The lv 20 combo I went with my Way if Shadow Monk with multi-classing was 14 levels of monk, 3 levels of rogue (Arcane Trickster,) and 3 levels of ranger (Gloomstalker.) That combination means the character works the best in darkness or at night with a lot of utility abilities and spells to get in and out of situations. Also with Zephyr Strike cast on or before the first round of combat, and combine that with the Gloomstalker's ambush ability, that's upwards of 4 attacks without relying on Flurry of Blows while doing extra damage on top of two of those hits.
It should be noted that the U.A. feat that grants access to Warlock Invocations (called Eldritch Adept) has a prerequisite of Spellcasting or Pact Magic feature. While the Shadow Monk can cast spells with Ki Points, they *DO NOT* have the Spellcasting feature. So a Shadow Monk can take Fighting Initiate for Blind Fighting, but can't take Eldritch Adept for Devil Sight
@@theonlymatthew.l No, you specifically need the Spellcasting or Pact Magic Class Feature, not just the ability to cast a Spell or Cantrip. Otherwise Shadow Monk would already qualify...
@@moquips damn 😒. Well I was already thinking about three levels of Gloomstalker in the build. That will definitely qualify the character for the Feat. I did notice however that you gained the cantrip Minor Illusion from the Shadow Monk class. You don't need to spend any ki points to cast it, would that not qualify you?
@@theonlymatthew.l No, the ability to cast a Cantrip does not give you the Spellcasting feature. TLDR, It essentially comes down to having spell slots. First, If you look at U.A. Feat Eldritch adept it states the Prerequisite of "Spellcasting or Pact Magic feature". Now if you look at any spellcaster class, it has heading that says "Spellcasting" (PHB pages. Bard - p.52, Cleric - p. 58, Druid - p.66, Eldritch Knight Fighter - p.75, Paladin - p.84, Ranger - p.91, Arcane Trickster Rogue - p.98, Sorcerer - p.101, Wizard - p.114) or Pact Magic for Warlocks (p.107). Shadow Monks don't have that heading anywhere. To take things further, if you look at PHB p.164 for multiclass spellcasting rules, it breaks down how to calculate your spell slots based on the "Spellcasting or Pact Magic feature". This leads me to believe that the "Spellcasting or Pact Magic feature" breaks down to mean having spell slots, not the ability to cast spells or cantrips, sense many races can do that and is never referred to as the Spellcasting feature in that regard.
Currently playing a 15th level shadow monk/assassin (6 monk; 9 rogue). Slippers of Spider Climbing opened up so much for him. Shadow Stepping in 3 dimensions is awesome. Step to the shadows on a high ceiling and position yourself to strike. Drop down on the target from above using safe fall to surprise your target, sneak attack/stunning attack and then bampf away back into high shadows. Its like playing Nightcrawler on steroids.
I played a gnome elements monk chef but he was flavored so that his monk skills were various potions, cooking skills and powders. His stunning fist was a burst of a proprietary blend of herbs and spices. His unarmed was stabbing with his cooking utensils. Burning hands was the best, he tossed chilli powder on them and set it on fire.
My dm made a cuisine archetype for the cleric lol, channel divinity is called taste test and hits an enemy with minor amounts of damage of every type to look for strengths and weaknesses
I'll be playing twin kobolds in an upcoming campaign, and this just gave me so many class combo ideas. My DM is not ready for the madness that will be the twins Zim and Zam!
I'm actually playing A way of the shadow monk in my current campaign and I love it. She's A dispater tiefling who's primary objective was originally cult hunting. Her current party has caught the eyes of several eldritch gods (homebrew world) for various reasons.
Gotta start a campaign tomorrow and the char I made is the same as yours, a shadow monk dispater tiefling. Glad to see I wasnt the only one with this idea. Cant wait to see how its going to work out.
Why have I not looked at the Way of Shadow Monk??? As a fan of the Shadow Sorcerer, I need to build my first monk... and this sounds AWESOME! Great chat... thank you for entertaining and helping me burn off an hour at work today. :-)
I have a way of shadow monk made as a back up, but they are a black panther like tabaxi who is an enforcer for the criminal underworld. They are the one called when people are behind on payments or someone need a tune up. You rarely see him coming.
I love that these videos have been using the 'tracks' feature to split up the show into segments. Really great as a DM when I need to find something specific I know I've heard you discuss!
