk hit dice into a 1d10, then you can always change the weapon proficiencies so you can have the perfect monk weapon, and finally, the best feature is that dwarves get access to the dwarven fortitude feat which combos so so well with patient defense, basicly allowing you to cast a lvl 1 cure wounds on yourself, and take the dodge action, as a bonus action.
Tabaxi Barbarian/Tranquility Monk. Learning to control his anger but pushed to far they release the beast and rage.
Bonus points if there is someone who can throw you in the party for a Ki enhanced fast ball special.
Protecter Aasimar into Sun Soul Monk = Divine Captain Marvel. Plus the thematics of a group of Genasi going Elemental Monk focusing on their respective elements can't be ignored.
I made the mistake of giving a cloak of the manta ray to my party, the bird monk took it.
Now hes got a crazy speed, fly speed and swimming speed...
I came up with a Dragonborn Monk. Not sure how he'd play since I haven't played a single game in my life, but I like the idea.
the new Mordenkainen's rework makes a Oogway-style Tortle monk even more viable- With _three_ floating points you can be a force to be reckoned with, and if you focus Dex and Wis you basically get extra armor and damage for early levels since your unarmed attacks bump all the way up to a d6 for the first four levels, then when your Dex and Wis scores finally surpass you can ignore your base AC in favor of Unarmored Defense! Way of Mercy is perfect for an Oogway style build, since he learned how to heal with ki from the pandas. Give that boy a stick and watch him wreck.
I actually was planning on doing a monk tortle for my school dnd game club just to see what they think
And elephants trunk is incredible muscular, grabbing them will just mean they lift YOU, so pretty terrible plan.
Yay giving the shifter some love! I was not expecting the shifter to be number one but I'm pleasantly surprised. My top three was gunna be the tortel dunno if I spelled that right, shifter, then wood elf as number one. So I'm excited thanks guys for another fun episode.
A grung monk would be a great build. You get the dex buff, plus the poison skin synergy with unarmored is nice. Jumping and climbing speed is decent for the race.
I'm playing a Kensai Tortle Monk at the moment. It's funny, when I first made the idea, my head didn't immediately go to TMNT. When I started doing some research into feasibility, I couldn't believe I didn't think of it.
Is there a reason you don't include the Plane Shift books? The Hawk- Headed Aven and the Aetherborn both seem to be solid choices to me, especially the Aven. It's like the Aarakocra but with better stats
those are considered unearthed arcana, and since they only use official source books for these, things like plane shift and other unearthed arcana, as well as 3rd party races, don't get included
@@thurismundbotheric7598 I saw nothing to indicate in either book that they are considered Unearthed Arcana. Where do you come by this information? They are put out by wizards of the coast for D&D 5e as far as I know
@@theonlymatthew.l I don't recall off hand, but they were treated as unearthed arcana for GMR
@@theonlymatthew.l Mike Mearls confirmed they are not offical in an AMA a while back: www.sageadvice.eu/2018/04/17/are-the-plane-shift-articles-considered-official-material/
@@dreambrother16 that seems to be referring to articles. There are actual full-fledged books at this point published by wizards of the coast for 5th edition Dungeons & Dragons. I'm not convinced that the sage advice covers the books, I think it just covers the preseeding articles.
Edit: I'm not saying that I'm right, I'm just looking for further clarification
I've played a Tortle Kensai Monk / Barbarian. Next level would have been Ancestral or Giant Turtle (Bear) Totem.
It was a lot of fun playing the pensive Monk, ready to defend his friends at any moment.
I would love it if you did a recap of what you talked about in the notes above so we can see the names of the things you talk about and look them up.
Halfling Drunken Master Monk is great. Half-Elf is my favorite monk to play though with the cliché backstory of being abandoned as a baby at the monastery.
Currently playing a gold dragonborn monk. While it doesn't have any stat increases that benefits the monk... It's inherit resistance and breath weapon add some extra zing. Definitely want to try the tortle out and the wild hunt shifter.
Lizardfolk would be fun as a survival style monk. If you dont have weapons you can make some.
Swamp goblin- dex and wisdom stat boost. Speedy, and stealthy. They get a blowpipe proficiency too.
Best race for a monk is the Aarakorca, once you hit level 5 you can stun someone grapple them (they auto-fail the check) then fly like 150ft up in the air and let go. Boom 15d6 falling damage AT LEVEL 5 and your fly speed increases as your Unarmored movement does.
Doppleganger Monk. They hit hard. Bugbear Ninjas too.
Base speed + Dash x Feline Agility = 120ft at level one for movement.
Add in extra movement from feats and abilities, and you have a monk that moves faster then a birb, even within cramped/non-flyable quarters. :D
Takes cooperation of some teammates and decently high level, but with the correct combination you can break the Earth sound barrier for a round or two
I don't know if this race made it to 5th ed, but Thri-Kreen from Dark Sun. I made a French Baker Thri-Kreen monk with a ridiculous accent. He wore a white chef coat as his cloth armor and a twirling mustache he can emote with, as his only magic item.
Just started a Drunken Master Tortle far traveler. Only at level 1, and already a ton of fun.