D&D 5E 4-Element monks are the only monk archetype that excels against flying enemies

[WayOfTheFourElements]

There are no flying humanoids, or people with the ability to make magic items? How do they get made then?

The default setting of 5E is magic items exist, and can be made (see Xanathars). That's not universal though.

In any event seeing as your world has magic items, I presume one can buy them, or contact an Archmage or similar and offer to complete a quest for one?

I doubt a "default setting" exists at all. I don't even see how one is possible. No campaign is every played in the "default setting." They are played in the the DM's handmade world, Forgotten Realm, Greyhawk, or some other published setting.

Moreover no two DM's version of the Realms are identical, though they may share certain Greenwoodian elements. The same applies to any other published world.

Maybe I misunderstood what you're attempting to express.

 

[Seramus]

Asking the wizard to cast fly on you assumes 1) there is a wizard (or similar spellcaster), 2) the character has access to the fly spells, 3) he isn't concentrating on another spell, 4) he wants to cast fly, 5) he want to cast it on you (as opposed to some other character).

If your party doesn't prepare tools to counter flying enemies, a 4E monk is probably not the answer. It can do in a pinch, but other classes have muuuuch better options. Picking a 4E monk has to be an act of love or ignorance.

 

[Guest 6801328]

Anyway, I think it's more fun if the players have to worry about flying enemies, and use effective strategies and tactics to counter it. I'd rather the players have to figure out how to use terrain, for example, instead of just pulling out their standard toolkit for countering flying enemies.

 

[JiffyPopTart]

Let's say you were in an encounter versus 20 winged kobolds, all flying.

Would a 4-element or a Kensai monk be a better fit for the encounter?

How about a long term siege battle where you have waves of flying enemies and no time to rest? 4-element or Kensai.

How about a day with no other encounters than 1 hardcore big flying monster? 4-element or Kensai?

Or is it better just to hide until it lands then run up and stun it like a shadow monk?

I don't think you can say one method is better than the other because each methods usefulness depends upon the specific encounter parameters.

All I know is my Kensai monk with a longbow was the one of the top ranged attackers in my party because I had access to 600' shots (outranging the spellcasters), could do 2d8+2d4+10 damage a round without using resources, and could keep pace with a fleeing foe, keeping them I range much longer than the rest of the party.

It became my primary duty to "don't let them get away".

 

[Asisreo]

If your party doesn't prepare tools to counter flying enemies, a 4E monk is probably not the answer. It can do in a pinch, but other classes have muuuuch better options. Picking a 4E monk has to be an act of love or ignorance.

A flying monk is an extreme danger against every enemy. Their unarmored movement stacks with fly. They're proficient in concentration checks and can reroll if they fail. You don't even need to drag enemies down, you can just stunning strike them while you fly.

Gaseous form also works with unarmored movement and you can use water whip and unbroken air while in the form. This means you're resistant to all nonmagical attacks (including poison, acid, fire, cold, etc.) And have advantage on physical saving throws (which you're proficient in). Very useful in all combat encounters, tbh.

Have you guys played a 4-Elements monk? You quickly see the synergy when you actually play one and not just theory craft in your head

 

[Flamestrike]

You obviously have a preference for a particular "feel" in your D&D settings, which is totally valid. My preferences are different. Call me "too stuck in Tolkien", maybe. But I like magic items to be rare and special, and flying humanoids even rarer. I will often ban the fly spell, or at least make it a spell that you can't simply choose when you level up.

That's not really DnD though is it? I mean fly has been a staple spell at 3rd level in this game since day 1 of edition 1, along with fireball and lightning bolt. Eagle barbarians can fly when they rage. Elemental monks can fly. Sorcerers, Warlocks, Clerics, Druids, Eldritch knight Fighters and Wizards can fly. So can Paladins on an appropriate steed.

Heck; more classes than not have access to flying baked in to the class.