In regards to the "Mage Slayer" portion of this ... I saw someone else's build (I believe Nerdarchy?) of a satyr character that uses Way of the Shadow Monk combined with a Rogue Assassin and took the Mage Slayer feat as a concept of a character. A mage slayer that is resistant to magic ... shivers!
Loved this episode! I play a way of shadow monk and most videos about it are just class overviews. It was great to hear speculation about feats and multiclassing to give me some ideas for higher levels
playing a Svirfneblen Shadow monk in my new campaign and he really personifies the anti mage character. advantage on all mental saves vs magic, plus the ability to close distance really quickly is super awesome. add in silence and *chefs kiss*
Half-Orc Shadow Monk 6/ Champion Fighter 14 using Daggers and the new Piercing Style Feat. Crits on 19-20, Daggers are d6s and have triple crit damage dice. Just fun!
I wish they had mentioned you also have to be aware that you can NOT teleport into or out of your own cast Darkness, as shadowstep specifies that it must be an area you can SEE. This also goes for non-darkvision races with normal darkness if you haven't cast Darkvision on yourself first.
Currently playing a variant human shadow monk, criminal background, with proficiencies in Sleight of Hand, etc. Took the Mobile Feat and Magic Initiate (Mage Hand, Prestidigitation, Shield) Seriously... This dude is an absolute beast. Better than any thief I've ever played and virtually untouchable in combat.
Personally, I've enjoyed the potential of a Hexblade Warlock / Shadow Monk... Two levels in Hexblade grants the "Devil's Sight" Invocation (which most want as a Shadow Monk)...but really, I just like the combination of "Hexblade's Curse", "Hex" & "Arms of Hadar" . The idea that this Monk isn't just one with the shadows...they control them, and snare their opponents in them.
I'm playing a way of the shadow monk as a water genasi, pretty good option to extinguish flames as stuff, feel like the genasis should be valued more, even as a niche race
Variant human go get magic initiate mage. Get your control flames, I lean towards message for second cantrip, and find familiar (key one here). Take bat as your familiar it gets blindsight 60’. Then you can see through his senses. Fun little combo. Besides you can send familiar out so you can see places within 60’ to shadowstep to. Looking forward o playing this out soon.
This is great and I was coincidentally making a shadow dragonborn (homebrew, way of the shadow for the curse of strahd. It is cool too because in Xanathars one of the this is you options for why you are a monk is a monastery in the shadowfell
Currently I'm playing a marked elf Soulknife rouge, and a Way of the Shadows monk. Despite the number of points to keep track of, if the DM allows it, the psi blades can be used as monk weapons. Then the rest of the spells in Way of the Shadows can be flavored as the rouge using their psionic powers to manipulate minds around them into seeing, or hearing whatever the rouge wants with Minor Illusion. Way more Psycho Mantis than Solid Snake at that point. But it has been so much fun to sneak around unseen, tap into multiple people's minds, and then strike from the shadows once I've got everything I need.
If a shadow monk casts darkness on a small object like a pebble and holds it in his palm, can the monk close his hand to block the effect and open it to reinstate the darkness? I’m thinking that the monk could make a fist to attack blocking the darkness and then after his attacks on his opponents turn open his fist palm up give the opponent disadvantage on his attack.
I asked the same thing without seeing the comment, mate :D I played this once but, unfortunately, the moment I got Devil's Sight, the party disbanded, so I didn't get to use the combo at all. My DM told me that, since opening/closing a fist is so benign, I can do it without spending an action or bonus action on it, but I can do it once per round. I think that's a fairly ok way to limit the ability.
Way of Shadows is a cool subclass and one of the better Monk ones, but the base class just feels very far behind a lot of other classes. In addition, Monks feel for MAD than most classes, needing good dex/wis, and decent con if they want to hang in melee. I think Monk should officially get an additional ASI like rogues to help them keep up. I really wish Wizards would balance the base classes instead of relying on subclasses, that’s how we get stuff like the Hexblade!
Yeah, this whole video they talk about all kinds of awesome feats monks can take, and they are cool feats for monks, but as a class they do not have the budget for more than 1-2 feats because they pretty much need a maxed dex, a 16 con, and as much wisdom as they can pick up. A d10 hit die would really help alleviate the con reliance that’s for sure.
