I just wanted to say, I would LOVE to see more builds using popular 3rd-party options if able. There are so many really cool, really well designed options in books like Heliana's, Ryoko's, Valda's, Griffon's, Grim Hollow, etc. which could make for so many cool multiclass builds, and you don't really see many creators making build videos using those 3rd party options. It's kind of an untapped well of ideas and content that I think a lot of people would love to see. And for me personally, that's way more interesting than anything involving the new 2024 D&D stuff, tbh.
Hey! Big Fan! This is unrelated but I’ve stumbled unto a super cool multi class build I think that you’d be interested in! A Bard (Eloquence) Warlock (pact of the chain) You can use the Pseudodragon familiar’s sting ability stacked with Hex and Bardic “Unsettling Words” to knock characters unconscious almost constantly without concentration!
I LOVE drakkeheim, best campaign of whole 5E (for me) by far. A worthy successor un quality terms to what (for me again) was Iron Kingdoms and the Witchfire in 3E
Eberron and Ptolus are my favorites, but Drakkenheim is definitely cool. Its nature dictates a certain tone, making it a bit less versatile than many other settings. If you're looking for that tone, though, it's awesome.
For those interested in Sebastian Crowe's Guide to Drakkenheim, while it isn't on Dnd Beyond, it IS on VTT's like Roll20 and Foundry if you are looking to purchase it :)
This build reminds me of the old D&D 3.0 class, Sohei, from Oriental Adventures. It had a rage, monk unarmored features, and a paladin-like spell list and progression. I would run this build in a similar way, as a sworn guardian of an area or organization.
This build gives me big monkey king vibes, emotional, impulsive, highly skilled, nigh unkillable, polearm fighter. Only thing missing is the magic, but convince you DM to give you a flying carpet that looks like a cloud and boom.
@@kjmoore352 honestly you do get flying with the couatl stance, so what I'm missing is clones xD I could imagine this working with echo knight fighter instead of barbarian for specifically that. It would also be way less MAD
Woo hoo. Been waiting for this since the D6 colab !!! Also have rewatched the arcane hand video just about every day. I'm playing one soonish and am super excited. You and the Dudes rock!
Darn you! That rendition of Over The Rainbow reminded me of the songs existence, and I just had to dig through my library until I found Mago De Oz's version again! Now the neighbours will think I'm not a Rocker! P.S Seriously if you like music from a genre that isn't 'cool' to your peers just don't care what others think, embrace it! I'm more a Metal and Prog/Hard Rock type but there is so much great music out there in other genres don't limit yourself. Give it a go.
Colby, I can help you make a Monk build that uses GreatWeapons. When using GreatWeapons, you lose: Dexterity for Unarmed Strikes & Monk Weapons, Martial Arts die, and the ability to make a bonus action unarmed strike after attack action. Not to worry, because you still get to keep Flurry of Blows, Patient Defense, and Step of the Wind. The race you pick depends if you want to keep your unarmored movement. Pick Tortle if you want to keep Unarmored Movement. Choose Custom Lineage if you want to have 18 in Strength at level 1. If you pick Custom Lineage, you will have 18 Strength and 14 Dexterity for Medium armor. Level 1 you start as Monk so that you can dump your Wisdom and have Dexterity at 14. 2nd level you multiclass into Fighter level 1 and you pick the Unarmed Fighting Style to make use of your Flurry Of Blows for later levels and now you have proficiency in Martial Weapons and Medium Armor. Continue with Monk to level 4 and pick up Great Weapon Master. Your Monk Subclass will be Way of Ascendant Dragon to change the damage type of your Flurry of Blows in hopes of bypassing any enemy resistances. Then you continue the rest of the way as Fighter because you want to get the BattleMaster Fighter Subclass. I know you haven't gotten "Extra Attack," but Flurry of Blows, Great Weapon Master, and Maneuvers make up for the loss of early "Extra Attack." Level 9 you get Extra Attack doing 4 attacks, two effected by Great Weapon Master and Maneuvers. The 2 Maneuvers that work with unarmed strikes are Lunging Attack and Riposte. If you continue as Fighter, level 15 you get another extra attack doing 5 attacks, 3 having Great Weapon Master and Maneuvers. Enjoy! 😊
this is really cool! It is important to note that you still need WIS 13 to multiclass out of monk, not just into monk. so if by dump you meant keep it at an 8, you can't do that unfortunately. which, is fine because a negative to wisdom is quite scary
@@gabrielcross1062 yeah, you're right. Having a negative in Wisdom would be scary. Especially against certain spells. Perhaps wearing Heavy armor instead of medium or choosing the Tortle race is best so that you don't have to worry about having low AC since this build requires more Strength and less Dexterity. At level 1 Start as Monk have 16 Strength, 16 Constitution, 13 Dexterity, 12 Wisdom, 8 Intelligence, 8 Charisma. Note: you won't be Multiclassing out of Monk.
