Shadow Monk Build Questions

[Jarlhen]

So I don't have the books in front of me right now but I was pondering Shadow monks, mostly for the fun of it.

I understand warlock is a very natural choice to multiclass on account of their Devil's Sight and Hex, and it annoys me a little! Monk gets a huge amount out of it but I feel thematically it's tricky. Are there other options to gain extra damage like hex? And of course to see through Darkness?

Also, is there a way for monk to get a heavy weapon to count as a monk weapon for the purposes of great weapon master?

[Lombra]

The warlock dip for the darkness-devils' sight combo is cool, but it depends on how you want to play the character: shadow monk is a good scout and can be easily multiclassed with rogue to play a deadly ninja. There are various threads obout ninja characters here so if you have the time I highly suggest to check them out. As far as RAW, there are no heavy monk weapons. The best weapons to start off with are the spear, the quarterstaff, or the shortsword if you plan on getting a couple rogue levels to use sneak attack.

PS: monk's damage actually is pretty ok by itself: lots of attacks at early game, and lots of utility from stunning strike or feats like mobile, sentinel or alert that can ease the fight for the party. Also remember that the martial arts damage dice can be applied to any monk weapon, to the unarmored attacks, and to throwing darts.

[JakOfAllTirades]

If your DM allows the use of Unearthed Arcana, I'd recommend taking three levels of Ranger for the Deep Stalker Archetype. (See the UA article on Underdark Characters) The Deep Stalker Ranger gets several benefits at 3rd level:


+10 feet of movement on the first round of combat; this stacks with the Monk's extra movement
If they use the Attack action on the first combat round, they get an extra attack
On subsequent turns, they can Hide as a Bonus Action if they meet the requirements for hiding (You're a Shadow Monk, so....)
They get Darkvision with a range of 90 feet


Aside from the archetype features, the basic Ranger class has excellent synergy with the Monk. Both are Dex/Wis based classes so MADness issues are kept to a minimum. Monks can benefit from several of the Ranger's Fighting Style options. The Hunter's Mark spell serves the same purpose as Hex: +1d6 to all attacks. (With an extra attack on the first round for the Deep Stalker!) The Hail of Thorns spell is potentially very useful with the Monks Deflect Missiles class feature: catch an arrow, then cast Hail of Thorns when you throw it back at your enemy! And the extra movement from the Longstrider spell stacks with the Monk's extra movement; Monk/Rangers are fast.

[BladeWing81]

If your DM allows the use of Unearthed Arcana, I'd recommend taking three levels of Ranger for the Deep Stalker Archetype. (See the UA article on Underdark Characters) The Deep Stalker Ranger gets several benefits at 3rd level:


+10 feet of movement on the first round of combat; this stacks with the Monk's extra movement
If they use the Attack action on the first combat round, they get an extra attack
On subsequent turns, they can Hide as a Bonus Action if they meet the requirements for hiding (You're a Shadow Monk, so....)
They get Darkvision with a range of 90 feet


Aside from the archetype features, the basic Ranger class has excellent synergy with the Monk. Both are Dex/Wis based classes so MADness issues are kept to a minimum. Monks can benefit from several of the Ranger's Fighting Style options. The Hunter's Mark spell serves the same purpose as Hex: +1d6 to all attacks. (With an extra attack on the first round for the Deep Stalker!) The Hail of Thorns spell is potentially very useful with the Monks Deflect Missiles class feature: catch an arrow, then cast Hail of Thorns when you throw it back at your enemy! And the extra movement from the Longstrider spell stacks with the Monk's extra movement; Monk/Rangers are fast.

another option tied to the ranger is the hunter subclass which provides a couple of extra options like Colossus slayer which add a 1d8 extra damage to a hurt character, or Horde breaker which can provide an extra attack to a creature next to the one you are already attacking.