I am just making a Kenku shadow monk/gloomstalker ranger multiclass character who is this ninja-like assassin. Taking the blind fighting style as well as skulker and alert feats to go fully into this theme of not being able to see is only a minor inconvenience, who excels at surprise attacks, ideally setting hunter's mark up on the target before engaging so can then do 5 attacks on the first round benefitting from that hunter's mark.
My build was similar, based on the character from "Ninja Assassin": Swashbuckler Rogue 5 (free mobility)/ Shadow Monk 7/ Battle Master Fighter 8 (blind fighting & damage boost to the finesse monk weapon). Elven Accuracy and Fey-Touched for Hex and daytime Misty Step. Good burst damage.
Way of mercy monk presenting them selves as just a healer and an shadow monk as their assistant, and then when they through down people’s never see it coming l.
I also practiced running up the wall. Only I expected I would only get 1 or 2 steps. My idea was to kick off and back flip so I land behind my opponent. They have really good thick mats to land on until you get the hand on it.
On the subject of big scary stealthy, I recently had an epic level campaign (went up to 26 before we had to put it on pause) where I made a Goliath totem barbarian multiclassed into rogue assassin. The DM and I were the only ones who knew about the rogue bit for a few sessions. Everybody gets real nervous when the really big angry guy with resistance to everything and 120ft flight suddenly vanishes because he has +23 to stealth.
A question for active DMs: since Darkness is cast on an object, would you allow a shadow monk to have a pebble of sorts tied to the inside in his palm and cast it on the pebble? The idea is to be able to control whether Darkness is active or not at will by opening/closing your fist. It wouldn't affect your fighting abilities since it's just a simple pebble that wouldn't hamper your ability to make a fist and do unarmed attacks. I've played it once, but didn't get to use the combo in that session. Unfortunately, the party disbanded afterward. My DM said it would be ok to either open or close my fist once per round, and whatever I end my turn on, it stays like that till my next turn. What do you think of the idea? How would you limit that?
@@milanivkovic1680 the spell does specify that you can cover the source of the darkness with an opaque object such as a bowl or helm to suppress the darkness effect, or turn it off temporarily so to speak. Similar to how a shuttered lamp operates with light, only an inverse since it’s magical darkness. OP’s question is taking the idea of fully covering the object emitting the darkness (the pebble) with a closed fist in place of a bowl or helm, and asking their opinion on this system. I run a similar idea however it is a locket, if I open it then the darkness springs forth, once closed the spell is contained on the inside of the locket until it is opened again.
So my campaign right now i have a Way of thr Shadow Tabaxi who is blind. I have the Tremorsense feat that allows me to "see" creatures. What makes this extra perfect is that the setting is The Underdark! 6th Level i get Shadowstep and i will become one with darkness at all times haha! After I multiclass Assasin rogue, its a wrap.
I'm playing a Gloom Stalker who will be multiclassing into Way of the Shadow and now that you mention it, he *does* have a chip on his shoulder when it comes to wizards.... Oh this is gonna be good.
gonna play a human shadow monk lvl 6 and warlock 5 with arch Fey. next level with shadow step and misty step in combat is over power. put bestow curse on your stunning strike. feat sentinel + magic slayer = good combo too ! i'm so hyped to play it :D
@16:00 Your own silence should never impose any problems on your spellcasting since your spells are all concentration spells anyway. So if you want to cast a spell you have to drop the silence regardless of whether or not you're in it. (well, except for darkvision but that's a spell you should have cast way beforehand)
You guys are talking about taking a lot of feats for a very MAD class as it its. If they didn't make us have to choose between feats and ability score increases, your advice might work.
See through magical darkness at level 1: Variant human... Magic Initiate: Mage... Find Familiar: Bat. (Your DM will like still give you disadvantage on actually making hits while channeling your senses... but you can still "see" in magical darkness.)
“Additionally, as an action, you can see through your familiar’s eyes and hear what it hears until the start of your next turn, gaining the benefits of any special senses that the familiar has.” Find Familiar Spell Text. If you use your action to sense... you have no action for attack... how are you pulling off blind fighting attacks using this?
Shadow monk spellcasting operates more like warlock spellcasting than any other caster. Also I think monks need something like a fighting style to get it to an average damage.