@@gabrielcross1062 later on I did think of a way to play a Monk using Great Weapons without needing to Multiclass. I don't think it does as much damage as Multiclassing into Fighter and it takes longer for it to come online. Level 1 as a custom lineage or human variant you choose Fighting initiate feat for unarmed fighting style. This increases your unarmed strikes to 1d8 and helps later when you are wearing Heavy armor. Level 4 you pick up Weapon Master to boost your Strength by +1 and gain proficiency in Great Weapons. Level 8, yikes, you pick up Heavily Armored which boosts your Strength+1 and gives you good AC. Lastly level 12 GWM. I would recommend Way of Long Death Monk for some Tankiness. Since your AC will be low for 7 levels you can rely on the temporary HP. The only benefit of this build is that you are a high level Monk. You have many Ki points unlike the Multiclass. Also when you hit level 14, you gain proficiency in All saving throws.
Idea came to me today after watching the Dungeon Dudes video on Everyone is an Artificer. "Giant Man"! I've been toying with some different grappler builds. Never dawned on me until about 30 min ago to add Armorer to the mix. Base build would be Duergar, 3 Armorer (Guardian) Artificer, 8 Rune Knight Fighter. Feats: lvl 4 Grappler, lvl 6 Mobile, & lvl 8 War Caster. Background Giant Foundling for Giant's Strike feat. Base idea: Activate Giant's Might, Cast Enlarge on self, then grapple gargantuan and pound it's face in! 😁
I have this book and it’s great. Using the other monk subclass in my upcoming campaign. However, I’m just here to applaud your shirt. Hell yes Equality is Greater Than Division
@23:00 I like to imagine this monk as following a path of duality, embracing the inner turmoil of the human (or humanoid) experience. They fight with tempered aggression; their style is the ferocity of an animal but the technique of a honed mind. They puts all of their effort into attack, leaving themself open to counterattack, seeking growth through opposition Kinda like Godfrey phase 2 in Elden Ring
I personally love the concept of a Giant Barb Bugbear for reach memes, I actually adapted it to work for an Elephant-riding, lance-using one as you need a Huge mount that can carry you whilst you rage in Large. Had to throw in some Paladin levels for aura of protection to stack defensiveness for the poor “mammoth” since Elephants are not exactly the best at saving throws.
I build a nice little Serpent Style Monk straight and loved the class abilities. I can see why someone would want to go Barbarian what with the Monks "MAD", Rage, and Reckless Attack, and Possible Barbarian Subclass. Depending on how the new monk flushes out as in 2024 PHB the Pure Serpent Monk could get really strong, as the one i built was based on UA 2024 Playtest Material. I also took the Invocation from Warlock for Pact of the Blade for the Radiant, Psychic, and Necrotic weapon attacks.
I have been waiting for you to do this since you did Arcane hand! I wonder how these builds will change with the new player's handbook. I would love to see you do builds for the rest of the Sebastian Crowe's subclasses as well, the path of the old gods barbarian in particular I think you would have a lot of fun with.
OH MAN my buddies and I are starting DoD soon, and I had my eye on this subclass for EXACTLY this reason- seemed prime for abuse with polearm master/sentinel/GWM. Glad to be vindicated by the opti-master himself 🙌
Drakkenheim lets GOOOOO! So many of these subclasses are just fire. I'd love to see your take on Hex paladin, Cosmic Warlock, and Shadow domain cleric. Also, yay Randall art is BACK!
Thank you for all the amazing videos. I know you get inundated with new ideas for build from you community, but I just can't help myself. I would love to see you take another shot at a One Hit Wonder build. With Smite now requiring a bonus action to use, I think it's less important to get as many attacks as you can as a Paladin, and more important to make a single attack as powerful as possible. Sorcery Incarnate gives you a +1 to spell save DCs. I can definitely see a build where with 2 levels of Paladin and 4 levels of Sorcerer (just to match up with your level 6 Damage report). Turn one, activate Innate Sorcery. Then, cast Hold Person. Not a bad turn 1 as far as setup rounds go. You're still preventing an enemy from taking a turn most likely. Then on Turn 2, cast Booming Blade in order to gain advantage on the attack. Bonus action Smite on the automatic critical hit and deal 6d8 radiant damage. I feel like Elven Accuracy could fit in somewhere, but it's not quite as good as when we had hexblade and could use Charisma for the attack to get the triple advantage. But the bump to charisma is still nice and would apply when making spell attacks like firebolt. To be honest, I'm just curious what you can build now that Sorcerers have basically a feature that lets them go Super Saiyan for a little bit, haha
Gotta throw this out there; only monk feature you lose when wielding a non-monk weapon is martial arts. Unarmored movement still works, as do your ki expending features, which also work when armored (but then you lose unarmored movement.) Grabbing a couple fighter levels for unarmed fighting or barbarian levels wouldnt slow you down too bad imo. And you could grab polearm master if you're worried about a non-resource spending bonus action attack. Think there's something there. Getting monks' mobility could do a lot for a melee damage dealer. I really enjoy your videos BTW. Thanks for making them!
Your custom lineage comment at the beginning mentioning a half Tortle half Human. Made me think of a half Leonid and have Tortle. A lion turtle monk spirit bender. 🤔
Im playing a monk that looked down on his sorcerer friend for his reliance on magic that is turning into an arcane hand monk soon after changing his viewpoint! Drakkenheim monks are great
Why does this make me want to make a Yuan-ti Way of the Serpent Monk? 🤔😂 Hunt Domain Cleric is going to be nice too! 😱 Also: Viper Strike is basically the Monk's way of doing a Warlock's "Eldritch Smite" several times a day. 🤔 Honestly not a bad 6th-Level feature there. The stances remind me a bit of Killua Zoldyck from "Hunter × Hunter" Also a little slitherer. 😂 Kelly and Monty absolutely made an absolute adder of a subclass! If you're watching: Awesome job dudes!
