D&D 5E 5e Newbie - Tear Apart My Bad Build Ideas

[mellored]

The choice between a Martial Arts attack or a Flurry of Blows seems pretty weak... I can spend my one and only bonus action to get another swing at 1d4 damage or I can spend a precious Ki to get two swings at 1d4 each. That feels... underwhelming.

1d4+Dex.

Flurry is actually the highest damage a level 2 character can do in a single round, adding 2d4+6.

But then your out of ki and standing in melee with AC and HP barely higher than a wizard.

I still haven't quite abandoned the idea of this character, as the DM and I have already begun writing his backstory

By all means, play the character you want to play. It doesn't need to be optimized.

5e is far more balanced than 3e. So monks being the weakest class doesn't make them unplayable.

I'm waiting for the +2/+1 to any ability change to species

That came out with Tasha's, which is kind of 5.02. So it's already an official rule.

@mellored - I wasn't planning on wearing armor with him, he was going to function mostly like a monk, with a small amount of casting ability to add some flavor.

There will be a way of mercy monk, once the new book comes out, which can certainly come off as divine flavor.

Also, cloth clerics will be an option, including cloth war clericsm

It feels like the perks of the War domain will be largely lost on him, so maybe I'll look around at some other domains that might be a match with Bahamut (Light shows some promise)

Light brings some blasting, which can cover a monks weakness.

I wasn't going to rush into melee with him. I figured maybe I start off round one with a Guiding Bolt or Bless to help my tankier allies (or self-buff with Guardian Spirits), then move in the following round as more of a melee opportunist.

Bless is a great spell that doesn't need more cleric levels nor wis to scale.

In the playtest, the elemental monk (no relation to the 2014 elemental monk) can push and pull enemies, which can combine well with damage zones.

Ask your DM if you can use the playtest monk.

 

[VikingLegion]

Question:

The entry for Eldritch Blast cantrip says you get an additional beam at levels 5, 11, and 17. Is that your total character level, or the level of the class that gave you access to the spell? Say I had a Bard 14/ Warlock 3 = does EB shoot 1 beam or 4?

It feels to me like it should only be one, because I devoted just three levels to Warlock, but obviously I'm hoping it works differently. I believe a 19 Cleric/ 1 Wizard could cast a Magic Missile spell using a 5th level slot to get 7 darts (I think...), which feels weird to me, but if I"m reading the multiclass section correctly, that's legal. But cantrips are a bit different in that many of them grow in power with level, not requiring a higher spell slot. I'd just like to see something official on that if someone can point me in the right direction.

EDIT: a Reddit conversation seems to confirm it's total character level and gives a few examples. That's good news.
EDIT2: found an official confirmation. Trying to delete this post if that's possible.

 

[mellored]

The entry for Eldritch Blast cantrip says you get an additional beam at levels 5, 11, and 17. Is that your total character level, or the level of the class that gave you access to the spell? Say I had a Bard 14/ Warlock 3 = does EB shoot 1 beam or 4?

4 beams at 1d10. All cantrips scale that way, so Firebolt will also do 4d10 damage.

Add in Agonizing Blast for 4x your Charisma modifier, and you effectively have a bow.

It will still be less damage than an straight archery fighter, with archery feats, and archery fighting style, and a magic bow. Plus weapon mastery in the new book.

So it's not overpowered, but is is cheap way to get a decent ranged option, leaving you free to do other stuff.

Well... a sorcerer/ warlock who cast Fireball and then quicken Eldrich Blast on the same turn is a bit powerful.

believe a 19 Cleric/ 1 Wizard could cast a Magic Missile spell using a 5th level slot to get 7 darts (I think...), which feels weird to me,

That is correct. But upcasting is generally worse than casting a higher level spell.

For instance
Cone of cold at level 5 would do 27 damage in a huge area (assuming 50% save chance)
Vs
Magic missile at level 5 would deal 25.5 to a single target.

There might be situations where Magic Missile is still the best option, such as attacking someone in a crowd, but mostly you want higher level spells.

Multiclassing is generally a power loss, but a versatility gain. Unless you have some particular synergy.

 

[VikingLegion]

I'm leaning towards a Dragonborn monk/ Way of the Ascendant Dragon. I still haven't given up totally on the small dip into a caster just yet. Would it be completely silly to take 1 level of Sorcerer/Draconic Bloodline? Right off the start I'd get a +3 AC boost from the scales (which works wonderfully with an unarmored monk). Plus I'd get access to the Shield spell for even higher reaction AC. Yes, I'd have to budget for a 13 in Charisma, which really sucks, but I'd start with something like:

Str 10
Int 8
Con 12
Dex 14
Wis 15
Cha 13

I'd use the +2 and +1 on Wis/Dex or Dex/Wis then use a half-feat at level 4 to shore up whichever one is an odd number OR split the +1/+1 ASI if I have two odd scores, I haven't decided yet.

I might even dip further into Sorcerer by doing a 17Mk/3Sorc split, which would open up 2nd level spells like Blur or Mirror Image - which would be really fun for a front-row melee martial artist.

OR scrap that whole idea, stay with the undiluted Dragonborn Monk of the Ascendant Dragon, begin play with an odd number in Constitution, and just take the Dragon Hide feat from Xanathar's to achieve mostly the same thing, minus the fun spells. Thoughts?

 

[VikingLegion]

^ Or would the Dragon Hide feat negate a monk's wisdom bonus to AC, counting as armor of a sort?

 

[FrogReaver]

Monk and Sorcerer unarmored defense abilities don’t stack. Dragon Hide wouldn't either. All changes to AC calculation stuff are pick one.

 

[VikingLegion]

Yeah I found an official ruling shortly after I posted that. It seems like every time I think I've stumbled on to a fun, small dip into another class it gets squashed. Do monks ever mix with other classes or do the majority of them play single-classed? Gloomstalker Ranger shows a tiny bit of promise, and I still haven't totally given up on a 1, 2, or 3 level Cleric dip to take advantage of the Wisdom synergy.

 

[FrogReaver]

Yeah I found an official ruling shortly after I posted that. It seems like every time I think I've stumbled on to a fun, small dip into another class it gets squashed. Do monks ever mix with other classes or do the majority of them play single-classed?

Decent single level dips for monk.

Barbarian for rage damage reduction - though the asi requirements are a pain.

Fighter for fighting style (if level 1 get a little more hp and 2nd wind is nice).

Rogue for almost any level combo. Rogue pairs amazing with monk.

caster levels work fine later game, but it’s more versatility than power.

5e isn’t the game where you typically acquire amazing power combinations by multiclassing. About the best general purpose idea is taking a full caster and giving them good ac with a multiclass dip.

Taking a martial with spellslots and getting the shield spell can work well.

Taking a martial to level 5ish and then switching to a full caster is usually good too. (Probably worse than a straight full caster but still good and fun). I personally like Fighter 5/Warlock X.