D&D 5E Monk Weapons

[Azzy]

Hmm. No two handed weapons? Other than the obvious "because the rules say so" - why not? Various lengths of fighting sticks, many wielded with two hands go all the way to the very roots of almost every known martial arts style in recorded history.

Note: The Quarterstaff does not have the "two-handed" property.

 

[Azzy]

IMO the text is pretty clear: "monk weapons" are defined as shortswords and simple melee weapons without two-handed or heavy properties. Full stop. This does not include darts. Monks are proficient with darts, but that does not make them a "monk weapon".

That said, daggers definitely are monk weapons, and when thrown are pretty much mechanically identical to darts, so I don't really think it matters very much. Technically by RAW, if a monk throws a dart they don't get the bonus action unarmed attack, whereas they could if they threw a dagger, and the dart damage won't scale with level (but this only matters after level 5). But either version still allows for Flurry, Extra Attack, etc...

Daggers also make for an excellent stand-in for kunai, which is all the rage with ninja these days.

Though, as a DM, I'd include darts as monk weapons.

 

[bganon]

No, extra attack just means you get two "attacks" from a single "attack action". So for a Monk after level 5, it's: Attack action (two attacks) and bonus action (one unarmed strike).

As to "why no two-handed weapon"... first, the quarterstaff in 5e is versatile, not two-handed so at least monks get that. But my guess is that's it's strictly a balance thing - if glaives, for example, were monk weapons then at 1st level a monk could make a Dex reach attack for 1d10+Dex damage and follow up every round with the 1d4+Dex unarmed strike. That's substantially better than TWF and would blow every other martial class out of the water.

At higher levels it becomes a non-issue, though, so house-rule away. I've considered making some "style feats" for Monks that grant monk weapon status to a specific weapon plus some neat tricks, but it hasn't come up yet. A feat would actually have to add some nice extra stuff to really be worth it past level 11 or so.

 

[pdegan2814]

Note: The Quarterstaff does not have the "two-handed" property.

So I assume this means that the Monk can make a two-handed attack with the quarterstaff for 1d8+dex, then an unarmed Martial Arts strike as their bonus action, with the in-game reasoning being that the quarterstaff's "versatile" property allows the Monk to grip it with just one hand while he strikes with the other, whereas a weapon explicitly labeled as "two-handed" would be too heavy for him to hold reliably in one-hand while making that bonus strike?

 

[GainVanquish]

So I assume this means that the Monk can make a two-handed attack with the quarterstaff for 1d8+dex, then an unarmed Martial Arts strike as their bonus action, with the in-game reasoning being that the quarterstaff's "versatile" property allows the Monk to grip it with just one hand while he strikes with the other, whereas a weapon explicitly labeled as "two-handed" would be too heavy for him to hold reliably in one-hand while making that bonus strike?

But the monk couldn't hit for 1d8 as that's the two handed property it would be 1d6 then unarmed bonus strike I believe happy to be corrected

 

[pdegan2814]

But the monk couldn't hit for 1d8 as that's the two handed property it would be 1d6 then unarmed bonus strike I believe happy to be corrected

That's the crux of my uncertainty. The PHB says "monk weapons" are shortswords and any simple melee weapons without the two-handed or heavy properties. They very clearly did not exclude versatile, and they said nothing about a Monk being unable to make a two-handed strike with a versatile weapon. Does making a two-handed attack with a versatile weapon confer the "two-handed" property? If I were making the ruling, I would say it doesn't. My take on it is that versatile weapons are classified differently because they're lighter and/or better balanced than straight-up two-handed weapons, so they can be effectively wielded in combat with just one hand. This allows the wielder to not only attack one-handed with it, but to have a "free hand" for actions that require one, such as casting a spell with somatic components or, I would argue, making an unarmed strike. If the quarterstaff were explicitly a "two-handed" weapon, and the wielder tried to wield it with just one hand and perform an action with the free hand, it would be too cumbersome.

And just from a thematic perspective, can't you picture someone like Jet Li or Donnie Yen swinging a bo staff with both hands to crack a guy's skull, then hold the staff in one hand while he smacks them a couple of times with the other?

 

[TheCosmicKid]

Excuse my naivety but Zen Archer? Could you elaborate please?

Sorry still new to DnD

Some real-life Buddhist monks use archery as a meditation technique. This has been exaggerated by kung-fu movies and 3rd Edition D&D into a martial art; archetypically, the archer is actually blindfolded to demonstrate how zen he is. If you read Alan Moore's Top Ten, this trope is what the "zen cabbie" is parodying.

 

[GainVanquish]

Some real-life Buddhist monks use archery as a meditation technique. This has been exaggerated by kung-fu movies and 3rd Edition D&D into a martial art; archetypically, the archer is actually blindfolded to demonstrate how zen he is. If you read Alan Moore's Top Ten, this trope is what the "zen cabbie" is parodying.

Wow thanks this place is a fountain of knowledge

 

[psychophipps]

Versatile simply means that the damage goes up a die when it is used two-handed. Two-handed property means that you have no choice but to use it with both hands at all times (which precludes the use of the shield).

 

[psychophipps]

Depends on what you want and how the game is played. I found that my choice of the mobile feat more than made up for any perceived differences from not raising a stat.

And your experience is different then mine.

My only beef with the Mobile feat is that the ignoring of difficult terrain only counts when actively dashing and a lot of difficult terrain can be handled by simply leaping it as the end of your movement.