Minor point - the giant strike extra damage would apply if you used the ki point to return a missile weapon attack reduced to zero by your ranger weapon defence. Tiny but something.
thank you for the table of contents! I didn't know! I was creating a character recently, and looking for inspiration. I went through a bunch of your write-ups to figure out which one of them had the character I was looking for, and this would've made it soo much easier! edit: the outtakes are incredible :D
I always wanted to make a character based on the Nobushi in the video game 'For Honor' and this seems like a good starting point for that. It even has the serpent theme.
"What if everyone plays a monk" sounds like a nightmare to DM - you will never, ever, catch them to hit them... Which is also a great reason to play a Heavy weapon 'Monk' - the mobility bonus from few levels of monk and then leaning into the Barbarian, Fighter or maybe Warlock for the heavy weapon stuff. Its not like you can't drop to punch stuff when you need the monk unarmed stuff and then pick it back up as part of the attack action within the rules of 5E.
I have watched almost all your vids, they help me understand how to deal with strong characters while still keeping it fun for my players. It would be awesome if you could do a build with the Apothecary class. I understand if you wouldnt. Love your shit, keep being you!
With your idea of multi classing into Rogue and using Marilith Stance to get multiple reaction sneak attacks; you could take the Arcane Trickster Subclass and pick up Shield so you could also cast Shield multiple times in a round if enemies keep hitting over your AC. And if you're willing to pay the war caster tax, pick up Booming or Green-Flame Blade to add even more damage to those reaction sneak attacks. Maybe a future build idea?
Shield lasts the until your next turn anyway and because of the rules against stacking the same spell, I don't think the Shield idea would work. The rest sounds good though.
Monk is my favourite class since it fulfils the fantasy of the nimble fighter who does not rely on brute strengths. Therefore I was a little disappointed about the fact that this build is strength-based. But great work overall. To who ever is reading my rambling. I'm curious about your thoughts on the Dungeon Dudes monk subclasses are still usable in one DnD.
At monk 4 I think I'd take the Mobile feat - then when you get to Barbarian recklessness you are probably able to get into and out of the opponents range so you are so very 'reckless' you never give the opponent advantage after all...
Controlled rage is the basis of the Vaapad style in Star Wars, which is the saber style of Mace Windu, so imagine him but with a polearm instead of a longsword.
11:40 I'm unsure if it has changed in the 2024 version, but last time I looked in the players errata, when you have multiple ways of calculating your AC, you choose one to use at the moment, and you are free to change which calculation you are using, you just cannot stack them (such as a barb/monk having their AC being "10+Dex+Con+Wis" you just choose if you want to use the monk version of Dex and Wis, or the barb version of Dex and Con, which you can technically change multiple times in the same play session, as long as you are communicating which you are currently using)
Hear me out Colby! Astral Self Monk and Battlesmith Artificer. Boost WIS and INT. Grappler + Great Weapon Master plus + Elven Accuracy. Grappling with your WIS + INT with the infusion that lets you fo that. Triple advantage Great Weapon Master attacks after grappling a creature.
Monks can do the polearm master feat with a spear so if you want you can be a Bugbear for sudo reach and get the reaction attack with polearm master at range
I’m late to this video, but I do have a character that is barbarian/monk. I rename the barbarian features into stances or forms of a martial art. Rage is Defensive Stance, Reckless Attack is Scorpion Form, and so on.
Hey Colby, I had an idea for more content! What if you did beginner class builds? Like starting with a human fighter and going with the champion subclass. No multiclassing so it’s easy for new players. You could break down which feats to pick, whether you’re in a party or solo. For those without all the options, suggest which feats support their character best. Also, dive into which weapons and armor to use and when to upgrade. It’d be cool to explain how to wield your weapon or spells and use them in combos. The goal is to make a simple subclass fun and powerful so new players don’t feel lost and slow the game down for everyone. With the new Player's Handbook coming out, it’d be a great time to start. Just an idea, but I think making a straightforward character as fun and powerful as possible will be awesome for new players!
Personally I think there’s already plenty of videos like those out there, and his channel is more geared towards the more advanced/complicated builds so taking a step backwards would lead to a lot of videos that would be less interesting for the majority of his viewers
As close as we are to the next phb, there are a couple synergies I'm mildy surprised not to see a video on yet. The first is a death cleric single target burst build that focuses on using action surge with upcast inflict wounds to double prock their channel divinity on their turn; 5+2*cleric level is a lot of damage. The other is a kobold oathbreaker paladin that combines aura of hate, draconic cry, and the summon lesser demons spell with abyssal chickens; extremely impractical as you'd need to kill a person a day to stop them from attacking you but I wanna see how it stacks up against shepard druid.
