doctorbadwolf
Heretic of The Seventh Circle
Nah, they can use whatever weapon they want.
Anyway, as a DM, I’d definitely allow the quarter staff to be finesse. If they take polearm master, that’s barely better than taking a level of monk.
D&D 5E Bladesinger with a staff
Anyway, as a DM, I’d definitely allow the quarter staff to be finesse. If they take polearm master, that’s barely better than taking a level of monk.
You don't give us DMs enough credit.
And besides... in my experience the question of in-game balance more often that not comes down to how mechanically savvy the players are that are using these things, not the actual mechanics themselves. A regular player can take even the most supposedly overpowered mechanic and make it look absolutely middle of the road. LOL. That's why I personally never worry about white-room vacuum analysis of any of this stuff... cause none of my players go so far into the weeds with crunching the mechanics to prove any of these analysis right.
MikalC
Explorer
If you want to go the suboptimal route and use the staff one handed with a multiclass or feat usage for a secondary stat to attack with I say more power to ya.
As long as you as a player realize you’ll not (nor should you) be as viable as an dedicated martial character (or an optimized bladesinger) in melee combat.
personally I’d go the monk route but with shillelagh stats- since you can’t use the martial arts if you’re wearing light armor, you’re going to need to have a high wisdom regardless if you want to have a halfway decent AC.
you’re still throwing points at a stat you don’t really care much about except to twirl your stick, but at least you don’t need to waste an action to make it happen.
As long as you as a player realize you’ll not (nor should you) be as viable as an dedicated martial character (or an optimized bladesinger) in melee combat.
personally I’d go the monk route but with shillelagh stats- since you can’t use the martial arts if you’re wearing light armor, you’re going to need to have a high wisdom regardless if you want to have a halfway decent AC.
you’re still throwing points at a stat you don’t really care much about except to twirl your stick, but at least you don’t need to waste an action to make it happen.
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TheSword
Legend
Some really good thoughts. I missed the obvious idea of putting points into strength rather than throwing them away on Wisdom. So that rules out the Shillelagh option.
So it’s a level of monk and go Dex Pam. Or go for Strength and suffer a lower Dex. Not necessarily a bad thing.
I guess this whole thing stems from the idea of wanting to do something other than a Dex Rapier character.
I personally find martial and spell casting characters the most satisfying to play - particularly where there is a source of bonus spells. Metamagic Adept opens up a lot of options.
So it’s a level of monk and go Dex Pam. Or go for Strength and suffer a lower Dex. Not necessarily a bad thing.
I guess this whole thing stems from the idea of wanting to do something other than a Dex Rapier character.
I personally find martial and spell casting characters the most satisfying to play - particularly where there is a source of bonus spells. Metamagic Adept opens up a lot of options.
Weiley31
Legend
I mean it could be a Bladestaff being wielded via one hand.
MikalC
Explorer
No it’s understandable.
one thing to remember if you want to go dex is that you don’t have to choose quarterstaff.
With the new monk option in Tasha you can choose any one handed non special melee weapon to be a monk weapon, provided you’re proficient with it.
So you can choose longsword, axe, whatever, and have it be dex based.
also big props from me for trying to do it within the rules instead of hand waving it. You’re my kind of player
edit: also if you want to be even more unique, choose the whip as your melee weapon choice. No need to multiclass, no feats needed, AND you get reach
UngeheuerLich
Legend
Yeah, you really could do worse than starting as a monk with a staff and magic initiate feat.
You can reasonably pick shilelagh, guidance and goodberry and you have a solid level 1 character with a lot of sustain. You can cast the goodberries before going to bed, so you will probably have 20 of them on the next day.
shillelagh will increase the damage to 1d8, even if you only use one hand later on. In the first few levels you are also better served by just doing the offhand attack instead of using booming blade or greenflame blade.
If you are a wood elf, wood elf magic would be an even better feat. A druid cantrip and pass without trace. One of the best level 2 spells you can find. You are also 35ft fast and can cast longstrider once per day for free.
With standard array you can now easily afford 16 Dex, 15 Int, 13 Wis and 13 Con and if you do point buy even more.
MikalC
Explorer
It’s not about the bladesinger being overpowered. It’s about creating precedents for stuff I as a DM don’t want to bother with.
I can’t speak for others but in my games if you want to do something unique that isn’t by the book optimal? Feel free. But I’m not changing the rules just to make your build viable if you’re literally choosing non viable or useful options.
there are plenty of weapons to choose from, and several ways to make them do what you want. Use them.
jgsugden
Legend
So, you want your players to have your style of fun, and if they have a unique idea that isn't allowed by the rules doesn't break the game, and isn't even equivalent in power to optimized builds... you want to shut them down?
You're missing out. Whether we're talking about the awakened wolf monk, the order of Krull/Glaive fighter monks, or the thousands of homebrew spells that players (and I) have created over the editions, the changes we've made to the rules are what makes my world distinct and uniquely fun.