Imo, Monks for Wisdom are like Warlocks for Charisma. Both are good for multiclassing but if you plan to play them as its own, there are other class that works better
Swashbuckler! One vs one sneak attack all day and you don't need to waste Ki to step of the wind, or waste a bonus action to disengage, an ASI on the mobile feat.
for multiclassing go with a few levels in ranger for Gloomstalker. now you can see them i the darkness but they can't see you :D also more initiative from wisdom.
simple slippers of spider climb is an uncommon item really not noticed much... but you could have gotten this in tier 1 play. even in adventure league.... not to mention you could have been a tabaxi and have a cliimbing speed anyway.... lol the monk is under rated by a lot of dm's .... they are really watchingn the stun... which definitely is something to watch but after that ....what do you watch?... everything man
Honestly the Blind Fighting should negate the adv. against you. It would be balanced mechanically and fit so well thematically. I love the concept of blind fighting as a monk (and others) but it really is not supported mechanically as is
Thru feats wiz or sor feat get meta subtle spell, invisible line wire and levitate encumbered to 500lbs with invisible ring or cloak then drop down with monk of the shadows and sneak attack crit. Mission impossible monk of shadows id use spike armor and encumber myself and use levitate to use armor spikes and heavy shield on back of choice enchanted with silence to crit assassinate. As i drop enlarge.
I like using way of the shadow feat with my Artaficer/fighter have never made a monk always heard that they sucked as far as the monk class but don't know i like to use the feat with intelligence and then 2 levels of fighter and the rest in Artaficer battlesmith take fighters archery and take crossbow expert when you reach level 4 or 5 with Artaficer and then have a +10 to hit DC and +5 in damage
The lv 20 combo I went with my Way if Shadow Monk with multi-classing was 14 levels of monk, 3 levels of rogue (Arcane Trickster,) and 3 levels of ranger (Gloomstalker.) That combination means the character works the best in darkness or at night with a lot of utility abilities and spells to get in and out of situations. Also with Zephyr Strike cast on or before the first round of combat, and combine that with the Gloomstalker's ambush ability, that's upwards of 4 attacks without relying on Flurry of Blows while doing extra damage on top of two of those hits.
I'm doing the exact same but going assassin instead
Swashbuckler Rogue for me, but exactly the same. Pseudo Mobility from Swashbuckler.
5e Half-elf shadow monk was my first character ever. Love that class and shadow is still my fav subclass.
Just started with 5e D&D and a Half-Drow Shadow Monk Was also my first character.
My first 5e character is a way of the shadow monk Kobold- Shadow monk squad?-
It should be noted that the U.A. feat that grants access to Warlock Invocations (called Eldritch Adept) has a prerequisite of Spellcasting or Pact Magic feature. While the Shadow Monk can cast spells with Ki Points, they *DO NOT* have the Spellcasting feature. So a Shadow Monk can take Fighting Initiate for Blind Fighting, but can't take Eldritch Adept for Devil Sight
😢
If you took a race that gives you a cantrip I think that would enable u to take Eldritch Adept
@@theonlymatthew.l No, you specifically need the Spellcasting or Pact Magic Class Feature, not just the ability to cast a Spell or Cantrip. Otherwise Shadow Monk would already qualify...
@@moquips damn 😒. Well I was already thinking about three levels of Gloomstalker in the build. That will definitely qualify the character for the Feat.
I did notice however that you gained the cantrip Minor Illusion from the Shadow Monk class. You don't need to spend any ki points to cast it, would that not qualify you?
@@theonlymatthew.l No, the ability to cast a Cantrip does not give you the Spellcasting feature. TLDR, It essentially comes down to having spell slots.
First, If you look at U.A. Feat Eldritch adept it states the Prerequisite of "Spellcasting or Pact Magic feature". Now if you look at any spellcaster class, it has heading that says "Spellcasting" (PHB pages. Bard - p.52, Cleric - p. 58, Druid - p.66, Eldritch Knight Fighter - p.75, Paladin - p.84, Ranger - p.91, Arcane Trickster Rogue - p.98, Sorcerer - p.101, Wizard - p.114) or Pact Magic for Warlocks (p.107). Shadow Monks don't have that heading anywhere.
