Ah. Most unfortunate that most people do not short rest nearly that often, then, isn't it? Plus, that's ALL you do with your ki. You literally don't get to do any special monk stuff after the second round of combat. Hope you have only three round combats the vast majority of the time or that's gonna hurt!
I think 2 short rests per day is more common than 6 fights per day. I don't agree most don't short rest that often .... especially if you have a Battlemaster or Warlock in the party and ask for a short rest after every fight. If I am in a game where we can buy or make magic items I am getting a Dragon Hide Belt too which gives me more ki to spend.
There is generally no need to do any special Monk stuff after the second round of combat and if comparing to a Barbarian what can they do other than Rage on the first round and then swing their sword?
That said no it is not all I do, although patient defense and stunning strike are what I use more than anything else.
Except it doesn't, because guess what, short rests get dropped faster than combats get dropped. Most groups get at most one short rest per day. Losing 1/3 of your daily ki points is a huge deal.
I would generally disagree with this. I think combat encounters generally get dropped faster than short rests, especially since Lemund's Tiny Hut is a ritual.
I think if you are having 4+ combats in a day you are generally going to get 2+ short rests per day.
What? Barbarians can be perfectly cromulent tanks. Even with only mild Dex investment. E.g. Str 16, Dex 14, Con 16 is perfectly achievable at first level and gives 15 AC while nekkid and 17 while wielding a shield (since Barbs can do that, while Monks cannot), putting them only 2 AC behind a Fighter in chainmail + shield + Defensive fighting style. They also have resistance to Bludgeoning, Slashing, and Piercing damage while Raging, so they're already taking half damage from most (early-game) attacks, even if they aren't Bear Totem. Bear Totem just takes it into the stratosphere. If the Barbarian got Fighting Styles (kinda dumb they don't, IMO, but it is what it is), they would be within 1 AC of the best a Fighter can achieve at 1st level. Seeing how more powerful heavy armor is fairly expensive (200 gp for Splint at AC 17, 1500 gp for [full] Plate at AC 18), while the Barbarian won't be able to grow their AC as fast as a Fighter, they'll still be among the higher AC options available, and their bigger health pool and natural resistances make that stretch even further.
A Barbarian is only 2 behind a fighter, but only 1 ahead of a Monk to start (and grows slower). Would you say a Monk is a good tank when not dodging? Hardly!
As far as how fast a fighter gains on a Barbarian - that is campaign dependant. Some campaigns you might never be able to afford plate, others you will have it at 1st level.
Barbarians do have resistance to damage while Raging, but they are limited on rages, at 1st level in the example you gave two per day.
The big problem a Barbarian has is hit points, which are a consumable resource. You only get your hit points plus somewhere between half your hit dice and your hit dice per day (and your hit dice only if you take short rests).
Aside from having a higher AC, fighters also can also heal themselves as a bonus action and this is before you consider spells, which a Raging Barbarian can't use, even if he has them through a feat, race or magic item.
A 6th-level Barbarian has 4 Rages per day. They'd only be running out for two total combats each day on your six-a-day diet. Even if we assume all combats are ONLY three rounds--so the Monk is only having 1 round per combat where they do nothing particularly interesting--the Monk is getting 6 rounds of combat where they do nothing interesting.
Being in rage is not particulary intersting I don't think. I mean it is a small bonus on damage, which is being largely undone by carrying a shield. He could reckless attack, which is interesting, but then he gets hit by everyone who attacks him.
If we do the more realistic thing (albeit not the much more realistic thing), where you have four or even five rounds in some combats, guess what?
You also have combats that last 1 or 2 rounds and 1 round is more common than 5 in general.
The much more realistic thing, of course, is to recognize that most groups do 4-5 combats per long rest, and 1-2 short rests per long rest (leaning much closer to 1).
I would say it is less than 2 combats per short rest on average. I just disagree with you completely on this and both the games I play and the streaming games I watch online reenforces my perception of what is typical.
I watched a game last week where the party did 3 short rests for 2 combats. They short rested then went up an elevator in a tower into a room and got beat up pretty bad, they retreated (monsters were part of/confined to the room). They short rested again and then went in that room again, got past the bad guys. Then they did another encounter and short rested yet again. 3 short rests for 2 combat encounters.
Now that example is certainly an extreme, but I see parties short resting a lot when I watch and I see similar when I play. I have seen and played 6-7 fight days with no short rest, but that is relatively rare and on the other side I have seen players use both Rope Trick and a Helm of Teleportation to get a short rest DURING a combat and I have seen them use LTH as a ritual a LOT to get a short rest when they would otherwise not been able to.
Earlier you talked about optimal play - not taking short rests when available (either through story or through magic) is not optimal
Last edited: