D&D 5E Monk Tortle

WaterRabbit · Jul 12, 2019

DM Dave1 said:
Should the same offset be offered to players that want to play a Gith Arcane Trickster (Mage Hand overlap)? A Firbolg Gloom Stalker (Disguise Self overlap)? How about a Lizardfolk Monk or Barbarian (unarmored AC overlap)? How about a Half-Orc Rogue or Wizard (these classes don't need +2 STR!) We could go on and on and on... amirite?

I guess the point is that there are choices to be made a chargen that might have some drawbacks. Some people might want to follow the online color-coded "best choices" guides and have fun with it. It's certainly a limitation to adhere to too much efficiency at the expense of what might be a fun character combo, IMO. The "middle ground" who likes efficiency strikes me as a crowd that won't get hung up on one overlap or minor inefficiency if they can otherwise play a very sound and fun PC. YMMV.

Exactly. Unless one wants to go through the effort of creating a Pathfinder like method of swapping out racials, it seems to me that players understand that no all race/class combinations are 100% efficient -- that's what makes it a role-playing game vs. a roll-playing game.

There is no reason for a dm to give players freebies because they chose something inefficient. Instead, build your encounters with that idea in mind. I think the players would appreciate that much more than being treated as children who cannot understand the consequences of their choices.

Building and playing sub-optimal race/class combinations is fun in its own right and DMs that take that away by handing out freebies are just as bad as stingy DMs.

IMHO, just play by the rules. Everyone can read them and make their own decisions. Only change the rules when they really break your game or they kill the enjoyment of everyone at the table. Don't play favorites which is what the freebie stuff can feel like.

Flamestrike · Jul 12, 2019

Any DM that says no to a Toitle Monk, likely isnt a DM I would want to play with.

The Character portrait alone would have me in stitches each week.

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My all time favorite Character portrait was a Pathfinder Grippli Zen Archer Monk.

Portrait used was:

jaelis · Jul 12, 2019

I don't think that anyone was suggesting tortle monks should be disallowed?

SovietDM · Jul 13, 2019

jaelis said:
I don't think that anyone was suggesting tortle monks should be disallowed?

I whole-heartedly agree. Tortle Monks wouldn't be a teenage mutant ninja turtle, that would have to be a Tortle Rogue. And a Tortle Monk is just a good combination of class and race, and I don't think any classes or races should be disallowed for any reason, regardless of the circumstance.

Beleriphon · Jul 13, 2019

nobody69.420 said:
I whole-heartedly agree. Tortle Monks wouldn't be a teenage mutant ninja turtle, that would have to be a Tortle Rogue. And a Tortle Monk is just a good combination of class and race, and I don't think any classes or races should be disallowed for any reason, regardless of the circumstance.

I feel like a teenage shadow monk tortle is pretty close to a TMNT. TSMT is kind of close.

So with that, next game has four NPC tortle monks lead by a wererat. They're fighting a human that wears spiked armour and leads a clan of monk mooks, and is aligned with a sapient clay golem.

SovietDM · Jul 13, 2019

Beleriphon said:
I feel like a teenage shadow monk tortle is pretty close to a TMNT.

I didn't think about shadow monk tortles, but yeah that does sound like TMNT.

SovietDM · Jul 13, 2019

nobody69.420 said:
I didn't think about shadow monk tortles, but yeah that does sound like TMNT.

But, with that in mind I think a Way of the Open Hand Monk Tortle would be pretty close to Master Oogway.

Blue · Jul 13, 2019

nobody69.420 said:
Another example of overlapping abilities: I'm making a mountain dwarf cleric, and clerics are proficient in light and medium armor. The Mountain dwarf has the feature Dwarven Armor Training, giving him proficiency in light and medium armor. I was gonna make up for that by giving him proficiency in heavy armor, but his divine domain is the Forge domain, giving him Proficiency in heavy armor already. So I'm not sure how to make up for the only feature of the Mountain dwarf, that they'd be missing out on.

So, for example, every elf in a martial class (and some others) deserves a freebie because their elven weapon training overlaps?

If I multiclass into a class that grants armor/weapon proficiencies (all but sorcerer & wizard), should I be expecting a "make-up" bennie for already having them? It's a conscious choice just like my race/class combo.

SovietDM · Jul 13, 2019

Blue said:
So, for example, every elf in a martial class (and some others) deserves a freebie because their elven weapon training overlaps?

If I multiclass into a class that grants armor/weapon proficiencies (all but sorcerer & wizard), should I be expecting a "make-up" bennie for already having them? It's a conscious choice just like my race/class combo.

I see your point, but there is a large difference between armor and weapons. While you can only have proficiency in three different types of armor, you can have proficiency in any weapon. Also, none of my players expect a "make-up" for wasted features, but since they only decide class and race (they're new to D&D), I feel obligated as DM, and as the creator of their characters, to make their characters as good as they can be.