To take things further, if you look at PHB p.164 for multiclass spellcasting rules, it breaks down how to calculate your spell slots based on the "Spellcasting or Pact Magic feature". This leads me to believe that the "Spellcasting or Pact Magic feature" breaks down to mean having spell slots, not the ability to cast spells or cantrips, sense many races can do that and is never referred to as the Spellcasting feature in that regard.
Currently playing a 15th level shadow monk/assassin (6 monk; 9 rogue).
Slippers of Spider Climbing opened up so much for him.
Shadow Stepping in 3 dimensions is awesome. Step to the shadows on a high ceiling and position yourself to strike. Drop down on the target from above using safe fall to surprise your target, sneak attack/stunning attack and then bampf away back into high shadows.
Its like playing Nightcrawler on steroids.
I’m also playing a shadow monk with slippers of spider climbing it’s a great combination
I played a gnome elements monk chef but he was flavored so that his monk skills were various potions, cooking skills and powders. His stunning fist was a burst of a proprietary blend of herbs and spices. His unarmed was stabbing with his cooking utensils. Burning hands was the best, he tossed chilli powder on them and set it on fire.
That sounds really fun dude.
Amazing
My dm made a cuisine archetype for the cleric lol, channel divinity is called taste test and hits an enemy with minor amounts of damage of every type to look for strengths and weaknesses
The spells that are included are HUGE I just wish they added Shadow Blade to the list cause that would be so awesome
I'll be playing twin kobolds in an upcoming campaign, and this just gave me so many class combo ideas. My DM is not ready for the madness that will be the twins Zim and Zam!
I'm actually playing A way of the shadow monk in my current campaign and I love it. She's A dispater tiefling who's primary objective was originally cult hunting. Her current party has caught the eyes of several eldritch gods (homebrew world) for various reasons.
Gotta start a campaign tomorrow and the char I made is the same as yours, a shadow monk dispater tiefling.
Glad to see I wasnt the only one with this idea.
Cant wait to see how its going to work out.
I appreciate Todd. I often get ahead of myself and trip over my words, especially when it’s a topic I’m excited about.
Why have I not looked at the Way of Shadow Monk??? As a fan of the Shadow Sorcerer, I need to build my first monk... and this sounds AWESOME! Great chat... thank you for entertaining and helping me burn off an hour at work today. :-)
I just love monks. They may not be the most optimal but they have so many fun tricks
I have a way of shadow monk made as a back up, but they are a black panther like tabaxi who is an enforcer for the criminal underworld. They are the one called when people are behind on payments or someone need a tune up. You rarely see him coming.
I love that these videos have been using the 'tracks' feature to split up the show into segments. Really great as a DM when I need to find something specific I know I've heard you discuss!
In regards to the "Mage Slayer" portion of this ... I saw someone else's build (I believe Nerdarchy?) of a satyr character that uses Way of the Shadow Monk combined with a Rogue Assassin and took the Mage Slayer feat as a concept of a character. A mage slayer that is resistant to magic ... shivers!
Loved this episode! I play a way of shadow monk and most videos about it are just class overviews. It was great to hear speculation about feats and multiclassing to give me some ideas for higher levels
Please do more of these!!!!
This is perfect content
playing a Svirfneblen Shadow monk in my new campaign and he really personifies the anti mage character. advantage on all mental saves vs magic, plus the ability to close distance really quickly is super awesome. add in silence and *chefs kiss*
Half-Orc Shadow Monk 6/ Champion Fighter 14 using Daggers and the new Piercing Style Feat. Crits on 19-20, Daggers are d6s and have triple crit damage dice.
Just fun!
I wish they had mentioned you also have to be aware that you can NOT teleport into or out of your own cast Darkness, as shadowstep specifies that it must be an area you can SEE. This also goes for non-darkvision races with normal darkness if you haven't cast Darkvision on yourself first.
Nothing is stopping a monk from teleporting to the edge of the darkness as the darkness is still visible.
Currently playing a variant human shadow monk, criminal background, with proficiencies in Sleight of Hand, etc. Took the Mobile Feat and Magic Initiate (Mage Hand, Prestidigitation, Shield) Seriously... This dude is an absolute beast. Better than any thief I've ever played and virtually untouchable in combat.
Personally, I've enjoyed the potential of a Hexblade Warlock / Shadow Monk...
Two levels in Hexblade grants the "Devil's Sight" Invocation (which most want as a Shadow Monk)...but really, I just like the combination of "Hexblade's Curse", "Hex" & "Arms of Hadar" .