Damn! I'm so glad you made this table of contents doc! I've watched a lot of your videos, but I always had a hard time scrolling through your playlist to find something specific :D This doc is perfect! Keep up the good work :) Greetings from Germany
The Rage/Reckless attack manifestations could be interpreted to the way the Drunken Master fighting style views alcohol consumption. Just the right amount in just the right context is good, but requires great discipline to not overindulge. This Monk could adopt the philosophy that rage is good in battle IF aimed correctly in specific contexts. ~_~
You should check out the Ultimate Adventures Handbook. There are a lot of very well designed subclasses, and the monk ones are some of my favorite. Like The way of Kabuki, which is a third caster with bard spells, and the way of thorns which gives you a cheesgraterey builds witu thorn whip and spike growth.
I appreciate the release the day after the monk 2024 reveal. Instantly looking at the new element monk and how they can probably fit right into this build.
Ok Colby first of all excellent shirt I love statements that don't have to slap people in the face. I love your work and think you're an amazing person thanks for your work.
I'm only 7:53 minutes in anyway, I could totally see a giant barbarian dip on a wildhunt shifter or bugbear Serpent monk build being a really good choice. With reckless attack every turn without downsides + temp hp or even more reach on 1 of the best offense oriented dips being a really good choice. We have seen after all that size is great and good reach is also incredible. It's hard to choose which 1 I like more.
Colby I have no idea if you have done a built like this before but I'd love to see your take on an eldritch pirate gish, whos a swashbuckler or a swords bard who dips into something like Goolock or Fathomlesslock for some magic and eldritch blast so they can really do some insane roleplay potential and maybe some good damage
For a barbarian monk I think the Rage ability could be an extension of the discipline that monks are taught and trained in. That they are so self controlled that they have voluntary control over an involuntary flight or fight response.
@@trevorgreenough6141 it's an old internet meme usually depicting a penguin holding a knife with the words "you've triggered my fight or flight response and I'm a flightless bird." Implying someone's response will always be to fight.
Just found you because of the DC20 one shot with Dungeon Coach! Loved watching you play that monk, it's awesome they are so strong in that system. Pumped to see the rest of your videos!
The captions are Hilarious. Have a look at them Colby 'let the heat flow through you ' the book of tsh' 'flurry of bling' 'a good subass' etc. Do Not Fix!
Check out World Anvil here! worldanvil.com/?c=D4 - Use the promo code d4 at checkout to save 51%!
Israel Kamakawiwo'ole RUclips Music: music.ruclips.net/channel/UCDrbjok3kk04f-SByjhpLYg?si=Fnecw_rJpY_HM282
I just wanted to say, I would LOVE to see more builds using popular 3rd-party options if able. There are so many really cool, really well designed options in books like Heliana's, Ryoko's, Valda's, Griffon's, Grim Hollow, etc. which could make for so many cool multiclass builds, and you don't really see many creators making build videos using those 3rd party options. It's kind of an untapped well of ideas and content that I think a lot of people would love to see.
And for me personally, that's way more interesting than anything involving the new 2024 D&D stuff, tbh.
Hey! Big Fan! This is unrelated but I’ve stumbled unto a super cool multi class build I think that you’d be interested in!
A Bard (Eloquence) Warlock (pact of the chain)
You can use the Pseudodragon familiar’s sting ability stacked with Hex and Bardic “Unsettling Words” to knock characters unconscious almost constantly without concentration!
I LOVE drakkeheim, best campaign of whole 5E (for me) by far. A worthy successor un quality terms to what (for me again) was Iron Kingdoms and the Witchfire in 3E
Eberron and Ptolus are my favorites, but Drakkenheim is definitely cool. Its nature dictates a certain tone, making it a bit less versatile than many other settings. If you're looking for that tone, though, it's awesome.
@@elementzero3379 My party and I played it in Eberron in the Mournland. It actually fits really well with minimal changes.
@@blankslate6964 I could see it as a twisted cityscape in the Mournland. Adapting the factions would be relatively easy, too.
I feel like your shirt has some substantial depth to it. Equality is Greater than Division?
For those interested in Sebastian Crowe's Guide to Drakkenheim, while it isn't on Dnd Beyond, it IS on VTT's like Roll20 and Foundry if you are looking to purchase it :)
And according to the Dudes it will be eventually. The whole new class in it is the biggest hurdle
Doth mine ears deceive me? Did I hear the mighty Colby say at the 27:13 mark that he thought a class was too overpowered? 😆 🤣 😂
This build reminds me of the old D&D 3.0 class, Sohei, from Oriental Adventures. It had a rage, monk unarmored features, and a paladin-like spell list and progression. I would run this build in a similar way, as a sworn guardian of an area or organization.
This build gives me big monkey king vibes, emotional, impulsive, highly skilled, nigh unkillable, polearm fighter. Only thing missing is the magic, but convince you DM to give you a flying carpet that looks like a cloud and boom.
@@kjmoore352 honestly you do get flying with the couatl stance, so what I'm missing is clones xD
I could imagine this working with echo knight fighter instead of barbarian for specifically that. It would also be way less MAD
Woo hoo. Been waiting for this since the D6 colab !!! Also have rewatched the arcane hand video just about every day. I'm playing one soonish and am super excited. You and the Dudes rock!
If Colby should do more 3rd party stuff this comment should be at the top so he knows it would get views!
I love how yall work together. The comradery is very refreshing.
