Ah. Thanks for pointing that out. I guess the +3 ones that I gave to the party from the LMoP download (which do not stack with anything in my game) should be called Bracers of Limited Defense since they are more or less limited to bracers plus dex.
D&D 5E Does anyone have any experience with Monks?
- Thread starter EroGaki
- Start date
Ah. Thanks for pointing that out. I guess the +3 ones that I gave to the party from the LMoP download (which do not stack with anything in my game) should be called Bracers of Limited Defense since they are more or less limited to bracers plus dex.
The M'hael
First Post
I play as a half elf wild mage in my party for LMoP. The other members are a wood elf elemental monk, the pregen dwarf cleric, and a black dragonborn totem barbarian. we are almost lev. 4, and from my experience, the monk is pretty great. He is defiantly not a tank, but he isn't a glass cannon. I don't think he went down at all, and the barbarian went down the most. At one point, at the goblin castle, he ran up to the castle, and jumped up through the arrow slit, and then killed the archers in there with a kick to the face. His mobility is great, with the eagle barbarian at a close second when he is raging. If the monk is surrounded by enemies, he can use the fist of unbroken air to push them away and give him a clear way out. Or, he can run up to the Boss, and use it to knock him prone, so the barbarian and cleric can get up there to get some good hits on it. He has pretty good damage and can take some hits, but not really a tank. I think that you might be able to play as the only melee guy, especially with the archer ranger there to back you up, and if the cleric has some spare spell slots for healing you if you get a little beat up.
FormerlyHemlock
Hero
I second the Mobile feat for melee kiting.
My main test party is composed of a necromancer, a shadow monk, and a warlock/bard. They're not yet at levels where the shadow monk gets to stack free concentration-free invisibility, Pass Without Trace, and teleportation, so she isn't a TOTAL Batman yet, but at sixth level with good stats and Mobile she isn't afraid to scout ahead. She has longbow proficiency as a wood elf to take out non-tool-using foes like dinosaurs without risk, and she provides frontline support when the party is around, to supplement summons and deal with spell-immune foes like Rakshasas. Don't rely on AC as your primary defense, that is just backup--use stealth first, then mobility, then AC/ki. Longstrider is nice btw.
Shadow Monks are fantastic scouts and good combat generalists.
My main test party is composed of a necromancer, a shadow monk, and a warlock/bard. They're not yet at levels where the shadow monk gets to stack free concentration-free invisibility, Pass Without Trace, and teleportation, so she isn't a TOTAL Batman yet, but at sixth level with good stats and Mobile she isn't afraid to scout ahead. She has longbow proficiency as a wood elf to take out non-tool-using foes like dinosaurs without risk, and she provides frontline support when the party is around, to supplement summons and deal with spell-immune foes like Rakshasas. Don't rely on AC as your primary defense, that is just backup--use stealth first, then mobility, then AC/ki. Longstrider is nice btw.
Shadow Monks are fantastic scouts and good combat generalists.
My (limited) understanding was that the most common save proficiency was Constitution. Surely it can't be that difficult to save against the stunning fist?
Why do halflings make great monks?
FormerlyHemlock
Hero
It depends on the monster--vampires only have +4 to Con saves for example--but even at +10, making 2 to 4 DC 15 saves in a row (depending on AC) is far from guaranteed, and if even one is failed the penalties are prohibitive.
With flurry of blows, the monk gets 4 chances to hit. Each successful hit allows the monk to spend a ki to attempt a stunning strike. There is a very good chance that one of the attacks will successfully stun the monster. If the monster is a solo monster and is stunned, then it is incapacitated, and everyone gets advantage on attacks for a round. The BBEG with lots of hits points will not get a chance to use its awesome attacks, and its hit points will evaporate against the onslaught. Next round, the monk gets to do it again, this time with advantage on its attacks. The BBEG is effectively stun locked.
Legendary resistance covers the Con saving throws that the BBEG fails. Minions provide a buffer from the monk (and other nasty player characters).
With flurry of blows, the monk gets 4 chances to hit. Each successful hit allows the monk to spend a ki to attempt a stunning strike. There is a very good chance that one of the attacks will successfully stun the monster. If the monster is a solo monster and is stunned, then it is incapacitated, and everyone gets advantage on attacks for a round. The BBEG with lots of hits points will not get a chance to use its awesome attacks, and its hit points will evaporate against the onslaught. Next round, the monk gets to do it again, this time with advantage on its attacks. The BBEG is effectively stun locked.
Legendary resistance covers the Con saving throws that the BBEG fails. Minions provide a buffer from the monk (and other nasty player characters).
I guess I can see that, but isn't it unlikely that the monk will have that much ki to blow? Flurry of blwos costs a point of ki, and then wouldn't each stunning blow attempt cost an additional point? Considering the fact that the monk likely spent a good chunk of his ki leading up to the solo boss...
TrippyHippy
Hero
Bonus to Dex (and Con, possibly), lots of sneaky stuff to compliment hiding in shadows etc. Monks attack with speed and finesse rather than brute force, and Halflings tend to excel at that.