The idea that this Monk isn't just one with the shadows...they control them, and snare their opponents in them.
Getting some 3.5 Shadowdancer vibes here. 😎
I really like the sound of Trickery Cleric though.
I'm playing a way of the shadow monk as a water genasi, pretty good option to extinguish flames as stuff, feel like the genasis should be valued more, even as a niche race
Hey, cousin!😀 I'm an Air Genasi, shadow monk/hex blade warlock
As I keep listening, I keep seeing kronk with his own background music
I would love to see more monk subclass articles
Variant human go get magic initiate mage. Get your control flames, I lean towards message for second cantrip, and find familiar (key one here). Take bat as your familiar it gets blindsight 60’. Then you can see through his senses. Fun little combo. Besides you can send familiar out so you can see places within 60’ to shadowstep to.
Looking forward o playing this out soon.
Good to see a monk subclass We need more of them
This is great and I was coincidentally making a shadow dragonborn (homebrew, way of the shadow for the curse of strahd. It is cool too because in Xanathars one of the this is you options for why you are a monk is a monastery in the shadowfell
Currently I'm playing a marked elf Soulknife rouge, and a Way of the Shadows monk. Despite the number of points to keep track of, if the DM allows it, the psi blades can be used as monk weapons. Then the rest of the spells in Way of the Shadows can be flavored as the rouge using their psionic powers to manipulate minds around them into seeing, or hearing whatever the rouge wants with Minor Illusion.
Way more Psycho Mantis than Solid Snake at that point. But it has been so much fun to sneak around unseen, tap into multiple people's minds, and then strike from the shadows once I've got everything I need.
If a shadow monk casts darkness on a small object like a pebble and holds it in his palm, can the monk close his hand to block the effect and open it to reinstate the darkness? I’m thinking that the monk could make a fist to attack blocking the darkness and then after his attacks on his opponents turn open his fist palm up give the opponent disadvantage on his attack.
I asked the same thing without seeing the comment, mate :D I played this once but, unfortunately, the moment I got Devil's Sight, the party disbanded, so I didn't get to use the combo at all. My DM told me that, since opening/closing a fist is so benign, I can do it without spending an action or bonus action on it, but I can do it once per round. I think that's a fairly ok way to limit the ability.
Way of Shadows is a cool subclass and one of the better Monk ones, but the base class just feels very far behind a lot of other classes. In addition, Monks feel for MAD than most classes, needing good dex/wis, and decent con if they want to hang in melee. I think Monk should officially get an additional ASI like rogues to help them keep up. I really wish Wizards would balance the base classes instead of relying on subclasses, that’s how we get stuff like the Hexblade!
Very much agree. It's unfair how mad they are. I also really think they should be a d10 hit die
Yeah, this whole video they talk about all kinds of awesome feats monks can take, and they are cool feats for monks, but as a class they do not have the budget for more than 1-2 feats because they pretty much need a maxed dex, a 16 con, and as much wisdom as they can pick up. A d10 hit die would really help alleviate the con reliance that’s for sure.
I am just making a Kenku shadow monk/gloomstalker ranger multiclass character who is this ninja-like assassin. Taking the blind fighting style as well as skulker and alert feats to go fully into this theme of not being able to see is only a minor inconvenience, who excels at surprise attacks, ideally setting hunter's mark up on the target before engaging so can then do 5 attacks on the first round benefitting from that hunter's mark.
I like pairing fast hands and second story work with the monk climbing walls
My build was similar, based on the character from "Ninja Assassin": Swashbuckler Rogue 5 (free mobility)/ Shadow Monk 7/ Battle Master Fighter 8 (blind fighting & damage boost to the finesse monk weapon). Elven Accuracy and Fey-Touched for Hex and daytime Misty Step. Good burst damage.
Way of mercy monk presenting them selves as just a healer and an shadow monk as their assistant, and then when they through down people’s never see it coming l.
I've thought about the "All Shadow" party. I would definitely use the four you mentioned but I would add a Twilight Domain Cleric.
On Blindfighting, it would also help with Heavily Obscured areas and spells like Fog Cloud.
Multiclass Monk (Way of Shadow) / Rogue (Assassin). Perfect.