DnD (and its settings) are not low magic or Tolkien-esque. Classes can (and indeed are expected to) travel to alternate realities, teleport, fly, fire beams of magical energy out of their fingers disintegrate things, slay T-Rexes with a rusty dagger, shoot a crossbow 8 times in 6 seconds and more. DnD characters dont run from the Balrog; they fight it with sharp pointy sticks, and win.

Im not critiquing you for wanting to play that way man, but you're playing against the default assumptions there.

 

[Flamestrike]

I doubt a "default setting" exists at all.

In the current edition it's Faerun. All AP's are set there by default, making it the default setting.

Other settings include Mystara, Greyhawk, Eberron, Krynn, Athas and Birthright and like Faerun, they're all very high magic (because the RAW is very high magic). All include a lot of magic items, a lot of high magic, wizards that can toss fireballs and travel to other realities, Demons, Gods walking the earth, a menagerie of fantastical monsters, spacefaring spelljammer ships and more.

Like, maybe you dont play that way (despite the classes being geared for such high magic shenanigans) but that;s the default assumption (as can be seen with a glance at the classes),

 

[WayOfTheFourElements]

In the current edition it's Faerun. All AP's are set there by default, making it the default setting.

I don't see how that makes it the default setting. APs are additional purchases not included with the Dungeons and Dragons game (PHB, MM, DMG). Perhaps, instead of giving examples, it might be more helpful to propose a definition of what a default setting is.

 

[Flamestrike]

Aarakocra are flying humanoids, literally the first MM monster. So are winged kobolds. Mages and archmages are humanoid with access to fly.

Yes, I'm aware of that. Ditto winged Tieflings, Avariel elves, and some Dragonborn. The question was rhetorical.

The default setting of 5e has nothing to do with personal campaign-to-campaign settings.

Derp. Yes it does. The default assmptions of those settings are baked into the classes as written. If you want 'low magic gritty settings' you've got a massive disconnect with classes like (flying) 4 element monks tossing fireballs out their eyeballs 'because Ki', every single spellcaster who is teleporting like Nightcrawler at 3rd level with Misty step, flinging lighting bolts out their elbows at 5th level or bringing people back from the dead or shapeshifting into animals, or loading and firing a heavy crossbow 4 times in six seconds, thorugh an arrowslit as easy as if the arrow-slit wasnt there at the same level, and taking on T-Rexes with nothing more than a butterknife or their bare hands and winning.

I mean those are the guys that only just hit T2.

At T3 they're teleporting, travelling to other dimensions, meeting beings like Tiamat, Orcus and Asmodeus.

At T4 they're fighting those guys and winning, (after chewing through a few Balrogs on the way) altering the very fabric of reality with a word, and raising and defeating whole empires.

DnD PC's are basically the Avengers from mid level onwards. Even from 3rd level they're the Defenders.

I've yet to introduce a flying magic items in my world and I have no plans to introduce one. My cultists are going to be on Giant Bats because that's their motif and the monk is a drunken master.

Flying mounts exist then. Your Monk should get one of them then.

And if you dont have magic items that let people fly, you're punishing martial classes. I hope you're aware of that.

 

[Asisreo]

In the current edition it's Faerun. All AP's are set there by default, making it the default setting.

Other settings include Mystara, Greyhawk, Eberron, Krynn, Athas and Birthright and like Faerun, they're all very high magic (because the RAW is very high magic). All include a lot of magic items, a lot of high magic, wizards that can toss fireballs and travel to other realities, Demons, Gods walking the earth, a menagerie of fantastical monsters, spacefaring spelljammer ships and more.

Like, maybe you dont play that way (despite the classes being geared for such high magic shenanigans) but that;s the default assumption (as can be seen with a glance at the classes),

DMG 135

The game assumes that the secrets of creating the most powerful items arose centuries ago and were then gradually lost as a result of wars, cataclysms, and mishaps.

Unless you decide your campaign works otherwise, most magic items are so rare that they aren't available for purchase.

Magic items are rare by default. Too rare to go and buy. And what's available is up to the DM to decide, not the player.