D6 baby lol
17:22 When Colby mentioned planting the pole arm and doing a flying kick, my first thought was of Rey Mysterio's 619 😂
Excellent shirt!
Yes. I will be playing standard 5e as long as drakkenheim is there!
Few I was worried this was going to be the third straight class in a row! I was about to call for a wellness check :-)
Would love to see you do more drakkenheim inspired builds!
The Kobe edit was SO necessary
@@jyabriel08 so dirty 😂
Meany a time I’ve thought about making a snake themed monk, but this is also really cool
Took you long enough! Been waiting for The Way of the Serpent for ages!
LOVE your friendly cooperation with Dungeon Dudes in this video and other content!
Darn you! That rendition of Over The Rainbow reminded me of the songs existence, and I just had to dig through my library until I found Mago De Oz's version again! Now the neighbours will think I'm not a Rocker!
P.S Seriously if you like music from a genre that isn't 'cool' to your peers just don't care what others think, embrace it! I'm more a Metal and Prog/Hard Rock type but there is so much great music out there in other genres don't limit yourself. Give it a go.
Agreed on the music. Both good music and awful music can be found in any genre.
The lighting kills!
Colby, I can help you make a Monk build that uses GreatWeapons.
When using GreatWeapons, you lose: Dexterity for Unarmed Strikes & Monk Weapons, Martial Arts die, and the ability to make a bonus action unarmed strike after attack action.
Not to worry, because you still get to keep Flurry of Blows, Patient Defense, and Step of the Wind.
The race you pick depends if you want to keep your unarmored movement. Pick Tortle if you want to keep Unarmored Movement. Choose Custom Lineage if you want to have 18 in Strength at level 1.
If you pick Custom Lineage, you will have 18 Strength and 14 Dexterity for Medium armor.
Level 1 you start as Monk so that you can dump your Wisdom and have Dexterity at 14. 2nd level you multiclass into Fighter level 1 and you pick the Unarmed Fighting Style to make use of your Flurry Of Blows for later levels and now you have proficiency in Martial Weapons and Medium Armor. Continue with Monk to level 4 and pick up Great Weapon Master. Your Monk Subclass will be Way of Ascendant Dragon to change the damage type of your Flurry of Blows in hopes of bypassing any enemy resistances.
Then you continue the rest of the way as Fighter because you want to get the BattleMaster Fighter Subclass. I know you haven't gotten "Extra Attack," but Flurry of Blows, Great Weapon Master, and Maneuvers make up for the loss of early "Extra Attack." Level 9 you get Extra Attack doing 4 attacks, two effected by Great Weapon Master and Maneuvers. The 2 Maneuvers that work with unarmed strikes are Lunging Attack and Riposte. If you continue as Fighter, level 15 you get another extra attack doing 5 attacks, 3 having Great Weapon Master and Maneuvers. Enjoy! 😊
this is really cool!
It is important to note that you still need WIS 13 to multiclass out of monk, not just into monk. so if by dump you meant keep it at an 8, you can't do that unfortunately. which, is fine because a negative to wisdom is quite scary
@@gabrielcross1062 yeah, you're right. Having a negative in Wisdom would be scary. Especially against certain spells. Perhaps wearing Heavy armor instead of medium or choosing the Tortle race is best so that you don't have to worry about having low AC since this build requires more Strength and less Dexterity.
At level 1 Start as Monk have 16 Strength, 16 Constitution, 13 Dexterity, 12 Wisdom, 8 Intelligence, 8 Charisma.
Note: you won't be Multiclassing out of Monk.
@@gabrielcross1062 later on I did think of a way to play a Monk using Great Weapons without needing to Multiclass. I don't think it does as much damage as Multiclassing into Fighter and it takes longer for it to come online. Level 1 as a custom lineage or human variant you choose Fighting initiate feat for unarmed fighting style. This increases your unarmed strikes to 1d8 and helps later when you are wearing Heavy armor. Level 4 you pick up Weapon Master to boost your Strength by +1 and gain proficiency in Great Weapons. Level 8, yikes, you pick up Heavily Armored which boosts your Strength+1 and gives you good AC. Lastly level 12 GWM. I would recommend Way of Long Death Monk for some Tankiness. Since your AC will be low for 7 levels you can rely on the temporary HP.
The only benefit of this build is that you are a high level Monk. You have many Ki points unlike the Multiclass. Also when you hit level 14, you gain proficiency in All saving throws.
16:44 Very happy to see a clip from Moribito. Fun build, fun theme! That's exactly where my brain was going anyways. Anywho, y'all have a great day!
Been waiting almost a year for this one. Thank you.
Imagine playing this as a half snake body Yuan-ti. The flavor OH THE FLAVOR
The Way of the Serpent reminds me of the hero Shieldbreaker in the Darkest Dungeon game
Love the t-shirt. And the build of course.
I like the slightly offset lighting 👍🏼
Idea came to me today after watching the Dungeon Dudes video on Everyone is an Artificer. "Giant Man"! I've been toying with some different grappler builds. Never dawned on me until about 30 min ago to add Armorer to the mix. Base build would be Duergar, 3 Armorer (Guardian) Artificer, 8 Rune Knight Fighter. Feats: lvl 4 Grappler, lvl 6 Mobile, & lvl 8 War Caster. Background Giant Foundling for Giant's Strike feat.
