D&D 5E Feats for Monks

[Gammadoodler]

So over the course of some time I've played a few different monk PCs in different games, and I feel like I've gotten into the position where there just aren't any feats that really define a monk playstyle (and an awful lot they can't even use without significant sacrifices).
So when the new UA came out, I was really hoping to see something with 'monk' written all over it....and not so much.

There are a few that are pretty good, like 'mobile' or something. But it seems like monk lacks some of that build-defining feat support, stuff like polearm master, shield master, and great weapon master master feats that can radically change how you engage in combat with the character.

Wondering if y'all have some recommendations, or maybe some ideas for what would make a good monk feat, especially for combat.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Firstly remember that you cannot make a "monk only" feat. Any feat you design has to be generally applicable.

Anyway, here is one I made earlier...

Ki Adept. Your can use your Wisdom score instead of Strength for attack and damage rolls when making an unarmed strike. Your can roll 1d4 in place of the normal damage of your unarmed strikes. You gain 2 ki points. Choose one Elemental Discipline. If the Elemental Discipline has a prerequisite you may choose that discipline only if you are a monk and only if you meet the prerequisite. You may swap your elemental discipline for a different one when you level up.

Also, Mobility isn't the only "good monk feat". Crusher in the new UA is really good for monks, Defensive Duellist and Magic Initiate (Druid) can make for interesting builds. The real issue is, since monks are MAD they are usually better off taking an ASI.

 

[delphonso]

Also, Monks use every part of their turn already (action, movement, bonus action), so there's little space to add feats.

A monk with an Eldritch Invocation can make a huge difference. Shadow Monk and Devil's Sight? Come on!

 

[Li Shenron]

I don't remember any feat that would help with unarmed strikes. In fact, most feats specify they apply only when attacking with weapons (and many require a specific type of weapons).

So my next thought would be to look at feats which apply at least to attacks with monk weapons, and this assumes you do not go "full unarmed" (I think using a quarterstaff is most common until your martial arts damage reaches 1d8).

Defensive Duelist works if your Monk uses daggers or shortsword, and even though it's once per round, I think it's a decent ability but sadly it doesn't work with a quarterstaff.
Mage Slayer works with any weapon but is kinda fringe.
Charger works with every weapon but it definitely works against your main characteristic of making multiple attacks so I would certainly not take it.
Polearm Master does work with the quarterstaff but the first benefit is practically what you already have from martial arts, so you'd only get the OA from an enemy entering your reach, which makes it weak (I still think it's interesting, but it relies on enemies engaging you instead of you engaging enemies).
Martial Adept can give you some cool maneuvers. I would probably avoid any which require a bonus action, so that you never give up your martial arts bonus unarmed strike. There are many which again only work with actual weapons, so you can't use them during the bonus unarmed strike, but considering you only get one superiority die, this probably doesn't matter that much. Once per short rest is a huge limitation however.

If none of these are good enough for you, let's take a look at the UA feat which allows you to take a Fighting Style. PHB styles are again not going to fully apply to you. Dueling and GWF will work with your quarterstaff, so if you don't mind that your bonus unarmed strike doesn't get those bonuses then you're good. You are unlikely to benefit from the other styles at all.

November 2019 UA has additional fighting styles, Blind Fighting (no disadvantage when attacking an unseen enemy) and Interception (reduce damage taken by a hit ally nearby) aren't exactly powerful but they might still interest you. Note that there is also a Unarmed Fighting style but it actually sucks for Monks (or rather, it is good at low level but loses value when your martial arts damage increases).

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Defensive Duelist only requires you to have a finesse weapon equipped - you don't actually have to use it for your attacks.

Mage Slayer, Charger, and most Battlemaster Manoeuvres work with a "melee weapon attack" which an unarmed strike is - you don't need to actually use a weapon.

Unarmed Fighting is actually pretty good if the monk is a vuman and picks it up at level 1. When they hit level 11 they can simply swap it out for a different fighting style.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Shadow Monk and Devil's Sight? Come on!

That's just cheesy!

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

Tavern Brawler gives you 1d4 to unarmed attacks. basically, it gives you the 1st level monk unarmed strike damage. Maybe you could convince the DM to allow it to increase your unarmed strike damage by one die type. Then you can grapple as part of an attack and get some extra damage.

 

[Worrgrendel]

Sentinel can also work for monks. But I agree with Paul Farquhar, their real issue is being MAD and having 2 primary stats plus con.

 

[Undrave]

So over the course of some time I've played a few different monk PCs in different games, and I feel like I've gotten into the position where there just aren't any feats that really define a monk playstyle (and an awful lot they can't even use without significant sacrifices).
So when the new UA came out, I was really hoping to see something with 'monk' written all over it....and not so much.

There are a few that are pretty good, like 'mobile' or something. But it seems like monk lacks some of that build-defining feat support, stuff like polearm master, shield master, and great weapon master master feats that can radically change how you engage in combat with the character.

Wondering if y'all have some recommendations, or maybe some ideas for what would make a good monk feat, especially for combat.

Crusher seems like it'd be pretty fantastic, letting you push enemies around. If you're a Shadow Monk you can do some crit fishing by attacking with advantage after teleporting.

And of the new UA, you could always grab Chef to add to your utility outside of battle, or the one that grants Expertise if you have to fill in for the skill monkey role in your group.

If none of these are good enough for you, let's take a look at the UA feat which allows you to take a Fighting Style. PHB styles are again not going to fully apply to you. Dueling and GWF will work with your quarterstaff, so if you don't mind that your bonus unarmed strike doesn't get those bonuses then you're good. You are unlikely to benefit from the other styles at all.

Unarmed Fighting is actually pretty good if the monk is a vuman and picks it up at level 1. When they hit level 11 they can simply swap it out for a different fighting style.

Yeah Dueling would be great early on! Grab a Shortsword and inflict d6+2, and then, once you reach high enough that your fists are better you can grab a maneuver with the new fighting style... But really, your fists aren't gonna be better than d6+2 until you get to d10 at level 17! A d6+2 has an average roll of 6, which is worth more than a d10's average, and even if you miss out on rolling a 10, your minimum is 3.

So every turn you're making two attacks with your short swords and then 1 or more unarmed strike. Really good buff to your DPS I think.

 

[Hawk Diesel]

I have a couple of homebrew feats I use, and a slight change to the Tavern Brawler feat.

With Tavern Brawler, I alter the 3rd bullet point to the following:

• Your unarmed strike uses a d4 for damage, rather than just dealing 1 damage. If your unarmed strike is already deals a d4 damage or greater, you instead gain +1 damage to your unarmed strike.

Then I have the following feats:

Zen Defense
You have learned to harness and focus your Ki energy to the point that can you can defend against attacks with lightning speed. You gain the following benefits:

• You gain 2 Ki points. If you already have Ki points, your total Ki points increases by 2. Spent Ki points are regained after a short or long rest.

• When a creature hits you with an attack, you can use your reaction to spend 1 Ki point, allowing you to add a +3 bonus to your AC for that attack and potentially causing the attack to miss you.

Zen Offense
You have learned to harness and focus your Ki energy to empower your attacks. You gain the following benefits:

• You gain 2 Ki points. If you already have Ki points, your total Ki points increases by 2. Spent Ki points are regained after a short or long rest.

• After you successfully hit a target with a ranged or melee weapon attack, you can spend 1 Ki point to roll one of the weapon’s damage dice one additional time and add it to the total damage of your attack.