Situation
Last night I had an encounter that left me a little sour. A monk in our group claimed he could throw darts and then use his bonus action to make an unarmed strike. His argument hinged on the fact that monks were proficient with simple weapons and darts. A monk proficiency therefore made these weapons monk weapons. Having played a monk I hadn't thought of ever doing this and checked my PHB.
Indeed monks are proficient with darts. However, the martial arts section says simple melee weapons. It seems fitting to me that a ninja throws a dart or shriruken (more as a distraction) at his target as he attacked but while I was still trying to interpret RAW he pitched a fit and started arguing. The reason I wanted to read RAW was because I need to be cautious when bending rules not to disturb the balance of power taking the fun from other players.
What do you guys think about monks throwing a dart then making an unarmed strike? Is it OP?
At level 20 it is 2d10 ranged attacks followed by 1d10 unarmed melee. The only thing the monk looses is throwing ranged at disadvantage next to another creature within 5' before stepping into melee range. He doesn't have a bonus action so he can't spend Ki to disengage and run. What he gains is the ability to throw weapons at a creature further away with more accuracy.
I don't think this is to bad if he stays pure monk (he did multi-class nature cleric) . There is a lot of potential for him to save the lives of his team members.
Where I see this being OP:
If he dips rogue I see this mechanic as getting a sneak attack off and then some bonus action attacks rolling.
Here is what I intend to do:
Since he pitched a fit there needs to be an understanding. There are four other players (not counting me) who are here for a good time. 3 of them don't meta worth a damn. Pitching a fit is not fun. Therefore he will not be able to throw darts.
He will however, be able to throw shuriken, of which he has none in the current dungeon.
Supply
Since we are on the Sword Coast "eastern" equipment is rare. Collectors in major towns may have a few items in limited quantities and if bought they are sold at a premium. He may find some adventuring as well, but again, we are on the Sword Coast and they are rare.
Balance
Throwing a shuriken and making an unarmed strike is a fluid motion. Intent to make the unarmed strike must be mentioned before the weapon is thrown. Targeting any creature but the intended target will be made at disadvantage.
The person in question admitted he is a little socially awkward before. I think he's a nice guy and as I put it to another player "Once he sees that you guys are crafting the story with me and not doing math for my personal story he'll want to join in the fun".
Last night I had an encounter that left me a little sour. A monk in our group claimed he could throw darts and then use his bonus action to make an unarmed strike. His argument hinged on the fact that monks were proficient with simple weapons and darts. A monk proficiency therefore made these weapons monk weapons. Having played a monk I hadn't thought of ever doing this and checked my PHB.
Indeed monks are proficient with darts. However, the martial arts section says simple melee weapons. It seems fitting to me that a ninja throws a dart or shriruken (more as a distraction) at his target as he attacked but while I was still trying to interpret RAW he pitched a fit and started arguing. The reason I wanted to read RAW was because I need to be cautious when bending rules not to disturb the balance of power taking the fun from other players.
What do you guys think about monks throwing a dart then making an unarmed strike? Is it OP?
At level 20 it is 2d10 ranged attacks followed by 1d10 unarmed melee. The only thing the monk looses is throwing ranged at disadvantage next to another creature within 5' before stepping into melee range. He doesn't have a bonus action so he can't spend Ki to disengage and run. What he gains is the ability to throw weapons at a creature further away with more accuracy.
I don't think this is to bad if he stays pure monk (he did multi-class nature cleric) . There is a lot of potential for him to save the lives of his team members.
Where I see this being OP:
If he dips rogue I see this mechanic as getting a sneak attack off and then some bonus action attacks rolling.
Here is what I intend to do:
Since he pitched a fit there needs to be an understanding. There are four other players (not counting me) who are here for a good time. 3 of them don't meta worth a damn. Pitching a fit is not fun. Therefore he will not be able to throw darts.
He will however, be able to throw shuriken, of which he has none in the current dungeon.
Supply
Since we are on the Sword Coast "eastern" equipment is rare. Collectors in major towns may have a few items in limited quantities and if bought they are sold at a premium. He may find some adventuring as well, but again, we are on the Sword Coast and they are rare.
Balance
Throwing a shuriken and making an unarmed strike is a fluid motion. Intent to make the unarmed strike must be mentioned before the weapon is thrown. Targeting any creature but the intended target will be made at disadvantage.
The person in question admitted he is a little socially awkward before. I think he's a nice guy and as I put it to another player "Once he sees that you guys are crafting the story with me and not doing math for my personal story he'll want to join in the fun".