Base idea: Activate Giant's Might, Cast Enlarge on self, then grapple gargantuan and pound it's face in! 😁
The Way of the Serpent: D&D Build #174
Level 01: (see above) [barbarian 1, race & feat]
Level 02: (see above) [monk 1]
Level 03: (@14:31) [monk 2]
Level 04: (@16:06) [monk 3 & subclass]
Level 05: (@18:27) [monk 4 & ASI]
Level 06: (@18:54) [monk 5]
Level 07: (see above) [barbarian 2]
Level 08: (@23:10) [monk 6]
Level 09: (@27:43) [monk 7]
Level 10: (see above) [monk 8 & ASI]
Level 11: (@29:46) [monk 9]
Level 12: (@30:06) [monk 10]
Level 13: (@30:25) [monk 11]
Level 14: (see above) [barbarian 3 & subclass]
Level 15: (@37:32) [barbarian 4 & ASI]
Level 16: (@39:50) [barbarian 5]
Level 17: (@40:17) [barbarian 6]
I have this book and it’s great. Using the other monk subclass in my upcoming campaign.
However, I’m just here to applaud your shirt. Hell yes Equality is Greater Than Division
im so glad youre doing another build from this book!!! i bought the book myself and all of the subclasses are so so so cool
@23:00 I like to imagine this monk as following a path of duality, embracing the inner turmoil of the human (or humanoid) experience.
They fight with tempered aggression; their style is the ferocity of an animal but the technique of a honed mind. They puts all of their effort into attack, leaving themself open to counterattack, seeking growth through opposition
Kinda like Godfrey phase 2 in Elden Ring
YEEEEESSS!!! Thank you so much for doing this one! I have been waiting ever since you responded to my comment!
Came for the build, stayed for the Mic Wars! 😂
That was a fun one, Colby!
I personally love the concept of a Giant Barb Bugbear for reach memes, I actually adapted it to work for an Elephant-riding, lance-using one as you need a Huge mount that can carry you whilst you rage in Large. Had to throw in some Paladin levels for aura of protection to stack defensiveness for the poor “mammoth” since Elephants are not exactly the best at saving throws.
I build a nice little Serpent Style Monk straight and loved the class abilities. I can see why someone would want to go Barbarian what with the Monks "MAD", Rage, and Reckless Attack, and Possible Barbarian Subclass.
Depending on how the new monk flushes out as in 2024 PHB the Pure Serpent Monk could get really strong, as the one i built was based on UA 2024 Playtest Material. I also took the Invocation from Warlock for Pact of the Blade for the Radiant, Psychic, and Necrotic weapon attacks.
I am very happy that you now use 3rd party content for your builds. I hope you keep that up. 😁
Are you using a new camera Colby? Idk if it’s just me or just the editing but I feel like the quality looks better than before
I'm glad you noticed! I simply shifted the light a bit. Am trying to decide if I want to keep it that way :)
This subclass will SLAY with the updated Monk in the 2024 players handbook!
NOICE 😎
Drakenheim build!! 🎉
I love this subclass so much
I have been waiting for you to do this since you did Arcane hand!
I wonder how these builds will change with the new player's handbook.
I would love to see you do builds for the rest of the Sebastian Crowe's subclasses as well, the path of the old gods barbarian in particular I think you would have a lot of fun with.
OH MAN my buddies and I are starting DoD soon, and I had my eye on this subclass for EXACTLY this reason- seemed prime for abuse with polearm master/sentinel/GWM. Glad to be vindicated by the opti-master himself 🙌
Drakkenheim lets GOOOOO! So many of these subclasses are just fire. I'd love to see your take on Hex paladin, Cosmic Warlock, and Shadow domain cleric. Also, yay Randall art is BACK!
Getting into a Drakkenheim game soon myself, been trying to build a Paladin using their Oath of Hexes subclasses and OH MY LORD am I having trouble.
Thank you for all the amazing videos. I know you get inundated with new ideas for build from you community, but I just can't help myself. I would love to see you take another shot at a One Hit Wonder build. With Smite now requiring a bonus action to use, I think it's less important to get as many attacks as you can as a Paladin, and more important to make a single attack as powerful as possible.
Sorcery Incarnate gives you a +1 to spell save DCs. I can definitely see a build where with 2 levels of Paladin and 4 levels of Sorcerer (just to match up with your level 6 Damage report). Turn one, activate Innate Sorcery. Then, cast Hold Person. Not a bad turn 1 as far as setup rounds go. You're still preventing an enemy from taking a turn most likely. Then on Turn 2, cast Booming Blade in order to gain advantage on the attack. Bonus action Smite on the automatic critical hit and deal 6d8 radiant damage.
I feel like Elven Accuracy could fit in somewhere, but it's not quite as good as when we had hexblade and could use Charisma for the attack to get the triple advantage. But the bump to charisma is still nice and would apply when making spell attacks like firebolt.
