What to do as a Weretiger Monk...

[Zethus]

So a PC just hit level 3 and they are wondering, as a Monk, what Tradition they should follow considering also that they are an embraced and hereditary Weretiger. For lore reasons, Lycanthropy (especially that of Weretigers) can be controlled more easily and the PC uses it when it is needed, but still stays in human form most of the time. However, the player is worrying about the clashing playstyles of Lycanthropes and Monks such as Natural Weapons not allowing Martial Arts things, Pounce's powerful combo using up the bonus action that Ki uses, etc.

So my question to you is... how would this player 'play the game,' as it were, during combat and what Tradition do you think they should follow? They are thinking of going Open Hand just for the late-game Quivering Palm, but otherwise they are very confused. Any help would be much appreciated as I am inexperienced.

[RickAllison]

So a PC just hit level 3 and they are wondering, as a Monk, what Tradition they should follow considering also that they are an embraced and hereditary Weretiger. For lore reasons, Lycanthropy (especially that of Weretigers) can be controlled more easily and the PC uses it when it is needed, but still stays in human form most of the time. However, the player is worrying about the clashing playstyles of Lycanthropes and Monks such as Natural Weapons not allowing Martial Arts things, Pounce's powerful combo using up the bonus action that Ki uses, etc.

So my question to you is... how would this player 'play the game,' as it were, during combat and what Tradition do you think they should follow? They are thinking of going Open Hand just for the late-game Quivering Palm, but otherwise they are very confused. Any help would be much appreciated as I am inexperienced.

Okay, here are some thoughts. Open Hand probably isn't great; its primary abilities focus on Flurry of Blows which doesn't function well with Multiattack. Of course, one really can't argue the benefits of immunity to regular damage, but that doesn't really use the weretiger's abilities...

Shadow could be fantastic, actually; going from shadow to shadow, he can bum-rush one enemy with the first attack, a second with the second (should be easy with both the monk's heightened speed and the extra 10' movement from the lycanthropy), then get back in the shadows and teleport so your enemies are clueless once again.

Monk of the Long Death is where things can get fun. Rather than focusing on attacking, he combines the immunity to common damage with Mastery of Death to be nigh-unkillable while using Hour of Reaping for massive crowd control. It still mainly benefits from the immunity to damage, but there is much more synergy with the sub-class (I built a werebear with this!).

Grappling can be an interesting combination with this. With Extra Attack, one could bum-rush an opponent, grapple them if they fail, then still have a bonus action bite attack.

As a final addendum, he should pick up the Observant feat, especially with a level dip in Rogue for Expertise (Perception). At that point, he has the highest possible passive Perception in the game at higher levels, even more than Tiamat. 10+5 from Wisdom+5 from Observant+12 from proficiency and Expertise+5 from advantage on hearing and smell from Keen Senses!