An Aarakocra shadow monk is my first character that I’m doing for HotDQ. Only level 5 but it’s really fun so far.
I also practiced running up the wall. Only I expected I would only get 1 or 2 steps. My idea was to kick off and back flip so I land behind my opponent. They have really good thick mats to land on until you get the hand on it.
Playing my first shadow monk later tonight. Looking forward to it!
On the subject of big scary stealthy, I recently had an epic level campaign (went up to 26 before we had to put it on pause) where I made a Goliath totem barbarian multiclassed into rogue assassin. The DM and I were the only ones who knew about the rogue bit for a few sessions.
Everybody gets real nervous when the really big angry guy with resistance to everything and 120ft flight suddenly vanishes because he has +23 to stealth.
Very cool. Thanks for posting!
A question for active DMs: since Darkness is cast on an object, would you allow a shadow monk to have a pebble of sorts tied to the inside in his palm and cast it on the pebble? The idea is to be able to control whether Darkness is active or not at will by opening/closing your fist. It wouldn't affect your fighting abilities since it's just a simple pebble that wouldn't hamper your ability to make a fist and do unarmed attacks.
I've played it once, but didn't get to use the combo in that session. Unfortunately, the party disbanded afterward. My DM said it would be ok to either open or close my fist once per round, and whatever I end my turn on, it stays like that till my next turn.
What do you think of the idea? How would you limit that?
Once Darknes is cast on an objekt, thr aoe includes you as well so that wouldnt really work.
@@milanivkovic1680 the spell does specify that you can cover the source of the darkness with an opaque object such as a bowl or helm to suppress the darkness effect, or turn it off temporarily so to speak. Similar to how a shuttered lamp operates with light, only an inverse since it’s magical darkness. OP’s question is taking the idea of fully covering the object emitting the darkness (the pebble) with a closed fist in place of a bowl or helm, and asking their opinion on this system. I run a similar idea however it is a locket, if I open it then the darkness springs forth, once closed the spell is contained on the inside of the locket until it is opened again.
I'm not very partial to the monk, but I'm really loving the sound of the Shadow Monk.
So my campaign right now i have a Way of thr Shadow Tabaxi who is blind. I have the Tremorsense feat that allows me to "see" creatures. What makes this extra perfect is that the setting is The Underdark! 6th Level i get Shadowstep and i will become one with darkness at all times haha! After I multiclass Assasin rogue, its a wrap.
I'm playing a Gloom Stalker who will be multiclassing into Way of the Shadow and now that you mention it, he *does* have a chip on his shoulder when it comes to wizards.... Oh this is gonna be good.
Boots of Elvenkind would fix the sound issue
Shadow monk bard of whispers is the illegal combo that most DM won’t let you use!
Todd: monks don't usually cast spells
Way of the four elements: Am I a joke to you?
Blind fighting does seem to encroach in a big way on the Ranger's Feral Senses, which they don't even get until level 18.
Give them Spiderclimb boots, teleportation gets insane. I'll be doing Shadow next time I do a Trickster character.
5e Wood Elf Rogue Assassin multiclassed with Monk Way of Shadow.
Currently playing as a way of shadow, shadow sorcerer
Going to try to use the Shadow monk to adapt a character from Exalted to D&D. Seems like a great fit.
gonna play a human shadow monk lvl 6 and warlock 5 with arch Fey. next level with shadow step and misty step in combat is over power. put bestow curse on your stunning strike. feat sentinel + magic slayer = good combo too ! i'm so hyped to play it :D
Barn Owl styled Aarakocra.... I love it
I think the swashbukler synergizes really well with a monk, jump on and out without Aos and getting your snake Attack when Rolling a target
I really like way of mercy and shadow monks working together.
I Like Shadow Monk 9/ Gloomstalker 3/ Battlemaster 8. The impetus for this build was reading Eldritch Adept 😏
@16:00 Your own silence should never impose any problems on your spellcasting since your spells are all concentration spells anyway. So if you want to cast a spell you have to drop the silence regardless of whether or not you're in it. (well, except for darkvision but that's a spell you should have cast way beforehand)
My favorite class to play, not that great in mass combat but stealth and infiltration are gold
The monk bird combo some DM‘s I’m not let you play this combo!
Shadow monk with a dip of gloom stalker is so much fun XD
Could It be possible to have a Lionin Rune/shadow monk?