To be honest, I'm just curious what you can build now that Sorcerers have basically a feature that lets them go Super Saiyan for a little bit, haha
Gotta throw this out there; only monk feature you lose when wielding a non-monk weapon is martial arts. Unarmored movement still works, as do your ki expending features, which also work when armored (but then you lose unarmored movement.) Grabbing a couple fighter levels for unarmed fighting or barbarian levels wouldnt slow you down too bad imo. And you could grab polearm master if you're worried about a non-resource spending bonus action attack. Think there's something there. Getting monks' mobility could do a lot for a melee damage dealer. I really enjoy your videos BTW. Thanks for making them!
Your custom lineage comment at the beginning mentioning a half Tortle half Human. Made me think of a half Leonid and have Tortle. A lion turtle monk spirit bender. 🤔
Thanks Colby! D&D 🌊 🤿
Holy crap I just realized that with the lvl 17 feature combining reach and reactions + PAM you're like a walking Hunger of Hadar.
Im playing a monk that looked down on his sorcerer friend for his reliance on magic that is turning into an arcane hand monk soon after changing his viewpoint! Drakkenheim monks are great
I'm going to start playing the Arcane hand monk from the same book that you made a build for as well ❤
Why does this make me want to make a Yuan-ti Way of the Serpent Monk? 🤔😂 Hunt Domain Cleric is going to be nice too! 😱
Also: Viper Strike is basically the Monk's way of doing a Warlock's "Eldritch Smite" several times a day. 🤔 Honestly not a bad 6th-Level feature there.
The stances remind me a bit of Killua Zoldyck from "Hunter × Hunter" Also a little slitherer. 😂
Kelly and Monty absolutely made an absolute adder of a subclass! If you're watching: Awesome job dudes!
Minor point - the giant strike extra damage would apply if you used the ki point to return a missile weapon attack reduced to zero by your ranger weapon defence. Tiny but something.
thank you for the table of contents! I didn't know! I was creating a character recently, and looking for inspiration. I went through a bunch of your write-ups to figure out which one of them had the character I was looking for, and this would've made it soo much easier!
edit: the outtakes are incredible :D
I always wanted to make a character based on the Nobushi in the video game 'For Honor' and this seems like a good starting point for that. It even has the serpent theme.
"What if everyone plays a monk" sounds like a nightmare to DM - you will never, ever, catch them to hit them...
Which is also a great reason to play a Heavy weapon 'Monk' - the mobility bonus from few levels of monk and then leaning into the Barbarian, Fighter or maybe Warlock for the heavy weapon stuff. Its not like you can't drop to punch stuff when you need the monk unarmed stuff and then pick it back up as part of the attack action within the rules of 5E.
I have watched almost all your vids, they help me understand how to deal with strong characters while still keeping it fun for my players.
It would be awesome if you could do a build with the Apothecary class. I understand if you wouldnt.
Love your shit, keep being you!
Another note: Flavor build idea, a Terra forming build. Druid multiclass, focusing on squeezing out as many spell slots as one could get.
With your idea of multi classing into Rogue and using Marilith Stance to get multiple reaction sneak attacks; you could take the Arcane Trickster Subclass and pick up Shield so you could also cast Shield multiple times in a round if enemies keep hitting over your AC. And if you're willing to pay the war caster tax, pick up Booming or Green-Flame Blade to add even more damage to those reaction sneak attacks. Maybe a future build idea?
Shield lasts the until your next turn anyway and because of the rules against stacking the same spell, I don't think the Shield idea would work. The rest sounds good though.
@@michaeldorn3950 Whoops forgot about that spell stacking ruling, thanks for catching that :)
Alone in IZ World is definitely my favorite album by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole it's full of absolutely fantastic songs
Thanks Colby
Monk is my favourite class since it fulfils the fantasy of the nimble fighter who does not rely on brute strengths. Therefore I was a little disappointed about the fact that this build is strength-based.
But great work overall.
To who ever is reading my rambling. I'm curious about your thoughts on the Dungeon Dudes monk subclasses are still usable in one DnD.
At monk 4 I think I'd take the Mobile feat - then when you get to Barbarian recklessness you are probably able to get into and out of the opponents range so you are so very 'reckless' you never give the opponent advantage after all...
Controlled rage is the basis of the Vaapad style in Star Wars, which is the saber style of Mace Windu, so imagine him but with a polearm instead of a longsword.
11:40
I'm unsure if it has changed in the 2024 version, but last time I looked in the players errata, when you have multiple ways of calculating your AC, you choose one to use at the moment, and you are free to change which calculation you are using, you just cannot stack them (such as a barb/monk having their AC being "10+Dex+Con+Wis" you just choose if you want to use the monk version of Dex and Wis, or the barb version of Dex and Con, which you can technically change multiple times in the same play session, as long as you are communicating which you are currently using)
I love the shirt this week!
Hear me out Colby! Astral Self Monk and Battlesmith Artificer. Boost WIS and INT. Grappler + Great Weapon Master plus + Elven Accuracy. Grappling with your WIS + INT with the infusion that lets you fo that. Triple advantage Great Weapon Master attacks after grappling a creature.
Monks can do the polearm master feat with a spear so if you want you can be a Bugbear for sudo reach and get the reaction attack with polearm master at range
Using the descriptions given today on Monk, and the ideas from the UA, the Arcane Hand and Serpent both would be super strong for the 2024 rules.
