D&D 5E Is the Monk of the Long Death overpowered?

[CTurbo]

Or is it just my high rolled stats?

I rolled 18 Dex, 16 Con, and 15 Wis. I'm a Wood Elf so 20 Dex and 16 Wis at level 1. At level 4 I took +2 to Wis.

So now at level 5, with a +1 quarterstaff. I'm +9 to attack, 1d8+6 twice + 1d6+5 unarmed attack every round. I'm easily out-damaging everybody else including the 2 handed Fighter.

And with 45ft of movement and a AC 19, I'm hard to hit.

AND, everytime I drop an enemy to 0 hp, I gain 9 temporary HP myself.


I haven't felt this overpowered since my 4e Ranger.

 

[Lanliss]

Cue people complaining that rolled stats are overpowered.

Reading it, it doesn't seem over powered, overall. It is a very combat focused path though, so it will work very well in a game which has a lot of combat.

 

[kbrakke]

With high rolled stats and a magic item you are going perform well in combat. The early levels are also where the monk shines damage-wise because they get 2/3/4 attacks before most other classes. (Technically a dual wielding fighter gets two attacks at the same time and at level 5 they both have the same three attack structure [And potentially with a higher die if they took the feat]). But once you hit level five there aren't more significant damage boosting abilities in the future. A great weapon fighter or a dueling fighter will start doing better at level 11 with three attacks and action surge. Paladins will continue to get a much better nova potential as they get bigger spell slots. 16 Con is also a very good roll, putting you on par hpwise with a fighter with 14 con which is where most of my point buy characters land.
As a DM the only thing about your character that make it difficult for me to challenge is the unusually high AC for your level, and a slightly higher than average wisdom save. 19 AC is a huge amount for even mid CR creatures which will have something around +6 to +8 to hit. The damage you can do isn't particularly worrying from my point of view as a DM, I would just make sure to figure out ways to make sure other characters have a chance to shine.

But enjoy it, the monk usually transitions from a mobile damage dealer, ideally suited to get to back line caster types, to a very strong control role. Stunning enemies threatening your squishier characters. Since you can max your WIS, and thus your save DC, by level 8 you are going to be a huge asset to your team for a very long time. Consider getting mobile to allow you to really make the battlefield your playground, running through everything and stunning that looks remotely dangerous.

 

[abirdcall]

Cue people complaining that rolled stats are overpowered.

Reading it, it doesn't seem over powered, overall. It is a very combat focused path though, so it will work very well in a game which has a lot of combat.

By definition they are.

What is more powerful? Starting with a couple 16s and a 14? Or starting with a 20 and a couple 18s?

The other problem is either you have nowhere to progress with ASIs, or feats become overpowered because there is no trade off.

5e is great, but rolled stats, esp. 4d6 drop lowest hurts it.

 

[Lanliss]

By definition they are.

What is more powerful? Starting with a couple 16s and a 14? Or starting with a 20 and a couple 18s?

The other problem is either you have nowhere to progress with ASIs, or feats become overpowered because there is no trade off.

5e is great, but rolled stats, esp. 4d6 drop lowest hurts it.

For me, the definition of overpowered is "game breaking" since the game is still playable with rolled stats, I do not consider them over powered.

 

[Sacrosanct]

Couple of things of note. If you're using the d8 for the quarterstaff's versatile feature, that takes both hands and therefore you wouldn't get a bonus off hand attack. Not unless you spent ki in order to do so for flurry of blows (and you'd go through that ki pretty quickly at level 5).

Secondly, you only ever get one set of temp hp at a time. It's not a constant regenerating thing. For example, if you got 6 temporary hit points, you wouldn't get any more temp hit points until all 6 of those were lost.

 

[abirdcall]

Couple of things of note. If you're using the d8 for the quarterstaff's versatile feature, that takes both hands and therefore you wouldn't get a bonus off hand attack. Not unless you spent ki in order to do so for flurry of blows (and you'd go through that ki pretty quickly at level 5).

It is a bonus unarmed attack, not a bonus off hand attack.

The Martial Arts bonus attack is not two-weapon fighting.

A Monk can wield a quarterstaff in 2 hands and still gain a bonus action unarmed attack.

 

[Sacrosanct]

It is a bonus unarmed attack, not a bonus off hand attack.

The Martial Arts bonus attack is not two-weapon fighting.

A Monk can wield a quarterstaff in 2 hands and still gain a bonus action unarmed attack.

The martial arts bonus attack states it specifically excludes weapons you have to wield with 2 hands. The quarterstaff isn't a 2 handed weapon normally, but you can make it a 2 handed weapon by using the versatile feature. Therefore, when using a 2 handed weapon, you aren't able to use the martial arts bonus attack.

 

[WarpedAcorn]

It is a bonus unarmed attack, not a bonus off hand attack.

The Martial Arts bonus attack is not two-weapon fighting.

A Monk can wield a quarterstaff in 2 hands and still gain a bonus action unarmed attack.

Yup, kicks, knees, shoulders, headbutts, elbows, ect...plenty of appendages to kung fu fight with! =)


As for the OP, no I don't feel that the class is OP. What I see from the information listed is a character who is playing to their strengths. I'm not sure why the 2H Fighter is being constantly outdamaged by you unless its because he's not using Great Weapon Fighter yet, or because the fights are over before you can spend all your Ki points on Flurries and you are going into each fight with full Ki Points. And, like Lanliss first mentioned, you are benefiting from some favorably rolled Stats which ALWAYS is a benefit for a class that is MAD.

Obviously the character is potent in combat (how does he fair when the enemies are ranged though?). How is he in the other 2 pillars of play? Does the Monk excel in dialogue or social situations? Can he help heal after the battle? Will he be able to get into that locked chest at the end of the dungeon?

 

[bganon]

Secondly, you only ever get one set of temp hp at a time. It's not a constant regenerating thing. For example, if you got 6 temporary hit points, you wouldn't get any more temp hit points until all 6 of those were lost.

That's not how temporary hit points work. You get to choose the new temp hp or the temp hp you already have - if you have 6 temp hp and trigger an ability that gives you 9, you now can choose to have 9 temp hp.