You guys are talking about taking a lot of feats for a very MAD class as it its. If they didn't make us have to choose between feats and ability score increases, your advice might work.
Oooh! Arcane trickster monk! The ultimate cat bugler! Hello Carmen San Diego.
I am right now playing a gloomstalker shadowmonk, invisble in darkess and even more moçada t an extra Attack first round.
See through magical darkness at level 1: Variant human... Magic Initiate: Mage... Find Familiar: Bat. (Your DM will like still give you disadvantage on actually making hits while channeling your senses... but you can still "see" in magical darkness.)
“Additionally, as an action, you can see through your familiar’s eyes and hear what it hears until the start of your next turn, gaining the benefits of any special senses that the familiar has.” Find Familiar Spell Text. If you use your action to sense... you have no action for attack... how are you pulling off blind fighting attacks using this?
If you don't want to spend a feat on Magic Initiate, you can probably just cast Darkness over a light source and create your own dim light/darkness.
Trying to find blind fighting (ua) on D&D Beyond and i don't see it at all. Can someone link it to me?
I don’t see it...
Monk Shade
Shadow monk spellcasting operates more like warlock spellcasting than any other caster. Also I think monks need something like a fighting style to get it to an average damage.
Have blindsight and someone to hit you with darkness and you use silence you are a zone of death where your opponent can't see or hear
James went from 3.5 to 5 like all of us!
I think prestidigitation over control flame. Mold earth is great😎
My favorite idea is 3 levels of gloom stalker ranger with blind fighting then way of the shadows for the rest
Imo, Monks for Wisdom are like Warlocks for Charisma. Both are good for multiclassing but if you plan to play them as its own, there are other class that works better
I had once played a shadow monk/gloomstalker ranger
Swashbuckler! One vs one sneak attack all day and you don't need to waste Ki to step of the wind, or waste a bonus action to disengage, an ASI on the mobile feat.
Way of shadow monks don't need to use any components for casting their spells
for multiclassing go with a few levels in ranger for Gloomstalker.
now you can see them i the darkness but they can't see you :D
also more initiative from wisdom.
with rogue use grappler, when you grapple them you get advantage on them. :D
👍🏻
simple slippers of spider climb is an uncommon item really not noticed much... but you could have gotten this in tier 1 play. even in adventure league.... not to mention you could have been a tabaxi and have a cliimbing speed anyway.... lol the monk is under rated by a lot of dm's .... they are really watchingn the stun... which definitely is something to watch but after that ....what do you watch?... everything man
Honestly the Blind Fighting should negate the adv. against you. It would be balanced mechanically and fit so well thematically. I love the concept of blind fighting as a monk (and others) but it really is not supported mechanically as is
Thru feats wiz or sor feat get meta subtle spell, invisible line wire and levitate encumbered to 500lbs with invisible ring or cloak then drop down with monk of the shadows and sneak attack crit. Mission impossible monk of shadows id use spike armor and encumber myself and use levitate to use armor spikes and heavy shield on back of choice enchanted with silence to crit assassinate. As i drop enlarge.
Ghostwise Halfling Shadow Monk
My shadow monk took 3 levels in rouge (assassin subclass) and its actually broken
Todd is shaking his head, when James is talking about Shadow Step. :D
I like using way of the shadow feat with my Artaficer/fighter have never made a monk always heard that they sucked as far as the monk class but don't know i like to use the feat with intelligence and then 2 levels of fighter and the rest in Artaficer battlesmith take fighters archery and take crossbow expert when you reach level 4 or 5 with Artaficer and then have a +10 to hit DC and +5 in damage
I’m having trouble finding Blind Fighting on dndbeyond.
New feat from Tasha's IIRC
10 levels of shadow, then the wildmont fighter
One question, Aasimar's ghost wings, can they be affected by Monk (Astral Self) ability: Arms of Astral Self? :)
Aereni wood elves!
Im currently playing a abjurer wizard shadow monk. The build is so trash but so fun.
17:30 they go from building Batman to Butcher.
What about, instead of a party of goblins, a party of Kobolds...
inquisitive rogue/shadow monk is considered the "Batman" build, and gives you more ways to better use your high wisdom.
Making a Thief/Shadow Monk, Kenku, Infiltrator/Spy Information Dealer.....
Shadow Monk is best Monk.