D&D 5E [5e] What subclass should I choose for my (kinda sorta pacifist) warforged monk?

[Panda-s1]

I'm in a campaign currently where I'm playing a warforged monk. I wasn't sure what subclass to choose and kept putting it off 'cause I didn't need to decide until level 3, but suddenly level 3 is coming up very soon. I don't know monk as well as I would like, so I'm asking here.

also while I realize this forum is focused on optimization, this question is largely about thematics so apologies if this isn't the best place to post this.

anyway, his personality hasn't been quite as fleshed out as I'd like, unfortunately, and I don't want to go into great detail about his backstory, but the main beats I've come to at this point include:
-distrust of authority figures and upper class people in general.
-very patient.
-while he's not above using violence, or even killing others in life threatening situations, he generally tries not to kill others unless necessary.
-these are both exemplified in the one time he caught a goblin who had information and then placed him in a barrel until he started talking (he used said barrel as a seat during a poetry reading that evening).
-also the constable who ran the town wasn't awful, but he was also useless. there were a bunch of refugees from a ship that sunk at the beginning of the campaign. they were overburdening the few inns in town and the constable refused to help them out at all. when the constable went away on business I fasttalked the guards and managed to get a bunch of refugees to stay at his place while he was gone.

we're also in desperate need of a healer, so thankfully the two subclasses I'm eyeing are Way of Tranquility and the newly released Way of Mercy. Tranquility seems to have been largely abandoned, but Mercy seems to be the fixed version? the 6th level ability for Mercy seems terribly out of character, though (also my friend is playing a plague doctor so they'd probably think I'm encroaching on their territory lol). are either of these good? are there any good homebrew fixes for these subclasses?

also my DM is fairly open to homebrew options. idk if this is the place for it, but if you can suggest something that might fit this character do let me know.

 

[Fenris-77]

There's a neat healer monk in the most recent UA, Way of Mercy. That might suit you. Going in a different direction, you can roleplay that kind of semi-pacifist martial arts character with any subclass, and sometimes it's more piquant when the subclass actually kicks ass. Way of the Open Hand would work fine.

 

[Panda-s1]

There's a neat healer monk in the most recent UA, Way of Mercy. That might suit you. Going in a different direction, you can roleplay that kind of semi-pacifist martial arts character with any subclass, and sometimes it's more piquant when the subclass actually kicks ass. Way of the Open Hand would work fine.

...okay, I totally brought up Way of Mercy in my post and said the 6th level ability is way out of character. or backstory even, like I'm honestly not down with using the subclass as written and going through some weird moral narrative about my abilities and how I use them. like being a monk alone makes me deadly as it is, I'm already the melee combat guy in my party, and having some weird miasma ability isn't gonna really add much to that.

also Way of the Open Hand is the default here, but I figured I'd try and seek something out more germaine to my characyer.

 

[Esker]

Yeah, that 6th level ability is super weird and out of left field.

If you like the rest of the subclass, what about subbing in the Grave Cleric's 6th level ability? It doesn't presume spellcasting, keys off wisdom, which makes sense for a monk, and seems more or less in balance with the kinds of things monks get at 6th level (especially since, like monks, clerics' 6th level subclass feature isn't carrying an entire level worth of features).

 

[Esker]

Actually the Light Cleric's 6th level ability could work too (also not tied to a Channel Divinity or spellcasting). Slightly more complicated in that it enhances their 1st level feature, but you could say that it only works to protect someone else.

 

[Panda-s1]

Yeah, that 6th level ability is super weird and out of left field.

If you like the rest of the subclass, what about subbing in the Grave Cleric's 6th level ability? It doesn't presume spellcasting, keys off wisdom, which makes sense for a monk, and seems more or less in balance with the kinds of things monks get at 6th level (especially since, like monks, clerics' 6th level subclass feature isn't carrying an entire level worth of features).

Actually the Light Cleric's 6th level ability could work too (also not tied to a Channel Divinity or spellcasting). Slightly more complicated in that it enhances their 1st level feature, but you could say that it only works to protect someone else.

Mercy does seem like the best idea to me, even if the proficiencies I get are weird (also, again, my friend the plague doctor), but I do like that Grave domain ability. not sure how to make it work for monk, though, they're not exactly about ranged magic stuff. I do also like the 6th level ability for way of tranquility, even if my Cha is a paltry 12 lol. but yeah, I'll run this by the DM and maybe he'll help me work something out.