I’m late to this video, but I do have a character that is barbarian/monk. I rename the barbarian features into stances or forms of a martial art. Rage is Defensive Stance, Reckless Attack is Scorpion Form, and so on.
That subclass really reminds me of that one dlc class from Darkest Dungeon 1, which is really cool
Hey Colby, I had an idea for more content! What if you did beginner class builds? Like starting with a human fighter and going with the champion subclass. No multiclassing so it’s easy for new players. You could break down which feats to pick, whether you’re in a party or solo. For those without all the options, suggest which feats support their character best. Also, dive into which weapons and armor to use and when to upgrade. It’d be cool to explain how to wield your weapon or spells and use them in combos. The goal is to make a simple subclass fun and powerful so new players don’t feel lost and slow the game down for everyone. With the new Player's Handbook coming out, it’d be a great time to start. Just an idea, but I think making a straightforward character as fun and powerful as possible will be awesome for new players!
Excellent question. The same Dungeon Dudes that Colby mentioned got their start with lots of how to videos. I suggest checking their channel.
Personally I think there’s already plenty of videos like those out there, and his channel is more geared towards the more advanced/complicated builds so taking a step backwards would lead to a lot of videos that would be less interesting for the majority of his viewers
As close as we are to the next phb, there are a couple synergies I'm mildy surprised not to see a video on yet. The first is a death cleric single target burst build that focuses on using action surge with upcast inflict wounds to double prock their channel divinity on their turn; 5+2*cleric level is a lot of damage. The other is a kobold oathbreaker paladin that combines aura of hate, draconic cry, and the summon lesser demons spell with abyssal chickens; extremely impractical as you'd need to kill a person a day to stop them from attacking you but I wanna see how it stacks up against shepard druid.
Damn! I'm so glad you made this table of contents doc! I've watched a lot of your videos, but I always had a hard time scrolling through your playlist to find something specific :D This doc is perfect! Keep up the good work :) Greetings from Germany
I too am a big Jazz fan. I understand.
Tavern owner: would you like your burger as a lettuce wrap?
Serpent monk: no thanks, I'm in anaconda stance this turn.
The Rage/Reckless attack manifestations could be interpreted to the way the Drunken Master fighting style views alcohol consumption.
Just the right amount in just the right context is good, but requires great discipline to not overindulge.
This Monk could adopt the philosophy that rage is good in battle IF aimed correctly in specific contexts.
~_~
Gonna need a full version of Over the rainbow from yah now
Love the Kobe shade.
You should check out the Ultimate Adventures Handbook. There are a lot of very well designed subclasses, and the monk ones are some of my favorite. Like The way of Kabuki, which is a third caster with bard spells, and the way of thorns which gives you a cheesgraterey builds witu thorn whip and spike growth.
Yes, Equal is Greater Than Divided.
Brother Iz also sang "White Sandy Beach of Hawaii" and it's great 👍
I appreciate the release the day after the monk 2024 reveal. Instantly looking at the new element monk and how they can probably fit right into this build.
Ok Colby first of all excellent shirt I love statements that don't have to slap people in the face. I love your work and think you're an amazing person thanks for your work.
I'm only 7:53 minutes in anyway, I could totally see a giant barbarian dip on a wildhunt shifter or bugbear Serpent monk build being a really good choice. With reckless attack every turn without downsides + temp hp or even more reach on 1 of the best offense oriented dips being a really good choice. We have seen after all that size is great and good reach is also incredible. It's hard to choose which 1 I like more.
Now I know who your content colby. Can't believe I've never seen this before
There are so many fun/interesting build options for this monk/barbarian. Half-orc, Grung, aasimar aoe variant or fizbans dragonborn variants. 😊
Colby I have no idea if you have done a built like this before but I'd love to see your take on an eldritch pirate gish, whos a swashbuckler or a swords bard who dips into something like Goolock or Fathomlesslock for some magic and eldritch blast so they can really do some insane roleplay potential and maybe some good damage
This really is the Oberyn Martell build
Love it been waiting for this since they released the monk videos.
Love your shirt!!
Its build was great. Now please do one for the Cosmic Warlock!!!!
Love that shirt!!
For a barbarian monk I think the Rage ability could be an extension of the discipline that monks are taught and trained in. That they are so self controlled that they have voluntary control over an involuntary flight or fight response.
Then use Custom Lineage to make them a flightless bird and you have the full meme.
@@slingshot009 what? I'm unaware. Explain.
@@trevorgreenough6141 it's an old internet meme usually depicting a penguin holding a knife with the words "you've triggered my fight or flight response and I'm a flightless bird." Implying someone's response will always be to fight.
@@slingshot009 I wasn't aware that's brilliant!
I’ve been wondering how you would build Sylpha from Castlevania. She’s so cool.
Just found you because of the DC20 one shot with Dungeon Coach! Loved watching you play that monk, it's awesome they are so strong in that system. Pumped to see the rest of your videos!
The captions are Hilarious. Have a look at them Colby 'let the heat flow through you ' the book of tsh' 'flurry of bling' 'a good subass' etc. Do Not Fix!
2024 human gets a free feat in addition to the feat with background.
Can you do more subclasses? I'm playing Drakkenheim as a path of the old gods barbarian, it's a lot of fun.